Review: Neanderthal Seeks Human

Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is definitely not my usual genre, but I really loved this book. Janie was awkward, and weird, and smart, and funny. Quinn was shockingly a good balance for her. At first I thought she was written way too over the top with the quirkiness--I'm ridiculous and I'm nowhere near as bad as her--and she was WAY too oblivious, but that's ok. By the end, I got what I wanted, the HEA.

I switched back and forth between the audio and eBook, and the narration was solid. 4 surprising stars from me, and I will read the others.

View all my reviews

Review: Career of Evil

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I adore this series! It's so good. Cormoran is smart and flawed. Love smart, flawed characters. Robin is also smart and flawed. And I desperately want her to leave Matthew and have lots of little PI babies with Cormoran, because I am secretly a marshmallow inside. Shut up.

JK continues to showcase her ability to write strong, complicated characters and she weaves a good mystery as well. I am anxiously awaiting the next installment, so get to writing, Jo. 4 stars.

View all my reviews

Review: Reflex

Reflex by Dick Francis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another winner by Dick Francis. This time Philip, our everyman hero, is an amateur jockey and amateur photographer. I'm giving the edge to his photography, because hey, you can't be a jockey forever. That job has a shelf life.

We've got revenge, blackmail, murder, romance, and horses, all things you expect from Francis. But he also wrote family complexities very well. This one has the added drama of a drug-addled mother who abandoned Philip and flitted from place to place. He's estranged from his grandmother and I found this side plot as interesting as the main one.

You can't go wrong with Dick Francis. 3 solid stars.

View all my reviews

Review: A Superior Death

A Superior Death by Nevada Barr
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Road trip time! Pack your backpacks, kids, because we are headed from Guadalupe Mountains National Park to Isle Royale.

My favorite park ranger, Anna Pigeon, has been relocated from Texas to the cold shores of Lake Superior. She's enjoying the solitude, making a few friends, and still holding people at arm's length. But it's cool, because she's her own woman. Love her. She gets to drive boats around, do some shipwreck diving, and, best of all, no snakes in this one! A good mystery to unravel and same old Anna you know and love. 3 stars.

View all my reviews

Review: Hot Money

Hot Money by Dick Francis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another fantastic everyman mystery by my boy Dick Francis. Man, I just loved him so much.

This one focuses of family, the heavy burden of being wealthy, and how your upbringing can mess you up, big time. Malcolm Pembroke collects wives and kids like he does money--that is to say he has a lot of all three. And they are dysfunctional, natch, like you would expect. Enter everyman good bloke and amateur jockey, Ian. Son number 3 (I think) out of nine. He's honest, and forthright, and saves the day like I expected him to, because that's what Francis wrote best.

This is a really good one for family dynamics, a twisted plot, and unexpected results. 4 stars and a thumbs up to old Dick.


View all my reviews

Review: Squall

Squall by Sean Costello
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was on a survival kick, and picked this one up for free. Probably a good thing. I mean, it's not terrible, but it didn't earn the third star.

Drugs. Bad decisions. Remote setting. Mary Sue and Gary Stu people caught up in the middle of some bad things. Very bad things. With very bad people. Implausible in parts, ridiculous in others, I still gave it the 2 star "it was ok" rating because, in the end, I was entertained more than I was rolling my eyes.

The ending was cheesy, but I still thought it was ok.

View all my reviews

Review: Plain Truth

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Jodi Picoult's novels. They always deal with motherhood and family, and always have an interesting setting or topic. This one explores the Amish, family, and relationships. Plus a bit of mystery, which is never a bad thing in my book.

Katie Fisher has a baby in her barn. She is 18, Amish, and unmarried. And she denies both having been pregnant and delivering the baby. Enter Elle Hathaway, high-powered defense attorney. Elle is led into the case by her aunt, former Amish and Katie's aunt. Making her Katie's cousin, but I guess conflict of interest doesn't play in for defense attorneys. The court orders Elle to live with Katie before and during the trial. Everyone learns each other's secrets, and by the end you will be shocked to discover you knew the answers all along.

The ending, which I saw coming because I had read this a million years ago when it was first released, upset me far more than it did on my first read through. It's funny how your view of a book changes with your life's circumstances. But I still enjoyed it and I still rate it 4 stars.

View all my reviews

Review: Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell #1)

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Divorced, Beheaded, Died. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. Thus went the wives of Henry VIII. Join me on a journey of Court intrigue with Thomas Cromwell as he works his way to chief minister to the King. Twisted relationships, archaic gender roles, and general historical treachery is headed your way. Hang on to your hats, because it's going to be a long, wild ride.

I enjoyed the history and the different perspective into Thomas Cromwell. The writing was strong, however I had to subtract a star because this book was not made for audio. I kept finding myself pausing to think, "Which Thomas is this? Cromwell, Wolsey, More? Or possibly Howard or Boleyn? Are we talking about King Henry or Henry Percy?" And don't get me started on Mary and Anne. I realize it's history and yes, everyone was named Thomas, Henry, Anne and Mary, but it made the audio experience especially hard to keep straight.

It was interesting to look at the decisions made because of the deeply entrenched patriarchal society. Would Henry have remained with Catherine in a different time? Was his fickleness driven by his need to retain a legitimate male heir, religion, or mere vanity? Would Henry have been a different ruler in a different time? The world will never know, but it's fun to speculate. Read this, then watch the excellent Wolf Hall on PBS. I enjoyed them both.

View all my reviews

Review: In the Frame

In the Frame by Dick Francis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

More everyman adventures, this time in Australia. We barely touch on horse racing for this one. As is typical with Francis, sometimes you get a little racing, and sometimes you get a lot. Always with the everyman hero and some very light romance.

Artist Charles Todd visits his cousin Donald, only to discover Donald's wife has been killed in a burglary. Driven to help his cousin and with no real help from the police, the clues lead him to Australia. Charles, with the help of his old college friend and his wife, are on the hunt. Danger abounds! And Charles cracks the case to the immense appreciation of the police on two continents. Hooray! Classic Francis. 3 1/2 stars.




View all my reviews

Review: Still Life with Bread Crumbs

Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. It's lovely. It wouldn't have been a book I could appreciate ten years ago, but I appreciated everything about it now that I'm older. So glad I read it. This book won't be for everyone, and that's ok. 4 stars.



View all my reviews

Review: Murder to Go (Food Truck Mysteries #1)

Murder to Go by Chloe Kendrick

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Not the worst book I've ever read, but dang, there were some dumb parts. The mystery actually doesn't make sense when all is said and done.

Maeve inherits a food truck from her zany aunt, who may or may not have had a girlfriend after her husband died. So what, you say? Yes, I agree. But apparently that was supposed to be important to the plot, except it so wasn't. Maeve's mom was pretty offensive about the fact that sexuality is a spectrum, not a 50/50 choice. The mystery would have stayed the same without adding this part, so it seemed shoe horned in to make a statement. Anyway. Someone is out to get Maeve, and people's heads are being cut off. CUT. OFF. Again, this part was never explained. Ever. Add in the "millennials are a lazy bunch vs. a victim of economic circumstances" theme and the unrealistic characterizations (see lesbian / not lesbian plotline, grouchy yet sexy male characters) and you might or might not be intrigued enough to read book 2. I am a masochist and will read it if it is free and it fits a challenge. Your mileage may vary.

P.S. Who has a death in the family and doesn't ask how they died? Especially if you are the main inheritor? Really? Selfish, selfish, selfish. And dumb.



View all my reviews

Review: UnEnchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #1)

UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Cute start to the series. I'll read the next one.

I see a lot of the reviews say the typos were terrible. Thank god I listened to this on audio, because nothing pulls me out of a book faster than poor editing. Mina is clumsy and unpopular at her high school. She has a crush on the popular rich guy. She reminds me of Mia from the Princess Diaries. In fact, now that I think about it, her best friend reminds me of Lily, and the whole book is similar in a lot of ways. So if you liked the Princess Diaries, you will probably like this book too.

Anyway, standard high school young adult paranormal. Three stars.



View all my reviews

Review: Attachments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Once again, I find myself in love with Rainbow Rowell. I think we could be best friends. I adore her books. It's rare that I find an author whose work resonates with me on so many levels. I don't typically read chick-lit, or sappy romances, or whatever classification you would call her books. But she gets me. The dialogue, the characters, they are are so realistic and I find myself thinking about the stories long after the book is finished. I'm not a crazy stalker, but I would like to have coffee with her sometime.

In this one, we get to play voyeur with Lincoln, the overnight IT guy who is tasked with monitoring the internal emails at the newspaper. It's a crappy job, but someone has to do it. I guess. Depends on which side you sit on for personal privacy in the workplace. Some really amusing exchanges between Beth, the movie reviewer, and Jennifer, the copy editor, get flagged, and Lincoln gets sucked into their lives. Me too. They both seem awesome. Anyway, that's how it starts. I will spare you the spoilers and just encourage you to read it.

The book gave me warm and fuzzies. What? I'm not a robot. Beep boop.



View all my reviews

A Charming Magic (Magical Cures Mystery #5)

A Charming Magic by Tonya Kappes

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I'm out. No more. These books are so poorly written / edited that I can no longer handle reading them.

And June. Oh June. You are so self-centered and completely unlikeable. You think everything should be about you. You are insecure and needy. You hate every new woman who comes to Whispering Falls. If I were Oscar I would be thrilled to have my memories erased because you are just the world's worst person. And this ending was the worst of all. I'm so done.

These plots are dumb, June is an idiot, and the writing stinks. If I hadn't gotten all of these books at once when the series was on sale at Amazon I would have stopped after book 2. I think this is the last one I have, though, so sayonara to Whispering Falls for me!



View all my reviews

Club Shadowlands (Masters of the Shadowlands #1)

Club Shadowlands by Cherise Sinclair

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Not bad. A bit of unrealistic insta-love in a short book, but decently kinky. I will probably read more in the series.



View all my reviews

Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Dystopian, but different. No zombies. Nothing weird. Just a terrible flu that wipes out life as we knew it. Be prepared to fight urges to run to the store and stock up in case something happens.

I liked the alternating timelines. I enjoyed the characters. But in the end I was left wanting more. So many unanswered questions! I wanted a resolution.

This is not one to listen to on audio. The narrator is terrible. I believe it is the same person who read If I Stay and she made me hate every single line of that book. Read the book, and skip the audio. I had to switch to fall into the world of Station Eleven.

I'm wavering between 3 1/2 stars and 4, but I'll leave it at 4 for now.




View all my reviews

Moloka'i

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a lovely book. It's sad and happy all mixed together. It's richly drawn with historical details and the characters come to life. Like I said, lovely.

Rachel lives in Hawaii, and is diagnosed with leprosy at age seven. Seven, my friends. Tragic, simply tragic. As was done in the late 1800s / early 1900s, she was shipped to Moloka'i to live at the Leper's Colony. And if that isn't sad enough, she is completely cut off from her family. We follow Rachel through her life and her illness. I know what you are thinking: this sounds depressing! Not so. It does have parts that will make you sad, parts that will make you mad, and parts that will make you smile. It's a lot like life. And it's well written. Fans of historical fiction should check it out.



View all my reviews

Red Handed (Benediction #2)

Red Handed by Shelly Bell

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I guess I like my BDSM with a bit of suspense in the plot. The main character, Danielle, was not completely annoying. She had some self esteem issues because of her weight, but overall she wasn't dumb. Mostly. Because it was a suspense novel, so she had to make a few wrong moves.

But Cole. Ah, Cole. Me likey. Me likey a lot. I could picture him in all of his sexy, tough yet caring, protective glory. Good stuff. I'm giving it a 2 1/2 stars because it had a cheesy HEA ending that I tend to like but some silliness that caused me to roll my eyes. Not quite three star territory but I find myself wanting to read the others, too.



View all my reviews

Half a King (Shattered Sea #1)

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


What do you do when you are the second son of a king, and one born with a crippled hand, to boot? Well, you think you would take your vows and join the ministry. However, life seldom works out as you planned. Your father and brother are both killed, and you must step up and take the crown. Wait...what's that? Betrayal and treachery lie dead ahead? Well, that's life giving you lemons once again. Poor Prince Yarvi!

Good solid entry to the series. We journey with Yarvi as he travels the road and determines where his loyalties, and choices lie. What is more important? Revenge? Family? Friendship? Read it and find out what he decides. 3 1/2 stars.





View all my reviews

The Spy Lover

The Spy Lover by Kiana Davenport

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Civil War is one of my favorite times to read about in history, and I thought I would fall in love with this book. Looks like we will just be friends.

We get to see the Civil War through two Chinese-American's eyes: Johnny and his daughter Era. Both are caught in the middle of the war between the North and South, and both are struggling to survive a fight that isn't necessarily theirs. Their perspectives are very different and the war shapes them in very different ways. There are no real winners in a war, and everyone has a less than happy ending. Just like real life.

I have to confess the author almost lost me during a scene full of pit vipers. I. Hate. Snakes. I was listening to the audio and nearly wrecked my car. It was truly awful. No thank you. More terrifying than any horror novel, hands down.

Decent historical fiction, and interesting characters. I loved Johnny Tom. 3 stars.



View all my reviews