Wednesday Audio Waves: The Reckoners Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson!!!

Hey there guys!

This week I'm back with more audibook reviews for my Wednesday Audio Waves feature here in the blog! And this week I have a full series that I had started but lost motivation to continue (despite loving the first book) but once I started re-reading the first book as audio, I totally binge and finished!

I must blame Cassi in particular for this binge read, because although both her and Nikki love these books and both are big Sanderson fans, Cassi was the one that raved about the narrator enough to make me jump on these audios even if it's just one guy doing all the voices.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

This one was a re-read for me and I really fell in love very early on with the narrator, he really IS the perfect David!

He did a great job with all the other voices too, even the female ones, and that was one of my concerns when I started listening to it. Every voice was distinctive and that really helped with the enjoyment of the book, none of them were irritating and I never once was confused about who was talking.

This was a re-read and a necessary one because even if I thought I remembered most of the book but turns out I had forgotten loads of the smaller details then later proved important in the rest of the series! And also quite a few of the not so smaller too!

The pacing of the book was fantastic and I listened to the whole book way faster than I had expected at first.

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

After the reveals and the ending of Steelheart, I was wondering what to expect from Firefight and no matter what I expected, it seriously wasn't what I got!

The narrator did an amazing job once again with all the voices, both from previous characters as well as the new ones. David continued being my favourite with his awesome humour, adorkability and always odd metaphors that never failed to made me laugh.

We got quite a few new revelations in this one and the world gets bigger and even a lil stranger than I thought it was on the first book. We learn more about the Epics and how they came to be, or how we suspect they came to be, and there's quite a bit of food for thought about Epics and their vulnerabilities and what makes them go bad.

The pacing is quite fast and full non-stop action and/or revelations and still it managed to include a lot of both individual character development as well as the relationships between characters, romantic or not!

The ending was quite a bit of a cliffhanger and I was itching to finally get Calamity to start listening to it ASAP! Very much deserved 5 stars to this one!

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

After the massive game changer that the ending of Firefight was, we find ourselves in Calamity wondering what will happen next!

David continues to be banking on hope and on the knowledge that what happened to Megan and what Megan did can be something all Epics can do.

He's now the leader and he's making his mission to stop the bad Epics from destroying cities and lives and to try and get those that can be turned back into their human selves, not the ones they are when they're taken over by their powers.

The pacing is once again fast and full of action, with very many tense moments, although it has enough light moments of humour (David and his crappy signature metaphors) to keep it balanced out.

We get more revelations and a lot of information, some of it answers, some of it creating even more questions!

A very hard book to review trying to avoid spoilers, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed! And I'm sure a big part of it aside from the book's own merits that I'm sure are many, is the narrator's! He did such a brilliant job! 5 stars for this one for sure!

Thursday Thoughts: Re-reading The Others series by Anne Bishop!!!

Hey there guys!

This is a scheduled post because I'm out and about on a quick and rather improptu trip! I'll tell you all about it once I return, and hopefully I'll share some photos if my phone & laptop feel like working together!

I continue to keep Thursdays as my days to catch up with my series re-reads! I'm quite proud to say that I've been re-reading quite a lot more this year, and it's proven quite amazing to revisit series I've loved to prepare for the next or last installment!

This week I'm gonna talk about one of my absolute favourite adult urban fantasy series out there: The Others by Anne Bishop! Must give a BIG shout out to Octavia from Read Sleep Repeat because she kept recommending this series to me, time and again!


Unlike what I did with the Red Rising trilogy I won't do a book by book re-read review because even with this re-read, I'm still sure I might end up mixing up a few events from one book to another because my brain now processes the whole series as one timeline and I'm not 100% sure where one book ends and were the next starts. So I'll just do a series overall review and gush about how much I absolutely love it, so be warned!

Overall series re-read review!

The Others series is urban fantasy, its world being not ours but with enough similarities to fool us sometimes and makes us as readers forget that it's not happening in our "human dominated" world. Humans in this world are not the apex predators or the ones that are in charge of the world, since they are late comers to a world were The Others are in charge, and they don't tolerate humanity's over reach and disregard of nature, not outside of the boundaries given to them. Namid isn't Earth exactly, and Thaisia is really NOT North America, even if they can feel enough alike to throw us off when we're reminded of the differences.

The story starts with Meg Corbyn, a young woman running away that finds a safe haven in an unlikely place for a human, the Lakeside Courtyard, or the place where The Others live (and keep an eye on the humans). The first book gives us enough world building and character development to keep us turning the pages hungrily and to have us hooked for good in this series. We want to protect and root for Meg all the time, and we share the protectiveness the Courtyard Others feel towards her. We discover what a Cassandra Sangue is (more or less) and we learn more about this world. The relationships between the characters are so nuanced and full of small details here and there. It doesn't matter if we're talking about vampires or werewolves or humans, they all FEEL so real!

Talking about the paranormalcy of The Others, we might seem to know them but these vampires, werewolves and others aren't exactly as you might know them, and we do get more than a few reminders about that. These are not creatures that have hidden their existence in our midst, they are there and they are in charge, even if the humans might want to ignore that fact.

There are two main plot lines that intertwine and build on each other, one is the more personal with Meg and her growth and relationship with the Others and specially Simon, the Courtyard leader. And the Other is the mounting conflict between the Humans First and Last movement and the Others. One thing that this book managed to do time and again is to make me hate my own species. The HFAL movement simply made me root for the Others so much... it's a bit awkward when you stop to think that the characters that are your same species that you like are just a handful!

In each book we learn more about the Others, the Cassandra Sangue, the extremes humans can reach in their hate and their will for self destruction and lack of respect for their world they live in... The world building is expanded, from Thaisia to other continents, to more about the past, more about the Others that are not the ones we know from the Courtyard, more about the blood prophets and their compulsions and abilities. Characters grow and change, relationships progress (although the one I care the most about goes at a very fitting snail pace as it's right for the characters, even if it's maddening for us readers) and the plot thickens and progresses and the tension builds up to a rather worrisome level!



Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was so very excited for this book, with all the tension and the build up for the confrontation and the expected backlash from The Others, if the Humans First movement made their move.

With every book this series manages to get better and better! We might have lost a bit of the more personal time we had with Meg and the wolves and the rest of the Terra Indigene since everything keeps getting broader and bigger, and Meg is the first but not the only one blood prophet, there's so much to learn and to work on. The conflict is so widespread, so much bigger than just one Courtyard, one city, or even one continent! We meet some more dangerous and less humanized Others/Terra Indigene and some of them really brought to mind those "things that go bump in the night" in the sense that you could feel them and the fear they cause, but not being really sure if you'd see them or what you'd even see!

There was plenty of tension or more quiet moments, of moments that made me once again hate my own species and there were quite a few interesting revelations, with what I hope more to come. BUT since the big conflict that was building up was resolved here, I'm not entirely sure WHAT will happen in the next book. I'm hoping we will return to the more personal part of the conflicts and continue with the focus on the Cassandra Sangue and on a certain relationship that I want more focus on again and a bit more progress, not so snail paced!

Still, this book is once again deserving of 5 stars like the previous books in the series, and I'm very much looking forward to re-read them all to prepare for the next one!

Tell Me Tuesdays # 36!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome La La In The Library, where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L Jensen

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the mountain. When Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she realises that the trolls are relying on her to break the curse.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind: escape. But the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time…

But the more time she spends with the trolls, the more she understands their plight. There is a rebellion brewing. And she just might be the one the trolls were looking for...

 Golden Son by Pierce Brown

With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown’s genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation. Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within. A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart, Golden Son guarantees Pierce Brown’s continuing status as one of fiction’s most exciting new voices.

 Thorn by Intisar Khanani

For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she's never had ... until she's betrayed.

Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family's cruelty and the court's contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future.

But powerful men have powerful enemies--and now, so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman's, giving Alyrra the first choice she's ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she's never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own. As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometime the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.

Thorn has received a Badge of Approval from Awesome Indies.


Both Stolen Songbird and Golden Son are re-reads. I've joined the official readalong to prepare for Warrior Witch on Goodreads, so each week we read a few chapters and discuss them! And I'm really enjoying Stolen Songbird, almost even more than the first time around! And Golden Son I'm re-reading on my own in preparation for finally reading Morning Star that arrived in the mail last week!

And Thorn is a buddy read with my friend LaLa for the #RockMyTBR challenge. It's a retelling of The Goose Girl and I'm really enjoying it!
  
So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!!

2016 Challenges: Tamora Pierce Challenge hosted by Read Write Love 28!!

Hiya guys!

Aside from running around and being absolutely unbearably excited today because tonigth after work I'm going to the midnight release of THE FORCE AWAKENS and nothing could make this Star Wars massive geek happier, I'm continuing with my challenges for 2016 posts!

I discovered my love for the Tamora Pierce this year, because till October I had seen many people spreading their love for them but it was Gillian's post about the Tortall books that made me grab the Alanna Quartet for my Kindle and absolutely devour them! Then I re-read Alanna, The First Adventure for The Midnight Garden Classic & YA Readalong and when I was going to continue re-reading the other 3 books, Nori from Read Write Love 28 told me to wait!

As it happens she was plotting to host a very awesome challenge for 2016, the Tamora Pierce Challenge! HERE is Nori's post with the link to sign up for the challenge!

For the challenge my plan is to re-read the rest of the Alanna Quartet and then read all the rest of the Tortal universe books that I haven't read yet! I don't plan to re-read The Immortals Quartet for now, but who knows, it might change later in the year!

As for the rest of the challenges I've made a handy GoodReads list/shelf!

Have you read any Tamora Pierce books before? Do you want to join the challenge??

Friday Reads: Alanna, the First Adventure by Tamora Pierce for #tmgreadalong!!

Hello there guys!!

Happy Black Friday!! I hope you'll be safe & sound if you brave the crazy hoards of sale hunters. I plan to do some online shopping if at all, because finances are tight, no matter how tempting the sales are!

For this week's Friday Reads I'm featuring once again the corresponding book for this month's The Midnight Garden Readalong! I'm discovering and reading so many lovely YA & MG classics with this challenge and this time it was by fate and luck one of my rare re-reads, even made more rare since I had read the book for the first time only the previous month! ;)

 Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm finally getting to read these classics and I can totally understand why they are so beloved by some of my bloggy friends! I love Alanna and her fierceness!!

Re-reading this one for the Midnight Garden Readalong was quite a lot of fun, and once I finished it, I was ready to continue reading the whole series again.

Surprisingly enough my love for this book actually grew with the re-read. I still acknowledge that it's a bit of a raw book, not as perfectly polished or as flawlessly paced, and some odd transitions happen here and there. But I simply loved it again.

Alanna is both bold and strong and angry at the world for imposing her a role that she doesn't want to play, and resents and hates being a girl with all her might. That is one of those things that gave me pause on my first read, but this time... well, this time I know Alanna's journey and growth and I know how things change and progress, so I can understand her anger with her youth and ambition much better.

I must confess to have had bouts of the same "wanting to prove that I'm as good as any boy" at things myself or be pissed at my period for making me want to curl down with a blanket, so it was never hard to put myself in her place.

I loved how she worked very hard and tried very hard at mastering things that didn't came naturally to her and was always worried about the consequences of her actions, and very soon learnt that victories aren't as clear cut as you think they'll be, and you don't always feel like you'd think you would.

I loved the secondary characters, Raoul, Gary and specially Jon and George. I really liked seeing the noble boys learning about more than just their Code and their battles and broading their horizons!

One of the things that haven't change from the first read to this one is how odd it feels for Alanna's reaction to Roger of Comté, and how lil it is explained or explored other than to say how much she dislikes and then hates him on sight... It comes so out of the blue at first, and not even as a reaction from Alanna's magic to his feels like a satisfactory explanation...

All in all, I simply am a newly made fan of the series, and I'm itching to re-read the rest of the series again, and read more of the Tortall series! Hopefully soon!

Well deserved 3.5 to 4 stars to my introduction to Tortall!!



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Re-reading for August: #ReadThroneOfGlass and #TLCReadAlong!!

Hello there guys!

Today I don't have a regularly scheduled Saturday Pages review but I'm gonna be babbling about books anyhow because that's what us bookwyrms do when given half a chance!

Before I fell into the rabbit hole of Goodreads and eventually book blogging I still read and devoured books as much as I do now, but since my TBR pile wasn't as life threatening, I used to re-read my favourite books for comfort. There are some books that I must have read over 20 times, like The Eight or Miguel Strogoff...

But since I started discovering so many new books and series and authors I haven't really given myself time to re-read books, and I decided I needed to change that this year.

I've decided to give myself permision to re-read and not worry about the ever growing TBR pile or the ARCs that I get approved for on NG or anything else! Re-reading books that I loved is a joy that I need to allow myself to enjoy more often!

And to nudge myself into it, I decided to join two re-readalongs! #ReadThroneOfGlass and #TLCReadAlong!

The #ReadThroneOfGlass is a readalong or re-readalong to prepare ourselves for the release of Queen of Shadows on September 1st.

I must say, I couldn't be happier that I have joined the readalong!

I finally read my hardcover of Assassin's Blade because I had read the Kindle versions of some of the novellas only, and reading them all one after the other, inlcuding the new one was fantastic! Highly recommended for anyone wanting to start the Throne of Glass series: READ THE NOVELLAS FIRST! They give a much better understanding of Celaena and her character and her career as an assassin and her complex relationship with Arobynn. And we meet some characters that we'll be meeting again in upcoming books, Queen of Shadows onwards!

I read Throne of Glass first and the novellas later, and at first it took me a while to understand Celaena and cheer for her. And then I read the novellas, and I understood her so much better!

Re-reading Throne of Glass was such a different experience, with so many little details that I had not noticed or had forgotten about and that will have such a relevance in the upcoming books! And some definite foreshadowing and hints that I missed on the first read! I loved reading about the interactions between Chaol and Dorian and Celaena and her meeting and growing friendship with Nehemia, her hate for the King and her intense fear of the man... So many things that make sense from the very first moment in a way that the didn't the first time!

The same thing happened with Crown of Midnight, I was so shocked to realize how many important things I might have missed and how I had forgotten about some of the things that happened! Of course that the revelations aren't as shocking, at least not the big ones, but there are plenty of things you read hoping to find more clues that you might have missed the first time, and some are really ominous knowing what we do know now! But even knowing what will happen doesn't lessen the heartache or the pain of the bad things when they happen, and the one thing is that at least I know that Fleetfoot WILL be okay!

Now I am re-reading Heir of Fire and I'm hoping to finish it this weekend so I can have it fresh in my mind when I read Queen of Shadows next week!

The #TLCReadAlong is hosted by Britt from Book Addicts Guide!

To prepare myself to reading Winter when it releases, I decided to join this low pressure read along because I have a month to read each of the books, so I'll manage to squeeze them in between whatever other books from the TBR pile and ARCs I plan to read without worrying about "I should be reading this or that instead of re-reading"!

Cinder was a surprise the first time I read it because a retelling of Cinderella with a cyborg and in a futuristic science fiction dystopia? But this time I already knew what kind of book it was gonna be, so I had less trepidation that let me enjoy the book more. And of course I also managed to notice the lil details here and there that didn't seem as relevant at the time of reading and maybe forgotten when reading the next books.

Some of the obscure mentions make a lot more sense and the first time we meet Cress? My poor adorable Cress! Cinder didn't know what to make of her! And of course the big reveal is not surprising any more, but I think it's fun to see the clues you might have missed at first!

And of course it was simply a joy to read again all the interactions between Cinder and Prince Kai and of course my fave lines had to be the ones by Iko! I still giggle when I think of "Do you think she's seen him in the nude?", her crush on Kai is so delightful!

Now I cannot wait to re-read Scarlet starting next month!! =D

Tell Me Tuesdays #30!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome ladies of Please Feed The Bookworm and La La In The Library, where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

 Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

 First Class Murder by Robin Stevens

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are taking a holiday through Europe on the world-famous Orient Express. From the moment the girls step aboard, it's clear that each of their fellow first-class passengers has something to hide. Even more intriguing: rumour has it that there is a spy in their midst.

Then, during dinner, there is a bloodcurdling scream from inside one of the cabins. When the door is broken down, a passenger is found murdered, her stunning ruby necklace gone. But the killer is nowhere to be seen - almost as if they had vanished into thin air.
 
Daisy and Hazel are faced with their first ever locked-room mystery - and with competition from several other sleuths, who are just as determined to crack the case as they are.



First Class Murder is my reward read right now to motivate myself between ARCs reading and writing reviews. It's a MG murder mystery and I'm loving it so much!

Legacy of Kings... I am quite disappointed with it right now, I'm at 43% and I stopped reading it for a few days because it was feeling too slow and with the 7 POVs, the plot didn't seem to be going anywhere and GAH! I might end up DNFing this one...

Cinder is a re-read! I joined the #TLCReadAlong organized by Brittany from Books Addicts Guide because I want to have the books fresh for reading Winter! Cinder is August book and I've just started it last Sunday. I'm already loving re-reading it!


So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!! 

Tell Me Tuesdays #28!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome ladies of Please Feed The Bookworm and La La In The Library, where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

After quite a while since my latest Tell Me Tuesdays post, I'm back again on the saddle, trying (and failing) to get back into a more regular blogging schedule!

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.

But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

 The Veil by Chloe Neill

Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…

 Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

 In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. 

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.





Back after a while and with 2 ARCs, one physical gifted by my friend Britt from Please Feed the Bookworm, another an eARC from NG and re-reading my gorgeous hardcover of Throne of Glass for the #ReadThroneofGlass re-read in preparation for the release of Queen of Shadows on Sept 1st!! I hoping to finish the two ARCs this week, so I can have their reviews up on the before their release date of August 4th!

 So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!!

Friday Reads: Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH!!

Hey there guys!

Happy Friday! This week's Friday Reads is once again this month's The Midnight Garden Classic MG & YA book! I'm so very happy to continue with this challenge and even more since this month for the first time, it was a re-read for me too!

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I continue to take part of the Classic MG & YA challenge hosted by the ladies of The Midnight Garden and this month's book was for the first time since I joined, a re-read!

I read Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH when I was still in primary school and I think it was one of the first books I got from the public library as opposed to getting it from my school's library.

To be perfectly honest I didn't remember all that much about the book, to my shame, even if of course I knew I had read it and a very general idea. But once I started reading it I kept remembering the feelings that the book evoked in me, all those years ago!

Our main character is Mrs Frisby, a widowed mouse that is taken care of her four children on her own, and finds herself in a very tough position, where she needs to find a way to move to her summer house without it costing her the life of her younger & frail and sick child, Timothy. She finds herself getting help from unexpected allies, like a crow and an owl and finally the most unique and intelligent rats.

I remember being extremely fascinated by the rats and their past and I was equally fascinated this time around! It's fantastic how based on reality the whole labs of NIMH were, with the trials of different serums, the control group, the learning techniques with the mazes. How they were rather smart animals to begin with and how they began to improve and become more and more intelligent, plotting and planning and learning to read. I have a serious soft spot for characters in books that love reading!

I loved how strong a character our Mrs Frisby was! She was tough and kind and brave and knew how to get over her fear to do what she felt was right! The book was full of wonderful lessons like how kidness can be returned to you tenfold, how you need to make something of your own instead of simply taking the easiest way out, and it never felt preachy, which is quite an achievement!

This book really made me cheer for the rodents and hope for an alternative society of intelligent beings that were not humans. I must say that thinking about it now, this book is plenty dark and scary with the themes it deals with, but the main feelings I remember were of fascination and wonder!

A great book that was a lovely re-read for me! 4 well deserved stars!



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