Posted on by Meghan G · 2 Comments

TBR Thursday: Neverwhere

Neverwhere By Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere was a recommendation from deepthiunnkrishnan, who runs the blog onturningpages, in reply to my reading wishlist post I wrote about two months ago. After reading her comment I decided to head out to my local bookstore to find it and the description instantly made me want to read it.

The book is a fantasy novel about an underground world called Neverwhere that lies beneath the city of London that has all sorts beings not found on the world above. The main character Richard Mayhew is a business man who resides in the city above and has no clue about the existence of Neverwhere, that is until he rescues a girl connected to that world.  I was intrigued by the mystery of Neverwhere and it sounds like a great fantasy novel set in one of my favorite cities.

So you may be wondering why haven’t I read it yet?

My answer is best described by a reading philosophy of a pharmacist I use to work with. She could not read a book that did not fit the current season, meaning a book set around a town at the beach could not be read in the middle of December just as a Christmas novel wouldn’t do in July.  So too were my feelings about Neverwhere after I had read about twenty pages. I feel it would be a better read in the fall, especially around Halloween as some of the characters I’ve read so far seem to match that time of year the best. So I am going to read it this fall while I sit and sip on my pumpkin spice latte wearing my skinny jeans and boots because I’m kind of basic like that. (And by basic I mean awesome just so we’re clear.)

But I am curious to know if anyone else has this same quirk about reading? Does what you read have to reflect the scenery your in or maybe you can’t read a book that doesn’t match the mood you’d like to feel at that moment? I know that I can’t often read something sad when I’m feeling pretty happy. I’d love to hear from you all and see who else might feel this way.

 

Happy Reading,

Meghan

Advertisement
Posted on by Meghan G

Shades of Doon Review: Book 3 in the Doon Series

**Warning: There may be spoilers for the the other two books in the series.**

23433222

Title: 

Shades of Doon

Author(s):

Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

 Genre:

Young Adult/Fantasy/Romance

Publish Date:

September 1, 2015

 Dates Read:

March 7 to 10, 2016

Rating:

5/5 Stars

Synopsis:

After cheating death, Veronica Welling is determined to savor every moment in her idyllic kingdom with both her true love and best friend by her side at last. At the same time, Mackenna Reid is enthusiastically building her new life and a theater with her prince. But just as their dreams of happiness are within reach, the world Vee and Kenna have chosen is ripped away, leaving them to face their most horrific challenge yet—their old lives.

Thrust out of Doon, the best friends are confronted with tormentors from their past and no way to return to their adopted land. When the MacCrae brothers rush to their rescue, the girls’ situation turns from nightmare to modern-day fairy tale. But their happiness could be short lived: unbeknownst to them, someone in their closest circle is aiding the witch of Doon in her bid to destroy the kingdom once and for all. (Goodreads)

 

Review:

Shades of Doon picks up where the second book in the series left off. At the end of Destined for Doon, Vee has basically blacked out, leaving the reader wondering exactly what happened to her. And I have to say that ending, I’ve never been more happy to stumble across the first 3 books after they were published because I know I couldn’t wait to know what happens next. Of course the authors of Doon didn’t kill off one of the main characters when the series hasn’t finished yet, but for a moment before reading Shades of Doon you worry. Its safe to say Vee makes it through but finds a very over protective Jamie in the end. As for Mackenna and Duncan they finally make head way and acknowledge the calling they’ve apparently have been having since they were children. So when the start of book 3 begins all is well in the land of Doon, or so it seems. But if you’ve read the first two books you know nothings every happy for long there.

I’ll leave that small part of the summary of the book there for now and go into my review of Shades of Doon. I will say that out of the 3 books so far Shades of Doon is my favorite. I feel like after reading through the first 2 as the reader I’ve learned about the main characters pretty well by now so there doesn’t have to be so much character back story. But don’t get me wrong I know understanding who they are is important but sometimes books can spend a lot of time explaining and not enough time on the actually story line. So I’m really glad that this is a series because I love exploring Doon a little bit more in every book. We get to see more areas of it and learn some Scottish traditions along the way. (Yay Scotland!)

I also loved that the books chapters are even between Mackenna and Veronica because unlike books 1 and 2 where Doon was more from Vee’s perspective and Destined for Doon was more from Kenna’s, Shades of Doon alternates between them. I like it mostly because you can see this story unfold and know how it affects them both without the domination of characters telling of the story. Because I know personally when I read Doon and Destined for Doon I wanted a little more from the other girl’s perspective. And pretty much the other reviews I’ve read or watched have stated the same thing so Shades of Doon really comes through.

And of course much like the first two books, Shades of Doon moves quickly. Nothing ever stays in one place too long which can get you to the end of the book before you even realize your there. I was really grateful for the pace of the book because I could read through my least favorite part quickly. Yes I know I gave a 5 out of 5 stars but you can’t love absolutely everything about everything.

So here’s it goes.

I didn’t care for the Vee and Kenna being sent back to their old lives part. Sure the story line only last there for maybe 3 chapters but I still didn’t like it. Nor did I really care for the fact of seeing Duncan and Jamie experience a brief moment in their girlfriends world. As quickly as Vee and Mackenna showed up in Indiana I was absolutely prepared for them to leave. I guess stubbornly I wanted to stay in Doon even though clearly after reading the back cover I knew that would happen. But a girl can dream.

Other than that, Shades of Doon didn’t falter in keeping my attention. Which for some books can be difficult (I’m looking at you Graceling) but Shades of Doon left me wanting more. And sadly I’ll be waiting a while for the 4th book because Forever Doon doesn’t come out until August of this year. And with the way book 3 ended, I need August to be here like yesterday.

Would I recommend? Yes, I think by my other reviews of the series this is no surprise. I think everyone should read this!

So this review wasn’t as long as the others but after reviewing the other two books I didn’t want to sound to repetitive or give too much away. I hope you enjoy the review though. And I’ll be posting again soon because I just got back from the Biltmore and I have a lot of pictures to share.

Happy Reading,

Meghan