What I’m Reading This Week (June 14)

Read:

The Prince of Frogs by Annaliese Evans — I liked this one and while I was looking forward to the next book, I realized I’d read Book Two first. My review is here.

Anyone But You by Jennifer Cruise (audio) — Classic Cruise, fun and funny with hi-jinks and a dog.

Alison’s Wonderland edited by Alison Tyler — was wonderful. My review is here.

The Picture Books —

Let’s Do Nothing by Tony Fucile — a very funny children’s picture book which my best friend checked out from the library for her preschool class and insisted I read. It was awesome!

The Wishing Table by Brothers Grimm and illustrated by Eve Tharlet — I picked this one because this story was the basis of one of the stories in Alison’s Wonderland and I couldn’t quite remember the original. I got to the library where I was teaching early and started flipping through their fairy tale collection.

I picked up these others as well. The Bremen Town Musicians retold Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Janet Stevens — picked because I Love Janet Stevens illustrations and Babushka retold and illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak.

Reading:

The Brontes Went to Woolworths  by Rachel Fergurson — I’m only two chapter into this one, I can’t discern a plot and I’m waiting for the author to take a breath.

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers by Thomas Mullen — I’m really enjoying this audio book. It is LONG so I’ll be at it a while longer.

Wish List:

Night’s Rose by Annaliese Evans (on order)

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (on order)

In the Mail:

Ondine by Ebony McKenna via The Book Depository

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is organized by Sheila over at Book Journey. Be sure to stop by her site and read the great blogs of the other participates.

The Prince of Frogs

The Prince of Frogs by Annaliese Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not sure if I can exactly articulate why I gave this book four stars. I enjoyed it because it was a little different then so many of the romance novels I’ve read of late that seem to bleed into one another. I enjoyed it because it had social war games, rival brothers, an infuriating title, and touches of fairy tale. I wish it had been about 150 pages longer and filed in the fantasy section so that maybe there would have been more room to explore this world that the author built. (I know there is a sequel, but there felt like there should be more here and now.) That said I did enjoy the book. I loved the scene between Rose and her near cousin when discussing her former employment. I did not like the scene between Rose and her husband in the alley after Ambrose left. That needed more words. I like Beatrice and would love to read one of her stories. She seemed to me like everything I’ve come to expect from Fey royalty, Seelie or not. She was manipulative and possibly deadly, but capable of good when it suits her. I thought at first the ability for everyone to read everyone else’s mind would get annoying given the convenience of failed shields etc., but it didn’t wear as thin as expected which was a pleasant surprise. The final spell was a little predictable, though satisfying. And then there was just enough set-up for book two without it being infuriating. Speaking of infuriating the title of this novel was not fully explained until near the end. I kept reading and explaining to everyone who’d listen that I while I really like this book I’ve no idea why it is called “The Prince of Frogs.” Does that sound like a four star novel to you? Well it was. It swept me up in a strange adventure, that I found myself in the middle of before I knew it. I’d started it last week, but hadn’t the time to devote to it. This week I found myself getting really annoyed when I was pulled away from the book. I also found myself looking for book 2 before I was even in the final chapters.

What I’m Reading This Week (May 31)

Read:

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett (audio) — this was good and I love all the stories from book dealers. Towards the end of the book I wished for a little more about the bookdealer/detective she introduced us too, and realize the thief’s story was getting a little repetitive.

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs — Another excellent Mercy Thompson read. I really like her characters and enjoy spending time with them. I was about half way into the book when I realized that I didn’t really know what the mystery was, but it evolved into something I wasn’t expecting. The timing of this book felt compressed, I feel like I should go back and see how many days it covered.

The Secret Lives of Princesses by Philippe Lechermeier and illustrated by Rebecca Dautremer — I had really high hopes for this book after the first few pages, but sadly I felt the premise got old as you read on; there were still a few things that made me smile. I think that this field guide to little known princesses is one of those book better dipped into at random rather than read from cover to cover like I did. The art work on the other hand is worth the price of admission. I love Dautremer’s use of color. If you haven’t seen this book yet, you should at least take a look at it.

Shermit’s Adventure to Sprinkle Island by Katherine Borgatti — this is a simple children’s picture book with nice, bright and cheery illustrations about a hermit crab and shrimp who find a treasure map to donuts. The author dropped this off at work for us to take a look at. I believe she is self-published and is presenting the story to local schools.

Reading:

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers by Thomas Mullen (audio) — the moment the narrator opened his mouth, I knew I’d heard him before. William Dufris is the narrator of Woken Furies by Richard Morgan. I like his voice and it worked well with the hard-boiled world in Morgan’s book and it will probably work well in Mullen’s. The problem is that Firefly Brothers’ opening feels like a scene plucked for Woken Furies or any of the other titles in Morgan’s Takesi Kovacs series. I have to remind myself that this isn’t Kovacs talking but Jason. I have to remind myself that this isn’t some far off distant planet but the American Mid-West circa the 30’s. I am confidant once I am further into the book I will be more firmly grounded in the world of the Firefly Brothers.

The Prince of Frogs by Annaliese Evans – I purchased this one because the cover was so strikingly different for all the romance novels surrounding it, the couple were already married, and it seemed to have ties to fairy tales. It’s been on my TBR shelf a while. I hope it’s good.

–Still reading Alison’s Wonderland edited by Alison Tyler, Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the Eighteenth Century (Metropolitan Museum of Art) by Harold Koda, Andrew Bolton, and Mimi Hellman (I would love to see this ballet based on the original Dangerous Liaisons.), and Climbing Your Family Tree by Ira Wolfman–

Wish List:

I found Dona Nicanora’s Hat Shop by Kirstan Hawkins on Leeswammes’s Blog, but I haven’t been able to spot a U.S. edition.

Sur La Lune mentioned The Strange Case of the Composer and the Judge that seems intriguing. Another title that’s released abroad, but this one has a U.S. edition arriving in July.

Arrived in Mail:

Remembrance by Theresa Breslin and Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstone both via Book Mooch

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is organized by Sheila over at Book Journey. Be sure to stop by her site and read the great blogs of the other participates.