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I've always said I'll read anything, and I really do mean that. Lately M/M romance has had my interest, but fantasy and sci-fi were my first loves and will always hold a special place in my heart. I also love histories and biographies.
I loved this! A combination of what felt like Chinese fairy tales and the adventures of a delightfully intelligent and brave heroine plus spectacularly gorgeous color paintings throughout the book made this whole experience thoroughly delightful.Favorite Quotes
"Stories are not foolish."
"You lose only what you cling to."
"We will not waste this time we have together. We will spend it as we always have, in happiness."
"I didn't ask the question," Minli said again and smiled, "because I don't need to know the answer."
My first reaction was to call this "cute," but with some of what Stiles has gone through in this AU, I hesitate to use that label.It was certainly well done, and I appreciated that we were given little glimpses into the past few years of Stiles's life through the interview snippets at the beginning of each scene.
I did like the different approach to the relationship here. There's no real angst, no big discussions or freak-outs, but like Stiles says, just settling into something different.
I do have to say, though, that I missed the non-AU Derek. The Derek here has grown up and has been through therapy, so he actually talks and stuff. His whole character, and therefore the whole relationship just felt so different. Almost like this wasn't a Sterek story at all.
Still intriguing, though.
Favorite Quotes:
He probably doesn't mean to be adorable. Actually, he would probably maim something just to prove his complete un-adorableness.
He's very confused, but apparently dealing with supernatural shit is just like riding a bike, because his body remembers how to run away as fast as possible, even if his mind is stuck repeating the events that had led up to this.
Oh wait, oh god. Is his life... is his life a paranormal romance?
"Oh no, you're not turning it around on me, douchewolf."
"Also, I thought we were past the 'I'm-speaking-to-you-with-my-mind-why-aren't-you-doing-what-I-want-you-to thing. Communication, dude, it's a cool thing."
A short-ish sequel to [b:Just Act Normal|18007392|Just Act Normal|Zosofi|/assets/nocover/60x80.png|25273474]. Exactly as it's billed, this is a monster-of-the-week story. Lots of fun references to the TV show Supernatural.Not quite as fun to read as the first story, but still entertaining.
My first reaction was to call this "cute," but with some of what Stiles has gone through in this AU, I hesitate to use that label.It was certainly well done, and I appreciated that we were given little glimpses into the past few years of Stiles's life through the interview snippets at the beginning of each scene.
I did like the different approach to the relationship here. There's no real angst, no big discussions or freak-outs, but like Stiles says, just settling into something different.
I do have to say, though, that I missed the non-AU Derek. The Derek here has grown up and has been through therapy, so he actually talks and stuff. His whole character, and therefore the whole relationship just felt so different. Almost like this wasn't a Sterek story at all.
Still intriguing, though.
Favorite Quotes:
He probably doesn't mean to be adorable. Actually, he would probably maim something just to prove his complete un-adorableness.
He's very confused, but apparently dealing with supernatural shit is just like riding a bike, because his body remembers how to run away as fast as possible, even if his mind is stuck repeating the events that had led up to this.
Oh wait, oh god. Is his life... is his life a paranormal romance?
"Oh no, you're not turning it around on me, douchewolf."
"Also, I thought we were past the 'I'm-speaking-to-you-with-my-mind-why-aren't-you-doing-what-I-want-you-to thing. Communication, dude, it's a cool thing."
Probably the most honest treatment of a true enemies-to-lovers story that I've come across yet.In this one, Draco isn't magically good now and completely repentant of all of his past Dark deeds. And that's something that he and Harry actually TALK about and have to address and try to work through.
And neither of them has magically forgotten nor forgiven all of the past treatment both by themselves and by their friends. It was fascinating to see them working through their own issues as well as "introducing" Draco to Ron and Hermione all over again.
Certainly not the most light-hearted Drarry fic, but definitely an honest and thought-provoking one.
Favorite Quotes:
Cheer up, it probably won't let us have water either, so we'll die of thirst before then, he thought.
He was pants at cheering himself up.
"And for the record, this is what my face looks like when I'm happy about something, when I think something impossible has a chance to come true. That first started happening when I was eleven and my delight in it hasn't stopped yet."
Okay, so I'm a sucker for adorable little kittens. So when I saw the synopsis of this one, I just couldn't resist.And, yep, it's every bit as silly and cheesy and sappy as you'd expect from a fic where Harry's a tiny black kitten half the time. And every bit as adorable.
The hints in the synopsis about the rottenness in the place of Grimmauld were shaping up to be a pretty cool and actually scary piece of the story... until we find out what's really going on. Then it just added to the overall cheesiness of everything.
This would be a perfect fic if you're looking for something sweet and fluffy and silly, where the simple fact that Harry is sometimes a kitten wins Narcissa over completely, where Draco's been a good guy for years now and is actually closer friends with Hermione and Ron than he is with Harry at the start and where Harry and Draco settle instantly into a relationship that nobody seems to question... not even Draco's parents.
Completely unrealistic, completely silly, and totally adorable.
3.5 stars rounded up just because I needed a dose of adorable kitten yesterday!
Favorite Quotes:
"I'll even let you play with the quill whilst I write the note."
"And you call him 'Pot'?" Smith scoffed.
"Pfft. No. I do not call him 'Pot'. Why would I call him that?" Draco was stalling, trying to think of a name. All he could come up with was 'Harry' and he knew that wouldn't work.
"Well, I don't know," Smtih said, obviously not recognizing a rhetorical question. "Maybe because he's black, like a cauldron?"
Draco decided against pointing out that, by that reasoning, he would be calling the kitten 'Cauldron' and gathered Harry up close, playing with his soft little paws. "You simply misheard." Turning the kitten toward Smith he said, "I didn't call him 'Pot.' I called him 'Pof.' For 'Paws of Fury.'" Draco moved one of the little paws in a slashing motion toward Smith and added, "Beware."
Draco was a life line, but Harry had to grab hold. Had to pull himself out of the dark swirling desolation.
He just hoped his smile was conveying more of a polite 'thank you for welcoming me' rather than 'I just had shower sex with your son.'
Harry's transformation was more obvious, of course. He was now occasionally furry. And Draco? He was now alive.
"So this is what comes of embracing respectability, rescuing a kitten, and taking up with a hero; my reputation as a wicked bad guy is gone all to hell."
"You chose the form, Harry Potter. The heart of Gryffindor's great cat beats within you."...
"But I'm a kitten, not a lion."
The old woman gave a small shrug. "Kittens are easier to cuddle," she said. "You needed to be cuddled."
So, I stumbled on this fic the other day when I ran across this image on Emily Fay's DeviantArt page. Grr... still can't get images to work, so I'm just putting the link to the DA page. /sigh http://emily-fay.deviantart.com/art/COMMISSION-Dysonrules-196606897
I followed the links back to dysonrules's livejournal and immediately was hooked.
The originality of so many of the ideas here is what impressed me the most. Not just the wings. (Although they were my favorite part of this fic...) There were quite a few elements in the plot here that I'd not seen before. I'm not sure how much I liked some of them, but I definitely have to give points for originality.
I also really liked that each chapter started with a quote about flying. Very fun.
3.5 stars, rounded up for all of the beautiful images!
Favorite Quotes:
Draco flexed his wings and set about learning to fly.
"And how is thinking like a Slytherin going to help us now, oh Slithery One?"
"He lives to make me feel like an inferior arse. He despises my friends; he's continuously insulting; hes--"
"Astoundingly gorgeous, is just your type, is not ever going to be blinded by your name, and will never be boring."
"In our dreams we are able to fly...
and that is a remembering
of how we were meant to be.
--Madeline L'Engle"
"He would kill me and I don't mean that figuratively. I mean gruesomely and with relish."
"I hope you mean the relish figuratively."
"When once you have tasted flight,
you will forever walk the earth
with your eyes turned skyward,
for there you have been,
and there you will always long to return.
--Douglas Adams"
Weasley sighed. "I'm starting to think none of us deserves anyone. Maybe we just have to do the best we can and hope they put up with us."
He took them upward again, delighting in Harry's love of flight and, frankly, Harry's love in general.
I surprised myself by how much I wanted to read this one in spite of the title and the fact that there was a baby in the prompt picture. The blurb and the tags convinced me to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. It was a lovely story. Sweet and hopeful and... magical.David and Max are both so earnest and endearing, I couldn't help but cheer for them.
And who doesn't love a guy who knits?
An okay modernization of classic fairy tales. There were a few fun, new elements: Puck is one of the main-ish characters; characters and elements from stories I wouldn't consider fairy tales were here: Aladdin's carpet, King Arthur and Excalibur, and the Queen of Hearts; and there's only one Prince Charming, he's been married to and divorced from all of the princesses (Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc.). I'm actually not sure how much I liked that there were those non-fairy-tale elements. It actually pulled me out of the story a few times when those elements or characters were introduced.
It was still entertaining to read, and I enjoyed all of the twists.
Fantastically unique and creative, the experience of reading this book was every bit as delightful as the story and characters themselves.Written entirely in verse (if Dr. Seuss were to write a novel-length chapter book (with the addition of a few Lemony-Snicket-like macabre elements) this would be it!) with font size, type, and direction changes sprinkled throughout, this felt unlike any other book I've read before.
So much fun!
I keep hearing that this should be read aloud. I'd like to add to that that it should be read aloud either by the child, or where the child can see and delight in the unexpectedness of the text along with the rhyme. I considered briefly using this as a read-aloud in my classroom, but I think the students would enjoy it much more if they could take it home and read it aloud with their parents.
As for the story: I was impressed at the unique and unexpected places the story took me. A story would have to be pretty strong to stand up to being told in verse, and this story not only managed it, but made it seem like verse was the only possible way this story could be told. Again, so much fun!
And the characters. I loved how at the beginning Katrina and Morty balanced each other out. I ADORED how as the story went along, they not only learned to utilize each others' strengths, but were able to learn from them. Excellently well done.
Overall, fun characters, fascinating story, and the most original storytelling approach I've yet seen in a children's book. A thoroughly delightful reading experience that I can't wait to share with my students!
4.5 stars rounded up
So very much fun. A story that combines a mysterious empathic link between soon-to-be-lovers, Greek mythology, and a superhero-like story line just hits so many of my "I'm such a nerd, but I love this!" buttons.I was sucked in right from the start when we're first introduced to the "team" of nymphs and what each of their powers are. Having Cyd and May be dealing with suddenly discovering they can feel what the other is feeling during these introductions added an extra level of fascination for me, as empathic/telepathic abilities are one of my favorite abilities to see get played around with in books and movies.
And the story didn't disappoint. We're just as unsure as the team is what they're there to be training for. We just get to watch them train. And I thought that was great good fun. Having little Argo be the one they get sent against when they need a challenge was entertaining.
The end perhaps felt a little rushed, and the climax was slightly anti-climactic, but the story as a whole was still just really fun to read. And, yes, I was able to guess a few of the surprises before they were revealed, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the overall story.
This felt, perhaps, like it might possibly be the set-up for a series or a longer work, and I'd love to get to read more!
Favorite Quote:
"You are gentility and sweetness and innocence.... You believe the best in everyone and everything... You are my heart and my home, and I love you."
Are you kidding? A Drarry story where Harry and Draco participate in the wizarding version of The Amazing Race?! There was definite squeeing when I found this story yesterday.And I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that the experience of reading it lived up to the excitement I felt after reading the blurb.
Everything about this story was just so much fun. Ron and Hermione host viewing parties that let us see what the audience sees, so we get their commentaries plus whoever they've got over (Neville, Luna and Ginny were all there in different configurations on different nights), and it's hilarious to get to hear their reactions. It's 100% like what my experience watching the real show was like (cheering for the teams of hot guys to stay on as long as possible; hoping the catty, bitchy ones screw up; etc.) and I couldn't help but laugh out loud several times.
And then we get to be in either Harry's or Draco's head for parts of the actual race. And that was just fantastically fun. Right from the start in this story they're both attracted to each other, but are still antagonistic enough to be horrified at the thought of the other finding out. Getting to watch them slowly relax around each other until they become friends and then more was perfectly-paced and so, so well done.
And the race itself? Fantastic! The author left notes after each chapter about all of the research she'd done into the various countries so that the challenges were all accurate, and it totally made me want to go look up some of these places!
Overall, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a story. Everything about this totally clicked for me. All I can say is that I wish there were more! I'd love to get to see the first time Harry brings Draco over to Ron and Hermione's. I'd love to see the first time Draco brings Harry home with him. I just want to see more of them!
Favorite Quotes:
Ron snorted. "I'll bet even Malfoy can out-sharpish Norton."
Malfoy's running style resembled that of a cheetah, effortless-looking and ground-eating. Harry felt like a stampeding warthog next to him.
Malfoy looked surprisingly sexy in Muggle gear. Not sexy, Harry revised quickly. Passable. Just passable. Fuck.
Next there was Snoring Man, who had fallen asleep immediately upon reaching his seat and quickly began to snore like a foghorn. Draco had surreptitiously awakened him twelve times by kicking the back of his seat, despite Potter's admonishments. The quiet never lasted for long. If only Draco had his wand; he would silence the cretin permanently.
Obviously they had wised up and gone somewhere less arid and death-inducing.
"I love this show," Ron said happily.
"The dark-haired one is a pure-blood. I thought I recognized her. I've seen her at some of my mother's functions. She has a very old bloodline."
"Like a poodle?" Potter asked dryly.
"Huh, Muggle. I wouldn't have guessed."
"Which is why you aren't allowed to answer, Potter," Draco said.
"Harry isn't... And Malfoy? I mean... Malfoy? Even if Harry was... was..." Ron shut his jaw with effort. Oh god, Harry was. It was so obvious.
"You know," he said conversationally, "I think I'd like it if you called me Harry. At least while I'm sucking your cock, yeah?"
Are you kidding? A Drarry story where Harry and Draco participate in the wizarding version of The Amazing Race?! There was definite squeeing when I found this story yesterday.And I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that the experience of reading it lived up to the excitement I felt after reading the blurb.
Everything about this story was just so much fun. Ron and Hermione host viewing parties that let us see what the audience sees, so we get their commentaries plus whoever they've got over (Neville, Luna and Ginny were all there in different configurations on different nights), and it's hilarious to get to hear their reactions. It's 100% like what my experience watching the real show was like (cheering for the teams of hot guys to stay on as long as possible; hoping the catty, bitchy ones screw up; etc.) and I couldn't help but laugh out loud several times.
And then we get to be in either Harry's or Draco's head for parts of the actual race. And that was just fantastically fun. Right from the start in this story they're both attracted to each other, but are still antagonistic enough to be horrified at the thought of the other finding out. Getting to watch them slowly relax around each other until they become friends and then more was perfectly-paced and so, so well done.
And the race itself? Fantastic! The author left notes after each chapter about all of the research she'd done into the various countries so that the challenges were all accurate, and it totally made me want to go look up some of these places!
Overall, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a story. Everything about this totally clicked for me. All I can say is that I wish there were more! I'd love to get to see the first time Harry brings Draco over to Ron and Hermione's. I'd love to see the first time Draco brings Harry home with him. I just want to see more of them!
Favorite Quotes:
Ron snorted. "I'll bet even Malfoy can out-sharpish Norton."
Malfoy's running style resembled that of a cheetah, effortless-looking and ground-eating. Harry felt like a stampeding warthog next to him.
Malfoy looked surprisingly sexy in Muggle gear. Not sexy, Harry revised quickly. Passable. Just passable. Fuck.
Next there was Snoring Man, who had fallen asleep immediately upon reaching his seat and quickly began to snore like a foghorn. Draco had surreptitiously awakened him twelve times by kicking the back of his seat, despite Potter's admonishments. The quiet never lasted for long. If only Draco had his wand; he would silence the cretin permanently.
Obviously they had wised up and gone somewhere less arid and death-inducing.
"I love this show," Ron said happily.
"The dark-haired one is a pure-blood. I thought I recognized her. I've seen her at some of my mother's functions. She has a very old bloodline."
"Like a poodle?" Potter asked dryly.
"Huh, Muggle. I wouldn't have guessed."
"Which is why you aren't allowed to answer, Potter," Draco said.
"Harry isn't... And Malfoy? I mean... Malfoy? Even if Harry was... was..." Ron shut his jaw with effort. Oh god, Harry was. It was so obvious.
"You know," he said conversationally, "I think I'd like it if you called me Harry. At least while I'm sucking your cock, yeah?"
So, I totally adored last summer's shorter-story version of this. I loved Ash and Jackson's chemistry--both when they're fighting and when they're putting that emotion to other uses...I was so excited that there would be more to their story that perhaps a let-down was inevitable.
The first half of the book felt like it hadn't even been edited. (Which, when it's a free story, I'm perfectly willing to overlook. But when I paid $7.99 for it (which is pretty ridiculously high for a 60k-ish word ebook!) I expect higher quality.)
The second half read much more smoothly, but felt like one of the [b:Conquest|7052147|Conquest (Conquest, #1)|S.J. Frost|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1306185424s/7052147.jpg|7303031] books just with names changed. Ash suddenly turned into Evan, the main characters are all exceptionally nice guys who of course all deserve happy endings, and the entire From Ashes band begins speaking with a country lilt to their voices.
It wasn't bad. I actually enjoy the Conquest series very much, in a fairy-tale-perfect-happy sort of way. I just wasn't expecting this book to turn into that.
All of the fire seemed to go out of Ash and Jackson's relationship. They no longer even bicker once we get to the second half of the book. Everything is wonderful and they're both perfectly understanding and are able always to say the perfect thing (not only to each other, but to the press in support of each other, too) to balance each other out. If I wanted to read more about Evan and Ethan, I would have picked Conquest back up. I wanted more of Ash and Jackson. And I don't feel like I got it.
Anyway, like I said, it wasn't a bad book, just not what I'd hoped for.
3.5 stars, rounded down for not having edited the first half
Favorite Quote:
"Fuck. I suddenly feel the need to find a flower-covered hill to run down Little House on the Prairie style."
Fascinating and so fun to read! I think what I loved most is that it was the request that Asher come equipped with literature and poetry that ultimately allowed his evolution. That he was able to use books and the words that humans had written to learn more about what it meant to be human. I thought that was just so beautifully done.I also loved getting to watch Wyatt slowly warming up to Asher. Lovely and sweet.
Most fascinating was what a story about a vampire and a robot has to say about what it means to be human.
How fun to have Jared give Tristan a little taste of his own medicine. I loved getting to be in Tristan's head in this one, and getting to see how much Jared had grown since the first book.I loved that we could still see glimpses of the Jared we got to know, how every once in a while he'd show Tristan how vulnerable he still was.
And I especially loved that it was Tristan who asked Jared for more. We as readers know from the first book how much Jared would've loved that, but we also know he'd never even consider asking. So having Tristan do it, and seeing how hopeful and excited Jared got, was just so beautiful.
I can't wait to read more about these two!
Favorite Quote:
Though, it dawned on him now, that didn't mean Jared hadn't been plotting revenge. Fuck.