All the Books.

" Reminiscent of angst filled, flame text Harry Potter in Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix where he is yelling at everyone all of the time, for every little thing, this addition to Duncan's series had so much angst it was like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom. Though there were a few fun revelations, for the most part, the hot and cold bickering and angst ridden emotions of the characters made this a drawn out addition to the series. It's a necessary addition but all of it could have been accomplished far quicker and with a lot less angst involved." 3 Stars.  Pros:  Though there a few new Gods/Creatures there aren't too many new characters, which is nice as it keeps things more or less organized.  Cons:  The constant back and forth with Nadya and Malachiasz and what's to happen to them (love/death, angst, angst, angst)  gets old super fast/I saw the love triangle coming from the beginning but still, it was disappointing that Duncan ev...

" Though it took sometime to hit its stride, once it got going, the narrative was witty, funny, tender and the end had me in tears. I think, what Backman wants the reader to take away from this novel is that the best thing we can do for ourselves and each other is to be kind and understand that we’re all doing the best we can getting through this web of insanity we call life." 4 Stars.  Pros:  In perfect Backman fashion, he finds a way to make the ending so perfect that you can't stop but get teary eyed.   Cons: I never quite know if people actually argue as much as Ro and Jules do, their relationship just seemed...complicated/It took awhile for the story to hit its stride.   Full Review:  This isn't how any of this was supposed to happen.  That's really how this book and also how life can be summarized.  We're all just trying our best, never knowing if we're doing any of it right and just trying to get through the days and in the end, it's a...

"Though the big reveal at the end was gut wrenching and horrifying, I felt it took far too long for the author to actually get to that big reveal and the lead up to it was a bit too long winded for my taste." 3 Stars.  Pros:  The twist at the end blew me away.  Cons:  The fact that the twist took so damned long to actually be brought to light was immensely frustrating/Ivy is a bit of a busy body and her constant questions get annoying.  Full Review:  After returning from a trip to visit family out of state, Ivy is met with pandemonium. Her best friend, Morgan, was the one to discover the body of Ethan Lavoie, a local boy who worked at Fabuland, who apparently fell off a bridge to his death while walking home late one night. Half of the teenage/young adult population of Danville, New Hampshire works at Fabuland and the death of Ethan, a much loved boy who had Down Syndrome, but that doesn't define him, has rocked the entire town.  Fabuland is a small ti...