Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

 Teen Fantasy Fiction. This book is actually two books in one. They were originally published separately as Crown Duel and Court Duel. I started reading the first part -- Crown Duel. It was a slow read for me and I put it down and picked it back up several times before I gave it back to my friend who lent it to me. She told me to give it one more try and to get past page 37 or so and then things would start to move along faster. Because I trust my friend I agreed and she was not wrong. I ended up reading it fairly quickly after said page 37. 

The plot covers the attempted overthrow of the government by smaller kingdoms and involves a bit of magic on the way. I really became invested in the two main characters and their reactions to the events. After I finished the first part I did something I shame others for doing. I turned to the last 3 chapters in the second part - Court Duel - and read the ending!  (Which ended magnificently by the way.) I'm an impatient reader and I really wanted to know how things ended. I thought that I would leave it at that, but felt drawn to read the entire second part as well. This edition of the book also includes a small short chapter after the book ends that highlights an event in the future. I ended up adoring this book and I'm so glad I kept reading!

Recommend: Yes. 

The Princess Search by Melanie Cellier

 Teen Fantasy Fiction. Melanie Cellier has written several fairy tale retelling that are connected by time and space. I read the first one in the series, a retelling of Princess of the Pea, and this one is the 5th in that series. It is a retelling of The Ugly Duckling. I've never heard of a book that has tackled this fairy tale retelling. This was a VERY loose retelling and involves people and not ducks and swans!  Cellier does a great job of having a good balance of conflict and character development. 

I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator did a fine job. 

Recommend: Yes

The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs

 Junior Fantasy Fiction. When I worked at a children's library long ago shelf reading (making sure all the titles are alphabetical by the author on the shelves) was very cathartic for me. I loved finding books that were new to me and it helped me discover treasures. I saw this book as well as the other books by this author countless times over the years but I never took the time to read them. This book was written in 1973 and is a mystery/fantasy type book. It was made into a film a few years ago, although I've never seen it. 

I enjoy reading books that were written before 1990 or so. I like the pace and the non technical world that I used to live in. This is about a young boy who is orphaned and his uncle takes him in to raise him. He soon finds out his uncle is a magician of sorts and this starts him on a number of magical adventures. It was a fun quick read and I believe I will pick up another one of Bellairs books to read in the near future. 

Recommend: Yes