Tag Archive: Fiction



The Victory GardenThe Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I’ve read this story before. I know I haven’t. Though I enjoyed it, I found it trite. Again, don’t take this as a dismissal. There are many good qualities here. Young women should read books that speak to women in history. It’s good to see how far we’ve not come while learning what has improved.I

While I can’t rate this five stars, which means I will always remember it and may read it again, it does come up to maybe a 4.5. It was well written. It kept me interested, I wanted to know what happened next.

I love reading stories like this. Women during the world wars and how they had to do the men’s jobs. How stories of witches and unplanned pregnancies could cause gossip but not as often as peacetime.

So, please if you want a good read. Pick this one up. It is free of you have Kindle Unlimited.

View all my reviews


Planetfall (Planetfall, #1)Planetfall by Emma Newman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Darn cliffhangers! I cannot wait until the library can get book two onto my Kindle Fire! That is the only reason I rated it four stars.

If you are a sci-fi fan like me, especially the kind that include space travel or new planets, you’ll love it, too. One of my friends recommended this to me and she is not wrong, this is my kind of book!

Ren is the main character. She has some personal issues but tries to stay professional. We aren’t sure what causes her to be the way she is. But we like her and follow her life on this planet. Other characters aren’t nearly as developed but don’t need to be. There are a couple of them that are not as nice or are too pushy but, hey, in any group of people there are going to be individuals who are not as accessible.

The science used in this book was fascinating. It all seems not only plausible but necessary if we are ever to explore other worlds.

What isn’t often explored in sci-fi are mental issues and how that could affect all on a new planet. And mental issues may not be there at the beginning when being processed towards being an astronaut but that doesn’t mean that issues won’t come about later to trigger individuals.

I love how issues like anxiety and depression and even hoarding are brought up. As we all know, the patient is the one that has to ask for help for help to be most effective. I seem to be making this sound clinical, it isn’t. It is exciting and kept me up reading far longer than I should. The excitement of a new planet and flora and fauna never seen before kept my interest until nearly sunrise a couple of nights.

I highly recommend this book. And as I said, I can’t wait for the next book to become available.

View all my reviews


Light from Other StarsLight from Other Stars by Erika Swyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Now this is what I’m talking about! This was such a good book I didn’t want to sleep. I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next!

Even though the story goes back and forward in time I always knew whose point of view it was and when it was. A lot of books don’t make it very clear for those of us who ‘read’ through text-to-speech.

It starts out with the explosion of the Challenger. The main character was 11. Being an astronaut was her life long dream. I was 37. Like everyone else that year, my heart was broken. So to read of a child who shared my dreams and losses I was caught up, hook, line, sinker and all.

There is so much that happens in the book. I could only keep reading to keep the characters alive in my mind. I’m so sad the book is over. I want more! It was a nice ending and I had tears dripping from missing the book already.

I got the book from NetGalley. I am so glad I did. It was a good description that drew me to that book. It didn’t let me down. In fact, I would love to see a book two of this story. Even though it ended quite satisfactorily.

If you get the chance to read it, do so. I’m sure fellow sci-fi fans will love it!

View all my reviews


The Night of the Screaming Horses (Dead Air Season 1 Episode 1)The Night of the Screaming Horses by Gwenda Bond
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I finished this in a couple of hours. It was basically a short episode. Like a short story that ends with a bit of cliff-hanger. No. It was written well. It was a good idea but to only have one at a time available, this binger of shows and books wanted to throw my Fire across the room.

Like I said, I like the podcast idea. The podcaster had a great curiosity about a murder and used that sent the DJ out to explore the mystery. Though she seems a strong person, I felt the main character foolish. But I was game and read along hoping she would get satisfied in her search. But it ended before I felt it had a chance to even get started.

Maybe others will like this. I do seem to be in a minority in my need to read very long series. I like getting to know all the characters in depth and watch history in the making in fictional worlds.

View all my reviews


The Boy Who Flew With EaglesThe Boy Who Flew With Eagles by Ben Woodard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall, I loved this story. Having been on a female author/leading female character entertainment diet, I saw how female empty this book was. (My youth was spent on a diet fed to females by males).

Yes, the book spoke to sharing and caring for others on the planet, but it is entirely lacking female, except for the mother eagle. Even the boy had no mother or sisters. No human fem anywhere.

If, in fact, this kind of book was to help reluctant males to read, why do they go on and get better jobs and never get judged by what they wear or their size? If the males that read this kind of book were actually addressed, why is ecology poohed upon by the heavily male corporate and politicized world?

The overall lesson I learned from this book is that we have gentled males of their own responsibility for themselves and others to the point that if this book were about the female equivalent the boys wouldn’t have read it? How sad! Not only didn’t this story get the point across, but it also didn’t even embrace it, itself! Sharing and caring.

The minor truth was that father eagle flew away and gave the job to the mother eagle cause he couldn’t handle it!

No, I didn’t lose sight of the main objective of the book. It is marvelous that the boy got to learn how to fly and help the eagle family and eventually his own tribe. That is why the story got four stars. But the rest is lost for society.

View all my reviews


The Alien Within: Book 2 of The Alien ChroniclesThe Alien Within: Book 2 of The Alien Chronicles by Robin Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I like this book better than the first one. There was a little more sanity and well thought out decisions made. Of course, there was a little teen angst but it seemed the major characters thought with true love and caring for the object of the love.

The author chose to go into the heads of the major characters to give the reader insight into their souls. I think I would have loved this book as a teen. I liked it a lot as an adult.

The ending came far too soon but at the appropriate time. I can’t wait to read the next book! I’d love to see the author take us to the cloud to meet the other aliens that were still in their own form and see how this Alien turned human affects their thoughts and ways of living.

View all my reviews


Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins, #1)Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up the combo-version for four Mary Poppins books. I got the Audible for the book for whispersynch. But I wasn’t careful and found out that the Audible version was just for the first book.

I called Amazon and Audible about the problem that I couldn’t read the next books with Audible or text-to-speech. They made it right and took back the Audible and so I will continue reading with TTS. But I wanted to make sure that folks understood that the narrator was fantastic. She didn’t play Mr. Banks very well but Mary Poppins and the kids she acted out quite nicely.

I read all these books as a kid so it is fun to read them now with an adult (some find that hard to believe) point of view.

Hope others get the chance to read/listen to these books!

View all my reviews


The Christmas HirelingsThe Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yawn. Another gruff old rich guy who finds love. Bah Humbug!

The narrator, Richard Armitage, did a marvelous job of acting/reading this. It made a nice bedtime story. But mostly I was irritated that the story was about the mean guy finding love and not the children or their mother who worked so hard at making life loving and kind. Even the guy who instituted the children as hirelings would have made a better story. The rich old codger made me worry about the little girl he was so fascinated by. Sure it was ‘innocent’ still it was shudder-inducing for me.

Still, for a freebie from Audible, I guess I shouldn’t complain–much.

If you love the Dicken’s Carol garbage, you’ll love this.

View all my reviews


Happiness is a CollageHappiness is a Collage by Gita V. Reddy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don’t like short stories. Give me a long series any day. But this book was marvelous! It is a collection of stories of women who have paths of their own and how they deal with cultural, spiritual, educational issues and mix that with those mores of American feminism and ‘modern’ ways of life and these stories seem nearly as truth, not fiction.

If there were more story for each told here I would be happy. Nearly any of these stories can be full novels, that I would love reading. I love the education I pick up as I read of each of these life situations.

This wasn’t a long read. I think it was a couple of nights. With text-to-speech it was often hard to know when I had moved into another story, but other than that I enjoyed Gita V. Reddy’s writing. I think others will like it, too.

View all my reviews


Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12)Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a read full of trials for me. The library sent me the Kindle copy. Borrowed it. Found that the text-to-speech didn’t work. Found a credit at Audible to get that version to help me along. It was the cheaper version. Didn’t like that narrator at all. Returned that version and was able to try another Audible version.

Look, I don’t think a male voicing for four females interesting or even funny. I hated both versions of the Audible. Returned that one, too.

By that time my Kindle spit out the older Kindle version that didn’t have text-to-speech and replaced it with one that had it. What a welcomed relief! Though I had a hard time telling one character from another my text-to-speech is set for British female. So about everything I listen to sounds like Mary Poppins! So it is a delight even if it is confusing as to which female is talking, all I have to do it look at the words and see for myself.

I think there was a time I would have loved this story. I used to enjoy the punny stuff Pratchett gave us. But I am weary of more fairy-tale spoofs. So, I’m afraid I didn’t give this story any more than three stars. I was glad when I was finished reading it. I know others will love this. Enjoy!

View all my reviews

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

Portuguese-Canadian Writing About This Portuguese Thing of Ours

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

Histopedia

story telling from history