Category Archives: Book review

Book review, Books

Crossing in Time (Between Two Evils #1): #bookreview

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Crossing in Time

If you could go back in time to fix your love life and hopefully save the world, would you go?

Crossing in Time takes place in Colorado, in a biodome somewhere in the United States and on a tropical beach in the future.

Isabel loves Diego. Diego loves Isabel. Many years ago they were a couple – two brilliant, complicated, stubborn people who cannot effectively communicate until twenty years later.

Isabel lets Diego get away and then marries the biggest douchebag on the planet. He’s a jerk in the past, present and future.

The end of the world is quickly approaching. Some genius figured out that keeping Isabel and Diego from separating in their youth could save the planet.

So Isabel volunteers to go to the past to talk to young Diego about how to communicate with a young Isabel when he meets her. It was probably incredibly weird to say “Hey, someday you will meet another me who is exceptionally difficult. Please be patient with her/me even though we are a pain in the neck.

If you are a fan of time travel or apocalyptic novels, then you might enjoy Crossing Time. It would be fine to take this book to the beach to read about the world ending while the world is ending.

Oh my goodness. I should quit reading the reviews on Amazon. Prudes who don’t like cursing or all of the sexual language do not enjoy this book. The prudes gave it a one star review. That’s a bit harsh Prudence. It was worth at least 3.5 stars.

  • I thought I received this ebook from the author. However, I’ve had the ebook since 2018 so I’m not sure anymore.
Book review, Books

10 Books on the #AlreadyRead Shelf. Part 5

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  1. Catching Fire.
  2. Charlotte’s Web. One of my favorite books of all time.
  3. The Chosen.
  4. City of Flickering Light
  5. Games of Thrones: Clash of Kings.
  6. Cold & Deadly.
  7. Cold Mountain.
  8. The Color Purple. I loved the book, as well as the movie.
  9. Confessions of the Fox.
  10. Coraline. The book is so awesome and creepy. My kids are all creeped out by the movie but they watch it all of the time.
Book review, Books

10 BOOKS ON THE #ALREADYREAD SHELF. PART 4

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Brave New World. Worth a 2nd read. Am I brave enough?

Breath Eyes Memory. Worth all of the time for re-reading.

Bridge to Terabithia. Excellent book. Have tissues handy.

Bridget Jones Diary. Entertaining but not life altering.

But Did You Die? Funny stuff.

Canterbury Tales. Entertaining at the very least.

The Cask of Amatillado. Don’t we all have someone that we’d like to exact revenge upon?

The Cat Who Wore a Pot on Her Head. Favorite children’s book.

Catch-22. This would be a good time to read the novel for the 1st time.

Catcher in the Rye. I have read this book several times. Holden Caulfield isn’t the worst character but he’s a punk. I don’t relate to him as much as other people do.

Book review, Books

Venators: Promises Forged. #bookreview

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Venators: Promises Forged

Venators: Promises Forged is the second book in the Venators series by Devri Walls. So many things can happen in Eon, where Rune, Grey and Ryker have traveled from Earth. In the last book, they – mostly Grey- defeated a dragon. Not too bad for

Ryker is still being held captive by Zio. No one else is sure where he is being kept. He isn’t sure of what is going on. Since he came to Eon, Ryker has been heavily sedated. He doesn’t even know that he’s a Venator or what that means.

Grey walks into a trap set by Feena, the Fae Queen. I don’t know what I expected a Fae Queen to do exactly but Feena is different than any other fairy that I’ve read about. She’s trickier and much more cruel. Someday, I’d like to see if anyone has any fan art of Feena. She’s such an interesting character but the picture of her in my mind is a bit fuzzy. Is it because she is scary without even trying? Possibly . . .

Rune spends most of her time learning how to be more diplomatic and also getting in touch with her inner Venator. It’s time for her to unleash whatever powers she has. Rune and the rest of the group need every power that they have to rescue Grey from Feena.

Poor Ryker might never get rescued from Zio’s prison. All of that bad boy energy will go to waste if Rune and Grey don’t make it out of the Fae Queen’s forest.

If you like fantasy novels with scary female villains and a bad boy or two, then this could be the series for you. Who is your favorite female villain? I’m partial to Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

If you lack imagination and only like boring books with dull characters, then you might not like Venators: Promises Forged. There’s probably still a boring book out there for you.

P.S. Sorry for being late to the blog tour. I feel like I got trapped in the Fae Queen’s Forest too.

Book review, Books

4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace: #bookreview

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4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace

4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss is set in a nursing care facility in the San Francisco area. At first I was not excited about reading about a nursing home because it reminds me of my job in a similar facility. However, the book is also set in the mind of Aaron’s new roommate, Solomon.

Aaron, a 14-year-old boy, who contracted Cryptococcal meningitis, is currently in a vegetative state. He cannot control his body but his mind is just as active as before the illness. No one knows that Aaron is aware of what is going on until Solomon moves into the room. Solomon can hear his thoughts. It’s the first time in two years that Aaron could communicate with anyone.

Solomon also has dementia. Occasionally, Aaron gets trapped in Solomon’s memories. Solomon was a jazz musician and also fought in WWII. He has seen some amazing things. Famous boxing matches. Great music.

He has also seen things like the liberating of the concentration camps and other horrors of war.

Will Aaron get trapped in the memories or in his own mind forever? Will he be able to communicate with anyone else?

Most people will enjoy this book. It has a little bit of something for everyone. Romance. Action. Adventure. Nostalgia.

If you don’t like unhealthy people or old people, then you might not be a fan of this book. Aaron’s own parents disappear for awhile. They don’t call, write or visit. They pay the bills for his care but that’s all. ( I mean really . . . what kind of monsters are they anyway?) Will the parents visit him again?

I recommend this book to everyone, except those cruel parental monsters and Nazis of course.

Book review, Books

The Harpy: #bookreview

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The Harpy

The Harpy by Megan Hunter is set in a pretty typical town. Lucy and Jake live in a nice home with their two sons. Lucy is a stay-at-home mom while Jake works at an office. Their life is nice and comfortable. It could be wrapped up in a nice gift box with a lovely bow.

Then one day Lucy receives the news that her husband is having an affair with a co-worker. She doesn’t know what to do except cry and be angry. Finally, Lucy decides to give Jake another chance.

They come up with this deal that she is allowed to hurt him three times in whatever way that she wants. People say that sort of thing during in an argument. What are the statistics on following through with inflicting pain on someone that has caused you pain? I guess that why there are so many shows like Snapped and Forensic Files.

So things are going alright for awhile. Definitely not perfect but they are trying to make the relationship work.

In between thinking about the relationship and taking care of her kids, Lucy remembers her fascination with Harpies. A Harpy is a half-bird, half-human creature. The most accurate description of them is that they are agents of punishment.

Anyway, Lucy discovers that Jake cannot be trusted. So she may have turned into Harpy – either in her mind or in a physical way. Lucy seems happy in this form. Maybe she feels free because this is her true nature – an evil, vicious bird. It may not work for everyone but maybe it will work for her. I hope she finds someone to take care of her kids while she’s off finding her true Harpyness.

If you are looking for a good book with plenty of drama and Harpies, then The Harpy should be the next book on your list.

If you are a cheater or have a fear of birds, also known as ornithophobia, then you have other problems that you should attend to first.

  • I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for doing a review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.

Book review, Books, lgbtqia, Social Issues

The Less than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch: #bookreview

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51886460-the-less-than-spectacular-times-of-henry-milch
Amazon

The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch by Marshall Thornton is set in Wyandot County in Michgan. There used to be a Wyandot County but it became Cheboygan County in 1853. It seems funny to hear the author refer to the area as the Northern Lower Michigan. It’s accurate. People always forget about the Upper Peninsula.

Henry Milch has recently moved to Michigan from Hollywood, California in order to live with his grandma. Henry had a choice between living with Nana Cole or going to rehab after an overdose. He’s still a drug addict and not always completely honest with anyone. He wants everyone to call him “Mooch” but it doesn’t stick. It’s a horrible nickname. Who really wants to be called “Mooch?”

Henry finds the body of Sammy Hart while working for a local land conservancy. There’s a reward offered for information about Sammy’s death. Henry’s motivation for finding Sammy’s killer is greed. He wants the money so he can move back to Hollywood.

Sammy was an interesting person while he was alive. He was an openly gay man living in a conservative area of Michigan. Unfortunately for Henry, the first gay person in the area that he meets is also deceased. Henry is also gay. He has only told a handful of people in Michigan.

Henry finds out everything he can about Sammy. Who would want to kill him? Was it because he was gay or was there another reason? Henry is really hoping that he solves the case before anyone else. Nothing is more important to Henry than getting out of Michigan.

If you are looking for an interesting LGBTQIA murder mystery, then The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch is a good match.

If you’re close-minded about everything LGBTQIA, then you should start reading articles or books about how to not be a bigot. Come back to the book at a later time.

Links for Tolerance articles:

https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/59nz5z/how-to-deal-with-friends-family-who-are-racist-sexist-or-bigoted

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/speak-up/six-steps-to-speak-up

https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/07/how-not-to-be-a-bigot/

  • I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for doing a review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.
Book review, Books, Uncategorized

Harrow Lake: #bookreview

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0827517CJ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

The Kat Ellis book, Harrow Lake,is set in the town of Harrow Lake. Approximately 20 years ago, the town was the setting for Nightjar, a horror movie directed by Nolan Nox.

He met and fell I love with the actress who played the main character, Little Bird. Her real name was Lorelei. Doesn’t everyone always fall in love with the Loreleis of the world? Nolan and Lorelei married and had a daughter, Lola.

Several years later, the wife disappears after visiting her mother in Harrow Lake. The rumor is that Mr. Jitters from the movie finally captured her. The townspeople think that he captures whoever plays the part of Little Bird in the parade. Why do people still want to get the lead in the parade?

After Nolan is hospitalized, Lola is sent to stay with her grandmother at Harrow Lake. Lola doesn’t think her father’s assistant, Larry, is telling her everything. He’s a creep so she might be right.

She’s not happy about going to her mother’s hometown. Lola thinks that her mother abandoned her.

Her grandmother steals her suitcase so Lola has to wear her mother’s clothes. It’s a weird situation. It’s even more weird that the clothes are Lorelei’s wardrobe from Nightjar.

When Lola was a little girl, she had a doll, Mary Ann, from another horror movie. She loved the doll but her father and his assistant got rid of the doll.

After arriving at Harrow Lake,Lola starts to see Mary Ann, except in a more human form. I thought that having the creepy doll was distracting from Mr. Keepers. Was Mr. Keepers real? Was Mary Ann real? I still don’t know. Sometimes an urban legend is as creepy as real life. I was too scared to read this book when no one else was awake.

After she gets to Harrow Lake, Lola finds out things about her mother that lead her to believe that Lorelei’s disappearance was more suspicious than anyone else thought. Maybe Lola had not been abandoned by her mother.

If anyone is interested in creepy urban legends or horror movies involving dolls, then you might enjoy this book.

Scaredycats should not read this book while home alone with dolls.

* All of the reviewers on the blogtour received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for doing a review. All opinions on this post are my own. Obviously.

Book review, Books, Uncategorized

Beneath the Broken Moon: #bookreview

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Beneath the Broken Moon by Patrick Todoroff was set in a land similar to Middle Earth after the apocalypse.

The main character is Addas, a half human half ork, who has been living in an ork settlement. I use the term living loosely. He is not treated well by anyone except maybe a goblin named Snat. Somehow he is volunteered to be the tracker for a Dwarf/Ork expedition. Addas has never done any tracking in his life. However, doing this job may lead to something better. He believes that it cannot be worse than his current situation.

He doesn’t know how to read and he hears the voice of his deceased mentor, Chalk.

So the expedition begins and Addas leads them to the next point without many problems. He does begin to piece together that there is more to this trip than anyone tells him.

I did enjoy reading this book, except that the print was so tiny. It was a fluke with my Kindle. Luckily my new glasses came yesterday.

If you enjoy sci-fi or fantasy, then you should give this book a chance.

If you don’t like adventure or books from a different perspective then maybe this isn’t the book for you.

Links

ABOUT HSSJ

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4539130.Patrick_Todoroff

* I received an ARC from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for doing a review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.

Book review, Books

Shamus Dust: #bookreview

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https://www.amazon.com/Shamus-Dust-Hard-Winter-Murder-ebook/dp/B07VV4SLHP

Shamus Dust by Janet Rogers is set in London during Christmas of 1947. The people of London were still rebuilding after World War II.

The main character’s name is not Shamus Dust. Shamus is a term for a private investigator. Mr. Newman has been hired by Councilor Drake to look into the murder of Raymond Jarrett. It’s not too long before the body count starts to rise. Trust me when I say, it’s all connected. I think that there is even a line in the book about everything in life being connected.

There was a possible witness to the first murder. Nurse Greer was the one who found the first body and called the police. Newman seems to find her intriguing. Maybe that’s why I thought she was interesting. She was hiding at least one secret. Mystery is very often alluring.

Newman has quite a journey to discover the truth. If I had been smarter, I would have written a chart so I could keep track of who was responsible for what crime.

I did enjoy the book but sometimes it was difficult to keep track of the characters. Don’t hold it against the author or the book – it’s probably a personal problem of my own. The problem is probably that I need a nap. Newman hardly ever sleeps so I want to sleep on his behalf.

If you are a fan of mysteries or crime noir, then you will more than likely enjoy Shamus Dust.

If you don’t need more mystery in your life, then shelve this book until you do.