Review: Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

Narrator: Kimberly Farr 
Genre: Historical Fiction 
Series: No 
Copyright: 2011 
Publisher: Random House Audio 
Buy: Amazon Audio or Amazon Book

Summary: from Good Reads
Against the unforgettable backdrop of New York near the turn of the twentieth century, from the Gilded Age world of formal balls and opera to the immigrant poverty of the Lower East Side, bestselling author Susan Vreeland again breathes life into a work of art in this extraordinary novel, which brings a woman once lost in the shadows into vivid color.

It’s 1893, and at the Chicago World’s Fair, Louis Comfort Tiffany makes his debut with a luminous exhibition of innovative stained-glass windows, which he hopes will honor his family business and earn him a place on the international artistic stage. But behind the scenes in his New York studio is the freethinking Clara Driscoll, head of his women’s division. Publicly unrecognized by Tiffany, Clara conceives of and designs nearly all of the iconic leaded-glass lamps for which he is long remembered.

Clara struggles with her desire for artistic recognition and the seemingly insurmountable challenges that she faces as a professional woman, which ultimately force her to protest against the company she has worked so hard to cultivate. She also yearns for love and companionship, and is devoted in different ways to five men, including Tiffany, who enforces to a strict policy: he does not hire married women, and any who do marry while under his employ must resign immediately. Eventually, like many women, Clara must decide what makes her happiest—the professional world of her hands or the personal world of her heart.

Feelings: 
I listened to the audiobook of Clara and Mr. Tiffany. I really enjoyed the audio version of the story. It was at times a little slow, and I would have liked to see a little more action. However, being based on actual people and events there was less room for invention. I enjoy historical fiction and this was interesting because of the history of leaded glass windows, and how women were involved in the process at Tiffany Studio.

The history included in this novel held my interest because the art history of Tiffany Studio was something I wasn't familiar with even though I was familiar with the art work. 

The end of the novel looked a little more at the history that went into creating the novel and that was really interesting to me.

Review: Skip Beat! Volume 22 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Genre: Shoujo 
Series: Volume 22
Pages: 200 
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Is there such a thing as being too good? With Ren's help, Kyoko finally gets into her new character. But when she shows up on set and wows the crew with her new spin on the old bully role, it sends some of her costars over the edge! Kyoko's used to dealing with her own demons, but can she stand up to someone else's?! 

Feelings:
To get into her new role Kyoko asks Ren for help again. He teaches her how to act like a model. She also turns the crystal she found in the rose he gave her into a necklace. As a model, Kyoko, is something to recon with. She looks older because of her hair style and she is mean but different from her previous role.

Kyoko and her many looks are fun. I like seeing her change from Mio in Dark Moon to her new role of Natsu.

Review: Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking

Genre: Fantasy 
Series: Kanin Chronicles #3 
Pages: 432 
Copyright: 2015 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press 
Buy: Amazon

Summary:from Good Reads
The kingdom she loves has turned against her. Can she save it before it’s too late?

Bryn Aven—unjustly charged with murder and treason—is on the run. The one person who can help is her greatest enemy, the gorgeous and enigmatic Konstantin Black. Konstantin is her only ally against those who have taken over her kingdom and threaten to destroy everything she holds dear. But can she trust him?

As Bryn fights to clear her name, the Kanin rulers’ darkest secrets are coming to light…and now the entire troll world is on the brink of war. Will it tear Bryn from Ridley Dresden, the only guy she’s ever loved? And can she join forces with Finn Holms and the Trylle kingdom? Nothing is as it seems, but one thing is certain: an epic battle is under way—and when it’s over, nothing will ever be the same…

Feelings: 
This was the last book in the Kanin series. I have not read any of the other books that are set in the same world, so I am not sure if they are similar in plot. Konstaintin and Bryn are traveling together after she became an exile of Kanin and escaped from the city. As Bryn suspected, there is more going on in the capital with the queen and king. Konstaintin used to be her dream guy but now Bryn is worried about her boyfriend, Ridley, who she left in Kanin. However, with Konstaintin near and paying attention to her, old feelings can't help but surface. The love triangle seems to be one of the most common plot devices I seen young adult novels. It is also one of the plot devices I find most annoying. I could see it coming in this series and had hoped that it wouldn't become a driving part of the story. While it did not take over the story, it was there off and on.

As the last book in the series, all conflicts from the past books came to fruition and were wrapped up. While the action and events were messy, the plot was very neatly tied up at the end. It was a little neater than what I normally read; however, I enjoyed the novel.

If you enjoyed the first two books in the series, this one will hold your interest as well. I recommend this to people who have enjoyed Amanda Hocking's writing in the past. Do you start at the beginning of the series with Frostfire.

Review: Skip Beat! Volume 21 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Genre: Shoujo
Series: Volume 21
Pages: 200
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Kyoko is basking in the glow of working a Christmas miracle and getting some birthday booty of her own. But she's so unused to this kind of joy that she ends up late to the script reading for her new drama. Now her whole day is a mess and Ren is mad at her! Can Kyoko balance revenge, a career and her own happiness?

Feelings: 
Kyoko is so happy with her birthday presents that she is late for the first reading of the script for her new job. This throws her into a depression. (Nothing surprising about that.)

Funny and fun volume, I recommend it.

Review: Catching Light by Kathryn Stripling Byer

Genre: Poetry
Series: No
Pages: 62
Copyright:  2002
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
In Catching Light, Kathryn Stripling Byer searches for the language of aging, for a way of confronting every woman's fear of looking in the mirror and seeing an old woman staring back. Inspired by a series of photographs entitled "Evelyn" -- which depicts a former artist's model in her declining years, still full of life and facing death with flair and wit -- Byer finds a voice to contemplate the enigmatic but inevitable process of growing old. Byer opens her book with a ten-poem sequence, In the Photograph Gallery. "'Who is she?' / a child hanging on to her mother's skirt / asks, as if she is frightened / by what she sees. 'Just a little old lady, ' / her mother soothes / 'That's all she is.'" By placing Evelyn herself in the gallery to respond to the photos, and hear that exchange, Byer opens the door into the inner life of this "little old lady."

Part Two moves into more personal, mythological territory as the images of Evelyn and the poet's own recollections coalesce. The final section draws closer to Evelyn's dark hour, her humor in the face of death, her memories, her acknowledgment of her sexuality, her letting go.

Catching Light is a profound inquiry into aging and how one remarkable woman faces it, sings to it, mocks it, rebels against it, and ultimately embraces it.

Feelings: 
I read this collection of poetry out loud, one each evening before I went to bed. Some of the poems were a bit on the dark side for me, but I enjoyed the act of reading aloud before turning out the light at night. The poems take a close look at getting old and what that means. Take what you have left and live was what I took away from most of the poems. However, there were a few that looked at death a little closer.

I would recommend this volume of poetry. It asks to be read aloud, and the sound of the poems is wonderful. Because of the subject of the poetry this will not be for everyone.

Review: Skip Beat! Volume 20 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Genre: Shoujo
Series: Volume 20
Pages: 192
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Show biz is sweet, but revenge is sweeter! It's the season of giving in Tokyo, but Lory's granddaughter Maria is in no mood to celebrate. Kyoko, never one to sit out a challenge, finally gets Maria to admit what has her so soured on the holidays. It turns out December 24th is Maria's birthday--and the anniversary of her mother's death! Can Kyoko work a Christmas miracle and give this little girl a happy birthday?

Feelings: Kyoko and Maria plan a party to thank their friends in the 24 of December. That is Maria's birthday but also the day her mother died. Kyoko is the cook for the party and it is much bigger than she expected it to be. She is surprised when after the clock strikes midnight she gets her own birthday surprise.

A fun volume with lots of food.

Review: Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

Genre: Fantasy
Series: Sorcerer Royal #1
Pages: 371
Copyright: 2015
Publisher: Ace
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Magic and mayhem collide with the British elite in this whimsical and sparkling debut.

At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.

But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…

Feelings: 
Sorcerer to the Crown is Zen Cho's first novel. I picked it randomly off the adult new fiction shelves at the library. When I picked it, I had no expectations. However, before I read it, I saw that some people were speculating it might be nominated for a Nebula Award. That lead me to expect this to be an amazing book. It was a good book but the story didn't impress me. I enjoyed the story a lot, but Prunella, one of the narrators, got on my nerves and seemed overly childish to me. Zacharias, the Sorcerer Royal, the other main character was more appealing to me. He was older than Prunella and could be awkward at times but his character seemed more genuine to me.

The plot of the novel seemed like that of a young adult novel, which made me wonder if it was just the age of the characters that categorized it as an adult books or if there was something else that separated it from young adult. The vocabulary was more sophisticated than most young adult novels, and maybe that is why. One of the characters, Prunella was the age of many young adult characters, 18 years old, and the other character Zacharias was 24, which is older than most major characters in young adult novels. I would be interested to know how the decision was made to place this with adult novels.

Because of my expectations and the fact that this felt like a young adult novel, I didn't really feel like this novel stood up. It was good -- I didn't want to put it down while I was reading it -- just not as good as I had hoped it would be. What disappointing me most about the book was the ending, which also really pushed this into the young adult category for me. If the novel had ended a chapter earlier I think I would have been more satisfied. The last chapter seemed a little silly to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed the novel, and I recommend it. As Zen Cho matures as a writer, I will be interested to see where her writing goes. I greatly enjoy good fantasy and this was almost there.

Review: Skip Beat! Volume 19 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Genre: Shoujo 
Series: Volume 19
Pages: 200
Copyright: 2009 
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Show biz is sweet, but revenge is sweeter!

Koo and Lory can't stop meddling in Kyoko's and Ren's lives. Because while Koo is impressed with Kyoko's talent, he knows that she will never be a great actress unless she can overcome her fatal weakness. And Lory knows that Ren's acting is likewise affected by his refusal to face his past. Can the two old-timers give their young protégés a much-needed kick in the pants, or will their plans blow up in their faces?! Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Feelings:
After Ren runs into Kyoko, while she is playing the role of Koo's son, he asks to meet with the Presedent. Something I had been suspecting for a while was revealed in this volume.

Now that the doom Kyoko isn't showing up as much I am really enjoying laughs from the series.

Review: Bobcat and Other Stories by Rebecca Lee

Genre: Short Stories
Series: No
Pages: 212
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Amazon
Rebecca Lee, one of our most gifted and original short story writers, guides readers into a range of landscapes, both foreign and domestic, crafting stories as rich as novels. A student plagiarizes a paper and holds fast to her alibi until she finds herself complicit in the resurrection of one professor's shadowy past. A dinner party becomes the occasion for the dissolution of more than one marriage. A woman is hired to find a wife for the one true soulmate she's ever found. In all, Rebecca Lee traverses the terrain of infidelity, obligation, sacrifice, jealousy, and yet finally, optimism. Showing people at their most vulnerable, Lee creates characters so wonderfully flawed, so driven by their desire, so compelled to make sense of their human condition, that it's impossible not to feel for them when their fragile belief in romantic love, domestic bliss, or academic seclusion fails to provide them with the sort of force field they'd expected.

Feelings: 
Let me start by saying while this book is highly recommended, had my doubts from the start. Bobcats don't have tails and this one does. The back cover made me dislike the author and designer a little for not knowing more about bobcats and placing this image with a tail on the cover. I know this is just a fictional cat and not a real one, but it still bothered me. This led me to dislike the book a little from the start. I'm not sure why the stories were in the order they were in, but I felt like the weakest stories were at the beginning of this collection. I liked Min best of all the stories in the collection. All the stories had some connection to a university setting which was interesting. These were not the type of story I would generally enjoy reading. They show the darker side of life, and I prefer to focus on the happy parts.

Bobcat:
The first story in the collection is about a dinner party in which marriage is questioned and not everything is how it seems. Yes, there is a bobcat in the story, but it seems to be more metaphorical than real. The story was well written, but I didn't really feel that I wanted to spend time with the characters in the story nor was there a redeeming character whom made me like the story. The story did have a twist at the end I wasn't expecting. This was another of those life sucks stories.

The Banks of The Vistula:
A student wants to be noticed and different so she plagiarizes a paper. This story was a bit more interesting than the first story in the collection. I still felt that the story was a little bit flat, and I wasn't really connected to any of the characters. Life will disappoint you, was the feeling I got from it.

Slatland:
A young girl struggles with depression and goes to see a professor who specializes in child psychology. As a adult she sees the professor again and wonders about the technique he used for helping see the bigger perspective. The story was a bit odd, but I enjoyed it. I would not have wanted to spend anymore time with the characters than the short story length, but I found it interesting.

Min:
I think this might have been my favorite story in the collection. A young man invites his best friend Sarah back to Hong Kong after they graduate from college. She is given the job of reviewing applications for his future wife. The story also looks at immigrants and the politics of housing refugees from Vietnam. Following Sarah through her time in Hong Kong and her struggle with finding a woman she feels will be right for Min was engaging.

World Party:
A professor on a discipline committee at the University examines another professor, Stuart Applebaum's involvement as the leader of a protest group on campus. The story has a bit of a nostalgic review of past events, because of little facts that come from the future. It added an interesting quality to the story.

Fialta:
An architect student takes a spot as an apprentice at Fialta, and is attracted to one of the other apprentices. However, there is a rule of no dating and this becomes the central conflict of the story. The story was a bit long and slow at times but it held my interest.

Settlers:  
The last story takes a look at friendship and relationships over time and the way we imagine things that aren't always what they seem to be. The ending of the story had a finality that felt right for concluding the collection of stories. This wasn't my favorite in the collection but it was an interesting story in that the University setting was the least obvious.