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    Winner of the Best Mobile Game of 2012 on G4TV! Pinball Arcade by FarSight Studios features exact...

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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Penpal in Books

May 12, 2021  
Penpal
Penpal
Dathan Auerbach | 2012 | Horror, Mystery
6
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love books that keep you guessing throughout the story. When I heard about Penpal by Dathan Auerbach through a Facebook group I'm in, it sounded right up my alley. However, I was left with so many questions after finishing the book.

The premise for the plot of Penpal is an interesting one. I liked how Auerbach uses the narrator's memories to lead us up to big reveal of what the horrible thing is. However, the execution of this is where it falls short. The memories are out of chronological order which makes things confusing. There were times where I had to really think about what I was reading and try to place it before or after another memory I had read about. Putting the memories in chronological order would have really benefitted this book much better. I will say the pacing was great for Penpal though. I did find myself wanting to know what would happen. The suspense throughout was fantastic! However, I felt the ending was a bit anti-climatic considering all that had happened. By the ending, I was left feeling so confused! I can't really say too much, but there were some things that just didn't make sense. Some of my questions were answered by scouring the internet for answers, but many of my questions about the book went unanswered. I also noticed many had the same questions I had. On the plus side, there were no cliff hangers.

While the narrator and his best friend felt fairly fleshed out, I felt that the author missed their voice when they were children. I just felt that that when they were kids, they would not be talking or acting the way they did. I also felt that the parents needed to keep an eye on their children better! The narrator is never named which I think helps with the suspense of this book. I did like the characters and empathized with the narrator, but as I've stated previously, the author really needed to work on the voice of his characters as children to give them a more realistic feel.

Trigger warnings for Penpal include death, attempted murder, some profanity, implied pedophilia, violence, and kidnapping.

Overall, Penpal is a confusing book, but I did enjoy the writing style. With some rewriting, this book could be really good and even have the potential to be a great idea for a film. I'd recommend Penpal by Dathan Auerbach to those 16+ who like to figure things out on their own, but be prepared to be left with many questions after you've finished reading it.
(1)   
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TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated The Conqueror (Constantine's Empire, #1) in Books

Feb 24, 2021  
The Conqueror (Constantine's Empire, #1)
The Conqueror (Constantine's Empire, #1)
Bryan M. Litfin | 2020
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Have you ever opened a package and immediately felt giddy over the book that popped out? Well, I will be honest that is how I felt about this book. The cover pulls you in, the weight and feel of the paper further builds up the hopes in your mind, and then to cap it all off, the description is intriguing! Did I mention I got a hardcover edition? 

  Bryan Litfin is a new to me author with a very great writing style. He pulls you in with vivid characters, drama, battles, and dreams. I loved the period and setting, and I am so thankful for the research Bryan Litfin put into making this book believable and accurate. The characters were pretty realistic, and they chose believable courses of action. Although at times I marveled at their courage! The Religious aspects of the book were spot on for the period (but more on that in a bit), and I truly felt like I was back in time facing off against the lions with the characters. Both Flavia and Rex captured me from the first page, and I enjoyed getting to go on their journey (But I am curious to see what happens to them next).

  On the religious aspect. I usually only review Christian Fiction. This is not your normal overtly Christian Fiction. It does not mention God in the sense of having a personal deep abiding relationship with him. He is thought of more as a deity and mostly mentioned in passing. He is not the focus of this story, as most people expect from Christian Fiction. Yet to clarify it is not primarily listed as Christian Fiction, but Ancient, Historical, Romance with a Christian fiction genre thrown in there. Personally, if this book were to be marketed directly to a non-Christian audience, I could see it doing very well (maybe even having a movie made of it) but directing it towards Christians… I do not think it will go well. Also, because it has sexual connotations throughout the story, as well as taking an odd (period correct though) stance on women.

Overall, I give it 2 out of 5 stars for the great research, interesting story plot, and vivid characters. But I would NOT recommend it to anyone who is not sure of their faith, has problems with reading sexual references, or an impressionable audience. I would also recommend the publisher Revell not label it as Christian Fiction.

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
  
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Mel Rodriguez recommended GoodFellas (1990) in Movies (curated)

 
GoodFellas (1990)
GoodFellas (1990)
1990 | Crime, Drama, Thriller
8.6 (70 Ratings)
Movie Favorite Watch

"I grew up in kind of a rough neighborhood and there was kind of this whole gangster thing, too. I think that’s the opening line: “As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster.” And I think there was a part of me that felt the same way. I just loved Robert De Niro’s work, all those guys really. Man, the acting, and everything about that movie — almost flawless film. And I’ve loved all of Scorsese’s films. Just his working relationship with Robert De Niro, from Mean Streets on; there are so many movies that I love with the two of them. I feel like everything kind of comes together in Goodfellas in some way. Goodfellas has kind of got it all. That was probably one of my favorite films as a kid, so I carried a picture of Goodfellas in my wallet. With De Niro and Pesci and Liotta, it was like, you know, the trinity [laughing]. I mean, really, Goodfellas was kind of like my Star Wars [laughing]. Really just the pacing of that film, everything, just how realistic. And at times it’s just jarring how violent it is. And hilarious too. It’s f—ing hilarious. I mean, I know it’s not funny that you would wrap a telephone cord around a guy’s neck. That’s not funny at all! The whole situation is terrible! But I think on some level, really, you kind of care for these guys and I think that’s what Scorsese is able to do in his films, is make these guys so human that we are able to somehow relate to them and, on some level, even kind of root for them, even though some of the stuff they do is just really despicable. I mean, the stuff that Joe Pesci does is just awful and I don’t think you really necessarily root for him; he’s kind of a hot head. The thing is, obviously, I know these things are bad. I do know how life can go one way or another, and that it’s not all just black and white, and there are many different situations and twists and turns in life. I feel these things sometimes and say, “Oh wow, I knew a guy like that. And I knew a guy like that.” And so I am very into gangster movies just because I feel, in some ways, I don’t think I have the heart for it, honestly. I’d have a nervous breakdown as a gangster. I’d be a very nervous gangster. I’d be the gangster that pops a lot of Klonopin."

Source
  
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Thirteen Reasons Why in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
Thirteen Reasons Why
Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher | 2009 | Children
10
8.4 (49 Ratings)
Book Rating
I will start with a confession, I requested this book because I knew the TV Series is out, it can’t be bad if it’s on telly right? And guess what, I was right. I loved this book.

This book is a quick read because it is tiny and really gripping. This book carries two stories at once, the story of Hannah and another one of Clay. This novel is filled with feelings and regret. I loved Hannah’s character in this book, yes, even though she is dead, she is still the main character in this book. I loved her courage for this confession and the secrecy and originality of all this “business”. The palette of characters is really wide in this novel and offers a great variety of personalities to choose from. The characters are very realistic, just like ordinary school kids, which most of us faced in our lives. The whole story is told by Clay and Hannah, but that is sufficient to showcase the feelings and powerful meaning of this novel.

I absolutely loved the message of this book, and I think that Jay Asher has done a great Job, by highlighting suicide and its causes. I loved the way he showed, how small and to some, unimportant actions might influence young people and what it can lead to. I loved the difficulty of relationships which Jay Asher was portraying in this book, and how it changed due to particular actions. The narrative of this book is flowing smoothly and there are no much twists or turns, but every chapter has a great cliffhanger, which creates suspense, makes you wonder of what is waiting on the next side of that cassette. One thing that made it difficult for me, was the merging of these two stories, I would’ve preferred that Hanna’s stories would be uninterrupted by Clay’s commentary and thoughts.

The language of this book was easy to read and understandable, and the chapters are reasonable length, so it is easy, quick and very powerful read. The ending of this novel is well-thought throw and shows to all of us, that life goes on. So, to conclude, it is very amusing and extremely deep book, full of friendships and teenage relationships, and I think this book is absolute must read to all the school goers (and others as well), as in my opinion, most of them can relate to this book and learn few great things about life as well.
  
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated After He Died in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
After He Died
After He Died
Michael J. Malone | 2018 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The main protagonist in this novel is Paula, a middle-class housewife, who just became a widow. A young woman – Cara, is trying to shine a different light on Paula’s deceased husband Thomas. This novel is told from two different perspectives – Paula’s and Cara’s. This book is soaked with grief, both of these characters lost people in their past, and they are still dealing with their grief. I really liked Paula in this book. I could feel her pain and her confusion, and to be honest, I was confused with her because all those little clues and words left me as much baffled as Paula herself. I really wanted to like Cara in this novel, but I couldn’t bond with her. I did like what she represented and I did like her attitude, but I couldn’t warm up to her.

The narrative of this novel is very masterfully delivered. It covers a really wide spectrum of events: we have a domestic noir, filled with family relationships and grief, and at the same time we have murders and mystery which are unfolding very slowly. I really liked the topics M. Malone discussed in this book, such as poverty and homelessness; how people deal with grief and what death brings to the families; drugs and how it influences people and their future, etc. I think this novel is more character driven than the investigation itself, but all these talks about feelings and sadness were too much for me at times, I wanted more pace and more unexpected findings. 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of surprises and twists, but I needed more. 😀

I really enjoyed M. Malone’s writing style, it is a very well crafted novel, and his way of sharing Scottish lingual nuances was absolutely adorable and I really liked them. 🙂 This book has a very strong “rich vs. poor” accent, and the setting is changing between luxury, wellness, and shady areas with homeless people, and I found it very well balanced in this book. The chapters were pretty short, and the whole novel was quick and easy to read. The ending of this book rounded this novel very well and it did leave me satisfied. So, to conclude, this is a very sensitive novel, where the pain after someone’s death is very raw and haunting, but at the same time, it is a great thriller filled with very realistic and casual characters and a very unexpected plot. I really liked this novel, and I hope you will give this book a try and enjoy as much as I did.
  
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Big Sister in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
Big Sister
Big Sister
Gunnar Staalesen | 2016 | Crime, Law
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
More book reviews at https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com

This book was my first encounter with this author’s writing, but from what I have seen so far, I will be definitely checking out more of Gunnar’s work.

In the beginning, I was a little bit confused, because for some reason I thought Varg was a woman. 😀 (Have no idea why…) So, yes, Varg is the protagonist in this story, and a very complex one, to be honest. He is over sixty and still risking his life for his cases, that is pretty amusing to me. 🙂 I really liked him as a personality, and I think he got away with his nosiness pretty well. I liked that Varg is very realistic, he is very clever, but at the same time, he doesn’t try to pose as some kind of super detective. I really liked all the characters which the author chose for this story, they made the story really interesting and rich.

The narrative was told from a single perspective, but for me, it was enough. The author had my curiosity growing with every chapter, as he cleverly delivered the clues and completely unexpected twists and turns throughout the pages. Staalesen has a great eye for a detail, and the descriptions of the settings were very visual and well delivered. I really enjoyed the topics which author addressed, such as family relationships; divorce and it’s consequences; rape and how it affects people; depression and what it can lead to; and many more. Even though this book is not very big, it touches and addresses a lot of important topics.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel, Staalesen’s writing is very creative, detailed and compact. I admire, how he can put so much into his words. For me, this book was very pleasant to read, except for the names of characters and places. I had a bit of a difficulty sorting out the characters, because their names didn’t stay in my head, and I skipped most of the place’s names because it was difficult for me to pronounce them. I loved the short chapters, which this book had to offer, and the whole book was a pretty quick read. Even though the ending concluded the story very nicely and with another surprise, it still left some cliffhangers, which will be bothering me until the next book. 😀

So, to conclude, it is very fast paced and suspenseful novel, filled with very intriguing characters and very surprising twists and turns, and I do strongly recommend to give this book a try. Enjoy the sun and a good book! 😉
  
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Dark Lake in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
The Dark Lake
The Dark Lake
Sarah Bailey | 2017 | Mystery, Thriller
6
7.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I would like to begin by saying, that the person who wrote the blurb, should get a raise because this blurb is very intriguing and well written, that’s why I really wanted to read this book. To be honest, this novel was different from most of the thrillers I read.

The main lead in this novel is Gemma, a small town detective in Australia, who is investigating murdered teacher’s case. I found Gemma as a very unusual main character. This novel is filled with Gemma’s thoughts and feelings about her life, wishes and struggles. All these thoughts kind of shadowed the whole investigation. But on the other hand, I think some of them were kind of necessary in order to bring out the desired effect from this story. Gemma seemed very realistic in this novel, but I could not warm up to her. I think she needs help because she is a very troubled young woman, on the other hand, this makes her quite unique… The author chose to use a very vast amount of characters in this novel, some of them showing up only for a chapter as witnesses. It was quite a fresh approach to telling the story, but at the same time filled my mind with unnecessary information about the character itself…

Even though the investigation was pretty slow and not very eventful, I did like reading Gemma’s story from her past. I liked the way they tangled together, and it kind of kept me going because I did want to find out how all these parts are related. I really enjoyed reading different perspectives and different thoughts in this novel, it allowed to have a glimpse into different personalities and to have a better understanding of overall events.

The writing style was creative and the plot kept time travelling between present and past, and I really enjoyed that. Another winner for this novel would be short chapters. I was binge reading it and I was tempted to read chapter after chapter all the way throughout the book. Even though the climax was not very impressive, I did like how author rounded up this story, I think it concluded the events pretty nicely. So, to conclude, it was quite different from what I am used to in the thrillers, and I quite liked this fresh approach. I do recommend to give this book a try, and I will be waiting for the next book with Gemma Woodstock, to see, what Sarah has “up her sleeve” for this unusual detective.
(3)