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ClareR (5608 KP) rated Loot in Books

Apr 14, 2024  
Loot
Loot
Tania James | 2024 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
An immersive historical fiction novel set in India. Loot by Tania James begins in Mysore in the 1790s, and a young woodcarver called Abbas is summoned to the palace of Tipu Sultan to help a French clockmaker, Lucien du Leze build a clockwork tiger.

And so starts a series of events that will see the end of Tipu Sultans reign, Abbas’ journey to France and his subsequent quest to find and recover the tiger for himself. It’s a tale full of adventure, danger and romance. I really enjoyed it!
  
Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1)
Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1)
Sylvain Neuvel | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (20 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

The title of this is what drew me. Sleeping Giants? Sounds right up my alley. It has been a long time since I read a sci-fi novel that wasn't heavy on the romance/erotica also. However, this novel was captivating. I know there are novels out there told through interviews and the like but I have never read them before. Therefore, it was something new and different. I honestly felt I would have enjoyed the novel more if it had been written more traditionally. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. As someone who loves to thoroughly research things, I almost felt that I was the narrator going through all the relevant information I have collected to put the story together. It was appealing.

Style aside, it also has an interesting plot. Giant robots and recovered technologies are nothing new, but the author weaves a stories that grabs your attention and keeps you turning each page. I was hooked until the very last page. In fact, once I finished, I sat in a daze wrapping my mind around everything I had just taken in.

If the description interests you, I highly recommend that you read this novel. I understand it is not expected to be published until April 2016. It is definitely worth the wait.
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated Night Sins in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
NS
Night Sins
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.


I read this novel after reading another title by the same author called Amber Fire. Even though both stories are shorter (<100 pages), that the writing in Night Sins felt more skilled and refined. The author said a lot with a little and set the tone for the rest of the novel within the first few pages.

There is a little blurb in the beginning describing Watchers, and it threw me off. The blurb makes the Watchers out to be more than the author made the heroine out to be. I got the feeling the Watchers were suppose to be powerful female defenders, yet right off the bat, I felt the heroine needed protecting. I am not sure if this was intentional for the purpose of adding that element to the hero and heroine’s dynamic.

Unlike the other novel I read, I felt that this heroine was stubborn. While I enjoyed the story overall, I felt it was the stereotypical story of a powerful male vampire protecting his intended mate. The alpha vampire and “one true mate” tropes really don’t do it for me, but I found the novel an enjoyable quick read filled with steamy scenes. While the story was nothing new, it’s been awhile since I have read a vampire romance, and I liked it.
  
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Mountain Between Us in Books

Nov 25, 2017 (Updated Nov 25, 2017)  
The Mountain Between Us
The Mountain Between Us
Charles Martin | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Claustrophobic and interesting at the beginning but far fetched
Given there's only two real characters in this novel, author Charles Martin does a not bad job developing their roles.

The story surrounds Dr Ben Payne and writer Ashley Knox, who get caught up in a plane crash in the remote icy mountains of the High Uintas Wilderness. Both quite seriously injured, they attempt to battle all odds to survive.

Although the setting is well laid out, the actual plot and dialogue is slightly hyperbolic, and the long-winded explanations of love are rather sappy. The female characters are written as if swooning at Dr Payne's every beck and call. So while the novel began as a gripping survivalist plot, it falls into a wishy washy romance trap and ultimately ends up on the ash heap of almost good stories.
  
Take Me With You
Take Me With You
Nina G. Jones | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Relatable characters (2 more)
Dark, intense thriller
Almost no stagnant "filler" parts
Makes you want to know what happens after the book ends (0 more)
Great serial killer novel! Gotta love The Crazies!
This was a difficult book to put down. It has a great mix of features that makes an intense story; deep character development, detailed world building (but not too detailed because, you know, imagination), interesting backstories, mysteries, horror, a little (very little) humor, psychologically thrilling and it sticks with you for a time after the last page. This is the type of novel to read when you are sick of the typical happy-go-lucky, boy-meets-girl romance and you're looking for something dark but not too dark. On a darkness scale between Christian Grey and Black Sabbath, I'd give this a solid M. Night Shyamalan. (Whatever that means)