Book Review: Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield

Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield




I read this book as an ARC from NetGalley. I was impressed with the writing, the complexity of emotions, the feelings it invoked... I was also pleasantly surprised that a book from Harlequin wasn't... well, what I thought all Harlequin books were like. To be honest, when I requested the book I thought it was from Harlequin teen. I mightn't have requested it otherwise. For the most part I am glad I did.

Now, a warning... there is some strong language (the "F" word... twice? Maybe once or so more) and a brief.. scene... not terribly explicit, but at the same time it was. It just didn't go on and on.

This book ended with a twist. A mind-blowing twist. Loved that. I love to be surprised in books. It is sometimes easy to predict an ending (especially when there is foreshadowing) and that's okay, but it is really fun to read a book and be so sure you had it figured out and BOOM! You don't. You couldn't have even guessed. Or maybe if you go back you'd see clues, but never the first time through.

This book was set partly in the late 70's and mostly back in the 40's during the Japanese internment at Manzanar. The scene is set so well and the characters are vibrant and alive... the villains practically 3D.

In the end I didn't love the... message? this book sent. I can't say without giving away the ending, but for me I wish things had been different -- that people had been stronger. I also wish that justification wasn't so prevalent. However, it was terribly well written and heart-wrenching.

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Book Review: The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, this was my first time reading a space-themed Science Fiction book. That being said, I don't have a wide range of books to compare this to in its own genre. However, I can say that aside from a few flaws, I found myself enjoying this book.

There are a few things that turn me off from a lot of science fiction. One big one being: not being able to pronounce the names of the characters or places. This book, was no exception. However! The story line and the characters themselves kept me interested enough to overlook this personal pet peeve.

I appreciated the characters, the circumstances that brought them together, and the way they took a horrible event and tried to make something good come from it.

An entire planet has been destroyed. Most of the inhabitants -- dead. The majority of the survivors are male. Trying to save their species, the Sadiri, requires some creative solutions. A team of individuals (some from the dying race, some not) get together to travel the planet (a melting pot of a place) in search of people with strong genetic links to the Sadiri. Hoping to convince these peoples to try to help save the endangered race. Love, danger, and hope abound in this novel.

I don't feel like I wasted my time. I was pleasantly surprised that even though this was an adult novel it was clean aside from some swear words. Glad of that, to be sure. There were some brief innuendos near the end, but nothing I found terribly cringe-worthy. And, at the end of the day, it's pretty impressive that a book from a genre I don't find appealing held my attention and was super enjoyable.

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