Summary:
Everyone who knows Josie is telling her that she should enter the Bridesmaid Lotto. The lotto is a contest that gives four women the chance to be a bridesmaid to a well-known celebrity whose hunky future brother-in-law the movie star has just announced that he's single and looking to settle down with the right girl. Josie thinks the whole thing is a ridiculous idea and refuses to enter, though she's always had a crush on the movie star brother-in-law. When the winners are announced, Josie wins a spot in the bridal party, thanks to her overbearing, meddling mother who wants nothing more than to marry Josie off and have more grandchildren in the family. Josie has to deal with her fellow bridesmaids as they get ready for the big day. Rebecca is a snobbish, little-known model, Bobbi-Lynn is a sweet but talkative girl-from-the-sticks, but thankfully Jennifer is a normal IT chick. Josie is all the more anxious about the whole predicament thanks to her incurable klutziness. She even keeps what she calls her "Disaster Diary," filling it with her embarrassing moments, to keep herself grounded as she spends more and more time with New York's "glitterati." Her best work friend makes her his newest styling project, making sure she looks presentable at all the necessary functions, and her long time friend and roommate is completely supportive, despite desperately wanting to win the contest herself. But how will she ever get the hunky movie star to fall for her?
Thoughts:
A tip for those wanting to self-publish: PROOFREAD YOUR WORK BEFORE YOU MAKE IT AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I wanted to pull out a red pen on this book. Thankfully it was on my Kindle so I could resist the urge. One of the worst offenses was when she spelled the movie star's name (Jake Hall) with a 1. It was at the end of an exclamatory sentence, so it turned out to be "Jake Hal1!" I can't even do that when I'm TRYING to do it! If you want to really be respected in the literary world, even in the cheesy realms of romance novels, you absolutely must edit your work. Don't just read it a couple of times yourself. Have a friend proofread it. Step back from your work and read it 3 months down the road, after you've forgotten what you were intending. There were so many is/if/in/us errors, and the "Jake and me" vs. "Jake and I" issues, it was truly distracting.
Now, don't get me wrong. The story idea is pretty fun, especially for a romance/chick lit type of book. And it reads VERY quickly. I think I managed the whole thing in a matter of four or five hours at most. But the characters are walking cliches, the plot has more holes than a Dunkin Donuts, and the writing is atrocious. Astor is clearly Mary-Sue-ing her way through this series. Come now, Miss Astor. After clearly stating in your Amazon author bio that at least one of Josie's Disaster Diary entries from each of the three books in the series are real instances from your past, you can't think that you'll hide the fact that your childhood nickname was most likely "Rachel Astor the Disaster." They say right what you know, sure, but at least make it a little less obvious. Please, Miss Astor, stop while you're behind. Thankfully, I downloaded the Kindle version when it was on a free promotion, which looks like it might be a constant thing, as the book was still listed as free the last time I checked, but no guarantees. At least I didn't spend any money on this crap.
Book 19 of 50
Pages: 230, read as an e-book
Genre: Romance/chick lit
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Meh. If you have absolutely nothing else better to read, the book is on free download, and you're not a grammar Nazi, then sure. Otherwise, find something else better that's also free at the moment. I'm sure there's plenty!
Showing posts with label e-book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label e-book. Show all posts
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Spying in High Heels (Gemma Halliday)
Summary:
Childrens' shoe designer Madison Springer is late. Her boyfriend, Richard Howe the lawyer, is avoiding her phone calls and Maddie is late. Her last attempt at talking through the situation with Richard begins and ends with him having a meeting with a very dressed-down, un-Richard-looking guy and then immediately cancelling his lunch date with Maddie. Several days later, she still hasn't spoken to him, and winds up searching Richard's empty apartment. Mr. Un-Richard shows up, does a search of his own, and leaves with nothing. Only after Maddie runs into him again does she find out that Mr. Un-Richard is Jack Ramirez, hunky cop in charge of Richard's case, and that Richard was probably involved in some creative accounting, and possibly a couple of murders. Maddie can't believe that Richard is involved with any of that and sets out to prove that he's not who Ramirez thinks Richard is. The only trouble is, Maddie doesn't really know much about Richard, and Ramirez is a total stud muffin. Will Maddie be able to keep her head straight, while trying to get the courage to find out if she's actually pregnant?
Thoughts:
Ramirez is delicious. Maddie is fun, though a little scatterbrained and naive. The book follows Maddie as she finds out exactly how little she knows about Richard, and while it's slightly depressing for Maddie herself, her life is the train wreck you can't look away from. Halliday writes it in a way that you can't help but feel for Maddie as her world crumbles around her. Granted, I guessed as much on a lot of the outcomes of the story, but the story was engaging enough that it didn't bother me to know exactly who the killer was, or how the Richard situation was going to play out. It's a series that I'll be delving into more, as soon as I can get my hands on the books, that's for sure.
Book 16 of 50
Pages: 250, read as an e-book
Genre: Mystery, comedy, and romance, in nearly equal parts
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend?: YES. It's fun, funny, and it sucks you into Madison's world pretty darn easily.
Childrens' shoe designer Madison Springer is late. Her boyfriend, Richard Howe the lawyer, is avoiding her phone calls and Maddie is late. Her last attempt at talking through the situation with Richard begins and ends with him having a meeting with a very dressed-down, un-Richard-looking guy and then immediately cancelling his lunch date with Maddie. Several days later, she still hasn't spoken to him, and winds up searching Richard's empty apartment. Mr. Un-Richard shows up, does a search of his own, and leaves with nothing. Only after Maddie runs into him again does she find out that Mr. Un-Richard is Jack Ramirez, hunky cop in charge of Richard's case, and that Richard was probably involved in some creative accounting, and possibly a couple of murders. Maddie can't believe that Richard is involved with any of that and sets out to prove that he's not who Ramirez thinks Richard is. The only trouble is, Maddie doesn't really know much about Richard, and Ramirez is a total stud muffin. Will Maddie be able to keep her head straight, while trying to get the courage to find out if she's actually pregnant?
Thoughts:
Ramirez is delicious. Maddie is fun, though a little scatterbrained and naive. The book follows Maddie as she finds out exactly how little she knows about Richard, and while it's slightly depressing for Maddie herself, her life is the train wreck you can't look away from. Halliday writes it in a way that you can't help but feel for Maddie as her world crumbles around her. Granted, I guessed as much on a lot of the outcomes of the story, but the story was engaging enough that it didn't bother me to know exactly who the killer was, or how the Richard situation was going to play out. It's a series that I'll be delving into more, as soon as I can get my hands on the books, that's for sure.
Book 16 of 50
Pages: 250, read as an e-book
Genre: Mystery, comedy, and romance, in nearly equal parts
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend?: YES. It's fun, funny, and it sucks you into Madison's world pretty darn easily.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
California Schemin' (Kate George)
Summary:
Bree McGowan wants nothing more than to have a relaxing vacation away from her native Vermont, and take a few photos of a bridge over a Californian river while her boyfriend does some masonry for a client. But her hopes are dashed when she sees a woman fall off the bridge into the river. From there, she gets wrapped up in the investigation of the whole thing, despite seeing nothing but a falling body, despite flying home to Vermont, despite all the effort made to keep her safe and sound. She wants nothing to do with the case, and yet she keeps getting dragged into it. What's a girl got to do to keep herself out of trouble?
Thoughts:
I found this through one of the Free Kindle Book search sites, the ones that troll through Amazon's site to pull out all the current free downloads. I didn't have high expectations, since several of the Kindle books I've picked up have been fairly mediocre. That said, this one is not bad. There were a few holes in the story (how does Bree suddenly know the vic's name, without showing her hunting for the info?), and there were some gaps in the narrative. But the story itself is solid. You hate to love one of the bad guys, but he turns out to be such an interesting character! Around every corner, I kept wanting Bree to just suck it up and call the cops, but she kept getting into another scrape, and had no chance to do it. You couldn't help but feel bad for Bree. All she wanted was to be back home in Vermont. And when she finally gets there, trouble still follows her. The girl's got it pretty rough. I can't say for sure if I liked the book enough to read more. I'm curious to see what happens with Bree and the eventual love interest, but some of the scenes feel herky-jerky, and not fully complete. I do appreciate, though, that Bree's trying NOT to be involved in the investigation for once, instead of most nosy-neighbor main characters in mystery series. It's hard to really know all that's going on, though, when we only hear about Bree having looked up the victim's information, not actually see her reading a news article about her or something. More show, less tell.
Book 15 of 50
Pages: 252, read as an e-book.
Genre: mystery
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Recommend?: Yeah, it's not bad. I might look into the first (and third) of the series.
Bree McGowan wants nothing more than to have a relaxing vacation away from her native Vermont, and take a few photos of a bridge over a Californian river while her boyfriend does some masonry for a client. But her hopes are dashed when she sees a woman fall off the bridge into the river. From there, she gets wrapped up in the investigation of the whole thing, despite seeing nothing but a falling body, despite flying home to Vermont, despite all the effort made to keep her safe and sound. She wants nothing to do with the case, and yet she keeps getting dragged into it. What's a girl got to do to keep herself out of trouble?
Thoughts:
I found this through one of the Free Kindle Book search sites, the ones that troll through Amazon's site to pull out all the current free downloads. I didn't have high expectations, since several of the Kindle books I've picked up have been fairly mediocre. That said, this one is not bad. There were a few holes in the story (how does Bree suddenly know the vic's name, without showing her hunting for the info?), and there were some gaps in the narrative. But the story itself is solid. You hate to love one of the bad guys, but he turns out to be such an interesting character! Around every corner, I kept wanting Bree to just suck it up and call the cops, but she kept getting into another scrape, and had no chance to do it. You couldn't help but feel bad for Bree. All she wanted was to be back home in Vermont. And when she finally gets there, trouble still follows her. The girl's got it pretty rough. I can't say for sure if I liked the book enough to read more. I'm curious to see what happens with Bree and the eventual love interest, but some of the scenes feel herky-jerky, and not fully complete. I do appreciate, though, that Bree's trying NOT to be involved in the investigation for once, instead of most nosy-neighbor main characters in mystery series. It's hard to really know all that's going on, though, when we only hear about Bree having looked up the victim's information, not actually see her reading a news article about her or something. More show, less tell.
Book 15 of 50
Pages: 252, read as an e-book.
Genre: mystery
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Recommend?: Yeah, it's not bad. I might look into the first (and third) of the series.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Build a Man (Talli Roland)
Summary:
Serenity is an American in London for the first time. She found a job at a Botox clinic, and started hooking up with the doctor. She moved in with Peter, and has been living with him for nearly all of her stay in London so far. She's a budding writer, hoping to get into the world of tabloid writing. Yes, really. She pitches story after Botox-related story to the London tabloids she adores, getting shot down every single time. But when Jeremy walks into the office for a complete overhaul, she knows this is her time. She sends a pitch about a man going under the knife to every tabloid she can think of, including the Daily Planet (yup, Roland ripped off Superman's day job and made it a tabloid), the biggest, raunchiest tabloid paper of them all. She lands the column, writing for free in the hopes that she'll get the staff job that's opening up at the Planet. If she does a great job with her column, called Build a Man (shocker!), the job is hers. But she can't tell Jeremy she's writing the story, nor Peter, and she'll be writing under a pseudonym so she's not found out. Piece of cake!
Thoughts:
Ugh. Seriously. UGH. This book is not worth the download time, let alone the price it might cost you. (A measly 99 cents for the Kindle as of this writing. I downloaded it when it was free, thank God.) As a product of the Fan Fiction world, I've read some roiling piles of crap before. This is one of them. One of the terms from that world that has stuck with me is the "Mary Sue." A Mary Sue is a character that is very much like the author, and she's thrown into a fandom world like the Potter series or the Lord of the Rings series, and she's paired with the most attractive of the series' characters, as though Harry Potter would turn up his nose at Ginny Weasley in favor of Mary Sue Smith, an American transfer student that showed up in the middle of fifth year. Why, of course! (The male equivalent was "Gary Stew/Stu," if I recall correctly.) I bring all this up because the Serenity character is so very much a Mary Sue, she's even NAMED horribly. Serenity is one of those names that you only WISH you could have, because it's so pretty and wonderful... So very Mary-Sue-ish. Oh, and the worst part is that when I checked the Amazon website to see exactly how many crappy pages this sad, slow, horrible death of a book were, I read the words that confirmed my Mary Sue suspicions in the "From the Author" section: "This novel holds a special place in my heart, since the main character, Serenity, experiences many of the same feelings I did when I first moved to England from Canada. Everything seemed so different and strange, yet exciting -- a whole new world of potential opening up. Like Serenity, I also worked as a receptionist in a place where London's wealthy women flocked for Botox, and I couldn't help being shocked at the amount of money they shelled out each visit." She openly admits to the Mary-Sue-dom of the story, and is completely unapologetic about it, even going on to say that she identifies with the character's feelings. Hello!! You wrote the damn thing! Of course you identify with it! This book is entirely predictable. Of course she's going to get the guy in the end. She's the book heroine. It doesn't matter that she wrote a story about him without his knowledge, or that she made him a laughing stock, or that because he went under the knife, (despite having serious reservations on the day of the surgery) he wound up having some brain damage. None of that matters, because they love each other and love will out in the end. Oh yes. That she lied to him through most of their existence together is no big deal, right? Ugh. And somehow, this book actually got a sequel. So not even bothering! DO NOT waste your time on this pile of horse manure unless you're only out for annoying protagonists who wound up getting a happy ending, no matter how horrible a person she is, or if you're looking for the stupidest, most predictable plot line that hundreds of romance writers have followed for decades. SKIP IT!
Book 57 of 70
Pages: 308, read as an e-book
Genre: chick lit, romance
Grade: F-
Would I Recommend?: No. Don't even waste the download time when the book is free. Seriously. Don't bother.
Serenity is an American in London for the first time. She found a job at a Botox clinic, and started hooking up with the doctor. She moved in with Peter, and has been living with him for nearly all of her stay in London so far. She's a budding writer, hoping to get into the world of tabloid writing. Yes, really. She pitches story after Botox-related story to the London tabloids she adores, getting shot down every single time. But when Jeremy walks into the office for a complete overhaul, she knows this is her time. She sends a pitch about a man going under the knife to every tabloid she can think of, including the Daily Planet (yup, Roland ripped off Superman's day job and made it a tabloid), the biggest, raunchiest tabloid paper of them all. She lands the column, writing for free in the hopes that she'll get the staff job that's opening up at the Planet. If she does a great job with her column, called Build a Man (shocker!), the job is hers. But she can't tell Jeremy she's writing the story, nor Peter, and she'll be writing under a pseudonym so she's not found out. Piece of cake!
Thoughts:
Ugh. Seriously. UGH. This book is not worth the download time, let alone the price it might cost you. (A measly 99 cents for the Kindle as of this writing. I downloaded it when it was free, thank God.) As a product of the Fan Fiction world, I've read some roiling piles of crap before. This is one of them. One of the terms from that world that has stuck with me is the "Mary Sue." A Mary Sue is a character that is very much like the author, and she's thrown into a fandom world like the Potter series or the Lord of the Rings series, and she's paired with the most attractive of the series' characters, as though Harry Potter would turn up his nose at Ginny Weasley in favor of Mary Sue Smith, an American transfer student that showed up in the middle of fifth year. Why, of course! (The male equivalent was "Gary Stew/Stu," if I recall correctly.) I bring all this up because the Serenity character is so very much a Mary Sue, she's even NAMED horribly. Serenity is one of those names that you only WISH you could have, because it's so pretty and wonderful... So very Mary-Sue-ish. Oh, and the worst part is that when I checked the Amazon website to see exactly how many crappy pages this sad, slow, horrible death of a book were, I read the words that confirmed my Mary Sue suspicions in the "From the Author" section: "This novel holds a special place in my heart, since the main character, Serenity, experiences many of the same feelings I did when I first moved to England from Canada. Everything seemed so different and strange, yet exciting -- a whole new world of potential opening up. Like Serenity, I also worked as a receptionist in a place where London's wealthy women flocked for Botox, and I couldn't help being shocked at the amount of money they shelled out each visit." She openly admits to the Mary-Sue-dom of the story, and is completely unapologetic about it, even going on to say that she identifies with the character's feelings. Hello!! You wrote the damn thing! Of course you identify with it! This book is entirely predictable. Of course she's going to get the guy in the end. She's the book heroine. It doesn't matter that she wrote a story about him without his knowledge, or that she made him a laughing stock, or that because he went under the knife, (despite having serious reservations on the day of the surgery) he wound up having some brain damage. None of that matters, because they love each other and love will out in the end. Oh yes. That she lied to him through most of their existence together is no big deal, right? Ugh. And somehow, this book actually got a sequel. So not even bothering! DO NOT waste your time on this pile of horse manure unless you're only out for annoying protagonists who wound up getting a happy ending, no matter how horrible a person she is, or if you're looking for the stupidest, most predictable plot line that hundreds of romance writers have followed for decades. SKIP IT!
Book 57 of 70
Pages: 308, read as an e-book
Genre: chick lit, romance
Grade: F-
Would I Recommend?: No. Don't even waste the download time when the book is free. Seriously. Don't bother.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
When Girlfriends Break Hearts (Savannah Page)
A quick note to those few readers that I've got:
First, thanks! I appreciate you checking out the blog! I've noticed that there tends to be a lot of traffic on Saturdays, so going forward, please keep an eye out for posts on SATURDAYS at 12pm Eastern Standard Time. (That's -5 hours from GMT, for anyone who doesn't know.) This will be the final Sunday post. Thanks for your time, and for reading this silly little blog!
On to the good stuff!
Summary:
Sophie's whole world crumbles one day when she finds out that her boyfriend of several years cheated on her. What's worse, he cheated with one of her dearest friends. The boyfriend breaks up with her saying that he just doesn't love her anymore. She can't except that, and presses for a real answer, and learns of the affair. Worse than the affair itself is that another dear friend knew the whole time and kept the secret because she was closer to the cheater friend than Sophie. Sophie has to deal with her crumbling world, and get over her heartbreak over two friends' deceptions.
Thoughts:
Not great. It's all about a woman's bond with her dearest friends, and comes around to the female version of "bros before hos." Sophie has to get herself to a place where she can accept that the affair happened, and try to mend herself enough that she might be able to mend fences with the friends that hurt her so deeply. She couldn't care less about the boyfriend. It's her besties that hurt her more for lying about the whole thing. She's stuck in a bitter, unforgiving place. If I were in her shoes, I'd probably be stuck for a lot longer than she was, but I've been known to hold grudges for a very, very long time. If the writing were a little better, I wouldn't have minded the story so much. But it's not great. It's boring, and the story drags. I have a very hard time putting a book down for good without finishing it, and I plodded through this one, but it was a chore. Reading to me is a release, a joyful and happy experience where I get to see more of the world around me, and not just the tiny little corner that I know. This book made reading feel like a homework assignment. Not worth the several weeks this took me to finish it, or even the thirty seconds of download time it took me to get the book. (I downloaded it when it was free, as it still is as of this writing.)
Book 56 of 70
Pages: 251 read as an e-book
Genre: chicklit
Grade: D-
Would I Recommend?: Bland. Don't bother.
Sophie's whole world crumbles one day when she finds out that her boyfriend of several years cheated on her. What's worse, he cheated with one of her dearest friends. The boyfriend breaks up with her saying that he just doesn't love her anymore. She can't except that, and presses for a real answer, and learns of the affair. Worse than the affair itself is that another dear friend knew the whole time and kept the secret because she was closer to the cheater friend than Sophie. Sophie has to deal with her crumbling world, and get over her heartbreak over two friends' deceptions.
Thoughts:
Not great. It's all about a woman's bond with her dearest friends, and comes around to the female version of "bros before hos." Sophie has to get herself to a place where she can accept that the affair happened, and try to mend herself enough that she might be able to mend fences with the friends that hurt her so deeply. She couldn't care less about the boyfriend. It's her besties that hurt her more for lying about the whole thing. She's stuck in a bitter, unforgiving place. If I were in her shoes, I'd probably be stuck for a lot longer than she was, but I've been known to hold grudges for a very, very long time. If the writing were a little better, I wouldn't have minded the story so much. But it's not great. It's boring, and the story drags. I have a very hard time putting a book down for good without finishing it, and I plodded through this one, but it was a chore. Reading to me is a release, a joyful and happy experience where I get to see more of the world around me, and not just the tiny little corner that I know. This book made reading feel like a homework assignment. Not worth the several weeks this took me to finish it, or even the thirty seconds of download time it took me to get the book. (I downloaded it when it was free, as it still is as of this writing.)
Book 56 of 70
Pages: 251 read as an e-book
Genre: chicklit
Grade: D-
Would I Recommend?: Bland. Don't bother.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Insatiable (Meg Cabot)
Summary:
Meena is a script writer for a very popular soap opera, Insatiable. She's all set to fight for a promotion, when her arch rival shows up already having gotten the promotion, and is taking the show in an impossibly horrible direction. She's going to add vampires, which are, of course, all the rage right now. Her show is about to start a vampire war with their rival show Lust, and Meena thinks the whole thing is stupid. Meena is upset, and feeling downtrodden. But after a early morning (read: 4am) walk with her dog that resulted in a bat attack against her and a handsome stranger, though, things start looking up. The only problem is that Meena doesn't realize she's stepped into a real-life vampire war, and her knight-in-shining-armor is right at the center. Oh, and Meena knows how everyone's lives will end. She's magic like that.
Thoughts:
Anyone that has read anything from me over the last few years knows that I am hopelessly in love with Meg Cabot's writing. This was no exception. Granted, I'm starting to get sick of the vampire wars as much as the next girl. (I still maintain that they don't effing sparkle, and they never will. Dumb books.) But this was a nice twist on the norm. Sure, Meena falls for a vampire and has ridiculously hot sex with him, but she hates the idea of it, and wishes she never heard the word "vampire." She at least isn't crazy in love with the idea of living forever, and doesn't want to die to be able to do so. Cabot's writing was flawless, as usual, though the subject matter was bordering on cliche at this point. The ending left things far too wide-open for my taste, but I'll give her a pass, because I love her so much. Also, there's apparently a second book in the series too. (Shocker, with that ending.) Don't worry, I won't jump on it yet. You do know what a sucker I am for a series, though!
Book 32 of 50
Pages: 464 pages, read as an e-book
Genre: Fantasy, romance, and vampires
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: If you're into vampires, sure. If you like Meg Cabot, sure. If you like a fairly good romance novel, sure. Otherwise, it's not a must-read.
Meena is a script writer for a very popular soap opera, Insatiable. She's all set to fight for a promotion, when her arch rival shows up already having gotten the promotion, and is taking the show in an impossibly horrible direction. She's going to add vampires, which are, of course, all the rage right now. Her show is about to start a vampire war with their rival show Lust, and Meena thinks the whole thing is stupid. Meena is upset, and feeling downtrodden. But after a early morning (read: 4am) walk with her dog that resulted in a bat attack against her and a handsome stranger, though, things start looking up. The only problem is that Meena doesn't realize she's stepped into a real-life vampire war, and her knight-in-shining-armor is right at the center. Oh, and Meena knows how everyone's lives will end. She's magic like that.
Thoughts:
Anyone that has read anything from me over the last few years knows that I am hopelessly in love with Meg Cabot's writing. This was no exception. Granted, I'm starting to get sick of the vampire wars as much as the next girl. (I still maintain that they don't effing sparkle, and they never will. Dumb books.) But this was a nice twist on the norm. Sure, Meena falls for a vampire and has ridiculously hot sex with him, but she hates the idea of it, and wishes she never heard the word "vampire." She at least isn't crazy in love with the idea of living forever, and doesn't want to die to be able to do so. Cabot's writing was flawless, as usual, though the subject matter was bordering on cliche at this point. The ending left things far too wide-open for my taste, but I'll give her a pass, because I love her so much. Also, there's apparently a second book in the series too. (Shocker, with that ending.) Don't worry, I won't jump on it yet. You do know what a sucker I am for a series, though!
Book 32 of 50
Pages: 464 pages, read as an e-book
Genre: Fantasy, romance, and vampires
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: If you're into vampires, sure. If you like Meg Cabot, sure. If you like a fairly good romance novel, sure. Otherwise, it's not a must-read.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
The Rock Star's Daughter (Caitlyn Duffy)
Summary:
Taylor is a fifteen year old girl, with a partying mom and a rock star dad, who goes to a boarding school. The summer before she turns sixteen, her mother dies and she's forced to go on the road with her father, who she has only met twice before. The book follows Taylor as she deals with the loss of her mother and builds a relationship with her father, her father's wife, and the rest of the band, the crew, and the roadies. She's got a lot of learning to do.
Thoughts:
Taylor's an inexperienced girl in many ways, not the least of which being her never having been disciplined by an adult. She's had to raise herself, which puts her in an awkward place when she realizes that there should actually be rules to follow, even when you're a teenager. Taylor is naive, and very young-for-her-age, despite having to help her mother get through life too. The summer romance bits are thin and not very well done. She "falls in love" after three brief encounters with a cute boy. Sure, I was a teenage girl once too, but really? In any case, the book isn't all that well-written, and Caitlyn Duffy writes like she's just starting out as a writer (which, by reading the Author's Bio on the last page, she apparently is). I would say skip this unless you can get it free as a Kindle book, like I did, and don't have to shell out anything for it. Otherwise, save your time. I had to push my way through the last few chapters because I just wanted to move on to something else. My attention wasn't held at all. I won't be continuing this series, most especially because it seems Duffy will be writing about different girls that all go to the same school, instead of continuing with the same life she's already built. That's not my favorite kind of series, let me tell you.
Book 31 of 50
Pages: 319 read as an e-book
Genre: Teenlit
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Meh, only if you can get it free, and have NOTHING else to read. Otherwise, not worth the bother.
Taylor is a fifteen year old girl, with a partying mom and a rock star dad, who goes to a boarding school. The summer before she turns sixteen, her mother dies and she's forced to go on the road with her father, who she has only met twice before. The book follows Taylor as she deals with the loss of her mother and builds a relationship with her father, her father's wife, and the rest of the band, the crew, and the roadies. She's got a lot of learning to do.
Thoughts:
Taylor's an inexperienced girl in many ways, not the least of which being her never having been disciplined by an adult. She's had to raise herself, which puts her in an awkward place when she realizes that there should actually be rules to follow, even when you're a teenager. Taylor is naive, and very young-for-her-age, despite having to help her mother get through life too. The summer romance bits are thin and not very well done. She "falls in love" after three brief encounters with a cute boy. Sure, I was a teenage girl once too, but really? In any case, the book isn't all that well-written, and Caitlyn Duffy writes like she's just starting out as a writer (which, by reading the Author's Bio on the last page, she apparently is). I would say skip this unless you can get it free as a Kindle book, like I did, and don't have to shell out anything for it. Otherwise, save your time. I had to push my way through the last few chapters because I just wanted to move on to something else. My attention wasn't held at all. I won't be continuing this series, most especially because it seems Duffy will be writing about different girls that all go to the same school, instead of continuing with the same life she's already built. That's not my favorite kind of series, let me tell you.
Book 31 of 50
Pages: 319 read as an e-book
Genre: Teenlit
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Meh, only if you can get it free, and have NOTHING else to read. Otherwise, not worth the bother.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
The Spy Who Left Me (Gina Robinson)
Summary:
Treflee Miller (yes, that's her name, though her given name is "Elizabeth." Go figure!) is an almost-divorcee who wants nothing more than to help her cousin through what should have been the happiest time in her life and is turning out to be one of the toughest. Carrie, Treflee's cousin, has left her groom a few days before the wedding, and has decided to take the honeymoon trip with her former bridesmaids instead. Treflee expects a calm, relaxing trip to Hawaii. Instead she finds her spy husband, who she is desperately trying to divorce, on an undercover assignment. Ty wants anything but a divorce, and is trying to figure out why his wife went from wanting to jump his bones every time he came home to the coldest ice queen ever. Treflee gets wrapped into the spy game, making a deal with Ty that she'll help him get the bad guys in exchange for his signature on the divorce paperwork, while Ty tries his damnedest to win back her heart.
Thoughts:
Not bad. The writing could surely be worse. It's a fun romp through a spy's world as he fights to hold on to his wife. Treflee keeps a secret from Ty (she had a miscarriage while he was on his last mission and never told him!) and blames him for not being there for her. I hate to say it, Tref, but it's absolutely your fault sweetie. The spy bits are interesting, though the bad guys' organization names are stupid. (Revolutionary International Organization of Terrorists, or RIOT, and the Fuk Ching. Really, Ms. Robinson? Really?) The main characters' names are ridiculous. But the storyline and the writing otherwise is fairly good. It's a good going-on-vacation book. (I say this because I read it while on vacation myself!) Go for it. It's a fun little read, and it goes really quickly.
Book 30 of 50
Pages: 352 read as an e-book
Genre: Romance, with a side of mystery.
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure. It's light, and addictive, and apparently it's the start of a series. (Music to all your ears, right? Another series for me to read through!)
Treflee Miller (yes, that's her name, though her given name is "Elizabeth." Go figure!) is an almost-divorcee who wants nothing more than to help her cousin through what should have been the happiest time in her life and is turning out to be one of the toughest. Carrie, Treflee's cousin, has left her groom a few days before the wedding, and has decided to take the honeymoon trip with her former bridesmaids instead. Treflee expects a calm, relaxing trip to Hawaii. Instead she finds her spy husband, who she is desperately trying to divorce, on an undercover assignment. Ty wants anything but a divorce, and is trying to figure out why his wife went from wanting to jump his bones every time he came home to the coldest ice queen ever. Treflee gets wrapped into the spy game, making a deal with Ty that she'll help him get the bad guys in exchange for his signature on the divorce paperwork, while Ty tries his damnedest to win back her heart.
Thoughts:
Not bad. The writing could surely be worse. It's a fun romp through a spy's world as he fights to hold on to his wife. Treflee keeps a secret from Ty (she had a miscarriage while he was on his last mission and never told him!) and blames him for not being there for her. I hate to say it, Tref, but it's absolutely your fault sweetie. The spy bits are interesting, though the bad guys' organization names are stupid. (Revolutionary International Organization of Terrorists, or RIOT, and the Fuk Ching. Really, Ms. Robinson? Really?) The main characters' names are ridiculous. But the storyline and the writing otherwise is fairly good. It's a good going-on-vacation book. (I say this because I read it while on vacation myself!) Go for it. It's a fun little read, and it goes really quickly.
Book 30 of 50
Pages: 352 read as an e-book
Genre: Romance, with a side of mystery.
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure. It's light, and addictive, and apparently it's the start of a series. (Music to all your ears, right? Another series for me to read through!)
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
Another special post, since this series is so popular right now!
Summary:
The second in the ridiculously popular Hunger Games series, this episode finds Katniss dealing with the aftermath of her victory at the Games. She has to deal with how she feels about Peeta, her fellow victor, and Gale, the boy she left home while she played up a love story for the Hunger Games cameras. But much more importantly, the country of Panem is reeling after Katniss defied the Capitol with her ending of the Games. There are uprisings threatening in several districts, and President Snow, president of Panem, forces Katniss to play up the romance between herself and Peeta once again during the Victor's Tour. But what happens just before the next Hunger Games sends Katniss into a tailspin, and she's got a whole new set of worries to deal with.
Thoughts:
First things first, I'm trying to not spoil anything from the original book or this one. It's tough, but enough people haven't gotten there that want to read the books. So I'll do my best. Now, I hate how this book ends. It is abrupt and very clearly a ploy to get readers to pick up the next book tomorrow. I despise authors who find the need to do this. If your book is interesting enough, or thrilling or endearing or enjoyable or imaginative enough, people will go get the sequel. Take Evanovich and Rowling for example. There are clearly defined endings with their work. Harry finishes year one. Stephanie brings her big score in and solves the case. In this book, Katniss barely clings to life, and the book ends. There are at least half a dozen major, disgustingly wide open plot holes that have yet to be looked at, let alone sewn up. At least with the original, The Hunger Games, there was a clear finality to the end of the book. This book ends with a shocking declaration. Are you kidding? I digress. I really enjoyed the book. It's thrilling and inventive, and I couldn't put the damn thing down, just like its predecessor. I couldn't wait to see how things played out. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book, and I liked it like that. The writing is good (save the ridiculously abrupt ending) and the characters are well built. But damn, girl. End a book with an ending, not a middle.
Book 26 of 50
Pages: 391, read as an e-book
Genre: Post-apocalyptic teen-lit
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend?: Yes. Read the first one, because everything in this hinges on what happened in the first book. But yes. It's a great book. Read it.
The second in the ridiculously popular Hunger Games series, this episode finds Katniss dealing with the aftermath of her victory at the Games. She has to deal with how she feels about Peeta, her fellow victor, and Gale, the boy she left home while she played up a love story for the Hunger Games cameras. But much more importantly, the country of Panem is reeling after Katniss defied the Capitol with her ending of the Games. There are uprisings threatening in several districts, and President Snow, president of Panem, forces Katniss to play up the romance between herself and Peeta once again during the Victor's Tour. But what happens just before the next Hunger Games sends Katniss into a tailspin, and she's got a whole new set of worries to deal with.
Thoughts:
First things first, I'm trying to not spoil anything from the original book or this one. It's tough, but enough people haven't gotten there that want to read the books. So I'll do my best. Now, I hate how this book ends. It is abrupt and very clearly a ploy to get readers to pick up the next book tomorrow. I despise authors who find the need to do this. If your book is interesting enough, or thrilling or endearing or enjoyable or imaginative enough, people will go get the sequel. Take Evanovich and Rowling for example. There are clearly defined endings with their work. Harry finishes year one. Stephanie brings her big score in and solves the case. In this book, Katniss barely clings to life, and the book ends. There are at least half a dozen major, disgustingly wide open plot holes that have yet to be looked at, let alone sewn up. At least with the original, The Hunger Games, there was a clear finality to the end of the book. This book ends with a shocking declaration. Are you kidding? I digress. I really enjoyed the book. It's thrilling and inventive, and I couldn't put the damn thing down, just like its predecessor. I couldn't wait to see how things played out. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book, and I liked it like that. The writing is good (save the ridiculously abrupt ending) and the characters are well built. But damn, girl. End a book with an ending, not a middle.
Book 26 of 50
Pages: 391, read as an e-book
Genre: Post-apocalyptic teen-lit
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend?: Yes. Read the first one, because everything in this hinges on what happened in the first book. But yes. It's a great book. Read it.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
A Touch of Greek (Tina Folsom)
Summary:
Triton is a philandering minor God, sprung from Olympus with spectacular good looks, a smokin' hot bod, and the arrogance to go with it. He can and will sleep with anything with breath and boobs. He even beds Zeus's current mistress, which leads to all kinds of trouble. His punishment, he is banished to the mortal world and must find a woman who will fall in love with him, not for his good looks, but his selflessness and kindness. Triton's in deep crap. Sophia's aunt, who raised her and her cousin Michael, has just passed away, and she is the sole benefactor of her aunt's will, thanks to Michael's conniving, cheating, stealing ways. She's trying to refurbish the house and turn it into a bed and breakfast, so that she won't be swept away by the taxes on her inheritance, and Michael's doing everything to stop it, and take what he believes he's owed. An unfortunate accident leaves Sophia nearly blind, and facing hardship upon hardship when Triton comes to her, ready to help and gain her love. Little do they both know, there's all kinds of peril waiting for them at every turn.
Thoughts:
Really good. It's absolutely classic romance novel formula, of course. But the writing is good, and the details are interesting. I was rooting for them both the whole way through, even if I did know what was going to happen in the end. The writing was good enough that you can ignore the "holy crap, so predictable" and move on to the "aww, what are they going to do next" of it all. I can't say it's the best I've ever read, but it's definitely not the worst. Added bonus is the Greek mythology angle, which will usually hook me right off. It does get fairly racy, and Triton often (especially at the beginning) can't stop thinking about his (ahem) trident. (Har har.) But it's not so much to be off-putting. There's more books in the series, though it apparently focuses on Dionysus not Triton, but I'll probably check it out anyway. I read this one on the Kindle, but it is also available in hard copy.
Book 14 of 50
Pages:221 according to Kindle (the last 5-10 pages were a "sneak peak"), 228 according to Amazon's page
Genre:romance, with a touch of Greek mythology
Grade:B+
Would I Recommend?:Sure, it's a fun romp in the hay.
Triton is a philandering minor God, sprung from Olympus with spectacular good looks, a smokin' hot bod, and the arrogance to go with it. He can and will sleep with anything with breath and boobs. He even beds Zeus's current mistress, which leads to all kinds of trouble. His punishment, he is banished to the mortal world and must find a woman who will fall in love with him, not for his good looks, but his selflessness and kindness. Triton's in deep crap. Sophia's aunt, who raised her and her cousin Michael, has just passed away, and she is the sole benefactor of her aunt's will, thanks to Michael's conniving, cheating, stealing ways. She's trying to refurbish the house and turn it into a bed and breakfast, so that she won't be swept away by the taxes on her inheritance, and Michael's doing everything to stop it, and take what he believes he's owed. An unfortunate accident leaves Sophia nearly blind, and facing hardship upon hardship when Triton comes to her, ready to help and gain her love. Little do they both know, there's all kinds of peril waiting for them at every turn.
Thoughts:
Really good. It's absolutely classic romance novel formula, of course. But the writing is good, and the details are interesting. I was rooting for them both the whole way through, even if I did know what was going to happen in the end. The writing was good enough that you can ignore the "holy crap, so predictable" and move on to the "aww, what are they going to do next" of it all. I can't say it's the best I've ever read, but it's definitely not the worst. Added bonus is the Greek mythology angle, which will usually hook me right off. It does get fairly racy, and Triton often (especially at the beginning) can't stop thinking about his (ahem) trident. (Har har.) But it's not so much to be off-putting. There's more books in the series, though it apparently focuses on Dionysus not Triton, but I'll probably check it out anyway. I read this one on the Kindle, but it is also available in hard copy.
Book 14 of 50
Pages:221 according to Kindle (the last 5-10 pages were a "sneak peak"), 228 according to Amazon's page
Genre:romance, with a touch of Greek mythology
Grade:B+
Would I Recommend?:Sure, it's a fun romp in the hay.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Witness to Death (Dave White)
Summary:
John's just a regular guy. He suspects that the man his ex, Michelle, is dating might be cheating on her. John's suspicions lead him down a road he wasn't expecting. Michelle's honey knows his way around guns, can fight better than Tyson and Holyfield and Bond combined, and can distract cops so easily, you'd think he was using the Force. The novel follows John, and Michelle's new guy, Frank (or is it Peter??) as they get to the bottom of a plot to kill them. There are shootings, deaths, and even an explosion or two.
Thoughts:
Awesome as usual. Before I go on, I should say that I am privileged enough to know the author. He's family. However, that does NOT mean that I treat his novels with kid gloves compared to the other stuff I've read. Sure, it might make Dave feel good, but if those three of you that actually read this blog (ha.) decided to pick up a Dave White novel based on my say-so, and find it to be a roiling pile of crap, you'd probably run screaming for the hills and my readership would be down to, well, nothing at all.
So now on to the review. I honestly love White's writing style. It helps that he's based in Northern Jersey, and so are his characters, and that's my current section of the world as well. The blunt but humorous descriptions and observations of White's characters bring them closer to reality for me because I see the world in a similar way. As we the reader follow John the teacher through these escapades of his, we feel for the guy, and really care about him as if he's the chatty neighbor who you'll be talking to about his kids tomorrow on your way out your respective doors. With most mystery writers, I can predict the exact angle and trajectory of the next shoe's drop before it's dropped but, with White, you never can tell. I usually catch up with where the plot's going to go about three sentences before it goes there. He packs so many twists into a single book, you feel like you're on the world's longest roller coaster, and believe me, there's always a final drop out of no where before you roll back into the station. The last drop in this one comes in the chapter that's usually the epilogue-like one, where we the readers finally relax and think everything's all finished. Literally, a Chekov's Gun scene comes out of nowhere, and I still (after having finished this a couple days ago) can't believe the ending. Trust me when I tell you, Dave White's got a knack for the drama, and I enjoy the hell out of every one of his books.
Side note: This book is not available in paper form. It's an eReader only one. I was hesitant about it, because I like the solid, tangible books in hand, but because it's White, I downloaded the book, and I am not sorry. Pick it up. It's worth the megabytes.
Book 31 of 50
Pages: Unspecified, eReader book
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely, and not just because he's family. Two good reasons you should download this: 1, it's effing GOOD, and 2, it's only $0.99. Come on. Writing this good is a steal at any price, but at under a dollar, will you really feel gypped? Doubtful.
John's just a regular guy. He suspects that the man his ex, Michelle, is dating might be cheating on her. John's suspicions lead him down a road he wasn't expecting. Michelle's honey knows his way around guns, can fight better than Tyson and Holyfield and Bond combined, and can distract cops so easily, you'd think he was using the Force. The novel follows John, and Michelle's new guy, Frank (or is it Peter??) as they get to the bottom of a plot to kill them. There are shootings, deaths, and even an explosion or two.
Thoughts:
Awesome as usual. Before I go on, I should say that I am privileged enough to know the author. He's family. However, that does NOT mean that I treat his novels with kid gloves compared to the other stuff I've read. Sure, it might make Dave feel good, but if those three of you that actually read this blog (ha.) decided to pick up a Dave White novel based on my say-so, and find it to be a roiling pile of crap, you'd probably run screaming for the hills and my readership would be down to, well, nothing at all.
So now on to the review. I honestly love White's writing style. It helps that he's based in Northern Jersey, and so are his characters, and that's my current section of the world as well. The blunt but humorous descriptions and observations of White's characters bring them closer to reality for me because I see the world in a similar way. As we the reader follow John the teacher through these escapades of his, we feel for the guy, and really care about him as if he's the chatty neighbor who you'll be talking to about his kids tomorrow on your way out your respective doors. With most mystery writers, I can predict the exact angle and trajectory of the next shoe's drop before it's dropped but, with White, you never can tell. I usually catch up with where the plot's going to go about three sentences before it goes there. He packs so many twists into a single book, you feel like you're on the world's longest roller coaster, and believe me, there's always a final drop out of no where before you roll back into the station. The last drop in this one comes in the chapter that's usually the epilogue-like one, where we the readers finally relax and think everything's all finished. Literally, a Chekov's Gun scene comes out of nowhere, and I still (after having finished this a couple days ago) can't believe the ending. Trust me when I tell you, Dave White's got a knack for the drama, and I enjoy the hell out of every one of his books.
Side note: This book is not available in paper form. It's an eReader only one. I was hesitant about it, because I like the solid, tangible books in hand, but because it's White, I downloaded the book, and I am not sorry. Pick it up. It's worth the megabytes.
Book 31 of 50
Pages: Unspecified, eReader book
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely, and not just because he's family. Two good reasons you should download this: 1, it's effing GOOD, and 2, it's only $0.99. Come on. Writing this good is a steal at any price, but at under a dollar, will you really feel gypped? Doubtful.
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