Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Review: Clean Sweep


Clean Sweep
Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Love! Ilona Andrews always come up with the most unique magic and modern life mixtures I've seen. Clean Sweep is no exception. I love the Inns, most especially the kitchen. Oh, if I could just have a pantry like that. They also seemed to be subtly poking fun at the vampire/werewolf love triangle. Though to be clear there is only the barest of romance. The entirety of this story contains unique creatures, places, and magic. It is very much its own unique world. I do hope to see more in the future.

Now that I have the initial gush over I can write more clearly. Dina is an Innkeeper. This means she has an Inn, with currently one guest. Her and the Inn have a kind of symbiotic relationship, she takes care of the Inn and it takes care of her. On the Inn grounds her power, so far, seems limitless. Off Inn grounds, her power is severely limited.

For the most part Inns are neutral territory, only getting involved when the Inn and it's guests are threatened. Dina though is not a typical Innkeeper. She just can't stand by while her neighbors are at risk. So she involves herself before her neighbors get hurt pr possibly even killed.



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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Review: Blood Trinity


Blood Trinity
Blood Trinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I have not actually finished the book, I'm just done with it. I've been puzzling out my thoughts on this book and why I'm not inclined to read it and I've figured it out. Characters are not memorable and I have no sense of curiosity about what comes next. I do enjoy reading the novel, when I am actively reading it, but after putting it down I have no desire to pick it back up. In fact I find myself thinking about the pile of books I would like to read.

Another reviewer mentioned Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I have to agree. The snappy comebacks and commentary feel like stuff Buffy would say. Not too annoying but I do think it interferes with the character building. One thing that did annoy me was Evalle's hormonal reaction to every new male she met. This woman feels as if she needs to get laid. Another thing was the author's use of alpha. Every single male it seemed had alpha instincts. Females were not described with alpha, even though none of them seemed beta to me, Evalle seemed alpha herself. I begin to wonder if the author knows what that word means. More likely though, she's making the mistake of telling instead of showing.

PS. I had to look up Evalle's name. That is how little of an impression this character left.



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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Review: Thankless in Death


Thankless in Death
Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It took me a bit of time to finish this one, about a week. I think that had more to do with getting pulled into a knit project. This book, was fun and enjoyable but felt lacking a bit. I would have liked to see more with Roarke's family. Also lacked in the Eve Summerset sniping. For the most part there seemed to be a lot of focus on the mystery, the family bits really didn't come in until the last third of the story.



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Friday, October 25, 2013

Review: Bones of the Lost


Bones of  the Lost
Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I started by reading a few chapters a night. This morning I decided to read a few more chapters. Now, late afternoon and finished. Just kept wanting more. It is just that good. My one complaint is that I knew where it was heading long before Brennan did. That bothered me a bit, I like to ride along with the character. Discover things when they do, feel shocked when they do, so on. I am not the type of reader that enjoys the guessing and solving for themselves. In this one though, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on from the beginning, just not the details.

The pace is consistent and steady. The novel moves smoothly. No dragging parts where you feel like giving the "hurry up" signal. Also a nice interspersing of personal while keeping the main focus on the mystery.



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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Review: Not the Killing Type


Not the Killing Type
Not the Killing Type by Lorna Barrett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A fun and enjoyable read. I am quite happy with Tricia's relationship with the sheriff. That being said, there seems to be way too many players in that part of Tricia's life. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if Russ jumps back in it in the next book.

I am getting a little tired of Tricia just stumbling upon bodies. It's beginning to be a bit repetative and a tad unimaginative. There are more ways that a person could end up in a murder investigation without haveing to find the body.

Some of Angelica's recipes sound yummy and I can't wait to try them.



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Saturday, October 19, 2013

Review: Bastion


Bastion
Bastion by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Quite enjoyable and fun, sadly I suspect this will be the last in this series. We find out who Mag's is and more. His relationship with Amily grows and blossoms. There are some old characters we get to learn more about. Overall, I wonderful book, though it did feel more like Redoubt: part 2.

There was one thing that I did have issue with; the love scene between Mag's and Amily. It felt awkward, not like the characters felt awkward, but like Lackey felt awkward writing the scene. I know Lackey can do better then this because I've read better scenes from her.

As I said, I think this will be the last in the Collegium series. I do hope it is not. I would love to read about an adventure that Mag and Amily have with Mag's being a full Herald. i am also quite curious about how successful Bey is in his quest.



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Monday, October 14, 2013

Review: Murder on the Half Shelf


Murder on the Half Shelf
Murder on the Half Shelf by Lorna Barrett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Quite enjoyable, with some amusing parts. I docked the book down to three stars because of Tricia's relationship with Grant. I would have told the sucker to get loss. Impartiality my behind! The dude needs to figure out if he wants Tricia or not and then commit. None of this, "I can't show favoritism during an investigation" crap. I wonder if he has a side piece, maybe the 911 operator, and is just having a hard time balancing the time demand.



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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Review: Born of Night


Born of Night
Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Enjoyable, but at times a tad annoying. There seemed to be plenty of predictable behavior in the romance. Further, for a woman constantly under threat she certainly knew nothing of protecting herself. I did enjoy the characters and story over all though.

PS Read the Author's Note. It's not important to the actual story but it is still a wonderful note.



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Thursday, September 12, 2013

Review: Deception Cove


Deception Cove
Deception Cove by Jayne Castle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Enjoyable. I do love the dust bunnies, all of them. More information comes to light about Rainshadow, the Aliens, and dust bunnies. There is definitely more to come from Rainshadow and I can't wait.

PS. I would like to thank the people at Sony eBook store. The copy I had bought had some odd lettering and symbols where quotation marks should have been. Seriously annoying anytime there was any dialoge. I brought this to the attention of Sony. They fixed it within a few days and had given me a coupon worth the value of the eBook.



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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Review: City of Bones


City of Bones
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



I picked up the first three chapters through Sony Ebook Store as a freebie. I only read the first chapter, and nope have not interest in reading more. It started going down hill page two. “Clary liked the lilt to his shoulders” Lilt? Did I just read that correctly? *checks* Yep, I did. It seems his shoulders has obtained a voice that has a wonderful up and down cadence. Yes, for those that are missing a dictionary, lilt refers to a persons voice. Not shoulders, or any other body part.

Now, I don't think I'm all that picky about grammar, especially since my own is not that best. Between the shoulders with a voice and the rest of the first chapter my interest flagged. Admittedly it was hardly there to begin with, I was curious as to what the big deal was but that was it.

After some momentary thought. There seemed be a lack of personality to Clare and Simon. The other characters personality seemed cruel. Clare and Simon, they did things, said things but no real image of who they were came through to me. Is Clare perky or quiet, fast to anger or slow, desperate to befriend people or likes her small group? Who is she? Same with Simon, who is he? I know very little about these two at the end of the first chapter. i know Clare lacks a bit in self confidence and Simon is smarter than Clare. Beyond that though, nothing.



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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Review: Bones In Her Pocket


Bones In Her Pocket
Bones In Her Pocket by Kathy Reichs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Short and sweet, at least the very end. Some twists and turns but there really isn't much you can squeeze into 70 or so pages.



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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Review: Night Pleasures


Night Pleasures
Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I enjoyed this book the first time I read it, and I enjoyed it this time as well. It was paced perfectly, though the sexual tension started to get annoying. The humor was enjoyable as well. Some memorable scenes were the car chase and when Kyrian picks Amanda up at work.



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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Review: Under the Dome


Under the Dome
Under the Dome by Stephen King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




I originally rated this as four, but I'm marking down to three after some time to think.

Too much and too long. After reading two thirds of the book I started skimming, a lot. It wasn't so much that it was boring as it was long, really long. I agree with another reviewer that I was after a while thinking, "Get on with it, King!" There were some scenes that were long and seemed go on without real reason.

The reason for the mark down is because the ending had nothing to do with the rest of the book. I felt that I could read the first quarter or so and then the last quarter and not miss anything. Or better way of expressing my thought would be that the middle, what happens with the town and Big Jim's attempt for dominion, could stand alone. If King had made what happened in town as very important, intricately important, with the dome the ending would have been much better. In reality, The Dome was about a stupid man's attempt for power, the dome was really just peripheral.

Big Jim. Phew, that man is stupid and he surrounds himself with idiots so that he can be the smartest man in the room. I have a hard time understanding how he managed to get his operation so large. He's too stupid and he doesn't use smart people in his business.



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Monday, August 12, 2013

Review: Manhattan Transfer


Manhattan Transfer
Manhattan Transfer by John E. Stith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



1st) I received this as a Goodreads Giveaway.

Now, I wouldn't call this horrible or bad, not even boring. It simply did not grab me enough to demand my attention over the other books that are collecting on my to read stack. Perhaps I will com back to it later.



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Review: Stutter Creek


Stutter Creek
Stutter Creek by Ann Swann

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



While i'm not quite ready to give up on this book, I will be putting it aside for awhile. So far I am having a hard time relating to Beth. She is practically incapacitated by grief for months it seems over the loss of her father through death and a divorce. Alright, everyone grieves differently, I get that. The issues I have so far is this:

1) She did not lose her daughter, no matter how much she seems to want to act like it. Yes, her daughter married and is now on another continent in another country. Nothing is stopping the two of them from calling, writing, facebooking, text, whatever desired communication. Her relationship with her daughter did not end. No need to act like it did.

2). She is one of those scary drivers you give a ton of room. Hysterics while driving is scary. Knowing your about to have hysterics and choosing, yes choosing!, to not pull off the road is just flipping stupid.

3). While the divorce has supposedly hit her hard, her ex is only mentioned as after thoughts. She will reminisce about going to the cabin with her father, and then her ex will be tacked on with a "I had thought he enjoyed it too". Her ex had mention to her how he felt jealous of her relationship with her father, I'm not surprised. Her memories seem to be almost always about her dad and her, with other people mixed in occasionally.

Given these points, I am struggling to relate and sympathize with Beth. More often I have an urge to grab her shoulders and tell her very firmly to get a hold of herself. Her life hasn't ended, the world hasn't stopped, she may wish it had, but it hasn't.



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Thursday, July 25, 2013

Review: Star Hounds: The Classic Space Adventure Series


Star Hounds: The Classic Space Adventure Series
Star Hounds: The Classic Space Adventure Series by David Bischoff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A nice and wonderful romp! It is a fun read with enjoyable and full characters.



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Review: Reincarnation War


Reincarnation War
Reincarnation War by David Bischoff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Interesting developments. I am quite curious to see what comes next. What is happening to Cal? Who and what are Mish and his friends? I am really curious about the mythos of this story and the histories of its universes.



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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Review: Angels & Demons


Angels & Demons
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



My feelings for this book is well, not really there. I enjoyed it while I was actively reading the book, even to the point of staying up late to read "just one more chapter" . After I would put the book down though, I would have no desire to continue reading. Quite strange, at least for me. This is probably why it took me so long, 2 years, to completely read it through. As I said enjoyable. Nothing really sticks out for me, no real big complaints but no real big praises either.



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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Review: Whiskey Beach


Whiskey Beach
Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Fun and interesting. I would have liked more play on the house itself, not just it's history. The mystery is a tad predictable, so is the romance as well. But still a fun read.



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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Review: The Mystery Woman


The Mystery Woman
The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Rather disappointing and uninspiring. After Crystal Gardens I was sure this would at least be enjoyable. It was not, not horrid either, rather boring. I can't even be certain as to what was lacking. The book did not grab my attention, at all. Usually I will get into a book before half way through, not this time, not even to the end.



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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Review: Ember


Ember
Ember by James K. Decker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Really rather quite short. Almost like a prologue. There really wasn't enough to actually get into the story.



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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Review: Ender's Game


Ender's Game
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Enjoyable and kind of sad. I do feel that Card cheapened Ender's successes by making him so extraordinary to begin with. From the onset this kid was more adaptable and quick thinking than his peers, except perhaps his Companion. It is not so much that I felt the obstacles were not hard enough but more of a "Of course he will succeed, he is that good". His biggest challenge was his own depression. Though I can see why this would appeal to many children and young adults. Almost all will at one time or another feel depressed, isolated, and so much better than their peers.

I also take issue with the Battleschool. It really didn't sound like it was set up to be effective. Only after did they suddenly decide, "Hey, we should teach our soldiers and commanders what battles are really like." Really, the games shouldn't have had much rules to begin with, they should gave been at odd hours, with different environments, different situations and different levels of equality. And some of those commanders should never have been given command. It is almost like those running the schools decided to finally teach, only after Ender arrived.

While and enjoyable and fun book, I'm not certain why it has gained so much of a following.



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Monday, May 20, 2013

Review: The Diabolist


The Diabolist
The Diabolist by Layton Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



First, I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway. Now that is done, quite an enjoyable book, I will most definitely be picking up the previous two. I did find myself a tad annoyed with what I consider an over use of the word 'girl', there are though a handful of cases when he did use the word 'woman'. Children are boys and girls, adults are men and women. Outside of that, the book was truly enjoyable.



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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Review: The Socrates Project


The Socrates Project
The Socrates Project by Daron Sheehan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I received this as a Goodreads give away. While enjoyable I found the books speed to be off. The beginning, first few chapters, was way too fast without any real markers of time passing, outside of the prologue. I some times felt like I was behind a bit in events because of years passing without any real indicator that they had passed. There seemed to be too much commentary on the nature of humans and not enough forward motion in the plot. Most of the plot happens in the last third or so of the book.

I did enjoy the read though, and agree with most of the commentary on human nature.



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Monday, March 11, 2013

Review: The Burn Zone


The Burn Zone
The Burn Zone by James K. Decker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I won this book in Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I found this book to be quite enjoyable overall. I do feel there was a tad too much action, but it is a Sci-Fi Thriller so action is part of the package. I like the world building and hope for more to come. I would like to learn more about the haan history.



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