Latest Book Reviews and Comments

My first (and possibly last Scottoline).  There was a lot of useless information that was just filler.  With that, the story also did not flow.  By the end, I almost didn’t care who the “bad” guy was.  At least it was not who I suspected.  If you are going to read the series, you probably need this first book but I hope you don’t find it as bad as I did.

The events in Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore are set in ecological disasters caused by climate change. This is actually the book’s greatest strength, as the author portrays nature with love and power. The main theme of the story, however, is human relationships and the difficulties they present due to personal backgrounds. Because of this, the story lost its appeal for me as the book progressed, though it didn’t completely fall apart. In my opinion, this is better than the author’s previous work.

The Murderbot series has been quite readable, even though I haven’t really taken to it. The android who shuns human contact and goes about his business reluctantly is amusing, but it would be nice if there were some kind of shift in his mindset to keep the character interesting. In this installment, the setting shifts to a peaceful planet where a murder has taken place. This book doesn’t quite reach the level of suspense you’d expect from a sci-fi thriller. The language is also annoying. I’ll keep reading the series, though.

When I first watched The Exorcist as a movie, it gave me nightmares for a couple of weeks. So I wasn’t entirely sure if reading the book was a good idea. The book, however, turned out to be a much easier read. Although many scenes were already visually imprinted in my mind from the movie, the book offered a broader psychological analysis and, above all, a sense of doubt. Despite the themes of possession and exorcism, the religious elements in the book weren’t preachy or overbearing, which made the subject matter easier to read. At times, the characters even drink coffee and have conversations. The Exorcist is by no means an easy read; it is supernatural, unsettling horror.

Cujo had me holding my breath with suspense, feeling anxious about the mother and child’s dire situation, and feeling sadness and sympathy for the fate of the good dog. Thanks to these emotions, the book earns high marks. The story also has some less interesting parts and a hint of the supernatural in the children’s storyline. Not King’s best, but still very good and memorable.

Pretty good for a debut novel.  Fast paced, kept my attention.  I would have liked to see a few of the characters more developed.  The plot is similar to Grisham’s The Firm.  Not as good but I still liked it and will read the sequel.  Other reviewers have stated this would be better as a movie, which I think is true.  

Chapters 11 - 15: I am really enjoying this series and getting to know all the characters and how they interact with one another. I am looking forward to reading the next volume and finding out who that new character at the end was.

Chapters 06 - 10: This volume was really good and I enjoyed getting to know the white wolf Kirito as well. This series has several interesting characters and a unique plot about self discovery that I look forward to reading more about. I look forward to reading the next volume and many more in this series.

The book was predictably somewhat dated since it was published in the 60’s.  The main character was a contradiction, being both a knight in shining armor and a womanizer.  Not politically correct to today’s “standards”, but what should we expect.  This book had a far fewer number of characters to keep track of which was a nice change.  The story itself was good and I plan to continue reading the series to see how the main character grows.  

The book was straight forward and predictable but somehow I also found it addictive.  So, overall I liked the book and was rooting for the characters.  I also liked the leadin to the next book which I did not predict.  I plan to read the subsequent novels.

Chapters 01 - 05: This seems like it's going to be a really interesting series and I am enjoying getting to know the characters so far. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

This was another enjoyable standalone story in the Treasured by the Alien series and took place on Ciresia. Becsul & Melissa have a rocky beginning but managed to overcome it along with tackling the obstacles that faced them. I enjoyed seeing how Becsul interacted with Melissa's three month old son Robbie and how quickly their bond formed. The epilogue of this story was really sweet and I look forward to reading the next book in this series Bride of the Alien Warrior later this year.

Stephen King and Owen King’s Sleeping Beauties is a long book. In the story, an epidemic known as “Aurora” causes women to fall asleep and go into a cocoon-like state. This also happens at a women’s prison, which serves as a major setting for the story. The men lose their minds. And they act like idiots. Or at least, the violence is what sticks in your mind. The characters aren’t black and white, but they are unbalanced. Classified as horror, the book is more unsettling than scary. The story also features supernatural and fantasy elements.

This book should be counted as a 4th entry in the Vows and Honor series, as most of the early chapters and a big part of the setup for the finale are pulled directly from the stories of Tarma, Kethry and Worrl their Kyree companion. I concede this book focuses on a new protagonist and storyline, but it also gives background for Kerowyn, who becomes a key background player in the Mage Winds and Mage Storms series, it also acts as a major progression arc for the intelligent sword Need. 

I really love Michael Connelly books but I don’t like the Stilwell books as much. It is not the character, I like Stilwell.  This novel had two parallel cases which keeps you interested.  The chapters were short and  jumped back and forth between cases but I thought it flowed well.  I recommend reading, it will hold your interest throughout but I didn’t really like the way either case ended due to lack of details and downgraded my rating.

I’ve read all the Jesse Stone novels and find them easy to read and very enjoyable.  This Spenser novel, my first read in this series was also easy to read.  The Spenser in this first book is a wise ass and somewhat lacking in moral fiber.  Not yet the character/hero type portrayed in the TV series but there are many more books for him to grow.  There were also a couple scenarios that were totally unnecessary, like the satan worshipers.  Overall, I still liked the book and plan to keep reading the series.

Overall, I liked the book.  I liked the way the author shifted back and forth in time to develop the story.  The story was somewhat predictable but there were a couple of twists near the end.  Even though I liked the book, I didn’t really cheer for the characters, they were too rich and privileged.

I liked this novella. It was my first read of Gillian Flynn. I don’t ordinarily like any horror but found this short 40 pages suspenseful with unexpected twists for such a short story. 

This was my first novella by this author but I had enjoyed a couple much shorter short stories by her previously and had high hopes for this since it sounded fun. This book met my expectations and was a really enjoyable Retelling of Cinderella full of fall vibes, wonderful sounding desserts, and interesting characters. I loved getting to know both Celine "Cinder" and Mouse and seeing Celine realize her growing feelings for him. This story also has a lot of fun side characters including the other baker's in the competition. Celine's step mother as well as her step sister Eugenie were extremely unappreciative of all Celine did for them but her step sister Felicity wasn't as bad. The epilogue was a fun look into the future and I plan to read more by this author.

This book definitely has a horror element to it.  It starts slow as it develops three different characters that are seemingly unrelated.  It speeds up as the stories intertwined but I think the story is unnecessarily gory/ gruesome in description.  Despite my dislike for this, I liked the overall story.

This was a really sweet story about Conrad & Linnea. This story can be read as a standalone but it's nice to have a little more familiarity with the town and background characters. Conrad & Linnea were really cute together and I enjoyed seeing the two of them find their HEA. I didn't see a lot of Thumbelina references but may have missed them but either way I loved the story. I look forward to reading more books in this town including Guinevere and Gideon's upcoming story Once Upon A Bear.

Overall, I liked the book.  Easy to cheer for the main character despite her infidelity.  I liked that she eventually confessed to her husband and they worked to resolve her problem.  My biggest beef is that the fight with the big bad brute sent to kill her was not realistic.  Would have been better if husband or Private Investigator friend came to her rescue.

Overall, I liked the book.  I liked that it got right into the action.  The book was basically revenge based where the main character created his “terminal list” of those he had to kill for killing his Seal team, family, and friends.  The action carried through the whole book.  I found it was weak in character descriptions for some of the characters on the list, the details of why they were included on the List.    Could have reduced some unnecessary details also.  I do plan to read subsequent books in the series, this was his first novel and have heard the author has improved in subsequent ones.

This was a really enjoyable standalone story set in the small town of Harmony Glen that focuses on Thallos (Satyr) & Marigold (Human Florist). Both characters have complicated emotional issues from their pasts that they help each other work through and I enjoyed seeing how they developed as individuals as well as how they developed as a couple. This story also features characters from previous books in this series but it isn't necessary to have read them to enjoy this story. The epilogue at the end was a lot of fun and I look forward to reading many more books by Honey Phillips in the future.