erinbrenner's reviews
509 reviews

Hearne keeps up his engaging style and witty writing, but I was upset with the choices Atticus made. Now that I've read the book after this one, I feel better about those decisions. It's a sign of a good writer and a good story when you feel so personally invested in what a series character does. Love this series!

I was so happy to see Atticus change his mind about his actions in the previous book. Another great read!

Martin writes such a massive story that it's difficult to keep all the players and events straight in one's head. When there is such a long time between volumes, it's even harder. I was halfway through this book before I was back in the swing of things. The book ended sort of abruptly as well. But now that I'm reacquainted with all the characters, I'm eager for part 6. Leave publishing part 6 too long, though, Mr. Martin, and I'll end up losing interest for good. I read books like this for entertainment. If I have to work too hard just to remember what the heck is going on, I'll pass on reading it.

I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning because of it's structure. It seemed to meander and I wasn't always sure what period Keaton was talking about. Slowly, though, I began to see the collage she made of her and her mother's story: how the two fit together and tell one story of love and loss. Throughout the book, it's clear how much Keaton loved her mother and what a wonderful woman she was. We should all love our mothers so--and all mothers should live up to such love. I pray I do with my own children.

Because of the book's structure, this is a quick though poignant read. It was easy to read a page or two before bed, and just as easy to keep reading long after my bedtime.

This is outside of my usual genre, but I really enjoyed it. And applaud the author's bravery in creating an ending that might not be popular with all readers. It think it was a good ending, the right ending.

See my review at Copyediting: http://www.copyediting.com/key-slang.

It's been a while since I'd read a de Lint book. He used to be one of my favorite authors, but it had gotten to a point where I'd read everything and I had to wait for something new. I guess I left it too long because now there seems to be a lot out there. This is definitely one of his weaker books.

The biggest problem is that de Lint just doesn't do a good job addressing Grace's issues with the Catholic faith and yet that's what the book ends up being about. Two-thirds of the book is devoted to something else entirely and then the last third only dances around the topic. A major character is developed and then dropped, off stage, and his whole story line, which was half the book up until that point, just disappears. Minor characters are given such life but have their stories quickly wrapped up. Even Grace's story is wrapped up quickly, with a whiff of deus ex machina hanging about. I love de Lint's work and I wanted The Mystery of Grace to explore Catholicism better than it did. I enjoyed reading it, but I was disappointed with the book.