Category: Reviews


Review: Sacrificed in Shadow

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March 21, 2014

Sacrificed in Shadow
Sacrificed in Shadow by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first time I read this book I hadn’t read the Cain Chronicles or any of the Descent series and maybe even a book or two from Seasons of the Moon. It was a great read and I loved the characters. But now that I have read everything in the right order this book makes a lot more sense. The personal histories of the characters and places are solid rather than leaving me with a vague feeling that I was missing something.

I was unhappy this time because it isn’t centered in Reno, NV. Nevada is mentioned a few times but this is on the east side of the country where I have no frame of reference. Still not a problem as I have never been to Heaven, Haven or Hell but I still have a relative idea about those places. 🙂

Elise Cavanaugh is still absolutely fascinating to me and I can’t wait to read more about her and her people.

Since I have already written a review on this book you can read it here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/622966616

I love Sara Reine’s books!

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Review: Paradise Damned

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March 20, 2014

Paradise Damned
Paradise Damned by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, I can’t believe that I am finished with another of Ms. Sara Reine’s series. This, book 7 was the finale of the Descent series. It was gripping!

This one had you moving from Reno to hell and heaven and places between. It was a nightmare of Genesis, origin of man, angel, demons and the many things that could and did go wrong.

I love Elise Cavanaugh and James Faulkner. The tension between this couple that draws them closer and farther away keeps the reader on edge and only wishing for their safety. Both are flawed but strong characters who play out their lives in Ms. Reine’s worlds. The plots and worlds are equally strong and believable.

I am so glad I read this series. But remember that it is best to start with the Seasons of the Moon series and then start Descent series with Death’s Hand. Though I think one could read the books out of order, I have found that each book is built on the one before and you can feel the characters growing and the plots thickening.

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Review: Eat Like A Farm Girl: 3 Ingredient Plant Based Recipes

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March 19, 2014

Eat Like A Farm Girl: 3 Ingredient Plant Based Recipes
Eat Like A Farm Girl: 3 Ingredient Plant Based Recipes by Jennifer Prince
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are into recipes, this is your book.

Me? I hate cooking. I fell for this because of the 3 Ingredient Plant-Based part of the title. I am, for the most part a vegan who is gluten-free and must watch my sugar and fat intake. This book didn’t give me 3 ingredients ever. I was very confused by that. In fact, if I followed this diet I would violate nearly all my diet restrictions.

I liked reading about the author’s lifestyle. Having raised chickens, ducks and goats on an acre no-kill ‘farm’ and greenhorn at gardening, I loved reading about how it is supposed to be done. I so miss living in the country where I could have all those animals. I did eat the eggs and milked the goats. But I haven’t been able to eat eggs for a long time. Maybe there are too many hormones and the like in the grocery store eggs.

As for the rest of the book, I found the author repeated herself in the set up. The part that is about the problem at hand and how she has the answer. That got old for me. Then came the many recipes involving lots of ingredients that are not available for me, or that I can’t eat. Some do look delicious, though.

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Review: Ashes

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Ashes
Ashes by Linda Laforge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I won this paperback version from First Reads giveaways on GoodReads.com Thank you!

This is the first ‘tree’ book I have read in a long, long time. Most of the time I have a hard time with font and line spacing and find myself frustrated and getting headaches. The font in this book was dark against white background and was large enough to allow short periods of reading. Still, I miss the text-to-speech help and the ability of instant dictionary lookup.

This book is strange. Science fiction gone wonky and scary. Maybe because of that it is best that I did take it in small doses. There is dystopia and questions of paranoia to keep you wondering what is really happening. But stay with it. The story is good, and very imaginative. I am so glad I read it.

On the downside, I think the book could use more editing as there are misspelled words and sentences that make no sense. It isn’t often enough to pull one out of the story but it is there. Oh, and without giving any spoilers, the lisping is the worst to read. The message given is strong and I think would stand better without that constant impediment.

Anyway, I think most sci-fi buffs will like this book, especially those who like apocalyptic dystopias.

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Review: Defying Fate

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Defying Fate
Defying Fate by S.M. Reine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Taking a break from Elise in this book. Climb into James Faulkner’s mind and life. I liked meeting his son and previous girlfriend and seeing how that dynamic affects James’s life.

If anyone has been paying attention, I have been working my way through all of Sara Reine’s books. She is very creative and has an odd combination of fantasy and real life. This Descent series centers in the Reno/Tahoe area and I find myself wanting to go check out the landmarks. Maybe I will find the Dance studio and meet James or Elise. But then we are suddenly cast into Hell or Heaven or a Haven or other dimension, often that mirror the Reno areas and I wonder if I could find those places and the nightmares, demons or angels that hang out there. Do suspend disbelief.

Since my computer wasn’t working right, yesterday, I couldn’t write this review properly on my laptop. Instead, I found the next book and started reading it. Yay, Elise is back in that one!

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Review: Silver Tongue

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March 18, 2014

Silver Tongue
Silver Tongue by Evelyn Ink
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: This was a free Smashwords ebook from the author for an honest review, Thank you!

I love the way Evelyn Ink thinks. Her books are always so creative and fun. The worlds she builds are like our own but not. The people have many words similar to ours and some that stray from ours but in logical ways. The best part about her worlds are that they are somewhat steampunkie with aeroships at the like. Her characters are believable, flawed but ever growing.

Silver Tongue’s blurb presents the book as dark and scary. As a middle schooler or junior high student that might be thrilling but as an older student I think this book is just a fun adventure. I can imagine reading this book to my own children so long ago and having a great time with it. But it isn’t simple. Older people can enjoy it, too!

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Review: 8 Different Crochet Stitches: Learn to Crochet Something New with Free Crochet Patterns

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March 16, 2014

8 Different Crochet Stitches: Learn to Crochet Something New with Free Crochet Patterns
8 Different Crochet Stitches: Learn to Crochet Something New with Free Crochet Patterns by Prime Publishing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here’s another one I picked up for free on Amazon. It is still free today. I love looking at the pictures on my tablet as they are very clear and I can see what the results should look like.

This isn’t a pattern book. If you are an experienced crocheter you have tons of patterns. This gives you stitches that you might include in your work. Some of them I knew, but could never find the pattern that included this stitch. Others were new to me. I can hardly wait to try them out!

If you like to crochet and need pictures to help you out, this is the book for you. Oh, and there are links to sites that will teach you more. This one is a keeper!

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Review: Everything about Rabbits: Including an Exhaustive List of Rabbit Breeds

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Everything about Rabbits: Including an Exhaustive List of Rabbit Breeds
Everything about Rabbits: Including an Exhaustive List of Rabbit Breeds by Amber Richards
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What can I say? It must have been in one of my weak moments. The picture of the cute little bunnies and a freebie Kindle book. Who couldn’t resist? I grabbed it then sit it aside for another time. And found it again when inbetween fictional stories.

I had hoped there would be lots of pictures of rabbits in this ebook. I love rabbits but there isn’t room in our small apartment for another pet. But at least I could look at the pictures. Nope. The only picture is on the cover.

This didn’t spoil it for me, though. This little book is chocked full of information about finding, care and feeding of rabbits, even a bit on breeding these little sweeties. I was quite amazed at how much there was to learn, beyond what I already knew from the rabbits we had when my adult children were small.

This would be a great book for those thinking of buying bunnies for loved ones for Easter. One needs to know what they are getting into, and there are too many rabbits that end up at the animal shelters shortly after the holidays. For those who are thinking about it seriously, try the shelter after reading the book. Have the home bunny-ready with kitty litter set up. They make great indoor pets. Also, know the breeds so that you get just what you are looking for in a pet.

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Review: Love and Cola Wars

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Love and Cola Wars
Love and Cola Wars by Heidi Loney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: This ebook was a gift from the author for an honest review.

If I were a teen this would probably be getting a much higher rating. Even so, I would say this rates a 3.5 star rating. So I rounded it up.

What was good? The book didn’t get mired down in the angst that a lot of YA romance novels do. What worries presented were not hormonal but rather more about life lessons and growth of characters. I liked that we got to see the romance from several points of view. Parents and their own problems were included. There was even a little sister who was given worth beyond being cute. Bravo! The main characters were both strong in their own right yet flawed making them realistic. The story was good. There were a few plot threads so as to keep it all interesting. And I felt I learned something. The terms and play of fencing as a sport was explained while not getting bogged down in detail.

What was bad? Not much, actually. As I’m thinking about this I feel it is my own age that prevented me from immersing in the story as a reader should. Oh, and assumption that Coke is number one. I prefer Diet Pepsi!

Conclusion? If you like Young Adult Romance, this is a book for you.

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Review: Rowena and the Dark Lord

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Rowena and the Dark Lord
Rowena and the Dark Lord by Melodie Campbell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This review will be for ASIN: B00CIZZS70

Disclaimer: I was gifted this Kindle book for an honest review by the author. Thank you!!

I love the Rowena books! This is the second one. The first was Rowena Through the Wall. And the magic is that the wall at the back of the classroom that Rowena teaches in, leads to another land far less advanced in culture than 2013 Arizona. It is a land where magic can still be used. And women are nonexistent due to a curse. So when Rowena appears the men fall over themselves to own her.

But this review is for book two. Rowena is now pregnant with one of the men’s baby. She is able to use magic in this faraway land but finds she must visit Arizona once in a while. Due to things that happened in the previous book, Rowena is blessed and cursed to have even more modern people involved in this wall travel. Whew!

I love how Melodie Campbell is able to make both worlds seem very real. I love the characters and animals that are part of Rowena’s life on either side of the wall. And the plot is spot on. So exciting!

Book two doesn’t leave you with a cliffhanger, but there is a chapter for book three at the end of book two. Darn! Now I can’t wait to read that one! Great job, Ms. Campbell!

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