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Amanda (96 KP) rated The Diary: Book One of Cursed in Books
Mar 25, 2019
So this is a first in an upcoming series. Reading it kind of gave me a Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets vibe - that's my favorite book in the series by the way. Anyway, two girls named Ana and Sophie come across a new shop that has opened. It sells crystals, some dresses, and spell books. Ana comes across this blank book, a diary, and decides to purchase it and record everything going on in her life - like most teenage girls want to do. I certainly did, and I still do to an extent.
It seems like everything Ana writes in this diary seems to come true - for instance, wanting her friend to finally stop whining about a boy she likes and asks him out. It's pointed out quite a few times how 'out of character' it was for Sophie to ask a boy out. She describes it as an out of body experience where she was watching herself just simply go up to the the boy and ask him on a date.
In a sense of 'be careful what you wish for' in this case it's, 'be careful what you write.' The diary, however, has a mind of its own and it slowly starts to take over Ana.
Does anybody else hear Smeegal's voice and wishing that Ana would once say, 'My Precious!'? No? Okay, I'm really that nerdy, but I don't care. I wear it like a badge of honor.
I won't lie it say it wasn't a tad but cheesy. Almost like watching some parts of it as a Disney show, at least the ones that include someone falling from a Ferris wheel or getting an allergic reaction. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, because it's not overpowering like the new Disney shows these days are, gag me.
The writing style was simplistic and it's one that I liked. It wasn't told from Ana's point of view, which is surprising because most of the YA novels I've read are told from the main character's point of view. It's not a terrible thing, but it's not always the best. In this book, you get more than just Ana's views which is important to a story like this.
The ending did, of course, leave a cliffhanger and a small excerpt for the next book in the series.
All in all, the book was a quick read for the most part. I like the three main characters of the story and I enjoyed how it was written. Can you imagine finding a diary and it making things you write in it come true? The good will come with bad.
It seems like everything Ana writes in this diary seems to come true - for instance, wanting her friend to finally stop whining about a boy she likes and asks him out. It's pointed out quite a few times how 'out of character' it was for Sophie to ask a boy out. She describes it as an out of body experience where she was watching herself just simply go up to the the boy and ask him on a date.
In a sense of 'be careful what you wish for' in this case it's, 'be careful what you write.' The diary, however, has a mind of its own and it slowly starts to take over Ana.
Does anybody else hear Smeegal's voice and wishing that Ana would once say, 'My Precious!'? No? Okay, I'm really that nerdy, but I don't care. I wear it like a badge of honor.
I won't lie it say it wasn't a tad but cheesy. Almost like watching some parts of it as a Disney show, at least the ones that include someone falling from a Ferris wheel or getting an allergic reaction. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, because it's not overpowering like the new Disney shows these days are, gag me.
The writing style was simplistic and it's one that I liked. It wasn't told from Ana's point of view, which is surprising because most of the YA novels I've read are told from the main character's point of view. It's not a terrible thing, but it's not always the best. In this book, you get more than just Ana's views which is important to a story like this.
The ending did, of course, leave a cliffhanger and a small excerpt for the next book in the series.
All in all, the book was a quick read for the most part. I like the three main characters of the story and I enjoyed how it was written. Can you imagine finding a diary and it making things you write in it come true? The good will come with bad.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated This Is Where It Ends in Books
Feb 13, 2018
On a chilly day, the principal of Opportunity High School is giving a speech to her students, kicking off the new semester. The majority of the school is gathered in the auditorium, listening to her speak. As she finishes, they prepare to head to their next class, but the doors are stuck. Then, suddenly, someone begins to shoot.
The book is told from the viewpoint of a handful of kids (four) from Opportunity High and basically unfolds in less than a hour -- the time it takes for a horrific tragedy to fall upon their school and community. We hear from Sylvia and her twin brother Tomas. We also get the perspective of Autumn, Sylvia's best friend, who is struggling with the death of her mother and her abusive father, all the while watching her brother, Tyler, an Opportunity High dropout, drift away from her. Finally, we see things from Claire's perspective; a member of the track team - Claire is outside practicing when the tragedy begins, but worried about her brother Matt, who is inside.
I read this book in a few hours - its short time span makes it terrifying and you want to speed through to find out what happens to these kids. It's an all too horrifying and realistic account of what can happen with school shootings (and beware, some of the descriptions can be very graphic). The interwoven stories of the kids do a good job of telling the story and portraying the strong bond of family and friendship that can exist -- especially at the hyper-sensitive stage of high school, where everything truly does seem like life or death sometimes.
There's an added LGBT angle to this story, which is a nice twist, as it's very natural to the book. The kids' tales, overall, seem true to their voices, but some of the writing is stilted and tough to read (not from the subject matter, but the way it's written). The author overuses the play on words with "opportunity" far too much - it would have been better to just let the story play itself out. We get the parallels - no need to spell them out (over and over and over) for us.
Still, this is a powerful book - it's heartbreakingly lovely, really, and will leave you hoping and praying that no more children *ever* have to go through this experience. It's a worthy read, even if it leaves you hurting, but I would make sure you talk about it in detail with your teens. It's a tough subject matter that needs to be discussed.
(I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
The book is told from the viewpoint of a handful of kids (four) from Opportunity High and basically unfolds in less than a hour -- the time it takes for a horrific tragedy to fall upon their school and community. We hear from Sylvia and her twin brother Tomas. We also get the perspective of Autumn, Sylvia's best friend, who is struggling with the death of her mother and her abusive father, all the while watching her brother, Tyler, an Opportunity High dropout, drift away from her. Finally, we see things from Claire's perspective; a member of the track team - Claire is outside practicing when the tragedy begins, but worried about her brother Matt, who is inside.
I read this book in a few hours - its short time span makes it terrifying and you want to speed through to find out what happens to these kids. It's an all too horrifying and realistic account of what can happen with school shootings (and beware, some of the descriptions can be very graphic). The interwoven stories of the kids do a good job of telling the story and portraying the strong bond of family and friendship that can exist -- especially at the hyper-sensitive stage of high school, where everything truly does seem like life or death sometimes.
There's an added LGBT angle to this story, which is a nice twist, as it's very natural to the book. The kids' tales, overall, seem true to their voices, but some of the writing is stilted and tough to read (not from the subject matter, but the way it's written). The author overuses the play on words with "opportunity" far too much - it would have been better to just let the story play itself out. We get the parallels - no need to spell them out (over and over and over) for us.
Still, this is a powerful book - it's heartbreakingly lovely, really, and will leave you hoping and praying that no more children *ever* have to go through this experience. It's a worthy read, even if it leaves you hurting, but I would make sure you talk about it in detail with your teens. It's a tough subject matter that needs to be discussed.
(I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated Guess Who in Books
Aug 14, 2018
Book Review by Cari Mayhew.
One murder; one room; 5 suspects. Now there’s a promising description for an intense read!
The story begins when central character, Morgan Shephard wakes up handcuffed in what appears to be a hotel room in London. Morgan is a resident detective for a daytime reality TV programme. With him there’s a lawyer, an actress, a teenager, a coffee shop worker, and a hotel cleaner. They find a dead body in the bath - the body of Morgan’s therapist. A message from a masked man appears on the TV screen explaining that Morgan has 3 hours to identify the murderer or the hotel will be blown up.
The characters find that they cannot escape the room. Morgan runs quick interviews with the suspects and finds that they all have links to the victim, but not as strong as his own. Before the 3 hours is up, while Morgan is searching the air ducts, the one suspect accuses another and proceeds to stab him to death. Morgan becomes fairly sure that he knows who murdered his therapist and calls the name out moments before the 3 hours are up. Then nothing happens so he calls out the names of all the suspects. An explosion is then heard by all, but everything remains as it was – there was no explosion. They then discover that they are not at all where they thought they were.
The chapters on Morgan’s current settings are spliced with chapters from other points in Morgan’s life with special emphasis on his solving of a murder which made him famous at age 11, and the reader discovers who has had the longest vendetta against Morgan, and the chapters slowly spell out why.
But this does little to address the reasoning behind the presence of the others in the room, until a further 2 vendettas are revealed.
I enjoyed the book and the story behind the masked man’s murderous hatred, but what I didn’t like was that the general premise of the book wasn’t lived up to. The 3 hours before the “explosion” was up at the 50% mark of the book, and the 5 suspects in the room all have incredibly weak links to the murder victim. I also think that more story could have been made around the lawyer whose big case Morgan was somehow embroiled in which was to take to trial that very day.
I found elements of the book too unrealistic, with extensive effort to bring the plotting to fruition, 1 completely needless and unnecessary victim, and an actual willing murder victim. Also Morgan’s drink and drug dependency did nothing to aid the story telling.
Although I was hoping for more from the book, the plot was indeed intense and I did have a good read.
One murder; one room; 5 suspects. Now there’s a promising description for an intense read!
The story begins when central character, Morgan Shephard wakes up handcuffed in what appears to be a hotel room in London. Morgan is a resident detective for a daytime reality TV programme. With him there’s a lawyer, an actress, a teenager, a coffee shop worker, and a hotel cleaner. They find a dead body in the bath - the body of Morgan’s therapist. A message from a masked man appears on the TV screen explaining that Morgan has 3 hours to identify the murderer or the hotel will be blown up.
The characters find that they cannot escape the room. Morgan runs quick interviews with the suspects and finds that they all have links to the victim, but not as strong as his own. Before the 3 hours is up, while Morgan is searching the air ducts, the one suspect accuses another and proceeds to stab him to death. Morgan becomes fairly sure that he knows who murdered his therapist and calls the name out moments before the 3 hours are up. Then nothing happens so he calls out the names of all the suspects. An explosion is then heard by all, but everything remains as it was – there was no explosion. They then discover that they are not at all where they thought they were.
The chapters on Morgan’s current settings are spliced with chapters from other points in Morgan’s life with special emphasis on his solving of a murder which made him famous at age 11, and the reader discovers who has had the longest vendetta against Morgan, and the chapters slowly spell out why.
But this does little to address the reasoning behind the presence of the others in the room, until a further 2 vendettas are revealed.
I enjoyed the book and the story behind the masked man’s murderous hatred, but what I didn’t like was that the general premise of the book wasn’t lived up to. The 3 hours before the “explosion” was up at the 50% mark of the book, and the 5 suspects in the room all have incredibly weak links to the murder victim. I also think that more story could have been made around the lawyer whose big case Morgan was somehow embroiled in which was to take to trial that very day.
I found elements of the book too unrealistic, with extensive effort to bring the plotting to fruition, 1 completely needless and unnecessary victim, and an actual willing murder victim. Also Morgan’s drink and drug dependency did nothing to aid the story telling.
Although I was hoping for more from the book, the plot was indeed intense and I did have a good read.
Debbiereadsbook (1110 KP) rated Off Base (Out of Uniform #1) in Books
Oct 22, 2019
bloody LOVED this book!
I lovefinding new to me authors, and narrators and Ms Albert and Mr Stevens are bothnew to me! Zach ishiding himself, from his fellow SEALs, his family but most of all his hidingfrom himself. Moving off base seems to be the best solution but then his worstnightmare needs a place to stay and Zach can’t say no to Pike, and Pike’s cats.So, he grits his teeth and bares it. Pike, however, is gritting his teeth foran entirely different reason. He has a massive crush on Zach but can’t let Zachknow. The two men call an uneasy truce to do up the house, but neither can stayaway from the other for long. That stayingaway lasts only so long and it really was a joy to behold to watch Zach andPike get closer, and begin their friends with benefits thing, but it was alsopainful. Both men knew they shouldn’t do this, and it messed with everyone’s head,mine included! Zach is verymuch in the closet, and Pike is not. That alone causes Zach to have kittensabout every.single.little.thing! Everything, near the beginning, caused Zach topanic, but watching the man fall, watching him come out of himself and thatcloset, watching him fall in love with Pike?? Twas a beautiful thing!I loved thatit was ZACH who made the decision to do something about their situation, andPike did not push Zach, even though he really wanted to.Much of thatbeauty though, is in the delivery, and Tyler Stevens narrates. This is thefirst of his work I have come across and I need more, lots more! I loved thenarration, as much as the story itself! Stevens wasable to wrench so much emotion, particularly for Zach, into his narration, itwas almost listening to your best friend pour their heart out to you.The voicesfor Zach and Pike are very different, getting the point across about the manydifferences between the two men. ALL the voices are distinctive enough for meto not have any trouble with multi person conversations. Stevens reading voiceis deep and clear and very VERY easy to listen to.Someinteresting characters in the book, Ryan and Josiah (apologies if that’s nothow you spell, I’ve not seen it written down!) do they have a book?? Would LOVEto read or listen to their story! And Apollo. That man is sad, it’s too soon,but maybe, just maybe. . . .and OH!! His book is next! I just looked!I have booktwo to listen to next, but that is by a different narrator so it will be interestingto see how Apollo’s voice carries from one narrator to the next. 5 stars forthe book5 stars forthe narration5 starsoverall**sameworded review will appear elsewhere**
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