Search
Search results
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated T is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone, #20) in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Perhaps the only thing that disturbed me about this book is that I read too many reviews before starting that warned that I would be reading Grafton's "most disturbing" novel to date -- I therefore kept waiting, worriedly, for something to horrible and awful to happen. Many bad things happen, but nothing quite to the magnitude I thought... perhaps I've read worse. But that's certainly not Grafton's fault. This book departs from Grafton's usual style of letting her protagonist, Kinsey, tell the entire story and goes back and forth between Kinsey and the other main character. It's an interesting, thoughtful, page-turner, as most Grafton novels are. I certainly recommend it and am sad at the thought of waiting another year, or more, to read the next installment.
Dana (24 KP) rated The Jewel (The Lone City, #1) in Books
Mar 23, 2018
Oh my god!! If you haven't picked up this book yet, do it and read it as soon as you possibly can!!! The story line is awesome and intriguing. The characters keep you interested. And the suspense, holy crap, it is insane!!! I don't know how much I can say about this book other than you have to read it now. If you have read it, you know what I am talking about. One of my favorite parts about this book is that there is not a single annoying live triangle!!! Yay for that!!! If you like dystopian novels with lots of twists and turns, go on and read this book!! I can't wait for the next book to come out!!
Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Attack the Geek (Ree Reyes, #2.5) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
Excuse me, but SQUEE! More Ree Reyes! More Drake! More Eastwood and Grognard! Yes, more Geekomancy!
Michael Underwood is back with a delightful novella and if I have ANY complaints, it's that this is a novella instead of a novel. That's just because I am a greedy fangirl reader. The story itself is fully developed, and the novella is exactly the right format for it.
Attack the Geek definitely isn't the place to start in the series, as it relies on previous knowledge of the characters and the universe, but if you've read the previous novels, you will NOT want to miss this installment when it is released on April 9.
Now I'm left hungry for Ree Reyes #3, though!
Michael Underwood is back with a delightful novella and if I have ANY complaints, it's that this is a novella instead of a novel. That's just because I am a greedy fangirl reader. The story itself is fully developed, and the novella is exactly the right format for it.
Attack the Geek definitely isn't the place to start in the series, as it relies on previous knowledge of the characters and the universe, but if you've read the previous novels, you will NOT want to miss this installment when it is released on April 9.
Now I'm left hungry for Ree Reyes #3, though!
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Blue Labyrinth (Pendergast, #14) in Books
Feb 21, 2018
NOTE: If you haven't read anything in this series yet, Blue Labyrinth might not be the best place to start. There are returning characters from previous novels, and reading some of the earlier books (especially Relic, #1 in the series) will make this one even more enjoyable.
I love revisiting old friends and old places in this series, and the New York Museum of Natural History is by far my favorite place in PendergastÂ’s New York. Blue Labyrinth opens with a dead body in the museum, and Margo Green called in to assist with the police investigation. Full of danger and Pendergast family drama, this installment moves along at an incredible pace, and is a great addition to the series.
I love revisiting old friends and old places in this series, and the New York Museum of Natural History is by far my favorite place in PendergastÂ’s New York. Blue Labyrinth opens with a dead body in the museum, and Margo Green called in to assist with the police investigation. Full of danger and Pendergast family drama, this installment moves along at an incredible pace, and is a great addition to the series.
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Mafia Captive in Books
Jul 12, 2018
Okay, so this is one of those guilty pleasure books that will keep you entertained and a little embarrassed that you are entertained.
Things I liked about the book: The psychology behind the main characters, the use of conditioning, and how fast of a read it was.
Things I didn't like about the book: Sexual Assault, Stockholm Syndrome, and the stupidity of the characters.
The book has a different kind of plot and it is very dark compared to other novels that I have read. The main character is kidnapped, held hostage, forced into sexual experiences. This book frustrated me in the fact that BDSM does NOT equal abuse, or rape. Safe, Sane, and Consensual are the three things that don't really make an appearance.
Things I liked about the book: The psychology behind the main characters, the use of conditioning, and how fast of a read it was.
Things I didn't like about the book: Sexual Assault, Stockholm Syndrome, and the stupidity of the characters.
The book has a different kind of plot and it is very dark compared to other novels that I have read. The main character is kidnapped, held hostage, forced into sexual experiences. This book frustrated me in the fact that BDSM does NOT equal abuse, or rape. Safe, Sane, and Consensual are the three things that don't really make an appearance.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Home Safe in Books
Sep 3, 2018
I usually love Elizabeth Berg's novels but this one was hard to get through. It was boring and I could not find any empathy for the protagonist from the beginning to the end. The protagonist claims to have more than a little crush on Donald Trump, so that might be part of the reason I couldn't like her. She didn't have much of a personality and seemed to be constantly searching for a life that never happened. Her interchanges with other characters were unpleasant at best. The only redeeming quality of this book was that it offered a few ideas for creative writing when she suggested topics and writing exercises for a class she was teaching. Other than that, it was a very dissatisfying read.
David McK (3623 KP) rated The Young Hornblower Omnibus in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Released to tie in with the ITV series of the same name a few years back (hence the cover photo), this omnibus edition consists of the following:
Mr Midshipman Hornblower
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower and the Hotspur
While the second two are novels in their own right (with an over-reaching plot structure), it has to be said that the first (also the one the TV series seems to be based on) reads more like a series of short stories, a sense heightened by the fact that each chapter has its own distinct heading. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if that was originally the case, and they have all just been collected here under that umbrella heading of Mr Midshipman Hornblower!
Mr Midshipman Hornblower
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower and the Hotspur
While the second two are novels in their own right (with an over-reaching plot structure), it has to be said that the first (also the one the TV series seems to be based on) reads more like a series of short stories, a sense heightened by the fact that each chapter has its own distinct heading. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if that was originally the case, and they have all just been collected here under that umbrella heading of Mr Midshipman Hornblower!
David McK (3623 KP) rated Lion in the Valley (Amelia Peabody, #4) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The fourth of Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series of books, this again sees the Victorian archaeologist return to Egypt, in the company of her husband and precocious son.
As before, they are then caught up in a mystery surrounding a murder as well as the usual romantic entanglements for these novels. This also sees the return of the 'Master Criminal' from the previous books, who is both named (obviously not his real name) and looks like becoming a recurring character in the series as a whole.
I found this to be a diverting enough read, but not up to the standards of the first novel, perhaps due to the fact that I am now familiar with the type of story it is.
As before, they are then caught up in a mystery surrounding a murder as well as the usual romantic entanglements for these novels. This also sees the return of the 'Master Criminal' from the previous books, who is both named (obviously not his real name) and looks like becoming a recurring character in the series as a whole.
I found this to be a diverting enough read, but not up to the standards of the first novel, perhaps due to the fact that I am now familiar with the type of story it is.
David McK (3623 KP) rated Raven: Blood Eye (Raven 1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The first in a planned trilogy, Raven: Blood Eye is set during the early days of the Viking incursion into what would later become known as England. Pretty much the entire novel centres around one such such fictional raid: before, during and after the said event, with the subseqent sequels planning to 'open out' the Viking world.
If I had to compare it to other similar novels I've read, I would probably have to place it somewhere in the gap between Bernard Cornwell's (an author, incidentally, who Giles Kristian acknowledges as being part of his inspiration) series on Alfred the Great and Tim Severin's Viking books: not quite as polished as the former, nor as scholarly as the latter. Still an enjoyable enough read, though!
If I had to compare it to other similar novels I've read, I would probably have to place it somewhere in the gap between Bernard Cornwell's (an author, incidentally, who Giles Kristian acknowledges as being part of his inspiration) series on Alfred the Great and Tim Severin's Viking books: not quite as polished as the former, nor as scholarly as the latter. Still an enjoyable enough read, though!
Finished by Richard Preston, this is the novel that Michael Crichton was working on at the time of his death in 2008.
I have to say that, of late, I have actually been disappointed by most of Crichton's more recent novels, with the possible exception of <i>Prey</i>. Unfortunately, I was also pretty disappointed by this: I felt that I was never really engaged with any of the characters, so their plight never really had any impact on me - without giving too much away, and in a pretty superficial sense, I think this novel could be pretty much described as <i>The Borrowers</i>, set in nature.
For me, <i>Jurassic Park</i> (by far) still remains Crichton's seminal work.
I have to say that, of late, I have actually been disappointed by most of Crichton's more recent novels, with the possible exception of <i>Prey</i>. Unfortunately, I was also pretty disappointed by this: I felt that I was never really engaged with any of the characters, so their plight never really had any impact on me - without giving too much away, and in a pretty superficial sense, I think this novel could be pretty much described as <i>The Borrowers</i>, set in nature.
For me, <i>Jurassic Park</i> (by far) still remains Crichton's seminal work.