Winter: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Character List:
Cinder: Princess and Heir to Luna, part cyborg
Winter: Princess on Luna, step-daughter to Levana
Cress: a gadget wiz, part of Cinder's crew
Scarlet: a human who lived in France, in love with Wolf, captured by Levana, part of Cinder's crew
Wolf: Solider that escaped from Levana's special pack, in love with Scarlet, part of Cinder's crew
Thorne: Captain and part of Cinder's crew
Kai: emperor on Earth
Levana: Queen of Luna, Aunt to Cinder
Iko: cyborg, part of Cinder's crew
Aimery: Solider on Luna, servant to Levana,
Jacin Clay: Solider on Luna, servant to Levana, in love with Winter
Torin: adviser to Kai

Review & Summary:
This is the last book in the series, and the lead up to this book is well worth it and finally paying off.   The crew that has been gathering and agreeing to help Cinder overthrow Levana to help the humans on Earth get rid of the disease she created and to help make conditions better for those on Luna have arrived on Luna.  Right away things go wrong and the team is scattered and changing the plans that they thought would work.  Winter is now learning about what Cinder has planned and trying to help.
Halfway through the book and part of you will wish there is a resolution and the other part of you is sad that the series will end soon and are hoping that Winter or Cinder come out on top.  With things having gone wrong and the plan in chaos the reader is left with bits and pieces of clues that have been woven in the stories since the start.
As the chaos of overthrowing Levana occurs several characters risk their lives and their futures are unknown.  Each character is becoming more independent, brave, and their reasons for doing this become personal as well as for the greater good.  Each of Cinder's crew is risking their lives to help her, and you want to cheer for them at their small victories, feel heartbroken at defeats, and keep your hopes up for a happy ending for all of these characters (even if it seems unlikely to happen at times).  While I do not want to spoil the ending, I am thankful that Marissa Meyer was writing the series instead of George R.R. Martin.  The ending tied up all of the story lines, at least all the ones I thought there were.  Do you find out every detail, no, but you get an idea of what the characters will be doing and what their lives will be like.  After three books and some novellas I really appreciated how the story lines came together and came to a conclusion.

Book Rating:
5 books out of 5

Suggested Reading:

       

The Invisible Hook by Peter T. Leeson

Book Review & Summary:

This book takes an interesting look at how piracy existed and thrived due to economic need, and that the pirates were not a reckless crew roaming the oceans aimlessly.  The economic principles that make companies and people successful is what was also used, on a different scale and for illegal purposes, to create successful pirate crews.  

This is a good read when thinking about economics or when heading to the beach and want to read something that looks impressive, but is really a fun read.
For me, the ideas and concepts of modern corporate management, marketing, and business being applied to history is appealing to read about.  Do you know things like "market branding" happened before it became a business buzzword and common term, yes probably, but seeing how it was being done in the 1720's by pirates is kind of interesting.
The book took me a while to get around to finishing, because even though it is an interesting read while reading, you can put the book down for several days or a week and not feel the burning desire to know what happens next.  This is because there are interesting concepts, but it is not a story to follow.  Overall I think it is an interesting read and recommend the book to those interested in Freakanomics, economics, and pirates, because it is all three rolled into one.

Rating:

4 out of 5 books - while interesting the author did repeat or overwrite some chapters.

Suggested Reading:

  Y
 

The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co. book 2) by Jonathan Stroud

Character List:

A.J Lockwood = owner of Lockwood & Co. Investigators (can see the Problems)

Lucy = investigator at Lockwood & Co. (can hear the Problems)

George = investigator at Lockwood & Co. (does most of the research on the Problems)

Quill Kipps = Adult supervisor at Fittes
Ned Shaw = a bully and an agent that works in Kipps's crew

Mr. Saunders = hires Lockwood & Co.

Mr. Joplin = works for Mr. Saunders and provides some research to the team

Dr. Edmund Bickerstaff = One of the "problems"
Marissa Fittes = the only person to have been able to speak to a level three "visitor"
Flo Bones = Relic woman who is friends (sort of) with Lockwood
Julius Winkman = antique dealer, owner of Bloomsbury Antiques Emporium, sells relics on the side
Jack Carver = relic man
Neddles = relic man, worked with Carver

Simon Wliberforce = friend of Dr. Bickerstaff
Mary Dulac = friend of Dr. Bickerstaff

Review/Summary:

Geared towards the young adult audience this is a fun read, when you want something silly and not serious.  The Problem is that ghosts and wraiths are coming back from the dead and bother the living of all ages, but only teenagers and children can see them or hear them specifically.  The team consists of Lockwood, Lucy, and George who live and reside in Lockwood's childhood home, and suspiciously his parents are not around.  The stories are told from Lucy's point of view.  This independent team is often competing with the bigger investigator houses The Fittes Agency and The Rotwell Agency.

The introductory section does a nice job reminding the readers what happened in book 1 SCREAMING STAIRCASE and what the relationship of the characters is and what the "Problem" as the book calls them are.  Starting off with conflict between Lockwood and Kipps sets the stage for a challenge and hints at problems and motivation between the two of them and their crews.  Lockwood & Co. are hired by Mr. Saunders who is cleaning up a cemetery in London when he and his investigator, Mr. Joplin, find the grave of Dr. Bickerstaff and the main case for the book is set.  A parallel plot is the skull in the jar that only Lucy can hear talk, but that George, in his quest to understand why the problem started, conducts experiments on to try and get it to talk to all three of the crew.
As the Lockwood crew starts to search for answers to Dr. Bickerstaff's stolen body and missing artifact the mystery really beings.  The challenge with Kipps is based around this mystery, as it is the main story in the book.  Lucy is talking to the head in the jar, who claims to have known Dr. Bickerstaff, but also whispers doubts into Lucy's mind.  The head in the jar tells where a clue to the mirror's power's might be found, and the crew decides to see if the head is telling the truth.  Lockwood leads his crew into questionable situations and conflict arises between him and Lucy.  As Lockwood & Co. go about trying to solve the mysteries they wind up in trouble.  The ending of the book provides a nice closure to this book and potential mystery or connections to the next book.

Also in the series:

     

Book rating:
4 books out of 5 books

Spirit of Steamboat (A Longmire Story) by Craig Johnson

Character List:

Walter "Walt" Longmire= Sheriff, widower
Martha = Walt's wife, who died several years ago
Victoria "Vic" Moretti = Under-Sheriff, from Philadelphia
Henry Standing Bear = Walt's best friend, Native american
Lucian Connally = former Sheriff, friend of Walt's often times provides help and guidance
Ferg = deputy that works for Walt
Ruby = dispatcher for Absaroka County Sheriff's Office
"Double Tough" = Deputy that works for Walt, ex-oil rig jockey
Santiago "Sacho" Saizarbitoria = Deputy that works for Walt (wife = Marie, son = Antonio)
Cady = Walt's daughter, married to Michael, lives in Philadelphia
Michael Moretti = Cady's husband, Vic's younger brother
Julie Luehrman = co-pilot & mechanic
Isaac Bloomfield = doctor in Durant
Rick = Durant Airport Manager
Ms. Oda = grandmother of injured child
Amaterasu = young girl injured, name means shining over heaven

Review and Summary:

A Christmas short story, that involves memories from Walt and Lucian.  Cady has not yet given birth to her daughter at the start of the book, but is due soon.  The short story is a great read, and does not seem like it is required to understand other books in the series.  However, I enjoy any book that helps you know more about characters that you love.
A young child is the only survivor of an accident that killed everyone in her family on Christmas Eve.  She is seriously injured and needs to be flow to a hospital in Denver that specializes in her injuries.  Her grandmother meets Walt at Durant Airport.  The life-flight helicopter barely arrived at the airport, and cannot take the young girl to Denver due to a storm that is ground flights and cannot be flown around.  The highway patrol has shut down the roads and it would take too long to drive the young girl anyway.  The only plane that can make the flight is so old that Lucian Connally has to be brought back into service by Walt.  The stage is set for a risky flight and scary adventure to get the girl there and the crew back home before Christmas.  By the middle of the book the doctor is improvising medical equipment in an aircraft that might barely get there before running out of fuel, and Walt wishing for just one thing to go right.  Of course things are not going right, and the quirks of each character shine in these situations.  A Christmas story always has a happy ending, and this one just warms your heart.

Suggested Reading and Viewing:
                 

Book Rating:
5 out of 5 books.