(just let me finish this and get home, and then it can snow)

The Archer's Tale, by Bernard Cornwell. The plot was pretty good, and I definitely like the characters. I didn't really like the writing style, but I couldn't quite put my finger on exactly why, so I guess I'll read the others. I think maybe, from a male author, for a male character, the writing just strikes me as a bit too girly.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison. This is very good, because even people older than 14 think and deal with many of these things. The author does a very good job; she is totally believable in her guise as young teen journaler. The only thing I didn't like is that many of the entries couldn't possibly be written at the time they say. It's supposed to be maybe what the character is thinking at that second, but it makes it a bit less real.

A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray. This was very melodramatic and not altogether well-written. People who are writing fantasy need to give more background and detail, so the reader (i.e., me) isn't spending half the time trying to figure stuff out. Also, this was written in first person, of which I am not the biggest fan, and in present tense, which I despise.

Labyrinth, by Kate Mosse. I quit this one after a few chapters. The story seems really interesting, but this author was apparently told that all you need to be a good writer is to incorporate all five senses. I'm tired of the plot being delayed because I have to read about all the snapping twigs and sweet-smelling flowers and trees and sun dappling through the leaves in this pattern just so and blah blah blah. I don't need physical descriptions for every bloody character and room and scene. Get on with it! This was also written in present tense. Bleh!