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BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated The Thorn Keeper (Penned in Time #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
If you were to ask me right now, what my favorite book of the year is...I would mumble and grunt for a few minutes and then rattle off a list of at least 10 books. But without a doubt, The Thorn Keeper will be at the top of the list.
The Thorn Keeper posses a certain eloquence that enraptures you from the very beginning. I can't count the number of times that I had tears in my eyes as I read (tearing up right now in fact, thinking about the message of this story), or squealed with delight, or wanted to purse whomp someone, and there was one instance that I was in such shock, I literally felt like I was going to hurl. Out of all the books that I have read this year, The Thorn Keeper is the one that touched the depth of my soul in a way that completely turned my world upside down. The romance is so sweet and quite passionate (all clean of course), but that only scratches the surface of the content of the book.
Whether through decisions in our past or reasons unknown to us, sometimes we have been given difficulties that we have to walk through. We would not recommend making those choices and hope that others are spared the pain and suffering we have endured. Yet even though it is hard, we would not be the people we are today if we had not gone through it. God has brought us through the valley...Not so that we can look over our shoulder and long to be back on the other side, but to look forward and press onwards. Do not let your dreams be forgotten along the way. Even if it doesn't seem as if they can or will ever come true. If God has placed a dream in your heart, never let go of it. Whether it is ministry, missions, art, dance, fashion or family.
In conclusion, I would have to say that Pepper Basham's books are among the best I have ever read. Filled with hard lessons and real life, balanced with passion and faith. Only a very talented author can take someone whom I despised in book one, bring them to redemption, and within 36 pages of the book they find a way to worm their way into my heart. Catherine and David's journey of discovering true love is so very tender. When life throws them a curveball, will they rely on their own strength to make it through, or will they trust in the love of the Father to carry them? In order to truly understand and appreciate Catherine and David's history, I highly recommend reading The Thorn Bearer first (which is another favorite of mine).
I purchased a print copy of The Thorn Keeper for my personal enjoyment. I was not required to write a review, positive or otherwise. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
The Thorn Keeper posses a certain eloquence that enraptures you from the very beginning. I can't count the number of times that I had tears in my eyes as I read (tearing up right now in fact, thinking about the message of this story), or squealed with delight, or wanted to purse whomp someone, and there was one instance that I was in such shock, I literally felt like I was going to hurl. Out of all the books that I have read this year, The Thorn Keeper is the one that touched the depth of my soul in a way that completely turned my world upside down. The romance is so sweet and quite passionate (all clean of course), but that only scratches the surface of the content of the book.
Whether through decisions in our past or reasons unknown to us, sometimes we have been given difficulties that we have to walk through. We would not recommend making those choices and hope that others are spared the pain and suffering we have endured. Yet even though it is hard, we would not be the people we are today if we had not gone through it. God has brought us through the valley...Not so that we can look over our shoulder and long to be back on the other side, but to look forward and press onwards. Do not let your dreams be forgotten along the way. Even if it doesn't seem as if they can or will ever come true. If God has placed a dream in your heart, never let go of it. Whether it is ministry, missions, art, dance, fashion or family.
In conclusion, I would have to say that Pepper Basham's books are among the best I have ever read. Filled with hard lessons and real life, balanced with passion and faith. Only a very talented author can take someone whom I despised in book one, bring them to redemption, and within 36 pages of the book they find a way to worm their way into my heart. Catherine and David's journey of discovering true love is so very tender. When life throws them a curveball, will they rely on their own strength to make it through, or will they trust in the love of the Father to carry them? In order to truly understand and appreciate Catherine and David's history, I highly recommend reading The Thorn Bearer first (which is another favorite of mine).
I purchased a print copy of The Thorn Keeper for my personal enjoyment. I was not required to write a review, positive or otherwise. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Dead Perfect in Books
Apr 27, 2018
My Summary: Shannah is going to die. She has a blood disease that none of the doctors can identify, and she only has months to live. She’s on her last month, possibly her last week… she hates to think it’s her last day, but it sure feels like it. She has been watching the strange tall, dark (and hansom) man for several months, and is convinced that he is a vampire (though she’s not exactly sane when she makes that decision). She goes to him seeking immortality, but collapses in near death on his front porch. When she wakes up, she feels better. What did he do that healed her? She’s not a vampire, but even the doctors couldn’t heal her… then there’s the fact that she’s pretty sure that she’s falling in love with him. but Ronan’s healing doesn’t last forever… and Shannah has to make a hard choice.
Ronan is five hundred and thirteen years old. He has never loved anyone in his life, but when Shannah comes to his door he takes her into his house and begins to heal her in his own special way. But then he accidentally falls in love with her. That causes problems—when your mortal soulmate is going to die soon and she isn’t sure she wants to be a leach her whole life. If he changes her against her will, will she hate him forever? Are his only choices letting her die and losing her, or changing her and losing her?
And then there’s that whole problem with a vampire hunter tracking down Ronan… and trying to kill him.
My Thoughts—at first glimpse, this seemed so twilight-ish. But once I started reading it I got out of my vampire stereotype and enjoyed this book quite a lot. I was at the library and dying for a light-hearted vampire romance (because I was just in that mood) so I picked it up. It’s a very quick read, and very sweet.
The Plot—the plot moved quickly, though at one point a thought crossed my mind, “there isn’t much story here, how is the author dragging it out into 345 pages and is still managing to keep it interesting?” although the plot seemed a little simple, it held my attention very well.
The Characters—I loved the characters in this book. Shannah was depicted as a desperate-to-do-anything-to-keep-alive kind of girl, to the point that she was willing to live with a vampire. Ronan had so much passion and love for this poor girl that it made him endearing. I love how he’d always call her “love.” It was so sweet. Jim Hewitt, the hunter, was a character that you just didn’t like one bit—a strong willed jerk who, although he thought he was doing the right thing, even that he was doing it to keep Shannah safe, I didn’t like him and I felt sorry for him. Though, in my opinion, I liked what happened to him at the end ;)
The writing—There were a lot of really good descriptions in this book, I was able to see everything that the author said in beautiful detail. There wasn’t any graphic sex, though there were a few scenes at the end, but it was brief. There were a few re-used phrases in the book though, and that gets annoying. (My sister and I call this the JMG Syndrome, or “Jenny McGrady” syndrome, because of a series we read when we were younger. Jenny was always feeling “like she got slugged in the stomach”. The phrase was used several times in all fifteen books. It got old really fast.) Shannah had many kissed “brushed across her brow” in this book. But besides that, the writing was warm and welcoming.
My Recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good paranormal romance, vampires, or just a romance in general. Ages 16+, only because of the frequency of sex at the end of the book (though I will say that the vampire held fast to abstinence, so that was encouraging.) there wasn’t any foul language, and I really liked that! I hate books that have so much language that I feel dirty reading it. But this book was very clean.
~Haleyknitz
Ronan is five hundred and thirteen years old. He has never loved anyone in his life, but when Shannah comes to his door he takes her into his house and begins to heal her in his own special way. But then he accidentally falls in love with her. That causes problems—when your mortal soulmate is going to die soon and she isn’t sure she wants to be a leach her whole life. If he changes her against her will, will she hate him forever? Are his only choices letting her die and losing her, or changing her and losing her?
And then there’s that whole problem with a vampire hunter tracking down Ronan… and trying to kill him.
My Thoughts—at first glimpse, this seemed so twilight-ish. But once I started reading it I got out of my vampire stereotype and enjoyed this book quite a lot. I was at the library and dying for a light-hearted vampire romance (because I was just in that mood) so I picked it up. It’s a very quick read, and very sweet.
The Plot—the plot moved quickly, though at one point a thought crossed my mind, “there isn’t much story here, how is the author dragging it out into 345 pages and is still managing to keep it interesting?” although the plot seemed a little simple, it held my attention very well.
The Characters—I loved the characters in this book. Shannah was depicted as a desperate-to-do-anything-to-keep-alive kind of girl, to the point that she was willing to live with a vampire. Ronan had so much passion and love for this poor girl that it made him endearing. I love how he’d always call her “love.” It was so sweet. Jim Hewitt, the hunter, was a character that you just didn’t like one bit—a strong willed jerk who, although he thought he was doing the right thing, even that he was doing it to keep Shannah safe, I didn’t like him and I felt sorry for him. Though, in my opinion, I liked what happened to him at the end ;)
The writing—There were a lot of really good descriptions in this book, I was able to see everything that the author said in beautiful detail. There wasn’t any graphic sex, though there were a few scenes at the end, but it was brief. There were a few re-used phrases in the book though, and that gets annoying. (My sister and I call this the JMG Syndrome, or “Jenny McGrady” syndrome, because of a series we read when we were younger. Jenny was always feeling “like she got slugged in the stomach”. The phrase was used several times in all fifteen books. It got old really fast.) Shannah had many kissed “brushed across her brow” in this book. But besides that, the writing was warm and welcoming.
My Recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good paranormal romance, vampires, or just a romance in general. Ages 16+, only because of the frequency of sex at the end of the book (though I will say that the vampire held fast to abstinence, so that was encouraging.) there wasn’t any foul language, and I really liked that! I hate books that have so much language that I feel dirty reading it. But this book was very clean.
~Haleyknitz
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Circus Galacticus in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Have you ever wanted to run away and join the circus? How about a galaxy-traveling circus complete with your very own Doctor Who-like Ringmaster and spaceship? Sounds pretty awesome, right? While you sadly may not be able to do that in real life, Deva Fagan's Circus Galacticus takes the reader on a voyage through the stars. Okay, so maybe reading instead of experiencing those adventures isn't quite as fun, but it's still a grand ride to hop on while I impatiently wait for my very own Doctor to show up and whisk me away to galaxies unknown and unimagined.
Meet the Earther Beatrix "Trix" Ling: miserable, friendless orphan, you know, the usual. On the surface that is. Seriously unhappy at her boarding school, she often gets into trouble due to the fact she's quick to rile and doesn't think things through before acting or speaking. After a few weird events happen to Trix, such as some strange dude breaking into her room and her hair deciding it'd like to be a cotton candy pink, the Circus Galacticus comes to town promising her some answers. Here is where the journey for Trix and the reader begins. Aliens and gadgets abound, as do allies with their own special Tinker power and enemies trying to suppress that power, a spaceship that's alive with many mysterious corridors, and too much to even begin to cover, and really, they'd be better serviced by reading the book instead of this review. This book is like Doctor Who, The X-Men, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory all tossed into a blender to make one scrump-diddly-umptous concoction. Smoothly written, the book moves at a swift pace as Trix struggles to find somewhere she belongs, make and keep friends, and to believe she deserves it. I don't believe there's a person out there that hasn't felt like an outsider at one time or another, though some more-so than others perhaps, and while Trix may make mistakes and may not always follow rules, that only makes her all the more full-bodied as a character. Except a little with the Ringmaster and the circus tent spaceship, Big Top (as much a character as anyone, if not more), the others aren't delved into as much but they each add their own quirks to make the book well-rounded.
And while I'd heartily recommend Circus Galacticus with no reservations, it isn't a perfect book by any means. Trix's age is never mentioned and at one time she describes the others as her age or a few years older. Umm, okay, I don't even know how old you are, chica, so how am I supposed to know how old everyone else is? At first, I surmised she was somewhere between 12-16 until unneeded curse words popped up, so she's probably a teenager. I finally found out how old Trix was by going to the author's site. She's 15. Call me odd, but I like to know the main character's age. The book could also have stood to have a little more meat on its bones, even as little as fifty pages tacked on. This was like a sampler platter and I wanted a full-course meal. With dessert. So many questions were left unanswered and it is just begging for a sequel to explore these more fully. And as I said before, the curse words really added absolutely nothing to the context of the scenes they were in. Other words could have been substituted easily and been more fitting. Sure there weren't many, but this is intended for middle-grade students and except for the cursing, it's good, clean fun. I'm not naive enough to think that children don't come across foul language from many sources, and even use it themselves, but that doesn't mean that books tailored for their age range should include them either.
However, I had a blast travelling through space with the crew of the Big Top. If there is a sequel, and I truly hope there is, you can be sure I'll be there for the next adventure of Circus Galacticus.
If interested, the author has up illustrations of the main characters: http://devafagan.com/circus-galacticus-characters/
Meet the Earther Beatrix "Trix" Ling: miserable, friendless orphan, you know, the usual. On the surface that is. Seriously unhappy at her boarding school, she often gets into trouble due to the fact she's quick to rile and doesn't think things through before acting or speaking. After a few weird events happen to Trix, such as some strange dude breaking into her room and her hair deciding it'd like to be a cotton candy pink, the Circus Galacticus comes to town promising her some answers. Here is where the journey for Trix and the reader begins. Aliens and gadgets abound, as do allies with their own special Tinker power and enemies trying to suppress that power, a spaceship that's alive with many mysterious corridors, and too much to even begin to cover, and really, they'd be better serviced by reading the book instead of this review. This book is like Doctor Who, The X-Men, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory all tossed into a blender to make one scrump-diddly-umptous concoction. Smoothly written, the book moves at a swift pace as Trix struggles to find somewhere she belongs, make and keep friends, and to believe she deserves it. I don't believe there's a person out there that hasn't felt like an outsider at one time or another, though some more-so than others perhaps, and while Trix may make mistakes and may not always follow rules, that only makes her all the more full-bodied as a character. Except a little with the Ringmaster and the circus tent spaceship, Big Top (as much a character as anyone, if not more), the others aren't delved into as much but they each add their own quirks to make the book well-rounded.
And while I'd heartily recommend Circus Galacticus with no reservations, it isn't a perfect book by any means. Trix's age is never mentioned and at one time she describes the others as her age or a few years older. Umm, okay, I don't even know how old you are, chica, so how am I supposed to know how old everyone else is? At first, I surmised she was somewhere between 12-16 until unneeded curse words popped up, so she's probably a teenager. I finally found out how old Trix was by going to the author's site. She's 15. Call me odd, but I like to know the main character's age. The book could also have stood to have a little more meat on its bones, even as little as fifty pages tacked on. This was like a sampler platter and I wanted a full-course meal. With dessert. So many questions were left unanswered and it is just begging for a sequel to explore these more fully. And as I said before, the curse words really added absolutely nothing to the context of the scenes they were in. Other words could have been substituted easily and been more fitting. Sure there weren't many, but this is intended for middle-grade students and except for the cursing, it's good, clean fun. I'm not naive enough to think that children don't come across foul language from many sources, and even use it themselves, but that doesn't mean that books tailored for their age range should include them either.
However, I had a blast travelling through space with the crew of the Big Top. If there is a sequel, and I truly hope there is, you can be sure I'll be there for the next adventure of Circus Galacticus.
If interested, the author has up illustrations of the main characters: http://devafagan.com/circus-galacticus-characters/
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated X-Men Red, Vol. 1: The Hate Machine in Books
Nov 30, 2020
While I was starting to tire of Tom Taylor's run on ALL-NEW WOLVERINE (I didn't hate it or anything, I just was starting to tire of some of the humor incorporated in the series. Still, if I had to decide between him and Tamiko, who took over after him on the X-23 series, I would take Taylor for another run, no question!), I wasn't sure if I wanted to read any X-Men stories leading into "Dawn of X". I also had lost a lot of interest in the X-franchise, as the stories were just awful (yes, Bendis and Hopeless, I am talking about you both in this sentence!)! However, I have gotten back on board with the wonderful re-invigoration of the mutants, making them cool again! Thus, when the recent Comixology sale came through, I took advantage of snagging both Volumes!
Dear God, this was some solid writing here! Edgy as heck, VERY socially relevent ("mutant hate" subbing in for "immigrant hate"!), and more representative of the team as a whole! I seriously wanted to sit up in bed and cheer last night, as I found myself coming to the end of this first volume!
I know there has been some off-handed remarks towards this series, citing its content as being too "on the nose" as far as the social relevance of what was being portrayed. There has also been that <b>waaaay</b> TOO OVER-USED word "SJW" thrown out, when forward-thinking makes some folks have to <i>think</i> a bit <u>too</u> forwardly! Yeah, well, maybe that's the only way to get the message across, as trying to do it subtle-like, leads to the overly message often getting missed or brushed off!
I applaud Tom Taylor for his writing here. The feeling I got from reading this was it not only began to reset the X-line in a positive, and very socially relevant way, but it also helped set the stage for what would lead into Moira's "Dawn of X" temporal reboot! Not only that, but for me, anyways, it helped restore the X-Men as being heroes and doing truly heroic deeds again! Something we most definitely need in this racially-imbalanced toxicity that is the current state of our culture! Thank you, Tom!!
My only quibble with the series, and it is more of a superficial quibble at best, was Kurt (Nightcrawler) sporting facial hair. I dunno. With all the negative connotation that hipsters have been generating with the whole <i>"I just rolled out from under a dumpster!"</i> look for those that choose to adopt the regrettable "neck-beard" look! Yeah, can't think of Kurt as anything other than clean-shaven! But, it did not take away from the story in any way! Just like I ignore hipsters, whether sporting a "neck-beard" or just in general, I was able to forget about it! lol
Again, I loved this book! Looking forward to starting Volume 2 tonight! Still not sure if this is for you? Ask yourself what makes a hero a Hero, and chances are, you will find yourself enjoying what is a solid read!
Dear God, this was some solid writing here! Edgy as heck, VERY socially relevent ("mutant hate" subbing in for "immigrant hate"!), and more representative of the team as a whole! I seriously wanted to sit up in bed and cheer last night, as I found myself coming to the end of this first volume!
I know there has been some off-handed remarks towards this series, citing its content as being too "on the nose" as far as the social relevance of what was being portrayed. There has also been that <b>waaaay</b> TOO OVER-USED word "SJW" thrown out, when forward-thinking makes some folks have to <i>think</i> a bit <u>too</u> forwardly! Yeah, well, maybe that's the only way to get the message across, as trying to do it subtle-like, leads to the overly message often getting missed or brushed off!
I applaud Tom Taylor for his writing here. The feeling I got from reading this was it not only began to reset the X-line in a positive, and very socially relevant way, but it also helped set the stage for what would lead into Moira's "Dawn of X" temporal reboot! Not only that, but for me, anyways, it helped restore the X-Men as being heroes and doing truly heroic deeds again! Something we most definitely need in this racially-imbalanced toxicity that is the current state of our culture! Thank you, Tom!!
My only quibble with the series, and it is more of a superficial quibble at best, was Kurt (Nightcrawler) sporting facial hair. I dunno. With all the negative connotation that hipsters have been generating with the whole <i>"I just rolled out from under a dumpster!"</i> look for those that choose to adopt the regrettable "neck-beard" look! Yeah, can't think of Kurt as anything other than clean-shaven! But, it did not take away from the story in any way! Just like I ignore hipsters, whether sporting a "neck-beard" or just in general, I was able to forget about it! lol
Again, I loved this book! Looking forward to starting Volume 2 tonight! Still not sure if this is for you? Ask yourself what makes a hero a Hero, and chances are, you will find yourself enjoying what is a solid read!
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Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated The Treatment in Books
Oct 31, 2017 (Updated Oct 31, 2017)
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm: https://www.beckiebookworm.com
The Treatment By C.L. Taylor was a decent enough read that I really quite enjoyed.
I also took into account when reading, that this was aimed at a much younger audience than myself, so I have been slightly lenient in my rating as I feel there were things I noticed that would probably go over the heads of this books intended demographic.
I would say this is a read my twelve and thirteen-year-old boys would really enjoy, Myself being a mum in my forties, well let's just say I enjoyed this, while not overtaxing my brain overmuch.
So The Treatment is about sixteen-year-old Drew Finch and her actions when her younger brother Mason gets expelled from yet another school and sent to Norton House, a residential reform academy.
so after being followed by the mysterious Dr Cobey and receiving a strange message about the treatment, her brother is receiving while residing at Norton House. Drew decides to investigate herself by getting herself admitted as a pupil.
So as I said this was an enjoyable read that does what it says on the tin.
There were no great surprises here, This was more, the underdog saves the day type of tale.
Drew herself, well I felt a bit sorry for her bullied by her ex-best friend (which there was no real explanation for).
Does one thing wrong and then gets shipped off to a reform academy, I know she needs to be for the story to work but jeez, her mum, hardly mother of the year actions are they.
Drew herself seems to be quite a resilient girl with a bit of a kick-ass attitude, more so maybe than I would expect from someone who's been bullied so relentlessly.<br/>But anyway she seems a very likeable pragmatic type of girl.
She teams up inside Norton with her roommate Mouse and the two try to coordinate an escape while steering clear of there other roomy Jude.
Jude is every mean girl cliche you can think off, horrid just for the sake of it. Shes even worse when Lacey, Drew's arch nemesis turns up like a bad penny and the two join forces to torment Drew.
I did find both Jude and Lacey to be slightly one dimensional in their behaviour.
So anyway to cut a long story short Drew strives to save the day, while rescuing her friends and brother along the way.
This is done in true kick-butt style with only the one extra unsurprising twist along the way.
So the wrap up of "The Treatment" I felt was a little bit rushed, I would have liked to have seen things eked out and explored in a little more depth.
But besides that, this is a great addition to the Young Adult/teen genre-leaning more heavily towards the Teen age group.
So I would definitely recommend this to the younger generation, It is a fun action packed clean read, that is well written and is sure to catch imaginations.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an Arc of "The Treatment" By C.L. Taylor this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm: https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
The Treatment By C.L. Taylor was a decent enough read that I really quite enjoyed.
I also took into account when reading, that this was aimed at a much younger audience than myself, so I have been slightly lenient in my rating as I feel there were things I noticed that would probably go over the heads of this books intended demographic.
I would say this is a read my twelve and thirteen-year-old boys would really enjoy, Myself being a mum in my forties, well let's just say I enjoyed this, while not overtaxing my brain overmuch.
So The Treatment is about sixteen-year-old Drew Finch and her actions when her younger brother Mason gets expelled from yet another school and sent to Norton House, a residential reform academy.
so after being followed by the mysterious Dr Cobey and receiving a strange message about the treatment, her brother is receiving while residing at Norton House. Drew decides to investigate herself by getting herself admitted as a pupil.
So as I said this was an enjoyable read that does what it says on the tin.
There were no great surprises here, This was more, the underdog saves the day type of tale.
Drew herself, well I felt a bit sorry for her bullied by her ex-best friend (which there was no real explanation for).
Does one thing wrong and then gets shipped off to a reform academy, I know she needs to be for the story to work but jeez, her mum, hardly mother of the year actions are they.
Drew herself seems to be quite a resilient girl with a bit of a kick-ass attitude, more so maybe than I would expect from someone who's been bullied so relentlessly.<br/>But anyway she seems a very likeable pragmatic type of girl.
She teams up inside Norton with her roommate Mouse and the two try to coordinate an escape while steering clear of there other roomy Jude.
Jude is every mean girl cliche you can think off, horrid just for the sake of it. Shes even worse when Lacey, Drew's arch nemesis turns up like a bad penny and the two join forces to torment Drew.
I did find both Jude and Lacey to be slightly one dimensional in their behaviour.
So anyway to cut a long story short Drew strives to save the day, while rescuing her friends and brother along the way.
This is done in true kick-butt style with only the one extra unsurprising twist along the way.
So the wrap up of "The Treatment" I felt was a little bit rushed, I would have liked to have seen things eked out and explored in a little more depth.
But besides that, this is a great addition to the Young Adult/teen genre-leaning more heavily towards the Teen age group.
So I would definitely recommend this to the younger generation, It is a fun action packed clean read, that is well written and is sure to catch imaginations.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an Arc of "The Treatment" By C.L. Taylor this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm: https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
Age, Sex, Location
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A hilarious and refreshingly honest foray into modern dating, Age, Sex, Location is Bridget Jones's...
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Primary Victim in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Primary Victim by Christopher Cihlar
Genre: Crime Fiction, Crime thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
Summary (from back of book): A serial killer whose victims don’t die. An innocent man who believes he is guilty. A police officer who may solve the crime but in doing so gives the killer exactly what he wants. A legal defense that challenges the very core ideals of justice.
Primary Victim is a thriller that tests both the psychological breaking point of an individual and the strength of the legal system governing society.
Review:
I’ll admit up front that I have a weakness for crime fiction—but this book was amazing. Words escape my mind as I try to explain how blown away I am by this book. I gasped and grinned and nearly cried and laughed at the surprises thrown at me through this stunning debut novel.
The psychological aspect of PRIMARY VICTIM was mainly found in the “Victim,” Brice. I won’t say what happens to him, but it amazed me as his mind began to twist and change through the course of the story.
The plot: PRIMARY VICTIM was full of twists and turns that I never expected, and it had me sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time. I couldn’t put it down! The viewpoint alternates between the criminal, the police officer, and the (living) victim, and switches back and forth at the most inconvenient places, forcing you to read on.
Characters: All the characters in PRIMARY VICTIM were strongly developed with real personalities. I hate books where people are just to perfect to be real (what I call “happyland syndrome”)—this book had the good guys and the bad guys, the the ones you hoped it all worked out for them, and the ones that you wished would be the next to die because they were such jerks (cough Nick cough).
By the end of the book I wasn’t sure what Michael (the criminal) was going to pull out of his hat, and was, from the very first page to the very last, impressed with Michael’s genius and creativity. At times I actually found myself almost cheering for him, but had to remind myself that he was the bad guy. It was almost hard to see him as the bad guy at times, because of his “work—” Michael considered himself a God in a world that needed one and didn’t have one, victimizing the people that he thought needed to be victimized.
Brice and Sarah were such a perfect yet sad couple, and for the sake of keeping the review spoiler-free, I won’t say anything… but I thought I was going to cry at one point.
Writing: The writing was the weakest point of this book. The prose itself seemed written in an unfamiliar style, minimizing comas in the sentences, and it made for a harder read. I caught myself occasionally re-reading sentences and paragraphs to understand what had happened. Aside from the prose, the vocabulary was broad enough and the pacing was good.
As of now, PRIMARY VICTIM is unedited, but there is only an occasional grammatical error, formatting error, or typo scattered through the book. However, all in all, it didn’t take away from the story.
Content: There was brief mention of sex between husband and wife (example: “they made love,” no other details, and the fact that they’re married made it that much better), and an occasional foul word from an angry officer, but other than that this book was refreshingly clean. I applaud Christopher for writing a crime thriller with low content—especially compared to some of the other crime thrillers out there. Maybe he can start a revolution. It’s true, people—you can have a good book without excessive sex and language!
Recommendation: Ages 14+ to lovers of Crime fiction, thrillers, and psychological thrillers.
Genre: Crime Fiction, Crime thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
Summary (from back of book): A serial killer whose victims don’t die. An innocent man who believes he is guilty. A police officer who may solve the crime but in doing so gives the killer exactly what he wants. A legal defense that challenges the very core ideals of justice.
Primary Victim is a thriller that tests both the psychological breaking point of an individual and the strength of the legal system governing society.
Review:
I’ll admit up front that I have a weakness for crime fiction—but this book was amazing. Words escape my mind as I try to explain how blown away I am by this book. I gasped and grinned and nearly cried and laughed at the surprises thrown at me through this stunning debut novel.
The psychological aspect of PRIMARY VICTIM was mainly found in the “Victim,” Brice. I won’t say what happens to him, but it amazed me as his mind began to twist and change through the course of the story.
The plot: PRIMARY VICTIM was full of twists and turns that I never expected, and it had me sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time. I couldn’t put it down! The viewpoint alternates between the criminal, the police officer, and the (living) victim, and switches back and forth at the most inconvenient places, forcing you to read on.
Characters: All the characters in PRIMARY VICTIM were strongly developed with real personalities. I hate books where people are just to perfect to be real (what I call “happyland syndrome”)—this book had the good guys and the bad guys, the the ones you hoped it all worked out for them, and the ones that you wished would be the next to die because they were such jerks (cough Nick cough).
By the end of the book I wasn’t sure what Michael (the criminal) was going to pull out of his hat, and was, from the very first page to the very last, impressed with Michael’s genius and creativity. At times I actually found myself almost cheering for him, but had to remind myself that he was the bad guy. It was almost hard to see him as the bad guy at times, because of his “work—” Michael considered himself a God in a world that needed one and didn’t have one, victimizing the people that he thought needed to be victimized.
Brice and Sarah were such a perfect yet sad couple, and for the sake of keeping the review spoiler-free, I won’t say anything… but I thought I was going to cry at one point.
Writing: The writing was the weakest point of this book. The prose itself seemed written in an unfamiliar style, minimizing comas in the sentences, and it made for a harder read. I caught myself occasionally re-reading sentences and paragraphs to understand what had happened. Aside from the prose, the vocabulary was broad enough and the pacing was good.
As of now, PRIMARY VICTIM is unedited, but there is only an occasional grammatical error, formatting error, or typo scattered through the book. However, all in all, it didn’t take away from the story.
Content: There was brief mention of sex between husband and wife (example: “they made love,” no other details, and the fact that they’re married made it that much better), and an occasional foul word from an angry officer, but other than that this book was refreshingly clean. I applaud Christopher for writing a crime thriller with low content—especially compared to some of the other crime thrillers out there. Maybe he can start a revolution. It’s true, people—you can have a good book without excessive sex and language!
Recommendation: Ages 14+ to lovers of Crime fiction, thrillers, and psychological thrillers.