BookishStitcher's bookshelf: 2015 en-US Fri, 17 Jan 2025 20:32:53 -0800 60 BookishStitcher's bookshelf: 2015 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)]]> 16054217 The #1 New York Times bestselling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.]]> 561 Deborah Harkness 0670025593 BookishStitcher 4 2015 4.15 2014 The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)
author: Deborah Harkness
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/07
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: 2015
review:
I liked this book a lot better than the second.
]]> The Martian 18007564
Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error� are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills � and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit � he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

]]> 384 Andy Weir 0804139024 BookishStitcher 3 2015 4.41 2011 The Martian
author: Andy Weir
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2015/10/16
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels, #5.5; World of Kate Daniels, #6 & #6.5; Andrea Nash, #1)]]> 12288282
The New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels novels have been hailed as “top-notch urban fantasy� (Monsters and Critics). Now, Ilona Andrews delves deeper into Kate’s world, and reveals its untold stories�
After being kicked out of the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea’s whole existence is in shambles. She tries to put herself back together by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend. When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano—the male alpha of the Clan Bouda, and Andrea’s former lover—die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate. Now she must work with Raphael as her search for the killer leads into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta. And dealing with her feelings for him might have to take a back seat to saving the world…]]> 448 Ilona Andrews 1101585196 BookishStitcher 4 2015 4.23 2012 Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels, #5.5; World of Kate Daniels, #6 & #6.5; Andrea Nash, #1)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/17
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Magic Gifts (Kate Daniels, #5.6)]]> 13299211
Novella is after Magic Slays, same time as Andrea in Gunmetal Magic, both intersect.

Note: This novella can be found at the end of the Kindle edition of Gunmetal Magic.]]> 100 Ilona Andrews BookishStitcher 4 2015 4.33 2011 Magic Gifts (Kate Daniels, #5.6)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/19
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Master Magician (The Paper Magician, #3)]]> 23485372
While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician’s exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony’s past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined.

The whimsical and captivating follow-up to The Paper Magician and The Glass Magician, The Master Magician will enchant readers of all ages.]]> 226 Charlie N. Holmberg 1477878696 BookishStitcher 3 2015 3.92 2015 The Master Magician (The Paper Magician, #3)
author: Charlie N. Holmberg
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/10/20
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:

]]> The Supernatural Enhancements 18782854 What begins as a clever, gothic ghost story soon evolves into a wickedly twisted treasure hunt in The Supernatural Enhancements, Edgar Cantero's wholly original, modern-day adventure.

When twentysomething A., the unexpected European relative of the Wells family, and his companion, Niamh, a mute teenage girl with shockingly dyed hair, inherit the beautiful but eerie estate of Axton House, deep in the woods of Point Bless, Virginia, it comes as a surprise to everyone—including A. himself. After all, he never even knew he had a "second cousin, twice removed" in America, much less that the eccentric gentleman had recently committed suicide by jumping out of the third floor bedroom window—at the same age and in the same way as his father had before him . . .

Together, A. and Niamh quickly come to feel as if they have inherited much more than just a rambling home and a cushy lifestyle. Axton House is haunted, they know it, but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the secrets they slowly but surely uncover. Why all the suicides? What became of the Axton House butler who fled shortly after his master died? What lurks in the garden maze and what does the basement vault keep? And what of the rumors in town about a mysterious gathering at Axton House on the night of the winter solstice?

Told vividly through a series of journal entries, scrawled notes, recovered security footage, letters to Aunt Liza, audio recordings, complicated ciphers, and even advertisements, Edgar Cantero has written a dazzling and original supernatural adventure featuring classic horror elements with a Neil Gaiman-ish twist.]]> 353 Edgar Cantero 0385538154 BookishStitcher 4 2015, reviewed-on-podcast 3.63 2014 The Supernatural Enhancements
author: Edgar Cantero
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/24
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015, reviewed-on-podcast
review:
Very interesting way to present a novel through letters, dairy entries, dream notebooks, messages scribbled on a notepad, handheld camera images, surveillance cameras, etc. This book just flew by. It's is quite an odd book in that the story doesn't not at all go where you think it will. The ending is also very much out of left field. Still I really enjoyed it.
]]> <![CDATA[Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1)]]> 23398606 A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll...

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood�

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.]]> 291 Christina Henry 0425266796 BookishStitcher 2 2015 3.84 2015 Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1)
author: Christina Henry
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2015/10/25
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:
I don't know that I can give this book a fair review. It was an interesting idea to take an adult Alice and put her back in a world where the creatures from her childhood are power hungry men who abuse women in horrible ways. I am highly disturbed when reading about violence against women. It makes me physically sick to my stomach. Someone hasn't had personal experiences that make them prone to hate this kind of thing probably wouldn't have disliked this book as much as I did. So I would say I liked the concept, but if you dislike books with violence against women (rape, abuse, cannibalism, etc.) this probably isn't the book for you.
]]> <![CDATA[Summer of Night (Seasons of Horror, #1)]]> 9897624 498 Dan Simmons 0312550677 BookishStitcher 2 2015 4.07 1991 Summer of Night (Seasons of Horror, #1)
author: Dan Simmons
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1991
rating: 2
read at: 2015/10/31
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Edge of Eternity (The Century Trilogy, #3)]]> 11389875
Edge of Eternity is the sweeping, passionate conclusion to Ken Follett’s extraordinary historical epic, The Century Trilogy.
Throughout these books, Follett has followed the fortunes of five intertwined families � American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh � as they make their way through the twentieth century. Now they come to one of the most tumultuous eras of all: the enormous social, political, and economic turmoil of the 1960s through the 1980s, from civil rights, assassinations, mass political movements and Vietnam to the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, presidential impeachment, revolution � and rock and roll.East German teacher Rebecca Hoffman discovers she’s been spied on by the Stasi for years and commits an impulsive act that will affect her family for the rest of their lives.…George Jakes, the child of a mixed-race couple, bypasses a corporate law career to join Robert F. Kennedy’s Justice Department, and finds himself in the middle not only of the seminal events of the civil rights battle, but a much more personal battle of his own.…Cameron Dewar, the grandson of a senator, jumps at the chance to do some official and unofficial espionage for a cause he believes in, only to discover that the world is a much more dangerous place than he’d imagined.…Dimka Dvorkin, a young aide to Nikita Khrushchev, becomes a prime agent both for good and for ill as the United States and the Soviet Union race to the brink of nuclear war, while his twin sister, Tania, carves out a role that will take her from Moscow to Cuba to Prague to Warsaw � and into history.

As always with Follett, the historical background is brilliantly researched and rendered, the action fast-moving, the characters rich in nuance and emotion. With the hand of a master, he brings us into a world we thought we knew but now will never seem the same again.

]]> 1098 Ken Follett 0525953094 BookishStitcher 3 2015, reviewed-on-podcast 3.92 2014 Edge of Eternity (The Century Trilogy, #3)
author: Ken Follett
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2015/11/20
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015, reviewed-on-podcast
review:
End of an amazing trilogy. This was my least favorite of the books. I never got into caring that much about what happened to these characters. It was really nice hearing the story evolve through historical events of the recent past.
]]> The Sculptor 22040598 what  to create is harder than he thought, and discovering the love of his life at the 11th hour isn't making it any easier! 

This is a story of desire taken to the edge of reason and beyond; of the frantic, clumsy dance steps of young love; and a gorgeous, street-level portrait of the world's greatest city. It's about the small, warm, human moments of everyday life…and the great surging forces that lie just under the surface. Scott McCloud wrote the book on how comics work; now he vaults into great fiction with a breathtaking, funny, and unforgettable new work.]]> 488 Scott McCloud 1596435739 BookishStitcher 3 2015, reviewed-on-podcast

The beautiful and heartbreaking ending bumps it up from 3 to 3.5 stars]]> 3.99 2015 The Sculptor
author: Scott McCloud
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/11/21
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015, reviewed-on-podcast
review:
3.5


The beautiful and heartbreaking ending bumps it up from 3 to 3.5 stars
]]> Starry Night 17910542
Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author.

Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a megabestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly declines to speak to anyone in the press, and no one even knows exactly where he lives.

Digging deep into Finn’s past, Carrie develops a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart.

Filled with all the comforts and joys of Christmastime, Starry Night is a delightful novel of finding happiness in the most surprising places.]]> 256 Debbie Macomber 0345528891 BookishStitcher 3 2015, reviewed-on-podcast 3.70 2013 Starry Night
author: Debbie Macomber
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2015/11/22
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015, reviewed-on-podcast
review:

]]> Villette 31173 Villette, Charlotte Brontë reached the height of her artistic power. First published in 1853, Villette is Brontë's most accomplished and deeply felt work, eclipsing even Jane Eyre in critical acclaim. Her narrator, the autobiographical Lucy Snowe, flees England and a tragic past to become an instructor in a French boarding school in the town of Villette. There she unexpectedly confronts her feelings of love and longing as she witnesses the fitful romance between Dr. John, a handsome young Englishman, and Ginerva Fanshawe, a beautiful coquette. The first pain brings others, and with them comes the heartache Lucy has tried so long to escape. Yet in spite of adversity and disappointment, Lucy Snowe survives to recount the unstinting vision of a turbulent life's journey - a journey that is one of the most insightful fictional studies of a woman's consciousness in English literature.]]> 573 Charlotte Brontë BookishStitcher 4 2015 3.78 1853 Villette
author: Charlotte Brontë
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1853
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/29
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Christmas Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts, #8)]]> 27748
Sylvia reveals that the handiwork spans several generations and a quartet of Bergstrom quilters -- her great aunt, her mother, her sister, and herself. As she examines the array of quilt blocks each family member contributed but never completed, memories of Christmases past emerge.

At Elm Creek Manor, Christmas began as a celebration of simple virtues -- joy and hope buoyed by the spirit of giving. As each successive generation of Bergstroms lived through its unique trials -- the antebellum era, the Great Depression, World War II -- tradition offered sustenance even during the most difficult times. For Sylvia, who is coping with the modern problem of family dispersed, estranged, or even forgotten, reconciliation with her personal history may prove as elusive as piecing the Christmas Quilt.

Elm Creek Manor is full of secrets, from a Christmas tree with unusual properties to the sublime Bergstrom strudel recipe. Sylvia's tales at first seem to inform her family legacy but ultimately illuminate far more, from the importance of women's art to its place in commemorating our shared experience, at Christmastime and in every season.]]> 240 Jennifer Chiaverini 074328657X BookishStitcher 4 2015, reviewed-on-podcast 3.86 2005 The Christmas Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts, #8)
author: Jennifer Chiaverini
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/20
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015, reviewed-on-podcast
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dragonflight (Pern: Dragonriders of Pern, #1)]]> 480569
After ten long Turns, Lessa was ready to come out of hiding, to reclaim her birthright... and to Impress the young dragon queen and become Weyrwoman of Benden.

Suddenly the deadly silver Threads once again threatened all Pern with destruction. But the mighty telepathic dragons that for centuries had defended Pern were now few in number, not nearly enough to protect the planet in its hour of greatest peril. Then Lessa hatched a daring and dangerous scheme to rally support from people who had long ago ceased to exist!]]> 303 Anne McCaffrey 0345335465 BookishStitcher 3 2015 3.87 1968 Dragonflight (Pern: Dragonriders of Pern, #1)
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1968
rating: 3
read at: 2015/12/17
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels, #7)]]> 12119529
As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.

As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…]]> 381 Ilona Andrews 0425256227 BookishStitcher 4 2015 4.47 2014 Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels, #7)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: BookishStitcher
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/28
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: 2015
review:

]]>