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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2474 KP) rated The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Join Princes Fredric, Gustav, Liam, and Duncan as they must ban together to stop an evil witch from taking over their kingdoms. Of course, first, they must learn their own strengths and how to get along with each other.
This book was laugh out loud funny from start to finish with wonderful character growth and an engaging plot. My only complaint is that I didn't read it even sooner. With strong male and female characters, I think both boys and girls will equally love it. And adults will delight in this middle grade fractured fairy tale as well.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-review-heros-guide-to-saving-your.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This book was laugh out loud funny from start to finish with wonderful character growth and an engaging plot. My only complaint is that I didn't read it even sooner. With strong male and female characters, I think both boys and girls will equally love it. And adults will delight in this middle grade fractured fairy tale as well.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-review-heros-guide-to-saving-your.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Lumos (380 KP) rated Arcadia Quest in Tabletop Games
Mar 30, 2018
This is not one of my favorites but, perhaps for a very specific reason. When starting the campaign, we randomly selected the characters we would play and I ended up with three that don't mix together well. I end up using one pretty consistently while the other two almost never move. Normally, I'd say, it's a game and you get what you get and make it work. But the campaign of this game and the long term playing kind of makes this weigh heavily. I know the others I play with love this game and I just cringe when they pull it out. I might enjoy it if I had a better pick of characters to play with.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2474 KP) rated Deadly Heat (Nikki Heat, #5) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Nikki is juggling two cases. She's working a serial killer leaving a weird clue to tie his murders together when someone connected with her mother's murder case tries to kill her. Can she juggle both while dodging bureaucratic red tape?
As usual, the writing is a bit hard to get into, but once I do, I get lost in the story. The characters could be a bit better developed as well. Honestly, both are minor flaws because I have fun with this book. Very creative tie in, and I am already looking forward to the next one.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/10/book-review-deadly-heat-by-richard.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
As usual, the writing is a bit hard to get into, but once I do, I get lost in the story. The characters could be a bit better developed as well. Honestly, both are minor flaws because I have fun with this book. Very creative tie in, and I am already looking forward to the next one.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/10/book-review-deadly-heat-by-richard.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2474 KP) rated Traitor's Chase (The Last Musketeer, #2) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Greg Rich and his parents are still stuck in 17th century France, and Spanish assassins have just targeted Greg and his friends, the Musketeers. This leads them to think that their old nemesis is plotting to overthrow the French government, so they take off to learn what kind of army is on the way. However, dissention in the group is making the trip hard. Can they keep it together to save the day? This is a fun mix of fantasy and historical fiction for kids. And adults. I certainly enjoyed it. It was another can't put down for me.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-last-musketeer-traitors.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-last-musketeer-traitors.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2474 KP) rated Speaking of Murder in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Speaking of Murder by Tace Baker (Lauren Rousseau #1) – 4
Lauren is upset when one of her students is murdered. But that’s just the start of strange happenings in her community. What has happened to her formerly safe town?
The book started a little slowly, but once it got rolling, it was a great read. The characters were good, and the story was very intriguing with many different plot threads. Yet everything came together for a great climax.
NOTE: Tace Baker is actually the pen name of Edith Maxwell and no relation to me.
You can read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/10/book-review-speaking-of-murder-by-tace.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Lauren is upset when one of her students is murdered. But that’s just the start of strange happenings in her community. What has happened to her formerly safe town?
The book started a little slowly, but once it got rolling, it was a great read. The characters were good, and the story was very intriguing with many different plot threads. Yet everything came together for a great climax.
NOTE: Tace Baker is actually the pen name of Edith Maxwell and no relation to me.
You can read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/10/book-review-speaking-of-murder-by-tace.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
ClareR (6062 KP) rated Salvage the Bones in Books
Jun 8, 2018
This is a beautifully written book: lyrical, haunting and it doesn't pull it's punches. There were moments when I didn't really want to read with my eyes open (the dog fight - I found that very distressing), but this family had me in its grip from start to finish. I loved how 'together' they were (the siblings, anyway), how they all fought to survive, even down to the dog, China and her puppies.
You know hurricane Katrina is coming, but when it arrives in all it's visceral fury, I was truly terrified for them.
I can see why this has won awards. I loved the writing style. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Ward.
You know hurricane Katrina is coming, but when it arrives in all it's visceral fury, I was truly terrified for them.
I can see why this has won awards. I loved the writing style. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Ward.
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated Marie's Room in Video Games
Jun 12, 2018
Kind of like Life is Strange, Marie's Room is the story of two girls--just without any of the supernatural elements. You move around (get this) Marie's room and piece together the events that happened twenty years before. The gameplay involves adjusting your sight with your mouse and moving with your keyboard, but it's surprisingly fluid. The goal is to complete Marie's journal by finding all the clues around her room. The soundtrack is awesome and included in the DLC on Steam. It's approximately an hour of gameplay, but it's a free game. There are no save options, as it's meant to be played in one session. It's a neat little visual story.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Breaking Breads in Books
Jun 16, 2018
Breaking Breads by Uri Scheft is a book full of many new and interesting breads. The recipes are easy to follow. The photos are wonderful.
The sections on baking at home was very good and one of the best I have read. His explanation on how to knead dough was helpful.
The book has great step-by-step pictures and fairly simple instructions for the recipes. The photos are great for intimidating for a novice baker.
The entire book was thoughtfully put together with clear explanations and helpful tips along the way. Step by step pictures were also included (super helpful for the above-mentioned apple strudel) as were suggestions for achieving perfect bakery-likeconsistency.
The sections on baking at home was very good and one of the best I have read. His explanation on how to knead dough was helpful.
The book has great step-by-step pictures and fairly simple instructions for the recipes. The photos are great for intimidating for a novice baker.
The entire book was thoughtfully put together with clear explanations and helpful tips along the way. Step by step pictures were also included (super helpful for the above-mentioned apple strudel) as were suggestions for achieving perfect bakery-likeconsistency.
The book Caraval for me personally was enjoyable. I really enjoyed the aspect of magic in the book and how that was developed throughout. I think the author really did pull something amazing together with the idea of Caraval and Legend. It did have its flaws where I feel the characters were not really developed enough and I feel like the ending of the story to me felt a little rushed. It felt like different things were happening fast and suddenly. Overall I would say it's a really great book I continued to read the story as I wanted to know what happened and just really loved the magic showed throughout the story.
The first four episodes are confusing. You really have to hang in there and pay attention in order for it all to come together. This definitely isn't a show you can multitask during. I only say this is a negative to make sure people understand it's a show (1 more)
WORTH paying attention to. So if you don't have the time or ability to pay attention to it, I would wait until you do.
Fan-freaking-tastic