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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Housemates in Books
Jan 12, 2018
I cant put it into words how much I enjoyed this book. There are only a select few books that I cant help talking about with my family and work colleagues, whether they want to hear about it or not, but this is one of them
I just couldnt help myself!
Be warned, there is gratuitous violence throughout!
Im not going to give anything away about the story-line but basically, its a twisted Big Brother with a bit of Saw thrown in for good measure where the contestants have to take part in tasks and eliminations with the last person standing having the chance of walking away with £2 million.
The contestants inside the house are a mix of characters some of which more likeable than others and some thoroughly despicable we learn more about each person as time goes on and it can be a bit of an eye-opener in some cases.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that this is going to put your brain cells to work extra hard nor am I going to say that the twist is a massive surprise but what I will say is that if you, like me, are a little bit sick of the raft of reality TV programmes being rammed down our throats and just wish they would up the anti just a little, then this is the book for you!
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy in return for an honest and unbiased review. I will, most definitely, read more from Mr Wright as I do like a bit of gore every now and then 😃.
Be warned, there is gratuitous violence throughout!
Im not going to give anything away about the story-line but basically, its a twisted Big Brother with a bit of Saw thrown in for good measure where the contestants have to take part in tasks and eliminations with the last person standing having the chance of walking away with £2 million.
The contestants inside the house are a mix of characters some of which more likeable than others and some thoroughly despicable we learn more about each person as time goes on and it can be a bit of an eye-opener in some cases.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that this is going to put your brain cells to work extra hard nor am I going to say that the twist is a massive surprise but what I will say is that if you, like me, are a little bit sick of the raft of reality TV programmes being rammed down our throats and just wish they would up the anti just a little, then this is the book for you!
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy in return for an honest and unbiased review. I will, most definitely, read more from Mr Wright as I do like a bit of gore every now and then 😃.
Kaz (232 KP) rated 'Master and Commander' in Books
May 15, 2019
An Interesting Maritime Adventure
This book was recommended to me by a friend who has read all of the books in the series and this, is the first. I thought because I had watched the film version of this novel, that I knew what the story was going to be about, but the book is very different from the adaptation.
At first, I found this extremely difficult to get into. After about 100 pages I actually put this book down, because I found the maritime vocabulary, impossible to follow. However, I decided to pick it back up again and actually, when the character Stephen Maturin, the ship's doctor, comes into the story, I found that, because he was a novice with ships, he was asking questions about the different mechanisms etc of the ship and that helped me to feel that I had some idea of what it was all about.
I also found some of the battle scene a little bit static and difficult to visualize.
Even though this was a challenging book, I really like the relationship between Stephen and Jack Aubrey, the ship's captain. The writing was very humorous at times and I also liked how some of this book featured places in the Mediterranean that I'm really familiar with.
Being the first in the series, I'm sure as the novels progress, I might find this easier to get into. I won't be rushing out to read any more at the moment, I think you need to be in the right mood to read them. However, I may read more of this series in the future.
My Rating ***
At first, I found this extremely difficult to get into. After about 100 pages I actually put this book down, because I found the maritime vocabulary, impossible to follow. However, I decided to pick it back up again and actually, when the character Stephen Maturin, the ship's doctor, comes into the story, I found that, because he was a novice with ships, he was asking questions about the different mechanisms etc of the ship and that helped me to feel that I had some idea of what it was all about.
I also found some of the battle scene a little bit static and difficult to visualize.
Even though this was a challenging book, I really like the relationship between Stephen and Jack Aubrey, the ship's captain. The writing was very humorous at times and I also liked how some of this book featured places in the Mediterranean that I'm really familiar with.
Being the first in the series, I'm sure as the novels progress, I might find this easier to get into. I won't be rushing out to read any more at the moment, I think you need to be in the right mood to read them. However, I may read more of this series in the future.
My Rating ***
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Of Fire and Stars (Of Fire and Stars #1) in Books
Dec 25, 2018
Having read the prequel to this book already, I can see why a lot of people complained about the lack of worldbuilding. Even though the prequel is based in a neighboring country, there's a lot in this book that I understood based on events in Inkmistress. I definitely recommend reading that one first.
That said, I enjoyed this book a lot. I think Inkmistress is better, but that happens often with new authors. I think the sequel, Of Ice and Shadows, due out this summer, will probably be even better, and should bring the events of the previous two books together.
Like Inkmistress, bisexuality seems to be absolutely normal in Denna's country, with Denna not expressing a preference, Mare having had male and female lovers, and one of Denna's ladies having a female lover. (There is a brief mention of a gay couple as well.) I do wish nonbinary people would make an appearance, but it's something, at least.
There are a lot of twists and turns to the plot in this book, so while Inkmistress was fairly straightforward, this one took me by surprise multiple times. It also makes it much harder to talk about the plot without giving anything away!
I wish we'd discovered more about the King's council - several members of it seemed to have ulterior motives but we never got to see what those were. If we knew their motivations, some things might make a lot more sense and be a lot more satisfying.
Read Inkmistress. If you like the world, go ahead and read this book, because the events of this will be necessary to understand the third book, which takes us back to the country featured in Inkmistress. And I want to know more about that country!
You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
That said, I enjoyed this book a lot. I think Inkmistress is better, but that happens often with new authors. I think the sequel, Of Ice and Shadows, due out this summer, will probably be even better, and should bring the events of the previous two books together.
Like Inkmistress, bisexuality seems to be absolutely normal in Denna's country, with Denna not expressing a preference, Mare having had male and female lovers, and one of Denna's ladies having a female lover. (There is a brief mention of a gay couple as well.) I do wish nonbinary people would make an appearance, but it's something, at least.
There are a lot of twists and turns to the plot in this book, so while Inkmistress was fairly straightforward, this one took me by surprise multiple times. It also makes it much harder to talk about the plot without giving anything away!
I wish we'd discovered more about the King's council - several members of it seemed to have ulterior motives but we never got to see what those were. If we knew their motivations, some things might make a lot more sense and be a lot more satisfying.
Read Inkmistress. If you like the world, go ahead and read this book, because the events of this will be necessary to understand the third book, which takes us back to the country featured in Inkmistress. And I want to know more about that country!
You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Merissa (13696 KP) rated The Briton and the Dane: Concordia in Books
Dec 17, 2018
This is one of those books that, going from the synopsis, I thought I would love. It sounded intriguing, interesting and full of action. However, what I got is definitely not for me. I read a lot of historical genre and love the medieval period - that is what gives this book the two stars. The descriptions given deliver a world of bygone times to you, everything described is richly detailed from the clothing to the fighting.
What I didn't like at all about this book was the main female character. We get from the synopsis that she is willful, vain, ambitious and cunning. What I wasn't expecting was just how much of a spoilt brat she was. Now perhaps this is exactly the reaction the author wanted but for me personally, Concordia spoilt the rest of the book that much that I had to force myself to finish it. And the ending? I was happy about it! What I wasn't happy about was how much influence she still had over these people once she had gone. But anyhow...
I didn't read anything about feminine cunning or her defending her honour. I read how she was 'forced' but then enjoyed it so carried on some more until she got passed onto the next brother, who also forced her but 'that didn't matter'.
I'm sorry, I know this book has some rave reviews and I'm fully expecting this to get downvoted on Amazon but with a main character like this, it just did absolutely nothing for me. The historical side of it - beautiful, rich in detail and description, a joy to read. The character - forget it, not for me. My apologies to the author for the two stars but that is the most generous I can be. I definitely won't be reading any more of this series.
What I didn't like at all about this book was the main female character. We get from the synopsis that she is willful, vain, ambitious and cunning. What I wasn't expecting was just how much of a spoilt brat she was. Now perhaps this is exactly the reaction the author wanted but for me personally, Concordia spoilt the rest of the book that much that I had to force myself to finish it. And the ending? I was happy about it! What I wasn't happy about was how much influence she still had over these people once she had gone. But anyhow...
I didn't read anything about feminine cunning or her defending her honour. I read how she was 'forced' but then enjoyed it so carried on some more until she got passed onto the next brother, who also forced her but 'that didn't matter'.
I'm sorry, I know this book has some rave reviews and I'm fully expecting this to get downvoted on Amazon but with a main character like this, it just did absolutely nothing for me. The historical side of it - beautiful, rich in detail and description, a joy to read. The character - forget it, not for me. My apologies to the author for the two stars but that is the most generous I can be. I definitely won't be reading any more of this series.
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Erika (17789 KP) rated Phasma in Books
Jul 11, 2019 (Updated Jul 11, 2019)
I was pumped to read more about Phasma, after Rian Johnson did her character dirty (well, he did every character dirty in TLJ). Luckily for me, I had read the 4 issue comic run from Kelly Thompson. Protip: Read Thompson's Phasma run and skip this novel.
Firstly, this novel was not told from Phasma's point of view until the last chapter. The story is coming out to Cardinal, a Captain in the First Order that wears red armor (didn't know cardinals or chickens existed in the SW universe), from a Resistance spy, Vi. Basically, dude is jelly that he was technically demoted when Phasma arrived to the First Order. Vi rambles on the story of Phasma from the character Siv, who was a member of Phasma's band of warriors. Guess what? Phasma's from a backwater planet, color me shocked. All of the characters were bland, boring, and unlikable. I was done with the book when Siv revealed that she was pregnant, and kept rambling on about the baby and crap. Unless the baby was Rey, no one cares. Where was the editor? Also, the going on and on about how different the accents were between Brendol Hux/the First Order people and the warriors from the hell planet was so annoying.
The story was predictable, and boring. The option to tell the story of Phasma with 2 degrees of separation was ineffectual. This makes me leery about reading any other SW novel by this author. I was going to purchase Black Spire, but I'm definitely just going to get it at the library. So, not only did TLJ do Phasma a disservice, so did this novel. This is definitely one of the worst books in the new canon.
Firstly, this novel was not told from Phasma's point of view until the last chapter. The story is coming out to Cardinal, a Captain in the First Order that wears red armor (didn't know cardinals or chickens existed in the SW universe), from a Resistance spy, Vi. Basically, dude is jelly that he was technically demoted when Phasma arrived to the First Order. Vi rambles on the story of Phasma from the character Siv, who was a member of Phasma's band of warriors. Guess what? Phasma's from a backwater planet, color me shocked. All of the characters were bland, boring, and unlikable. I was done with the book when Siv revealed that she was pregnant, and kept rambling on about the baby and crap. Unless the baby was Rey, no one cares. Where was the editor? Also, the going on and on about how different the accents were between Brendol Hux/the First Order people and the warriors from the hell planet was so annoying.
The story was predictable, and boring. The option to tell the story of Phasma with 2 degrees of separation was ineffectual. This makes me leery about reading any other SW novel by this author. I was going to purchase Black Spire, but I'm definitely just going to get it at the library. So, not only did TLJ do Phasma a disservice, so did this novel. This is definitely one of the worst books in the new canon.