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Law of Attraction
4.0
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USA Today Bestselling author, N.M. Silber brings you a tale filled with laughter, love and lusty...
Merissa (12363 KP) rated Dragonstone (Kingdom of Chalvaren #1) in Books
May 5, 2023
This is a short but sweet prequel in the Kingdom of Chalvaren series, giving some details into how Kort arrives on Earth, why he is there, and how he needs to get home. Mia thinks that Chalvaren is a myth, stories that her father made up, even though she knows that she is 'different' to the rest of the village. Their connection is instantaneous and certainly raises the temperature. With a mob of villagers, a young girl who helps to save the day, and a few-day-old dragon who helps to get rid of a nasty vicar (am I the only one with a wicked smile about this part? I doubt it!) everything is here for a fantastical adventure, and it seems like the fun is only starting.
Quick, hot and to the point, this is a wonderful start to the Chalvaren series that I am looking forward to. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 25, 2015
Quick, hot and to the point, this is a wonderful start to the Chalvaren series that I am looking forward to. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 25, 2015
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated American Hippo (River of Teeth, #1-2) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
I actually read these volumes as separate books, so I have two separate reviews here.
River of Teeth (Part 1):
I somehow missed that this was a novella, every time I looked at it online. It wasn't until I checked it out from the library and was shocked at how small it was that I made that discovery. It was a welcome one, since I checked out seven other books that day, and finding something short was a relief!
And I AM SO GLAD I finally read this, because it's AMAZING. It opens on Winslow seducing a federal agent, and quickly moves to him gathering up a crew to drive feral hippos out of a marsh in Louisiana. I was expected a fun hippo-cowboy romp, and I got that - what I wasn't expected was strong, deadly women, a bisexual male hero, a nonbinary love interest, and hippo steeds. I don't know why hippo steeds didn't occur to me - it's not like they could wrangle hippos from atop horses! There is so much goodness packed into this little volume.
River of Teeth: short and sweet, action-packed with amazing characters and a fascinating, bizarre, but historical premise.
Taste of Marrow (Part 2):
Another quick novella, Taste of Marrow is the sequel to the bizarre alternate history novella River of Teeth. It picks up a few months after the ending of the first - people have had a chance to heal their injuries from the explosive ending of the first book, and hippos have begun to spread to previously safe waterways. The cast of this book consists of the surviving characters from the first, plus only one more semi-important character.
It's not quite as good as the first - no explosions and it's less of a rollercoaster - but there is some character development, and a deeper exploration of a few characters than we saw in the first book. I wish my library had the omnibus edition, because it includes two short stories set in the same world, and I'm very curious which aspects of the world she explored in those.
But this is a fun pair of books, very quick, easy reads, and it's just fun to say you're reading a book about hippos and cowboys!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
River of Teeth (Part 1):
I somehow missed that this was a novella, every time I looked at it online. It wasn't until I checked it out from the library and was shocked at how small it was that I made that discovery. It was a welcome one, since I checked out seven other books that day, and finding something short was a relief!
And I AM SO GLAD I finally read this, because it's AMAZING. It opens on Winslow seducing a federal agent, and quickly moves to him gathering up a crew to drive feral hippos out of a marsh in Louisiana. I was expected a fun hippo-cowboy romp, and I got that - what I wasn't expected was strong, deadly women, a bisexual male hero, a nonbinary love interest, and hippo steeds. I don't know why hippo steeds didn't occur to me - it's not like they could wrangle hippos from atop horses! There is so much goodness packed into this little volume.
River of Teeth: short and sweet, action-packed with amazing characters and a fascinating, bizarre, but historical premise.
Taste of Marrow (Part 2):
Another quick novella, Taste of Marrow is the sequel to the bizarre alternate history novella River of Teeth. It picks up a few months after the ending of the first - people have had a chance to heal their injuries from the explosive ending of the first book, and hippos have begun to spread to previously safe waterways. The cast of this book consists of the surviving characters from the first, plus only one more semi-important character.
It's not quite as good as the first - no explosions and it's less of a rollercoaster - but there is some character development, and a deeper exploration of a few characters than we saw in the first book. I wish my library had the omnibus edition, because it includes two short stories set in the same world, and I'm very curious which aspects of the world she explored in those.
But this is a fun pair of books, very quick, easy reads, and it's just fun to say you're reading a book about hippos and cowboys!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Ten Minutes On Mars in Books
Jan 10, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Ten Minutes on Mars by Jonathan Fisher is a small collection of eighteen short stories. Some, or rather, most of these stories are a bit on the twisted side so reader be warned. On a deeper level this book appears to explore the darker side of humanity and how we are monsters to each other and to animals.
Keeping with more of a horror theme this book starts off with a ghost in a graveyard although the ghost doesn't make another appearance until the end of the book. Readers are then taken on a hunting trip through the eyes of the prey. A truly scary experience. During the course of this book, the people who live in the cracks in the pavement or as it seemed to be the down and out or homeless are brought to light as well. Basically these are the people that the majority of society pretends don’t exist.
This journey takes readers to the far reaches of space abroad The Ascension. It is on The Ascension where tattoos can be used to control people and others are able to shapeshift. In our technologically advanced society, many wonder about what will happen when AI becomes so advanced that it sees itself as human or tries to take over. That is what happens in another one of the stories to a worker on another planet. Finally, readers see the lengths that a mother will go to in order to avenge a close friend and protect her own child. So sit back and relax as you are taken on a creepy trip deep into the monstrous world that we call humanity, in a town where monsters are normal.
What I liked best was that many of the stories overlapped with one another in some way. While they all take place in the same town the connections go deeper than just that. This book could almost read as each story being just a chapter instead of a stand-alone story. What I did not like was how often this book was confusing to me. I had to reread areas to clear up and be sure what I just read was correct. Some of the confusing points were just because of me misunderstanding the wording. On the other hand, some areas such as when it talks about a decapitated dolphin head being sentient and a vampire still confuse me.
The target readers for this book are adults and young adults. Specifically, those who like fantasy and horror should enjoy this book the most. There is cussing, murder, and the overall tone was not for children to read, even if it wasn’t that long. A high school student should be able to handle this book if they wanted to read it. I rate this book 2 out of 4. After reading this book a second time I might increase my score but for now, this is the best I can offer it. I found this book to be enjoyable yet at the same time, I did not really like it. On the surface I found some of the stories to be confusing or even pointless. When I looked deeper I found it had more depth about the nature of humans than I previously thought, although I do not know if this was the author’s intention.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
Keeping with more of a horror theme this book starts off with a ghost in a graveyard although the ghost doesn't make another appearance until the end of the book. Readers are then taken on a hunting trip through the eyes of the prey. A truly scary experience. During the course of this book, the people who live in the cracks in the pavement or as it seemed to be the down and out or homeless are brought to light as well. Basically these are the people that the majority of society pretends don’t exist.
This journey takes readers to the far reaches of space abroad The Ascension. It is on The Ascension where tattoos can be used to control people and others are able to shapeshift. In our technologically advanced society, many wonder about what will happen when AI becomes so advanced that it sees itself as human or tries to take over. That is what happens in another one of the stories to a worker on another planet. Finally, readers see the lengths that a mother will go to in order to avenge a close friend and protect her own child. So sit back and relax as you are taken on a creepy trip deep into the monstrous world that we call humanity, in a town where monsters are normal.
What I liked best was that many of the stories overlapped with one another in some way. While they all take place in the same town the connections go deeper than just that. This book could almost read as each story being just a chapter instead of a stand-alone story. What I did not like was how often this book was confusing to me. I had to reread areas to clear up and be sure what I just read was correct. Some of the confusing points were just because of me misunderstanding the wording. On the other hand, some areas such as when it talks about a decapitated dolphin head being sentient and a vampire still confuse me.
The target readers for this book are adults and young adults. Specifically, those who like fantasy and horror should enjoy this book the most. There is cussing, murder, and the overall tone was not for children to read, even if it wasn’t that long. A high school student should be able to handle this book if they wanted to read it. I rate this book 2 out of 4. After reading this book a second time I might increase my score but for now, this is the best I can offer it. I found this book to be enjoyable yet at the same time, I did not really like it. On the surface I found some of the stories to be confusing or even pointless. When I looked deeper I found it had more depth about the nature of humans than I previously thought, although I do not know if this was the author’s intention.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
KidloLand: Kids Nursery Rhymes
Education and Games
App
KidloLand is an award-winning app for kids (1-5 yrs) with 1000+ nursery rhymes, songs, games and...
ClareR (5784 KP) rated Heroes (Stephen Fry’s Great Mythology Volume 2 in Books
Oct 24, 2019
Greek mythology’s greatest heroes!
I loved this retelling of the heroes of the Greek myths. I knew I would. I enjoyed the first one (Mythos), and I had umpteen hours of Stephen Fry’s voice to look forward to (I listened on Audible). I could happily listen to him reading the back of a cereal packet, to be quite honest (but I do prefer books). He has a voice that you want to listen to: he brings these stories to life, and tells them in such a modern, engaging way. I have proof. My 15 year old son (Seb) would turn his headphones off in the car to listen along when I played this on our journey down to Devon from Cheshire (a six hour journey). And not one comment from him (anything Marvel or DC, he always has endless comments to make and often spoils the film - drives me mad!).
So, Stephen tells us about Heracles, Perseus, Jason and others that I wasn’t as familiar with, like Oedipus and Bellerophon. Honestly, this book is bursting with heroes, and whilst this sounds like a ridiculous thing to say, what I actually mean is that I didn’t feel as though they were short changed in their space. All of the heroes were given their moments of glory again: their stories were told with care, with humour and with feeling. I’m hoping more will come out of this ‘Great Mythology’ series, because I am well up for listening to more. I’ll even pick up my Audible subscription again. I just need to get through the long list of Audible books that I have first...
Anyway, I would highly recommend this book and Mythos as well, and if you can, definitely listen to the audiobook version. You won’t regret it!
So, Stephen tells us about Heracles, Perseus, Jason and others that I wasn’t as familiar with, like Oedipus and Bellerophon. Honestly, this book is bursting with heroes, and whilst this sounds like a ridiculous thing to say, what I actually mean is that I didn’t feel as though they were short changed in their space. All of the heroes were given their moments of glory again: their stories were told with care, with humour and with feeling. I’m hoping more will come out of this ‘Great Mythology’ series, because I am well up for listening to more. I’ll even pick up my Audible subscription again. I just need to get through the long list of Audible books that I have first...
Anyway, I would highly recommend this book and Mythos as well, and if you can, definitely listen to the audiobook version. You won’t regret it!
Third-Generation Holocaust Narratives: Memory in Memoir and Fiction
Book
This collection of new essays examines third-generation Holocaust narratives and the...
Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale
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From wicked queens, beautiful princesses, elves, monsters, and goblins to giants, glass slippers,...
Words are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016, with a Journal of a Writer's Week
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"Hard times are coming, when we'll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how...