Some things I read in June and early July

Queen of Swords by Sara Donati is the latest in the five book saga of the Bonner family. Queen of Swords takes place in the unlikely spot of New Orleans during the War of 1812. Unlike the previous books, the focus is not on Elizabeth and Nathaniel but on Hannah, Luke and Jennet. In New Orleans Hannah, Luke, and Jennet encouter evil the likes they have never seen before.

I will say that this series has left me disappointed at times but this book comes closest to capturing the magic of the first book but it still falls a little short. Sara Donati is no Diana Gabaldon but for some reason I feel compelled to read all the books and the promised books to come in the series.

I recently purchased and then very quickly read Maureen Johnson's new book Suite Scarlett. I recently thought that the book Girl at Sea was my favorite book by Johnson but it's now been supplanted by Scarlett. The story is this: Scarlett is a member of the Martin family and her family owns a sort of run down hotel in New York City. In the Martin family, each child gets assigned a suite in the Hopewell Hotel that is theirs to care for. Scarlett gets assigned the grandest suite of all, the Empire Suite. And just as Scarlett starts to think her summer is going to be boring the Empire Suite gets a guest in the form of the incredibly wealthy Mrs. Amberson. Also, I can't wait for the sequel. What will happen with Scarlett and her crazy family?

So, I can now say that I have finally read Jane Austen's masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice. I am not sure what I can say about this book in a paragraph or two that hasn't already been said over the years since this book was first published. But, I will say that the book was everything I hoped it would be. And even though, thanks to the television adaptations, I knew what would happen I really loved every bit of it. And now, I am more than ready to rewatch the six hours of Colin Firth as Darcy.



Books Read in 2008:

Queen of Swords by Sara Donati
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Airhead by Meg Cabot
Meridon by Philippa Gregory
The Favored Child by Philippa Gregory
Wideacre by Philippa Gregory
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson
Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
River Secrets by Shannon Hale
The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon
The Attack by Yasmina Khadra
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot
Dramarama by E. Lockhart
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Princess Mia by Meg Cabot
Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
Stowaway by Karen Hesse
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart.
Spike: Asylum by Brian Lynch and Franco Urru