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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Castle of Blue Stones in Books
Mar 29, 2019
I received a digital copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
With a Philip Pullman-esque storyline, Jordan Elizabeth has got another genre under her belt. Set in a fictional world, Castle of Blue Stones tells the story of the survivors of an apocalyptic volcano... Or so the protagonist thinks.
Led to believe she has lived in the castle since a volcanic eruption killed 90% of the population, Jaisy lives in a colourless world with no memory of what life was like before. Unable to leave due to the ice age conditions outside, Jaisy is forced to obey the impossible instructions set by the Guardians who seem to distrust her more than any other castle inhabitant.
As the story progresses, Jaisy begins to remember her past and realise the danger she and her friends are in. With rescue not an option, Jaisy must take her life and future into her own hands and save everyone from certain doom.
The author sucks readers into the storyline from the very beginning. Learning the truth at the same pace as Jaisy, Castle of Blue Stones is a gripping tale of fantasy, danger and untruths that are certain to keep readers wanting to know more.
Having raced through the book in one day, I was a little disappointed with the ending, which, although a satisfying conclusion, happened so quickly in comparison with the steady build up. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read and one of Jordan Elizabeth's better novels.
With a Philip Pullman-esque storyline, Jordan Elizabeth has got another genre under her belt. Set in a fictional world, Castle of Blue Stones tells the story of the survivors of an apocalyptic volcano... Or so the protagonist thinks.
Led to believe she has lived in the castle since a volcanic eruption killed 90% of the population, Jaisy lives in a colourless world with no memory of what life was like before. Unable to leave due to the ice age conditions outside, Jaisy is forced to obey the impossible instructions set by the Guardians who seem to distrust her more than any other castle inhabitant.
As the story progresses, Jaisy begins to remember her past and realise the danger she and her friends are in. With rescue not an option, Jaisy must take her life and future into her own hands and save everyone from certain doom.
The author sucks readers into the storyline from the very beginning. Learning the truth at the same pace as Jaisy, Castle of Blue Stones is a gripping tale of fantasy, danger and untruths that are certain to keep readers wanting to know more.
Having raced through the book in one day, I was a little disappointed with the ending, which, although a satisfying conclusion, happened so quickly in comparison with the steady build up. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read and one of Jordan Elizabeth's better novels.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Taboo (Albright Sisters, #2.5) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
I had very high hopes for this book. While I wasn't disappointed, I shouldn't have set my standards so high just because of a pretty cover. The gorgeous cover is what intrigued me and I literally couldn't stop myself from buying it. I didn't know it was part of a series so I definitely am going to read the other three novels in the series. Although, I am so confused as to how they can consider this novel 2.5. What disappointed me about Taboo was the completely simplistic and unimaginative plot.
The rundown: boy and girl fall in love despite being in different classes of society. Because society would never accept their relationships, someone meddles, breaking them apart. One turns into a whore while the other turns into a crybaby and runs to another country. Said crybaby returns and, because he cannot get his once lover out of his head, he blackmails her into becoming his whore. Eventually, the truth comes out and the couple lives happily ever after.
Despite the uncreative plot, I really enjoyed this book. The erotic scenes were great except for one particular scene that just wasn't my taste. Despite that, they were expertly written. The only thing that actually bothered me was the fact that the female protagonist became a whore for the ton so that sex wouldn't be ruined for her. It was a major "Wtf?" moment and I almost threw the book across the room, especially since Michaels like to repeatedly bring this point up.
Overall, a pleasing erotic novel.
The rundown: boy and girl fall in love despite being in different classes of society. Because society would never accept their relationships, someone meddles, breaking them apart. One turns into a whore while the other turns into a crybaby and runs to another country. Said crybaby returns and, because he cannot get his once lover out of his head, he blackmails her into becoming his whore. Eventually, the truth comes out and the couple lives happily ever after.
Despite the uncreative plot, I really enjoyed this book. The erotic scenes were great except for one particular scene that just wasn't my taste. Despite that, they were expertly written. The only thing that actually bothered me was the fact that the female protagonist became a whore for the ton so that sex wouldn't be ruined for her. It was a major "Wtf?" moment and I almost threw the book across the room, especially since Michaels like to repeatedly bring this point up.
Overall, a pleasing erotic novel.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated The Quest of All Ages in Books
Jan 18, 2018
I already wrote a review for this once but I dont know what happened to it. I feel that this one wont be nearly as good as the first especially since I am aggravated that I have to retype it. I will try to capture some of the first one though.
When I requested this from NetGalley, it was because I am a fairytale/mythology buff who can never have enough novels about it. I enjoyed the authors interpretation because she stayed true to the originally mythology while making it her own. What I loved, however, was that it was not a modern telling, i.e. about the gods children or gods themselves in present day. Thats a trope I dont enjoy.
Maha Devi Li Ra La masterly weaves a fantastical story of self-discovery with dynamic characters. It is story about adventure and coming into oneself, discovering ones self. It was a powerful journey that had me on the edge of my seat and rooting for love in way I havent in a long time. I think it is because I have read erotica for so long where the couples have been hurt and jaded by the time they reach other. The love in Quest is fresh and dewy eyed like younger lovers falling in love for the first time. It has that hopefulness that young love seems to draw from.
Definitely a feel good novel. While it did not blow my mind, I walked away feeling optimistic and lighter.
When I requested this from NetGalley, it was because I am a fairytale/mythology buff who can never have enough novels about it. I enjoyed the authors interpretation because she stayed true to the originally mythology while making it her own. What I loved, however, was that it was not a modern telling, i.e. about the gods children or gods themselves in present day. Thats a trope I dont enjoy.
Maha Devi Li Ra La masterly weaves a fantastical story of self-discovery with dynamic characters. It is story about adventure and coming into oneself, discovering ones self. It was a powerful journey that had me on the edge of my seat and rooting for love in way I havent in a long time. I think it is because I have read erotica for so long where the couples have been hurt and jaded by the time they reach other. The love in Quest is fresh and dewy eyed like younger lovers falling in love for the first time. It has that hopefulness that young love seems to draw from.
Definitely a feel good novel. While it did not blow my mind, I walked away feeling optimistic and lighter.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Jack of Spades in Books
Feb 13, 2018
This book was certainly a page turner and a quick read, although I really just wanted it to be over. Andrew J. Rush is a successful mystery author -- married with a wife and three grown children. He also secretly (not even known to his wife and children) writes under the pseudonym Jack of Spades - and these books are dark, violent thrillers.
The book starts with Rush receiving a court summons that a woman in nearby locale is accusing him of stealing - basically plagiarism. He feels threatened and slowly, the unbidden Jack of Spades within Rush starts coming out.
The book is peppered with Stephen King references and I don't typically read King's more dark novels, so I can't say if there's a comparison here. Overall, I didn't find the book scary, or even that psychologically interesting, but a bit stupid. While a character in a novel like this shouldn't be likeable, per se, you should have some sort of admiration for their cunning. Instead, I just found Rush annoying and stupid.
Oates provides us with a back-story that is supposed to explain Rush's pathology, but it seems thinly constructed. The whole premise just seems off. I can't imagine someone not picking up on this guy and his behavior, his wife not just walking out, his kids not just taking their mother away, etc. It was just not my cup of tea.
(Note: I received an advance ebook copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
The book starts with Rush receiving a court summons that a woman in nearby locale is accusing him of stealing - basically plagiarism. He feels threatened and slowly, the unbidden Jack of Spades within Rush starts coming out.
The book is peppered with Stephen King references and I don't typically read King's more dark novels, so I can't say if there's a comparison here. Overall, I didn't find the book scary, or even that psychologically interesting, but a bit stupid. While a character in a novel like this shouldn't be likeable, per se, you should have some sort of admiration for their cunning. Instead, I just found Rush annoying and stupid.
Oates provides us with a back-story that is supposed to explain Rush's pathology, but it seems thinly constructed. The whole premise just seems off. I can't imagine someone not picking up on this guy and his behavior, his wife not just walking out, his kids not just taking their mother away, etc. It was just not my cup of tea.
(Note: I received an advance ebook copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Little Black Lies in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Catrin Quinn is still reeling from the loss of her two sons nearly three years ago. Her grief and anger is exacerbated by the fact that Catrin blames her (now former) best friend, Rachel, for their deaths. Catrin lives on the isolated community of the Falkland Islands, where people generally know one another - and everyone's business. When several children go missing over a short period of time, even the tight-knit community must admit that something is going on. Catrin finds herself drawn into the search for the latest missing boy, despite the fact that she just wishes to wallow in her grief as the third anniversary of her sons' death approaches.
This was a great book - I love all of Bolton's Lacey Flint novels, but this standalone is excellent, too. It's told from the varying viewpoints of three people - Catrin, her ex-best friend Rachel, and Catrin's acquaintance, Callum, a former solider who was once stationed on the island. Bolton goes back and forth over a short time period, slowly unraveling events, first from Catrin, then Callum, and finally Rachel. It's a mesmerizing approach, as we try to decipher how much to trust each of our narrators. During each character's turn, I found myself completely enthralled and wrapped up in their life. I eventually stayed up far too late the final night, frantically finishing the book to find out what happened. Bolton has created yet another fascinating mystery that will have you guessing the entire time.
(Note: I received an ARC from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
This was a great book - I love all of Bolton's Lacey Flint novels, but this standalone is excellent, too. It's told from the varying viewpoints of three people - Catrin, her ex-best friend Rachel, and Catrin's acquaintance, Callum, a former solider who was once stationed on the island. Bolton goes back and forth over a short time period, slowly unraveling events, first from Catrin, then Callum, and finally Rachel. It's a mesmerizing approach, as we try to decipher how much to trust each of our narrators. During each character's turn, I found myself completely enthralled and wrapped up in their life. I eventually stayed up far too late the final night, frantically finishing the book to find out what happened. Bolton has created yet another fascinating mystery that will have you guessing the entire time.
(Note: I received an ARC from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
Dana (24 KP) rated The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1) in Books
Mar 23, 2018
This book was very good. I enjoyed listening to it when I had a free chance. I gave it a four out of five because there were a few moments, especially in the beginning, where I found it hard to connect to the characters. Elisa seemed like she was just self-deprecating for a lot of the book and that got tiresome after a while. When she started to grow as a character, I started to like it more. I wish there wasn't that love triangle in the story, but I understand why it had to be there. I just feel like these love triangles are in most books and I want there to be more without it (That's just a personal note) There were even some relationships between characters that I thought were going to pan out to be romantic, but didn't. But who knows, there are other books in the series after all! Some of the puzzles that the characters had to solve I felt were kind of predictable but others were genuinely surprising. I fell in love with so many side characters and I wish we had been able to see more of them throughout the story. While Elisa is a compelling narrator, I felt like the other characters had more to them. This was a great break from the myriad of historical or classic novels that I have had to read recently. If you like fantasy and adventure stories, pick this up. I really recommend it.
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Girl on the Train in Books
Mar 15, 2018
2015 has only just begun, and already we may have one of the year's best suspense novels on our hands. This book follows Rachel, an alcoholic who has developed a fantasy life in her head for an attractive couple she sees in their home from her commuter train every day. When the wife of said couple goes missing, she can't help but involve herself in the mystery, which rather unsurprisingly winds up further complicating her life. The story moves back and forth in time, and is told from the perspectives of Rachel, her ex-husband's new wife Anna, and the missing woman Megan (who Rachel initially refers to as Jess in her fantasy). No one in the story seems to be trustworthy, as they all hide information and/or outright lie to each other in order to achieve their goals, which makes getting to the bottom of things that much more challenging for everyone, including the reader. Despite all the characters being heavily flawed, most of them come across sympathetically, which helps one actually care about their fates. Rachel in particular is well fleshed out, and comes the closest to being outright likable, which is quite a feat considering how unbalanced she is. The plot moves along at a very brisk pace and builds up to such a suspenseful conclusion that it is a hard book to put down. It may be a little dark for some people's tastes, but I found it to be one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Idaho in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Read me review here: https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/review-idaho-by-emily-ruskovich/
<i><b>Take your picture off the wall
So I wont have to see your eyes
And maybe soon I wont recall
The painful things that once were nice</i></b>
This is one of those pieces of literature that is so beautiful and so emotional that its hard to get your words out. Im stuck on how to convey the beauty and excellence of this book.
Told through several different perspectives over several different years, this novel is a character study of how one event can affect so many different people. If youre into slow paced, character focused novels with little mystery and action, then this novel is going to become one of your favourites.
Without going through every single character and scene, I feel like its not easy to comment on this novel, but I dont really want to give anything away because I think this is a book you should start off with, not knowing much about it. If Ruskovich wanted you to know more about this piece of work, shed have written a different synopsis.
All I can say about this book is that its a <b>must read</b> debut for 2017. Im looking forward to more of Ruskovichs work.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Random House, Vintage Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
<i><b>Take your picture off the wall
So I wont have to see your eyes
And maybe soon I wont recall
The painful things that once were nice</i></b>
This is one of those pieces of literature that is so beautiful and so emotional that its hard to get your words out. Im stuck on how to convey the beauty and excellence of this book.
Told through several different perspectives over several different years, this novel is a character study of how one event can affect so many different people. If youre into slow paced, character focused novels with little mystery and action, then this novel is going to become one of your favourites.
Without going through every single character and scene, I feel like its not easy to comment on this novel, but I dont really want to give anything away because I think this is a book you should start off with, not knowing much about it. If Ruskovich wanted you to know more about this piece of work, shed have written a different synopsis.
All I can say about this book is that its a <b>must read</b> debut for 2017. Im looking forward to more of Ruskovichs work.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Random House, Vintage Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Fall of Lisa Bellow in Books
Mar 15, 2018
This novel was one I had been highly anticipating since late last year, and unfortunately, it just wasnt for me. Ive read a number of character driven novels in the past couple of months and I think Im just getting a bit sick of them. Because of this, my review is going to be skewed, theres no way around that, it just wasnt the kind of novel I was hoping to read at this point in my reading journey.
The novel was very well put together. The writing was wonderful and the characters were incredibly well developed, but my problem was the plot. As a lot of others have said, this promised suspense and a bit of action, but it was instead a slow moving, poetic family drama.
The characters, I didnt care enough about to really get invested in their stories. Meredith was fine, and like I previously said, often funny, but I had no empathy for her, so her story meant very little to me. Claire I didnt like, not even a little bit. Ive never experienced motherhood, but there was something so immature about her when it came to certain situations with her kids, that I ended up hating her for her behaviour and thoughts.
I hate that I didnt like this novel, but there we are.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
The novel was very well put together. The writing was wonderful and the characters were incredibly well developed, but my problem was the plot. As a lot of others have said, this promised suspense and a bit of action, but it was instead a slow moving, poetic family drama.
The characters, I didnt care enough about to really get invested in their stories. Meredith was fine, and like I previously said, often funny, but I had no empathy for her, so her story meant very little to me. Claire I didnt like, not even a little bit. Ive never experienced motherhood, but there was something so immature about her when it came to certain situations with her kids, that I ended up hating her for her behaviour and thoughts.
I hate that I didnt like this novel, but there we are.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Palmetto Poison (Caroline Slade Mystery Series, #3) in Books
Feb 21, 2018
This was my first Carolina Slade (or Slade as she prefers to be called) mystery. I do think I would have liked to read or listen to the others first just to better understand some of Slade's fears and reactions to things. There are lots of references to previous events, with enough explanation that there's no problem understanding what is going on, but I am very curious about her past now.
After the Governor's brother-in-law is charged with possessing and distrusting prescription medications illegally, Slade's boss asks her to look into the matter. As soon as she starts investigating though, people start dying, and no one seems to want to cooperate with her investigation.
She really has a lot to deal with in this story - the Governor is angry at her continued snooping, there is a black SUV stalking her, her boyfriend's ex-wife shows up on the trail of said boyfriend's missing sister, and her teenage daughter thinks Slade is too old to have a handle on reality. Even so, I occasionally found her stubborn and unreasonable enough to make me want to slap her. I really think she behaves the way she does out of fear after her past experiences, though, so it doesn't make her less likable.
I think anyone who is a fan of the Temperance Brennan (Slade and Wayne reminded me a bit of Tempe and Andrew Ryan) or Kay Scarpetta novels would enjoy this one.
Disclaimer - I was provided with a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review
After the Governor's brother-in-law is charged with possessing and distrusting prescription medications illegally, Slade's boss asks her to look into the matter. As soon as she starts investigating though, people start dying, and no one seems to want to cooperate with her investigation.
She really has a lot to deal with in this story - the Governor is angry at her continued snooping, there is a black SUV stalking her, her boyfriend's ex-wife shows up on the trail of said boyfriend's missing sister, and her teenage daughter thinks Slade is too old to have a handle on reality. Even so, I occasionally found her stubborn and unreasonable enough to make me want to slap her. I really think she behaves the way she does out of fear after her past experiences, though, so it doesn't make her less likable.
I think anyone who is a fan of the Temperance Brennan (Slade and Wayne reminded me a bit of Tempe and Andrew Ryan) or Kay Scarpetta novels would enjoy this one.
Disclaimer - I was provided with a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review