Publisher: TOR Books Page Count: 383 Fiction Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Supernatural, Sci-Fi Dates Read: October 16-21, 2015 Summary There is a secret agency that does nothing but investigate the paranormal. Those involved all have special gifts that aide them in their work. After the death of the top agent, things are changing and it's becoming apparent that the soviets are involved. Review What did I miss in this book? I was bored and considered giving up numerous time. The writing isn't bad, there was just wasn't anything that grabbed my attention. I did not connect or have any care for any of the characters. I'm pretty sure that there were numerous times that my eyes glazed over and I stopped comprehending what was on the pages. I love the cover art though. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 6 Pace - 4 Plot Development - 4 Characters - 5 Enjoyability - 2 Insightfulness - 2 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 2 out of 5 stars
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Publisher: TOR Books Page Count: 19 Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History, Novelette, Space Dates Read: October 19, 2015 Summary I was the lady astronaut of Mars. The first to make the journey. The first to help establish our colonies here. Back on Earth I remember a girl named Dorothy who lived on a Kansas farmed, who had an Uncle Henry and an Aunt Em. I don't remember talking to her, but I remember her. Now years later I keep hoping to make another voyage, but at my age I'm an unlikely candidate. Review This novelette left me speechless and gasping for air. Kowal is brilliant of saying so much in so little space. I want to know more about the lady astronaut and what happened when the story ended. Did she have a happy ending? did her dreams come true? Kowal packed a powerful punch on The Lady Astronaut of Mars that left me tearing up in a few places. Beautifully written and flawlessly delivered. This book is VERY hard (impossible?) to find in print, but you can get it for Kindle for $0.99. Since I don't like reading on my Kindle I was trying everything I could to not have to buy it in that format. Thankfully TOR came through for me, and you can read this online directly at their website here: The Lady Astronaut of Mars. Did I mention you can read that for free? Well, you can. Happy reading! Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 9 Pace - 9 Plot Development - 9 Characters - 10 Enjoyability - 10 Insightfulness - 8 Ease of Reading - 9 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars Publisher: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books Page Count: 240 Fiction Genre: Plays, Horror, Dark, Drama, Musical Dates Read: October 19, 2015 Summary Sweeney Todd, fresh out of prison, is looking for his daughter Joanna. He has not taken on the persona The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and will slit your throat while you're in his chair to get a trim. Your body now provides the filling for Mrs. Lovett's delicious meat pies. Don't worry though, your murder and disposal takes place during some pretty catchy tunes. Review I love this play. It's one of my all-time favorites. The movie is pretty good too. This is the full play script, along with musical numbers. It's a quick and gruesome read. I hope you're not picking up before heading to dinner, because you never know what exactly it is that you're eating. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 8 Plot Development - 7 Characters - 9 Enjoyability - 9 Insightfulness - N/A Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - 9 Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly Page Count: 166 Fiction Genre: Comics, Graphic Novel, Humor, Historical, Nerdy Dates Read: October 19, 2015 Summary From the author/creator of Hark! A Vagrant, comes the next full length collection from Kate Beaton. Beaton takes on Canadian politics, Nancy Drew novels, Gorey covers, and random figures from history. Review If you are not familiar with Beaton's work on Hark! A Vagrant, you need to reevaluate your life. I love that she is capable and will to expand her talents past just pop culture references. This book is delightful, well written, beautifully illustrated, and full of chuckles. He Nancy Drew and Gorey sections are always my favorites, but I enjoyed watching her take down Julius Caesar as well. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 7 Pace - 5 Plot Development - N/A Characters - 7 Enjoyability - 8 Insightfulness - N/A Ease of Reading - 8 Photos/Illustrations - 9 Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars Publisher: Spark Press Page Count: 311 Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Retelling, Adventure, YA Dates Read: October 15-19, 2015 Summary A magical retelling of Peter Pan, from Wendy's perspective. Wendy Darling is in love with Booth, the local booksellers son, but her family will not allow the relationship because Booth is below the Darlings caste. Wendy is heart broken and must choose between the love for her family and the love for Booth. Then, Peter Pan shows up and promises to whisk Wendy and her brothers away to a magical place, where there are no cares or worries (hakuna matata). Once they get there will they still want to return back home? Review -SPOILER WARNING- I received an free copy of this book for an honest review. Honestly .... I'm not sure how I feel about this. The first quarter of this boring was a bland tale that we've all heard before. At about 30% in it starts to pick up when Peter finally makes an appearance. The book has this nice incline of adventure and "plot" (I'm using this phrase loosely). Then we hit the peak where shit is actually hitting the fan. At the end I sat there holding the book asking myself what I just read. I can't tell if I'm angry, disappointed, or just numb to what I have read. There is a decent cliff-hanger at the end that makes me want to read the next book, but I think that is mostly driven by how some of the characters turned out. I'm waiting for revenge! The only different from the Disney tale is that Wendy is older and in love with a boy named Booth. Really? Booth? Okay ... The thing about this relationship is that we are meant to believe that Wendy and Booth are head over heels in love with each other. Their story conveyed as much emotion as a soggy sponge. And that dialog. It was horrendous. Let's not ignore the predictable behavior of the fact that Wendy, a rich white girl, was in love with a poor bookshop owners soon. OH THE SCANDAL!!!! Naturally in thew way these tales go, her parents would not and did not approve, so she had to keep their love hidden. Then, Peter Pan shows up, and whisks all the Darling children away to Neverland. It's obvious that he's infatuated with Wendy, and that she has a little something for him too. It's actually starts out a bit endearing; in a playful flirty, I like you, but I'm not going to tell you I like you, kind of way. Then things get abusive & rapey. Tink is abusive to Wendy. Peter beats the hell out of Tink. Peter tries to rape Wendy. By this point Wendy had forgotten and remembered her parents and Booth back in London. Peter gets possessive, insisting that Wendy will love him and that they will rule Neverland as Queen and King. He threatens to kill her by dropping her from the sky until she nearly hits the water - just to teach her a lesson. Then he threatens to kill her brothers if she does not love him or asks to leave again. What the actual fuck?!?! Wendy decides that she and Micheal must leave, and she hatches a plan to get them off the island. Of course, things do not go according to plan when Peter finds out and starts to rage, nearly killing Wendy and Micheal. But alas, she and Michael are saved by Captain Hook - This is where it all ends. Most of the action takes place in the last 50-ish pages. That was the pinnacle of the story, where not a lot happened. Wendy - I loved her, but also found her to be completely annoying. She was loving and protective of her brothers, even when John was being an ass. However, she was so weak, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. I think Oakes has an aversion to strong women. That is disappointing. Michael - He was the most lovable character in this book. he was charming and naive as only a 5 year old can be. He refused to get sucked into the trap of Neverland and Peter Pan, and was the most honest and heartfelt character in this book. John - What a bag of dicks! I secretly kept hoping he would die. he was rude, obnoxious, and douchey. This character had zero redeeming qualities in him. Booth - What do we really know about this guy besides he loves Wendy, works in his father's bookstore, and bullies Wendy for not sticking up to her parents about their relationship. He said it several times "She's not brave". Peter - At first he was likable and charming, and it was easy to see why Wendy fell so quickly for him. but something snapped, and he became my most hated character in the book. Though I did not find the book in and of it self dark, there was definitely a darkness about Peter. Tink - At first I hated her and how bratty she was, but it soon became obvious how deep her hurting was, and that she could not necessarily control herself. She seemed to shift between two personalities. The reasonable and logical Tink, and then the erratic and angry version of herself. I had so much sympathy for her and the way she was treated by Peter. I wish Oakes would have spent some more time on her. There were two other background characters that I wish Oakes would have focused more on; Abbott and Ox. They seemed like they had a lot going on, and she started to develop them fairly well, I just wish that she would have given us more about them. While this is not one of my favorite retellings, and there were plenty of things that irritated me know, most likely I will read the next book and probably finish out the series. I can't say I'm doing that out of enjoyment as much as curiosity. For me, this book was closer to a 2 1/2 than a 3 star rating. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 5 Characters - 6 Enjoyability - 5 Insightfulness - 4 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 2.5 out of 5 stars Publisher: Vintage Page Count: 324 Fiction Genre: Historical, Classic, American-Lit., African-American Dates Read: October 12-16, 2015 Summary Beloved. That's all that is inscribed on a young child's tombstone; the only name that baby received. Now the child haunts the home where it died, where its mother and living sister still reside. Beloved's mother, Sethe, an escaped slave nearly 20 years, still feels chained to her memories of her old life and home, and to her present situation. Review This was a decent book, but I wish I would have started with a different book by Morrison. Her writing style took me a while to get used to, and by the time I did I wasn't really enjoying the story of Beloved. I know this can be a great story, I just wish I felt better about it. At times, especially starting out, I struggled to keep up with the time flips and dialogues. I fell in love with Sethe though (my heart ached for her) and also with Denver, her living daughter, and her struggle to be and feel like a normal teenager. Paul D though, he frustrated me, and made me feel on edge for the women in the house. Having this much emotion about fictional characters tells me that Morrison did a outstanding creating her characters. They weren't just characters; they were real souls with heart-felt stories to share. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 7 Pace - 3 Plot Development - 3 Characters - 8 Enjoyability - 5 Insightfulness - 2 Ease of Reading - 5 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 3 out of 5 stars Publisher: University of South Carolina Press Page Count: 177 Nonfiction Genre: Essays, Short Stories, Memoir Dates Read: October 12, 2015 Summary Filled with personal essays, Appel shares stories of his off-beat family, his heritage, and educational experiences. Review I received a free copy of this book for an honest review. I really loved the idea of this book, especially being someone that has moved nearly 5,000 miles away from family, I felt a little connection to the premise. In theory I enjoyed the book, but in reality I was bored. It was like sitting next to a stranger on a tram, and having them tell you their complete life story of people you don't know. At some point, I think around the chapter "An Absence of Jello", my eyes started to glaze over. However, I pushed through with a hope that things would get better. Oh, how I hoped things would get better. I'm still hoping and waiting (I've finished the book, BTW). Though the book is incredibly dull, I have to give Appel credit for his beautiful prose. His writing is flawless and smooth, something I wish all authors had. Though I feel like I've found a dud in Phoning Home, I want to check out other pieces of his work, because of his quality of writing. Thank you for the free copy. I plan to donate my copy to my local library in hopes that others will take a chance to read this and enjoy it more than I did. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 3 Characters - 2 Enjoyability - 2 Insightfulness - 3 Ease of Reading - 4 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 2 out of 5 stars |
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