The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the thread where you can submit reviews for the Best Review contest. The thread will open for submissions on October 16 and will close at Midnight EST on November 13, 2021. Voting will start the next day and run until the end of the GR day on November 30. The person whose review gets the most votes will have the opportunity to design a 20 point task for the Winter Challenge.

To be eligible for this task opportunity you must have achieved at least 100 points on the Fall 2021 Challenge Readerboard by midnight Eastern Time on October 12, 2021. Only one task per person per challenge.

Just a reminder that each person can only submit one review - but you can make edits to your review up until the end. The review does not have to be any particular length and doesn't have to be a positive one (i.e. you can choose to review a book you didn't like).
Please include your Readerboard Name.

PLEASE DO NOT comment on people's reviews in this thread - this is for submissions only - you will be able to comment when voting begins.

SPOILER ALERT!- These reviews may include spoilers

No One Noticed the Cat, Anne McCaffery
Reviewed by trishhartuk, 5*s

Most of the Anne McCaffery books I’ve read in the past have been in the Pern series, but I came across a reference to this little gem from 1996 on a book website. It piqued my curiosity so I thought I’d give it a try. It was utterly delightful.

Packed into 160pg, it was a mini fantasy epic, complete with a young prince coming of age; the death of a wise regent; inter-kingdom politics; misdirection; and a “fur personage” called Niffy-cat. At the same time, McCaffery managed to draw the world it was set in very nicely, in such a short space.

The mood is set from the first page, when it describes the hero. “Jamas came from a long line of wilful, impetuous, gallant, adventurous princes. Which was why he had been orphaned at an early age when his hey-go-mad young parents killed themselves in a carriage race.” From there, it moves on at a gentle but entertaining pace, until a final dénouement worthy of a much longer book. Overall, the whole story was told with humour and panache.

Definitely a book for cat lovers wanting a quick read that isn’t a cozy mystery!

The Prestige by Christopher Priest
2 Stars
Reviewed by TraceyL

If this book was about half as long, I would've loved it. Specifically the second half of the book had long sections that could've been completed taken out and improved the reading experience. It's interesting reading other reviews now that I've finished, and how people who loved it say that this book is definitely NOT a page-turner but one you have to work through.

I absolutely loved the two magicians bickering with one another - showing up to each other's shows and revealing their secrets to the crowd. I liked the sci-fi/fantasy aspect but did find it a bit dry and thought it could have been made more exciting. I could've done without the family drama and investigation stuff.

I did watch the movie when it came out, but although I remember really enjoying it at the time, I had zero memory of the plot at all. I only had a few moments when reading this when I vaguely remembered a scene or bit of dialogue from the movie, so it really didn't affect my experience.