Review: The Lion's Den

The Lion's Den by Anthony Marra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I mostly enjoyed this story. The ending leaves an opening to explore more about this story and I hope the author expands on it.

Amazon Originals - Inheritance Collection Book 3

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Review: Can You Feel This?

Can You Feel This? by Julie Orringer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I did not really enjoy this story. I found the writing style very distracting. I also did not connect to the story. Maybe if I were a mother, I might have connected to it.

Amazon Originals - Inheritance Collection Book 2

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Review: Everything My Mother Taught Me

Everything My Mother Taught Me by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was pulled in on page 1. I enjoyed the writing style very much. I am going to try a full length novel by this author; this was my first read by this author.

Amazon Originals - Inheritance Collection Book 1

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Review: The Fearsome Foursome

The Fearsome Foursome by Amicus Arcane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's the end of the year, so I read this to help me get to my book reading goal. I have never been on the Disney ride, nor have I watched the movie. I see other reviewers making references to the ride, but unfortunately I cannot attest to references to it in the book. I did enjoy the stories; some more than others, though.

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Review: In the Tall Grass

In the Tall Grass by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As I have stated in a previous review, I classify horror stories into two categories: mind-game horror (psychological, paranormal, etc) and blood, guts, and gore horror (dismemberment, slasher stuff, etc).

This book short story reminded me of The Ruins at first. Both stories start out with the mind-game horror (which I like). As In the Tall Grass goes on, it gets tedious with the constant repetition of limericks and gory descriptions. As the story goes on, it falls into the blood, guts, and gory category (not my favorite). In a total coincidence, I also made reference in the previous review about sensitivity with my eyes. Once again, I find myself reading about foreign objects finding their way into an eye. I'm not exactly sure how I find myself constantly reading books back to back with similar themes, but it seems I manage to do it constantly. This story also explores cannibalism.

The further I got into the story, the less I felt compelled to finish it. If this had been a full length novel, I probably would have put it down and came back to it at a later time. I only finished it because it was a short story.

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Review: The Poor and the Haunted

The Poor and the Haunted by Dustin McKissen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

Trigger Warning: I am very sensitive about my eyes. The thought of anything even coming close to being near them freaks me out. With that being said, there are rather detailed descriptions about a sharp object finding its way in into someone's eye. If these descriptions bother you, you will have a difficult time getting though a couple chapters of this book.

I tend to classify horror into two different categories: mind-game horror (psychological, paranormal, etc) and blood, guts, and gore horror (dismemberment, slasher stuff, etc). The good news is this book falls into both categories. The bad news is this book falls into both categories. I do enjoy a good horror story, but I really prefer the "mind-game" horror. To me, the blood, guts, and gore type of horror does not seem like horror in that "I'm afraid" way. It grosses me out more than anything and takes the enjoyment away from the book/movie. The majority of this book is that mind-game, psychological horror/suspense, but there are the moments where it becomes that blood and guts horror (the sharp object in the eye). Even though this was a book (opposed to a movie), I still found myself looking away from it just to distract myself from envisioning how certain events took place. Again, this is partly me because of the sensitivity I have about my eyes, but some of the description could have been left out and still would have gotten the point across.

Overall, a decent read. Took me longer to get through than it would have if this was just all mind-game horror.

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Review: A Cat's Christmas Tale

A Cat's Christmas Tale by Peter Arenstam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book consists of two of my favorite things: Christmas and a cat. It is a very cute story about a cat looking for her name. Next time I read this, I will be snuggled up with my cat, Gidget, in a bug fluffy blanket.

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Review: Crownbreaker

Crownbreaker by Sebastien de Castell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have enjoyed this entire series. Reichis has always been my favorite, but the chemistry the author puts on the page between Reichis, Kellan, and Ferius is magic on its own. I hope the Spellslinger world is revisited.

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Review: Children of the Fifth Sun

Children of the Fifth Sun by Gareth Worthington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book through BookSirens in exchange for an honest, voluntary review. Also, I see some other references to novellas and/or multiple parts of the story. To clarify the edition, I read a review edition of the book that was 415 pages (according to BookSirens).

I am really conflicted with how to rate and describe this book. It is like a condensed version of the show Ancient Aliens with a mix of concepts from the movies 2012 and The Shape of Water (among other concepts/theories). When we are first introduced to K'in and what he is, my first thoughts went to the creature in The Shape of Water.

The execution was a little disappointing. I really love the topics the book delves into, but it was not the page turner I was hoping for. It reminds me a bit of a writing assignment I had to do in high school. We were given a list of phrases and nouns and had to use as many as we could in a story. It was like all of the ancient alien theories were on a list and had to be used in someway in the story. The redeeming quality of this book is that it is action packed; in fact, you are into the action in the first chapter or two. I found that the book picked up further down the line as well.

Because of the direction the book goes, this book could have ended around chapter 28 or 29 and everything after that could have been a whole separate book. The segue from chapter 29 to 30 (one year later) seemed a little awkward to me especially since the connections to the all of the theories presented are never fully explained or connected. It seemed like one theory would be talked about for a couple of pages then suddenly a new theory is being talked about for a couple pages with a somewhat connection to the first theory then another theory is dropped that may or may not have anything to do with the first two. The story essentially takes you from theories like Earth Crust Displacement to DNA splicing and back again. While writing this review, I really struggled with trying to explain what I mean in words. Maybe I watch Ancient Aliens too much.

So, back to the rating. I am really conflicted. I found parts of the book to slow down a bit, but I did enjoy the book overall. I almost never give half stars, but this time I would give this book 3.5 stars rounded up to a 4 as I am definitely interested in reading the sequel, Children of the Fifth Sun: Echelon.

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Review: Death From Above

Death From Above by Robert Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novella gives background into the Mantid vs Mogo conflict. The bulk of the story takes place millennia before World of Warcraft. The epilogue takes place during the Mists of Pandaria expansion.

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Review: The Valley

The Valley by Helen Bryan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway a long time ago, but life happened and I only got around to reading it recently.

As I start to write this review, I am on at the start of chapter 5 (page 89 according to my Kindle). It’s been 88 pages of Sophia’s character development and her inability to decide on a suitable husband. The chapters are long and the plot is not moving! At page 119 we finally make it to the boat!

Before Annette Blair became a full-time writer, she worked at a high school in Rhode Island and wrote part-time. One of my English teachers invited her to our class to read and critique the stories of one of our assignments. She started to put down my classmate’s story when my classmate exclaimed, “But it gets better!” The advice that Mrs. Blair gave my classmate (and the rest of us) was, “If you have to say ‘It gets better!’, then everything before that part should be removed from the story.” For some reason this stuck with me. During the first 100+ pages, this memory kept coming back because part of me feels like this advice should apply to this book.

The majority of the story up until that point was unnecessary. This is a slow moving book that takes place over the course of nearly 100 years. We start in 1751 and end in 1833. I'm slightly concerned about getting into the second book because based on the description, the book does not pick up where this one left off. In fact, it starts in 1783, and based on reviews it spans another 100 years. I see the potential for confusion because of this. I guess I will see after I get into the next book.

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Review: Weathernose

Weathernose by Maram Taibah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book through BookSirens in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

This novella really annoyed me for half the book because it seemed like the children dictated the actions of the adults. For example, why is it up to the child whether the father gave someone a job in the bookstore? The parent should be the parent. Just because a child is smart, does not mean they should have a free for all. This is just one of a few examples. At the beginning, I sympathized with Tart (even though he went overboard now and again) more than I did with Cypress.

After the story unfolded, it turned out to be a decent story. It's a story of two people finding themselves through turmoil.

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Review: Cranberry Christmas

Cranberry Christmas by Wende Devlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Cranberry Thanksgiving

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende Devlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Halloween and Valentine books pale in comparison to this one. This was a cute little story. I've never read any of these books until now.

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Review: Cranberry Halloween

Cranberry Halloween by Wende Devlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Cranberry Valentine

Cranberry Valentine by Wende Devlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a cute little story. Even though the recipe is on the Valentine's book, I am going to try it for Thanksgiving/Christmas.

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Review: The Book of Christmas

The Book of Christmas by Jane Struthers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has a good history of where Christmas traditions come from. As the book progresses to the present it focuses on British traditions. I found that the closer to the present we got the more I was skimming the book. The first half of the book was the best part as it has the historical aspects.

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Review: Spooky Little Things

Spooky Little Things by Matthew T. Eaton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

This was a cute fun read. It's a good get into Halloween book even though it's geared towards middle grade kids.

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Review: Randomize

Randomize by Andy Weir
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was definitely my least favorite of the Forward collection. I'm all for going computer geek (after all I am one), but this plot was blah. It was too simple and somewhat silly. I have not yet read the author's other works, but I hope they are much better than this short story.

Amazon Originals - Forward Collection Book 6

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Review: The Last Conversation

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one was good. At one point I thought maybe the author was in our house when I was a child because I was born and raised in RI and as it happens, my parents would drive me around to get me back to sleep. I did not care to be woken from my deep slumbers back then.

It's rather difficult to describe the book without giving away spoilers, but for those who have preferences to writing style, the book is written in second person point of view.

Amazon Originals - Forward Collection Book 5

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Review: You Have Arrived at Your Destination

You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good story up until the end. I get that these are supposed to be short stories, but the end just stopped. It's like a magic word limit number was met and the story had to end immediately.

Amazon Originals - Forward Collection Book 4

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Review: Emergency Skin

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very unique story. I enjoyed it very much. I am really enjoying this collection so far.

Amazon Originals - Forward Collection Book 3

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Review: Summer Frost

Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A cautionary tale of AI. In some ways the ending reminded me of 1984 by George Orwell. Enjoying the collection so far.

Amazon Originals - Forward Collection Book 2

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Review: Ark

Ark by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the story. I hope someday it gets expanded into a full length story. The ending was too abrupt.


Amazon Originals - Forward Collection Book 1

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Review: Where I Come From: Life Lessons from a Latino Chef

Where I Come From: Life Lessons from a Latino Chef by Aaron Sanchez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

This is a very honest memoir. Aarón Sánchez takes us through his most profound life experiences from childhood to present. As you read, you will feel the emotion he experienced during those experiences. He feels emotion so passionately that bled into the pages of the memoir. He also included recipes that were relevant and meant something to him at that time in his life and are relevant to that part of the story. It's almost like having a mini cookbook representing his evolution as not just a chef, but a person as well.

I have never seen his shows on Food Network, but I do watch MasterChef. Sometimes it is like watching good cop (Aarón) and bad cop (Gordon/Joe) when the criticisms are given. After reading his book, his less abrasive criticism makes more sense. It's not necessarily the scripting of the show, it's just the way he is.

I really enjoyed reading his memoir and appreciate the honesty he presents.

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Review: The Winter of the Witch

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The series as a whole was fantastic. I enjoyed all three books very much. The series was a learning experience as well. This was my first taste of Russian folklore. My next venture might have to be more folklore books.

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Review: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

Not really sure what to say about this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, there are erotic stories in this one, but they are relayed as stories opposed to erotica between two main characters. I have been trying to expand my horizons with reading books about different cultures. I was not really sure what to expect with this book, but it was not anything I would have anticipated. Good read, though!

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Review: Finale

Finale by Stephanie Garber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fun, fast read. I really hope there will be more stories from the Caraval world. We are kind of left hanging (view spoiler)[with regards to Tella's future daughter (hide spoiler)]. I would love to see the world expanded.

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Review: Rich People Problems

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the series as a whole. This book did not have the oomph of the first two books, but I am glad for the closure. I was really starting to question what the point of having Kitty's story line through all three books was. It came together at the end, but it seemed like it took forever to get there.

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Review: China Rich Girlfriend

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fast read. I would have read this in a day if it were not for work. I am completely addicted. I am having one of those moments where I am glad all of the books are already written. I am completely binge reading this series. Book 3, here I come!

A note about formats: As with the first book there are quite a few footnotes. I found it best to stick with the paper copy. In the paper copy, the footnotes are at the bottom of the page. In the Kindle version, the foot notes are all located at the end of each chapter.

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Review: Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this book after watching the movie. While the movie got away from the book, the book does fill in some of the informational holes the movie contained. I did not realize there were 3 books in this series when I first went to find this book. Now that this one is done, I am going right into book 2.

A note about formats: there are so many footnotes in this book that I found it best to read a paper copy. In the paper copy, the footnotes are at the bottom of the page. In the Kindle version, the foot notes are all located at the end of each chapter. It gets to be painful on the Kindle after a while.

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Review: In the Mouth of the Dragon

In the Mouth of the Dragon by Myriam Millán
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway a long time ago. My only regret is waiting so long to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book, but there was a constant reference to the Tenth Learned Disciple. As it turns out, this book is the second book of a series. I wish the first book was available in English; the references would make more sense. Other than that this was a good read. It can get a little graphic with the torture, but I loved the Bathory connections.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019 - A book you think should be turned into a movie.

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Review: Pebble in the Dark: The Emissaries

Pebble in the Dark: The Emissaries by Antony Botting
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a free kindle copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is the final book in the trilogy. At times I felt a little confused with the different story lines. I think part of it was because there are references to people and events from the first book and it has been too long since I read the first book. I did enjoy the story, though. It did not keep my attention as well as the first two books, but it was still a good read.

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Review: I'll Be Damned: How My Young and Restless Life Led Me to America's #1 Daytime Drama

I'll Be Damned: How My Young and Restless Life Led Me to America's #1 Daytime Drama by Eric Braeden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall the book was good. One chapter turned into a complete rant about Y&R, but it was interesting to get the off-screen side of Eric Braeden.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019 - A book you meant to read in 2018.

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Review: Queenslayer

Queenslayer by Sebastien de Castell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a really fast read. I read most of it in one day. While Reichis was his usually prickly, yet fun self, I did miss Ferius. Looking forward to Crownbreaker!

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Review: Surviving The Forest

Surviving The Forest by Adiva Geffen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

This story itself was a good story, but I found I had a hard time staying focused on it. It did not keep my attention as much as it could have.

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Review: The Inner Circle

The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After being distracted by other books and participating my first reading challenge last year, I finally finished this book. I really wish it did not take so long for the book to get going. I did enjoy the book once it got going, but it took me two years to pick it back up because other books were grabbing my attention faster than this one did. I do love the conspiracy theory type books, so I will reading the rest of the series to see where it goes.

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Review: Infinity's Illusion

Infinity's Illusion by Richard Farr
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am not really sure how I feel about this one. There is a random history/science lesson in the middle of the book that seemed to come from nowhere. I did enjoy the food for thought concepts that the book offered, but the book was so rushed that it got a little confusing.

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Review: Communion: The Turning Book Three

Communion: The Turning Book Three by Micky Neilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an advanced e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This book picks up where book 1 left off, however, I do recommend reading the books in the order the author intended. Book 4 is supposed to revisit the characters of book 2. Essentially, the even numbered books are like flashbacks/cut scenes you would see in a movie (so far at least).

Once the book got going, it was really hard to put down. I dare say this book was better than the first.


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Review: Ghosts in the Machine

Ghosts in the Machine by Richard Farr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

This book brought up some interesting food for thought with regards to what consciousness actually is and when it came about. The pages and pages of Morag's inner thoughts, particularly about Kit, started to get to be a bit much after a while. Other than that, the book was a decent read. On to book 3!

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Review: The Fire Seekers

The Fire Seekers by Richard Farr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reading this was like stepping into an episode of Ancient Aliens only a dramatic fictional version. It was page turner and fast read. I do love the universal questions this book explores. Ancient history has always fascinated me. I am definitely jumping into the next book! It was a great way to pass the time during my lunch breaks.

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Review: Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague

Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague by David K. Randall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

I never knew the bubonic plague made it to the US until I read this book. This is not a book for germaphobes. I also found it interesting that some of the political tactics and games politicians play are still the same a century later.

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Review: City of Ghosts

City of Ghosts by J.H. Moncrieff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was suspenseful and keep me turning pages. This was a very good ghost story. If I didn't have a fear of traveling, I would visit and experience China. I would love to visit places similar to what the book describes.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019 - A ghost story.

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Review: The Atlantis Gene

The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a wild ride. Once I got a few chapters into the book, it was very hard to put down. I love how the story of Atlantis and theories of human origins were meshed together. I am looking forward to getting into the next book of the series.

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Review: Red Dragon

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I may be in the minority on this, but this book was not as engaging as I hoped and the movie was better than the book. I was really excited to start reading this book, but as I read I felt it was just dragging on and on. I do not mind creepy books, but after a while it lost its creep factor as boredom took over. Hoping Silence of the Lambs is better.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019 - A book with a two-word title,

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Review: The Invited

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

I have been looking for a really good paranormal/ghost story that has nothing to do with vampires or monsters. This book was the one. I loved the historical and genealogical aspects. It had its moments of creepiness. I found myself thinking about it constantly between reading sessions.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019 - A book told from multiple character POVs.

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Review: The Mason Jar Cookbook: 80 Healthy and Portable Meals

The Mason Jar Cookbook: 80 Healthy and Portable Meals by Amy Fazio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I happened to stumble on this book by accident. It had some good ideas for quick grab and go lunches for work. My mother is trying to eat better, so I am going to make the overnight oats and the oatmeal jars for her and see how she likes them for work snacks.

There is a particular salad I have made (using a recipe from a different book) that I am going to try to convert to using a mason jar for so it is easier to bring to work without it getting soggy from the dressing. This book just happened to give me the idea.

It would have been nice to see some recipes that could be turned into "salad shakers." While some of the recipes can be eaten right out of the jar, most of the salad recipes require pouring the salad into a bowl which dirties another dish. With limited lunch box space, the jars would have been a nice way to save room. I may try to adapt some recipes to make them more like salad shakers, but it will be trial and error getting proportions right.

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Review: Drakon Book I: The Sieve

Drakon Book I: The Sieve by C.A. Caskabel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

I would have to say this is more like a 3.5 star book.

The version I read is the version that has Sarah's story line woven into the book (per the author's note at the beginning of the book). For a short book (244 pages), it seems to just drag for the majority of the book. Sarah's story line and the adult line of Da-Ren were the best parts, but there was so little of it compared to Da'Ren's younger years. The story line of Da-Ren during the Seive was only good near the end of the book.

I am going to give the next book a shot. I just hope it hold my attention better than this one.

Note for sensitive readers: This book has some graphic scenes involving rape and the killing of animals and children.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019 - Read a book during the season it is set in.

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Review: Outlander

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I watched the show before I read the book, which unfortunately is the only reason I made it to the end of this one. The first half of the book is rather boring, I'm sorry to say (much like the show too). I nearly gave up on the show, but as it turned out, the best parts only happened in the second half.

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, with the book, you have to get through more than 400 pages before the story actually picks up and holds attention. If I hadn't watched any of the show, I probably would have ended the series with this book. Since I am caught up on the show and started enjoying it a little more in season 2, I am going to keep trucking through the books and see what happens. If I'm lucky, I'll be caught up and beyond before the next season airs.

A note for sensitive readers: topics tackled in this book are abuse, rape (of both men and women), attempted rape, and torture (just to name a few). If you are looking for a simple Highland romance story, this is not the book (or maybe even series) for you.

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Review: Where the Forest Meets the Stars

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a fast read. While this book was about loss, life, and love, it also renewed my interest in the stars. Dying to break out the telescope. It needs to get a bit warmer.

This book was a Kindle First (nka Amazon First Reads) selection for February 2019.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019 - A debut novel.

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