Tag Archive: Reading



I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, ten stars for Malala! Ten stars for her health, her stamina, her courage, and her brilliance!

But truth be known this was a difficult book to read. I think it needed better editing. I kept getting lost in the timeline. For example, the way I read it, Malala was fourteen when she was shot. I knew that wasn’t the case. Also, the first part of the book was so choppy that I almost gave up reading the book. I only continued because I wanted to learn about this fascinating teen.

History has never been my favorite subject. It wasn’t until a brilliant teacher in college did I begin paying attention. Let’s face it, history is about men and their wars. Women are rarely the stars. So when a book about a female who is making history, gets bogged down in the wars, I started losing interest. When the war affects Malala and her family, then I felt involved again. Then I was glad for the bit of a history lesson that was set up in the book. Wish there had been a smoother way to move from personal story to the region’s history.

I hope, hope, hope that Malala writes more books. I hope she finds friends. I hope her mother can get on with her own education and can stand and give a few speeches of her own. I hope the family becomes more feminist so that mother can have her own life. I wish the family all the goodness life can give.

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Of Wings and Wolves
Of Wings and Wolves by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I hope there is more to this series as I love the relationship between Summer and the Angel Nash. Summer’s twin, Abram, doesn’t feature in this story as much. I assume we will learn more of his abilities later. Even so this story starts with Aunt Gwen taking care of Rylie’s babies in a new land. I would have loved to get more into Gwen’s story. I know she isn’t a young adult or new adult. And she’s a lesbian. Why is she a toss-away character? Please write her a book!

Okay, notice I did give this five stars. My personal complaints do not stop the story from being exciting from beginning to end. Summer is quite a character with spunk inherited from her mother and aunt. She doesn’t hold back from telling it like it is no matter what. Her life has been fairly idyllic until an angel comes into her life. She won’t let him get away with anything. I love her! She is a healthy person for young adults to emulate.

Ms Reine knows how to keep her readers engaged. Just about the time you might feel you could take a breath and look around the world she’s built, there is a new danger to fight through. This one is different than Rylie’s world so the problems are different. I just kept wondering how they would get through it all.

I highly recommend the series Seasons of the Moon and its extension the Cain Chronicles.

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Review: Darkmoon


Darkmoon
Darkmoon by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not many books throw the main character into the action pregnant with twins. Even worse, whose babies are they? Poor Alpha Rylie has found herself in this weird predicament. I love that the rivals for her love and progeny are brothers who have love for each other, often to their own detriment. And will these twins be pups or human? So many questions yet so much to do!

Meanwhile, Rylie’s aunt is now a zombie. And Cain, the rotten apple from Abel and Seth’s mother, is raising–well, Cain! Add to all that the care of a pack and Rylie’s got trouble!

This was another quick exciting read that had me up til the early morning. I had to know what was going to happen, and the action didn’t quit until that last page. No, it wasn’t a cliffhanger. Even so, I have made myself not read the next book until I write this so I won’t be confused again. SO–Read this series after Summer of the Moon series and enjoy!!

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The Cain Chronicles, Episodes 1-4: New Moon Summer, Blood Moon Harvest, Moon of the Terrible, Red Rose Moon
The Cain Chronicles, Episodes 1-4: New Moon Summer, Blood Moon Harvest, Moon of the Terrible, Red Rose Moon by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another great work by S.M. Reine. I love her characters and stories. It was fun to go back and see Rylie, Seth and Abel. I find their evolving relationships so intriguing. They can’t live with modern societies rules of love. Two Alpha werewolves and a Kopic. Two brothers and the girl of their dreams. Human needs versus werewolf needs. A little polyamory needs to play out.

I keep trying to write this review on this batch of episodes but I am already reading book number five. I just couldn’t stop reading at the end of this four book box set.

Check out the Seasons of the Moon series first. The Cain Chronicles just gives us more time with the same cast of characters. Who doesn’t love to spend time with friends? Now, can I get back to book five? I am 67% into it and enjoying it thoroughly. 🙂

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Review: Unbreakable


Unbreakable
Unbreakable by Joann Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Is there anything that befalls womankind that doesn’t appear in this series? Whew! Don’t get me wrong, as much as is covered in these books, these are not thrillers. Suspense is there, but you have a confidence that it will work out. Love seems to pull the characters and reader through it all.

This second book is even better than the first, if that’s possible. The characters are wonderful. I love them all. Well, that is, except the bad ones and even they are believable. This book had more the stresses of life as a rock-star and cop couple who happen to be lesbian. In this book we see the stresses of married life, fertility treatments, adoptions and so much more.

Erotica peppers the two books, but I feel it is fun and a natural part of being a couple. Spice of life, you know?

My favorite parts of the books, aside from the above fun, was the child, Calista. I fell in love with her in the last book, starting with sandcastles and that love continues into this one.

Although I have watched the reality show with Guiliana and Bill and the troubles they had with IVF treatments, I think climbing into the minds of Lynn and Alexis gave me a better appreciation of what women, couples, go through to get and stay pregnant.

That was on top of the bigoted treatment the couple had sustained in their individual lifetimes. When others can’t find it in themselves to love you in spite of the fact that you don’t fit their idea of what is normal and acceptable, yet all you want is love.

Gosh, I miss Lynn and Alexis! Though the author didn’t leave us on a cliffhanger, there were enough threads to let us know we were not finished. I can hardly wait to read book three!

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Broken Star
Broken Star by Joann Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun book. I loved the characters, plots, and sub-plots. It was very sexy, romantic. If you don’t like lesbian romance this isn’t for you. I believe love is love and found this delightful.

I especially liked the little daughter. The author made her so realistic. I wanted to give her a hug and kiss on the forehead.

For those who might feel hesitant to read a mystery/thriller, know that the levels of anxiousness are not too high. I don’t think I will have any bad dreams about this book. The good feelings far outweigh the bad.

At midnight, I finished the book yet wasn’t ready to go to sleep, so I started book 2. Book 1 didn’t end with a cliffhanger, so it could be read and left behind until you are ready to read the next book. All threads were nicely tied up.

One small thing, there were a lot of places that could have used better editing. But that didn’t detract from the story; plot and character kept me engaged.

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Review: A Silent Shore


A Silent Shore
A Silent Shore by E.J. Mack
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has been sitting on my To Read shelf for so long that I had forgotten about it. I picked it from BookRooster.com. I don’t know why I chose it. There must have been something in the reviews or blurb that got me.

The book was okay. I see many five star reviews, so it must just be me. I liked the parts about Izzy and her mother, but the parts about the men-folk were just plain boring to me. Sorry. If you like books about deceit, power, and relationships that don’t work, then this is the book for you. Read other reviews for reasons why others loved it.

Oh, I guess I should add the plusses. I liked E.J. Mack’s writing style and her characters were believable.

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Richard Chamberlain as John Blackthorne with Y...

Richard Chamberlain as John Blackthorne with Yoko Shimada as Mariko (Lady Toda Buntaro) in the Shōgun television miniseries. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

Shattered Love: A Memoir
Shattered Love: A Memoir by Richard Chamberlain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

 

 

Let me tell you a story. There once was a young woman who was in junior high and high school who LOVED Dr. Kildare. Alas, it was on a school night. Her parents made her go to bed early. But this young lady was so clever that going to bed didn’t stop her from watching her favorite show. You see the television was at the far end of the living room and could be seen from the end of the hallway. Well, there was a bookshelf there, and she set up a mirror so as to watch Dr. K from her bed. When he was over she would slip out of bed and remove the mirror so her parents would be none the wiser. Yes, that clever girl was me. And that was only the start of my crush on Richard Chamberlain. For years I kept track of his birthday. I enjoyed all the miniseries that he did.

 

 

 

I think my favorite scene was that of Anjisan attempting to commit harikari. What passion he was able to show! Why didn’t he bring that moment into this memoir?

 

 

 

As a memoir this was less than what I wanted. As much as he told us his problem in life had been being aloof, I found that it remained in this book. And pride was still evident. I don’t mind that he has come out as gay, he is an actor, and it is none of our business what he needs in his bedroom. I still love his work on the tele or big screen.

 

 

 

Now, had this book been labeled as a metaphysical healing book, I would have enjoyed it better. I was reminded of a path I have left behind and plan to get back into meditation and opening my heart chakras. Then again, the title of the book is Shattered Love–oh yeah and A Memoir. So maybe I was cheated by my own expectations? I had set this to three stars but now that I think on it I think I must give it four. I may just read it again for the spiritual reminders.

 

 

 

Richard Chamberlain Sings

Richard Chamberlain Sings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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Abigail and Her Pet Zombie
Abigail and Her Pet Zombie by Marie F Crow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the pictures and enjoyed this as an adult, but there were so many things that I couldn’t feel comfortable with. Why is this humanoid a pet? How is it that the teacher didn’t understand and let the zombie stay in school when this zombie was so good at art? Why not let the zombie go into special ed and see what he/she could learn given a chance. Is this how we treat those who are slower? Obviously the zombie was good at making friends. Why is the zombie not allowed a gender? If this zombie felt sad and alone why not let him go to school? I felt like if this was read to children it could give them more reason to make fun of others, and lead them to disrespect teachers. Where are Abigail’s parents? Still, like I said at the beginning, as an adult I loved it. Had it landed in my home when my own were children, there would have been many discussions about my many questions.

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There's No Such Thing As Monsters
There’s No Such Thing As Monsters by Michael Yu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What great pictures! I loved them so much. I loved the story, too. The rhythm falls apart, though, when the title theme is repeated. Still, I think this would have been a favorite for my children and I to read so long ago. This was a great message to all of us that see things with our imagination after dark. That dark coat hanging on the door can look like a person standing there. It has had my heart beating with fear on occasion. 😉

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