Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry

Wow! What can I say about this massive (945 pages) book? I loved it. It took me some time to get into the story, and to keep all the characters -- of which there are many -- straight, but once I was able to sit and read for longer stretches of time, I found myself completely sucked into the world of Lonesome Dove, and that of Gus, Call, Pea Eye, and the rest of the gang.

In a nutshell, the book is about ex-Texas Rangers out to start a new life in Montana. The journey north is an extremely difficult one, and terrible things happen along the way.

Someone on Goodreads said that Lonesome Dove is "a rare novel that, after 940 pages, seems to have just begun." I couldn't agree more. I was frustrated that the story ended where it did; I felt like there was more of the story waiting to come out. I may have to pick up the sequel, Streets of Laredo.

I have the TV minseries of Lonesome Dove on hold at the library (how is it that I haven't seen it before?), and am looking forward to seeing Gus and the gang brought to life on the small screen.

4.5/5

Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks

In Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks describes the far-reaching effects of bubonic plague on a small English village in the year 1666. Anna Frith, an 18-year-old widow, is the narrator of this sad tale. Needing to earn extra funds to provide for her young sons after the death of her husband, Anna takes in a boarder, a tailor who unknowingly carries the plague in the bolts of cloth he works with. On his deathbed, the tailor warns Anna to burn everything he brought with him, now perceiving the cloth to be the culprit of his illness. Anna, though, allows the villagers to take the items the tailor had worked on, feeling she has no right to withhold them from those who had already paid for his labors. This decision would play a part in deaths of two-thirds of the villagers.

The local vicar urges the villagers to quarantine themselves, lest the plague spread to other towns in the area. The confinement and constant death leads to madness among the villagers, who take matters into their own hands, accusing some of witchcraft and exploiting and murdering others. Anna, the minister, and his wife, must overcome their own fears to help those suffering around them, even though Anna herself loses those closest to her.

The horrors depicted in Year of Wonders held my attention. I found myself appreciative that I haven't had to witness such suffering and affliction. And I thought a lot about not only how terrible the plague must have been, but how difficult everyday life itself must have already been, without adding the plague to the mix. The story is a compelling one, and Anna lends a courageous voice to it. In brushing aside her own grief, she helped others who had nowhere to turn and no one to turn to. And the year of plague became a year of wonders for her, as she grew in strength and knowledge.

3.5/5

Princess of the Sword - Lynn Kurland

 As the mercenary daughter of Gair, the black mage of Ceangail, Morgan is the only one who can stop the terrible sorcery her father unleashed. To do so, she must race against time and find the spell that will allow her to close the well of evil he opened. But that quest will lead her to places she never dreamed existed and into a darkness she would give anything to avoid.

The fate of the kingdom of Neroche is intertwined with the closing of Gair's well. Miach, the archmage of Neroche, is determined to help Morgan find what she needs, not only because the safety of the Nine Kingdoms hangs in the balance but also because he will do anything to protect her. Together they must search out the mysteries of Ceangail, and the dangers of Morgan's own bloodline.

A wonderful conclusion to the Nine Kingdoms series, Princess of the Sword continues the tale of Morgan of Melksham and her beloved Miach, youngest prince and archmage of Neroche. The first two books set up the the big fight of good versus evil (in the form of Lothar, the black mage of Wychweald) that occurred in this final volume, but I found myself a bit disappointed when the fight turned out to not be so big after all. I felt there was so much buildup for something that was over a short while after it began. Once Lothar was defeated, I thought that would be the end of the book, but it wasn't . . . which was actually a nice surprise, as I got a look into what the life of Morgan and Miach was like once the threat of evil was gone.

It was nice, as a reader, to "see" Morgan 's transformation from sword-yielding shieldmaiden to Princess Mhorghain of Torr Dorainn, while not losing herself in the process; to see the bravery of Miach and Morgan as they joined together to defeat Lothar and his evil cohorts; to be witness to their growing love and affection for each other. Morgan and Miach are two characters who won't easily escape my memory.

Lynn Kurland has become one of my favorite new authors, and her Nine Kingdoms series is fantastic. Highly recommended.

4.75/5

As Shadows Fade - Colleen Gleason

While Sebastian Vioget appears to be both the perfect warrior and lover to ensure the Gardella Legacy, Victoria cannot forget Max Pesaro – the former slayer still haunted by the vampire queen Lilith's obsession with him.

But it is Lilith's obsession that may save all of humanity. Demons, enemies of both mortals and the undead, have found their way to earth. To defeat them, vampires and slayers must fight side by side. But Lilith wants Max in return for her cooperation – a small price for the world, but too high a price for Victoria.

This concluding book in the series was bloody fantastic, as Max might say. Victoria's choice (between Max and Sebastian) was made in book 4, so it was fun to read how she went about getting her man in this installment. The demons were more powerful and dangerous than ever before, and the passion in this book -- both between Victoria and her chosen, as well as the passion displayed by the Venators in the fights against the demons and Lilith -- was breathtaking.

I loved this book. There were a couple of things that bothered me, but not enough to really affect my rating. I will say that something completely shocking happens to one of the characters, but I won't go into any detail. You'll have to read it to find out!

Like I said in the previous post, As Shadows Fade is a fabulous ending to the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, and I definitely recommend it. I read the entire book in one day, and that's saying something. I couldn't put it down. I will give fair warning that there are some sex scenes in these books, so if those in any way make you uncomfortable, I'd recommend skipping this series.

5/5

As Shadows Fade

I won't post a review because Beth hasn't read it yet, but I will say that it was FABULOUS!! I loved it, and I'm actually sad that the series is over and done with.

5/5

I'll write a real review some other time, after Beth's read the book. At least I hope I'll be able to, since our internet hasn't been working!