Bibliophile Support Group

House of Many Ways is a middle grade/YA fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones and the sequel, of sorts, to Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Air . Due to this, I recommend reading the books in order to get the full, fun effect. When Charmain’s great-uncle, the royal wizard of their land, becomes mysteriously ill and is carried off by elves to be tended to, Charmain is volunteered by her wealthy aunt to look after his house in his absence. To Charmain this is an opportunity to read nonstop without pesky, bothersome parents about to disturb her – but she soon discovers that time to read at this unique house may be tougher to come by than she expected. A humble, ordinary dwelling on the outside, Charmain’s great-uncle’s residence is a wonder from the inside – with the ability to bend space and time. There’s also a clingy, stray dog in residence that may or may not be magical and an inconvenient arrival of a clumsy wizard’s apprentice. To top all of this off, Charmain becomes...

Castle in the Air is a middle grade/YA fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones. It’s also a companion to Howls Moving Castle . To keep from being spoiled at all on Howl’s Moving Castle – I recommend you read it first. You can read my review here . Young carpet merchant Abdullah makes smart buying decisions and spends his free time with his friend Jamal and Jamal’s people-hating-except-for-Jamal-and-Abdullah dog. He also spends a lot of his time dreaming. When one day a mysterious man sells him a persnickety magic carpet, things begin to get complicated. That very same night, Abdullah awakens to find himself in his imagined palace garden and meets girl just like the one he’d daydreamed about – she is a princess and her name is Flower-in-the-Night. Just as Abdullah begins to think all of his dreams are coming true – Flower-in-the-Night is kidnapped by a wicked djinn. A quest has begun – as he must save her! Along the way his stubborn magic carpet leads him to a shady genie a...

Death Takes a Ride is the third book in the Christian humorous mystery series The Cate Kinkaid Files by Lorena McCourtney. For your fullest enjoyment, I recommend read Dying to Read first and Dolled Up to Die second and THEN Death Takes a Ride . There won’t be terrible spoilers in this review for the first two books, but I still recommend waiting until you’re caught up with the series! On the crest of receiving her P. I. license, Cate should be feeling more capable than ever in her new career, right? Well, when a non-job related task brings her to H & B Vintage Auto Repair one evening and the night ends with one man wounded and another dead, shot in self-defense… she really wonders. But the case is cut and dry, no need for investigating on her end! Or so she tells herself. That is, until she digs a little deeper – the curse of the curious! – and starts to notice oddities that lead her to believe the shooting may not be so simple… The Cate Kinkaid Files is a fun...

Darkbeast Rebellion is a middle grade fantasy novel, and the sequel to Darkbeast , by Morgan Keyes. Yet again this is a review that you want to avoid unless you’ve read Darkbeast first (review here ). Deal? Keara and Caw are fleeing for their lives with their previous Traveler companions Goran and Taggart. Only recently has Keara found that they too spared their darkbeasts instead of sacrificing them on their twelfth birthday as is the law. Caw is more than a creature that takes on her darker deeds and thoughts and gives her an emotional boost. He’s her friend. She could not, and will not, kill him. Now that they are being hunted by the ruthless Inquisitors, Taggart is convinced that he can take them all to a safe haven for darkers – a group of people who have spared their darkbeasts and live in secrecy. But they are freezing and exhausted and the journey just might kill them… Just as in the first novel Darkbeast , Darkbeast Rebellion portrays a sweet bonding bet...

When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears is the third and final book in the YA contemporary fantasy trilogy The Goblin Wars . I am absolutely serious when I say this trilogy is far too remarkable to spoil yourself by reading this review – or book – without reading the first two books. So, if you are a lucky duck and haven’t yet read The Goblin Wars novels, therefore getting a chance to experience them for the first time, you can check out my review of Tyger Tyger here and In the Forests of the Night here . Don’t go perusing this review and ruining any surprises! They are TOO excellent for that!!! Okay, now on to When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears : Teagan has declared war on the Dark Man – knowing that her family will always be hunted unless she faces those who wish them harm head-on. But the danger is very real. Creatures of destruction and death are spilling out of Mag Mell into the streets of Chicago, Teagan’s little brother Aiden has been marked with a new so...

Awaken is the third novel in the contemporary myth-retelling Abandon trilogy by Meg Cabot. It’s the end of a trilogy. So, you know what I’m going to say. Have you read Abandon ? Have you read Underworld ? Well, those are books one and two – so, if you haven’t, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW !!! Instead, click on their titles and be whisked away to my reviews of those prior novels – and then go read the books!!! Don’t go spoiling yourself here, okay? Last chance to avert your eyes before the synopsis begins… Seventeen year old Pierce Oliviera is not a normal teen girl. For multiple reasons. One, she’s died when she was fifteen. Or, actually, we should say she was murdered when she was fifteen. But only temporarily. She was revived. While she was dead she met John – John Hayden, lord of the Underworld. Extremely good looking, brooding, and wearer of tight pants. After being revived she fought his affection – if that’s what you can call it when it was always rather angr...

Dolled Up to Die is the second novel in the humorous mystery series The Cate Kinkaid Files by Lorena McCourtney. Even though Dolled Up to Die stands alone well, I think, I would still strongly recommend that you read the series in order. So, if you haven’t already, go read Dying to Read . It’s hilarious, and I loved it!!! You can also check out my review of Dying to Read here . Onto the brief synopsis of Dolled Up to Die : Cate is starting to get a better handle on being an assistant private investigator. Emphasis on assistant. After her rather eventful, turn-for-the-worse earlier case, things have calmed down and been more like what her uncle originally described for the job. That wasn’t meant to last long. After receiving a disturbing phone call frantically telling her about a triple homicide, Cate can’t help but show up at the caller’s home. After all, the lady said that the police were taking their sweet time – which Cate found highly odd – and Cate just couldn’t ignore...

The FitzOsbornes at War is the third and final novel in The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper. Being that is an epic (in my opinion) three-part story I almost must insist that you read them! Below, my review is going to have practically no synopsis because I want to give nothing away to fans of the two previous books. So, it’ll be safe to read for it’ll contain pretty much just my opinion. Yet, I want to include links to my reviews of the two prior books so you can check them out and READ THEM as soon as you can. What an utterly incredible trilogy! First Book: A Brief History of Montmaray Second Book: The FitzOsbornes in Exile As I said before, I don’t really want to go into detail as to the plot of The FitzOsbornes at War except to point out that it focuses on all the journal entries of Her Royal Highness Princess Sophia and encompasses all the events of the FitzOsborne family during the World War II era during 1939 – 1944. A Brief History of Montmaray introduced us...

Darkbeast is a middle grade fantasy novel by Morgan Keyes. In Keara’s world, every child has a darkbeast that they take their faults, their misdeeds, and their dark emotions to. The darkbeast absorbs them, a constant companion to the child they are magically bound to. Until their twelfth birthday when the child kills their darkbeast. It is not only tradition, but law. Keara, however, is not like most children. Instead of feeling bitterness or irritancy with her darkbeast for being the reminder of her flaws and lack of freedom, Keara loves her darkbeast. He is a raven, named Caw. To her, he is a friend. The thought of killing Caw is unthinkable, yet unavoidable, in Keara’s mind. As the day draws near, Keara’s decision will cause ripple effects that will change her life and those around her… Definitely don’t want to give too many details here. Darkbeast was too good! Morgan Keyes has created a lovely, beautiful, unique fantasy that provides a sprawling view from small vi...

When the Heart Heals is an inspirational historical fiction novel, the second in the Sisters at Heart series, by Ann Shorey. Rosemary Saxon is still trying to get the people of Noble Springs to better accept the fact that she was a nurse during the Civil War. Traditional ideas give them an impression of an improper woman tending to indecent men – while others just think the thought of a woman being a nurse is ridiculous. Yet Rosemary is a stubborn female, and she also needs to support herself since she is determined to stay independent and not move in with her brother and his wife Faith. A new, younger doctor named Elijah has come to Noble Springs and he allows her to take a position with him – though he’s hesitant. In most ways she enjoys the employment, but every time she and Dr. Elijah Stewart converse it seems to be purely butting heads. Both are headstrong, opinionated, and have a tendency to say the wrong things. When Rosemary begins to receive threats, will her obstinac...

Starflower is the fourth novel in the fairy-tale series Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Lady Gleamdren – the sister of the queen of Faerie – has been kidnapped by a cursed dragon-witch. The beginning of an epic quest? Of course! Eanrin, the Bard of his land, is determined to rescue his lady fair – and make sure he beats his rival at it! What he really didn’t need to happen was to run across an insignificant mortal girl and her problems, but when he finds her trapped in an enchanted sleep he just can’t leave her behind in the perilous Wood Between unguarded. After getting her awakened, Eanrin finds himself entangled in helping her and striving to rescue Lady Gleamdren all at the same time. A true mess. Everything happens for a reason, however. And the girl, whose name is Starflower, may have a mysterious link to the dragon-witch… I’ve been previously very impressed by Stengl’s Heartless and Veiled Rose . I’m working on getting Moonblood . Starflower m...

Happy New Year, you zany book loving fanatics!!! Plain Kate is a YA fantasy novel by Erin Bow. Plain Kate lives in a rural world that has magic – but magic is met with unease, suspicion, and fear. Believed witches are hunted and burned in the town square. As a woodcarver’s daughter, Kate learned how to carve before she knew how to do much of anything else. And her immense ability has led some in her town to call her “witch-blade” and suspect her of witchcraft. When her father’s death becomes one among many in the town, Kate’s world is rocked. She no longer had a home, and she can’t sell her woodworking. Her only friend is her cat, Taggle, who helps to keep her warm at night. She survives off the few kind people in the village. Right when even harder times fall on the town, however, angry eyes turn to Kate. Their crops are ruined, and a mysterious, thick fog is covering the countryside. It’s not long before Plain Kate realizes she needs to leave town to save her life. That’...

Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! It is now time for the third annual Stand-Out Books of the Year (2012) post! Despite working full-time and never seeming to have quite as much time as I want to read, I’m happy to say that I DID top last year’s stats by a bit. Interested? Okay, then, here goes the numbers for 2012 : How many books did I read? 190 That is 19 more than in 2011. How many pages did I read? 61,957 That is 6,920 more than in 2011!!! How many pages (on average) did I read per day? 170 That is 19 more than in 2011!!! Just in case you don’t have a general idea how this post works: I am incapable of naming any of the books I read in the year “my favorite”. I get hung up on different categories, different titles, different strengths and weaknesses of each book. You really wouldn’t want to see that. There are tears. There is guilt. It’s not pretty. Instead, I look over all the books I read all year and pick the books t...