Ignore the trolls. Wonderful story!
930573
This is a wonderful story. Every animal lover will connect with Yoda!
1266123
Published in 2004 by Recorded Books
Performed by Gerard Doyle
Duration: 13 hours, 51 minutes
Unabridged

Brilliantly read by Gerard Doyle, The Sea of Trolls is essentially the story of a young boy living in 793 England who is kidnapped by Vikings, taken back to their home and eventually returns home.

But, this story is so much more than that.

Jack is an adolescent that lives in an English coastal village with his parents and younger sister. This world is Christian with a hefty bit of pagan practices thrown in. This is not a comfortable mix.

Jack is invited to be the apprentice for the local bard. Bards are more than mere story-telling musicians - they can weave magic by being in touch with something called the Life Force. Their music can enhance and focus their magic. Jack's mother exhibited such tendencies as well but she was never formally trained.

While in the midst of his training, Jack's teacher is magically attacked by a half-troll Viking queen (married to King Ivar the Boneless) and the village is soon physically attacked by Berserker Viking raiders from the same kingdom. Jack and his sister are captured by these raiders and their leader, the fearsome Olaf One-Brow plans to sell them as slaves back in the kingdom of Ivar the Boneless.

While traveling back to the Viking kingdom, Jack's nascent talents as a Bard are discovered and he moves into a new, precarious position - still a slave yet also valuable to Olaf as a weaver of spells and singer of his praises. But, if he casts a spell incorrectly or sings a song wrong his life may be forfeit.

A mistaken spell in the great hall of Ivan the Boneless and his half-troll wife sends Jack, Olaf and the sullen young shield maiden Thorgill on an epic quest across the Troll Sea into a land that only exists in legend - a land filled with trolls, man-eating plants, giant spiders, sea monsters, dragons and more...

This is a fun story, has lots of depth and plenty of opportunity to talk about how people are rarely all good or all bad. For example, the Vikings warriors are thieves, slave traders and brutal murderers of an entire village. But, they are also honorable friends, wonderful hosts and fantastic family men.

I listened to this audiobook with my freshman daughter. It was her first audiobook experience and she absolutely loved it. I was more than impressed by the narration of Gerard Doyle. He voices men, women, boys, girls, trolls, crows, and even more with great skill.
3738308
Not sure of the PC term, I don't subscribe to that drivel, unless it simplifies things. This is one of the best stories I have read in a LONG time. I can't wait for the sequel. I cannot recommend this book enough. Thank you Kacey!
4031960
I totally agree- this book is fabulous...the illustrations are crazy! Just a few examples of some denizens of John O'Brien's world: a kiwi-like bird with booted legs carrying three people piggybacked on his back (wish I had italics); a small head, sorta trollish, with feet coming out directly from under the head (no neck, torso, legs are present); a running dude with a small, wooden building encasing his head and upper body- he has reins about a small person who is riding a possibly legless "kiwi"...and this is just in one illustration! It sounds creepier than it is, so do not panic. The book contains three short stories retold by George Jonsen: "The Three Billy Goats Gruff", "The Trolls and the Pussy Cat", and "The Stone Cheese". Hopefully, the first story is universally known to all...the second story is about a pack of trolls who take over a family's house every Christmas Eve. They sleep in the beds, pig out, break stuff- yeah, they act like a pack of trolls. A hunter who asks to sleep over saves the day when his polar bear, who an unwary, teasing troll believes to be a pussy cat, throws the troll out the door and all his comrades follow, never to harass the family again. The third story involves a giant troll that tries to scare off three brothers so that they do not cut down trees in the forest. He does scare off the two elder brothers, but the youngest one brings a ball of cheese with him. When the troll accosts him, he pretends that the cheese is a stone, and he proceeds to squeeze water from the "stone", much to the troll's horror. From that day on, the troll cut the family firewood and even hauled the logs back to their house. Get this book pronto...in all my years of going to thrift stores (seven spent on lookin' at kids' books), I have only found one other book by O'Brien (just several months ago). In that book, his style is there, but it is not imbibed with monsters or trolls (re: please see "Comments"). When I looked up his stuff on Amazon, it seemed his artwork had metamorphosed into something tamer. This book belongs to the weird at heart.
3154876
I am not one for long winded reviews. I am a high fan of Space Operas. This series is well developed and has a good continuation throughout it's story line. Keep them coming ! For those few trolls that always find fault on every book they read, go subscribe to Netflix and move on. A good read and highly recommenced !!!
685319
Don't Speak by Katy Regnery
Part of the Modern Fairytale Series

4.5 Stars - Once I started reading this book I didn't want to stop! Regnery has a wonderful ability to pull you into a world and make you want never want to leave. She always brings out my emotions and this story was no different. I am trying hard to write this review without giving away any spoilers. So I broke it down best I could:

What I Loved:

That Erik and Laire are drawn to each other right away.
Laires personal growth - she starts out quite naive but proves to be a strong woman and works hard to have the life she wants.
That the story proves: family isn't always blood related.
The love Erik and Laire have for each other.
There are some funny parts and some great tender moments.
How they meet years later I was all giddy with excitement at that point in the book!

What I liked less:

I found Laire almost too naive in the beginning, but she's from a remote island, and considering her family...ugh.. I get it.
The major plot turning point, sorta had me scoffing.. perhaps I expected something more?
Laires family.. the way they think and act is horrible and completely archaic. I just flat-out disliked them.

 All in all, I quite enjoyed this story and would totally recommend it. It feels more like an actual real-life happy ending, than a super-all-tied-up-perfect unbelievable one. It's a good addition to the series and I think the author made the story fit The Little Mermaid tale well. I also want to add.. I loved the cover!! It's beautiful!

*I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

~Paragraphs and Petticoats~
2011144
I loved, loved, loved the story:  Abby is a little 7-year-old girl who killed the monster under her bed and then grew up to become one of the Fearless:  supernatural guardians who protect children from the monsters that only children can see, whether those monsters are under beds, or in closets, attics or basements.
I really liked the heroine's character:  she is a grownup who actually listens to and believes kids.  Her bravery and devotion to her duty is sweet.  Abby's backup, confidante and mentor in her monster killing activities is her Guide, Tawa, an ancient spirit who resides within a stuffed toy hippo.  Abby's unwanted partner, is a wild Fae named Demetrius, whose life she saved and who is now bound to her by a Blood Debt until he saves her life in return.  Abby and Demetrius' sparring, attraction and growing love for each other is very amusing.  I really enjoyed Demetrius' sense of humor and witty double entendres.
The writing was excellent, the characters were so appealing, there's non-stop action and lots of snarky humor.  Even the editing was superior:  I found no misspellings, grammatical errors, missing or incorrect words, wrong tenses, bad formatting or anything else to distract from the story.
My only regret is that this story was not longer. It was so enjoyable, I hated for it to end. I am eagerly looking forward to more of this author's work. I got lucky and got this as a free download, but I absolutely would have paid.
618140
First, thank you so much to ban for not messing up my favorite couple.... I really don't want anything to happen them ! Also, it was slightly unexpected story but I very much enjoyed it ! Don't make us wait too long for the end of the story !
1219197
I had been wanting to read this for awhile, so I finally ordered it from Amazon.  I was not disappointed!  The story was wonderful, uplifting, and bittersweet.  Gruen's research on circus history added much to an already entertaining plot.

This is another book my 14-year-old son read after I did.  There are some graphic parts though, so use your own judgment before you pass it on to your kids.

Enjoy!
621126
The Lumpy Duckling was a wonderful fairy tale about two friends. One friend Lawrence, nicknamed Lumpy because of his misshapen mouth from the candies hes constantly eating and Eloise, nicknamed Wheezy because of all her sneezing were constant companions. While others made fun of Lumpy, Wheezy could see his true nature.

Wheezy is very bothered by the way the others treat Lumpy, so when she is afforded an opportunity to be granted a single wish, she wishes that others would see Lumpy the way that she sees him. Her wish leads to very unexpected consequences.

I liked the themes of loyalty and friendship in the story. This story reminds us to look beyond the exterior of a person to their personality and not just their looks. Thats a lesson we all need reminding of.

I loved the way this story tells us that wed better be careful what we wish for. While we might get what we want, the way we might get it might be a whole lot more painful than we might expect.

This was a great updated retelling of an old fairy tale. It was clean, fun and will hold the interest of the readers. I gave The Lumpy Duckling 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest book review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

This review was published on my blog Shelf Full of Books http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-lumpy-duckling-blog-tour-excerpt.html http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-lumpy-duckling-blog-tour-excerpt.html
3558876
This story is so sweet. I don't think I read such a sweet story before. It's simple and light hearted. Easy to enjoy. The kind of story that you can just read for pleasure, and not have to ponder and analyze over.

A ton of people said that they were confused over the gender thing. What is there to be confused about? Kohaku is neither male or female, just an angel who falls in love with a man. There is no such thing as a male or female angel (though some of them might look a bit more feminine than others). It's so simple. AS other reviewers pointed out, Tokyopop called Kohaku a "she" because they couldn't call it "it", causing it to sound like they were adressing a thing, rather than an angel.

Gosh, people just get wound up so easily, it's scary. An the religion thing. You would think that these stories are being examined by obsessed Bible fanatics. So everything is not perfect in heaven. Who would have guessed?

Overall, Clamp brought to life a wonderful, cute story that should be apreciated for for what it is and the message it conveys. I mean, the message is basically foribidden love. In this case it's between an angel - not a woman, not a man - and a man from Earth. It's just love and attachment.

Some need to understand that it doesn't always have to be so clear cut and boring, like the typical love stories (girl falls for boy (or vice-versa), oh, no, their families oppose it, there are dark pasts that need to be unraveled, what will they do? Everyone wants them apart, cause one is rich, or popular, or just too cool and the other is poor, or not famous, or geeky. Stuff like that.

Love should not be defined like that. Man and woman. In this story, we have man and angel. Not +woman+, but angel. So what? It's still love. Maybe if we considered angel a gender of its own it would be more clear?......

If some of you really want something to critizise in terms of religion, read Angel Sanctuary- an awsome manga that breaks all the limits.
454285
Very sweet, very wholesome, great message.
This is great if you are trying to stay away from the mainstream garbage out there for kids and/or want a beautiful story with a Christian theme!
1092801
Loved the story. Good use of catchy rhyming and rhythm. Kids love it! Highly recommended. You'll enjoy it for sure.
3077240
By definition, a troll is a supernatural creature from Scandinavian folklore that lives in caves or in mountains. It is stumpy, mishapen, and can be as big as a giant or a small as a dwarf. It has been known to abduct children. Trolls have made appearances in such literary works as BEOWULF, LORD OF THE RINGS and HARRY POTTER. With that in mind, you should be prepared for the unexpected in this novel by the Finnish author Johanna Sinisalo. You will not be disappointed. This writer has crafted a bizarre but strangely moving love story between Mikael, nicknamed Angel, a young Finnish photographer, and a troll whom he rescues from a pack of hoodlums one midnight as the young man staggers home from a night of drinking and unrequited lust for one Martes, who says he is only looking for "good conversation." Angel takes the troll in, nurses him back to health and starts down a path from which there is no return. With each passing day, Angel finds himself becoming more hopelessly attached to the troll with the juniper-berry smell-- whom he names Pessi-- and having to hide his new housemate from his friends and neighbors. As you would expect, a novel about a love affair between a man and a troll will not have a happy ending. Even so, I was not quite ready for the explosive finale.
Ms. Sinisalo's prose is  both concise and evocative: "I look him [Martes] in the eyes. His face wears a friendly, open, and understanding smile. He seems at once infinitely lovable and completely unknown. His eyes are computer icons, expressionless diagrams, with infinite wonders behind them, but only for the elect, those able to log on." The author raises questions about man's relationship with wild creatures-- how much we know or don't know about them and what they know about us. She seems to say something about the animalistic tendences that lie deeply hidden in the most civilized of us just waiting to be let loose.
Although on one level, TROLL is just a great story that you cannot stop reading, on another it asks questions about the  very nature of us all.
2579665
Really a fun take on a classic story!  The only negative is the narrator needs to watch how close to the mic he gets on 's' sounds and when he gets so loud. I Understand the emotion of it all but listening becomes more of a game of turning the volume up and down than actually hearing the story - which is great. Need to find the emotion in the character more than the volume. Great story and loving the Claus  book now. Great writer!
1842779
It is no surprise some narrow-minded christians are rating this book with one star, this book speaks about religious fanaticism and its consequences in a small town full of naive, power-hungry, or narrowed people. People should be consequent and not consider teenagers as young adults, and then write an angry review due to moral issues. Then, some reviewers apparently forgot they were reading a horror story.

This is a very well written book with an interesting plot development and a fantastic variety of characters suited in a small town. I've enjoyed this book so much, I went and bought the second book (and that's my first Amazon buy, I'm a new Kindle owner). Some free books give self-publishing a bad name, this definitely makes things even, it's a good quality reading enjoyable by adults of all ages, I'm on my thirties and normally avoid YA books like pest unless the quality of the story is too great to belong to a single age rank.

Unless you get easily offended with everything involving religion, or wearing a purity ring, you'll love the story.

(English is not my first language, I wish I had been able to write a better review and give a full impression of how much I enjoyed this reading).
485800
I absolutely loved the story! There were a couple characters I started out hating, and I didn't care what happened to them, but as the story went on, I was glad they remained for so long.  I love how this author was able to make me feel as though I was in each scene. I could clearly visualize each event and person/ creature.