Book Review x several

Tim and I went to the library a few weeks ago and we've been reading somewhat voraciously ever since, so I'm grouping my book reviews to keep this more concise:


Georgette Heyer - Georgette Heyer was the author of dozens of Regency novels, set during the times of Jane Austen's books and written in a similar style. She was writing and publishing over fifty years ago, but the novels still feel fresh today. I've read four or five of her romances and though they're all relatively similar, they are all very entertaining and enjoyable. I usually can't put them down once I get going and may or may not have spent two hours sitting on my bathroom floor reading one at some point this month. They are delightful, perfect for light reading, and I particularly recommend this month's favorite, Frederica - I loved it. Three stars on average for Georgette Heyer's books.


Orson Scott Card - I've read other books by Orson Scott Card but this month I started tackling the Women of Genesis series. I've finished Sarah and Rebekah (haven't finished Rachel & Leah yet) and for the most part, I've really enjoyed them. Orson Scott Card did a great job of creating very real people from the stories in the scriptures, people with both flaws and virtues. Plus he added in a lot of cultural details that helped explain some of the actions or reactions of the characters. I thought some of his choices for portraying the characters were interesting and where I had my own preconceptions, I didn't necessarily like or agree with those choices. Overall though, I've really enjoyed reading about these women and what they could have been like. Three stars for Sarah, two and a half for Rebekah. 


Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. Tim got a slew of fantasy/science fiction novels from the library and he told me enough about this one that I became intrigued and wanted to read it for myself. Terry Goodkind created a fascinating and very complete fantasy world, and while I was mostly drawn to the relationship between the two main characters, I was impressed by what he came up with. Unfortunately, he was also very very good at creating evil and there were several parts of the book that I either skipped or wished I had - lots of torture going on. And the style of the novel was very uneven, sometimes feeling more casual and other times much more "high fantasy" formal. Tim read the next book in the series but I decided not to. If you're way into fantasy and don't mind the evil stuff, you'll probably really enjoy this book. If not, go ahead and skip this one. Two stars.