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Goodreads: Book Reviews
Goodreads: Book Reviews
Book, Social Networking
7
8.8 (453 Ratings)
App Rating
Keeps track of what you read and your own personal reviews (0 more)
I love Goodreads since it allows me to track my goals, see who is reading what and what I read. I also enjoy being able to see if I liked a book or not. Nothing like deciding to reread a book only to remember that you hated it. I fully enjoy how easy this app is and how useful it can be when making a list of must reads. Knowing what I want to read, what I feel I need to read and what I have already read, has helped me keep on track with my annual goal of reading 100 books
  
Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
Ilona Andrews | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry, Paranormal
6
7.7 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a free copy of this book after winning a goodreads contest. It was a decent book; interesting enough to keep me reading, but not enough to have me hooked and reading through the night to find out what happened next.

I am left with a lot of questions at the end. What is Kate? What's up with her blood? If it's so sacred, why did she perform a blood ritual in front of a virtual stranger in her apartment? Why did she leave said stranger in her apartment with access to her bloody clothes while she went to take a shower?

Hopefully the other books in the series will answer some of my questions.
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Save Me in Books

Feb 13, 2018  
SM
Save Me
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really wanted to like this book. I'm a fan of Lisa Scottoline, and she endeared herself to me even more with her latest memoir. Besides, I won this book from one of the goodreads giveaways.

But I just couldn't get in to this one. There was something whiny, irritating and off about the main character, and I just couldn't empathize fully with her. The plot was more absurd than believable -- is this a heartfelt story; a mystery; what? It was too much.

And If I had to read the phrase, "Rose hit the gas" one more time, I was going to scream.

Lots of good in this book, but it just never seemed to redeem the bad.
  
BT
Back to the Garden
Erica Obey | 2013
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads program.

Right, I could not finish this book. When reading a book becomes more like a chore I dread doing, I have to stop unfortunately or I'd never end up reading any other book until I finished this one.

I just found the pacing to be a bit too slow for my liking, and I just felt confused about who's who in the book. Laura felt more like a male character than a female character...I don't know, it just felt all wrong to me.

However, this could just be me. I'd recommend others to read it because they may end up liking it.
  
This was a very quick, easy-to-read story that crossed over a lot of different genres. Not to be taken seriously as the author has mentioned, it's still enjoyabale. I feel like Jade Cooper has a lot of potential with her storytelling; however, there were a lot of grammar errors in the copy I was given. I also saw elements of fanfiction (which isn't surprising given that it features werewolves and vampires with some erotica mixed in.) I would recommend this to mature adults who need a fast novella to get out of a reading slump.


*Although I did receive this book for free through Goodreads First Reads, all of my thoughts and opinions are my own.
  
Dead School
Dead School
Laura Gia West | 2019 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A quick, enjoyable, quirky read that does not fit into the usual slots for describing a book.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Dead School by Laura Gia West was described by reviewer David Nora on Goodreads as "Harry Potter meets Beetlejuice". I would not agree completely with the description but it is close.

Tina Crocker hates Valentine's Day and school. She failed at life, love, and everything else she has tried except for playing her guitar. She decides to participate in the school's talent school, kills it, and dies on stage. She is transported to Dead School where she finds out just how much of a failure she has been. Can she pass Dead School or will she fail at this too?

Dead School is not a dark novel and many reviewers did not like the book because they expected it to be. Reading the description shows it is not. In her debut novel, West takes a different look at being dead. Her main character is a failure, sarcastic, flawed person in life and the hereafter but she is likeable.

Dead School is a quick, enjoyable, quirky read that does not fit into the usual slots for describing a book. Go into this with an open mind and just enjoy it.

I am looking forward to reading more from Laura Gia West.

Review published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 3/2/19.
  
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Christine A. (965 KP) rated Truth or Die (D.S. Imogen Grey, #5) in Books

Jul 31, 2019 (Updated Jul 31, 2019)  
Truth or Die (D.S. Imogen Grey, #5)
Truth or Die (D.S. Imogen Grey, #5)
Katerina Diamond | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
fast-paced police procedural novel (0 more)
The cover has a warning indicating this is not for the faint-hearted. Believe it! (0 more)
Book #5 of DS Imogen Grey series
‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Truth or Die is the 5th book in the D.S. Imogen Grey series by Katerina Diamond. I did not realize it was part of a series until I was finished reading it. Reading the earlier books may help with understanding the characters and their behavior better, but it is not necessary. This book can stand alone.

DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles are partners who are very close in work and out. There is an attraction between them which is a storyline throughout the book and, according to reviewers on Goodreads, has been a slow-building theme woven throughout the entire series. However, the main storyline is the case they are investigating, the brutal murder of a college professor.

The cover has a warning indicating this is not for the faint-hearted. This is a fast-paced police procedural novel that is also a violent, dark, and graphic read. These scenes are not part of the book for mere shock value. They enhance the story and our understanding of the killer's thoughts and actions.

A 6th book is not listed on Goodreads, but I will be looking for it. In the meantime, I do plan to read the series from the beginning.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/30/19.
  
Briar Rose
Briar Rose
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received this book as a first reads copy via GoodReads and My Kinda Book.

I'll start by saying I love the cover of this book.

Then: I'm a big Jana Oliver fan, having loved her Demon Trappers series so when I saw the First Reads giveaway on Goodreads for this I just had to enter and luckily for me, I was picked as one of the winners.

I have to admit that I, too have always liked the idea of Princes and Princess' and fairy tale endings and this was a unique take on it, with the twisted fairy tale one that is almost of Briar Rose's own making.

I kinda wish I could say more but I don't want to ruin it for those who are going to read this...sorry ;D

Saying that, it was very unique to me, as I have never seen or heard of anything like this before, and I really enjoyed it. Maybe it was the authors style which I can easily fall into or maybe it was the idea of the story but I was captivated by it from early on.

I also really liked all the major characters though it took a while for Pat to grow on me. The rest; Briar, Joshua, Reena and Ruric were all pretty cool from the start.

If you're a fan of the author then you should give this a try, as well as those who like fantasy books as this is no ordinary fairy tale.
  
The Shadows
The Shadows
Alex North | 2020 | Thriller
9
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

While I have "read" audiobooks for years now, this is the first one I was given to review. Let me catch my breath before starting. Wow! OK. Wow! That needed to be said.

Alex North's "debut" novel, The Whisper Man, was a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller. When I finished reading it, I immediately added his second book, The Shadows, to my must-read list.

The narrators of The Shadows are Hannah Arterton and John Heffernan. The combination of North's writing and Arterton and Heffernan's narration provides a story that feels as if the narrators are the characters themselves, sitting by a fire, retelling North's story, and not merely reading the story. It is their narration that helps North bring the listener down the rabbit hole and ending up questioning everything they thought was true. I needed to reread sections to see how I could have gotten everything so wrong.

North is a British crime writer who has previously published under another name. According to Goodreads, this is Arterton's first narration. While Heffernan has narrated a few novels, he writes mostly for film and TV but also wrote Driver For The Dead, his first comic book series.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/14/20 and updated on 8/24/20.
  
There's Someone In Your House
There's Someone In Your House
Stephanie Perkins | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.7 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
The premise. (1 more)
The mind games. Adds some suspense, even though you come to expect it since it’s the killer’s trademark.
The romance. Too much for this type of book. (2 more)
The identity was revealed too early.
The motive.
Overall, it was a fun, quick read. I wouldn’t call it scary, though.
I like a good slasher movie, and even some bad ones, but have come across few books with a similar story. So, I applaud this author for taking a risk and writing it, especially since this isn’t her typical genre. It kept my attention and I enjoyed it, even though there were a few things that bothered me.
I received an arc of this book through a giveaway by the publisher, giveaway was posted on Goodreads.