I love this series, but I’m not a fan of this book. It’s not horrid, but I felt it didn’t live up to the former books. Part of this is my need for linear storylines. The couple are recently newlyweds, and suddenly they have two girls. We lost a lot of their life. This book is full of real estate, food, and wine, but lacks significant character development. I missed the family unit of grandparents and Mimi. I miss the time we could have seen growth while they were in Canada.
What holds true to the series is the feeling of travel, learning about France, and watching the couple navigate the wine country.
This series is the only one I am taking my time with, reading by sight on my Kindle, bit by bit as my eyes allow. Everything else, I use audiobooks or text-to-speech. I’m already into the next book, My Grape Cellar.
The review below was from my first reading of the books. Now, because of the new series, Bone of My Bone (BOMB), I am reading and rewatching everything again. I am still so excited about the series. I finished this a couple of days ago and am already onto Voyager. I am still amazed at these books and shows.
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If my mind has not been very focused. This book may be the cause. Lack of sleep. Not because of worries. Nope, I just couldn’t stop reading/listening to the book.
I had the Audible Whispersynched with the Kindle version. Davina Porter did a marvelous job of narrating the story. Hers is not the sweet voice of the actress who played Claire Randall, Caitriona Balfe, of the TV series. But Ms. Porter has the versatility to act all the characters perfectly.
The show did a good job following the books. The only thing I miss in the reading is the music.
That’s okay. I can Sing Me A Song of a Lass That Has Gone…
This story is captivating either way. I love getting involved in the history presented. I wish I were better versed in world history, especially France and the British Isles. I know the next book will bring me into the founding of the United States of America. So that gives me a timeline,000 00I know, somewhat.
Since I read the book after watching the show, I wish I could have read it first. Not that the show is missing anything. I just like visualizing the story for myself. Now the people and places are fixed by the show.
At any rate, it is a good read, even if you’ve seen the show. It will keep you engaged in the story. I can’t wait until I can afford book three.
I am not sure where I learned about this book, but it has been on my TBR shelf for a long time. Although it appears to be an autobiography, it is actually well-researched fiction.
Here, read the blurb from GoodReads:
In this coming-of-age story, Amina, a Sudanese girl experiences a traumatic event at age nine. Intensifying her struggle for identity in the silent world of women, she cannot erase the pain and humiliation of that experience. With steely determination, she vows to do whatever is necessary to prevent her daughter from suffering the same demoralizing fate–even if it means going against the wishes of her husband and the rules of her family. Will she succeed in helping her daughter rise above her own personal tragedy and humiliation? The detailed descriptions of customs and lifestyle give a deep, fascinating insight into the Sudanese culture, as well as entry into the cloaked world of Muslim women in a story about survival, tradition and triumph.
This was an intense story. I hope it is read a lot. I would have loved it in audio form, but text-to-speech on Kindle helped a lot.
Reaching to the bottom of my currently-reading shelf I found this at 79.
Look straight up, I will warn you. The main character is blind and experiences a rape. So you will have to decide for yourself if this is something you can handle. The author covers the situation with all her senses, as she does with the rest of the book. Though I didn’t like the rape, the next bits of the story are quite interesting.
Elise Arsenault narrated the Audible version I listened to. Her voice is a great addition to the story.
Now I have to say what I didn’t like. Say it with me? Cliffhanger! The worst! Good thing it happened at night with me awake enough to want to read more. I often don’t buy the next if that’s how the authors do it. Somehow, I moved on and am reading book two. But I feel violated when an author does that!
Still, I do like the main character and how she chooses to live her life. And I do want to read more.
I don’t know if it is because it has been years since I read books one and two of Jaguar Sun or what. I couldn’t understand or care about the characters in the book—so many loose ties and not enough to hold on to. If I have time, I may re-read these later. But for now, I’m glad it was just a novella as it was over before I had the chance to complain about how the young woman who promised her sister she’d write didn’t for a year or so. I just didn’t understand this book at all.
I found this at the bottom of my ‘currently reading’ list (there were 85 books!), so I finally downloaded it to my Fire.
Done.
Here is the Blurb from GoodReads:
When Lady Arabella Trunkett’s father, the High Lord Minister of Urbannia is kidnapped, all clues point to the mysterious country of Gandiss and the world is thrown into political upheaval.
Arabella is convinced the more sinister nation of Carabarras is to blame, urged on by a mad scientist seeking revenge. So, she sets out on a perilous airship journey across a variety of exotic locales to save him, and halt the potential world war.
But airship pirates, secret assassins and slave traders aren’t her only trials. The fickle hand of fate has made the captain of the only airship available for charter, the man that left her at the altar. For eight years she’s wished him dead. Now he’s her only hope.
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If you like steampunk scenarios, this is for you. It was a fun read, but not my cup of tea. I didn’t hate it. And the story kept my attention until the end. There is a whole series. I didn’t feel the pull. I guess I thought differently in 2013 when I picked it up. Or maybe being snowed in gives my reading mood a sinker feeling. Whatever my experience is, do give it a chance. It is free with Kindle Unlimited.
This was a satisfying ending to a semi-completed boxed set. I found the whole story a bit confusing until I let go of my preconceived notions of what the afterlife should be and accepted this as the author’s young adult fantasy.
The whole story is fun and a little different. Give it a try if you need an escape from the confusion of the real world.
Per Linda: Hello! I’m here with our twenty-eighth prompt for Just Jot it January 2025. Today, our prompt is courtesy of our dearest Dan. Thank you, Dan! Please visit Dan’s blog to read his posts and say hello. And follow him while you’re there if you’re not already. Your prompt for JusJoJan January 28th, 2025 is “confusion.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
When I tried to listen to the text-to-speech of the Kindle version the other day, it didn’t work. I decided to try again last night, and it worked out quite nicely.
I felt a little lost at first as the easter religions and the Dalai Lama are less known to me than the Judeo-Christian Western religions. However, author John Lundin quickly helped us see how familiar those seemingly foreign concepts are. I found myself quite interested.
This book will need multiple reads. This is the first one to get acquainted and see our common interests. But next, I want to go through and practice some of the meditation and kindnesses Mr. Lundin teaches us to use.
I highly recommend this book for seekers and for those who love comparative religions.
“Hi there! I’m back with our nineteenth prompt for Just Jot it January 2025. Today, our prompt comes to us from the wonderful Willow. Thank you, Willow! Please be sure to visit Willow’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.
Why do I write reviews? It started out in the same way as blogging. I needed a place to keep track. What have I read? Sure, I can go to GoodReads to see if I have read a book, but since I try to record bits of my life here, I can see how that book choice or emotions of the day reflect each other. What I read can affect my life. And my life can carry into my thoughts as I read.
Why did I read this particular book? The author gave me the book long ago when I lived in Reno. He live(d) in Lake Tahoe at the time. I promised a review, so I put it on my ‘Currently Reading’ shelf on GoodReads. That was to prompt me to read it soon.
That shelf has overgrown. When a library or Libby book comes up, it goes to the top of the list over those I own. Suddenly, I have 85 books I am supposedly currently reading. Ha! So my new plan is to pull from the bottom of the list (first books added) and then back to the top, the latest added. My plan is to eventually meet in the middle. Does anyone want to take bets on how long that’s going to take?
I was surprised at how much I appreciated this particular book. It seemed to start rather boring. But soon I found that there were answers here I’d been asking, even though I didn’t know I was asking those questions.
Why. The word my kids learned nearly as soon as they could talk. It is an amazing work that mostly keeps me wondering. How often did I hear my babies ask, “Why is the sky blue?” Or just “Why” to nearly anything. I feel we should stay in that frame of mind. Stay young and keep wondering, WHY?
I don’t know if it was the way the text sounds in text-to-speech as opposed to having narration or if, after a go-getter of a book about the same, this one was dull. Or could it just be that I had overloaded on the subject matter? But I couldn’t get into this book, and much of the information was a repeat of what I’d heard before.
But to give it a good chance I will try to find it on Audible and see if I like it better. I feel that, being a bit of a musician who enjoys artwork, I need more specific information about distraction and hyperfocus within those realms.
Still, I don’t want to discourage others from reading this. It may be just what you need. Or what I may need at another time.
Okay, my wishes came true. I got to reread the first three books. This time, I just listened to my Audible version. As I said nearly a decade ago, Jennifer Ikeda’s voice kept the story alive. The thing I have to add is that I discovered this series has two more books than what I left in 2014. So, I have already started reading book four, Time’s Convert. So far, I’m not as happy with the narrator, but I’ll wait for my full review about her later. As my former review states, I think everyone should try it. I loved all three.
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This series was so much fun that I wish I could go back and read it again, right now! I miss the characters and the incredible voice of Jennifer Ikeda. This series is best read with the narration. The experience is over the top!
Anyone who knows me knows I am not into vampires. Okay, I watched Vampire Diary for a while, but it was because of the witch more than anything else. So, if this had not started with A Discovery of Witches and my cousin had not recommended it, I might not have gotten into this series. And the witches sure do kick b*** in this series, so I wasn’t disappointed.
Even writing this gives me a sense of remorse that it is over. Gosh, what a sentimental mush brain, huh? But how else can I tell you how good this series is?
I do have a complaint about the whispersync of this book. For some reason, it would skip over the bottom of each paragraph. But that didn’t stop me. I just signed onto my Audible, played the story from there, and read it on my tablet. Yeah, I had to turn pages, but I hardly noticed as the story moved me forward.
I noticed that there were the slightest threads left undone. Nothing drastic, but it had me hoping there would be more to this series. The last few chapters felt rather anticlimactic, but I wasn’t complaining. It just gave me more time with the family. This was the perfect read for the Halloween season, but it would hold its own over any other set of days, too.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
Where ancient wisdom meets modern technology. Stories that illuminate the wonders of science, culture, and life — crafted with human creativity and a touch of AI magic.
My Grape Village by Laura Bradbury
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