Tag: book blog

Hair Suite by Piers Anthony

Title: Haire Suite
Author: Piers Anthony
Pub Date: 21-Dec-2016
Rating: 4 Stars

Hair Suite, a novella, by Piers Anthony is the sequel to Hair Power. You do not have to read Hair Power in order to enjoy the sequel. If you have read anything by Piers Anthony, you already know his works are witty, humorous and full of puns. Hair Suite most definitely follows in this vain.

The Hair Suits are a small group of people who have been given extraordinary powers by alien Hair Balls. I am laughing as I am writing this, since my image of a hair ball involves cats and vomit. The puns is what makes Piers Anthony’s work so humorous. Anyway, there is another alien power that has arrived on Earth called Chip Monks. The Chips introduce themselves to the Hairs and form a partnership with them to defeat a third alien power that is headed to Earth and could be a major threat to both the Hairs and the Chips. Together they need to eliminate the threat and save Earth for themselves.

As previously stated, this is a humorous light read and typical Piers Anthony. I would go so far as to call Mr. Anthony’s work the slapstick of the fantasy genre. He is poking fun at numerous things and there are a lot of sexual undertones in the book some might find offensive. It is totally silliness and I had a good laugh. If you liked the Xanith series you will like Hair Suite.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Life of Nuzzels: Nuzzels the Nosey Skunk by Finis T. Jones

Title: The Life of Nuzzels: Nuzzels the Nosey Skunk
Author: Finis T. Jones
Pub Date: 23-Mar-2016
Rating: 5 Stars

Nuzzles is a young skunk. Like most youngsters he is sometimes way too curious for his own good. He wants to explore outside of the family den despite his mother’s warning of danger. One day he decides to ignore the warnings of his mother and go venture out of the den. He tries to persuade his siblings to join him but to no avail. He meets other creatures of the forest and makes some friends along the way. Unfortunately, he becomes lost and ends up fleeing from danger. What ensues is way more adventure than he expected. We all know he should have listened to his mother!

This is a very entertaining story and is appropriate for ages 3 to 7 years old. For the younger ages it will be necessary for an adult to read. Older children should be able to read themselves with little to no assistance. There are several pages (35 total) with a lot of text; therefore, readers under age 3 may not have the attention span necessary to make it through the whole story. In addition, the illustrations are well done and fit the story and age of reader nicely.

I liked that the story can be used to teach. Not only will children learn a couple of lessons from the story, the story is a great opportunity to discuss nature and how the different animals live. For example, I wanted to know what you called a young skunk. It is a kit! I find my grandkids love to learn and by using a good story like this you can make it fun. I am sure this is a story they will want to read again and again.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy to review.

Unliving the Dream by Sandra Vischer

Title: Unliving the Dream
Author: Sandra Vischer
Pub Date: 23-03-2016
Rating: 4 Stars

Unliving the Dream is about Alex a wife, mother, career woman and entrepreneur who appears to have it all. That is until one day, while on a business trip, her husband James tells her he wants to take a break. Shortly thereafter, she discovers he has been having an affair with an employee, a person she called friend.

Alex now has to rethink her life and is left to deal with the aftermath of an unfaithful husband and a divorce. This includes dealing with two children, on her own, who are left hurt and confused by what they consider to be a betrayal by their father.  Lily, the older of Alex’s two children, has a particularly hard time. She is very anger at her father and starts down a destructive path that could destroy her life before it has even begun.

During all this turmoil at home, Alex gets no support from James. He has become an absentee father who would rather take a romantic trip with his girlfriend than be a dad for his kids. In addition, James has become verbally abusive towards Alex at their work place. He constantly berets and belittles Alex even in front of employees. Through all of this Alex puts on a brave face and tries to stay calm. She feels like she has to support both her children and her employees.

For Alex it is a long road to healing. I believe this is because she concentrates so hard on everyone else that she forgets about herself.  All during the story I keep thinking she needs to tell James where to get off. A couple of times I would have loved to tell her to wake up and smell the roses. Alex’s friends finally point out to her what the reader has known for a long time…. that James is an abuser and a scum bag. It is at this point that Alex finally is able to move on.

The first two thirds of the book went really fast. Mainly because of all the drama revolving around James and Lilly. Once that is resolved things slowed down and I had to work to get through the remainder of the story. All-in-all I still enjoyed. The author did a good job of getting us inside the head of Alex to understand all the complex feelings she was having behind the brave face she wore. In addition, the story is a very realistic view of what can happen after a divorce and reminder to all that life does not always turn out as we have planned.

This book will appeal to anyone who likes women’s fiction especially stories like this where the character rises above adversity with the calm and determination of Alex.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lola by Melissa Scrivner Love

Title: Lola
Author: Melissa Scrivner Love
Pub Date: 21-Mar-2017
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Wow! What a great story. I could not help falling in love with the character of Lola. Yet, I feel like I am not supposed to like the gang banger she is, this is morally wrong, but I could not help myself. Lola and her story are so compelling. How can a Mexican-American woman rise to power in a gang in South Central LA.? Lola does it because she is a strong, determined woman. She knows what she wants and she is smart enough to get it.

Most people think Lola is just the girlfriend to Garcia the leader of a small gang that calls themselves The Crenshaw Six.  Lola likes it this way. She likes being in the shadows biding her time. Yet, her time is running short. The cartel, unaware that Lola is the true leader, has asked Garcia to disrupt a rival’s drop and bring them the drugs and two million cash that is to change hands. When the drop goes bad because Lola’s younger brother, Hector, makes a fatal mistake, Lola’s very life is on the line. She gets drawn much deeper into the world of drug trafficking than a small time gang leader would normally go. This just might be the chance for Lola to prove herself and rise from the shadows. That is IF she manages to stay alive.

There are many twists in the plot and that kept me on my toes. I was constantly trying to figure out what was going to happen next and what brilliant plan Lola was going to devise to get out of the sticky situations she finds herself in. One problem with the story, all the men of power too readily accept Lola as a leader.  Sure, it maybe plausible but I say highly unlikely is more like it. For this reason, I think the story was a bit Hollywood.  At the same time it was so well written I can easily over look this.

I recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers. Note of caution, the story does contain violence and talks about drugs, child prostitution, pedophiles and other topics some people might find disturbing.

I received a free ARE from Crown Publishing through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.

 

September Sky by John Heldt

Title: September Sky
Author: John Heldt
Pub Date: 1-Jan-2015
Rating: 4.5 Stars

September Sky is a sci-fi, time travel novel, with some romance thrown in, by John Heldt. It has been a long time since I read a novel like this. The story was entertaining and the plot worked well for a sci-fi book. The characters were particularly engaging.

Sometimes I find this type of sci-fi story clunky because the method used to get through time is so ridiculous that it is an insult to intelligence. Not so with this one. The only real problem I had with the story is the professor that allows the main characters, the Townsends, to time travel. Why he chose the Townsends is not really plausible. I kept waiting for the professor to reveal another motive for sending them.

Charles “Chuck” Townsend has just been let go from his job as a reporter in San Francisco. At the same time his son Justin decides to drop out of school where he has been studying to be a doctor. Both feel that they need to reset their lives. Chuck has been an absentee parent and wants to reconnect with his son; therefore, he decides they should take a cruise to begin rebuilding their relationship. On the cruise they meet Professor Bell who eventually chooses them for time travel. All he asks in return is for Chuck to keep a journal about his experiences.

The Townsends are sent back to 1900 with instructions not to become involved in the history of the time just to observe and document. We soon discover that Chuck’s plans are entirely different. He sets out on a mission to right a wrong to a distant relative that is living in Galveston, TX. Once in Galveston they find 1900, their relative and two special women irresistible. The question becomes, can they leave all they have found behind or are will they stay and risk changing history.

I obtained a copy of September Sky through my Kindle Unlimited subscription. However, the author did ask me to review his novel.

Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Damian Duffy and John Jennings

Title: Kindred: A Graphic Novel
Authors: Damian Duffy and John Jennings
Pub Date: 10-Jan-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

I read Octavia Butler’s Kindred novel years ago and loved it. So I jumped at the chance to get my hands on an ARC of the graphic novel. The story is still very gripping; yet, as a graphic novel it lacked the depth that Octavia achieved in her original version. I know the graphics are supposed to make up for lack of descriptive prose – yet, even after I took  into account that I read an uncorrected proof that is “a work-in-progress” – it still missed the mark. This is my only problem with the graphic version of the story.  If you have not read Ms. Butler’s novel, or are a graphic novel lover, you will probably disagree.

I found the graphic novel to be very true to the original. The story is about Dana a young African-American woman who keeps getting pulled back in time to the South prior to the Civil War, a time when slavery abounds. Each time she is pulled back it is because Rufus, a distant relative (who is white), is in trouble. Each time she assists Rufus and yet Dana herself endures all kinds of atrocities at the hands of white salve owners.

Because of the subject matter and how it is presented this is not something I would recommend for a young reader. If you are one of those people who HAS to read the book before you see the movie, then you might want to consider reading Octavia Butler’s Kindred first. If not, then you decide which to read first. I think you will find both enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone who likes graphic novels and/or sci-fi.

As noted above, I received an ARC from ABRAMS books in return for my honest opinion.

 

Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens

Title: Never Let You Go
Author: Chevy Stevens
Pub Date: 14-Mar-2017
Rating: 5 stars

Never Let You Go is an engaging thriller written by Chevy Stevens. The plot is well thought out and had me totally vested, which kept me turning pages well into the early morning hours. The character develop was excellent also. I especially liked getting into Lindsey’s head a little to understand how an abusive relationship starts and then escalates. How the mental abuse wears a person down and they begin to question everything and are so afraid to seek help.

In the story we meet Lindsey and her daughter Sophie who live in a remote part of Canada’s Pacific Coast accessible only by boat. They escaped there after Andrew, Lindsey’s ex-husband, is sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a woman one night while drinking and driving. They have been carefully building their new lives. Lindsey now has a successful cleaning business with a few employees. She is finally feeling like her life is nearing normal. Sophie is a gifted artist and is finishing high school with plans to attend college.

Then strange things start happening shorty after Andrew’s release from prison. For example, Lindsey finds her keys and phone placed just so on her purse when she is at a client’s house cleaning. This is something she never does, but Andrew always berated her about losing them. How could Andrew have found her… and so quickly? Deep down Lindsey knew this day would come. Andrew is never going to let her go. She is his and he will go to any length to keep her. At least that is the logical conclusion given Andrew’s history.

Even though I figured out Andrew’s role or lack thereof as the case may be, I was still truly surprised by the ending. A great story and it was intense. If you love thrillers, you have to read this book and you will devour it.

Please note, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, through a Shelf Awareness giveaway.

 

The Age of the Horse: An Equine Journey through Human History by Susanna Forrest

Title: The Age of the Horse: An Equine Journey through Human History
Author: Susanna Forrest
Pub Date: 2-May-2017
Rating: 3.5 Stars

The Age of the Horse is a nonfiction work by Susanna Forrest. I found this book interesting and it is one of the best researched books I have read recently. However, it is very verbose. It was like reading a cross between a collection of stories, a PhD thesis and a text book. It made for a slow and arduous read. The publication date is May 2017; therefore, I know there will be more revisions. I can only hope that some serious editing will take place and the final product will have more readability. As it stands right now, my rating is 3.5.

As you can guess from the title, the focus of this book is a history of what the horse has been to mankind (there is a brief history given prior to man) through the years starting with the earliest human domestication. The book is broken up into seven sections beginning with the first section called Evolution and ending with War. Each section has lots of interesting facts and the author recounts some of her adventures, during her research, as it relates to each topic. Her research took her from horse auctions in the US to Schorfheide, Germany to see a small herd of Takhi. Since I am interested in sustainable farming, my favorite part was the discussion on the revival of draught horse farming outside of the Amish community.

My biggest take away from this book is how important the role of the horse truly has been in the history of mankind. Undoubtedly, we, as a species, would not have come so far without the aid of the horse.

Even though it was difficult to read, I liked it. After further editing, I can easily recommend (and give a higher rating) this book to anyone that likes histories, science or horses.

I received a free copy from the Atlantic Monthly Press, via Net Galley, in exchange for my honest review.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Title: The Roanoke Girls
Author: Amy Engel
Pub Date: 7-Mar-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

The Roanoke Girls is a shocking tale, by Amy Engel, about a girl struggling with a closely held family secret. Forewarning, the dark family secret is hinted at very quickly. Yet, when it was revealed, I still found it very disturbing and revolting. The story, thou despicable at times, felt real. People and families alike have secrets just usually not of this magnitude.  I liked the main character of Lane a lot. She was so flawed and it worked so well for this story. Unfortunately, the supporting characters were somewhat lacking in depth.

The book shifts between the present and the past. In the present, Lane Roanoke receives a phone call from her Grandfather with the news that Allegra, her cousin, is missing and convinces her to return to Kansas. Lane returns with the intention of helping find her. As Lane proceeds with her search we get snippets of what happened the one and only summer she spent at Roanoke after her mother committed suicide.  Gradually the past is revealed and all the secrets that she has tried to bury comes to the forefront. The question is will they continue to haunt her or will she find some closure with her past so she can move on?

Dispute the dark nature of the story, I had a hard time putting the book down even when it was well past my bedtime.  The author did an outstanding job of walking that fine line between utterly revolting and totally compelling.

I received a copy of this book from Crown Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Everything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Mejia

Title: Everything You Want Me to Be
Author: Mindy Mejia
Pub Date: 3-Jan-2017
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Everything You Want Me to Be is the tale of the murder of high school senior Hattie Huffman. The story is told from three points’ of view, Hattie’s, Del’s (the local sheriff and family friend) and Peter’s (Hattie’s high school English teacher).  There are a few twists in the story but the real zinger is saved for the end. There were some things that I found very predictable about the story and that is the reason I could not give this one a five star rating (my rating is 4.5 stars). Ultimately Hattie’s character is what made the story for me.  She is such a typical teenager and this added an extra level of believability.

Hattie is typical in that she is so naive. She thinks she understands the world and that she plays her parts in life just as well as she plays her role as Macbeth in the school play. How can one be so dumb at 50ish yet so brilliant at 17/18? So like a teenager!

Hattie wants to be accepted so badly that she is willing to throw her own identify away in order to please those around her. Now that Hattie is reaching maturity she is struggling with finding herself. Despite this identity crisis of sorts, Hattie is an outstanding student and a budding actress. On the surface all seems well in Hattie’s world…. until her murder that is.

Now Del must find the murderer and fast. He has promised. As he digs deeper, he discovers that Hattie may not be the person everyone thought she was.

Despite the predictability, it is still a very good story. Reads of YA and thrillers alike will enjoy.  I suspect most will gasp with surprise at the ending.

I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in return for my honest review.