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Review: A Silent Shore

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January 2, 2014

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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Review: Shattered Love: A Memoir

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December 31, 2013

 

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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Review: Abigail and Her Pet Zombie

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December 29, 2013

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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Review: There’s No Such Thing As Monsters

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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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Review: Children’s book: Pete the Amazing Dragon (Fairy tales books)

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Children's book: Pete the Amazing Dragon (Fairy tales books)
Children’s book: Pete the Amazing Dragon (Fairy tales books) by Tal Nir
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I love dragons! I love chocolate! How could I resist this free Kindle book? I loved the cover picture, too. The rest was only okay. Sorry. I wanted more and bigger pictures and was annoyed by the writing that had many uncomfortable sentences. Rhyming ‘well’ with ‘well’ well…

When I review children’s books I try to think of what my children would have liked, what would have spawned great conversations, what I would have enjoyed. I think mine would have gone back to books with more and bigger illustrations. I do like the fact that you can get the coloring book. That would have drawn us all into possible addicts of Pete the Dragon. This one just didn’t work well as a Kindle book for me.

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Review: The Saving Mars Series

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The Saving Mars Series
The Saving Mars Series by Cidney Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh. My. Goodness. I love, love, love this series! Oh, how I wish this would have been around when I was a young adult. I think it would have been the motivation I needed to pursue being an astronaut, math skills be damned!

Don’t be afraid to read it if you are a little younger than a “young adult”. I think even as young as a 10 year old could read it as this is a fairly benign story. Still it is a great adventure with space travel and futuristic life on Mars and Earth. I’m 64. I can’t get enough of these books. There are older characters to relate to in the story, too.

Speaking of characters, as much as I love the girl from Mars, Jess, her brother, Eth, is even more fascinating. He is a highly functioning autistic person or maybe he has Asberger’s syndrome. The author never applies a label, which I find refreshing. Eth uses what he knows and plays the role he is assigned in the mission even through his own disabilities. But then the rest of the crews does the same thing. Each character has their own short-comings and strengths. That is why the series works so well.

As I have stated in the reviews of the first two books, I think guys would like this as much as the gals as there are characters they can relate to, and the action and adventure just keeps coming.

On this, the third book for me, I found it a little less action and more setting the stage for more to come. I can hardly wait for the next book, but I have to wait for my next paycheck as I have spent my allotment for books for this month. By the way, this three volume set is still $.99.

I think everyone, especially science fiction buffs will love this series. The author has done her homework and even gives websites for Mars fans to look up all they need to know about Mars and spaceflight. Enjoy!

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Review: Defying Mars

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December 23, 2013

Defying Mars
Defying Mars by Cidney Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series is so much fun, so exciting, that I read book 1 and this book 2 straight through. Then I was stranded without book 3. Yikes! As luck would have it the boxed set came on sale for $.99 so I picked it up and started to read the #3.

The first three are still on sale:

It is often the case that a sequel isn’t as good as the first book. In this case I think this one was even more exciting. I read until 4 in the morning just to see what would happen. The characters and worlds are well built and believable. In this book we get to know more about the support team and the depth of the antagonist.

So far in the series there are no cliffhangers. The reason to keep reading is that you care about the characters and worlds. Cidney Swanson’s writing style works for me. I had already read the Rippler series by her, and I think Saving Mars is even better.

Though this is considered Young Adult I think anyone could read it and have a great adventure. And it isn’t just for teen girls. I think guys of all ages would like this, too. All you need to be is a science fiction fan to love it!

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Review: Saving Mars

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December 21, 2013

Saving Mars
Saving Mars by Cidney Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my! I finished this book two days ago. Why haven’t I written a review yet? Because it was so good I couldn’t wait to read the next book. Oops! I have no self-control when it comes to good books!

If you love science fiction with a spot of fantasy thrown in this is the book for you.

It fit all my criteria for my recent reading goals. This had a strong main character, who happened to be female. This character was flawed as were the other folks that people this novel and its planets. This story is quite accessible to male readers, too. And though I tagged it as Young Adult, I think any age would love it. It may have a few concepts too strong for little ones, but even those could be conversation starters. I would say this is easily rated G. Not to mention this old lady LOVED it!

All that said… As I mentioned before, I have book two already started, but I worried. I didn’t have book three. Today I saw that the box set of the trilogy was $.99. Grabbed it! Hope it is still on sale tomorrow for the rest of you! Sorry I am so late to let you all know.

Now back to reading.

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Review: The Ripple Trilogy Books 1-3

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December 15, 2013

The Ripple Trilogy Books 1-3
The Ripple Trilogy Books 1-3 by Cidney Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading the first book, I found I wanted to read the rest of the series. Luckily, this three book deal came out for $.99 so I grabbed it up and continued reading. I have to admit that the rest of the series was even better than the first book. Much more exciting! I cared more deeply for the characters. I found myself skipping meals to see what could happen next.

Lately, I have found myself bored with YA books. They seem to have similar themes regardless of sub-genre. Teen angst thrown onto another planet or fantasy world. AND, why is it called Young Adult when it should really be adolescent girls? AND where are the books like this for older adults? We don’t even have a genre unto ourselves. Anyway, I have been reading these YA books as there were few strong-fem main characters in my youth. It was the boys that got the adventures and had to solve the problems. I am so happy that today’s young women are able to find gems like these written by Cidney Swanson. By the way, I think guys would like these books, also, as there are scenes from both of the main characters’ points of view.

Oh, the intrigue! I felt my palms sweating toward the end. What if this could happen? I would hope there are smart people out there who can outsmart any ‘bad-guys’ that may pop up in real life. Great writing. It was so much fun!

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Review: Rippler

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December 13, 2013

Rippler
Rippler by Cidney Swanson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the moment I started reading this book I was hooked. It starts in the middle of the action, a new talent and a new fear. Who wouldn’t want to be invisible? But when there are people out to kill you or trap you for your genes, is anywhere safe?

There were a few things that made me unsuspend disbelieve when the main character’s running mate turns out to be a fellow rippler. What are the chances of that? But the story keeps going, and I was brought in running for my life with the characters.

This is a YA and as such there is a bit of the angst of teens, but not as much as other YA’s contain. And there is a tiny bit of romance but gentle and not quite as quite as squishy as the average YA. Instead it keeps you going wondering what was going to happen.

I was happy that there wasn’t a cliffhanger. But the reason I didn’t write this review when finished was I found that the trilogy was on sale for $.99 so then I started reading book two. Oops. I am enjoying it, too. 🙂

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