Search
Search results
Merissa (12069 KP) rated Blended Whiskey (Agents Irish and Whiskey #4.5) in Books
Nov 14, 2023
Blended Whiskey is a short in the Agents Irish and Whiskey series, and we catch up with Jamie and Aidan for their wedding. Not only do we get to hear from them, but also from Danny, Mel, Nic, and Cam too. High on the sweetness level, and still as steamy as ever, I loved this addition. There is enough of a teaser regarding Nic and Cam that I am now desperately trying to remain patient until their story comes out. I loved how this was told from different perspectives, and loved every aspect of this short story, including Katie's vows. Aidan and I had our issues but I'm very glad to see he's worked them out. I wish the happy couple every happiness for the future 😉
With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, I thoroughly recommend this novella, but only AFTER you've read the others. Honestly, they're too good to miss!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 15, 2018
With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, I thoroughly recommend this novella, but only AFTER you've read the others. Honestly, they're too good to miss!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 15, 2018
Merissa (12069 KP) rated The Tea House in Books
Oct 13, 2021 (Updated Jul 12, 2023)
THE TEA HOUSE is a novella with a perfectly timed release - just in time for spooky season. Because that's what this is - spooky. There is some blood and gore but nothing too bad. Instead, you get that feeling of creepiness, that something is about to happen, you know it, you just don't know when.
Logan and Jaime are the perfect counterfoils for The Tea House and it starts off sweet enough. Be prepared for it to change though, and maybe not in the way you're expecting!
This is a short read that I enjoyed, but I will admit to wanting more. More from Jaime and him accepting certain things. More from Logan and his history, present, and future. And more of them together.
I did enjoy the ending, and it left me with a hopeful (evil) gleam in my eye!
A short one but absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 13, 2021
Logan and Jaime are the perfect counterfoils for The Tea House and it starts off sweet enough. Be prepared for it to change though, and maybe not in the way you're expecting!
This is a short read that I enjoyed, but I will admit to wanting more. More from Jaime and him accepting certain things. More from Logan and his history, present, and future. And more of them together.
I did enjoy the ending, and it left me with a hopeful (evil) gleam in my eye!
A short one but absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 13, 2021
Rachel Maria Berney (114 KP) rated Norse Mythology in Books
Dec 4, 2018
A little informative and interesting
Contains spoilers, click to show
I love Neil Gaiman. I was so excited to read this book as I really enjoyed American Gods and jabe a love of Viking history. Right before reading this I read Stephen Fry's Mythology, unlucky for Neil and me. I can't help but compare the two and Gaiman's Norse Mythology comes up short. Whilst we do have access to more information of Greek myth than Norse myth, I don't think that's the entire reason that Norse Mythology is a hard read. The telling of the Norse stories doesn't have the flow I have come to expect from Gaiman, there is a strangled growth to it that makes for a choppy reading that is just hard work and not that enjoyable. Gaiman's style and what I enjoy about him is too constrained in this retelling of Norse myths, this may be due to a lack of evidence of Norse myth and history. I think it would have worked well online, as blog posts etc. As a book it is something easily put down, forgotten about and never finished.
Merissa (12069 KP) rated The Blood of Four Gods and Other Stories in Books
Dec 17, 2018
The Blood of Four Gods and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Jamie Lackey, with a strong Asian/Native American theme. None of the stories are guaranteed a HAE, and in fact, I would say at least half have their own particular ending. These stories are all very vivid when you read them, which is excellent - Jamie Lackey's descriptive voice is in full flow. However, some of them are not so 'nice' to read, and so the descriptions can make you swallow slightly as you read them. Some only seem like snippets, and I would love to know more about the characters and the worlds in which they live.
With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, I thoroughly enjoyed each of these stories. With smooth pacing, well rounded characters, and with individual stories for each and every one, this is a wonderful collection of stories, sure to delight. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, I thoroughly enjoyed each of these stories. With smooth pacing, well rounded characters, and with individual stories for each and every one, this is a wonderful collection of stories, sure to delight. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
HT
How to Read El Pato Pascual: Disney's Latin America and Latin America's Disney
Jesse Lerner and Ruben Ortiz-Torres
Book
Investigating the reception and reuse of the imagery of one of the world's largest production...
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Fear The Reaper in Books
Sep 3, 2019
I've never read any books by this author and neither have I read the previous books in the series but that wasn't a big issue as the events of the previous books are explained in short pretty early on in memories and discussions between the characters but you still feel like you've missed something.
There is a history between Reaper and Lilith and I enjoyed the chemistry that still sparked. It was definitely a second chance romance while trying to bring about a certain someones downfall.
It had some nice description in this but I did struggle at times to get absorbed in the story. I'd pick it up, read about 5% and then put it back down again and concentrate on my paperback instead. I think it sounded more like my kind of read than what it turned out to be.
If you liked the previous books or like futuristic stories set on Earth where everything has gone to ruins and people are doing what ever they can to make money and keep the peace between the remaining areas of the USA then you'll more than likely enjoy this.
There is a history between Reaper and Lilith and I enjoyed the chemistry that still sparked. It was definitely a second chance romance while trying to bring about a certain someones downfall.
It had some nice description in this but I did struggle at times to get absorbed in the story. I'd pick it up, read about 5% and then put it back down again and concentrate on my paperback instead. I think it sounded more like my kind of read than what it turned out to be.
If you liked the previous books or like futuristic stories set on Earth where everything has gone to ruins and people are doing what ever they can to make money and keep the peace between the remaining areas of the USA then you'll more than likely enjoy this.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Season of Storms in Books
Apr 23, 2018 (Updated Apr 25, 2018)
2-d characters (2 more)
fantasy-by-numbers
Frequent incongruent Latin/French phrases
More a set of short stories than a novel in its own right
* I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. Formatting issues (many) have not been factored into the review *
To my knowledge, the books of The Witcher are split into the short story collection prequels (one of which I have read) and the full books (which I have not read). This book is somewhere in between being neither strictly a collection of short stories nor a focussed standalone novel in its own right. Chronologically, this book falls in between the stories contained in The Last Wish) though it is impossible to say quite where it falls (as mention of the stryga is made near the end, which begins the Last Wish I have to assume it comes after the flashback stories from that tome but before the overarching story linking them all).
It may be because I haven't read the full novels, but I find the Witcher to be a thoroughly bland and unexciting character and I have no connection with him. He has next to no personality and contributes nothing to the dialogue of the book. Similarly, all other characters are very disposable - they are either supposedly strong-willed sorceresses (who smell of flowers and throw themselves at the Witcher and are bedded instantly) or they are otherwise instantly forgettable.
I think Sapkwoski was trying to give the sorcerers a sense of academic snobbery but they frequently use Latin phrases, which just gets irritating very quickly. Similarly French words and phrases are thrown in willy-nilly without translation which gets annoying as well. This seems even more unusual when you realise the story was written in Polish and translated into English, with some parts kept in French or Latin. And then further when it is meant to be in a different world where French wouldn't be a thing.
The story essentially follows Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) who loses his swords and goes on a quest to get them back, and just happens along the way to meet people who need his skills (like on Neighbours where one character leaves and another comes in through the door at exactly the same moment). This aspect makes me think this was meant to be a series of short stories stitched together. But unfortunately here those short stories are not finished up within themselves and you have a number of unsatisfying loose ends in the back of your head throughout.
As with The Last Wish, I found the ending very confusing and had no idea what had happened. It may be that other works fill in the gap and I will have that filled in time, but if so that makes this not a satisfying read in its own right.
Overall, I don't mind Sapkowski's writing in general, other than a few irritating bad habits and I like the overriding idea of the stories but find the execution, character development and overall world-building somewhat clumsy and throw-away. But as I say, this may be because (I think) I have read these in chronological order, rather than published order. I will fill in the gaps and work out if that is the case.
To my knowledge, the books of The Witcher are split into the short story collection prequels (one of which I have read) and the full books (which I have not read). This book is somewhere in between being neither strictly a collection of short stories nor a focussed standalone novel in its own right. Chronologically, this book falls in between the stories contained in The Last Wish) though it is impossible to say quite where it falls (as mention of the stryga is made near the end, which begins the Last Wish I have to assume it comes after the flashback stories from that tome but before the overarching story linking them all).
It may be because I haven't read the full novels, but I find the Witcher to be a thoroughly bland and unexciting character and I have no connection with him. He has next to no personality and contributes nothing to the dialogue of the book. Similarly, all other characters are very disposable - they are either supposedly strong-willed sorceresses (who smell of flowers and throw themselves at the Witcher and are bedded instantly) or they are otherwise instantly forgettable.
I think Sapkwoski was trying to give the sorcerers a sense of academic snobbery but they frequently use Latin phrases, which just gets irritating very quickly. Similarly French words and phrases are thrown in willy-nilly without translation which gets annoying as well. This seems even more unusual when you realise the story was written in Polish and translated into English, with some parts kept in French or Latin. And then further when it is meant to be in a different world where French wouldn't be a thing.
The story essentially follows Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) who loses his swords and goes on a quest to get them back, and just happens along the way to meet people who need his skills (like on Neighbours where one character leaves and another comes in through the door at exactly the same moment). This aspect makes me think this was meant to be a series of short stories stitched together. But unfortunately here those short stories are not finished up within themselves and you have a number of unsatisfying loose ends in the back of your head throughout.
As with The Last Wish, I found the ending very confusing and had no idea what had happened. It may be that other works fill in the gap and I will have that filled in time, but if so that makes this not a satisfying read in its own right.
Overall, I don't mind Sapkowski's writing in general, other than a few irritating bad habits and I like the overriding idea of the stories but find the execution, character development and overall world-building somewhat clumsy and throw-away. But as I say, this may be because (I think) I have read these in chronological order, rather than published order. I will fill in the gaps and work out if that is the case.
Bubblesreview (110 KP) rated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Books
Feb 5, 2019
Imaginative (2 more)
Magical
Short chapters
Captivating
This book is a very easy read, obviously aimed at pre teen and younger. That being said, at the age of 25 I can't even count the amount of times I have reread this, it never gets old. I'm very glad that they kept the film very close to the book and really brang it too life. I love how the book holds a lot more parts that the film missed out aswell, the whole first chapter is almost completely ignored in the film. Makes it more exciting!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2206 KP) rated The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Origami Yoda, #1) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Dwight is the weird kid in sixth grade until he creates an origami Yoda and starts giving out advice. The funny thing is, the advice seems to be good. Is it magic or just luck? The book is really a collection of short stories with a quick climax near the end. Many of them were heartwarming, but I wanted it to be building toward something long before it did.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-strange-case-of-origami.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-strange-case-of-origami.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Yoshi (40 KP) rated Zombies Vs. Unicorns in Books
Oct 29, 2018
This is the first book to actually crack me up in years. Even if you don't like all the stories, everyone is bound to find at least a few they enjoy (even if you just read the zombie stories). The zombie stories range from creepy to romantic to just plain hilarious, and because they're short they're a great pick-me-up at the end of the day. Due to the mature nature of some of the stories I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone who has not yet entered high school.