I’ve read A Little Princess before but after this — after this! — why couldn’t this title have been published more widely? This was, truly, a wonderful book! I felt compelled to read this after Jenny’s post on her blog and I just had to read it. The Head of the House of Coombe and Robin have got to be one of the better pre- and post-war novels out there. And it’s not overly-dramatic. The characters have their own problems they had to defeat but it just made them all the better. While most of Robin’s development happens in the first novel, Lord Coombe actually has his small realizations regarding his own development (which is slightly ironic, given their titles). The two of them are my favorite characters in the two-novel series, though Lord Coombe probably being the most interesting!

This is quite good, though not exactly my favorite among Urban Fantasy novels. Cat…I don’t hate her but I don’t exactly love her yet. Though I do like the way she developed as a character: from someone who had a drilled-in prejudice against vampires into someone who managed to see that not all of them were evil. Then there’s her being a half, which could be limited to just what she was in this book or more, if there will be. As for Bones, I like him. He’s level-headed and he’s got sense. He was good for keeping Cat’s impulsiveness in-check.

I can’t really feel the whole Bones/Cat thing, though I hope to see that developed in the next novel. I’m still willing to read the next is the series but it’s just not part of my immediate must-reads.

I didn’t realize that my scanned notes for The Woman Who Had Two Navels were not uploaded before so now I’ve already uploaded them. They can be downloaded here (8.9MB).

Started Reading: April 10, 2008
Finished Reading: April 13, 2008

This is my first time reading Atwood and I generally liked it. Though I’m not a big fan of mystery and murder, the whole 19th-century setting drew me in. And it is an interesting story and quite different from the usual novels I read. The only set-back for me is the fact that there was no definite answer for everything. I myself have my own speculations but when it comes down to it, the verdict for Grace Marks’ innocence is subjective. I’m the kind of person who appreciates a clear “yes” or “no” and grew up not liking the whole “I don’t know” option.

I liked most of the characters, which was good since I truly wanted to know what happened before and after, since they’re mostly linked together. Only I didn’t like Dr. Jordan. I just hated his character. But I could tolerate him since he was a source of amusement for Grace.

** SPOILERS **

I wonder how Grace regarded Dr. Jordan though. She put too much credit to his character — far more than he deserved. I could not believed she had faith that the doctor still sent that letter. I’m convinced that she likes him, though not exactly in the romantic sense, to have some trust in him.

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Started Reading: March 15, 2008
Finished Reading: March 15, 2008

Definitely not one of Julia Quinn’s best novels. I didn’t really like this. A bit of a waste of time. I’m pretty sure she hasn’t got some of the details right with the timeline — a fact that annoyed me. And — SPOILER — when Miranda lost her baby, I was expecting a more sensitive approach to that. And if her reaction (or lack thereof) was uncomfortably unusual, Turner didn’t pay attention to that little detail either. He just went on with his anger/persuasion. Gah. I expected Miranda to be more level-headed too, and in many cases she wasn’t. This book wasn’t just worth my time.