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The Best Technology Writing, 2009: 2009

Steven Johnson

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"The ubiquity of the digital lifestyle has forced us to write and think about technology in a...

How to Write About Theatre: A Manual for Critics, Students and Bloggers

Mark Fisher

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What do you do if you find yourself weeping in the stalls? How should you react to Jude Law's...

Miracle Workers

Simon Rich

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Welcome to Heaven, Inc., the grossly mismanaged corporation in the sky. For as long as anyone can...

Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated The Roanoke Girls in Books

May 15, 2018

The Roanoke Girls

Amy Engel | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(14 Ratings)

Book Rating

Contains spoilers, click to show

Wow, this review has taken longer than I expected to get around to – mostly because of my hospital stay and subsequent recovery from acute pancreatitis. Needless to say, but I’m mostly back to normal and I hope to be resuming my reviews more regularly. Also, this will be my final review for Blogging for Books, as the site will be closing down next month. Now, onto the important stuff!

Will someone please tell me what the hell I read? The only thing original about The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel is its plot, which boldly goes where no book I’ve ever read has gone before.

The Roanoke Girls lacks original characters, which is the first of my many complaints regarding this book. Everyone is beautiful and perfect, and the one person that isn’t is described as a meth-head (which I find to be an insult to the average Janes and Joes out there). There’s not a single character, aside from the aforementioned meth-head, that isn’t a Mary Sue appearance wise. And the main character? There’s not a single thing likable about her. She’s a bitch to everyone around her, and yet somehow she still has guys fawning all over her. This is not realistic, folks.

Plot? Do you really want to get me started on that? First, let’s take a moment to discuss the fact that this book hops all over the place. One moment it is present, the next it is past, and after that, it’s some random character of little importance – just so we can learn how they died and why. Because, y’know, there’s something wrong with the fact they are all sleeping with their grandfather/brother/father/uncle/etc. Yes, I just gave a major spoiler away, but hey! I warned y’all. The only thing about this book that isn’t overly done is the fact that its main subject is INCEST. Yates Roanoke has a thing for every single woman in his family. And somehow, for some god awful reason, all these girls (save one) think it is absolutely okay/are heartbroken when things don’t quite work out.

Furthermore, all that jumping around? It’s done intentionally to drive the story forward because a straightforward account is sooo extremely drab and boring in this book that it has to jump. It has to give cliffhangers of some sort, and then make you wait another chapter or two, because otherwise it would simply drag on.

I would not recommend The Roanoke Girls to anyone. I did receive a review copy of this book free of charge and this has been my unbiased opinion. Thanks to Blogging for Books for the novel.

Kudos

BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated The Time Chamber: A Magical Story and Colouring Book in Books

Jan 2, 2019

Take a break from the chaos of life and spend hours immersed in the intricacies and the magic of The Time Chamber, a coloring book for adults.

The red haired fairy leaves her time garden to visit our world. She brings with her, a few magical items, which you must find hidden in the pages. Everything she touches is a magical new adventure for her. She explores our world as the little girl sleeps. When the girl awakens, the fairy retreats back to her own world.

I have always enjoyed art. Whether it's painting an original piece, coloring a fuzzy poster, doing a paint-by-number or doodling in my son's coloring book, I find relaxation in expressing myself through my artwork. So when I discovered coloring books for adults, I did a happy dance. I have spent hours coloring in The Time Chamber. The detail is incredible and the artwork intricate. I also found the story line enchanting. Although, I did find a few inconsistencies with the patterns that my O.C.D. did not like, I was able to overlook them and enjoy my time. Overall, this is a very charming book and I absolutely love taking time out of the day to relax and color.

I received a free copy of The Time Chamber from Penguin Random House Publishing through Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.