books 2014: The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5), by Rick Riordan

I've been looking forward to this a while. Only three stars because at this point this series has gone on so long that I can't remember who everybody is anymore and sometimes there are plot points around events from previous books that I don't remember the details of. Overall I liked the ending (while I agree with the reviewers who say that the character death was broadcast early and was too easily gotten out of, I was still glad at the way things turned out).

Can't remember when I read this, so I'm just going to say "Octoberish".

books 2014: Cecil the Pet Glacier, by Matthea Harvey

Read in fall 2014: This book tried just a little too hard to be quirky, but overall I loved this. Really sweet children's book, recommended.

books 2014: Rules of Summer, by Shaun Tan

Graphic novel. The art was beautiful and evocative of summer as a kid.

books 2014: Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan

Graphic novel, read fall 2014. We really love Shaun Tan's work but this one was a little flatter for me than some of his others that I've read. It's more a short story format. I think the one with the rockets stood out the best for me.

books 2014: Throne of Isis, by Judith Tarr

I adore Judith Tarr (I don't know why no one else seems to read her!) but this one wasn't a standout for me, possibly because I knew going in exactly how it would end, as it's Cleopatra after all. Dione isn't a fantastic heroine/narrator for me - she was okay, but not as good as Meriamon in Lord of the Two Lands. And Tarr couldn't pull off the sexual awakening plotline as adeptly in this book as in that one, considering that this heroine is a mature woman with two children. I just wanted them to get to it already. The unexpected character death at the end threw me, though. Why did Tarr have to do that? (Only because it's exactly what that character would have done but still!!) Anyway, it was a book that bothered me, and in that sense Tarr was successful, I suppose, but this isn't one I'll reread.