Tag Archive: text-to-speech-enabled


Review: Proximity


Proximity
Proximity by M.A. George
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this book on an author-giveaway-day on Smashwords. Somehow I forgot that I already had it. Then Kindle had a freebie day and I pick it up there, too. Does that ever happen to you? I look at the cover, it does play into how I feel about a book. Then I read the blurb and about the author. This book must have passed those criteria with flying colors!

After a slow start, getting to know the characters, Proximity took off. I was hooked. From about 60% of the book, I couldn’t stop reading. In fact, I was still reading at 5 this morning. Thank goodness for an ending that didn’t leave me hanging. Sure there was a few threads that need to be taken care of, but I was left elated which, of course, made me wakeful, wondering how the next bits will be taken care of. (Non-spoiler enough?)

I can’t wait for payday so I can get the next book. Thank you M.A. George for writing such a different, kind of story. Oh, and I need to mention how I loved that the characters were very well educated with goals and talents, along with a little romance. Very good!

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Review: Placencia


Placencia
Placencia by C.A. Clemmings
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I was given this story free for an honest review. Thank you, C.A. Clemmings.

First what I loved: I loved feeling I was on the beach in the Caribbean. I felt I was on a grand vacation. I loved the main character and the people she meets.

Okay, second, what I didn’t like. That it is a short story. Ergh! Next to cliffhangers in my list of dislikes (hates?). I barely get to know the characters and have hints as to what makes them tick and the story is over. What happens next? Will this relationship end? will another begin? Can we live in Placencia, please, please, please? And make sure you have your white bathing suit!

This was fun as long as it lasted. πŸ™‚

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Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition
Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition by Melodie Campbell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received Rowena Through the Wall as a gift from the author for an honest review.

I hate taking the time away from the series to write a review! That’s how good this first book was. The ending prodded me to make sure I had number two lined up. Don’t get me wrong, number one didn’t leave you on a real cliffhanger. It just leaves you wanting more.

This book remind me of P.C. Cast’s Paratholon series. I loved that series so to find something similar, yet unique, made me a happy reader, indeed!

Rowena is a modern womyn, independent, self-actualizing, and funny. I loved her! I loved that this wasn’t a squishy romance novel. There’s plenty of action, much of it unwanted, but squishy is just not a part of this great adventure. There is science and magic. There is time-travel, of sorts. Or should I call it world hopping? Well, written and believable. Well, that is, until I need to explain it here.

You know, I think this series could be a movie or television series. It is that much fun. It keeps your attention dwelling in the book and the real world disappears into Rowena’s.

I think males or females from young adult on could read it and find it a gripping read.

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Blogging for Beginners - Answers to Your Frequently Asked Question

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Blogging for Beginners – Answers to Your Frequently Asked Question by Mark Reinert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you want to sell something. your books, ideas, or start a business, this book is for you. If you are like me and just want to learn how to blog, this book is quite helpful.

When I do decide I want to sell my novels, I will pull this one out of my archive and read it again.

On the other hand, it didn’t quite meet my needs as a new blogger. I am still left with more questions than answers. I know all new pursuits have a learning curve. I think I may be on the upward swing with mine, until WordPress changes the look of something I use on a daily basis, then I am back to ground level struggles.

In an attempt not to be negative, I think this may have enough information out there it is worth the try. It does have clickable links so read it on the Fire or a tablet to get best results.

It took me a while to read this, not because it is long, but because I wanted to absorb the information and see if I could apply it to my own blog. It would be a quick read straight through.

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The Busy Writer's Self-Editing Toolbox
The Busy Writer’s Self-Editing Toolbox by Marg McAlister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was short but pack with a lot of reminders about editing. Probably not the best book to read during NaNoWriMo but I took notes so I’ll be able to edit all my novels later. πŸ˜€

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2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love by Rachel Aaron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a quick easy book to read! I came away with a lot of little nuggets that will be quite handy as of midnight tomorrow night. I have been sitting on an idea I started on during Camp NaNo. I managed about 19K but a whole lot of the story has resided in my head. Ms. Aaron’s book helped me feel there is hope for this little book. So, NaNoWriMo here I come, ready or not!

I am not sure that even with my Dragon Naturally Speaking I will be able to get that kind of word count the title implies but I will say that prep work before starting a book and daily prep work will help me get a better, faster, tighter story.

Now, on to editing. I had hoped for more. The author uses her own books to demonstrate what works and how to edit, but if you have never read her books it leaves one flat. Actually, that can be said of the writing faster part of the book, too. I would have loved to have a clickable link to charts or spreadsheets to aid the readers and other, commonly read novels as examples.

Still in all, it is worth the read.

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Review: UnEnchanted


UnEnchanted
UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, this was a new take on the fairytales, at times very grimm–get it? Pa-dum-dum. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. And, no, this doesn’t reflect on the stories woven into this book, a couple overlapping each other. There might be humor within the pages but not as cheesy as mine.

Mina Grime doesn’t think there is anything funny about her life. Imagine being stuck with that name, for instance. Then she has to live through the modern life of of a klutzy teen, just trying to make it out alive, with some level of self-esteem intact.

Though this follows the YA fantasy of teen-wakes-with-new-powers/gifts/threats format, Mina isn’t lost in the woods or other triteness. Her unique nature causes everything to happen right in front of her classmates giving her even more uncomfortable attention.

Ms. Grime isn’t always strong but she learns that she must be, she has to save her brother and her friends. So, more than anything else, this book reflects her growth as a person.

My thoughts? I liked the characters and the plots within plots, enough so, that I will try to read the next books in the series. Luckily this one didn’t leave you on a cliff. It gave you enough of a resolution to feel you could walk away, but clues enough to make you want to see what more is in store for poor Mina.

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Review: Unmasked Alloy


Unmasked Alloy
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!

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Professional Plot Outline Mini-Course
Professional Plot Outline Mini-Course by Holly Lisle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was an easy read. I took copious notes so that when I get ready to outline November’s NaNoWriMo I will be able to follow through. Though a lot of it feels like other books I have read on the subject, Holly Lisle’s personality shows through.

Ms. Lisle left plenty of examples off the top of her head. Because instruction given in other books don’t have examples, I find when I try what they present, it turns out to be quite a mess. Needless to say, I will not delete the book. I want it to be easy to refer back to in the next couple months.

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What an exciting conclusion to a great trilogy. Read my review here:

<a href=”http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15827257-emergence&#8221; style=”float: left; padding-right: 20px”><img alt=”Emergence (Eden’s Root Trilogy #3)” border=”0″ src=”http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1365267098m/15827257.jpg&#8221; /></a><a href=”http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15827257-emergence”>Emergence</a&gt; by <a href=”http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/719277.Rachel_Fisher”>Rachel Fisher</a><br/>
My rating: <a href=”http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/605511766″>5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Wow! What a ride! Look if I’m dingy today, I blame Rachel Fisher. This book started out rolling and didn’t stop. Real life got in my way, or I would’ve finished this in a day or so. Somewhere around 60%, it felt slower but that was the calm before the storm. I figured last night. I’d start reading it midnight and I would fall asleep. The sun was well up in the sky for two hours before I fell asleep. I could not put the book down. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Fi and her friends.<br /><br />I gave this five stars because, as usual, Ms. Fisher told a wonderful tale. But I noticed that somewhere around 60% of the book, there were a few mistakes words left out or tiny misspellings. The other thing that really bothered me and I know this is just me, how did Fi deal with dirty diapers? I’ve had four kids. I could not have fought a war with any one of them hanging from me. I know Fi is a really strong woman. But somehow I have a hard time grasping a woman who just gave birth and running 3 miles with her baby in the backpack. It just seems rather impossible to me. But that doesn’t stop the story. And it is an amazing one. Maybe I missed something in reading it.<br /><br />I love the ending! I will have to reread the trilogy again as I miss this great bunch of characters!
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