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No Hallowed Ground
No Hallowed Ground
Steve Hockensmith | 2024 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
More Action in the Old … Mid-West
The team of Diehl, Hoop, and Eskaminzim are back on the trail. This time, they are heading a bit further east than normal when they are sent to Missouri. According to their client, some thieves have just made off with the cash for a local bank, and if it isn’t returned quickly and quietly, it would cause the bank to close. Not that our heroes believe that. But when they learn the truth, the realize that the stakes would impact the entire country. And they realized just how outnumbered they truly are. Can they win against overwhelming odds?

If you are looking for an action book, you’ll be glad you picked this one up. There are some entertaining twists to the story, and the plot is strong enough to hold the action scenes together. The characters are good, but they could be a little stronger. Still, they are developed enough to make you care about the outcome. I appreciated how the changing points of view were used to increase the suspense. I also appreciate how the politics of March 1894 was brought into the book. It informed the action without ever being preachy. While we got some language, I was more bothered by some of the violence, so know that before you pick up the book. But if you want a historical action story, do pick up this book.
  
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ClareR (6106 KP) rated Jaded in Books

Sep 2, 2025  
Jaded
Jaded
Ela Lee | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Jaded deals with the after effects of a night out, when Jade (not her real name, but it has stuck because her real name is too hard for people to pronounce 🙄) wakes up in pain, unable to remember the night before. Her boss had been refilling her glass on a staff night out, but she manages to avoid going home with him - which he clearly thought was on the cards. Instead, Josh takes her home. And Jade doesn’t remember anything else.

This is so sensitively dealt with, yet her feelings (physical and emotional), aren’t held back. After her initial physical pain and emotional numbness, comes the devastation of what has happened to her and the fact that she isn’t believed - or worse, the attack is trivialised by others. Not even her boyfriend believes her.

And the casual racism! Her job likes to think they’re diverse but they really aren’t, and they aren’t much help after her attack - especially when they learn who the attacker is.

In to the mix is the added pressure of a high-flying corporate job: the misogyny, power, politics and wealth.

Jaded is a debut, and the writing is captivating. I was drawn in to Jades world and felt outraged for her. There’s a lack of empathy from pretty much everyone that Jade knows.

Honestly, the writing is remarkable. If this is a debut, I can’t wait to see what comes next from Ela Lee.
  
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)
Alison Goodman | 2008 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
8.0 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
When I was young and impressionable (well, not really impressionable, I’ve actually always been the stubborn and fiery redhead I am now, just a little more shy) I read a book about a sixteen year old girl, in a man’s world, pretending to be a twelve year old boy. In this same book there were also dragons, no not the ones you hunt to steal their treasure, but the kind that you bond with and can gain amazing powers from.

Of course it has dragons; how could I resist? Ever since reading Eargon I’ve had a thing for books with dragons in them, though it is rather hard to find some where it isn’t all about dragon hunting. Anyone have any suggestions?

Anyway, so this book was one of my favorites as a teenager because of the world building as well as the secrets and powers that the characters have. And I really do like it, though I’m probably going to say more bad things than I will good for a reason I will explain later.

So, the good things:

Main character, Eona. I guess I feel like she is similar to me in a way. She can be stubborn but also knows when to hold herself back when she needs to. She can be rather forceful and hostile while also having a nicer, sweeter side. She struggles with much through the book and it gives the book a more realistic feeling.

The world of the Dragoneyes. It’s ancient Chinese mythology, and mythology is something I like to read and learn about. It is very interesting to read about, and the author did her research on the subject.

And the bad things:

The book moved rather slowly. Yes, there was a lot that happened, but there was also a large amount of the politics of the world that got involved to. Politics isn’t something I like, it’s actually something I am starting to hate in recent years. So this doesn’t appeal to me. When I got closer to the end I skimmed, half because I knew what was happening for the most part, half because I was getting so bored with the back and forth of the characters.

The characters. Most of the characters had a fake feeling to them. They seemed one sided and all kind of reacted in similar ways when faced with these situations. They were almost flat and didn’t seem real.

Eona. Yes I know she is in the good things too, but I really dislike her fatal flaw. It took her most of the book to figure out (even though she wasn’t even the one who figured it out in the end) what the secret was to her power. It was rather annoying and I wish the author would have allowed Eona to figure it out a bit soon and have some more of the awesome power in there.

The good aspects of this book do outweigh the bad ones, but it still caused me to think hard about the rating I would give it.
  
Exile
Exile
Sophie Breeze | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The style of this book is rather unique to me as it doesn't seem to hold to any one genre (0 more)
The only thing that I really did not like was the surprise factor of learning this is the first in a series. (0 more)
Surprise its the first book in a series.
Exile by Sophie Breeze is a great book. It is the first book in a series of unknown length as the second has yet to be released. The cover however says nothing about it being part of a series. Please keep in mind as well that Sophie was only nine years old when she started writing Exile, no small feat.

 A group of five kids live on the planet Mellania but are not accepted there. Mellania only accepts those without human DNA and unfortunately these kids are all half human. The kids live with Lucia, a demon whom they believe to be their friend until she takes them to Earth. Upon arrival they are almost immediately attacked and discover Lucia’s true intentions. Now on the run from an evil demon on a planet they are unfamiliar with the kids don’t know who to trust and the stress creates a rift in the group.

 Two of the kids go one way and the other three go another, wondering if they will ever see each other again. Soon it is clear that even apart they are not safe as both groups are attacked and tracked down by the SSC. Sadly even once they are with the SSC the kids don’t know who to trust and secrets start revealing themselves. Will they ever be able to feel safe again? Who is really their friends and who is just trying to use them for their own benefit?

 The style of this book is rather unique to me as it doesn't seem to hold to any one genre. It starts out as a science fiction heavy in politics and with an assassination. Then as the story moves on it seems to take a more fantasy element with question. While the politics remain through out they do not overpower the rest of the story. The only thing that I really did not like was the surprise factor of learning this is the first in a series. I found myself becoming increasingly confused as I came towards the end and things were no where close to a conclusion.

 This book is probably best for young adults with an interest isn’t science fiction/fantasy. They dynamics of the relationships between the hybrids themselves might be a little difficult for young readers to understand. Those who have enjoyed the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series should enjoy this book as well since they share many elements. I rate this book 3 out of 4 or 4 out of 5. I enjoyed this book very much and the twists actually surprised me. The only twist I did not like was how the book turned out to be the beginning of a series. While I have nothing against series I plan when I start a new one carefully and I imagine so do may others, because of this the book lost a point.
  
FC
Final Crossing
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Disclaimer: I won a copy of this book through a FirstReads giveaway.

I really enjoyed the story found in this novel, and it definitely kept my interest throughout. Religion coupled with politics is certainly something that is at the forefront of our society right now, and the ways in which they were used and interacted together in the plot was very intriguing. I also liked how it bounced back and forth between the points of view of Jonas and Rudiger so the reader could gain perspective on the story from both sides.

However, there were quite a lot of proofreading errors in my copy, which was not labeled as a proof or anything other than an off-the-shelf edition. While I am not one to avidly search for such things, read with a red pen in hand, or anything of that nature, there were just too many to ignore. There were even a few in back-to-back sentences. That is the reason I dropped a star from my rating.

All-in-all, "Final Crossing" is a great suspense thriller where religion is used to bolster the thoughts of a serial killer into believing he's doing the work of God, eventually crossing paths with a Senator's Chief of Staff. However, if you're the type to rip your eyes out when you see a typographical or grammatical error, you might want to step away from this one, or at least take a couple deep breaths first.

4 stars