Tag Archive: Reviews


Review: Ashes


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.

View all my reviews


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!

View all my reviews

Review: Silver Tongue


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!

View all my reviews


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!

View all my reviews


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.

View all my reviews


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.

View all my reviews


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!

View all my reviews

Review: World After


World After
World After by Susan Ee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was another book to keep me up until 3 in the morning. This series is so exciting! It involves so much action that from the beginning, in book one, until now the end of book two, one is caught up in the story. Susan Ee’s writing keeps you captured in her world.

It was so long ago that I read the first book that I was a little worried that I would have to go back and read book one again to remember all that had happened but Ms. Ee does a marvelous job reacquainting the reader with ‘World Before’and ‘World During’ that it all flows quite well as we step into ‘World After’.

Book one had us meeting Penryn, her little crippled sister, and their mentally ill mother. The world was hard enough for poor Penryn to live in then the Angels and Demons decided to cause the apocalypse. Survival was the theme in both of these books. But there is a minor (?) romance between Penryn and an angel.

This book continues the survival, fighting, and romance. Penryn is quite the character and struggles to help her family and the other humans to survive. She learns to use the angel’s sword and tries to save everyone. She is quite spunky and able to hold her own no matter what.

I was about a third of the way in the Kindle version of the book when I realized that I had the Audible version of the book that I had purchased a while back. I must admit that the narrator, Caitlin Davies, was able to read the story exactly how I had been hearing it in my head. What is nice about having the audio version is you get to hear how the names should be pronounced. In this case I had been calling Raffe ‘RAF’ with a long ‘A’ sound and silent ‘e’. Apparently it is ‘Rawffa’. Sounds a lot better the right way, I must admit!

Though almost all threads have been tied up, and the ending is sweet, there is enough to let me know there will be more. Yay! I do really enjoy this series. Oh, and those who don’t believe in angels demons or the bible will still enjoy this series as a fantasy. I recommend it to all for a fun adventure.

View all my reviews

Review: Dire Blood


Dire Blood
Dire Blood by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t know what I can say about this book that I haven’t about the series in general. Each book has been non-stop action. I can’t stop reading long enough to write another review. Except this one. I haven’t bought the next book yet. I have used up my book allowance for this paycheck. But you can bet I will in the next few days!

Ms. Reine knows how to write in a way that keeps the reader engaged and wondering what will happen next. All her characters are realistic and interesting. Her main characters are strong yet flawed enough to make us believe.

I hope this isn’t a spoiler but something happens in this book that we have been waiting for since the beginning. Are you curious? Check out Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon #1) and keep reading all the wonderful stories that S.M Reine shares. Wonder if I will ever catch up reading this prolific writer’s work!

View all my reviews


Damnation Marked
Damnation Marked by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve done it again! Grrrr! Ever get done with one book in a series and without stopping to do a review, jump right in and read the next book? Well, that’s what I did. Now I am 80% into book five and I can’t remember book four. But that should give you a bit of an idea about how well I liked the book. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen to the characters.

This book didn’t end with a cliffhanger, by the way. One could very well let it go and read the next book when they can. But Reno and Tahoe were left in a big mess. I am afraid to go downtown now as I am sure I will see it all apocalyptic and ruined! That is the fun of these books for me. The author has included landmarks around here and has hell take over. And it is during the snows so reading it in the right season helps to add to the allure.

Elise, the main character is a strong person often too strong for her own good but we do get to see her insecurities and weaknesses. She has a good support system around her but often chooses the role as protector rather than put her friends/family in the way of danger. She’s sassy and fun.

The problem I had with this book is the same I had with the last one, the jumping back and forth in time. If you read on the Kindle, especially using text-to-speech the sections go by and it is easy to get lost. I think asterisks would help to signify a new point of view or scene, especially when many of the sections contain the same people just earlier or much later.

Still, this is a fun series, and I feel I must continue reading until I catch up with Sara’s stories. What an imagination!

View all my reviews

Pieces Of My Heart

"Words & Wonders - Where thoughts meet art

💫The Afterlove Voice💫 Justice For Liam ⚖

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

Amin Academy

Education, Information, Motivation

WhatIf.in.net - Alternate Realities

Where Curiosity Meets Creativity

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

Hunza

Travel,Tourism, precious story "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

KaustubhaReflections

Where ancient wisdom meets modern technology. Stories that illuminate the wonders of science, culture, and life — crafted with human creativity and a touch of AI magic.

Roads Lesser Traveled

Life is just down the road lesser traveled....

Enlarge my heart

In the Quiet Space of a Benedictine Heart: Seeking God in Every Moment