Serendipity by Lisa Clark O’Neill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It was an interesting story. What grabbed my attention was the main character, Ava, is a capable person who is out to protect others. She is a veterinarian after all.
There is romance. It gets a little bit too much for me. But it plays a part in the suspense and mystery.
It’s worth the read. Especially if you like mysteries.
Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an interesting take on the love-at-first-sight theme. What if you don’t act on that sight? What if someone else shows up next?
The story was well-written and kept me reading. I wanted to know what could happen next? There was a lot of suspense and a little romance. I’m not much on romance or murder but these were kept to a minimum as there is so much more to the drama than just those ideas.
I love that there are children involved and beaches. Many layers of what? Why would he do that? What the heck is going on? So I highly recommend this to others looking for a good read. Oh, and I love the grandmother. A wealth of wisdom!
Shattered: Logan Book 1 by Valerie Davisson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an interesting story. I could have done without the mystery, especially the murdery bit. But I kept reading beyond when the book didn’t work for me.
As I have stated before, I have trouble reading tree-books. It has to do with my tracking abilities. But I am a life long reader that doesn’t give up that easily. So I set up my Kindle with black background and largish white font. Then I use the text-to-speech to track with what I do read. I don’t do well with just audio as I tend to ADD away with shiny things. But with both modalities working I can get into stories very deeply.
This version was difficult for me. I don’t know what happened but I couldn’t use the black background/white font. It only wanted white background black font or everything went black. The text-to-speech worked but I couldn’t follow with my eyes. I finally gave up. At about 60%! I do hope the author and or the publisher got that all fixed. Since I was asked to review this book I have to be honest, the font/formatting, was the worst for me.
I let it go for a couple months but the story kept haunting me. I wanted to know what happened. I had loved the research shown about glassblowing. Native American bits. And seeing what seemed to me a realistic look at bereavement. I loved the realism of teaching and use of music. Honestly, I didn’t need the murder bit. I did like the character that did the killing and I thought it gave her a humanity having lupus and all. But I guess some people like to have the tension a good old murder gives a book. Just not me.
Still, I can’t wait to see what happens next. For book two I have the Audible version. I’m getting better at keeping my hands busy doing sudoku, knitting, or drawing. So in the next few days I will review that one, too.
I think others will enjoy this story, too.
The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
THIS is my kind of book! Okay, it isn’t fantasy or sci-fi but the elements I love in those stories are here. Adventure, new horizons, philosophies, some things to learn and think about. Those are all present in this book. I am sad that it has ended and think I may have to read it again sometime with Audible version. The text-to-speech was great but with this taking place in Bulgaria, I needed someone to pronounce words better than the British female robot. Which usually works quite well for me, but there were some names that when I was reading with my eyes too, I could see they were not pronounced anywhere NEAR right.
The main character is well developed, the secondaries not as deeply but the story wasn’t about them so that was okay by me. With the person so developed and the world so real I felt I was watching a movie. In fact, this would make a marvelous movie, there is just so much depth here!
The time of the book moves back and forth from about WWII and now. The political themes presented seem very poignant, and apropos warnings to our current system and how delicate it is.
But my favorite part of the book, though the saddest, was how music played a part in the day to day survival of the musician. I don’t want to expound on this as it would be a spoiler. Needless to say, it gave me the unavoidable courage to face the cold of my studio and play the piano for as long as my fingers could move, and then left me with a fire to get back in there as soon and as often as I can as Spring brings warmer weather.
Oh, how I wish there were a book two. I don’t know how it could be done as none of the situations or people remain in the right places for that. But I did want to see what happens now that the main character has made friends with the musician’s son. What could they give each other? Will they become more than friends? And what about the taxi driver? Is there happiness in his future? What a cool guy he was! Like I said, I am left wanting more and that may have to happen by re-reading with audio.
By the way, I was given this version for review by NetGalley dot com. Please, if you get the chance to read this, do. I hope you love it as I did.
The Fruit Of The Fallen by J.C. Burnham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book has taken me a LONG time to read. It was my first experience with Wattpad. Wattpad is a wonderful idea. But for people with eyes like mine, it is very difficult. The font is not adjustable. There is no text-to-speech to help me out. I should have spent the money and read it on Kindle but by the time I knew it was on Amazon I was about halfway through the book.
Then there is the story itself. I loved the nice quiet fun parts in the school. But most of the book was suspenseful and gave me anxiety. It seemed from the beginning to be a paranoia-producing plot. I didn’t know who to trust. Who was the good guy? Who was the bad guys? And there were so many names to keep track of that I felt I needed a program.
But I did like the main character. She was well, developed and had guts. Even as a small child.
Maybe if you read it you won’t have the troubles I had with it. Maybe it was just me. If your eyes can handle it try it on Wattpad as it is a free read. If not, go ahead and read the Kindle version. Maybe as a quicker read it will have more continuity.
JUST ANOTHER CASUALTY by Brooke Brouillette
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Whew! It has taken me two days to get into a mind frame where I can write about this book. I couldn’t read it at night because of the subject matter. Kidnapping happens. This was realistic. The story was so strong that I didn’t notice any typos or grammar errors. It was all about keeping the main character alive and whole. And Brooke Brouillette, the author, made the character, Savvy, very realistic and likable.
As a parent, this story played on all my strings. One would hope your child would know how to react and stay safe. But that helpless feeling a parent has while trying to find your child, no matter how old they are, just terrifying! The reason I gave this 4 stars is only that the author wrote such a believable novel. I wouldn’t have read this book if I had known its subject matter. Just not my kind of book. There is enough of this on the news. I read for escape. So 4 stars is quite high considering.
By the way, this edition was given to me for an honest review. There you have it. If you like scary and thrillers–this is it. Thank you Ms. Brouillette for allowing me this read.
Armed and Outrageous by Madison Johns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Though I am reading the three-book boxed set, I think it is fair to give a review of each individual book. Since I did buy both, and as I want to encourage writing for seniors, the reals ones not the ones in twelfth grade in high school. Besides, it doesn’t hurt my reading goals to review individually. 😉
It is so exciting to actually read something that includes people, womyn, who are not teens. Was it as well-written as I would like? Not so much. I would give this three and a half stars. This needed more editing. And did we have to fall into the trap of the romance? I like when womyn can think for themselves and stand without a man coming to their rescue. Agnes did that for the most part, but she got all weak kneed and girlie when the man of her dreams comes into view. I loved Eleanor, the ninety-something sex crazed side-kick better than the main character. She pulled no punches and got what she needed from the world.
That world is Tawas, Michigan. I’ve never been there so it seemed like another country, to me. The author did make it sound like the kind of place I’d like to visit sometime.
I love how Madison Johns, the author, captures all kinds of senior citizens within this book. She laughs at some who seem like they would enjoy the joke while holding respect and sympathy for those not so blessed or able. And I love how Ms. Johns addresses fem issues. You wouldn’t think that the issues would be so strong once womyn were no longer in the work force, but it seems to affects us all a lot more. Ms. Johns doesn’t draw attention to these issues, but rather, states them as is and moves on, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions.
The tags ‘mystery, thriller, suspense’ are the most accurate. Chic-lit or cozy mystery seem too light for the contents. Rape, murder, and sex-trafficking are some topics involved which are dealt with in a serious manner. I found that fact a little too much to deal with. I don’t like reading stories that are too realistic. I get that on the news. Give me a good sci-fi or fantasy to get lost in, any day. But all in all this was a good read and I will continue the series with delight. Go, Seniors!
The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is the mystery book. I do not know how it came into my hands. It just appeared. I had let it sit on the shelf for a while and then finally decided that I could try with very good lighting and short reading times, that I could read it.For someone with good eyesight this may actually be a short read. But for me it took longer. I liked that the spaces between lines made it easier than most paperbacks. In fact, this is the perfect book for a summer read, or plane ride.
It was fun, even though there was murder involved. At least the blood and gore was kept to a minimum. As the author points out it was fashioned from the movie, Rear Window. One of the few Hitchcock movies that didn’t leave me shaking.
The characters were believable and likable. The stories within the story were all great asides without taking over and took me in. All in all, a fun short read (well not for me, but you know what I mean).
Because no one claimed the book I registered it on BookCrossing.com
BCID: 393-12573558
Submerged by Cheryl Kaye Tardif
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a ride! Submerged was like the scariest roller-coaster ride. You swear as you stand in line, that you might not even get on. You might turn around and watch everyone else ride. You read the warning signs about bad backs and weak hearts. But you like the author. You like her writing. Kind of like watching your friends get on the ride for the umpteenth time and egging you on. So you get on the ride and make sure the safety bar is down tight. You take a deep breath and hope you don’t barf, or get barfed on.
As usual, with a Cheryl Kaye Tardif novel, you know that there will be realistic situations with a cloud of mystery and macabre. There are lessons to be learned, like how to use the ResQme tool. I was fortunate to win one in a Submerged contest. I hope I never have to use it, but I feel a little safer by having it.
There are so many layers of story in this book. There is romance and terror, divorce and humor and in the middle of that there is family love and addictions. And even though it has some scary moments, I found that the author kept it from bogging down in the terrors. I doubt it will give me nightmares. But I will remember this book for a long, long time. I may even reread it someday. I highly recommend any of Ms. Tardif’s novels, but this may be her best yet.
Unmasked Alloy by Becca J. Campbell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow! Was this part of the same series as Not the Norm (A Sub-Normal short story by Becca J. Campbell?
I fell into like, um, I really cared about the characters, in the first book. It was that caring that drove me to read book two. That’s a good thing! This part of the story hit the ground running. If there were mistakes in the grammar or spelling I didn’t notice for trying to keep up with the action.
In a world of super-humans, being either sub-norm or just human can be down-right dangerous. Hence the name of the name of the series (Sub-normal). Though you see this in the first book, this second book throws it in your face.
My only problem with this book was that I was left LONGING for part three. I have tried to think through, as a writer, how I would handle this. Would it be better as one larger book broken into sections? Then I had to think about the author. Would her larger book make as much as three (or more) short stories? I, for one, was looking for something fast when I picked up book one, and then book two. But the waiting for the next installment, then trying to remember where we left off… I guess this is why a lot of people wait until they’ve gathered all the parts before reading it as a whole. I am sure this is a quandary for serial writers everywhere. Point is, I can’t wait to read the next in this series!
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 100 books for the 2013 Reading Challenge! 115 of 100 (115%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 225 books for the 2012 Reading Challenge! 225 of 225 (100%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 200 books for the 2011 Reading Challenge! 204 of 200 (102%)
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