tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62665152525949752252024-03-13T18:03:36.723-04:00Pop Culture BreakdownBooks, movies, TV . . . Nothing is safeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.comBlogger1249125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-60808605785439258152016-03-08T09:30:00.000-05:002016-03-08T09:30:12.526-05:00The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>The Iron Knight</i> by Julie Kagawa</b>
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2011, Harlequin TEEN
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<a href="http://juliekagawa.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/jkagawa">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Julie-Kagawa-author/252661891438654">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9659607-the-iron-knight">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/24zNJnb">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i>
To cold faery prince
Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a
horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might
have had. Or so he thought.<br />
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<span id="freeText9936141068343709852">Then Meghan Chase - a half human, half
fey slip of a girl - smashed through his barricades, binding him to her
irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery
nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life.
Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer
fey can survive.<br /> </span><br />
<span id="freeText9936141068343709852">With the unwelcome company of his archrival,
Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin,
Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end - a quest to
find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.<br /> </span><br />
<span id="freeText9936141068343709852">To survive
in the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests
he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way Ash
learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his
darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than
courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Ash in the forefront. Ash and Puck, traveling together. Ash and Puck dealing with their shared past and current situation with Meghan being a distant character, unable to get involved in the boys issues. I loved the trek, the challenges Ash had to face, everything that lead back to Meghan. Everything, except . . . <br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>There is a significant problem with the resolution Ash's major issue in this book. He wants a soul. He must earn a soul, as he is fey and they don't have souls. Souls are a purely human thing. The fey DO NOT have souls. Therefore, Kagawa's plan on how Ash obtains a soul is impossible. Without giving anything away, all I can say is it does not work. You can't say fey's don't have souls of there own and then go the route the author went here. I don't know, maybe she didn't realize went against everything she had previously stated. Or maybe she meant for some exception to that rule. Either way, it kills the power behind stating that souls are not something the fey possess. You can't have it both ways and it absolutely ruined a perfect book for me.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-85387545827253481442016-03-07T09:30:00.000-05:002016-03-07T09:30:12.454-05:00Stardust by Neil Gaiman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Stardust</i> by Neil Gaiman</b></div>
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1999, William Morrow Paperbacks
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<a href="http://www.neilgaiman.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/neilhimself">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16793.Stardust">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1TnVGqo">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText607166594742865421">Hopelessly crossed in
love, a boy of half-fairy parentage leaves his mundane Victorian-English
village on a quest for a fallen star in the magical realm. The star
proves to be an attractive woman with a hot temper, who plunges with our
hero into adventures featuring witches, the lion and the unicorn,
plotting elf-lords, ships that sail the sky, magical transformations,
curses whose effects rebound, binding conditions with hidden loopholes
and all the rest.</span>
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>I haven't enjoyed Gaiman's books as of late. I've enjoyed a few, but on the whole, I tend to hate his stories. I went into Stardust with nothing short of dread in my heart. I dragged my feet the whole way into this book, pushing it off time and again. Turns out, I didn't hate it. It's a fun, lightly written, fairy tale full of dark things. Decent characters and an easy to follow plot made the book very readable and not worthy of the near insurmountable hesitation on my part.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>Who does Gaiman write these books for? Books like Stardust and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, I mean. They're obviously children's stories, with their basic vocabulary and fairy tale/fable/moral story vibe. They're even presented as such, with big fonts and widely spaced letters. Except the situations faced soon turn darker than your average third graders taste. They're clearly written for adults, but adults with limited vocabularies and bad vision? It bugged me the entire time I read Stardust.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-42476053658335177342016-03-04T09:30:00.000-05:002016-03-04T09:30:06.791-05:00Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Bridget Jones's Diary</i> by Helen Fielding</b></div>
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1999, Penguin Books</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/227443.Bridget_Jones_s_Diary">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1KVhk3O">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText17248362028186302895"><strong>Meet Bridget Jones—</strong>a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could:</span><br />
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a. lose 7 pounds<br />b. stop smoking<br />c. develop Inner Poise</blockquote>
<br />"123
lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night?
Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier?
Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes
21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery
numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)..."<br /><br /><em>Bridget Jones' Diary</em>
is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of
Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement — a year in which
she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches,
visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a
functional relationship with a responsible adult, and learn to program
the VCR.<br /><br />Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72
pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic.
Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and — like
millions of readers the world round — you'll find yourself shouting,
"Bridget Jones is me!"<br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Bridget Jones, as a person, was awkward - well before awkward was something people celebrated in TV shows and internet memes. It was humorous at times.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>It is really, really hard to feel Bridget's pain when her pain revolves around being 120ish pounds and the size of her couldn't-possibly-be-all-that-large thighs. Her issues do eventually move past these trivial things and turn to focus on her love life, which is just plain sad. Completely textbook choices of the whiny girl in her twenties. The fact that it was playing out in her 30s, when she should clearly know better, is more pathetic than anything else. Bridget's issues are all in her own mind and of her own doing. At least the movie managed to make it seem charming more often than not.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-79618438178975319232016-03-03T09:30:00.000-05:002016-03-03T09:30:08.035-05:00Red, White, and Blood by Christopher Farnsworth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Red, White and Blood</i> by Christopher Farnsworth</b>
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2012, Putnam Adult</div>
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Series: Book 3 of Nathaniel Cade</div>
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<a href="http://chrisfarnsworth.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/chrisfarnsworth">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChrisFarnsworth">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12695591-red-white-and-blood">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/20Q9zn9">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i><span id="freeText14438669260126366077"><b> </b></span><span id="freeText15256891452118766610"><strong>The Presidential Campaign Trail, 2012: </strong>A
political operative and a volunteer are brutally murdered while caught
in a compromising position. Written in their blood on the wall of the
crime scene: IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK.<br /><br />And with that, a centuries-old
horror known only as the Boogeyman returns to taunt Nathaniel Cade, the
President’s Vampire. Against the backdrop of the 2012 presidential
race, with the threat of constant exposure by the media, Cade and Zach
must stop the one monster Cade has never been able to defeat completely.
And they must do it before the Boogeyman adds another victim to his
long and bloody list: the President of the United States himself.</span><span id="freeText1750148369914770299"><i></i></span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>This book was crazy good, between Zach's personal life and the big evil that has risen again. Seeing the president on the road, campaigning for reelection, with Zach and Cade at his back for protection was really fun. The Boogeyman is a high concept villain that really works well, both here in the story and as a mythology that could work on its own in the world, explaining all the supernatural evil we've seen in movies and books. I can't even put into words my reaction to the end of this book. It was, just, wow. It's actually frightening what may come in the next book.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>Someone returns from the dead and it's unnecessary. They become central to a plot that could have been managed without them. In an effort to explain how they are alive, there are some weird twists that do nothing but bog down the current story. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-83674475656942401182016-03-02T09:30:00.000-05:002016-03-02T09:30:12.161-05:00Fables, Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i> Storybook Love</i> by Bill Willingham</b></div>
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2004, Vertigo
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Series: Book 3 of Fables</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/BillWillingham">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21329.Fables_Vol_3">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1RtDI5O">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText8255466601298715955">In the Fables' world,
there isn't a lot of happily-ever-after to go around. As refugees from
the lands of make-believe, the Fables have been driven from their
storybook realms and forced to blend in with our gritty, mundane
reality.<br /><br />But that doesn't mean they don't have any room for
romance—or the pain, betrayal and jealous rage that go along with it. In
fact, love may be blooming between two of the most hard-bitten,
no-nonsense Fables around. But are they destined for happiness— or a
quick and untimely death?</span>
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>A couple of really interesting story lines going on, with the four separate stories told as a collection instead of an ongoing story. I always love Bigby and Snow working together and this volume spends some real quality time with them. We get to see a lot of Bluebird, and while not a fun character to follow, it certainly is revealing. Both Jack's and the Lilliputians' stories are flashbacks, giving a great look at the histories of these characters.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>There seems to be a sad case of "one step forward, two steps back" going on here that I rather wish the author had decided against.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-27183791395483355762016-03-01T09:30:00.000-05:002016-03-01T09:30:45.794-05:00Perfectly Matched by Heather Webber<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Perfectly Matched</i> by Heather Webber</b></div>
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2012, Blue Dandelion Press<br />
Series: Book 4 of Lucy Valentine</div>
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<a href="http://www.heatherwebber.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/BooksbyHeather">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/heatherwebberbooks">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13624014-perfectly-matched">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1QrMkVq">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis: </b></i><span id="freeText8074375768864424721">The heat is on...<br /><br />
When Boston psychic Lucy Valentine finds herself involved in a group of
eccentric psychics trying to learn more about their abilities, she is
convinced a rare spring heat wave has flushed the crazies out of hiding.<br /><br />
Adding to her theory is her newest client in the Lost Loves division of
Valentine, Inc., her family’s lucrative matchmaking firm. He’s an
animal communicator who hires Lucy to find his purrfect mate—because his
cat told him so.<br /><br /> But craziest of all is The Beantown Burner, a
serial arsonist who is targeting private eye Sam Donahue, the brother of
Lucy’s boyfriend, Sean. With the help of her kooky psychic group, Lucy
must tap into abilities she didn’t know she had to catch the firebug
before the fires turn deadly. What she never expected to discover is
that the motive behind the flames hits a little too close to home...and
her heart.</span><span id="freeText6737120503095326775"></span> <br />
<span id="freeText11095468764791795369"></span><br />
<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Things have never been so dangerous for Lucy and her loved ones. This was a super quick, totally engaging read. I couldn't put it down. My favorite in the series. Every detail was important and the plot was very fast paced. I felt Lucy's fear throughout the book. The book wrapped the entire series up so nicely that I believed it to be the last in the series, until that final chapter threw me through a loop. Looks like we'll be getting more Lucy Valentine in the future, with a much better handle on her powers. I couldn't ask for better news.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>Not a thing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-33403457136523592612016-02-29T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-29T09:30:04.763-05:00Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Fifty Shades Darker</i> by E. L. James</b></div>
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2011, The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House<br />
Series: Book 2 of Fifty Shades </div>
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<a href="http://www.eljamesauthor.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/e_l_james">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ELJamesAuthor">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11857408-fifty-shades-darker">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/23Vn6J3">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis: </b></i><span id="freeText6737120503095326775">Daunted by the singular
sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young
entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their
relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.<br /><br />But
desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when
he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle
their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the
harrowing past of her damaged, driven, and demanding Fifty Shades.<br /><br />While
Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront her
anger and envy of the women who came before her and make the most
important decision of her life.</span> <br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>I would love to just bash this book completely and be done with it, but one cannot ignore the popularity of the series. For all their flaws, people love these books. That leads to opening up minds in regards to sexuality that just wouldn't be exposed to anything more than vanilla their entire lives. That can't be all bad.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>So annoyingly repetitive.<i><b> </b></i>This is not good writing, never mind good editing. If Ana referred to her "inner goddess" one more time, I was going to throw the book across the room. "Holy cow" is not a sexy term, yet Ana overuses it in all sorts of situations, even ones that should have been immediately shut down by the phrase. Christian's over use of "Fair point well made" makes one wonder how all these supposedly intelligent adults manage to get by on such limited vocabularies. Ana's repeated references to Christian's psychiatrist is over-the-top offensive. His mental health often reduced to either a joke or a way for Ana to point out his flaws.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-41950115937013274062016-02-26T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-26T09:30:08.507-05:00My Favorite Witch by Lisa Plumley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i> My Favorite Witch</i> by Lisa Plumley</b></div>
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2009, Zebra</div>
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<a href="https://lisaplumley.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/LisaPlumley">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lisaplumleybooks">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6520263-my-favorite-witch">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1oldM0G">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> Dayna Sterling's always been betwixt and between. Born in a desert
town populated by witches and blissfully ignorant humans, Dayna had
magic, but no clue how to handle it. So she left to forge a workaday
life among ordinary Joes. Which is fine, really--until the day one most
extraordinary Joe turns everything upside down...<br />
<br />
The assignment
is simple. Trace the runaway witch; bring her home for compulsory
"cusping" training. So why does Dayna set T.J. McAllister's half-warlock
blood buzzing? Maybe it's the bonding spell that spontaneously connects
them. Or the fact that T.J.'s powers go wonky whenever he's around
Dayna. In any case, the attraction is making it damn hard for T.J. to
accomplish his most important mission: prevent a dangerous uprising by
locating a powerful witch prophesied to help him. She could be anywhere.
She could be closer than he thinks...<br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>The idea of magic classes for witches coming into their power is always a win for me, especially twisting it so that the real power doesn't show up until the women are 30.<br />
<br />
<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>Lust masquerading as love. T.J.'s blatant stalking of Dayna portrayed as his being drawn to her, rather than being a Peeping Tom with an entire catalog of issues. A completely predictable Mean Girls comeuppance story line, except they aren't teenagers anymore and that makes the entire attitude really kind of pitiful. No one is likable. No one is saying or doing anything that would make you care what happens to them. There was absolutely nothing romantic going on in this romance novel. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-76973539934988911362016-02-25T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-25T09:30:16.038-05:00Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i> Before I Fall</i> by Lauren Oliver</b></div>
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2010, Harper</div>
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<a href="http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/OliverBooks">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/laurenoliverbooks">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6482837-before-i-fall">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1QOYHhb">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText11095468764791795369">For popular high school
senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big
party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with
being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a
terrible accident that night.<br /><br />However, she still wakes up the
next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times,
until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may
hold more power than she ever imagined.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Groundhog's Day meets Mean Girls is a premise to get excited about. You'll be disappointed, but at least you'll always remember how awesome the premise was.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad:</b></i> People love Lauren Oliver's books. I want to love her book. I try, but they're so ridiculous. I really enjoy young adult books, but I think these are the type that you just can't relate to unless you're a teen. Like Delirium, Before I Fall focuses on teen love. It's a common enough theme. Problem is, these books seem to revolve around the worst reactions to a common feeling. Sam is the epitome of self-centered. It's me, me, me. Even in death, the world must revolve around her and her feelings and her ideas of what should and shouldn't happen. Any bad things that happen must be someone else's fault. Oliver took the whole mean girl thing and made it a complete caricature, and then expected us to believe in Sam and want her to find a way to be redeemed. Except she gave us no reason to care about her and all the reasons in the world to wish she's gone straight to hell.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-60159090189477624982016-02-24T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-24T09:30:04.686-05:00Totally Killer by Greg Olear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Totally Killer</i> by Greg Olear</b></div>
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2009, William Morrow Paperbacks</div>
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<a href="http://www.gregolear.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/gregolear">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Greg-Olear-186727461416620/">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6552834-totally-killer">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1PXCYQS">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText17024424538421686924">Taylor
Schmidt—twenty-three, single, and jobless—arrives in the Big Apple
desperate for work and hungry for love. Through the Quid Pro Quo
Employment Agency she finds the perfect job and the perfect boyfriend . .
. but perfection has its price.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Totally Killer is set in the 1990s, which leads to some fun references for those of us who experienced them firsthand. It's very premise, set around the employment agency, is a wonderful idea and could have been gold if handled differently.<br />
<br />
<i><b>The Bad:</b></i> The characters aren't the least bit sympathetic, which is unfortunate in a novel where we should care that one of them is dead. Telling the story from Todd's point of view well in the future, looking back on the events, was risky and never worked for me. It makes no sense, his tone while telling the story doesn't betray the ending. While it keeps the suspense, it's not plausible he'd tell the story the way he did given his own experiences. Never mind the fact that one would expect a storyteller to make himself seem less like an complete loser. He speaks of all the creepy things he does in his lust for Taylor, all the ways he completely ruined his life just to get to know her better and more, all without a whiff of the shame one would expect years down the line. This was a great idea that just took every wrong turn it could find.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-14569472891844105532016-02-23T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-23T09:30:04.956-05:00Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Anansi Boys</i> by Neil Gaiman</b></div>
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2005, HarperTorch</div>
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Series: Book 2 of American Gods</div>
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<a href="http://www.neilgaiman.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/neilhimself">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/neilgaiman/">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2744.Anansi_Boys">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1SLEMBH">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeTextContainer2476992318844762212">Fat Charlie Nancy's
normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida
karaoke stage. Charlie didn't know his dad was a god. And he never knew
he had a brother. <br /><br />Now brother Spider's on his doorstep -- about to make Fat Charlie's life more interesting... and a lot more dangerous.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Well written, in a technical sense. Managed to read it and understand the basic story line. <br />
<br />
<i><b>The Bad:</b></i> I really liked American Gods, which lead me to believe I would enjoy this sequel. Except Anansi Boys isn't a sequel as much as a novel that exists in same universe as American Gods. It's a companion novel at best. Different characters. Different mythology. Just the basic theme of gods walk among us. Sometimes. And a focus on trickster gods. I knew nothing about the African trickster god Anansi going in. I'm not sure if that helped or hindered me, because I couldn't care about these characters at all. The book dragged and dragged and was finally, mercifully over. I'm beginning to believe that no matter how much I enjoyed American Gods and Good Omens, Neil Gaiman isn't the author for me. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-57662201351796526042016-02-22T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-22T09:30:11.827-05:00The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1</i> by Alan Moore</b></div>
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2000, America's Best Comics
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Series: Book 1 of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297627.The_League_of_Extraordinary_Gentlemen_Vol_1">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1PB7Drh">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText13472243979874348730">London, 1898. The
Victorian Era draws to a close and the twentieth century approaches. It
is a time of great change and an age of stagnation, a period of chaste
order and ignoble chaos. It is an era in need of champions.<br /><br />In
this amazingly imaginative tale, literary figures from throughout time
and various bodies of work are brought together to face any and all
threats to Britain. Allan Quatermain, Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, Dr.
Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde and Hawley Griffin ( the Invisible Man)
form a remarkable legion of intellectual aptitude and physical prowess: <em>The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</em>.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>The premise is amazing. Tailor made for a movie. Which was then made, totally eclipsing the book.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad:</b></i> I loved the movie. I know, people aren't supposed to admit that, but I say it loud and often. So what if it made Sean Connery quit acting, it entertained me. Having said that, this graphic novels was not good. The artwork was unappealing. That's the best way to describe it. You know what's going on - it's not unclear or anything - but it's not pleasant to look at. It made me want to put the book down. I found it disagreeable to my eyes. The characters are awful people, and not in the fun movie way. Mina whines incessantly (strange as she is in charge now, apparently that's how Moore believes women lead). Quartermain is a drug addict who seems to be getting a his hate lust up way too much for the significantly younger Mina. The invisible man is a serial rapist, and we're supposed to find this acceptable behavior just because. No Tom Sawyer. No Dorian Gray. No fun, at all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-49182444575919137512016-02-19T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-19T09:30:01.379-05:00Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Mrs. Miracle</i> by Debbie Macomber</b></div>
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2009, Avon</div>
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Series: Book 4 of Angelic Intervention</div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText17005732122541638135">Seth Webster's heart
never healed after he lost his adored wife. Now, with Christmas
approaching, wild twin boys to raise alone, a home in chaos, and the
latest in a long line of exasperated housekeepers quitting in disgust,
Seth needs more than help to keep his family togethe...he needs a
miracle.<br /><br />And then a miracle arrives on his doorstep. Her name is
Mrs. Merkle, but the kids call her "Mrs. Miracle"—and from the moment
the warm, knowing, and very patient nanny appears, everything is
different. Her sassy spirit is infectious, and it gives Seth the courage
to approach Reba, a beautiful travel agent who's been hurt and
betrayed, and is afraid to ever love again. Through the magic of
faith—and with a little help from a children's Christmas pageant and a
lot of encouragement from Mrs. Miracle—Seth and Reba might just be able
to find a Christmas miracle of their very own: true love.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>The very basic premise of the book is good. A widower with young children struggling. A magical nanny appearing out of nowhere to aid him at Christmas time, and maybe find him a little love as well. That's the bare bones of the book and that is all that was included in the delightful Hallmark movie. <br />
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<i><b>The Bad:</b></i> This is a case of the movie being better than the book. The movie dropped all of the unnecessary and sort of weird angles the book tended to dwell on. The book was very specific about Seth not being able to take care of his kids for 4 years, and how his in-laws raised them at that time. These grandparents love having the kids, yet just decide they're done and send the kids back to understandable unprepared father - with no help and no experience to guide him. The grandparents marriage goes to hell, grandma embracing women's lib and grandpa being aghast that his wife refuses to wait on him hand and foot anymore. Aghast. And for some reason, the reader is supposed to hope they get back together. Yeah, that wasn't happening. Good for grandma. Seth and Reba were closed off, scared of commitment, annoying people who would have never managed to make it work in real life. Overall, the characters were obnoxious and it was hard to want happiness for any of them. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-34215301438497010482016-02-18T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-18T09:30:00.155-05:00The Walking Dead, Vol. 23: Whispers Into Screams by Robert Kirkman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Whispers Into Screams</i> by Robert Kirkman</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2015, Image Comics</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Series: Book 23 of The Walking Dead</div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeTextContainer6865593316604347043">The new era of peace and
prosperity is interrupted by a new type of enemy. One that travels
amongst the walkers. One that will turn whispers of their appearance to
screams.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Crazy people. It's always crazy people. Whether it be the Governor or cannibals or Negan, at the root of it all is just people who mentally can't handle the world as it now is and act out in ludicrous ways. This new threat is no different, other then there is a whole hell of a lot of them. This new brand of crazy is unlike anything we've seen before and that makes this volume completely worth the read. <br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>We seem to be going from Carl being a reckless child to being a irresponsible teenager. He's gone from attempting to protect his friends and family is dangerous ways to doing whatever his hormones dictate. I suppose it was to be expected, but one would hope that growing up in this post-apocalyptic environment, a boy in his position would have developed better priorities. Never underestimate Carl's ability to find the most inappropriate way to deal with something.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-37263131423150304912016-02-17T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-17T09:30:08.130-05:00The Walking Dead, Vol. 22: A New Beginning by Robert Kirkman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i> A New Beginning</i> by Robert Kirkman</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2014, Image Comics</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Series: Book 22 of The Walking Dead</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/robertkirkman">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23000709-the-walking-dead-vol-22">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1UxPRp0">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> In the aftermath of ALL OUT WAR, Rick Grimes and his allies begin to
rebuild their communities. But in the world of the dead, tranquility is
only temporary. How long will it be before a new, unexpected foe
emerges?<br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>The volume starts out a couple years in the future. Seems we skipped over everybody settling into more stable, mundane lives. I feel this is a good choice. It's a lot more believable that there would be a prolonged period of peace than having new villains appear one right after another as they have in the past. <br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>A very slow volume, as they all are right after the epic battle volumes. It's an established cycle in The Walking Dead comic world and we continue on it yet again. Rick makes a truly stupid decision, guaranteed to put the group in danger, in an effort to pretend they are civilized people despite years of bloodshed. The new big bad is introduced and it feels like Kirkman is really reaching here.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-91030035834352983252016-02-16T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-16T19:39:11.508-05:00Suspicion by Alexandra Monir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Suspicion</i> by Alexandra Monir</b></div>
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2014, Delacorte Press
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText16470748138584462525"><em>“There’s something hidden in the maze.”</em> <br /><br />Seventeen-year-old
Imogen Rockford has never forgotten the last words her father said to
her, before the blazing fire that consumed him, her mother, and the
gardens of her family’s English country manor.<br /><br />For seven years,
images of her parents’ death have haunted Imogen’s dreams. In an effort
to escape the past, she leaves Rockford Manor and moves to New York City
with her new guardians. But some attachments prove impossible to
shake—including her love for her handsome neighbor Sebastian Stanhope.<br /><br />Then
a life-altering letter arrives that forces Imogen to return to the
manor in England, where she quickly learns that dark secrets lurk behind
Rockford’s aristocratic exterior. At their center is Imogen herself—and
Sebastian, the boy she never stopped loving.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Suspicion contains a wonderful murder mystery. Had the book focused solely on the mystery and cut all the other distracting nonsense, it could have easily been a five star book. An orphan girl raised in America becoming duchess and uncovering the hidden details of why her entire family is dead is more than enough to carry a book.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>The aforementioned nonsense. A unrequited love, from 10 years previous, who she never even looked up on social media? Right. He dates her cousin for an entire decade, until the cousin dies, and then just maybe realizes he really loves Imogen? Sure. Randomly thrown in supernatural gobbledygook, in a feeble attempt to make the book more marketable? Great. Wrap that all up in a tidy Princess Diaries ripoff bow, where Imogen has duchess lessons in etiquette or whatever. Wait, that could have worked, I guess, if she had cared a whit about being duchess rather than pining over some boy who'd been banging her cousin forever. All unnecessary attempts to appeal to current book trends that ultimately drag the book down to barely a 3 star rating.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-43359981179900660692016-02-15T09:49:00.000-05:002016-02-15T09:49:03.572-05:00Nick and Tesla's Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove by Bob Pflugfelder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Nick and Tesla's Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove</i> by Bob Pflugfelder</b></div>
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2014, Quirk Books</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Series: Book 4 of Nick and Tesla</div>
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<a href="https://sciencebob.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/ScienceBob">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sciencebob">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20600202-nick-and-tesla-s-super-cyborg-gadget-glove">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1nAE3YR">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText3062768984801477457">Einstein is running
amok! Darwin is losing his head! The science museum in Half Moon Bay is
in big trouble because its robotic replicas of history’s greatest
scientists keep going kablooey! As 11-year-old amateur inventors Nick
and Tesla Holt try to uncover the cause, they’ll need to keep adding
all-new gadgets to their latest creation, a customized super-cyborg
glove. Follow the action, and then follow the illustrated
instructions to build your own gadget glove with four
incredible functions: LED signal light, emergency alarm, sound recorder,
and UV secret-message revealer!</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>I love educational series for kids where they can learn while being entertained. Instead of history or mythology, this series focuses on science, technology, and engineering which are rarely - if ever - topics kids find in fiction. Mixed with a kid-friendly mystery, this series continues to be fun that will appeal to book lovers and hesitant-readers alike.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>My complaints are the same with every book in this series. The story is fine and characters are fine, but the words are off. The phrasing is awkward. There is no flow. The grammar is correct, but it's as though the words are sputtering along instead of being a smooth ride. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-53363713434082733022016-02-12T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-12T09:30:08.438-05:00Artemis Awakening by Jane Lindskold<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Artemis Awakening</i> by Jane Lindskold</b></div>
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2014, Tor Books
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Series: Book 1 of Artemis Awakened</div>
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<a href="http://janelindskold.com/wp/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/JaneLindskold">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/janelindskold/">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18490706-artemis-awakening">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1KFfQFg">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText1798979247300776446" style="display: inline;">The
distant world Artemis is a pleasure planet created out of bare rock by a
technologically advanced human empire that provided its richest
citizens with a veritable Eden to play in. All tech was concealed and
the animals (and the humans brought to live there) were bioengineered to
help the guests enjoy their stay…but there was always the possibility
of danger so that visitors could brag that they had “bested” the
environment.<br /><br />The Empire was shattered in a horrific war;
centuries later humanity has lost much of the advanced technology and
Artemis is a fable told to children. Until young archaeologist Griffin
Dane finds intriguing hints that send him on a quest to find the lost
world. Stranded on Artemis after crashing his ship, he encounters the
Huntress Adara and her psych-linked companion, the puma Sand Shadow.
Their journey with her will lead Dane to discover the planet’s
secrets…and perhaps provide a key to give unimagined power back to
mankind.</span><span id="freeTextContainer11498858150764305073"></span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>If you can get past the first half of the
book's slow and pretty boring progress, there is a fairly decent story
here. The shift in pace was jarring, but I was so thankful for it, we'll
call it a good thing. When dealing with the science fiction angles on
genetic modification and breeding, the book was at its best. Had the
entire book focused on that, instead of meandering through weird feudal
fantasy to get there, it could have been a 5 star read.<br />
<br />
<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>My big problem
with this book was the synopsis is a total bait and switch. Look at
that first paragraph. Awesome, right? Except, we never see or talk about
any of that in the book. That awesome part is part of the past and it's
completely glossed over in the book. The present is so far removed from
that past, that there is absolutely no reason we needed to tease that
former reality. The book itself pales in comparison to the opening
premise of the synopsis and that is really not the impression you want
to make to a reader. It completely set me up for disappointment.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-78262297513055405322016-02-11T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-17T17:35:43.764-05:00Taken at Dusk by C. C. Hunter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Taken at Dusk</i> by C. C. Hunter</b></div>
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2012, St. Martin's Press
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Series: Book 3 of Shadow Falls</div>
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<a href="http://www.cchunterbooks.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/CCHunterBooks">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12866426-taken-at-dusk">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1KCwYM3">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText16482929230945398185"><em>Step into Shadow
Falls, a camp for teens with supernatural powers. Here friendship
thrives, love takes you by surprise, and our hearts possess the greatest
magic of all.</em><br /><br />Kylie Galen wants the truth so badly she can
taste it. The truth about who her real family is, the truth about which
boy she's meant to be with--and the truth about what her emerging powers
mean. But she's about to discover that some secrets can change your
life forever…and not always for the better.<br /><br />Just when she and
Lucas are finally getting close, she learns that his pack has forbidden
them from being together. Was it a mistake to pick him over Derek? And
it's not just romance troubling Kylie. An amnesia-stricken ghost is
haunting her, delivering the frightful warning, <em>someone lives and someone dies. </em>As
Kylie races to unravel the mystery and protect those she loves, she
finally unlocks the truth about her supernatural identity, which is far
different--and more astonishing--than she ever imagined.</span><br />
<br />
<b><i>The Good: </i></b>At the last moments of the third book in the series, we finally learn what Kylie is. Pretty much. It's not like we got a clear definition, but at least we have a label of sorts. It's unexpected (because, I assume it's a completely made-up by the author thing, but I could be wrong), but it's something. We get some real action and some real life and death stuff, there seems to be a definite upping of the ante. Kylie now has a direction to focus in so there is real hope for faster paced plot progression in the future. I hope.<br />
<br />
<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>Kylie needs to swear off dudes. She's an awful person when it comes to dating. It's not that she can't decide between the two guys, it's that she gets one and then only wants the other. Then she gets the other and only wants the first one. And because of this manufactured boy drama, she can't be bothered to spend her time alerting adults to her issues, learning how to harness her abilities or protect herself from danger. The world revolves around her easily-bored heart and it's one of the single most annoy things I've ever read.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-91754959928214061772016-02-10T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-10T09:30:01.186-05:00Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Book of Shadows</i> by Cate Tiernan</b></div>
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2007, Speak</div>
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Series: Book 1 of Sweep</div>
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<a href="http://catetiernan.net/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/catetiernan">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/catetiernan/timeline">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/675614.Book_of_Shadows">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1nIpC4J">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeTextContainer11498858150764305073">Something is happening to me that I don't understand.<br /><br />I see things, feel things in a new way. I can do things normal people can't do. Powerful things. Magical things. It scares me.<br /><br />I never chose to learn witchcraft. But I'm starting to wonder if witchcraft is choosing me.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>I really enjoyed how the writing was inclusive and accepting of everything, without having to make a big deal about anything. Wiccan religion, lesbian aunt, teen sexuality, whatever. All part of the story, not issues that have to be addressed and dealt with. Beyond the magick themes of the book, the mundane high school life felt accurately portrayed. It wasn't washed-clean of normal teen activities, nor overly hyped to make things more scandalous than in reality. <br />
<br />
<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>Bree, the best friend, is certifiably crazy. Like dangerous, obsessive, not a person you should associate with, crazy. Beyond angsty teen, in love with random boy issues, she's constructs a fantasy where the boy wants her back and progresses to destroy her relationship with Morgan in the process. It's dangerous to portray this type of behavior as anything other than being in desperate need of psychiatric help. Wicca was portrayed in an odd mix of by-the-book instruction and outlandish power. The author focused on making sure the details were explained well and factually, then immediately twisted the practices in an attempt to make the main character seem special. It was weird and just felt off.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-38834610209084437552016-02-09T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-11T13:38:51.303-05:00The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>The Fifth Assassin</i> by Brad Meltzer</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2013, Grand Central Publishing
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Series: Book 2 of Culper Ring</div>
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<a href="http://bradmeltzer.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/bradmeltzer">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BradMeltzer/">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14889776-the-fifth-assassin">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1KutoU0">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText16591673458964439729">From John Wilkes Booth
to Lee Harvey Oswald, there have been more than two dozen assassination
attempts on the President of the United States.<br /><br />Four have been successful.<br /><br />But now, Beecher White -- the hero of the #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestseller <i>The Inner Circle</i>
-- discovers a killer in Washington, D.C., who's meticulously
re-creating the crimes of these four men. Historians have branded them
as four lone wolves. But what if they were wrong?<br /><br />Beecher is
about to discover the truth: that during the course of a hundred years,
all four assassins were secretly working together. What was their
purpose? For whom do they really work? And why are they planning to kill
the current President? <br /><br />Beecher's about to find out. And most terrifyingly, he's about to come face-to-face with the fifth assassin.</span>
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>This series isn't my normal type of thing, but the books keep dragging me in. This time, a serial killer is going around assassinating priests, in the same style as past presidential assassinations. The history of it was intensely fascinating. We see these past presidential deaths first-hand in the book, which is newer to most than it really should be. We're usually taught about Kennedy and Lincoln but often American educations neglect details from the assassinations of Garfield and McKinley. The book is very suspenseful and quite surprising at times. It took a little getting into, but after the first couple chapters, I flew through the book.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>More and more, I'm finding it hard to believe that there is a shadow organization that would rely so heavily on a man who is clearly mentally unstable. I don't doubt the shadow organization. I doubt that they would be so invested in an institutionalized man who is clearly schizophrenic on top of other mental issues. Wouldn't they find someone a bit more reliable to, um, rely upon? Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-7958232743707223542016-02-08T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-12T11:01:57.490-05:00The Good, the Bad, and the Witchy by Heather Blake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2013, Signet
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Series: Book 3 of A Wishcraft Mystery</div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i><span id="freeText14438669260126366077"><b> </b></span><span id="freeText1750148369914770299"><i>Darcy Merriweather
is Enchanted Village’s newest resident Wishcrafter—a witch who can grant
wishes for others. But as Darcy prepares a celebration for a magical
florist, she discovers that every rose has its thorns…</i> <br />
When magical florist Harriette Harkette decides to throw a lavish
eightieth birthday party for herself, she hires Darcy’s Aunt Ve’s
personal concierge service, As You Wish, to plan the soiree. But turning
eighty isn’t all Harriette is celebrating—the Floracrafter has recently
created the midnight black Witching Hour rose, the first all-natural
rose of that color.<br /><br /> Darcy works hard on planning an extravagant
celebration that will make Harriette feel like the belle of the ball.
But when cake delivery boy Michael Healey—a former employee at
Harriette’s greenhouse—is found dead, the celebration takes a turn. Now
Michael’s ghost has imprinted on Darcy, meaning that they’re bonded
until she can untangle the thicket surrounding his murder—and what
exactly it has to do with the Witching Hour rose….</span><span id="freeText15755556417435553719"><i></i></span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Amusing, as the series always is. The introduction of the possibility of ghosts was interesting, though I'm glad it seems to not be a permanent addition. In this instance it was very helpful in giving emotion to the case Darcy found herself in the middle of, as well as giving her a very good reason to continue her involvement. With all cozy mystery series, the romance is slow going. But, what I especially like about this series is that there are real obstacles that come up that warrant the snail's pace. Issues that make sense and need to be dealt with.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>Flowers. Meh. I don't read gardening themed cozy mystery series, although there are a few out there, because I have no interest. The mix of magic made it tolerable, but I was lost for the most part whenever it came to the Floracrafters. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-40031718021048104862016-02-05T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-05T09:30:16.095-05:00San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats by Mira Grant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats</i> by Mira Grant</b></div>
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2012, Orbit</div>
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Series: Novella from Newsflesh</div>
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<a href="http://www.miragrant.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/seananmcguire">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13641099-san-diego-2014">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1Kr000W">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText11534066806607850300">It was the summer of
2014, and the true horrors of the Rising were only just beginning to
reveal themselves. Fans from all over the world gathered in San Diego,
California for the annual comic book and media convention, planning to
forget about the troubling rumors of new diseases and walking dead by
immersing themselves in a familiar environment. Over the course of five
grueling days and nights, it became clear that the news was very close
to home…and that most of the people who picked up their badges would
never make it out alive.</span>
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>This novella was rich with geeky splendor. Set at the 2014 Sand Diego Comic-Con. A bulk of the main characters are Firefly fans selling merchandise at the con. Another main character is the star of a hit sci-fi show, fictional but seeming to more than mildly resemble Katee Sackkoff (the actress who played Kara Thrace on BSG), but that could just me my own interpretation. Taking us back to the first major outbreak of the zombie apocalypse that is in full swing during the Newsflesh trilogy, trapping us in the convention center as first of the zombies come and begin to multiply (as they are wont to do). This was an amazing, fun story that added little to the Newsflesh world, but was still a super fun experience.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad:</b></i> It's a novella, when it really should have been a full novel. It has more than enough plot and action to fill a full novel. I'm not a fan of novellas to begin with, but this one clearly had all the makings of something more.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-9626029455348721122016-02-04T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-04T09:30:06.246-05:00A Fool's Gold Christmas by Susan Mallery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>A Fool's Gold Christmas</i> by Susan Mallery</b></div>
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2012, Harlequin HQN</div>
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Series: Book 10 of Fool's Gold</div>
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<a href="http://www.susanmallery.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/susanmallery">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SusanMallery">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13548158-a-fool-s-gold-christmas">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1lrdJyg">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText5509730892344362624">The unrelenting cheer in
Fool's Gold, California, is bringing out the humbug in dancer Evie
Stryker. She learned early on that Christmas miracles don't happen, at
least not for her. And this year seems like no exception. An injury has
forced her to return to the family fold, no matter that they're
estranged. She won't add to the awkward scenario by being seduced by the
bad-boy charms of her brother's best friend, the last man she should
ever want to date. Even when she's recruited to stage the Fool's Gold
winter festival, she vows to do as promised, then move forward with her
life anywhere but here.<br /><br />Jaded lawyer Dante Jefferson is getting
used to the backwater town he now reluctantly calls home, but the
pounding of little dancers' feet above his temporary office is more than
any man should have to take! When he confronts their gorgeous teacher,
he's unprepared for the attraction that sears him down to the soul. Evie
is his best friend's sister--off-limits unless he's willing to risk his
heart. Dante has always believed that love is the most dangerous force
in the universe, but that was before he had to reckon with the magic of a
certain small town, where miracles do seem to happen..</span>
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>I fell behind in this series and spent far too much time away from this cozy little town I love. What a wonderful time to come back to it, with a Christmas themed story. Evie was a natural choice for the female lead, having introduced her, a little, in a previous novel. Dante was a little more surprising as the male lead, but they worked together perfectly. Evie and Dante's fears were both understandable, if not completely relatable. The Christmas setting made the entire story a lot more festive and upbeat than their romance would have been alone. Beyond their relationship, it was absolutely wonderful to see Evie interacting with her family, building those relationships for the first time, as well as seeing both Evie and Dante become real, included members of the community.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>I disliked the turn towards the end of the novel before the inevitable happily-ever-after. Mallery has a nasty little habit of making her male leads act in an unnecessarily cruel manner out of fear of commitment before realizing there is no fighting true love. It happens really often. I find it hard to believe that all these men use this same juvenile tactic and that they are always forgiven for it in the end. To the point where the other townswomen who've gone through it in their own relationships will get together with the hurt woman and laugh about their own miserable experiences. Once, sure. Twice, okay maybe. An entire town full of women who take back purposely hurtful men like it's some sort of right of passage, um, no.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6266515252594975225.post-82963555978022917662016-02-03T09:30:00.000-05:002016-02-03T09:30:13.250-05:00Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Those Left Behind </i>by Joss Whedon</b></div>
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2006, Dark Horse Comics</div>
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Series: Book 1 of Serenity</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/133765.Those_Left_Behind">Goodreads</a> / <a href="http://amzn.to/1QdphlM">Amazon</a></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i> <span id="freeText10676381808975764614">Here's how it is -- in a universe filled with hearts and minds as cold and dark as the reaches of space, one small <i>Firefly</i>-class starship named <i>Serenity</i>
takes its ragtag crew of mercenaries, outlaws, and fugitives in search
of a job, any job, that'll earn them enough cash to afford that most
elusive commodity -- peace.</span><br />
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<b><i>The Good: </i></b>Those Left Behind is pretty much an episode of Firefly, just in graphic novel form. It comes chronologically after the end of the show and before the movie. It doesn't do much to move from A to B, especially in regard to where we find some of the characters once the movie begins, but it is a start in the right direction. The art is pretty impressive. The characters are immediately recognizable. Wash is a little weird, in an unexplainable way, but you definitely know who he is. Overall, it's a wonderful return to a world we love.<br />
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<i><b>The Bad: </b></i>This graphic novel was a bit short, story-wise. It was physically short as well. It's weirdly less tall than any other graphic novel I've read, making the pages hold less content than usual. The main problem is the story isn't important, Nothing new and different happens. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09876184821140692572noreply@blogger.com0