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Annie Chanse (15 KP) rated Lovecraft's Monsters in Books
Dec 19, 2017
I received an ARC copy of this anthology in exchange for my honest opinion, and regrettably, I wasn't overly impressed with it. I made notes as I read, and those notes are what I will be posting here now:
Well, I'm about to start the third story, but I thought I'd keep a running commentary on each story so that when it came time to review it, I wouldn't forget how I felt about each individual one.
"Only the End of the World Again" by Neil Gaiman was good. Probably 4 stars. It wasn't the typical greatness that I USUALLY associate with Gaiman, but it was still a quick and enjoyable read. I read it aloud to my eight year old son (editing out the few naughty words, of course) and even he really loved it. There were a few places where he didn't understand what was going on, but overall, he thought it was a great story.
"Bulldozer" by Laird Barron was terrible. I couldn't make it through the story. The writing style was AWFUL. I know that it was supposed to be written -- in parts -- in a stream of consciousness style, but it was awful. I stopped about halfway through and just said screw it. I wouldn't even give this story a star at all.
Finished "Red Goat Black Goat" by Nadia Bulkin. While it had some nice creepy vibes, it was, overall, a 2 star story. I realize, as a short story, it is limited by length and time constraints, but the story just starts in the middle of a world about which the reader has no idea whatsoever. It's not what I would call a good story, although, as I said, there were a couple of moments when I had to look up from my completely dark bedroom and make sure I didn't hear bumps in the night, so it gets one extra star for that.
"The Same Deep Waters As You" was actually fantastic. It's been the best story in the anthology so far. I know, I know... me saying something is better than a Gaiman story is almost unheard of, but this story by Hodge was truly good from beginning to end. It was completely unique, and even though it was a short story, it was completely self-contained. It didn't leave me wondering what happened before the story started to get us to this place, and it ended perfectly, not in a 'to be continued' style. Also, just wow. The ending was a killer. I did NOT see it coming AT ALL. Five stars.
"A Quarter to Three" gets 2.5 stars simply because of Newman's writing style. She is very articulate, and I loved the tone of this story. The content of the story, however, wasn't that great. However, I feel compelled to give it an extra half a star -- bumping it up to 3 stars -- for this one, perfect line:
"It was easy to see what she had seen in him; it left a thin damp trail between his scuffed footprints." Ha. Loved it
"The Dappled Things" was a total bust. 1 star, and that is being generous. So boring I nearly fell asleep twice trying to get through the first two pages. Not worth the time it took to read it.
"Inelastic Collisions" was decent. I have nothing really bad to say about it, but I have nothing super great to say about it either. Three stars.
"Remnants" deserves about 3.5 stars. It's pretty decent. I like the story and the way the plot developed. However, I dislike how abruptly it ended. If the ending had been a little more well-rounded, it could have easily been a 4.5 star story.
"Love is Forbidden We Croak and Howl" -- eh. Two stars. Didn't really hold my interest that much. I kept drifting off...
"The Sect of the Idiot" was a solid three stars. Overall the story wasn't super, but I really, really, REALLY did love the detail paid to the dream sequence. It was beautiful and creepy and dark. Lovely bit of storytelling, that was.
"Jar of Salts" is easily 4.5 stars. Short little Lovecraftian poem, but such a pleasure to read.
Well, I'm finally finished with Lovecraft's Monsters, but honestly, after the last update I made, none of the other stories were really worth reading. I was, overall, a bit disappointed with the book. :-/
Well, I'm about to start the third story, but I thought I'd keep a running commentary on each story so that when it came time to review it, I wouldn't forget how I felt about each individual one.
"Only the End of the World Again" by Neil Gaiman was good. Probably 4 stars. It wasn't the typical greatness that I USUALLY associate with Gaiman, but it was still a quick and enjoyable read. I read it aloud to my eight year old son (editing out the few naughty words, of course) and even he really loved it. There were a few places where he didn't understand what was going on, but overall, he thought it was a great story.
"Bulldozer" by Laird Barron was terrible. I couldn't make it through the story. The writing style was AWFUL. I know that it was supposed to be written -- in parts -- in a stream of consciousness style, but it was awful. I stopped about halfway through and just said screw it. I wouldn't even give this story a star at all.
Finished "Red Goat Black Goat" by Nadia Bulkin. While it had some nice creepy vibes, it was, overall, a 2 star story. I realize, as a short story, it is limited by length and time constraints, but the story just starts in the middle of a world about which the reader has no idea whatsoever. It's not what I would call a good story, although, as I said, there were a couple of moments when I had to look up from my completely dark bedroom and make sure I didn't hear bumps in the night, so it gets one extra star for that.
"The Same Deep Waters As You" was actually fantastic. It's been the best story in the anthology so far. I know, I know... me saying something is better than a Gaiman story is almost unheard of, but this story by Hodge was truly good from beginning to end. It was completely unique, and even though it was a short story, it was completely self-contained. It didn't leave me wondering what happened before the story started to get us to this place, and it ended perfectly, not in a 'to be continued' style. Also, just wow. The ending was a killer. I did NOT see it coming AT ALL. Five stars.
"A Quarter to Three" gets 2.5 stars simply because of Newman's writing style. She is very articulate, and I loved the tone of this story. The content of the story, however, wasn't that great. However, I feel compelled to give it an extra half a star -- bumping it up to 3 stars -- for this one, perfect line:
"It was easy to see what she had seen in him; it left a thin damp trail between his scuffed footprints." Ha. Loved it
"The Dappled Things" was a total bust. 1 star, and that is being generous. So boring I nearly fell asleep twice trying to get through the first two pages. Not worth the time it took to read it.
"Inelastic Collisions" was decent. I have nothing really bad to say about it, but I have nothing super great to say about it either. Three stars.
"Remnants" deserves about 3.5 stars. It's pretty decent. I like the story and the way the plot developed. However, I dislike how abruptly it ended. If the ending had been a little more well-rounded, it could have easily been a 4.5 star story.
"Love is Forbidden We Croak and Howl" -- eh. Two stars. Didn't really hold my interest that much. I kept drifting off...
"The Sect of the Idiot" was a solid three stars. Overall the story wasn't super, but I really, really, REALLY did love the detail paid to the dream sequence. It was beautiful and creepy and dark. Lovely bit of storytelling, that was.
"Jar of Salts" is easily 4.5 stars. Short little Lovecraftian poem, but such a pleasure to read.
Well, I'm finally finished with Lovecraft's Monsters, but honestly, after the last update I made, none of the other stories were really worth reading. I was, overall, a bit disappointed with the book. :-/
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme
John Finnemore, Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Carrie Quinlan
Book
In these six episodes, which make up the complete second series, you'll hear some moth-based lunacy,...
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3)
8.3
Rate It
Book
TNarnia . . . where a dragon awakens . . . where stars walk the earth . . . where anything can...
TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated The Amish Marriage Bargain in Books
Feb 24, 2021
This book had a great storyline and I really enjoyed the marriage bargain explanation that the author gives us. I also liked the themes Marie E. Bast wove through the book. In Example, forgiveness is something we do have to work towards, it is not usually something automatic that happens. I thought Marie E. Bast did a good job conveying this theme throughout the book. The main characters were interesting and made you want to stick around and see what happens to them in the end. I did not really like the flow of the story though, there was to much disconnect between the characters’ feelings and their reactions to events that take place. However, if you enjoy reading Amish fiction then you would probably enjoy this book.
I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars for the interesting storyline, the cute characters, and for the theme of forgiveness.
I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars for the interesting storyline, the cute characters, and for the theme of forgiveness.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Banishing the Dark (Arcadia Bell, #4) in Books
Jan 7, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
4.25 stars.
I liked it, just not as much as the previous books. Don't get me wrong, I love this series. Lon and Cady together as a couple is genius. Jupe is cool. The demons and world these guys live in is really thought out.
I just had one issue with it and that was the spell they used on Cady. It felt a lot like reliving the last 3 and a half books all over again with her not remembering the relationship with Lon and sort of falling for him all over again
The ending also wasn't as in-your-face/kill-that-biatch intense as I was expecting but I'm so glad that Cady managed to overcome her demons.<br/><br/>I have to mention the epilogue! I loved it! The way the author wrote it... *sigh* I wish there was going to be more.
I liked it, just not as much as the previous books. Don't get me wrong, I love this series. Lon and Cady together as a couple is genius. Jupe is cool. The demons and world these guys live in is really thought out.
I just had one issue with it and that was the spell they used on Cady. It felt a lot like reliving the last 3 and a half books all over again with her not remembering the relationship with Lon and sort of falling for him all over again
The ending also wasn't as in-your-face/kill-that-biatch intense as I was expecting but I'm so glad that Cady managed to overcome her demons.<br/><br/>I have to mention the epilogue! I loved it! The way the author wrote it... *sigh* I wish there was going to be more.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Ninth Star (The Ninth Star, #1) in Books
Jan 8, 2021
Well I like my dystopian stories and when I saw this free on Amazon, I just had to have it.
I'll admit this started a little slow for me. It seemed very sci-fi for a while but then revelations were made and I started to get into the story. I was intrigued with how everything would play out with Ander and Katya and everyone else.
It plodded along quite happily, keeping me entertained and I was going to give it 3 stars because I had liked it. But then that last 10% or so knocked it up a full star because I was not expecting that! What a plot twist!
It has certainly left me wondering what's going to happen next--since I have been left with several unanswered questions--and I will be getting the second book in the series soon. Very good for a first book!
I'll admit this started a little slow for me. It seemed very sci-fi for a while but then revelations were made and I started to get into the story. I was intrigued with how everything would play out with Ander and Katya and everyone else.
It plodded along quite happily, keeping me entertained and I was going to give it 3 stars because I had liked it. But then that last 10% or so knocked it up a full star because I was not expecting that! What a plot twist!
It has certainly left me wondering what's going to happen next--since I have been left with several unanswered questions--and I will be getting the second book in the series soon. Very good for a first book!
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Beautiful Stranger (Beautiful Bastard, #2) in Books
Sep 5, 2019
3.5 stars.
I was enjoying this for the first 60% or so but then it started to annoy me how they were dragging it all out. Why couldn't they just admit they wanted more from each other? Why couldn't they just get together?!
It took until about the 85% mark for me to get into it again and with it being on Scribd that I read this, it ended at the 91% so it was pretty close to the end when everything was working out and the HEA was within reach.
I will be reading the next book, [b:Beautiful Player|17831614|Beautiful Player (Beautiful Bastard, #3)|Christina Lauren|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375285002s/17831614.jpg|24948167], at some point when I get back off holiday as it's part of a Reading list that I'm working through on BookLikes: http://booklikes.com/apps/reading-lists/146/books-to-fall-in-love-with
I was enjoying this for the first 60% or so but then it started to annoy me how they were dragging it all out. Why couldn't they just admit they wanted more from each other? Why couldn't they just get together?!
It took until about the 85% mark for me to get into it again and with it being on Scribd that I read this, it ended at the 91% so it was pretty close to the end when everything was working out and the HEA was within reach.
I will be reading the next book, [b:Beautiful Player|17831614|Beautiful Player (Beautiful Bastard, #3)|Christina Lauren|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375285002s/17831614.jpg|24948167], at some point when I get back off holiday as it's part of a Reading list that I'm working through on BookLikes: http://booklikes.com/apps/reading-lists/146/books-to-fall-in-love-with
Debbiereadsbook (1623 KP) rated Courting Mr. Cutthroat (Campy Romances #3) in Books
Oct 31, 2021
cute read
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I enjoyed this, it just didn't blow me away.
It's a lovely sweet, small town, second chance (kinda) romance, with some steam, but not too much.
Cutter's art sounded interesting, and I googled nuts and bolts art to see what came up, and I loved them!
I liked that Gemma still held her crush for Cutter, even after all this time. And Cutter too, to an extent, held his feelings for Gemma but it takes time for him to fully admit to them and give in.
I loved that, while Cutter and his brothers appeared to have everything, being born into wealth, it's clear that money doesn't really buy you happiness.
It was a nice book, and someone will love but I couldn't, and for that I'm sorry!
3 solid stars
same worded review will appear elsewhere
I enjoyed this, it just didn't blow me away.
It's a lovely sweet, small town, second chance (kinda) romance, with some steam, but not too much.
Cutter's art sounded interesting, and I googled nuts and bolts art to see what came up, and I loved them!
I liked that Gemma still held her crush for Cutter, even after all this time. And Cutter too, to an extent, held his feelings for Gemma but it takes time for him to fully admit to them and give in.
I loved that, while Cutter and his brothers appeared to have everything, being born into wealth, it's clear that money doesn't really buy you happiness.
It was a nice book, and someone will love but I couldn't, and for that I'm sorry!
3 solid stars
same worded review will appear elsewhere
Lesemotivation: Tiramisu Rex in New York
Book and Games
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“Reading Motivation - Tiramisu Rex in New York” is an educational reading game, which motivates...
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