Book Review - Rarity From the Hallow, By Robert Eggleton

Have you ever read a book that leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth?  You have such high hopes going into it because it starts off one way and when you get the ending it is definitely not what you were expecting? I have read many books are just like that, no hope of saving what was a great start to a story.

I have been slowly redoing some things and the site is looking a little different.  I also have come up with a small banner to put at the end of reviews when I am posting elsewhere.  It just makes sense to me.

On with the show....

BLURB:

Lacy Dawn is a little girl who lives in a magical forest where all the trees love her and she has a space alien friend who adores her and wants to make her queen of the universe. What’s more, all the boys admire her for her beauty and brains. Mommy is very beautiful and Daddy is very smart, and Daddy’s boss loves them all.

Except.

Lacy Dawn, the eleven year old protagonist, perches precariously between the psychosis of childhood and the multiple neuroses of adolescence, buffeted by powerful gusts of budding sexuality and infused with a yearning to escape the grim and brutal life of a rural Appalachian existence. In this world, Daddy is a drunk with severe PTSD, and Mommy is an insecure wraith. The boss is a dodgy lecher, not above leering at the flat chest of an eleven-year-old girl.

Yes, all in one book.

Rarity From The Hollow is written in a simple declarative style that’s well- suited to the imaginary diary of a desperate but intelligent eleven-year-old – the story bumping joyfully between the extraordinary and the banal.
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Book Title: Rarity From the Hollow

Author: Robert Eggleton

So I went into this book thinking that it would be a fun, enjoyable read.  I had read the e-mail that I got about the book and thought, "This will be a fun read for me."  I did get this book in exchange for a honest review, and here it is.

I am not sure when but somewhere in this book I went from happy, liking the book, to thinking that I am struggling to finish this.  I am sure that some will love this book, think it is brilliant. I am sadly not one of those people.  This is one of those books that left me with that sour taste in my mouth.

The start of this book showed great potential.  As a working social worker out in the real world, I could see where the two girls were coming from.  They were both living in homes where there was abuse, neglect, and such.  They were easy to relate to because they were real.  I could even understand why Lacy was talking to things, the trees and such.  The abused tend to "leave" their body and try to distance themselves from the things going on around them.  I could see this being what she was doing.

It wasn't until later, when things changed for Lacy that I started to feel like the story was falling apart.  I was good with the idea of the story when it was first presented, but as I read on it got hard for me to like.  I just stopped feeling like I could relate to the characters, to the story as a whole.

I get that this is fantasy/science-fiction, but for me this was just hard to follow.  The plot started to fall apart for me and actually toward the end I felt like it was just a joke.  I really wanted to like this book. I just think the character turns, changes and what not really turned me off on the whole idea.  The story was just not working for me in the end.

Pros: Great start, interesting characters in the beginning

Cons: The story fell apart.  The characters stopped being interesting

Overall rating: I am torn.

 

Book Review - Runes, By Ednah Walters

So I didn't get much sleep last night, all because of a book.  I started reading and I couldn't stop until I was done.  It has been a while since I was kept up by a book.  Usually I can make myself sleep, but last night that was not happening.  Since that did happen, I decided that I needed to share the book with you all.

On with the show...

BLURB

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.
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Book Title: Runes

Author: Ednah Walters

So I got this book from Amazon for free.  I find some of the best books that way.  This was no exception.  I loved, loved, loved this book. It was a random pick for my before bed reading and it just so happens that once I started it I couldn't stop.  This book had me in it's grasp!

I loved the characters.  Raine was a bit annoying at times, but she was a teenager so it was to be expected.  If a teenager is not annoying you at some point, then there is something wrong. Raine was a well developed character though, and the pain she has already felt by the time the book starts is enough to make her more real.

The love triangle in this one is predictable, but that is not a bad thing.  I knew as soon as each male was introduced that we were going to see it happen.  I am not sure which guy I am rooting for either.  Both have their qualities.  I know that Raine has made up her mind already, but I think that she needs to keep an open mind.  I tend to go for the underdog types, and the best friend is the underdog in my opinion. 

The whole idea of this story is new, which is rare in the urban fantasy genre right now.  There are so many series popping up that it is hard to find something that is not like everything else.  This one is definitely different.  We all need something new and fresh in the genre.

Without giving away the ending, let me just say I was so upset that I had to turn off my Kindle.  I can't wait t get my hands on the next one.

Pros: Characters, Storyline, Idea

Cons: The ending killed me.

Overall rating: Highly, highly recommended!!

Book Review - Pretty Maidens All in a Row, By J.M. Brown

I hope that everyone that celebrated the 4th had a great time.  I always enjoy seeing the kids around here setting off their fireworks.  The little ones are always so in awe of the lights and colors. Once they are no longer afraid of the loud cracks they are the happiest little ones around.

So I am slowly working through all my books that need to be reviewed and here is yet another.

And for your reading pleasure...

BLURB:

Mary Elizabeth Grange, also known as Beth to her friends, is little more than a child when she is noticed.. Her lanky, developing body and her childlike ways do nothing to dissuade his hungry eyes and his needy imagination. She glides through life happily, doing what happy teenagers do, but to him she becomes everything. Every flip of her long curly ebony hair, every smile, every gesture speaks to him as he quietly moves in the shadows, for no one ever sees him. His small, inconsequential world narrows even further, real life recedes. Fantasy, like a blazing fire consumes him. Then their worlds collide in one brutal and obscene act as he brazenly flings reality aside and allows the delusions to totally devour him. Her world destroyed, Beth must fight for her very sanity. Then at the farthest end of her nightmare and many miles away, happiness and love are finally within her reach. Much to her bemusement, she starts to receive flowers from a secret admirer. Things start to take on a darker tone and she senses anything but affection from the gifts being left to her. But how can this be related in anyway to the vicious serial killer in her home state who is killing women that look so much like her? The answers will only be attained if she dares to fight the biggest battle of her life. 
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Book Title: Pretty Maidens All in a Row

Author: J.M. Brown

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

From the get go this book kept me engaged.  It was definitely a page turner and one that will keep you reading until the very end.  This is one of those books that you can't put down until you are done. Once I finally had the time to sit down for more then 30 minutes I couldn't stop reading until I had the book done.  

The characters are well done and fully fleshed out.  I loved that it was not set in the current time.  I think that it shows a writer's ability when they can write in the past and have it fit so well. This writer showed that she has the ability to write in the past and do it well.

The story was one of those that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I actually loved that we got a good picture of the stalker's mental illness during the first half of this book. His progression into full madness was wonderfully written.

I think the only issue I had with this book is the character changes that happened mid action in the chapters.  I am glad we got to see so many different angles of things going on, but the sudden character changes left me confused at times.  There were several times that I needed to go back and read things again.  It made it hard to keep up with things at times.

Over all, this book was a well written book, and it is definitely one that everyone should read.  It will keep you on the edge of your seat, it will keep you guessing and really it has a little everything for you.  There is mystery, thrills and even a little romance.  You get everything you could ever need in a book in this one.

Pros: Great story, well thought out characters

Cons: Sudden character POV changes

Overall rating: Recommended!

     

Book Review - Going Viral, By Dustin Stevens

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers!  I know that I said that I would be getting more done on here while I was on vacation, but I have been slacking.  I think the idea of doing nothing has been far too appealing. I plan to catch up, but who knows what will happen.  For me vacations mean slacker time. (Well save for the massive amounts of laundry I have been getting caught up on.)

And for your reading enjoyment...

BLURB:

Three years ago, Charles Doyle was an average American millennial. At twenty-eight years old he was content to still live in the bedroom he grew up in, working as a manager at the fast food chain he first joined in high school. Upon the death of his father, Charles realizes there might be something more for him out there and decides to try his hand at the potential of social media for introducing himself to the masses.

Starting as a web series of self-exploration, Charles soon finds himself seduced by the allure of faceless followers. What began as a first cigar or shot of whiskey soon escalates much faster, an entire new persona developing.

Told after the fact, Going Viral follows first-person insight into the mind of a man that in just six short months manages to go from an anonymous face in suburban America to internet novelty to ultimately death row inmate Chaz D. 
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Book Title: Going Viral

Author: Dustin Stevens

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

So I had no expectations going into this book.  It is not my normal read, but that didn't stop me from devouring it.  It was an excellent book and I am very glad that I agreed to read it.

The characters were well thought out.  I started out liking them all but as the book went on I started to change how I felt about Charles, Chaz D.  As he moved forward with his whole video for each thing he does, I start to dislike him, a lot.  It says a lot when you can connect enough with a character and then start to dislike that character.  That is a well written characters.

This book definitely speaks about how our current society is acting.  Everything is online, out there for everyone to see and for some reason as soon as one video is posted, the next has to be more over the top, more extreme.  You see all of this in the book.  As we go from one video to the next, things progress until  you get to the ending, the actions that lead Chaz D. to end up on death row.

This book is a definite read for everyone! 

Pros: Well developed, thought out, clear.

Cons: none

Overall rating: Definitely would recommend this one