Search

Search only in certain items:

Furthermore (Furthermore, #1)
Furthermore (Furthermore, #1)
Tahereh Mafi | 2016 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
6
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
"I don't hate it, I don't love it. I don't like the writing style, I don't dislike the writing style. I'm not sure if I like it, but I can't seem to stop reading it. I'm very confused. Also, this book is giving me huge 'Alice in Wonderland' vibes!"

As you can see from the update I have copied and pasted, I wasn't quite sure what to think of Furthermore. In fact, I felt a bit like Alice, lost and confused, a bit stiff in what I like to read. I'm not certain if I should give Furthermore 3 stars or 4 stars; then again, I also wonder if I should give it 2 stars. I have never, in all my life, been so confounded. Even now, after having finished it and trying to come up with a review three days later, I'm left speechless. It wasn't "edge of your seat" exciting or "page turning" mysterious, but there's just something about the story that makes me refuse to say I didn't like it - even if I'm not quite sure I did. The story as a whole was pretty entertaining, though there moments I felt just as confused as Alice was and I didn't quite appreciate that (of course, that was most likely Tahereh's point). I would promise myself to stop at the next chapter, because as I read it, I wanted to stop. Yet, when the next chapter would come, I found myself unable to quit. I suppose you could say the magic of Furthermore wrapped itself around me and compelled me to finish the book.
Because I have never had such a reaction to a book before - and because I was actually excited at the prospect that there may be another book, what with the way this one ended - I think I'm going to give it a 3.5 rating. Because of my doubt, uncertainty, and unwillingness to decide if I truly liked it or not, I can't give it 4 stars. So, there you have it. Do what you can with the mess that lives inside my brain whenever I try to figure Furthermore out.
  
    RCCaller

    RCCaller

    Sports and Utilities

    7.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Ever want to practice a new sequence but your buddy hasn't shown up to the field to call for you? ...

Wyrd and Other Derelictions
Wyrd and Other Derelictions
Adam Nevill | 2020 | Horror
9
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
179 of 200
Book
Wyrd and other derelictions
By Adam L.G. Nevill

Derelictions are horror stories told in ways you may not have encountered before.

Something is missing from the silent places and worlds inside these stories. Something has been removed, taken flight, or been destroyed. Us.

Derelictions are weird tales that tell of aftermaths and of new and liminal places. Each location has witnessed catastrophe, infernal visitations, or unearthly transformations. But across these landscapes of murder, genocide and invasion, crucial evidence remains. And it is the task of the reader to sift through ruin and ponder the residual enigma, to behold and wonder at the full horror that was visited upon mankind.

A dead ship carries a terrible cargo across a black ocean. Below deck, signs of slaughter and devotion await to tell a ghastly tale.
On a barren and hostile shore a great ritual has been enacted successfully. The act of a god may have taken place. But what kind of deity did this?
An eerily silent campsite. No sign of life. Look closer and observe the grisly artefacts of annihilation.
In the very foundations of this dreadful house, was something supernormal called upon to abolish life so mercilessly?

Wyrd contains seven derelictions, original horror stories from the author of 'Hasty for the Dark' and 'Some Will Not Sleep' (winner of The British Fantasy Award for Best Collection).
I’ve followed Adam and his been a fan of his books for years, his characters, his monsters and his storytelling is just fascinating. He really uses his surroundings to influence his writing. So this was a bit different to read where the only humans you come across are corpses and usually torn to pieces or sacrificed! The Wyrd and other shorts are just brilliant and each one leaves you wanting and needing to know more!
I’m not great with long wordy reviews with words even I don’t understand I tend to write how I feel once finishing a book. I absolutely loved this book I have read Hippocampus a few times and would absolutely love a full novel! Below are just a few words on how I felt about some of the stories.



Hippocampus

I’ve read this a few time and I pick up something I somehow missed in this short each time (don’t ask me how I have no clue)!
You genuinely feel you are walking the ship seeing what Adams describing! I would love to delve deeper into this tale and really hoping it will turn into a full novel!

Wyrd

Well that was just brilliant! Really drags you in! The best way to read this is sitting in a calm quiet place so you just get absorbed into following the trail we are lead on! Again I would love to know more it leaves you wanting more!!

Turning of the tide

Ok I’m good with the black lambs and human remains but dear god what did the dog do? 😂
It all started so well with the calming beach description then you keep reading and the sight
Of the phones and debris your stomach kinda lurches as you wait the the decimated corpses to follow! The poor golden retriever!

Enlivened

This one was full of gore and made my bones shiver! Great imagery on the monster too!! I love Adams imagination when it comes to his monsters!

Monument

I definitely hate dark craw spaces and certainly wouldn’t go delving in a cave like structures! This one definitely left me wanting to know where it was going and what had done this in the houses!


Hold the world in my arms for three days and All Will Be Changed

This creeped me out! Especially with the world being as it is now! Here you are walking in the footsteps of a world that’s changing that’s being changed by something!

Eagerly awaiting a new book!
  
Wyrd and Other Derelictions
Wyrd and Other Derelictions
Adam Nevill | 2020 | Horror
9
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
179 of 200
Book
Wyrd and other derelictions
By Adam L.G. Nevill

Derelictions are horror stories told in ways you may not have encountered before.

Something is missing from the silent places and worlds inside these stories. Something has been removed, taken flight, or been destroyed. Us.

Derelictions are weird tales that tell of aftermaths and of new and liminal places. Each location has witnessed catastrophe, infernal visitations, or unearthly transformations. But across these landscapes of murder, genocide and invasion, crucial evidence remains. And it is the task of the reader to sift through ruin and ponder the residual enigma, to behold and wonder at the full horror that was visited upon mankind.

A dead ship carries a terrible cargo across a black ocean. Below deck, signs of slaughter and devotion await to tell a ghastly tale.
On a barren and hostile shore a great ritual has been enacted successfully. The act of a god may have taken place. But what kind of deity did this?
An eerily silent campsite. No sign of life. Look closer and observe the grisly artefacts of annihilation.
In the very foundations of this dreadful house, was something supernormal called upon to abolish life so mercilessly?

Wyrd contains seven derelictions, original horror stories from the author of 'Hasty for the Dark' and 'Some Will Not Sleep' (winner of The British Fantasy Award for Best Collection).
I’ve followed Adam and his been a fan of his books for years, his characters, his monsters and his storytelling is just fascinating. He really uses his surroundings to influence his writing. So this was a bit different to read where the only humans you come across are corpses and usually torn to pieces or sacrificed! The Wyrd and other shorts are just brilliant and each one leaves you wanting and needing to know more!
I’m not great with long wordy reviews with words even I don’t understand I tend to write how I feel once finishing a book. I absolutely loved this book I have read Hippocampus a few times and would absolutely love a full novel! Below are just a few words on how I felt about some of the stories.



Hippocampus

I’ve read this a few time and I pick up something I somehow missed in this short each time (don’t ask me how I have no clue)!
You genuinely feel you are walking the ship seeing what Adams describing! I would love to delve deeper into this tale and really hoping it will turn into a full novel!

Wyrd

Well that was just brilliant! Really drags you in! The best way to read this is sitting in a calm quiet place so you just get absorbed into following the trail we are lead on! Again I would love to know more it leaves you wanting more!!

Turning of the tide

Ok I’m good with the black lambs and human remains but dear god what did the dog do? 😂
It all started so well with the calming beach description then you keep reading and the sight
Of the phones and debris your stomach kinda lurches as you wait the the decimated corpses to follow! The poor golden retriever!

Enlivened

This one was full of gore and made my bones shiver! Great imagery on the monster too!! I love Adams imagination when it comes to his monsters!

Monument

I definitely hate dark craw spaces and certainly wouldn’t go delving in a cave like structures! This one definitely left me wanting to know where it was going and what had done this in the houses!


Hold the world in my arms for three days and All Will Be Changed

This creeped me out! Especially with the world being as it is now! Here you are walking in the footsteps of a world that’s changing that’s being changed by something!

Eagerly awaiting a new book!
  
What do you do when an ancestor's actions threaten your very existence? You disappear. Emily, or at least that's what her name is now, must begin a quiet, hidden, new life in Maine. It's one of those small towns with a couple of hundred residents, some shops/eating establishments, an unexplained interest to tourists and not much else. The sign must say Greenville, population: a handful of moose.

The beginning just reminds me of home, with the gorgeous trees, lake, the phrase "wicked cool" and Emily's Red Sox cap. The action quickly takes over the plot, as Emily must flee Maine with a man she doesn't know if she can trust.... from a guy who had been following her for years with one goal - to kill her. With her memories gone Emily, or Audra as she finds out, doesn't know who she can trust. Is Luka the one who wants her dead? Or did Rolan lie and he's the real threat?

The unique plot is intriguing and the mystery won't let you put the book down. Danger lurks around every corner and Audra must rediscover what she forced herself to forget, at all costs.

The characters are intriguing and develop over the course of the novel. The Progeny are secretive and with good reason, any knowledge they have of their brethren can be taken upon their deaths. Their minds put countless others at risk unless they keep themselves isolated. While her comrades are decently well described, they don't quite feel like fully realized people. We need to now more of their dreams and fears, history, relationships and motivation.

The "big-bads" are sort of a generic evil villain type that I wished was developed more. What turned him into a zealot? What <i>is</i> his history with Audra's mother? How did he rise in the Court? I know Audra lost her memories, so we're in the dark like her but it just makes the novel feel less realized than it could.

The one relationship that feels authentic is between Audra and Luka. Even though she's not initially sure she can trust him and questions herlself throughout the novel - she still can't imagine going through everything without him/ I'm glad to learn that it isn't one long-running deception. The end of the novel is still completely unexpected in regards to the two of them.

Claudia and Piotrek are so close but he feels like such a mystery. We get to experience some of Claudia's emotions, like her confusion and hurt at being left or her anger about Ivan's death. Piotrek just seems flat in comparison. He's very protective of Claudia and painted a picture once. For all we know, he could have been an artist and it was just one of his many works. Its just as likely that it was the one and only time he attempted to be creative. I wish Piotrek was more develop as I"m very interested to learn more about him.

Audra travels to a number of foreign locations and they are described well enough that you can imagine them beautifully. They may not be the most glamorous villas or rich cities but you want to learn more about them nonetheless.

The book ends with a lot of revelations and so many more questions. Traitors are unmasked. Confessed or accused killers may not have been the murderers after all. Lovers are in peril. And time is running out. I know I can't wait to read the next book and find out what happens.
  
40x40

BethZ (6 KP) rated Oxygen in Books

Dec 30, 2017  
Oxygen
Oxygen
Carol Cassella | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
well written, keeps you guessing, characters are likeable (0 more)
too much unnecessary details into medical procedures, no climatic dialogue between Marie and dad that aired out their differences. (0 more)
Fast Read!
I really enjoyed reading this book. I haven’t read anything in 2 days time in a very long time!

Dr. Marie Heaton is a successful anesthesiologist at First Lutheran Hospital in Seattle. In the seven years she’s been working there she has never made one mistake nor lost a patient. She prided herself on her meticulous organization skills, her neat charting, and her clean record. Until the day 8 year old Jolene stepped foot into her OR and passed away in the middle of a routine procedure she should have survived! Now Marie finds herself in the middle of a malpractice suit and on top of that, having to take care of her elderly father with whom her relationship with has been rocky.

This is a gripping story that tells us what doctors go through when fatal mistakes are made. I couldn’t put it down.

What I did not like about it:

1. too much medical detail. Some of it was necessary for us to understand what is going on in the story but most of it just felt like filler to me.

2. I expected the part where taking care of dad to come in a lot earlier than it did. And it wasn’t much caring for in the end. I was expecting her dad to be more belligerent to her about losing his independence and having to be taken care of. And since there has been unspoken animosity between them since Marie was a teenager, I expected there would be a climatic dialogue between them that airs out their problems and they get to move on from it. Never happened.

Other than those two things, there was so much to like about this book. The twist at the end had me on me on my seat! I did not expect it and I love when a story can surprise me! This was a great read!
  
Home and Heart
Home and Heart
Sean Michael | 2018 | Erotica, LGBTQ+, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
so much sex!
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.

For the most part, I DID enjoy this. Mostly.

I will always say I like my male/male books on the more explicit side, and I will make no apologies for that. More sexy time is always better for me, SO LONG as the story can carry it. However, HERE, I found that while there is a lot of sex, it's not carried well by the story. What is here is good, and it's well written and super sexy, but I just felt the overall story gets lost somewhere along the way.

Sawyer's husband died 6 years ago, and he took to the bottle to literally drown his sorrows. Now, he's sober and ups and moves clear across the country for a new start. That there are three guys in the building with a friends with benefit type arrangement, helps Sawyer a lot.

The type of relationship Sawyer had with his husband, the depth of that, creeps out slowly, as does the depth of the relationship between Benny and Luke, and I did like that. I LOVED that Luke and Benny were well established and Derek their sometime third. LOVED that Luke saw that Sawyer was a sub, very quickly, and that he began teaching Derek to be Sawyer's Dom. Loved that Derek didn't even KNOW he wanted to be a Dom, before Sawyer. I loved that once in, Derek was adamant that Sawyer was HIS and HIS alone and HE would be the one to give Sawyer what he needed, even if Derek wasn't keen on whatever that might be.

So, what is here is great, brilliant and all that but I just felt the STORY, Sawyer's story, about moving across the country for a new start, coming out of his shell, was lost in all that, very well written and delivered, sex.

And if I say there is too much sex, you gotta know there is a lot!

All four guys do get a say, and I did finish it in one sitting. Enjoyable enough for that so

3 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**