The Well of Eternity (War of the Ancients #1) - Richard A. Knaak

A while back, we purchased a Humble Bundle that had World of Warcraft content. There were comics, manga and novels. I was getting a bit nostalgic about WoW, so I decided to dive into this trilogy.

Krasus is a dragon mage who enlists the help of his friend, Rhonin, to investigate a wrongness in their world. Nozdormu, the Dragon of Time, needs help. When the mages get close to the anomaly, it transports them back in time. It's before the initial invasion of the Burning Legion. A portal is being made to try and bring the Legion into the night elf city, and Krasus and Rhonin have to decide if they want to risk altering the past and possibly destroying the future.

There is a lot going on in this. An orc has also been transported to the past, and he has zero chance of blending in. He doesn't even really have any idea what's happened to him. Familiar names in the world of the night elves had me wracking my brain to remember them. Malfurion Stormrage and his twin, Illidan are young and just learning how to use their powers. Tyrande, the priestess of Elune, has yet to choose who to spend her life with. But with the Legion trying to come through, they don't have tons of time to figure out their love life.

I really enjoyed this book, but I hated the copy I got from Humble Bundle. It was long enough ago that the link no longer worked, so I was stuck with each page of my pdf being landscape with two pages on it. I had to read it on my tablet, which I really don't like doing.

You're definitely meant to keep going with the trilogy. I wouldn't recommend diving into this unless you plan on reading all three. While major elements of the plot are wrapped up, other important elements are left unsettled.

The story was really fun for me. I could see a lot of the characters in my mind as I read about them, but I haven't played in a few years, so I looked up a few to refresh my memory of what they looked like. The night elves are special to me, since my main character was a night elf priest. World of Warcraft was a big part of my life for a long time. I went around healing my warrior husband, and we made friends that we still have to this day. I'm glad the other two books are in a normal format, and I look forward to diving into the next one, The Demon Soul. Good Book! 

Love Lifts the Curse - Barbara Cartland

I’m always in the mood for a Barbara Cartland. They follow a formula, and I can read them in a day.

In this one, Jacoba has to move out of her house after her father and uncle die in a rail accident. She has no money and no idea what to do. Her solicitor finds a position for her with an old man, but it’s actually a young(ish) Earl. His nephew was annoyed with him and decided to play a joke on him by sending him a woman. The Earl has sworn to not have women in his home, and the nephew thinks sending a random woman will be a hilarious joke.

Once Jacoba arrives, she finds out she’s been deceived. The Earl isn’t old, deaf or blind. In fact, he yells at her so loud that his dogs attack her. Once she starts to get better, the Earl is attacked and spends a good chunk of the book unconscious. But guess what? They fall in love!

This is definitely a Barbara Cartland. The woman is dumber than a box of rocks and is incapable of speaking a sentence without pausing every two words. The man and woman are barely together, but they are madly in love! If you know what to expect from these, you’ll be content. For me, they’re nostalgic and hilarious. It’s almost always a Good Book! and this one gets the tag!

The Shadowy Horses - Susanna Kearsley

I was looking up authors who were similar to Barbara Michaels, and this book was listed. I waited for the price to drop, and I was anxious to see how it measured up.

Verity has agreed to go on a dig with her ex-boyfriend, Adrian. She knows nothing else about it, but by his tone, she’s knows it’s something big. She finds out a man is searching for a unicorn. Not a literal unicorn, but it’s a specific Roman encampment that no one’s been able to find. While she’s there, she meets David, and they are the romance element.

While on the dig, the supernatural is also present. Verity hears horses galloping through almost every night, but there aren’t any. Also, there’s a Roman soldier that can be communicated with through a little boy. It shouldn’t be possible to find what they’re looking for, but they get clues that lead them to the truth.

I really liked certain elements of this book, but I’m not sure I loved the way they were used. The horses for example. I may have missed it, but I never understood why they were there. Peter told an Irish tale about horses and the waves, but this group was in Scotland. And then there was the Sentinel. I thought this was a clever in some respects. But I felt like he wasn’t in there enough.

The thing that bothered me the most was the romance. There was nothing specifically wrong with it, but I wasn’t a fan. It ruined the end for me, because I wanted to know what they did about the Sentinel, and instead, I had to read about David and Verity. It was also a bit abrupt for some reason. Not the rescue itself, I guess I’m referring to the wrap-up. Was it a bad book? Not at all. Was it something that made me want to read more? Nah.

Beyond Band of Brothers - Major Dick Winters

If you've seen HBO's Band of Brothers mini-series, you'll know who this man is.

This book is the life of Dick Winters. He covers almost all of his life, and he gives some information that goes beyond what was written in Stephen Ambrose's book about Easy Company.

It took me a while to get through this one, and I'm not sure I can explain why. I think that since I've read a few of the memoirs from this group, and I've seen the show, it was a bit repetitive. I should probably spread out reading them a bit more. Also, I've been spreading myself a bit thin by trying to read too many things at once.

On the flip side of that, I really enjoyed getting this man's particular point of view. He was right in the thick of things for the important battles, and considered a good friend and comrade to many. At the end of the book, he goes over some thoughts on leadership. I'm not really in a position where that would apply to me, but the advice is solid.

Thanks to men like Major Winters and men he fought with, we have examples of what real courage and bravery look like. I'll give it a Good Book! review, but it isn't one of the ones that will stand out in my memory.

A Certain Crossroad - Emilie Loring

I guess I've been living under a rock. Emilie Loring is an American romance author who started writing at the age of 50. She ended up writing 30 books during her lifetime. After her death, her sons took her unfinished material and published 20 more. My semi-sad copy was a purchase at the used book store, and it cost me less than $1! I'd never heard of her.

Judy made a mistake a year ago. She gave Neil an ultimatum, but he didn't bow to her wishes. She knows she was selfish, but when she meets Neil again, his attitude is cold. When Judy is pushed off a tree, it brings the two together again, but the mystery doesn't stop there. Strange things are happening on the water, and not everyone is what they seem.

This book felt very familiar. After I finished it, I decided it's like a romantic Nancy Drew. Almost like a cross over of Nancy with a Barbara Cartland. The great thing is, the heroine isn't a total idiot. She was irritating a couple of times, but overall, she was much stronger and smarter than the average Barbara Cartland heroine.

I really did enjoy this one. It was the third book Loring published (in 1925), and I'm really impressed with the style and story, especially considering when it was written. I will say it definitely follows a template. It was a great diet book, and I wouldn't mind reading more. Good Book!

Reader's Digest Illustrated Story of World War II - Various

This large hardback is part of my childhood. For as long as I can remember, it's been on a bookshelf. When my mother was going to donate it, I put a stop to that. I've been interested in WWII for a while now, so I thought, "why not actually read it?" What I did was to read one article or section (for the longer ones) a day. I didn't always keep to the schedule, but I was fairly consistent. I think that's pretty good for basically a textbook.  

This book covers the whole war, and you can probably find that anywhere. The articles are from various first-hand accounts and research. What I think really sets this book apart from other WWII books is the pictures. It lives up to its illustrated story claim! It has pictures from both the Allies and the Axis. Some of them are pretty famous and others I've never seen before.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't know how hard it is to get a hold of this book, but if you're into WWII history, I recommend it. You can't have mine, though. I'm keeping it! Good Book!

Parasyte (manga series) - Hitoshi Iwaaki

I've got a fair number of manga I've gotten interested in reading lately, and this was one of them.

Shinichi is getting ready to finish school when he is attacked one day by a parasite. It's aiming for his brain but becomes lodged in his arm instead. Others aren't as lucky and are infected. Almost every parasite eats humans, and the bodies they leave behind are gruesome. 

Shinichi and Migi (since he's in the right hand) need each other to survive. Other parasites want to kill Shinichi because he interferes with their plans, and humans are protecting their species. Along the way, Shinichi and Migi get closer, although Migi claims to only care about his survival. Sometimes, he lives up to that statement, and other times it sounds like Shinichi is losing a bit of his humanity.

I really liked the story here. The way the author incorporated the parasites and the way they would fight was really creative and interesting. I'm not going to say a ton about the plot. It's worth a read. The end especially had some profound moments, and I liked it.

I would recommend this manga to people who aren't afraid to question why things happen and the way humans treat things they don't understand. My volumes had Q&A with the author, and I found those super interesting. It's helpful to see where the author is coming from and what inspired him. Good Manga!