Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William ShatnerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars My husband and I started watching Star Trek: The Original Series about a month ago and I stumbled across this book while browsing my library’s website. I grew up watching The Original Series in Germany; every Saturday afternoon they would show an episode and I looked forward to it. Listening to William Shatner describe his friendship with Leonard Nimoy was highly informative and extremely interesting. Comparing his upbringing and acting training with Nimoy’s, one begins to have a greater appreciation for the person and professional that had so much input into creating the well-loved…

The Broken Ones by Danielle L. JensenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars We are back in Trollus, but this time before the Songbird’s entrance. This is the story of Marc and Penelope and provides us with an explanation for Marc’s character in the The Malediction Trilogy.I always liked Marc and was looking forward to reading more about him through his point of view, which also gives a different perspective on Tristan. Sadly, I wasn’t a fan of Penelope. I understood where she came from and that her life was not the greatest, yet I sensed a character trait that I didn’t like.The story gives us the foundation of Tristan’s plot…

The Princess Diarist by Carrie FisherMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I love listening to Carrie Fisher reading her own works. She has such a great persona while reading her innermost thoughts as they were written by her during the filming of Star Wars.This was an eclectic collection of thoughts, memories, and diary entries (read by her daughter Billie Lourd) that provided a greater understanding of the person, who most only know as Princess Leia. Different and a bit darker than Wishful Drinking, but just as insightful, I would recommend it to anyone, looking to expand their reading experience to memoirs/autobiographies. View all my reviews

Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Inès de La FressangeMy rating: 3 of 5 stars A bit of a disappointment for me, since I hoped for a bit more fashion advice in the sense of how to build a functional wardrobe without unnecessary clutter, but most of the book is a long stream of contradictory information with countless pages dedicated to small boutiques in Paris. This is great for someone, who wants to shop in Paris, but not so much for someone, who lives far away from Paris and is just desperately looking for guidance on how to make the transition from college-frumpy-style to everyday chic.Also, the last chunk of…

The Gilded Cage by Lucinda GrayMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I can’t remember how I came across this book, but it intrigued me enough to borrow it from the library. Thinking back on the story, I must say that it was a very concise story in comparison to other books of similar length. It maintained it’s sole focus on the main plot with little detail going beyond it, with most of the attention placed on the creation of dismal and hard to escape situations.I didn’t particularly like the main character and she was at times the cause of much frustration, but her story held enough mystery to keep me…

The Child by Fiona BartonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review. To add a quick note about the publisher; I requested this book while it was available only for certain markets, I was denied the request, but the publisher was nice enough to inform me that if I requested it again, it would be available for me to read. I truly appreciate their consideration.I cannot lie, this book had me twitching with some anxiety after finishing it. Secrets were uncovered and truths revealed and it wasn’t pretty, but I enjoyed every moment I spent reading this mystery/thriller.This story…

Sleeper by MacKenzie Cadenhead I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.I made it through about one quarter of this story before I decided that this wasn’t for me. I grew restless with the seemingly never-ending introduction and the overtaking of the story by the main character’s romantic (?) interest. I can barely remember the main character’s name, but the guy, who shows up out of nowhere and takes over her entire attention is mentioned an annoying number of times.Generally speaking, my rule of thumb is that if after a quarter of the story I still feel like I am in the introduction part of…

Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes by Carl BarksMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Another great collection of Donald Duck comics. This one contained smaller stories as well as one page stories, which was a nice treat.Again, this collection included a winter story, which was fun and had me looking forward to the snow.I was sad when I finished it, since I knew I was not going to be able to find the rest in the Carl Barks series and these were such good stories.Either way, if anyone stumbles across the Carl Barks Donald comics, give them a try, you won’t be disappointed. View all my reviews

Donald Duck: Christmas on Bear Mountain by Carl BarksMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This was only one of two comic book collections available from The Carl Barks Library at my local library and the longer I looked at the cover, the more certain I became that I actually owned the German version in my youth. As I read through the different stories, little details would tickle my memory of me looking at those pictures over 20 years ago.I love this collection. It was fun, very entertaining and included not only Donald Duck but also his three nephews and a guest appearance by Uncle Scrooge. I really enjoyed the Christmas/winter…