I admit this is my first Louise Penny novel I fell in love with the cover since I first laid eyes upon it. I love a great mystery, and I know she’s a very popular writer, but I was nervous jumping into a series without reading any of the previous books. In all honestly, I was a bit confused listening to this book on audio. I felt as if discussions were repeated and conversations were just too many. Regardless, I did enjoy reading The Grey Wolf. I enjoyed the realistic and true characters who were trying to piece together fragments of a mystery.
It begins with a phone call. Then comes the break-in. Too many things are happening and they’re happening fast. The discovery of the small slip of paper inside the jacket. It’s a small piece of paper which might not seem like much, but it is just the beginning. Water. Something we all need and unfortunately, take for granted. When this resource is threatened, Gamache is quick to act. The how, where, and why are the questions Gamache needs to answer quickly as individuals’ lives are at risk. Reaching across the globe the team begins to try to piece this puzzle all together.
I liked how Gamache worked to get this case under control. Reaching across the globe, many individuals were connected , grasping at anything they could find. Did they finally get the answers they were searching for? Time will tell as we wait for the next book. 4 stars
I loved, loved this book! Actually, I loved this series and I’m going to miss these characters. If you’re looking for something different, heck even if you’re not ready for something different, listen to the audio of this book/series. The characters in this book will make you laugh, think, and cry. Each one of them is unique and you will fall in love with how they made their world a better place.
This book took me on a magical journey. I left the status of my own world behind, and I stood beside them on Marsyas Island watching the new arrivals. Since book one, I knew that the government wouldn’t leave the island alone, but I didn’t expect Miss Marblemaw. She’s a strict one, that’s for sure, and when she meets the children, I had a feeling that she wouldn’t be ready for that. She’s there for a purpose just like Linus was but I really doubt that Miss Marblemaw will soften like Linus.
Linus is standing with Arthur now, as he has decided that Marsyas Island is now his home also. The children have welcomed him and like having them both there to watch over them. A child named David finds his way to the island and although deemed to be a monster, he’s the nicest monster that I know. I loved the relationships built and strengthened on the island. I loved how they looked out for one another and how they empowered each other. The characters themselves were unique and different yet together they achieved and conquered what they set out to do.
As Miss Marblemaw investigates the orphanage of magical beings and works at dissolving the relationships that have developed within it, what she does is just the opposite. This orphanage has evolved into a family. For “family” is more than blood. This family welcomes others, is hard-working, and committed, and is a host to a wide variety of other qualities. Can they change her mind? Will she leave? What will David decide to do? Definitely a 5 star read!!
You go, girl! You talk about a strong female character! Martha Ballard knew how to a thing or two or twenty about the world and her position as a midwife allowed her to see both sides of the world in which she lived. She knew her position didn’t sit well with those who preferred the traditional doctor, but Martha was smart enough to know that she didn’t understand everything in the medical field, and she was willing to learn. Most of the area women trust Martha and when one of them gets raped, its Martha that they call upon.
Martha keeps track of her days inside a personal journal. This journal becomes both a powerful force and a hardship when Martha is summoned to court when the rape case goes to trial. Martha is such a strong and impressive individual while other female’s knees start to bend when they are around intimidating males. I liked how Martha’s husband was there for her and how Martha wasn’t overpowering in nature but was trying to stand her ground. The ending of the book was a surprise and a shocker. It was amazing and while I was laughing, I was thanking the author for such a great ending. I listened to the audio of this book and although it was long, it didn’t drag on. 5 stars
With the use of poems, I liked this twist on the classic, And Then There Were None. It was more anticipation and mystery than suspense as I dove into this book, as the poems help set the storyline up.
Gathering her family around her, Nana invites them all to her cottage for her 80th birthday. Her family is a mixed bag of characters all with their own quirks and behaviors. This is a memorable birthday, for many years ago, a fortune teller told Nana that she would die when she was 80. The cottage is old and shabby, and its location is remote. What a party! A family celebration is a remote, outdated cottage, that’s only direct access is when the tide comes in. Tonight, a major storm is gearing up for that area which will leave them more isolated and unprepared for tonight’s excitement. Sounds like a wonderful family get together, doesn’t it?
Nana enjoys having everyone there and greets them warmly. As they gather, each member quietly slides back into the past as they recall previous memories. This is the first of many flashbacks the reader takes as we connect the past with the present. What direction each of their lives took and why and how Nana fit into them. Nana has been an author and illustrator throughout the years and her cottage shows the love for her work. Nana gathers the group together and reads them her will. This comes as a shock to most of them and there’s a shift in the air. Oh course, things are not fair but what can they do? They can’t leave, high tide isn’t for hours and now, they must make the best of the situation and eventually, they all settle in for the night.
There’s a crash! They find a ladder and they find her. Nana’s body is on the floor. Emotions and shock fill every molecule. What happened? In the middle of night this happens. Wait, what day is this? Yes, it’s officially Nana’s 80th birthday. They notice a poem on the wall, a poem that includes every member of the family. The poem that gets repeated mention in the story as the body count increases, the tide comes closer to the shore, and the night turns to day. The ending was fun and wraps the story up rather quickly (sinister laugh). 4.5 stars
Wow! When I received this book, I was overwhelmed by its size, 620 pages was a lot for me. Yet, when I started reading it, the pages fell away, and I was swept away by the story that unfolded in front of me. This is definitely a story! An interesting story to say the least. This adventure is filled with many fascinating characters whose lives you won’t forget.
Once I got used to the language of the book, I started to understand the individuals in the story and the flow of the story. The language felt choppy to me, the words direct and tight. The atmosphere was dark and isolated as Tracker led the chase. It was the bizarre stories along the way that I found myself enjoying as I read this book. The individuals for which Tracker found himself up against, I found I enjoyed the most. It didn’t matter who or where these encounters were, Tracker was always ready for them. Would there be conversation or fighting first? It didn’t matter, Tracker was ready. I do feel that Tracker enjoyed fighting these individuals as he was a fierce fighter. From the depth of the language in the book and the intensity of his fights, Tracker loved a good fight! Lives were lost and he’d continue, with his search. With the addition of demons, vampires, and witches, I never knew what to expect as Tracker hunted down the child. All of these characters made this book such a whirlwind of activity and adventure, some aiding tracker and some just getting in his way.
I thought after reading this book that I would listen to it and the audio of this book was fantastic! I had to laugh a few times as Tracker fought different individuals as the details in the book, when spoken, sounded more energized and intense. The stories that occur while Tracker is on his mission are captivating and engaging and make this an entertaining book.
I want to thank Goodreads and Riverhead Books for a copy of this book that I had received from them, in exchange for this honest opinion.
Exerts
“Smelled like he butchered a goat. Kicking his chest was kicking stone. He held me up as if admiring a precious jewel. I kneed him in the jaw so hard his teeth sliced his tongue. He dropped me, and I charged for his balls like a bull. He fell, I grabbed his knife, razor sharp, and cut his throat. The second grabbed for my arms but I was naked and slippery. The knife-“
“A piece of blue cloth torn from something bigger. The boy was wrapped in white. I put the cloth to my nose and one year of sun, night, thunder, and rain, hundreds of days of walks, dozens of hills, valleys, sands, seas, houses, cities, plains. Smells so strong it became sign, and hearing and touch. I could reach out and touch the boy, grab him in my mind and reel from him being so far away. Too far away, my head rushing and jumping and sinking below sea then flying higher and higher and higher and smelling air free of smoke. “
This was an exciting read, the action kept building throughout. Nate is currently an undertaker but he’s had many titles throughout the years which all come in handy. When the leader of their church is suddenly shot dead, some women of the church call upon Nate for some answers. They don’t trust the local authorities and they know about Nate; I think everyone knows about Nate. Nate says that he’ll check into it but he ends up doing more than checking into it, Nate gets involved in something bigger than he ever imagined. Nate wants to uncover the truth; he wants justice to be served and he’ll do almost anything to make sure that gets accomplished.
I don’t like a book with a lot of different characters, I find that they’re confusing but I liked the variety of individuals inside this story. They kept the story moving and the variation of stories added to the intensity of the drama. There are instances of violence, swearing, and sexual encounters in the story so that needs to be noted for some readers. I liked Nate’s determination and drive. He wasn’t doing it for money, work, or for the glorification, he was solving the problem. This was a fast, enjoyable read for me. 4 stars
I’ve been picking up these Wonderbook’s from our library lately and I thought I’d give a shout-out to them.
These are Wonderbook’s that our library has been purchasing for the younger readers in our area. What is a Wonderbook? To me, a Wonderbook is a great resource for kids and adults alike. These books read to a child while at the same time, they allow the child to follow along with the printed text in the book. I know…….some of you might be thinking, I’ve seen books like these before, picture books or other character driven books where you’re supposed to push the colored-buttons and they’ll tell you to turn the page. Well, what I think sets these books apart is the variety and diversity that you’ll discover with these.
Not only do they cover easy picture books but you’ll find some nonfiction children books, Level books, children’s chapter books, and books for children in different languages. books. Pretty amazing, huh? Yeah, I thought so too.
These books come with easy-to-use instructions right inside the front cover and you can stop them whenever you need to and they pick right back up, where you left off. Our library charges them up when they get returned to the library to make sure they’re charged up for the next patron so we don’t have to worry about the battery dying (they can be charged with a micro-USB too). You can adjust the volume, jump forward and backward in the book using buttons also. There is a read-along mode and there is learning mode with each Wonderbook. In the read-along mode, they instruct you on how to proceed with the Wonderbook – where to start and when and what the sound will be like, when you are to turn the page. In the learning mode, they ask questions about the book: what character did you identify with the most? If you could ask the author a question, what would it be? What’s the books main idea? etc.
These books are expensive to purchase, I’ve checked into them so I’m glad my library has this option available and I’m so excited that they brought them to my attention.
My three-year grandson’s like to take these books and sit on our comfy furniture and listen to them on their own. I think they’re finding their independence. I like watching them as they listen as they’re scanning the pages with their eyes. It’s like their eyes are trying to follow the text and the look at the picture at the same time. The voice is slow and clear so they’re able to understand which is great. This is a good option for them and I’m glad that they’re excited to read them. They do cut into my reading time with me, as they want to do them on their own after I read through them once with them but I have plenty of other books to read with them. I find the pace rather slow but the kids like it and that’s what matters.
I just checked out a Wonderbook for me to listen to: Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly which is a middle school read. This is the second book in the series and I’ve been wanting to read it. I read a lot of middle school books and I think this will be interesting. So, what do you think? Have you heard of a Wonderbook?
We bought a house on a lake this past January and we’ve been doing a lot of driving back and forth each week cleaning and fixing up our new house. This new lake house will be a place that we plan to use on the weekends and since my husband plans to retire next year, a place that we can escape to more, when he retires. I could go on about this lake house which I will in future posts (boy, do I have the stories!) but today, I thought I would talk about Playaways. If you don’t know what a Playaway is, I hope thatt by the time you finish reading my post, you will. Playaways are amazing!
Playaway unit
I get my Playaways from my library. I check them out, just like a library book. They sound and work just like an audio book actually except they are more versatile and easier to use, I think. The issue I have with Playaways though, is that the library doesn’t carry a wide assortment of books on Playaways. They are getting better about buying them for the library which is great so we shall see. I do notice that more patrons of the library are checking them out so that is a plus. The more that people check them out, the more the library will buy. I guess I could buy Playaways on the web, but they’re expensive. So what is a Playaway?
Playaway case & unit
Playaway case & unit ( shows how to use the device inside the case)
A Playaway is an audiobook. Instead of having CD’s to listen to or having to have access to the internet/Wi-Fi to listen to a book, you’re supplied with a small rectangluar device that has your book on it. You’ll need to have some headphones and one (1) AAA battery to work the device but once you have that, you’re ready.
The Playaway has volume controls, speed controls, a pause button and off and on controls. There’s an equalizer button that helps with the sound quality. The device tells you how far you are in the chapter and it remembers your spot in the book when you shut off the device.
headphones
Volume controls
I’ve been listening to Playaways on our drives betwee the two houses but I’ve also been listening to them while I’ve been working around the house. I like to stick the device in my pocket and go about my day. I’ve caught myself talking to myself as I listen to the book, either responding to what is happening in the book or stopping and letting off a few comments about what is transpiring in the book. I currently have paint on my headphones as I was painting listening to my latest Playaway and the cord kept getting in the way BUT there was no way I was going to stop listening. I’ve also learned that I need to keep a few spare batteries in my glovebox.
Here’s a couple links if you want to learn more or if you want to pass some information onto your library. Our library also have the the Wonderbooks and Launchpads. I read my first Wonderbooks and I was amazed!
I actually am in awe with this book. I liked how the author made me think about different stories and how they’re all kinda the same, yet somewhat different. I believe it was in the middle of the book, that Jacob talks about how some plots are all the same but it depends on how the author tries to make them unique. I realize this but what would happen if authors can’t piggyback on one another’s plots? Would we lose great authors or pieces of great fiction?
As I listened to this novel on audio, Jacob claimed he wasn’t stealing Evan’s story because he hadn’t read the whole book, but had he? I contemplated this thought as I read further into the novel. There were lots of little facts that kept popping up that I enjoyed but were scaring Jacob. I loved how Jacob stated he was enjoying the stardom of being a successful writer yet he actually wasn’t, as it seemed that he was constantly looking over his shoulder. His investigation into Evan Parker sure was extensive and I was impressed at how far Jacob’s pursuit went. He could become an investigator if being a writer doesn’t work out for him.
I thought there was a big lull in the middle of the book. Jacob’s investigation was getting boring for me. His love life was getting interesting, almost too cozy but he doesn’t seem to give her too much attention, as all his thoughts are focused on Jacob. I’m glad that I stuck it out to the end of the book as it was really good. The audio was good on this book and I highly recommend it. 4 stars (middle is so-so)
I got lost inside this book, in a good way. I found myself caught up with all the drama that happened within this family. I could see why everyone wanted to be around the famous Rivas, as their lives were full. Each of the family members were a little bit different and they each brought something to the family when they all got together. The annual Riva Party was the event, the social event that you didn’t want to miss but this year was going to be epic.
I listened to this book on audio and I highly recommend that you go this route. I feel that the narration brings an additional element to this book. Although I enjoy adding my own emotions and attitudes to characters in books that I read, I enjoyed these characters immensely. I didn’t care for all the characters in this book, oh no! But I thought that their voices and attitudes were spot on. I like to listen to books while I do other busy work and I found myself paying more attention to this book than anything else. The anticipation of a few of the scenes made me stop what I was doing until I could breathe again. Although this book consisted of only one day, flashing back into their lives, the story covered a lot of ground. I thought about not reading this book but I’m so glad that I did as I really enjoyed it. 4.5 stars
One Chapter 