Melanie's Week in Review - November 24, 2013

This week I am going to do something a little different. I am going to tell you a story...

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess slightly chubby 40-something reviewer ...who I will name Melanie. Melanie was waiting one cold and frosty morning for bus to go to the gym. She happened to glance at her mobile phone and saw an email from Amazon informing her of a recent order. To her delight the princess reviewer Melanie, read on to discover that book 2 of the Penryn and the End of Days series by Susan Ee, World After had been released. Despite it being 6am and a mere 4C Melanie jumped up and down with delight quickly downloading the book. Even though Melanie had received books from her fairy god mother Qwill  months before that she still hadn't read or reviewed such as City of Bones by Bailey Cunningham and she still hadn't finished King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence she just couldn't resist reading the book she had been looking forward to reading It wasn't long before her chariot bus arrived and she was tucked into reading the book.

Over the next few days Melanie furiously read the book and while she had been eagerly anticipating the new release she was left at the end, a tad disappointed. The lead protagonist Penryn was still forthright and courageous but there was however, very little interaction with the angel Rafe or at least not until the very end. She felt it was aimed more obviously to a younger reader than than book 1. It was still pretty grisly in parts and a nice cliff hanger at the end that entices the reader for book 3.

With World After finished Melanie had much to do to return her book reading kingdom to its former, more organized glory. Who knows what literary delight will be waiting for the princess reviewer the next time she waits for her chariot bus to pick her up and drive her into the golden sunrise.

.....The End

Well I hope you enjoyed that little tale. Before you think I am completely off my rocker I will share with you what else I read this week. I finished both Pantomine (Pantomime 1) by Laura Lam and at long last King of Thorns (The Broken Empire 2) by Mark Lawrence. While initially I was gripped by Pantomine I thought it really dragged at the end and I totally guessed at the ending. I knew that it was Young Adult Fantasy, but I was just hoping it wouldn't have been so obviously aimed at the younger reader. I have a bad habit of knowing a book/series is aimed at a younger reader and then still hoping the main characters don't act their age.  It's a bit unfair of me to expect this especially as Lam has created a really interesting world. Overall, I liked it want to continue with the series.

I will admit that King of Thorns was hard going. I love Lawrence's writing style and world building however, this book with its jostling back and forth from past to present was a bit overwhelming. I think I should have pushed myself to read it in one go as with big delays between chapters made it all the more difficult to re-engage with. Jorg and the other main characters are very unlikeable so that combined with a complex plot, fantasy world and mix of past and present make the second installment of this series a bit harder to read.

I just barely...and I mean just barely started City of Bones by Bailey Cunningham so I feel that I am on my way to getting back on my reading track. That's it for me this week. I hope you enjoyed my attempt at creative writing and that you have a great week ahead. Until next week Happy Reading.