"Breaking Creed" by Alex Kava, my final thoughts

I have finished Breaking Creed by Alex Kava. It is her first book of a new series that I won on goodreads.com. The book won't be released until late January but I won an advanced readers copy of the book that was not the finished product, but it was pretty close. And I must say, this book was very good. I haven't read Kava's writing before, but I might check out her other novels. She has a long series that have Agent Maggie O'Dell in them, and agent O'Dell makes an appearance in this book as well, even though the book is base more around Ryder Creed.

So I'll go into more about this book now. First I would like to say, the name Ryder Creed is like the most perfect name ever for this character. I always have a hard time with coming up with names when I'm writing, but this name was perfect. It's got a little edge to it, rolls of the tongue, but is short and simple at the same time. I can't really explain it, but this name fit perfectly with the character. Creed is an ex-marine who was stationed in Afghanistan, but now runs a dog training company with his partner, Hannah. They train dogs to sniff out drugs, people, evidence, anything. And he has several dogs that he trains to do other things as well. It's quit remarkable what he has trained his dogs to do. But his favorite dog, Grace, finds something that will change his life. They are sniffing for drugs in an airport when Grace finds a young teen, Amanda, smuggling drugs in her body after swallowing them. Amanda asks for his help and he does. Spinning everything out of control because of this one girl that ends up creating a connection to a case that O'Dell is working. I don't want to go into too much more because I don't want to spoil too much, but I hope this gives a good idea of what the book is about.

One thing that people may not like is that there are several POV shifts. Nearly each chapter is a different POV, mainly between O'Dell and Creed, but there are others as well. Usually I like this style, but in this book I think it slowed things down slightly in the beginning. But then things pick up and you don't notice it as often. That would be the only thing, and I know some people don't like multiple POV's like that. So that's just a heads up.

I hope to get the second book, which I believe is set to be released this coming summer. I have a feeling it's going to be a great series and I hope you pick up this book. It was a fun, fast read. I really enjoyed it. I'm going to be rating this book a 5/5 on goodreads.com and I would like to thank the author for the giveaway and giving me a chance to read this advanced readers copy of the book. I really enjoyed it.

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The next book I will be reading is the second book of The Dawn of Dragon's series I started a while back. I got the 2nd and 3rd book for Christmas!! I will be starting Requiem's Hope by Daniel Arenson. Happy reading everyone :)

!! So I'll be starting

Still reading

Don't worry. I'm still reading. Today I got a good chunk read in Breaking Creed and I must say things are starting to get interesting now. I feel there is almost too much set up to this book, there is a lot of back and forth between POV's, which are interesting, but I think it took up too much time setting up the characters and their personalities. I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book and just now things are starting to heat up and get interesting with the case and the girl who was being used as a drug mule. But so far I would recommend this book. I have an early copy that is unedited, but it's really good. Even with the long beginning, it held my interest and I can't wait for the end. It's a pretty fast read and I imagine I could potentially have it done by Wednesday, but if not, Thursday for sure. The chapters are short so it goes really quick.

Hope you all had a great holiday. Happy reading everyone :)

Started "Breaking Creed"

I started reading Breaking Creed and I'm enjoying it so far. I only read about 40 pages so far, so things are still developing. But it's interesting. I haven't read anything by this author before, but it looks like she has a lot of books. Maybe some day I'll check them out. But so far I'm enjoying this book. I will probably do some reading tomorrow. But I'll be gone most of the weekend celebrating christmas out of town. So there probably won't be any updates from me for a while. Merry Christmas and happy reading everyone :)

"In the Woods" by Tana French, my final thoughts

I finally finished it! And it was amazing! I am rating this book 5/5 on goodreads.com because I absolutely loved the plot and the characters and the POV, just everything about this book. This was a great novel and I can't wait to read more of her books eventually. But I'll start by giving a small overview and then more details about the things I liked.

I really enjoyed this book. It starts out with a flashback kind of thing about the main character, Ryan, and what happened to him and his friends when he was young, and this event kind of plays through the rest of the story. Ryan is in his late 20's who is a murder detective and one day he and his partner, Cassie, investigate a murder of a 12 year old girl that happened in the same neighborhood that the event of Ryan's childhood took place. Very eery and creepy, but I enjoyed it. It was interesting. I won't give too much more about the plot because I don't want to give anything away, but I will admit it was difficult for me to put this book down.

The characters were great. Very unique and believable, even the characters that weren't as prevalent were unique and felt real even though they were only there for a brief few moments. But the two main characters, Cassie and Ryan were great, and the story is told through Ryan's perspective. But what really got me, was that every now and then, Ryan starts addressing the reader. He goes into the 2nd person and says 'you' to the reader. It threw me off a little at first, but it was done wonderfully. Not many authors do this, but I felt that French did a wonderful job with incorporating the 2nd person. It was subtle but interesting at the same time, bringing the reader closer to the story than they already were. I think this is why I enjoyed this book so much. Otherwise I might have given it a 4.5, but this extra POV gave it the last jump to a full 5/5.

I would recommend this book to anyone who really enjoys detective stories, or thrillers, or psychological thrillers. It was great and keeps you on your toes. Or at least it did for me :)

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The next book that I will be reading is Breaking Creed by Alex Kava. I won this novel in a goodreads.com giveaway.

Still reading

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't given an update recently. Yesterday my brother visited so I didn't have much time to read, but I got a good chunk read today. I'm about 75% of the way through In the Woods and things are starting to get really good. Rob (Adam) is starting to piece things together about his past, but it's still foggy, but I'm sure it'll come through in the end. And things between him and his partner are getting complicated and he can't seem to get a handle on anything, making things even more difficult. I'm really excited to finish this book. I'm guessing that I will have it done around Monday, depending if I have time to read some this weekend. Otherwise expect a full review on Tuesday. It shouldn't take me longer than Tuesday to finish it. It's a fairly easy read and now that things are picking up I feel that I'm reading it faster to find out what happens. Happy reading everyone :)

Continueing "In the Woods"

I'm nearly half way through In the Woods and things are really starting to get interesting. Cass and Adam keep hitting dead ends with the murder case but they still think it might be related to Adam's missing childhood friends. Things are beginning to slowly seep back from his memory, even though he can't make sense of it yet. I have a feeling things are going to really start coming together soon and it's going to be great. I really want to know the connection and know what had happened to Adam and his friends that night when they were twelve.

I am really enjoying this author's writing style. She has very good images and she does a great job of getting in Adam's head, it helps that it's in his perspective, but he also addresses the reader with 'you' every now and then. I find it fascinating that when authors do this; it really brings the reader into the story I think. I creates a closer link between reader and story, making them almost a part of it. Not many authors do thing, however, but when they do chose to incorporate the second person, it's wonderfully done and really makes things interesting. I'm only half way through this book and I would recommend it to anyone!
Happy reading everyone :)

Started "In the Woods"

I started In the Woods and I am really enjoying it so far. I've read the first 7 chapters and quite a bit has happened. A good amount of it is background and getting to know the characters, but it's well written and not sluggish or boring at all.

The story takes place in Ireland, and it is about this man, Rob, who is a murder detective. He is nearly 30 and he and his partner take a case that hits close to home for Rob. Rob experienced something traumatic when he was about 12, if I remember correctly, but he can't remember a single thing that happened in those woods behind his house. He was with two of his friends who were never found. And things are starting to look like the current case he's working on might be related to what happened to him and his still missing childhood friends.

I'm really excited to see where this book goes and how/if it is connection, which I'm sure it is. And I can't wait to see what had actually happened. My curiosity is going crazy! Happy reading everyone :)

"Requiem's Song (Dawn of Dragons #1)" By Daniel Arenson

So I have finished Requiem's Song and I absolutely loved this book. I won a free ebook of this book and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pulled into it right away and I had a difficult time putting this book down. But after some looking into the series, it seems that there are three other trilogies before this one, but I had no troubles reading this book by itself, and I hope to get all of the books in this series because I loved this book.

I will warn you, this book is kind of graphic. There is a lot of abuse and the time period is slightly unclear, but it appears to be almost like a barbaric time period. Perhaps the time period is more clear in the earlier books but you get a good sense of it being a long time ago by the living conditions. But there is a lot of abuse and some readers may not like that, and if you don't, I would NOT recommend this book to you. But if it doesn't bother you too much I would then recommend this book if you like books about dragons. I will admit I haven't really read many books with dragons in them, but I loved this one and I hope to get the rest of the books sometime soon.

So I'll try and give a small summary. Oh, and the story is told is several POVs (point of views). I actually really liked this for this book, but some people may not like this many POVs in one novel. But the author labeled each chapter with who's POV it is in, making it easier. But that is something else a reader may want to know before making a decision.

Ok, back to the summary. It takes place in a world where people can shift into dragons. But not everyone can do this. And many of the people are convinced that this is a disease and the dragons should be killed to "cleanse" the world of their disease. But a royal family is nothing but dragons, making things a little difficult. And another man and his family is trying to create a sanctuary for dragons to live in peace and not in fear of being caught as a dragon. And then there is lots of fighting, and demons and nasty, ugly creatures from the underworld show up to help the king fight these dragons. I could have lived without some of these creatures, but I will give the author credit for his creativeness with these creatures, no matter how disgusting they are.

Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed this book. It was hard for me to stop reading it, which is why I got through it pretty quick. It's an easy read, with lots of detail, and the characters were well written as well. I would recommend this book to people who relaly enjoy books about dragons and don't mind abuse, because there is quite a bit of it. I am going to be rating this book a 5/5 on goodreads.com

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Since I do not have the next book of this series, I am going to be starting a new novel that I recently got. I am going to be reading In the Woods by Tana Fench. I've been wanting to read this for a while and finally bought it. I can't wait. Happy reading everyone! :)

Hello

Hello everyone. I hoe you had a good weekend. I just wanted to inform you that I am going to be taking a break from the short story collection. I'm about half way through it, but I have a few novels that I really want to get to and I want to focus on them. If I find extra time I may continue a story or two from Munro's collection. But I think for now I am going to focus on a few novels that I recently inquired, and I'm sure I'll be getting more since Christmas is coming up and my birthday is a few weeks after Christmas as well. So I should be getting plenty. But the book that I have recently started is called Requiem's Song (Dawn of Dragons, #1) by Daniel Arenson. I won a free ebook of this novel and I am really enjoying it so far. Happy reading everyone :)

"Working for a Living"

The next story in Alice Munro's short story collection is Working for a Living. I don't have a whole lot to say about this story because it was not my favorite. It did not stand out much to me and it was somewhat uneventful. So my review of this story will probably be pretty short today.

This story takes place in about the early 1910's to 1920's and it is about this girl's father and how hardship working. Well, it wasn't exactly terrible, they were just getting by and were able to get some extra money if they really needed it. But the story is essentially about this girl's father's work experience during his life. He grew up on a farm and helped his parents farm, but when he was in his mid 20's he decided to go into the fur business and started raising his own fox and such. But he joined a little to late, about when the demand for furs was going downhill. But he managed to keep it going a little longer with the help of his wife. And down the line he ended up working nights as a caretaker in a factory and doing security, and he also mended the farm that they were owning as well. And much later into his life he raised Turkeys and eventually wrote a novel in his old age.

But that was really about it. I guess it is a look at what families did to survive, and that this man wanted to do something unusual, and he did, and he did fairly well at if for a while. But I did not find this story very enjoyable, but some might like it. But for me, it is one that probably could have been left out of the collection. Don't get me wrong, Munro's writing style is still amazing and the detail and characters were fantastically written, but the plot itself was kind of boring to me, making it difficult to enjoy.

Happy reading everyone :)

"The View From Castle Rock"

The View from Castle Rock was an amazing storing in Alice Munro's collection of short stories "Family Furnishings." I really enjoyed this story as well. It was much different from the other stories so far in this collection, helping vary up the long collection of stories. There was a lot going on in this story, so I'll keep my overview of it somewhat short because otherwise I think it could get confusing.

This story is about a family who is making the voyage over to America from Europe. First it starts with the father speaking of his dream for him and his family to go there to start fresh and maybe make more money than they do at present. And the father takes one of his sons up to a tower to view what he thinks to be America from across the sea, when really it is only an island that is not too far away. But the image stays with his son until the make the journey, which is several years later when his father is an old man and his son has a child with another on the way.

The journey is long and boring at times, but the father does not hold back his story telling. Some people can't stand it, but others find it as something to do. But what I really liked about this story is that it was so different from the other stories in this collection. And she really gets in the heads of all the characters and their personalities as they are traveling to the new world and the difficulties that come with it.And her detail description is amazing as well, like it has been the entire collection so far. She must have done a lot of research for this story because everything she describes, and the language the people use, and their mannerisms seem so real and accurate for the time period. I'm not a huge reader of historical fiction but I did really enjoy this piece.

Happy reading everyone :)

"The Bear Came Over the Mountain"

This story, The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro was so sad. I think it is the saddest story of her collection so far. This is the 8th story of her collection Family Furnishings. This story was a little longer, similar to the first couple of stories.

This story is about an old married couple, Fiona and Grant. I'm not exactly sure how old they are, but I'm guessing around late 60's to early 70's because they don't seem to be much older than that, but I can't remember if there was a specific age mentioned or not. But anyways...I think Fiona is a few years younger than Grant, but she begins to show symptoms of aging before he does. She begins to lose her short term memory and after a while begins to lose some of her long term memory. At first Grant thinks that she is making some of it up as a kind of game, because she is known to do that with him. But after awhile he doesn't think it's a game, and when she wanders out in the middle of a busy street, he decides it's time to put her in a nursing home where they can watch her.

He cannot see her for the first 30 days while she is there so that she can get a chance to adjust without any influence to get her out of the facility. After 30 days he goes to see her. She appears to recognize him, but she also seems to have grown close with another man who is in the facility. The rest of the story is about him trying to figure out how to deal with this situation because he does not want to upset her, but he does not want to loose his wife entirely either.

This story was so touching and sad at the same time. This man stayed true to his wife, even though she could barely remember him and their life together sometimes, and she seemed fond for another man. And the ending of the story was sweet as well. I think this story is my favorite now of this collection so far. I am no where near that age, I'm in my early 20's, but this story struck my heart because my grandmother is in a similar situation with my grandfather. He has been in a nursing home for several years now and can barely speak, but she visits him nearly everyday and has stood strong with him every step of the way, and I think that is why this story really touched me. This was a marvelous story and I highly recommend it. Happy reading everyone :)

"Post and Beam"

The next story in Alice Munro's collection is called Post and Beam, the 7th story in the collection. I enjoyed this story better than the previous story. This was had an interesting take on the ending. But first I'll try and give a general summery of the story. This story was a little shorter as well. I think the next few will be about the same length from what I saw flipping through to see their length.


First we meet this young man named Lionel, who is supposed to be a genius, at least that is what I understood. He went to college at a young age, but he ended up having a mental breakdown and was sent to a mental institution. But somehow he becomes friends with Lorna and her family. The rest of the story follows Lorna and her cousin Polly who comes to visit. Her husband is under the impression that Polly is going to ask for money but Lorna doesn't believe it. But later in the story she gets the idea that Polly is planning on staying, and not returning her her grandmother and aunt whom she has been living with her whole life. And Polly gets the idea that Lorna's family does not want her around anymore.

And after all of this, Lorna and her family go off to a wedding they had been invited to for the weekend, and on the way back, Lorna gets worried that Polly might have done something terrible to herself because of the way things were when they left. I won't go much further because I don't want to spoil the ending, but it wasn't exactly what I had expected.

One thing that I have noticed in this collection so far is that Munro seems to write from the female perspective most of the time. At least she has so far with the first 7 stories. It could vary as I continue through the collection, but the last few have been female dominate in point of view. I'm not saying its a bad thing, it's just an observation that I noticed today. But once again, this story is full of detail, but it isn't overwhelmingly detailed. It's just enough and worded so well that you can picture everything you need to to get inside these characters' minds and pasts. I absolutely love her writing style.

Continuing "Family Furnishings"

Yay! I finally had time to read a story in Alice Munro's collection! Today I read the short story Family Furnishings, the same title she used to name the collection of stories. This is 6th story of the collection, and it is shorter than the first 5, which was a nice change.

So I'm going to sum up this story a little bit for you. This story is about a girls aunt, Alfrida, which I thought was an interesting name. Alfrida is kind of one of those aunts who just doesn't care what others think of her, she will do what she likes, while still being polite and friendly. But she had a traumatic childhood when her mother died form a horrible accident. So Alfrida ended up living with this girls grandmother. And we don't learn this girls name until late in the story, her name is Tennessee Williams, again, and interesting name. But this story mainly is about the affect Alfrida has on Tennessee and what kind of woman she becomes herself, even when she starts to see Alfrida less often. And when Tennessee is in her second year of college she finally goes to have lunch at Alfrida's house and learns more about her mother's death. Tennessee then decides that she wants to use some of that in a story that she eventually writes years later. And at the end of this story we learn more about Alfrida than expected, but I won't spoil it for you :)

I did enjoy this story, but it wasn't as great as the a few of the earlier stories. At least for me. I think I wanted a little more influence of Alfrida on Tennessee's life, but then again, we all have that aunt who we love greatly and has a unique personality compared to the rest of the family, but only visits occasionally, no matter how close they live. But like I said, it wasn't as great as a few of the other stories to far. But I think Alfrida was the most unique character yet and the more lively and detailed in her characteristics while being told from an outsiders perspective. I really like how Munro can write so differently with POV and characters and their mannerisms. It's amazing. I can see why she won the nobel prize in literature. She has an amazing talent and I can't wait to continue this collection. Happy reading everyone :)

Haven't read this weekend

Sorry I haven't read this weekend. I've been pretty busy. Had Thanksgiving at my to-be in-law's house and then I needed to catch up on a bunch of writing for NaNoWriMo because I fell behind, and I will be doing the same today, lots of writing. And tomorrow I have a Thanksgiving meal with my family. So I don't have a whole lot of time to read. But starting Monday I should be back on track with reading and such. Hope you all have had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Happy reading everyone :)

Continuing "Family Furninshings"

Today I read the short story Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro. This is her 5th story in the collection. This story was interesting as well. It had a similar feel to the previous story in the collection.

This story is told in several different points of view, which I enjoyed. I felt the Munro did a wonderful job writing these different points of view and she did another great job at creating realistic characters. The first point of view of of Johannah, who the story revolves around. It starts with Johannah making arrangements to ship furniture and buying a train ticket followed with her buying a new dress for herself. Then the point of view changes to the man she works for. She is a housekeeper and cook for an older man who's wife past away and his daughter has passed away as well. Through his point of view we discover that the furniture Johannah has arranged to be moved is not in fact her furniture to sell, which puts the man in a sort of frenzy and is uncharacteristic when speaking with his friends around town.

Then the POV changes to two young teenage girls. One girl, Sabitha, is the granddaughter of the man Johannah works for. Sabitha writes to her father who does not take care of her, but her aunts do. Her friend becomes curious about the extra letter that Johannah has been adding to the envelope that Sabitha sends her father. Eventually they begin writing letters to Johannah that her father, Ken, had not really written. The last letter, however, evokes Johannah to pack up and go to him. This is where the beginning of the story started.

Then we go back to Johannah's point of view and her experience when finding Ken. I don't want to go much further because I do not want to give away anything. But I really am enjoying Munro's writing style and her ability to bring these characters to life. They are all so realistic and jump off the page. I haven't encountered any characters that are similar to each other so far. She writes anything and everything and does it well. I can't wait to continue. I probably won't get much reading done this coming weekend because of the holiday but I will try and read a few stories here and there. Happy reading everyone :)

"Family Furnishings"

I read the fourth story, My Mother's Dream in Alice Munro's Family Furnishings collection of short stories. And so far this is my favorite story. It was sad and compelling at the same time. But it felt so real. The characters were realistic and Munro's writing style is absolutely marvelous. She gives us enough detail to see the surroundings and understand the way some of the characters are. Its absolutley beautiful.

I've decided that I'm going to give a review of each story since this collection is pretty long and at the end I will give an overall review of how I feel with the collection as a whole. So today I will begin with the short story My Mother's Dream. At first it is difficult to tell who is telling the story, but after about 2 or 3 pages we discover that it is in Jill's child's perspective. Jill is the main character of the story but it is told through her child's point of view, even right before she is born. But we still get somewhat deep insights into Jill's life and her sister-in-laws. Jill gives birth to her daughter shortly after she receives the news that her husband has been kill in WWII as a pilot. But the story is not really about her late husband. It is more about the early relationship, or lack-there-of, with her new born daughter.

Jill tries to breast feed her daughter, but the child refuses to par
take in it. So Jill's sister-in-law, Ioda, feeds the child a bottle of formula. From then on the child takes to Ioda instead of Jill. Anything Jill does makes the child cry and scream until Ioda comes and comforts her. Jill does not seem phased by this. She is worn from the birth and becoming a widow all in such a short time span that her thoughts and body are strained. I think she is glad that Ioda has taken a fondness of the child and that the child likes her as well. But the Ioda and her sister have to go on a small trip for a weekend, leaving Jill and the baby alone.

This creates the usual stress of being a new mother and trying to calm a child that does not like you. Jill begins to feel her patience growing thin and wants to sleep. The child only stops crying to feed fora few minutes, or decides to take a small break from crying. But the child cries at anything Jill does. It is this scene that really made me like this story. It is such a realistic occurrence. I myself am not a mother, but I can only image the kind of stress and unease this kind of situation would case a new mother. But the way Munro wrote this weekend of Jill and her child together was absolute marvelous and capturing. I could feel myself in the house with her as she tried to figure out a way to deal with the child and to help herself as well.

Now I won't go too much into the ending because I don't want to spoil anything. It is an interesting ending that also kind of ties into the beginning scene, but it was unexpected for me. I didn't see it coming, but once it happened I connected it to the beginning scene. I will only say that it changed the relationship between Jill and her new daughter, and for the better. I really enjoyed this story and I hope the others continue to be this great. I am really enjoying this author's work and I am so glad I was able to win this book in a goodreads.com giveaway. Tomorrow I will write about the next story in the collection. Happy reading everyone :)

Haven't done much reading...

Sorry but I haven't done much reading. Yesterday was my fiancee's birthday so I was doing things with him and his family, and today his kid brother is here for the day so I probably won't get any reading done either. I'm hoping to get back on schedule on Monday with reading. This collection of short stories is a long one so it will take me awhile regardless. Hope you all are having a great weekend and happy reading :)

Started "Family Furnishings"

Well, I've completed the first two stories in Alice Munro's short story collection Family Furnishings and holy cow are they long. This collection of stories is comprised of 24 stories. But the two that I have read are absolutely wonderful. The first story was very long though, about 50 pages. For me a short story should top off at about 20-30 pages, but I did really enjoy this first story. It was creatively written and it was difficult for me to put it down because I wanted to see where the story was going. It was divided into several sections that were in different points of view that revolved around the same event, but not at the same time. I thought that was great for the story.

The second story I read, which I read today, was a little more challenging. It was difficult for me to keep up with the point of view and I think the time period as well. But it was an interesting story of what I took as adults trying to cope with change that happens in their lives and what not. Even though I did have trouble following the point of view a little, it was still a fun read. I don't know if I just wasn't concentrating enough and my mind was wandering to make me confused or what, but it was still enjoyable.

Alice Munro has a wonderful writing style and is very detailed and vivid, but she only shows what you need to see. I don't think she has really over done it, even with the first story being a fairly long short story, it was still very enjoyable and not dragging. I really like her style of writing, she creates these worlds with just elegant words and interesting characters. I'm excited to read the rest of the stories. Happy reading everyone :)

"Baptisms and Dogs: Stories" by B.L. Tucker

Babptisms & Dogs: Stories by B.L. Tucker was an enjoyable read. I won this collection of short stories in a goodreads.com giveaway and it did enjoy this collection. It is a collection of 12 stories that are all based in the town of Seton Kentucky. That is the one commonality that ties the 12 stories together. The stories are all very different. The first one starts with a baptism and a tragic accident, there is a serial murder in the middle, and a bar fight at the end. The stories were not difficult to read at all. Very easy and fast paced.

The only thing that I did not like is that not many of the 12 stories gave me an ending feeling. I believe that short stories should leave you with a certain emotion, or make you think about what you had just read. Many of these did not do that for me. They were pretty straight forward and did not leave me with a certain emotion or have some ironic ending that left me speechless. A few of them I felt were even unfinished. Some of them were really good starts and had great potential, but then they just end, leaving me with a 'that's is'? mentality. I think some of them could have been amazing if they were just a little bit longer and had some kind of ironic ending or something like that. That was my only disappointment from this collection.

I did like that they were all based in the same town. I am not sure if they are all based around the same time or not, but I liked the commonality spread through the stories, tying the stories together. I think it makes a collection of short stories that much stronger when there is a commonality spread through out them.And the characters where all very strongly written. I really enjoyed that. They were very realistic and came to life in their short time in the collection. They were all different in unique, but very believable, which I enjoy. This author has a great way with creating characters and having them feel like they could be real people.

I am rating this collection of stories 4/5 on goodreads.com only because of the "incomplete" feeling some of the stories gave me. But I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys short stories and is looking for something new. And  I would also like to thank B.L.Tucker for sending me the book and having the giveaway.

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The next book I am going to be reading is another collection of short stories. It is much longer though so it will probably take me awhile to get through it, but it looks great. I also won this collection in a goodreads.com giveaway. I am going to be reading Family Furnishings Selected Stories, 1995-2014 by Alice Munro.

About Half way

I'm about half way through Baptisms & Dogs: Stories and so far the stories have been interesting. A nice variety of subjects and many of their page lengths vary as well. I'm not going to say much yet because I am only half way and since it is a collection of short stories  I would rather wait until the end to give a good review. But so far I have enjoyed the collection and I'm excited to see what the second half of the collection has in store. I'm sure I will be able to finish to book by Monday, at least I'm hoping so. It's shouldn't be difficult. The stories are fairly easy to read. Happy reading everyone :)

Finished "Rain Clouds and Waterfalls" by Piper Templeton

I really enjoyed Rain Clouds and Waterfalls by Piper Templeton. It was a novel written in short stories. The time increments in-between each story varies but some times does pass. The whole novel spans from 1976 to what I believe to be the late 80's.

The novel is a coming-of-age story for a young girl named Ellen who doesn't fully understand why her brother left their family when she was young. But she uses her passion, and her brother's, for the Beatles to help her get through troubling times in her life. She always finds a way to relate their songs to her life and they help her escape her troubling thoughts about her life as she constantly is reminded of her brother and how much she misses him. There are ten stories that focus on a particular time period of her life. One is her first crush, her first job, another her first sexual experience, and her loss and regaining of old friendships along the way.

I really enjoyed the way this novel was written. I liked that they were short stories but it was still a novel at the same time. And I really enjoyed the incorporation of the Beatles. It gave the stories a connecting thread to hold them all together. And I absolutely loved the ending. It was heart-warming and sad at the same time. I don't want to give too much away, but I thought it was a great ending for this book. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different or new to read. It's a very easy read and very enjoyable.

I would like to thank Piper Templeton for the opportunity to win this book in a goodreads.com giveaway. I will admit  I wasn't sure if I would really like this book, and I found myself really enjoying it and it was hard to put it down. I am rating this book a 5/5 on goodreads.com

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The next book I am going to be reading is Baptisms & Dogs: Stories by B.L. Tucker, a book I won in a goodreads.com giveaway. Happy reading everyone :)

Already Half Way

I'm already half way through Rain Clouds and Waterfalls and it is a wonderful book so far. I'm excited to right a full review for this book. It's a creative way to tell a coming of age story of a girl named Ellen.in the 70's and how she copes with things while listening to her Beatles' records. I think I should have the book done my Tuesday for sure. It's a pretty simple read but some of the 'stories' are a little long and I'll be distracted with football tomorrow and I still want to get a bunch of writing done for National Noel Writing Month this month. I'm doing a lot better than I expected so far so I'm going to really push myself to keep it going. Happy reading everyone :)

"Forsaken" by Keary Taylor; My final thoughts

I have finished Keary Taylor's book Forsaken. It is the second book of the her Fall of Angels series. It was slightly different from the first book. The biggest difference was that we get a few sections of the story from Alex' point of view. However, I felt most of them were unnecessary for the book until perhaps the last one in his view. The rest of them did not really do much for the story except change it up a little. I think if there were more sections of Alex' perspective it might have helped, but there were only a hand full of sections by him. The rest was heavily Jessica's perspective. Adding Alex' perspective did not ruin the book, but I think if it was a little more balanced it might have helped add to the importance of Alex' perspective instead of just Jessica's like in book one.

Now to the actual plot. I must say this book fell way short compared to the first book. It was honestly hard for me to keep my interest and finish it but I was hopeful for the end. And I must say, even the ending was kind of a let down. Yeah they solved the problem with Cole and found Emily finally and a few other things were resolved but there was nothing at the end that is making me want to read the last book. I don't think I'm going to purchase it to read it. If the series actually ended with this book I thought it would be just fine. But like I said, there is nothing really driving me to get the last book so I'm not planning on it. At least for now. Maybe if the price drops on it on Amazon I might consider it more.

Ok I got a little distracted. Now more about the plot. 80% of this book was Jessica being angry at Alex for not proposing! Like seriously? That was why it was so hard for me to get through most of this book. It barely had anything to do with the angles except that they needed to find Cole and get him to go back to the afterlife and that Alex was still adjusting to being "dead". But other than that it was all Jessica complaining that Alex was restraining from proposing to her. And the only reason she was was because she knew about the proposal just before she got kidnapped by Cole in the first book. If Cole had not told her about he proposal, she would not have been arguing with Alex this entire book. And because she is so caught up in this debate, she doesn't even really start to worry about Emily until A MONTH after she has been missing! A WHOLE MONTH! Like seriously, that is probably the most unrealistic things ever. Emily is Jessica's best friend who she has been through a lot with and can fully open up to about everything. And even after a week of Emily missing she barely says anything about it. But after a month, when Jessica finally goes to Emily's apartment to check things out, Jessica finally starts to really worry and decides to go after her. If my friend was missing for a week I would be searching frantically. I wouldn't wait a WHOLE MONTH to finally realize that shit isn't right. I just found that utterly ridiculous. I was also kind of sad that Sal was not as involved in this book. I really enjoyed Sal in the first book. She was almost like a comic relief but she was enjoyable and helped Jessica rethink things. And in this book she only really confronts Sal with her problem with Alex once. And it's near the end of their long dispute and she finally goes, "Oh wow. Maybe he does have a good reason" and it took Sal to make her realize that. I think if she had seen Sal about it much earlier in the book it would have been better.

So I got a little ranty about this book. Sorry about that. But I was really disappointed with this one compared to the first one and I doubt I will be reading the last book. I am going to be rating this book a 3.5/5 on goodreads.com.

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My next book that I will be reading is called by Piper Templeton. I won this book in a goodreads.com giveaway. It's a novel told in short stories so I'm not exactly sure how I will review the book. I'll see once I start reading it. Happy reading everyone :)

Rain Clouds and Waterfalls

Almost There

According to my kindle I am about 80% through Forsaken. I think I should be able to have it finished tomorrow, but if not I will for sure have it done Friday. But right now I really don't know if I"m going to buy the next book. I mean I probably will, but if the ending to this book isn't that great I might not finish the series. I don't know...this book is a lot less exciting than the first one. But it will depend on how it ends. I'll explain it more in my final review either tomorrow or Friday. Happy reading everyone :)

About half way with "Forsaken"

I'm almost at the half way mark of Forsaken by Keary Taylor. Things have certainly heated up now. Jessica and Alex need to find a way to deal with the still missing Cole. Alex has encountered a traumatic experience with the angels who are trying to find Cole and bring him back to where he belongs. Jessica is also dealing with her younger sister showing up in the middle of the night running from her abusive boyfriend. And Emily is still missing, and Jessica hasn't said much about that yet which really surprises me. Sometimes Jessica's priorities shock me. If my best friend was still missing I would be panicking and do whatever I could to find her. But Jessica almost seems fine now that Alex is back. I don't know, sometimes I feel Jessica is kind of selfish and lacks empathy but then other times I can understand why she is like that. I think that is kind of a good thing though because it helps create a more complex character. But there are moments where I question the way she deals with things and what problem she puts more focus on.

But like I said last time, I haven't been reading as much because National Novel Writing Month has started so I have been doing a lot more writing and will be until the end of the month. I will try to keep up on reading, but who knows what will happen. Happy reading everyone :)

Started "Forsaken"

I just finished chapter 6 of Forsaken by Keary Taylor. It takes place about 4 months after the ending of Branded. It's not a terrible start to the book. Just kind of going over things that passed by the 4 months and some of the challenges that are happening now after what happened to Alex. And now Jessica and Alex are having troubles figuring out how to handle the rest of their lives; like when/if Alex will pop the question that Jessica wants him to ask. And things with her friend Emily are getting interesting as well. I think something big is going to happen with her since she has been acting strange and has admitted to Jessica that she is jealous of what her and Alex have because Emily can't seem to find a man to treat her the way Alex treats Jessica. But so far I don't have any complaints about the book. Maybe that it's a little slow of a start to a second book, but that could change.

And just a heads up, I don't know how much reading I will be doing this next month because National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow so I have a lot of writing to do. This is my first year participating so I hope it goes well. I will still be reading but I just don't know how much I will be reading. So it might take me a little longer to finish the book. Happy reading everyone :)

"Branded" by Keary Taylor; my final thoughts

I have finished Branded by Keary Taylor, the first book of her Fallen Angels series. I really enjoyed this book. Lots of great imagery and character development. The book is about the life of a girl named Jessica who has these nightmares ever since she was a young child. Every time she sleeps she stands trial for people who have passed away and is branded on her neck and her shoulders no matter what. She always wakes up screaming. Because of this she avoids sleep as much as possible; she will go days without sleeping because of this.

Jessica is in her 20's and is home caretaker for an older couple who owns several homes. One night their grandson shows up, without realizing that she would be there, and reports that they passed away and everything had been left to him and a set amount of money set aside to provide for the caretaker, Jessica. And of course the two of them spend a lot of time together and fall in love. Alex, the grandson, is the perfect guy, the guy any girl dreams of. He's charming, funny, polite, and understanding. He will do anything for Jessica, which becomes evident at the end of the book, which I will not spoil because it is quite the ending!

But there is one man who makes an appearance that causes all sorts of trouble. His name is Cole, and he moves in two houses down from Jessica. Jessica feels that something is wrong about him but she cannot place it until it is almost too late. I don't want to reveal to much about Cole's character because it is much more fun to discover it in the book.

I am going to be rating this book a 5/5 on goodreads.com. I absolutely love this book and can't wait to continue the series. The detail and characters where absolutely wonderfully written. I will admit I wish there were a few more action scenes, but I have a feeling things will intensify in the next book. I would highly recommend this book for someone who wants to start a new series. I was able to get the first book for free on my kindle, but I do not know how long that offer will be available.

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I will be reading the next book in the Fallen Angels series Forsaken by Keary Taylor. I'm really excited. Happy reading everyone :)

About half way through "Branded"

This book is actually a pretty fast read, which is why I'm already at about the half way mark. Things are starting to get interesting. Jessica's strange dreams are now starting to change, and she has discovered that she is not the only one with this strange occurrence. I stopped at the part where she is about to talk to this girl, Emily, who is also her yoga instructor, about the dreams that they both have.

Things between Jessica and Alex are starting to get really serious, and I must say, I love Alex. He is perfect and charming and romantic and understanding about Jessica's nightmares. However, the author has introduced another mane, Cole, that I'm not to fond of. If Jessica ends up getting caught in a love circle, I'm gonna me really mad. There are too many books with love triangles that I think that would ruin this book for me. But I would still finish the series since I am enjoying this book. But it Jessica ends up in a love triangle.....I am going to be disappointed. Right now it doesn't seem like it will happen, but who knows.

But like I said, so far I am really enjoying this book. I can't wait to see how it goes and eventually continue on to book 2. Happy reading everyone :)

Started "Branded"

I got through the first 4 chapters of Branded by Keary Taylor. It's not a bad start so far. Lots of background and set up for whats to come. We follow the life of a girl named Jessica that has strange dreams. Ever since she was young, when she falls asleep she goes to what I am calling "judgement" where she stands before angels who are deciding whether a person goes to heaven or hell for the things they have done in their life. She does not know why it happens, but it always happens in her sleep. I'm sure we will find out more about this strange occurrence since I'm only in the first 4 chapters, but it is very interesting.

Other than that, Jessica's life seems to be pretty normal so far. She is a caretaker for an old couples home, since they seem to own several properties. But in the middle of the night, their grandson Alex comes to inform her that they passed away in a car accident and that they left everything to him, including the property. Jessica doesn't know what will happen, and she is starting to sense some romantic feelings towards him, even though she doesn't want to because she has been hurt before.

So far I am enjoying the start of this book. It's a little slow but I'm sure things will pick up. I'm excited to see where this goes. Happy reading everyone :)

"Beloved Purgatory" by Katherine Pine; my final thoughts

I have finished reading the second book of Katherine Pine's Fallen Angels series, Beloved Purgatory. It was very similar to the first book; same style of writing and an easy read. Fast paced like the first one, but not as fast, there were a lot more slower moments in this book, but it didn't drag on or anything.

I really enjoyed this sequel to After Eden. It picked up right where After Eden left off, which I like. I don't really like sequels that skip a lot of time. It's probably strange, but it's a small, picky thing of mine. But there were very interesting turns of events in this one. Many more than in the first book. I don't want to give too much away though. That's the only thing I don't like about reviewing sequels because I don't want to give to many spoilers, but I don't want to give a very plain review either.

The images Katherine Pine creates are very strong and beautifully written. I can picture every scene and character she describes. I really enjoyed her writing.

I don't have a whole lot to talk about character wise. Devi is still figuring things out about her and her brother, and Oz. The character that I feel developed the most was Devi's angel, Cameal. He seems to be on the verge of wanting to experience human things, like Oz did before he fell. I really hope Cameal doesn't fall but he definitely has shown that he has almost considered it. And I think that has a lot to do with the way Devi talks to him. She consistently tells him that he is so cold and emotionless, even though it is not his fault. And I think some of the things she says is starting to get to him. I think he wants to be more caring and show more empathy, even if it is against God's will.

And Devi has discovered that she is much more powerful than she had ever realized, and Oz was blind to it as well. I really want to see what she does, or doesn't, do with this power that she has. I know I would be scared beyond belief if I had that kind of power her and her brother have.

However, I am very sad that the third book has not yet been released. From what I have seen online, it looks like it was supposed to come out a while ago and still hasn't been published. I really hope that it comes out so that we can finish the trilogy, but as of now, I have seen no news regarding the release of the third book.

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The next book that I will be reading is Branded (Fall of Angels book 1) by Keary Taylor.

Continueing "Beloved Purgatory"

I've about about 5 or 6 chapters left in Beloved Purgatory by Katherine Pine and I'm really interested to see what happens. I don't want to give to much away but Devi has made a deal with a devil that I am sure she will regret soon.
Her relationship with her angel is also becoming interesting. He almost seems to be showing emotions, like he is becoming attached to Devi in a new way. I'm really curious to see how that plays out in the end of this book. His character has made the most change so far I think, and I really like it. Hopefully tomorrow I will finish the book and post my final thoughts. Happy reading :)

Started "Beloved Purgatory" by Katherine Pine

Today I read the first 4 chapters of Beloved Purgatory by Katherine Pine. It starts right where the last book ended, which I like. I enjoy books that do that more than books that skip time in between books, but anyways...Devi has to try and explain why she has been gone for several days to her mother and ends up not telling her anything. She is still struggling with her angel that is everywhere with her at all times, and she is now discovering that Oz has an interesting secret of his own. I have not gotten to the part where she knows what the secret is, but she now knows that there is something important he is not telling her. I'm sure we will find out soon enough but where I stopped reading he has not told her yet.

Things are really getting interesting with Devi and her angel. She is constantly trying to keep in away and not wanting any help from him, but she is beginning to realize that she needs him more than she wants. It will be interesting to see how that relationship will develop. Happy reading everyone :)

Final thoughts of "After Eden" by Katherine Pine

After Eden by Katherine Pine is a fantasy/YA (Young Adult) book that is an easy and faced paced story. The story is about a girl named Devi, who has lost her brother when she was young. She will do anything to find out what had happened to him and where he went. She also suffers from horrific pain and seizure like symptoms often. But she soon learns what these "seizures" are and what is causing them. I won't explain too much because I don't want to give away any spoilers, but she ends up having one of theses "seizures" in her favorite book store and the man who owns it stays with her to help her through it. But she soon finds out that he is not what he appears to be.

The man she meets is called Oz, who is tall, dark, and handsome. He is a demon stuck in a world that he does not feel a part of. However, like any YA novel, he falls in love with Devi almost immediately, and the same goes for her too. Oz is almost that typical "bad" guy who is trying to do good but is judged kind of by his looks. He has been hurt in the past but wants to move past them finally. He wants to have a relationship with Devi, but he knows that if he does that things could end badly because of a curse that God put on devils and demons when they chose to love the Earth and humanity more than God himself. Oz has fallen for Devi hard, no matter how much he tried to avoid it. He knew the consequences but he couldn't stop his feelings for her. He longs to feel connected to the world that he chose to be in instead of loving God, and he begins to feel that connection with Devi.


But Devi is a girl with very few friends and little to no experience/luck with guys, so it was inevitable that she was going to fall head-over-heals for the first guy that took a genuine interest in her. She is very emotional as well; probably one of the most emotional characters that I have read, but it did not make me dislike the book. I think it was because her emotions where not a typical winy, young high school drama emotions, but they were genuine feelings that are hard to deal with. She has had countless tragedies happen to her and her mother and it only makes sense that she is so emotional when difficult things happen in the book. Granted, I would have liked it if she was slightly less cry-y but I can live with it. Maybe in the second book she won't be as cry-y and emotional, but we'll see. I could see that being a character progress if she did learn to control her crying and emotions better. But I do think that Devi is a very believable character and is developed well. I think the author did very well making her character. I could picture her perfectly and could believe her motives and reactions to most things in the book.

I am rating this novel a 4/5 on goodreads.com. I really enjoyed this book. It had great imagery and well developed and unique characters. There were also interesting twists and turns that I did not expect. I would recommend this book to anyone one who enjoys YA novels or fantasy or books about fallen angels. I hope my review was helpful. Happy reading everyone! :)

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My next novel I am going to be reading is the sequel, Beloved Purgatory by Katherine Pine. I'm super excited to see what happens :)

Continuing "After Eden" by Katherine Pine

I'm at 72% in the book according to my kindle :) and I am super excited. I have a feeling that I may be able to finish it tomorrow, and if not I will for sure have it finished Monday. But I'm pretty confident that I'll have it done tomorrow. It's a pretty easy read so I should be able to breeze past it. I think the ending is going to be interesting and I'm going to start book 2 right after I finish this one. I can't wait to find out what happens next, but I'm not going to give any spoilers :) Happy reading

Half way with "After Eden"

Made it to the half way point of After Eden and things are getting interesting. I really don't want to spoil anything because things are so good in this book. But do far in this book all of the characters are greatly developed and interesting. All of them are different and unique and believable. I really think that makes this book that much better. The story is interesting as well and it's developments are surprising as they come along and that is why I'm refraining from saying much. At least for now. Depending on how it ends I might say more in my final review of the book. Happy reading everyone :)

Started "After Eden"

I read the first 5 chapters of After Eden and I must say it was difficult for me to put it down so far. It is very interesting and action packed almost from the start. The story is about a girl named Devi, who has lost her brother when she was young. She will do anything to find out what had happened to him and where he went. She also suffers from horrific pain and seizure like symptoms often. But she soon learns what these "seizures" are and what is causing them. I won't explain too much because I don't want to give away any spoilers, but she ends up having one of theses "seizures" in her favorite book store and the man who owns it stays with her to help her through it. But she soon finds out that he is not what he appears to be.

I am really enjoying this book so far. I can't believe I never got to it until now. I've had in on my kindle for what seems forever and I am now finally getting to it. Even after only the first 5 chapters I already would recommend it to someone who enjoys fantasy or wants something new that isn't in their usual genre of reading. I'm really liking this novel so far. I can't wait to continue it tomorrow. Happy reading everyone :)

"The Bubble Gum Thief" by Jeff Miller, My final thoughts

So I lied earlier, I managed to finish the book :) And it was interesting to say the least. I'll try to give a quick summary and then go into more detail. The story is about detective Dangy who is an average agent, but she also suffers from anorexia (I will touch on this later).  The BGT (Bubble Gum Thief) is a criminal who's crimes escalate and he leaves a small card with a stick of bubble gum on the back as a "calling card" if you will. Now I don't want to give to much away, but I think now I will go into a few specific things about the characters and some of the plot....

I really wanted to feel sorry for Dangy when things in her personal life get bad (I won't specify because I don't want to reveal a spoiler) but I can't feel bad because the way she reacts to it and talks about it isn't all that believable....I don't know, it was just really hard to connect with her because she so distant with everyone, including the reader, and when things do go bad I wanted to feel it but there was nothing to feel, which I think is what is making this book difficult to really get into and be memorable. Like I said before, Dangy just seems to distant and it's hard to feel anything for her, and I honestly feel closer to everyone she meets than her and I feel that shouldn't be the case since she is the protagonist. I honestly feel closer to her partner, Victor, during the investigation because he is such a "dork" and is probably used as the "comic relief" of the story, but he is much more relate-able and sincere and the reader can easily pick that up. But honestly I can't even pick a trait that covers Dangy's personality other than "distant" because that is all she really is. I just can't connect to her and I wish I could. I feel we don't know a lot about her except that he suffers from anorexia but even that doesn't seem realistic. I feel that the author just kind of made her anorexic to make her a more complex character but it doesn't really seem to be affecting her much...it just seems strange... The other characters I really enjoy though, they seem unique and realistic and make me laugh at times, but Dangy still seems flat and shes the protagonist....

The BGT (Bubble Gum Thief) seems too stereotypical. He's creepy and stalker-ish like you see in movies or a TV show....I was hoping for more originality because I find the concept of his crimes very interesting by leaving a card with a stick of bubble gum at each scene. And his crimes escalate each time. But I feel the character does not fit the crime....I don't know, he just didn't really stand out and didn't give me that "OMG NO WAY" or "THAT MAKES SENSE NOW!" moment that I like to get with these kinds of books when we finally get a look at the criminal. I found Victor, Dangy's partner in the investigation, more interesting than BGT...which I don't think is very good. Even at the end of the book the reader does not learn much about BGT. It was kind of unsatisfying, spending all that time reading the book and really not learning much about the criminal himself. The crimes where interesting but I also wanted more about him.

The ending did have a nice little spin at the end, but it was nothing that I expected and it did not really give any insight to BGT, but I did enjoy the ending.

I'm going to be giving this novel a 3.5/5 on goodreads.com. I don't feel this book quite deserved a 4 because of the lack of character building of the criminal. I think if there was more on the criminal I could have given it a 4, maybe even a 5.

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The next book I will be starting, which I probably won't start till Monday, is After Eden (Fallen Angels book 1) by  Katherine Pine. I've had it on my kindle for a while so I'm excited to finally read it :) Happy Reading everyone

Didn't read much last few days

Yesterday I did not read because I wasn't feeling well and today I haven't read much because I had my brother stop by and spent time with him. But I am planning on having the book done by Monday. I"m pretty confident I should be able to have it done Monday. And I've already started a basic review so it shouldn't take me long to update it once I finish and post my review. It's probably my longest review yet! Happy reading everyone :)

Almost there

I have just under a hundred pages to go and things are finally starting to come together a little bit. We have seen some interactions between Dangy and The Bubble Gum Thief. Their encounter was interesting (I won't specify because I don't want to give away anything) but I felt it was almost too brief. It was also not that original; it was strange and almost too stereotypical of a "mad-man." I don't know, maybe it was just me, but from what we saw of BGT (Bubble Gum Thief, abbreviation used in the book) he was unoriginal. But maybe it will change by the end, there is still about 100 pages left so a lot can happen. But it was nice to finally see something between Dangy and BGT. I hope the ending is worth it :) Happy reading everyone

Half way

Reached the half way point of The Bubble Gum Thief and it's still not really going anywhere. The bubble gum thief has now committed their 7th crime. It's interesting how the crimes are escalating but I want more about the crimes and the criminal. I think there is almost too much focus on the other stuff. Yeah, it's important, but with this kind of book I feel the crime and criminal should have a little more focus than what there is so far in the book. But as of now I would give the book a 3.5/5. We'll see if the second half can impress me a little more, but I am determined to finish it. I hate not finishing a book, even if I end up not liking, I still want to finish it. Happy reading :)

Reached Chapter 24

Today I got to chapter 24 of The Bubble Gum Thief and it is still kind of developing. There still isn't much known about the criminal but that he is on his 6th crime I believe, if I remember correctly. But I feel that the main character, Dangy, is still kind of flat. I feel we still don't know a lot about her except that he suffers from anorexia but even that doesn't seem realistic. I feel that the author just kind of made her anorexic to make her a more complex character but it doesn't really seem to be affecting her much...it just seems strange...maybe it will get better. The other characters I really enjoy though, they seem unique and realistic and make me laugh at times, but Dangy still seems flat and shes the protagonist....which I think she should be more developed. But there is still a lot to go so hopefully she will develop more. Happy reading everyone :)

Started The Bubble Gum Thief

Today I started The Bubble Gum Thief. I read nearly 50 pages, I think up to chapter 7. It's an ok start. I thought there would be more going on by now after 50 pages but it is over 400 pages so it's probably taking longer to set up the characters and what not. So far the Bubble Gum thief has committed 2 crimes: stealing a pack of gum and sell cocaine. It will be interesting to see how his crimes progress. Happy Reading :)

The Sky Tells No Lies by Don Derkach; My Final Thoughts

I have finished The Sky Tells No Lies by Don Derkach and I must say I really enjoyed this book. It's not terribly long, only 272 pages. And it was a fast read, nothing too complicated but action filled and suspenseful at the same time.

The book mainly revolves around a man named Quintin, or QT as he is often referred to as, and the murderer who called himself Horoscopus. The murderer calls himself that because he uses astrological signs and planet alignments to determine when his best time to murder and get away with it is. The author does a great job of explaining the thinking behind this for the reader through QT, the reader learns it with him since he is new to it as well. QT is a retired investigative reporter who gets talked into assisting with the investigation and gets involved way more than he ever expected. He also seems to really get into the astrological signs as he learns about them. But I won't say much more, I don't want to give anything away.

There are several POV changes in the book and they were well done. They are mostly shifts between QT and Horoscopus but there are a few POV changes to some of the other side characters as well. It was fun to see things from different perspectives. There were only a few spots that the POV changes could have been a little smother I think, or at least a little more noticeable, but in the end the reader can figure them out.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I'm rating it a 5/5 on goodreads.com. I have never really been interesting in astrology and signs and horoscopes and things like that but this book made it interesting because  I wanted to see how Horoscopus planned it all out and made the connections. The characters were well formed and believable as well. I would strongly recommend this book so anyone who likes investigative/murder/mystery books. It's something different and well written.

I would like to thank Don Derach for sending me this novel since I won it in a goodreads.com giveaway. I really enjoyed the book :)

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The next book I will be reading is The Bubble Gum Thief by Jeff Miller, a book I purchased on my kindle. It looks to be a bit of a longer book so it may take me some time. Happy reading everyone :)

Should finish tomorrow

I should be able to finish The Sky Tells No Lies by tomorrow unless something comes up and I don't get much reading done. I've got about 60 pages left, maybe a little less. I can't wait to write my full review of this book. I'm really enjoying it. If you enjoy fast paced mystery/investigative stories this is a great book to pick up :) Happy Reading

Half way

I got to about half way through The Sky Tells No Lies today and I am really enjoying this book so far. It's fast paced but it's easy to follow and keeps you interested in how things are connected. I can't wait to find out how the astrologist serial killer actually determines when to murder lawyers. It's very good. I'm hoping to have it done by Tuesday, depending if I read this weekend or not. Happy reading everyone :)

Started "The Sky tells no Lies"

Today I started The Sky Tells No Lies. I read the first 5 chapters of the book and I must say it is very interesting. The book is in the point of view of QT, a nearly 60 year old man who was formerly a reporter for a newspaper. Three months into his retirement he is called to help work on an investigation of a serial murderer. The man has been murdering lawyers according to his astrological sign and placement of the planets for his success. Right now QT is on his way to Florida to attend a meeting that the murderer may be attending. Honestly, I have never really been that interested in astrology and birth month signs and all of that but this has got me interested in how the murderer puts it all together. I can't wait to see what unravels next :) Happy reading everyone

Sacrifices, Book Two of the Honor Bound Series by Kat Loveland

I have finished it!!! I'm so glad I was able to finish this book today. I felt it took me way to long to finish it. I didn't read as much as I had wanted to over the weekend but I managed to get it done today!

So my final thoughts...Overall I did enjoy the book. Like I said in a previous post, I felt that the first half of the second book could have been condensed. I know the author was wanting to show the progression of the characters and show them in a different environment other than fighting and training, but because of the way the first book was set up I felt the first part of the second book could have been condensed. The second half of the book I really enjoyed. Lots of action and seeing into the characters' changes was done well here. Again, the first book influenced my read of the second book because I feel they should be similar, and since there was a lot more action in the first book, I liked seeing the fighting scenes at the end of the second book.

One thing I did not like was how Sarah, the first girl we meet in the first book, kind of falls out of the story. I understand that the group wants to protect her and themselves and help her before she goes on missions, but she completely falls out of the story about 2/3 of the way through the second book. That was kind of a let down for me. We got so invested in her from the beginning and then she is gone with the groups leader and nothing from her since. I wanted Sarah to stay more involved till the end since she was such a big part of the first book and was fairly involved in the first half of the second book.

Another small thing....I noticed there were a lot of small grammatical mistakes. For example, odd spacing sometimes in the middle of a word, quotes misused, and sometimes the wrong word would be used all together; for example  I saw "that" when it should have been "than". I don't know if I did not get a polished copy since I won the book in a goodreads.com giveaway, but either way there seemed to be too many. I usually don't mention these kinds of mistakes because usually I pass them by but there were enough here that I actually picked up on them. Like I said, I don't know if the copy I received was an unpolished version or what, but I felt I should mention it.

Overall though I did enjoy the book and I would recommend it to someone who is looking for a new book to read. Again, I would like to thank Kat Loveland for sending me the book from goodreads.com. I rated the novel a 4/5 on goodreads.com.

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My next book that I will be starting is another book I won on goodreads.com, The Sky Tells No Lies by Don Derach. 

Still haven't finished...

Still reading. Got a good chuck done today. I'm really hoping to finish it tomorrow but there is still probably about 75 pages left. But there has finally been some action which made me happy and I'm looking forward to see what happens at the end of the book. I'm so close! :)

Not much

Not much to report. I have about a hundred pages left of Sacrifices. I might not have it done till Tuesday but maybe I'll get it done by Monday. Happy reading everyone :)

Making my way through book two

Just finished chapter 10 of Sacrifices, book two of Kat Loveland's Honor Bound series. Unfortunately after 10 chapters there still hasn't been much action for me. It's all been around the fashion show, which I understand that the author used as a relief for the characters as they deal with things, but I was hoping that after 10 chapters we would be more back into the action. But I'm only about half way through the book and I know the action is coming but from the way the first book was this series should be more action/suspense filled and I feel we've kind of lost that in the first 10 chapters of the second book. I will admit that I did enjoy the fashion show; it was interesting and fun to see them all in a different environment, but I feel it could maybe have been condensed to few chapters because like I said before, I feel this series is meant to be more action filled. These are just a few of my general reflections on what I have read so far. I don't want to spoil anything and I'm sure things will heat up in the second half.

I'm hoping to finish the book by the end of the week, and if not hopefully by Monday. Happy reading everyone :)

"Darkness Plays Favorites" by Casey Renee Kiser

I finally read a collection of poems, Darkness Plays Favorites by Casey Renee Kiser, that I had won in a goodreads.com giveaway. I kept forgetting that I had it and I finally read it today. I must say, it was refreshingly straight-spoken and honest. This collection of poems is focused on depression and relationships and how depression can drastically effect relationships with anyone. None of the poems are more than a page long, but they are loaded with emotion and truth. Kiser's perspective of depression is blunt but worded so creatively that the bluntness is welcomed. On the back of this collection is states that Kiser has had a life long struggle with depression and that has influenced this collection of poetry and I must say that she hit the subject wonderfully. It is honest and real and I think that is important with the subject of depression and trying to convey the severity of the emotion.

I would recommend this collection of poems to anyone and I hope to read her other collections in the future. I'm a little late to her work since this is her 5th collection of poetry but this is the first of her work that I have read. I would like to thank Kiser for the giveaway and letting me read her wonderful poetry, even though it is a subject that can be difficult to read I feel she did very well describing depression and it's effects.

Started book two of the Honor Bound series

I started Sacrifices, the second book of Kat Loveland's Honor Bound series. Not too much going on. Things are just settling down from where it ended in the first book. Not much to say today but I just thought I would give an update :)

Final Thoughts on Awakenings, book one of the Honor Bound series by Kat Loveland

Today I finished Book One, Awakenings by Kat Loveland. Overall I enjoyed the first book. It's about 180 pages; the second book is much longer. For me, the beginning was interesting, it caught my attention; a group of young adults save this girl, Sarah, and her brother from being kidnapped because of her special abilities. Sarah can change the molecular structure of any item and can heal people. The group that saves her and her brother all have different abilities. Then the middle was kind of boring for me. It revolves around a fashion show that 2 of the people have to attend. I kind of felt it was unnecessary, but I can also see why the author included it.

But the last 3 chapters of this book was my favorite. This is where we see the group really in action. We see them on a mission from beginning to end and I think it really helps give a better idea of who they are as a group. It was the most action packed part of the book and I really enjoyed it. I hope the second book has more of this kind of action.

I only have one other small thing that bothered me. I felt that because there are so many characters it is hard to really get to know them. I think the author is really trying to get the reader in their mind and really get a sense of who they are but  I feel since she is focusing on all of them they don't the amount of time they all need to give us a proper feel of who they are. Maybe it will be better in the next book, but I really wanted more about the characters. I felt I got more of a generalization. I want more of their pasts and their reactions. They all seem almost to relaxed sometimes. But like I said, it could be better in the next book since it is longer and there is more room for that kind of thing.

I would also like to take this chance to thank Kat Loveland for sending me the novel. I won this book in a goodreads.com giveaway.

Reading a little slow

Hey everyone. I haven't gotten to read as much today as I wanted and probably won't get a chance to read much later today. I did get to chapter 11 though. There are only 13 chapters in the first book so I think I should be able to finish book one by Monday. I think what I am going to do is write a review for the first book and then a separate one for the second book so you don't have to wait forever to read a review on them. I hope that that will help. Happy reading everyone :)

Started the "Honor Bound" Series by Kat Loveland

Today I got to page 66 of the first book. I was lucky enough to win the series in a giveaway on goodreads.com. The book has both books in one. All together it's a little over 500 pages so it will probably take me a little while but I feel I made a good starting progress. So far I enjoy the book. The novel follows a girl named Sarah, who has discovered she has special powers and has been kidnapped and abused to use her powers against her will. Then a group of people who also have powers saves her and her brother and wants to try and help Sarah learn to use and control her abilities. There isn't much more for me to report on. I don't want to give any spoilers so I don't want to say too much, but so far I am enjoying this novel.

"Under the Shadow of Darkness" by James Cardona, my final thoughts

So I finished Under the Shadow of Darkness today. It was alright. Maybe this genre just isn't for me or maybe the book just wasn't that great for me. I rated the book 3/5 on goodreads because it did have an interesting plot and it had some good scenes, but I feel that it was too quick. There were spots that I felt could have been extended and some scenes could have used some more descriptions. The book also reminded me of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and a little bit of the TV show The Walking Dead. I think since it reminded me almost a little too much of those three that it kind of took away my enjoyment of the novel. But if readers like those kinds of things then  I would recommend it. Like I said, it wasn't a horrible book, but it was not one that stood out to me or had me at the edge of my set. A lot of the lines where kind of predictable, but the main character, Bel, was difficult to connect with as well. I wanted to be more inside of his mind. We get a little insight but after almost 200 pages I feel that I know little about Bel. I believe that I should know a lot more about a main character after 200 pages, even if the novel is in 3rd person.

But even though this book was not one of my favorites, I still would like to thank James Cardona for sending me an electronic version of the novel when I did not win the giveaway I had entered on goodreads.com.

Continuing "Under the Shadow of Darkness"

So far the book is interesting. I am about half way through it. I'm fairly certain I can finish it tomorrow, otherwise I will have it done Wednesday for sure. But so far I am having a little trouble connecting with the characters. The story itself is good and there is good imaging, but the characters seem a little flat to me. Maybe it will get better, but as of now they seem a little flat.

Started "Under the Shadow of Darkness"

Thanks to James Cardona, he sent me an electronic copy of his novel Under the Shadow of Darkness, and today I started reading it. I only got through the first 4 chapters, but it is a fairly short novel, under 200 pages, so I feel it shouldn't take me too long to read it.

However, I am going to be having a busy weekend again; I have a wedding to attend and I also may be moving into an apartment, so I may not have a lot of time to read. I'm hoping by early next week to be able to finish the novel.

"Saga Volume 3"

I have finished the third Saga graphic novel. I really enjoyed it. This had a lot more action and suspense. I wish there was a little bit more about the child, Hazel, along with their fleeing the people that want to kill them. It has been pretty much 3 books about the family fleeing for a better life for Hazel and keeping her alive, which I understand, but I want to know more about the child as well. I'm assuming there will be more to the Saga series because it's quite the cliff hanger at the end of Volume 3. The art is still beautiful and the story is still great like the other 2, but like i said, this far into the series I want to know a little bit more about the child and what is special about the child. Especially since in the first volume the mother mentions something about Hazel's eyes, and then it is never mentioned again. If there is a Fourth volume, I hope that gets addressed. Overall I would give the series 9/10 :)

May have internet restrictions in the next few days...

so if I don't post anything for a while it is because I may have internet gone for a few days. I will continue reading though so when I do have access I will post my updates :)

"Sage, Volume 2"

Wow, this one was great as well. Again, I loved the images and the plot. The characters are very well written. There still isn't much known about the child, Hazel, yet. I'm hoping more about that comes in Volume 3 because I want to know what is up with her eyes. "The Will" freelancer is an interesting character as well. He is a bounty hunter more or less but he struggles with knowing what is right to do at times. He's a very interesting character and I'm curious to see what he does when he finds the couple and the baby. I feel like my review for this book is shorter, but  I don't want to give anything away. There are still a few revealing pictures in this volume but not as many as in the first one.


I can't wait to finish Volume three but I will be busy this weekend so I probably won't get to it until Monday or Tuesday and I probably won't be posting on here most of the weekend either.