User Profile

Abdullah sells carpets for a living. However, he is constantly dreaming of being the lost son of a king and one night his dreams come true, the good and the bad ones. When his love is taken away by an evil djinn, Abdullah starts a long journey on his magic carpet in search of his kidnapped princess that was taken to a castle in the air.

This became one of my favourite books (and my favourite from the trilogy) the first time I read it. I do not know if it was because I already knew what would happen, but this time it did not feel as funny as I remembered. I did not laugh out loud through all the brilliant chaos. I guess this one does not work as well the second time round, but reading Diana Wynne Jones is always a pleasure. This is a great book to read out loud, it transpires magic and fairy tales.

Charley has her memories back but her relation with Reyes is not going great. Back to work with Cookie, Charley has to find the real killer of a woman that mysteriously disappeared in a car full of her blood, as well as take care of a homeless teenager that has been "cursed".

There's something I really appreciate about this series, no matter the nature of the cases Charley is working on, I never solve them before the end. The first half of the book did not deserve 5 stars, it was slow and frustrating because Charley and Reyes do not talk and a big chunk of the story revolves around the same issues. But after a glorious chapter where they finally start acting like a couple again (I guess gods have to be stubborn), the rest of the book is amazing. For the first time ever, Charley knows more than Reyes and I liked that. The action never stops, the tiny clues keep popping and I am very happy with the conclusion even though I am utterly confused. Was not Reyes that planned his coming to "this dimension" to be with Charley and grow old together? Was it the other way round? I cannot wait for the next book, Charley is on a mission!

Just a tiny note: I think Darynda writes wonderful dialogues, so I would be more than happy to read more dialogues and less intertwined text slowing them down.

Harry Dresden starts this adventure in a car with a box of stolen puppies, running from demons and being driven by a vampire. Thomas is driving the car because he needs a favour from Harry as he thinks someone is targeting a friend of his with "evil eye" curses. Two women in his close circle were already dead under very odd and slightly cartoonish circumstances. And there is also the tiny issue with the vampires of the Black Court that do not feel enough beings are trying to kill Harry.

This story has an amazing start but then it slows down substantially. There is a great villain but probably because Harry did not need to save the world, I felt he could take on anyone/anything. I enjoyed seeing more Murphy and learning about her family, and learning so much about Thomas of course. Thomas was the best part of the storyline and the lack of action was balanced by learning more about Harry and his life. This book was hard to put down and made me giggle more often than not. This series is really good!

Jorg of Ancrath is now king of seven nations and plans to become an emperor, although he only holds 7 of the 51 votes he needs to be elected. This last book alternates between the "now Jorg" on his way to Vyenne trying to outrun the Dead King, and the "15-year old Jorg" discovering the world and forging alliances to help him get elected 5 years from then.

This trilogy took me a long time to finish and I had to force myself to continue reading. The story is compelling and Jorg's plans to meet certain ends are superb, but the writing can also be tiring. There are many passages that I am not sure I read every paragraph, let alone every word. And for some reason, the small plot twists between the past and future were brilliant, but the end just felt clumsy. It is like it was meant to be replaced by a more suitable one, but the author did not find a better replacement. The identity of the Dead King was quite clear, and the very end got me thinking of "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (the Ghibli movie), which I also felt rushed and somehow disconnected from the rest of the story. It is not like I wanted a happy ending for Jorg - he would not know what to do with it - but I wanted something more substantial and palpable.

The world Lawrence created is amazing. The whole idea of returning to the medieval times after the modern civilization almost destroyed the Earth, and fill it with ruins and marvels from the "builders" is brilliant. The going back and forth in time with the characters works remarkably well, and they evolve so much that we feel their years passing by. But in my opinion the books deserved a different ending and less words. It is still a very good trilogy and I must commend the author for sticking to his story in three books, it remained equally strong through all the instalments.

Annja Creed seems more comfortable in her skin as God's chosen new holder of Joan of Arc's sword. She still struggles with believing in the supernatural, but she decides to try and find the Solomon's jar, which appears to have been found at sea. This search takes her to the Netherlands where she meets a British archeologist, and they are not the only ones in search for the jar as they fight off the Russian mafia, cultists and other fanatics that want to get their hands on the artefact.

I liked this story better than the first, probably because the plot was clearer. Nevertheless, I felt it ended in a odd way and too fast after so much time running after the jar. I enjoyed that Annja had a companion for this story that kept her company and helped her feel more secure of herself. As always, the audiobook by Graphic Audio is awesome.

In the end of the first book, Astrid is taken to Hell against her will and now we learn that most of her family actually resides there and that the notions of Hell and Heaven have nothing to do with what we have been told in literature. At least uncle Satan and cousin Dixie seem like nice relatives, which cannot be said of the other seven cousins who happen to be the seven deadly sins.

This book is original and in my opinion it could be much better if it were shorter. There's too many "WTF" moments followed by Astrid pointing out her options and outcomes that we already know. Or Astrid describing how beautiful the same characters are over and over again. The good moments are very good, they make you laugh and are entertaining but the way the story is written can also be very annoying. I liked the vegetarian clue that linked General to Satan, but why does Satan look worried when he learns Ethan was kept captive by Lust when he is the one taking Astrid there?