Category: Reading



The Last Tea Bowl ThiefThe Last Tea Bowl Thief by Jonelle Patrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m sorry it took me so long to review this. I read it while deeply into NaNoWriMo, so taking the time from my own writing seemed impossible. But finally, here I am!

I love Jonelle Patrick’s writing. I always find myself drawn in by her characters and the virtual travel to Japan. I am not much into mysteries because most involve murder and finding who did the murdering. This mystery goes histories deep, and it is to find what happened to the tea bowls and the artist who made them. My way of describing this story sounds rather boring. The author makes this an adventure in two parts of Japan’s history. All the characters seem real and in the now with the reader. Best of all, in this book, there is no murder, even though in war times. Meanwhile, we learn a little about modern Japan while being taught about people’s rituals and beliefs from three different generations of Japan.

I was sad to leave the book in the end. As always, I want to know more. Don’t worry. You feel secure by the ending. Our main character, who has had to research the feudal and WWII Japans, grabs your heart as she tries to keep family and soul together.

Great job with something quite different in this genre Ms. Patrick!

View all my reviews


The Elephant WhispererThe Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s funny what happens when you start researching a book you are writing. I have an elephant in my story, and he tells another character that his favorite book is… Well, that meant I needed to find a book for him to refer to. I looked up elephant books on Amazon, and this one came up. I chose the Audible version because I had a credit waiting for my next listen. I am not sure it is my character elephant’s favorite book. But I did enjoy it as my night read.

Simon Vance did a great job narrating this autobiography. His voice is believable as the author’s own, I suppose. I don’t know what the author sounded like, as my guess is the author passed before finishing the book. That was a little jarring.

The author shared his experiment by having a place for a herd to come and live. He shared his getting to know the elephants’ personalities personally. All in all, I did enjoy the story. I just need an elephant book more personal to the elephant and not the human. I did have my guy like Dumbo. But I need more.

If you love elephants, you will love this book.

View all my reviews


The Whizz Pop Chocolate ShopThe Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kate Saunders has written a delightful children’s’ book that is fun for all ages. I would have loved to have this around while raising my kids. It would have been a favorite for me as a child. For those two reasons, it reaches four stars in rating. But the narrator, Jayne Entwistle, brings the listeners into the Whizz Pop world, and therefore I have to give this story five stars.

If the real world is getting you and your family down, this is such an uplifting story. The characters are marvelously brought to life with Ms. Entwistle’s acting. I imagine families gathering around the audio machine you all may use (I used my Kindle Fire). Adults can find as much fun here as children. I even see great family discussions coming from the book.

I am sad to leave this behind. I will see if, like this one, my online library has book two. Libby is how I heard it. So even if you haven’t the money to buy the book or audio version, your library may have it, or you can request that they order it.

Happy Listening!

View all my reviews


The Believers (Breeders, #2)The Believers by Katie French
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I finished this book a couple of days ago. Snow, elections, NaNoWriMo, and other distractions got in the way of my review. Sorry.

This is the second book of the Breeder series. The story of the girl looking for her mother and aunt continues. It is far from an easy feat. But Riley and her boyfriend and her brother try to find a way to them.

The story kept me interested. Often I found it nauseating. I think that was the author’s intent. Still, I couldn’t put it down. Maybe it was the train accident effect? You can’t just let it go. You have to look. That is the very reason I just ordered the Kindle Unlimited version. I think the first and second are KU also. So what is there to lose? Find Aunty and Mom!

View all my reviews


Seventh HeavenSeventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love me an Alice Hoffman book. I don’t what happened here. Okay, maybe I can make the allowance that reading this with text-to-speech makes the confusion of characters even more perplexing. There was a whole neighborhood of people with problems.

Maybe when you can read the book as a paper product, you can see whose point of view that you are looking through. Books with a lot of characters are hard when the author doesn’t give you a straight forward warning like the chapter name (character’s name) or first word (character’s name) of the new chapter. Especially with TTS.

Having read a couple of reviews, I found some who felt the story started with promise but went downhill. I was bewildered during the first part of the book. I just rode along feeling I would soon catch up. Sure enough by the end, I did seem to care about a couple of the characters and felt I was knowing who was who.

This book takes place in the late 50s early 60s. I didn’t need the author to spell that out as I recognized it right away. I remembered people saying and gossiping about the things included in the story. It is my least favorite part of my life. So it was painful to live it again. Still, I wonder how folks who are not of that era see all of this. Older women may see this far differently than Gen X-ers. I need to go read some other reviews to see if age affects the read.

Alice Hoffman writes so well that even when I am lost I stick with the book until the end. I certainly think others might enjoy this book thoroughly.

View all my reviews


The Breeders (Breeders, #1)The Breeders by Katie French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A friend and I discovered this book and decided to make it a book we both would read somewhat together. I got to it a few days ago and finished two days ago. And just a hint, I have already ordered book 2 of the series.

Now there are bad reviews for this book. I liked it. Not loved. Just liked. But enough to find out what happens next with the characters.

Yes, there are things that stop me while reading. One of the things is that it is written in the present tense. That is hard to pull off. And sometimes I don’t notice it. Other times the characters and plot put me back into the story.

Some have pointed out the problems of the characters being shallow or not living up to the situations they find themselves in. I can’t get that picky about it. I accept what the author has set them up to be and so I just hope for the best for them and try not to prejudge their behaviors. Though there is violence it isn’t gratuitous. It seems necessary for the moment.

This story is a bit different than other post-apocalyptic tales and is therefore fun to read without feeling the terror I felt in previous reads. I couldn’t put it down to sleep because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

View all my reviews


Ice (1/2986 #3)Ice by Annelie Wendeberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This might not have been a good time for me to read this book or series. And especially as a bedtime read. This was incredibly dark and violent. There are actually trigger warnings on the blurb on the GoodReads page. But I don’t think it was triggery for me. Just too much for reading during an uncertain time.

If you are looking for an apocalyptic/dystopian series and can handle dark and violent, this may be for you.

View all my reviews


Fog by Annelie Wendeberg

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I found the first book in this series, Cut, so interesting I had to get started on Fog. This one was harder for me to deal with. Shooting children and or bad guys in the fog, nope. I know it is part of what needs to be done in that world, but I just couldn’t handle all of that. My dreams after were so upsetting. Still, I have already started reading the next book, Ice.

I feel in all the books I am missing bits and pieces of what I would have liked to know. The writing is immediate, keeping the reader engaged, even when they don’t want to be, so I overlook what questions I have in hopes of answers later.

I’d love to see what others think of this book and the series.



View all my reviews


Cut by Annelie Wendeberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I can’t remember how it was I picked up this book and its sequels. Sorry. Even so, this is a fun apocalyptic read about a young woman trying to survive in a dystopian world with pandemics popping up here and there.

Maybe it is a bit more adventure than a person should read just before sleep. But it didn’t affect me too much.

This was a different take on the post-apocalypse world. A young woman finding her way in a world with few rules that all follow. Micka is a well-developed character with a few quirks of her own. She has lexical-gustatory synesthesia. That on top of learning about menstruation and sexual preference while trying to survive makes her a very interesting person to get to know. Just as she is getting to know herself.

Here is Wikipedia’s definition:
Lexical-gustatory synesthesia is a rare form of synesthesia in which spoken and written … Tip of tongue studies have shown that a word’s lemma may be responsible for eliciting a taste sensation, not its phonologic sound or spelling. Further … development and lead to the over-representation of the flavors of childhood foods.

I have known a couple of people who have variations of this. I know I have a mild case and it often helps me remember or recognize certain words or names that might slip my mind otherwise.

This book was a quick read. Now I have committed the second book because one isn’t enough. Give it a try. You might like it, too.



View all my reviews


So Bright the Stars (Shadow of Mars Book 2)So Bright the Stars by Cidney Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yay! Another well-done sci-fi/Mars book! I would have loved to read this as a teen but love just as much as a septuagenarian. This is the second book in this series. The main character is now on Mars and is trying to fit in with the society that is already there.

Cidney Swanson has researched well to keep the story believable. Without making the story drab. She digs deep into her characters to bring them to life. As I am reading/listening to text-to-speech I find Ms. Swanson has me questioning ‘would I have done that? thought that?’ and the answers are sometimes obvious to the reader but not so much the main character, Penney. Other times the reader is in as much dark as Penney is.

I can’t wait for book three! Meanwhile, I hope you all get a chance to read the first series of Mars, Saving Mars which is more for the young adult, and then this series for adults as the character is an adult. But I see nothing that should keep a younger person from reading anything by Cidney. Enjoy!

View all my reviews

My Awesome Blog

“Log your journey to success.” “Where goals turn into progress.”

THE AVOERIA ARCHIVE

The Depth Behind The Ordinary

Life of Chaz

Books, games, music, and life — filtered through the mind of a writer, drummer, and philosopher who thinks too deeply about all of it. If it moves something in your chest, I'm interested.

Pieces Of My Heart

"Words & Wonders - Where thoughts meet art

💫The Afterlove Voice💫

Justice, Channeling,Spiritual,Astrology,Truth- Seeker.

Amin Academy

Education, Information, Motivation

Luso Loonie — Devin Meireles

Exploring Portuguese Culture, Azorean Heritage, and Luso-Canadian Identity Through Writing

UNDER THE WILL... OVER THE DRAMA...

Inheritance. Narcissism. Turf. Welcome to the family.

Selma

Finding the extra in the ordinary

Sip, Snack, See

A Blog About Food and Travels

Golu lodhi

I upload photos & videos Golu lodhi village pairakhedi

Creative

Travel,Tourism, Life style "Now in hundreds of languages for you."

intricate cantrips

twisted yarns, unraveled

Introverted Growth

The Introvert's Roadmap to Self Discovery and Growth