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Wrapped With A Bow: Nine Holiday Short Stories as Unique as Snowflakes
Aubree Lane, R.E. Hargrave, Samantha Jacobey, Ella Medler, Cherime MacFarlane, Michele E. Gwynn, Jennifer Bryan Yarbrough, Teri Riggs and Holly Barbo
9.0
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The Crazy Lady Authors Present A Blizzard of Books — Nine Holiday Short Stories as Unique as...
Contemporary Romance Seasonal Short Stories
Time's Orphan (Odriel's Heirs #3)
10.0
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Speak of pain, and I’ll tell you of the Time who stole it away… Besieged by war, ravaged by...
Young Adult Fantasy
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated His Game: The Woods in Books
Dec 14, 2023
196 of 235
Kindle
Book sirens arc
His Game: The woods
By Tirzah M.M. Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️
John returns for another game. Only this time he passes himself off as Luke, a former army medic, living alone in the woods with his dog.
Sandra is a romantic. Her idea of a good time is curling up with a love story and her cat. When she's kidnapped, tortured, and left for dead in a forest, Luke looks like the closest thing she's ever seen to a guardian angel.
But the game is still going. And she doesn't realize she's playing.
This was a decent quick read. I didn’t realise at the time it was the second of a series so I will have to go back and read the first. This is a cruel way to play a game especially when it’s not going to end well.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Kindle
Book sirens arc
His Game: The woods
By Tirzah M.M. Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️
John returns for another game. Only this time he passes himself off as Luke, a former army medic, living alone in the woods with his dog.
Sandra is a romantic. Her idea of a good time is curling up with a love story and her cat. When she's kidnapped, tortured, and left for dead in a forest, Luke looks like the closest thing she's ever seen to a guardian angel.
But the game is still going. And she doesn't realize she's playing.
This was a decent quick read. I didn’t realise at the time it was the second of a series so I will have to go back and read the first. This is a cruel way to play a game especially when it’s not going to end well.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Public Anchovy #1
10.0
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Public Anchovy #1 is the third book in Mindy Quigley's delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a...
Pet Monitor
Lifestyle and Utilities
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Monitor your dog or cat while away from home. Use noise and motion alerts to know when your dog is...
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Alice Takes Back Wonderland in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
When a book starts with “‘Do you know fairy tales are real’ asked the cat,” you know you are in for a magical ride. Nearly everyone knows the tale of the seven-year-old girl from nineteenth century London who falls down a rabbit hole and spends a day of madness in the magical world of Wonderland. In David D. Hammons version, however, Alice was a young girl from twenty-first century Missouri. On her return to the real world she was diagnosed with ADHD and Schizophrenia and forced to believe that the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter were figments of her imagination. But ten years later a white rabbit appears and leads Alice back to the world where nothing makes sense.
All is not well in Wonderland. The Cheshire Cat is dead and the Ace of Spades is in charge. Barely anything is the way Alice remembers. Everything looks far too “normal” and similar to the world she comes from. Ace is determined to remove the wonder from Wonderland and create a place where madness is forbidden. Alice has a big fight on her hands as she tries to end this former playing card’s tyrannous reign and restore Wonderland back to its original insanity.
<i>Alice Takes Back Wonderland</i> is not purely a retelling of Lewis Carrols famous story. Although many of the well known and loved characters appear in this book, so do others from a variety of different fairytales: <i>Peter Pan, Pinocchio</i>, and various tales from the <i>Brothers Grimm</i>. As readers will discover, all is not exactly as it should be for these characters either. Despite them being contrasting, magical stories, Hammons has successfully merged them all together in an imaginative manner resulting in a humorous young adult novel.
Although mostly focused on the goings on in Wonderland and the other fictional locations, it is also a subtle metaphor to describe what Alice’s life had been like back in present day America. For a decade Alice was forced to take medication to help her understand the difference between reality and fantasy. It got rid of most of the nonsense thoughts she picked up during her first visit to Wonderland. In a way, that is what the Ace of Spades is doing to characters he believes are mad. He is taking the wonder out of them, just like the pills to the wonder out of Alice.
Lovers of fairytales will definitely love this book, especially those who grew up loving <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> and <i>Peter Pan</i>. In some ways it is a continuation of the original tale, yet in other ways it could be viewed as an alternative way the story could have gone. Primarily targeted at young adults, <i>Alice Takes Back Wonderland</i> is much darker than Carrols version and combines a mix of real life with fantasy. It also goes to show that no one is too old for fairytales!
When a book starts with “‘Do you know fairy tales are real’ asked the cat,” you know you are in for a magical ride. Nearly everyone knows the tale of the seven-year-old girl from nineteenth century London who falls down a rabbit hole and spends a day of madness in the magical world of Wonderland. In David D. Hammons version, however, Alice was a young girl from twenty-first century Missouri. On her return to the real world she was diagnosed with ADHD and Schizophrenia and forced to believe that the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter were figments of her imagination. But ten years later a white rabbit appears and leads Alice back to the world where nothing makes sense.
All is not well in Wonderland. The Cheshire Cat is dead and the Ace of Spades is in charge. Barely anything is the way Alice remembers. Everything looks far too “normal” and similar to the world she comes from. Ace is determined to remove the wonder from Wonderland and create a place where madness is forbidden. Alice has a big fight on her hands as she tries to end this former playing card’s tyrannous reign and restore Wonderland back to its original insanity.
<i>Alice Takes Back Wonderland</i> is not purely a retelling of Lewis Carrols famous story. Although many of the well known and loved characters appear in this book, so do others from a variety of different fairytales: <i>Peter Pan, Pinocchio</i>, and various tales from the <i>Brothers Grimm</i>. As readers will discover, all is not exactly as it should be for these characters either. Despite them being contrasting, magical stories, Hammons has successfully merged them all together in an imaginative manner resulting in a humorous young adult novel.
Although mostly focused on the goings on in Wonderland and the other fictional locations, it is also a subtle metaphor to describe what Alice’s life had been like back in present day America. For a decade Alice was forced to take medication to help her understand the difference between reality and fantasy. It got rid of most of the nonsense thoughts she picked up during her first visit to Wonderland. In a way, that is what the Ace of Spades is doing to characters he believes are mad. He is taking the wonder out of them, just like the pills to the wonder out of Alice.
Lovers of fairytales will definitely love this book, especially those who grew up loving <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> and <i>Peter Pan</i>. In some ways it is a continuation of the original tale, yet in other ways it could be viewed as an alternative way the story could have gone. Primarily targeted at young adults, <i>Alice Takes Back Wonderland</i> is much darker than Carrols version and combines a mix of real life with fantasy. It also goes to show that no one is too old for fairytales!
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated In The Shadow of Blackbirds in Books
Jan 23, 2020
I had this random tendency to not write a review, at all, for Cat Winters' <i>In the Shadow of Blackbirds</i>, to which the copy at the library had an extremely sucky synopsis (though the design IS pretty):
In a city filled with the dead and dying,
while a nightmarish war rages halfway across the world,
the grieving look for answers in photographs and séances.
It's 1918. San Diego.
And a girl who doesn't believe in spirits
steps off the train and into a new life...
Apparently the one sentence synopsis provided by the publisher (yes, I read those) is a lot more helpful than this inside jacket cover synopsis, which gives a the book a mysterious aura that separates it from the other 2015-2016 Gateway Award Nominees.
The book, albeit a fantastically creepy concept, apparently goes from one end of the spectrum to the other end of the spectrum by the end of the book.
The so-called beginning of the spectrum I'm speaking of is the absolute, complete paranoia of the time period. Literally all of the characters depicted throughout the book was highly addicted to onions, spirit photography, or shunning the Germans. Of course, the more historical fiction and actual historical texts I read of World War I, I sometimes find it highly hilarious mainly due to the simple fact that Americans actually came from Europe and the majority of them have German blood (okay, a lot of ya'll have European blood). Funny how that actually works.
The only characters that I actually liked was Mary Shelley Black (thankfully the main character) and Stephen Embers (or rather, Live Stephen and not Dead Stephen, who actually spent a good few times squishing Mary Shelley). Both Mary Shelley and Stephen were more "adventurous" (logic and science) and tended to stray from the rest of the pack. On the unfortunate side... dear old Stephen Embers is apparently dead, which eventually results in the book being one of your typical ghost stories/shows where the dead have unfinished business.
However, in Stephen's case, all Mary Shelley seems to get from him is something about blackbirds - blackbirds attacking him.
The other end of the spectrum, as the book continues and Mary Shelley gets closer to finding out Stephen's "unfinished" business, is apparently the book going from the main character being the most logical and unparanoid one to being one of the paranoid ones. She goes from being one of the logical ones who reasons and questions everything to someone who "freaked" out over a cough or "drowning" herself in onions. Onions are apparently the garlic of the book while the vampire is the influenza.
Simply put, <i>In the Shadow of Blackbirds</i> started to become a little bit too "insane" for my taste and for me to handle at certain points until the very end. Cat Winters' debut novel was a chilling read that left me walking away feeling mainly satisfied with how Stephen and Mary Shelley eventually come to terms with their relationship.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-in-the-shadow-of-blackbirds-by-cat-winters/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
In a city filled with the dead and dying,
while a nightmarish war rages halfway across the world,
the grieving look for answers in photographs and séances.
It's 1918. San Diego.
And a girl who doesn't believe in spirits
steps off the train and into a new life...
Apparently the one sentence synopsis provided by the publisher (yes, I read those) is a lot more helpful than this inside jacket cover synopsis, which gives a the book a mysterious aura that separates it from the other 2015-2016 Gateway Award Nominees.
The book, albeit a fantastically creepy concept, apparently goes from one end of the spectrum to the other end of the spectrum by the end of the book.
The so-called beginning of the spectrum I'm speaking of is the absolute, complete paranoia of the time period. Literally all of the characters depicted throughout the book was highly addicted to onions, spirit photography, or shunning the Germans. Of course, the more historical fiction and actual historical texts I read of World War I, I sometimes find it highly hilarious mainly due to the simple fact that Americans actually came from Europe and the majority of them have German blood (okay, a lot of ya'll have European blood). Funny how that actually works.
The only characters that I actually liked was Mary Shelley Black (thankfully the main character) and Stephen Embers (or rather, Live Stephen and not Dead Stephen, who actually spent a good few times squishing Mary Shelley). Both Mary Shelley and Stephen were more "adventurous" (logic and science) and tended to stray from the rest of the pack. On the unfortunate side... dear old Stephen Embers is apparently dead, which eventually results in the book being one of your typical ghost stories/shows where the dead have unfinished business.
However, in Stephen's case, all Mary Shelley seems to get from him is something about blackbirds - blackbirds attacking him.
The other end of the spectrum, as the book continues and Mary Shelley gets closer to finding out Stephen's "unfinished" business, is apparently the book going from the main character being the most logical and unparanoid one to being one of the paranoid ones. She goes from being one of the logical ones who reasons and questions everything to someone who "freaked" out over a cough or "drowning" herself in onions. Onions are apparently the garlic of the book while the vampire is the influenza.
Simply put, <i>In the Shadow of Blackbirds</i> started to become a little bit too "insane" for my taste and for me to handle at certain points until the very end. Cat Winters' debut novel was a chilling read that left me walking away feeling mainly satisfied with how Stephen and Mary Shelley eventually come to terms with their relationship.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-in-the-shadow-of-blackbirds-by-cat-winters/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World, #1) in Books
Feb 23, 2018
Every review I've read has been bad. Honestly, this novel was no better or worse than any of Frost's other books, in my opinions. The main complaint I've seen is that the book isn't about Cat and Bones. Well, their story has pretty much been told in the four Night Huntress novels, and now Frost is moving on to other people in that world.
Given, I was never terribly attached to Cat or Bones, and apparently some fans were. I would advise them to write fan fiction or roleplay or do whatever it is that other obsessive fans do when their favorite authors stop writing about their favorite characters rather than writing negative reviews of Frost's newer fiction because they want it to be more like her older books. (<b>Please</b> note that I have absolutely no idea what Frost's position on such things is, and would strongly recommend querying her or her authorized representative on the matter before acting. Some authors are fine with fanfic/RPing, and some are rabidly against both. I can think of examples who go to extremes each way.)
While Denise never made a big impression on me while reading the NH books, it is nice to find out what happened to her after her husband was slaughtered and her life was screwed up so badly. While minor characters are often affected in Very Bad Ways during the course of paranormal romance novels, we seldom see them getting any kind of compensation. And who could possibly compensate anyone for the loss of a loved one, anyway?
That said, this is not a fantasy novel. Sometimes I waver on how a "paranormal romance" novel should be classified, but that isn't the case here. This is a romance with urban fantasy features tossed in. There's a damsel in distress saved by a hero. There's an obstacle to be overcome before they can be together, blah blah blah. The whole formula is there.
It doesn't suck terribly, but I don't recommend it to anyone who doesn't already like the setting to some extent. If you truly hate the romance formula, don't bother with this one.
Given, I was never terribly attached to Cat or Bones, and apparently some fans were. I would advise them to write fan fiction or roleplay or do whatever it is that other obsessive fans do when their favorite authors stop writing about their favorite characters rather than writing negative reviews of Frost's newer fiction because they want it to be more like her older books. (<b>Please</b> note that I have absolutely no idea what Frost's position on such things is, and would strongly recommend querying her or her authorized representative on the matter before acting. Some authors are fine with fanfic/RPing, and some are rabidly against both. I can think of examples who go to extremes each way.)
While Denise never made a big impression on me while reading the NH books, it is nice to find out what happened to her after her husband was slaughtered and her life was screwed up so badly. While minor characters are often affected in Very Bad Ways during the course of paranormal romance novels, we seldom see them getting any kind of compensation. And who could possibly compensate anyone for the loss of a loved one, anyway?
That said, this is not a fantasy novel. Sometimes I waver on how a "paranormal romance" novel should be classified, but that isn't the case here. This is a romance with urban fantasy features tossed in. There's a damsel in distress saved by a hero. There's an obstacle to be overcome before they can be together, blah blah blah. The whole formula is there.
It doesn't suck terribly, but I don't recommend it to anyone who doesn't already like the setting to some extent. If you truly hate the romance formula, don't bother with this one.
How to Murder Your Life
5.0
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"I was twenty-six years old and an associate beauty editor at Lucky, one of the top fashion...
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Natsume's Book of Friends, Volume 1 in Books
Jun 24, 2019
Several of my friends are into manga and so I have an extensive to-read list compiled, yet I found this on a whim instead. As Midorikawa mentions in the little asides throughout this book, it is an episodic manga. This made it a nice quick read to pick up on impulse, and not too much of an investment.
As it is episodic, there is no singe plot to really summarise. The main gist is Takashi Natsume seeing strange creatures - yokai - that nobody else can. After inheriting his deceased grandmother's strange notebook, he discovers that she had the same ability. Due to being such an outcast amidst her village, though, she takes her frustrations out on the yokai. Natsume's Book of Friends - the book Takashi inherited - is basically a collection of contracts signed by various yokai pledging their 'devotion' to her. Owning this book gives Takashi complete power over them, and naturally many of the yokai are eager to take it. Instead, Takashi sets out to return the names of all the yokai. He is accompanied by one yokai who he accidentally freed from a shrine, Nyanko Sensei - who, after being trapped inside a ceramic cat, usually takes the form of a cat. Takashi likes to remind him of this frequently (and Sensei is definitely not amused).
The episodes can each be read as a standalone, though they do connect in some ways. Takashi slowly begins to understand what he's doing, and the relationship between him and Nyanko Sensei develops somewhat. While most of Takashi's interactions are with yokai, there is one particular chapter in this novel where he meets another human who he can relate to. There is also a touching chapter - the final in the novel - where Takashi helps a yokai to meet the human that saved her in her past life.
The art is lovely and the relationship between Sensei and Takashi is really amusing. There isn't a huge amount of character development or depth due to the episodic nature of the novel, but Takashi is likeable and kind. I would definitely recommend it for a quick/light read, and I may have a look for the rest of the series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
As it is episodic, there is no singe plot to really summarise. The main gist is Takashi Natsume seeing strange creatures - yokai - that nobody else can. After inheriting his deceased grandmother's strange notebook, he discovers that she had the same ability. Due to being such an outcast amidst her village, though, she takes her frustrations out on the yokai. Natsume's Book of Friends - the book Takashi inherited - is basically a collection of contracts signed by various yokai pledging their 'devotion' to her. Owning this book gives Takashi complete power over them, and naturally many of the yokai are eager to take it. Instead, Takashi sets out to return the names of all the yokai. He is accompanied by one yokai who he accidentally freed from a shrine, Nyanko Sensei - who, after being trapped inside a ceramic cat, usually takes the form of a cat. Takashi likes to remind him of this frequently (and Sensei is definitely not amused).
The episodes can each be read as a standalone, though they do connect in some ways. Takashi slowly begins to understand what he's doing, and the relationship between him and Nyanko Sensei develops somewhat. While most of Takashi's interactions are with yokai, there is one particular chapter in this novel where he meets another human who he can relate to. There is also a touching chapter - the final in the novel - where Takashi helps a yokai to meet the human that saved her in her past life.
The art is lovely and the relationship between Sensei and Takashi is really amusing. There isn't a huge amount of character development or depth due to the episodic nature of the novel, but Takashi is likeable and kind. I would definitely recommend it for a quick/light read, and I may have a look for the rest of the series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.