Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

Summary

Rand is finished getting rested up after cleansing the taint on Saidin (the male half of the Force Power) and he wants a meeting with the Seanchan to make peace with them. But he's worried that they'll use the opportunity to set a trap for him.

Mat, fleeing the Seanchan with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, reunites with his band and prepares an ingenious campaign to distract the Seanchan and make a getaway.

Perrin has made a deal with the Seanchan that he hopes will help him get his wife back from the Shaido but can he trust Masema, The Prophet, to uphold his end of the bargain?

The siege of Caemlyn has turned into a full blown war for Elayne and casualties are rising. On top of that, Rand's orders to have the Aiel move to Arad Doman and prepare for the Last Battle takes Aviendha away from her. She hires a reformed cutpurse to follow the captain of her bodyguard, Meller, and find out just what he's up to. When that investigation uncovers a nest of Darkfriends, though, Elayne takes off on a poorly planned operation to bring them to justice.

Egwene is hanging out inside the White Tower. She's been brought right back down to being a novice but refuses to let go of her position as Amyrlin, which gets her in plenty of trouble. How long can she stand the beatings and stuff? Will she break? And what will happen to the tower?

What I liked

There was plenty of action and suspense in this latest addition to the Wheel of Time series. It kept me turning pages the whole way through. Very exciting.

What I didn't like

The drama. Like always. But it was toned down a little in this book and replaced with plenty of action and excitement.

Conclusion

My very favourite Wheel of Time book so far! The fast pace, the action, the suspense, and the excitement of this book made up for the flop that was Crossroads of Twilight. I give it 5/5 arm stumps.

Figment Book Review: The Pirate King's Daughter (Book One) by Anande Sjoden

Summary
Because Ivy Morgan is an orphan, she lives in the attic of Miss Trevelyan's boarding school for girls. There are other orphans there, particularly the dear and charming Milo, but Ivy is the oldest so it falls to her to take charge.

One of the students, Lisette Mallerton, who has always been kind to the orphans, turns up dead one morning and Ivy, discovering the body, remarks on the girl's strange tattoo. She finds it so strange, in fact, that she copies it onto her own forearm.

When it turns out that Lisette was actually murdered by the headmistress, Miss Trevelyan herself, who suspects Ivy is a witness, Ivy must assume Lisette's identity to cover the woman's crimes and save herself and the orphans from that villainous fiend.

Ivy becomes caught up in a deadly feud between two brothers. The adventures that follow are beyond imagining.

What I liked
The writing is fantastic and poetic. It's easy to read and a pleasure, too.

The story is exciting and suspenseful from start to finish. A real page turner.

The characters are very well drawn, interesting, believable, and endearing.

What I didn't like
Nothing. The book is just about perfect.

Summary
A perfectly delightful story. Full of excitement, adventure, danger, and suspense. A must read. Plus, it's free on Figment.com! Here's the link: The Pirate King's Daughter (Book One) by Anande Sjoden. I give it 5/5 buried treasures.

The Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan

Summary
The tenth book of the very, very long Wheel of Time series continues the story of Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn and his buddies. Mat, having kidnapped the Daughter of the Nine Moons is running for his life. Egwene is trying to recapture the White Tower. Perrin is trying to find his kidnapped wife. And Rand is lying in bed recovering from cleansing the taint on the male half of the Force Power.

What I liked
There was some suspense and some interesting parts, especially towards the end.

What I didn't like
Pretty much everything. This book was so SLOW!!! Frustratingly so! Boring! Too much talk and not enough action. Nothing really happens in this book, but Robert Jordan takes about six hundred pages to tell us so. And then, at the very end, one important thing happens, and the book ends.

Conclusion
If you're reading the series skip this book, you can find a summary online. I give it 1/5 cranky old ladies.

Dear Sam

Dear Sam, this morning, after I fed you and changed your diaper and you peed on me--twice--, I held you in my arms on the rocking chair and you put your head on my shoulder and fell asleep and drooled all down my neck while I sang Vito's Ordination Song to you and prayed for you.

...God of the wind and rain, the ocean and mountains, the mud and clay and sky, the grass and the trees; Creator of heaven and earth, God of the stars and the sun and the moon, God of night and day; you know this child, teach him to know you; you love this child, teach him to love you; be a father to him, you're my father, too...

Dear Sam, having you makes me appreciate who God is, as my father, so much more. To him, I am like a child. Everything I need comes from him... when you fuss and complain and scream because you want your bottle and you want it now, I'm not holding it back from you, it's warming up because I don't want to give it to you cold and I'll put it in your mouth in just a minute... God doesn't hold back from me, he gives me the things I need and the things that are good. Like you. God gives me you. And I am as helpless as you are. But I fuss and complain and whine because I want what I want and I want it now and I worry that I'll never get it and that seems like such a big deal to me.




for more:
http://figment.com/books/45886-Dear-Sam