Delightfully Quirky Reads

Although this past weekend was busy for me, I somehow found a way to read not one, but two books! I basically accomplished this by 1) Reading until late into the night. (aka 2AM ... ish) and 2) Reading children's books. 

Okay, so they aren't 500 page tomes, but they are really enjoyable for what they are.

I'm sure you're starting to see my patterns when I'm reading fluff books. Bliss is super cutesy and quirky.  The Bliss family are bakers - magical bakers. The three herb-named children are left in charge of the bakery when their parents must go away for a week. Their one task: not to let anyone know about the magic cookery book. 

As soon as their car has left the driveway, the mysterious, marvelous, and incredibly gorgeous "Aunt Lily" drops in and insists that they allow her to stay as she is family. The children can't resist her and her cooking and soon are under her charms. 

The only thing I disliked about this book is that it's the beginning of a series. This is how I feel about series: THERE ARE TOO MANY. It's like no one can actually write ONE GOOD BOOK on its own. It has to be a SAGA or a trilogy or a flipping never-ending SERIES. You can hardly pick up a YA novel that looks good without it being number #7 in the whatever chronicles. It drives me absolutely mad. And speaking of series, this book I read was ALSO number one. 

But you can read it without having to read the next one, which is why I'm even writing about it. 

Stuart Horten is a very short ten-year-old boy who has just moved to Beeton with his eccentric parents (his mother is a doctor and his father creates crossword puzzles and is therefore obsessed with words). Stuart becomes entangled in a mysterious exploration of the town when he finds out his great-uncle was a magician/illusionist in the 1940s in Beeton and his magical workshop has never been found. Setting off to find it, Stuart encounters the power hunger mayoress, a elderly woman who has a feisty seeing-eye dog, and a set of identical girl triplets.
Although this book is the first in a series, it can be read on its own without leaving you with a cliffhanger. The character reminds me a bit of Hugo Cabret, especially with all the mechanisms throughout the book. I liked the adventure, even if it was a bit far-fetched for a ten-year-old protagonist.


In other news, I'm still pushing through A Dance With Dragons. I'm going slow because who knows when book number six will come out...