Clary and her best friend Simon are a dance/party when Clary sees something she almost can’t believe. A few people around her own age (teenagers) haveClary and her best friend Simon are a dance/party when Clary sees something she almost can’t believe. A few people around her own age (teenagers) have cornered and killed someone… who then disappears. Not only that, Clary seems to be the only person who can see these teens who did the killing. As she finds out more, it seems the person who was killed was a demon and that’s what these other teens do – they kill demons. When Clary gets home, her mom is frantic for them to leave, and Clary doesn’t understand why, so she storms off for a while, but returns to a horrifying scene as she realizes her mom is missing.
I really enjoyed this. I had a 10th anniversary edition to read and it included some colour plates of illustrations of the main characters. There were also some nice illustrations of some of the locations and a map at the start of the book, as well as illustrations before each chapter and others sprinkled throughout the book. I quite like Simon. There is a surprise near the end and I will continue the series....more
This summary is partly with help from wikipedia. Theo is 13(?) when his mom is killed in an explosion. It seems he ends up living with “Hubie” and a gThis summary is partly with help from wikipedia. Theo is 13(?) when his mom is killed in an explosion. It seems he ends up living with “Hubie” and a girl Theo has a crush on, Pippa (I think she lives there, too). Until Theo’s dad reappears and takes him to Las Vegas where Theo meets Boris and they become friends. Eventually, Theo makes his way back to New York City.
Audio. The narrator does accents well. I missed much of the first third or so of the book, except the explosion. I paid more attention to the time in Las Vegas, but missed more after until the last third or so. I wasn’t sure if I liked Boris. Because I missed so much of the start of the book it was harder to pay attention when Theo was back in NYC with the characters I’d missed at the start. There was much philosophizing for a while, which got boring for me. Though the end was more interesting/exciting. But I also missed something at the end and I’m not sure if I just missed it, or if the author didn’t address it. ...more
13-year old Nate lives in Pennsylvania, but dreams of being on Broadway. When there is a casting call for a musical production of E.T., he a3.25 stars
13-year old Nate lives in Pennsylvania, but dreams of being on Broadway. When there is a casting call for a musical production of E.T., he and his best friend Libby collaborate so he can get into NYC for a day without his parents finding out so he can try out for the part of Eliot. Nate was excited, not only to try out, but to also experience New York for a short time.
I listened to the audio and this was enjoyable. Some humourous bits thrown in. It’s meant for a young audience and I expect many that age would enjoy this little adventure of Nate’s. It looks like this is the start of a series, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue. The narrator was the author himself and he did a very good job. Adding an extra ¼ star for his narration....more
In New York City during WWII, President Taft wants to ban a number of books from being sent to the American soldiers. Viv is part of the prog3.5 stars
In New York City during WWII, President Taft wants to ban a number of books from being sent to the American soldiers. Viv is part of the program that sends these books overseas and sees how much good this does. She will fight this new proposed law.
In Germany in the early 1930s, Althea is an author who has been invited by the Nazis to come to Germany and she quickly falls for Deitrich, who is a member of the party. She sees all the excitement happening as Hitler is rising to power.
I listened to the audio and found it a bit confusing, as it went back and forth in time, trying to figure out who was who, doing what in which time period. I got most of it figured out, but some characters still eluded me as to who they were and what role they played in the story. There were two speeches at an event held be Viv at the end of the book, and I loved one of them, in particular, but both speeches hit pretty close to “home” (though I’m in Canada), with some of the politics happening in the US now. (It seems I missed that there was a 3rd time period and place… I caught the character, but also didn’t catch that she was a 3rd main character, in addition to Althea and Viv… She crossed paths, more with Althea, so I just thought she was part of Althea’s story, and not a main character on her own.)...more
The author travelled to Paris, Istanbul, and Florence, then back home to New York, and did a number of things solo. In Paris, much of what s2.25 stars
The author travelled to Paris, Istanbul, and Florence, then back home to New York, and did a number of things solo. In Paris, much of what she did (or at least wrote about) was eating/food. In Istanbul, ???. In Florence, museums/art.
I think I added this to my tbr for the travelling solo aspect, as I have travelled solo (well, mostly on cruises), so I was disappointed in this one. Really it seemed to be more about the food (Paris) and the art (Florence) than anything else, and I just found that boring. There were parts where she brought in interesting tidbits about travelling alone, and the last chapter was the most interesting (at least for me), as that’s when she (finally!) focussed on travelling solo, in general. She did include a good “Tips and Tools for Going It Alone”, which I think could be useful....more
Lila works as a house-sitter in New York City and she enjoys watching people across from the windows where she is staying (“Rear Window” styl3.5 stars
Lila works as a house-sitter in New York City and she enjoys watching people across from the windows where she is staying (“Rear Window” style). There is a couple she can see who often fight. When she sees someone hit the woman during a fight, then the woman is pushed out the window, she immediately dials for emergency help. Later at the police station, the brother of the man (who was also found dead – a suspected suicide), Ashton, wants to talk to Lila to find out exactly what she saw. Between the two of then, they figure out there is much more going on here than meets the eye. And it’s dangerous.
This was good. I enjoyed it. It’s Nora Roberts, so of course, there is a romance. The romance didn’t do anything for me, but that’s not unusual. I liked Lila – she is independent and tough. Have to admit I did love the pets who belonged to the people Lila was sitting for. ...more
The narrator, Joey, was turned to a vampire when he was only 14, but he is considerably older than that now (in the late ‘70s when this is s3.25 stars
The narrator, Joey, was turned to a vampire when he was only 14, but he is considerably older than that now (in the late ‘70s when this is set). He lives in the subway tunnels of New York City with other vampires and their “head” vampire (the one who turned Joey), Margaret. But when a group of child vampires arrives, seemingly without ever having been taught how to control themselves (they need to control themselves somewhat, in order to avoid being discovered), Joey and a few others take the kids under their wing, but they seem very resistant to learning what the others are trying to teach.
I listened to the audio. I liked the way the narrator broke the 3rd wall and narrated directly to the reader. This was done often throughout the book. Some of the ‘70s pop culture references were fun (I haven’t thought about the tv show “Soap” for years!! Maybe decades?) Unfortunately, though, there were too many parts when I lost focus. Despite this, I would say the narrator was good (and it was apparently the author); he did some good accents, too. I did like the end, though. I heard some of it, lost focus, then (although I rarely do this when the audio isn’t keeping my attention for the most part) I rewound to hear what I missed because that was a good ending! 3 stars is “ok” and I’m giving an extra ¼ star for the end. ...more
Set (and published) in the 1920s, Clare and Irene were friends and ran into each other after they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Beyond this, Set (and published) in the 1920s, Clare and Irene were friends and ran into each other after they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Beyond this, I had to read the summary on GR to get an idea of what was going on. They are both black women and one of them (I can’t remember which) was passing for white. Apparently (based on the summary I read), the one passing is married to a racist man who doesn’t know she is actually black.
I listened to the audio and obviously, wasn’t paying close enough attention to even know what was happening in the book. It didn’t (obviously) hold my interest at all....more
This is the 3rd in a trilogy, YA horror. I will try not to give away much from the first two books. 17- (or 18-) year old Jasper (Jazz) Dent 3.5 stars
This is the 3rd in a trilogy, YA horror. I will try not to give away much from the first two books. 17- (or 18-) year old Jasper (Jazz) Dent is the son of notorious serial killer Billy Dent. Jazz has spent his entire life trying to prove that he is not (nor will not be) like his father (despite his father trying to mold him to continue on in his footsteps!). Jazz was mostly raised by his grandmother. At this point in his life, he has a best friend in hemophiliac Howie, and a girlfriend, Connie. Jazz has, in fact, been trying to help the police find and capture his father. At the start of book three (this one), all three of Jazz, Howie, and Connie, are in precarious positions. I’ll leave my summary there.
I listened to the audio (as I believe I did for the first two books). I had a harder time “getting into” this one and had to rewind a few times to hear things I’d missed. I would have liked to have more of a recap of what had happened in the previous books; I guess a bit of one came a bit further into the book, but at the start of the book, things were moving quickly, but I couldn’t remember much of what had happened up to this point. There were a couple of twists in this one. I’m pretty sure I rated the first two higher (though, on average, this one is also highly rated by others). ...more
In 1946 in New York City, Grace comes across an abandoned suitcase and finds pictures of 12 young women in the suitcase. Who were these women and who In 1946 in New York City, Grace comes across an abandoned suitcase and finds pictures of 12 young women in the suitcase. Who were these women and who does the suitcase belong to?
In 1943, Eleanor in London starts a women’s unit of the SOE (Special Operations Executive). Women are recruited and trained to head over to France to help the resistance there. They will transmit (coded) information by radio, they might even help blow up bridges. It is a dangerous mission and the women are risking their lives.
In 1944, Marie, who has recently sent her daughter outside London to live with an aunt and keep her safe, is recruited because she is fluent in French. But there is so much secrecy, it takes a while to figure out what they are asking of her.
I really liked this. Though the women weren’t spies, they were often referred to that way, with no other “good” word to describe what they were doing. It was very dangerous work, and not something I knew about before now. I enjoyed all three storylines. Of course, it was loosely based on real women who did this work (though men did it, too)....more
Dr. Louis Camuti was a veterinarian from the 1920s(?) and throughout much of the 20th century. This is a memoir of some of his clients and pa3.5 stars
Dr. Louis Camuti was a veterinarian from the 1920s(?) and throughout much of the 20th century. This is a memoir of some of his clients and patients, as well as just a little bit of his own life. He was in New York City, specialized in cats and, unusual for the time, eventually did only house calls.
This was enjoyable. I’ve read many of these veterinarian memoirs, now, so it’s hard to keep all the anecdotes in my head, but I certainly enjoy the stories while I am reading them. Despite him practicing some decades ago, I feel like he might have been slightly ahead of his time on many things (his views on indoor/outdoor cats, declawing, cats shouldn’t really drink milk, adopting rather than buying from breeders, etc).
Merged review:
3.5 stars
Dr. Louis Camuti was a veterinarian from the 1920s(?) and throughout much of the 20th century. This is a memoir of some of his clients and patients, as well as just a little bit of his own life. He was in New York City, specialized in cats and, unusual for the time, eventually did only house calls.
This was enjoyable. I’ve read many of these veterinarian memoirs, now, so it’s hard to keep all the anecdotes in my head, but I certainly enjoy the stories while I am reading them. Despite him practicing some decades ago, I feel like he might have been slightly ahead of his time on many things (his views on indoor/outdoor cats, declawing, cats shouldn’t really drink milk, adopting rather than buying from breeders, etc)....more
Jende and Neni have immigrated to the United States from Cameroon with their young son. Jende is excited to soon find work as a chauffeur, something hJende and Neni have immigrated to the United States from Cameroon with their young son. Jende is excited to soon find work as a chauffeur, something he has wanted to do for a long time. Of course, they are also in the US to make a better life for themselves and their son. Jende’s boss, Clark, is a good and generous man, and Jende is a good worker. But things get a little tricky when Jende is asked to do something he really doesn’t think he should. But he doesn’t want to lose his job.
It listened to the audio and it was ok. The narrator did a very good job with accents (at least as far as I could tell). It seems I did miss some of the goings-on in the book, but I’m pretty sure I caught the main things happening. Overall, I’m rating it ok....more
It’s the late 19th century in New York City. Prudence and Geoffrey run an investigation business. An opera singer, Claire, comes to them to a3.5 stars
It’s the late 19th century in New York City. Prudence and Geoffrey run an investigation business. An opera singer, Claire, comes to them to ask them to investigate her twin sister’s (Catherine’s) death. Her sister, also an opera singer, was married to Aaron who seemed to keep her from her family and, by his request, she had stopped performing/singing. Catherine had just had a baby and they are now both dead. Aaron remarried very quickly after their deaths, and now Prudence and Geoffrey worry about his new wife, Ethel (who is pregnant).
This continues to be an enjoyable series. I love that a woman is doing much of the investigating. Apparently there were a few women investigators with the famous Pinkerton investigation agency at the time, as well. The story didn’t grip me as much as the first two in the series did, but it did ramp up a bit toward the end. Definitely still enjoying it enough to continue the series. I didn’t mention it in my description, but Aaron had a photographer come take a post-mortem photograph of Catherine and their baby; I did know this happened, but only because of the Nicole Kidman movie “The Others” from the late 90s?, so that wasn’t a surprise....more
In the early 18th century, Addie makes a deal to get her out of her upcoming wedding. She wants freedom and gains that with her deal… but she3.5 stars
In the early 18th century, Addie makes a deal to get her out of her upcoming wedding. She wants freedom and gains that with her deal… but she is also cursed to be forgotten by everyone as soon as she is out of sight. She is even unable to speak her own name. She is also now going to live forever, or until she’s ready to give in. But she’s stubborn. After 300 years, amazingly, she stumbles across someone who remembers her the next day. How is this possible? After she had resigned herself to being alone and forgotten.
I loved Henry and the story with him and Addie. I listened to the audio, and often lost interest when Luc would appear, so I likely missed much of that part of the story. Thinking back on the book as I write this, though, I debate about rating it 3 stars (ok) rather than 3.5 (good). I don’t like doing that, though. While I was listening, I was happy to rate it “good”. I just suspect that rating will “decrease” with time and memory of the book (since it already has just a little)....more
In the 1950s, a young painter, Ellie, is asked to “copy” a painting originally done by Sara de Vos, a Dutch woman painter from the 17th cent2.25 stars
In the 1950s, a young painter, Ellie, is asked to “copy” a painting originally done by Sara de Vos, a Dutch woman painter from the 17th century. Is this a forgery? Or a copy? Is there a difference? She does it. Not sure what happens after this, except that someone hires a private detective who finds Ellie, but then things get passed off to another man to take the young painter to an auction to… try to figure out if she’s the forger? Not too sure… The setting seemed to move between Amsterdam, New York City, and Australia.
I listened to the audio, which did a piss-poor job of keeping my interest (that is, it didn’t – must be able to tell from my feeble summary!), except for briefly with Jake whatever-his-fake-last-name was; anyway, Jake and Ellie ended up in some kind of a relationship, or she thought so, anyway. Near the end of the book, suddenly it was 40 years later, and I missed how that transition happened (though as I read the summary, apparently much of the story was already 40 years later? And I missed it.) The story did shift back in time to 17th century Holland, but I have no idea what was happening in that time frame. I missed ALL of that. Art – also not my thing. The ¼ star is for the brief relationship when I actually paid a little bit of attention.
And wow – I’ve learned so much of what I missed in the book by reading other reviews! I imagine I will learn more in my book club discussion (where I will have very little to contribute!). ...more
This is something about architects, architecture, philosophy, and super-selfish people, particularly the main character, Howard Roark. He’s an architeThis is something about architects, architecture, philosophy, and super-selfish people, particularly the main character, Howard Roark. He’s an architect who wants to only design what he wants. He doesn’t want to design what others hire him to, just what he wants.
There are relationships in the story, but I’m not sure how they happen given how selfish everyone is. I listened to the (lllllooooonnnnngggg) audio, and tuned much of it out, as it was boring. Boring boring boring. Maybe a good thing I tuned it out because there didn’t appear to be a single likable character, as far as I could tell, from the bits and pieces I did pay attention to. The first chapter (was this some kind of intro, I’m thinking?) turned me off immediately via all the philosophy. At least after that, there was somewhat of a story, but it was also pretty slow and of course, there was plenty of philosophy sprinkled throughout. Not my thing. Add to that the selfish unlikable characters. In all honesty, half the time I missed who was in a relationship with whom. Just no. ...more
This is the second book in this YA series. Jasper (Jazz) is the 17-year old son of a sociopathic serial killer. He was raised by his father (and grandThis is the second book in this YA series. Jasper (Jazz) is the 17-year old son of a sociopathic serial killer. He was raised by his father (and grandmother) after his mother disappeared, and he is very worried that his father’s sociopathic killer genes may have passed down to him (in addition to all the indoctrination and “training” his father gave him in hopes that Jazz will follow in his footsteps).
In this book, Jazz’s father, Billy, has escaped from prison. But the killings in New York City (Jazz lives in a small town elsewhere) started before that escape. So imagine Jazz’s surprise when a NYC detective finds Jazz, hoping for some help getting into Billy’s head in order to help solve these more recent murders in NYC. Meanwhile, Jazz’s girlfriend, Connie, insists on coming to NYC, as well. And Jazz’s best friend, Howie is staying home to help watch out for Jazz’s (crazy) grandmother, along with Jazz’s aunt (who hasn’t been “home” in years).
This was really good, but I still have a hard time believing so many police officers/detectives (this was similar in the first book) want to rely on a teenager for help solving the crimes. Setting that aside, though, the premise of the murders was really clever, I thought: the “game”. Unfortunately, the book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger for each of our teenage characters. I believe there is one more book to the series, in addition to a few prequels that I haven’t yet read....more
Charlie lives in Chinatown in New York City with her father and sister, Lisa. Her mother (formerly a dancer) died when Charlie was younger. Charlie isCharlie lives in Chinatown in New York City with her father and sister, Lisa. Her mother (formerly a dancer) died when Charlie was younger. Charlie is 22-years old and Lisa is much younger (middle school/junior high?).
Charlie hates her job dishwashing, and has never been good as a receptionist, but she is able to get a new job as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio. She is still not good at it, but when the studio is very short of teachers, she steps in to find herself a really good teacher (though she is barely a step ahead of the students when it comes to the dancing!).
Meanwhile, Lisa’s health is taking a turn for the worse. They aren’t sure what’s wrong, but their father refuses to have anything to do with Western medicine and will only have Lisa treated by their uncle, who practices Chinese medicine.
I really enjoyed this! I listened to the audio and it (fairly easily) held my interest. I definitely got frustrated with Charlie’s dad. I really liked Ryan, one of Charlie’s students, and Nina, another dance teacher at the studio, who became friends with Charlie. I thought the author did a good job with the ballroom stuff (turns out she has done ballroom professionally), as (though it’s been a number of years), I took lessons off and on for 15 years myself. ...more
When there are elevator mishaps in New York City three days in a row – mishaps where people died in each one – the mayor must take drastic steps. MeanWhen there are elevator mishaps in New York City three days in a row – mishaps where people died in each one – the mayor must take drastic steps. Meanwhile, there is a reporter, Barbara Matheson, a single mom to a now-adult daughter (though her parents raised her daughter), who seems to have a grudge against the mayor. The mayor did approach her to write a biography about him, which she rejected.
I wasn’t quite as interested in the political aspects of the book with the mayor, though it was important to the book. I was more interested in Barbara’s and her daughter’s lives. The POV did switch around with each chapter. Through most of the book, I would have rated this 3.5 stars (good), but it really ramped up in the last 20% of the book. It was very suspenseful at that point and I didn’t want to put the book down (and I didn’t) until I finished! That was enough to increase my rating. Overall, although it turned out really good, it is not one of my favourites by Barclay....more
A professor uses his fingers to rip off his own face in front of a class of horrified students. Someone falls from stories above a restaurant3.5 stars
A professor uses his fingers to rip off his own face in front of a class of horrified students. Someone falls from stories above a restaurant and falls through into the restaurant – this one sort of looks like a suicide, but there are lots of odd things about it. Possible spoiler for previous book(s) in series (view spoiler)[NYPD detective (?) D’Agosta is surprised to learn the his friend and FBI agent Pendergast is still alive. Pendergast tells D’Agosta that his brother, Diogenes (also thought to be dead) is actually alive and has the perfect crime planned for a week away; Pendergast needs D’Agosta’s help to stop it (hide spoiler)].
The chapters follow a lot of different characters. I find it sometimes jars me out of the story, and I tend to lose focus at the start of many of the chapters as we are reintroduced to whomever we are following this chapter and what is happening at that moment with them. Oddly, even though in reviews of previous books in the series, I commented on characters I liked, I’m not sure I really liked any of the characters in this one. However, I do like that so many of the characters come back from previous books. Characters that initially don’t seem connected (or maybe that’s just my fuzzy memory!). There was a twist near the end and the epilogue set up the next book in the series. I did like this enough to continue the series. ...more
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