Tag Archives: reviews

September 4, 2013 · 2:26 pm

Books Worth A Read Coming Soon

New & Recommended 9/10/13
  Smoke (The Sequel to Burned) by Ellen Hopkins

Available September 10, 2013. Burned  introduced Pattyn Von Stratten, raised in an abusive but religious family. The story is told uniquely in highly readable poetic verse and diary format. Sharing her hopes, her despair and her anger.

Smoke picks up the story, Pattyn is on the run hiding as a migrant worker. The weight of pending danger permeates the tale. For grade 9 and up. Fans of YA (Young Adult Books) should snatch this one up.

 My Brief History by Stephen Hawking

Available September 10, 2013. In A Brief History of Time ( 1998) Hawking explained the big bang and more in language everyone can understand. In The Universe in a Nutshell (2001) he continued with new discoveries and explanation of quantum mechanics.  Now in A Brief History we learn more about the man. Hawking showcases his personality, his history and how his struggle with the debilitating ALS drove him further in intellectual pursuits.  A must read.

  SONGS OF WILLOW FROST by Jamie Ford

Available September 10, 2013. This second novel by Ford takes the reader to Seattle during the 1920s and the Great Depression. A Chinese-American orphan becomes convinced actress Willow Frost is his mother.

  Someone by Alice McDermott

Available September 10, 2013. Fans of National Book Award winner for Charming Billy Alice McDermott releases yet another captivating book. Nominated for three Pulitzer’s McDermott introduces Marie Commenford asking “Who is going to love me?” Her brother answers “Someone.”

  W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton

Available September 10, 2013. Grafton is back with another Kinsey Millhone mystery.

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September 3, 2013 · 6:07 pm

Teaser Tuesday Meme 9/3/13

“She was a real woman: you could tell by the way she didn’t have to move her head from side to side to take in sound. Every day she and the dachshund went for three walks, the first early in the morning, the second in the late afternoon, and the third after dinner, when the blue-green lights of the scows, those slow-moving heralds of melancholy, would begin to appear in the night sky.

     Duplex by Kathryn Davis

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read • Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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August 31, 2013 · 9:03 pm

Saturday Steals: 8/31/13

This is a new feature. Free or pretty darn good deals!

Free Kindle Book: The Haunted House A True Ghost Story by Walter Hubbell

During the years 1878-1879 in Nova Scotia, Canada a haunting took place known as the Amherst Mystery. Walter Hubbell visited during the summer of 1879. He gives first- hand accounts of the poltergeist activities he witnessed. The haunting primarily surrounded home owners niece, Esther Cox.

The first half of the book is a bit slow, Hubbell gives details of the family’s everyday life. I suppose in an attempt to show normality. If you just want the spooky it may be a trudge. But the remainder of the book is astonishing in the attempts to communicate with the ghost. Some of the reports exceed believability. This book was released in 1888 and was a blockbuster for the time.

Another Kindle Freebie: Familiar Quotations. I say, why not? It is free.

STEAL! I’m in no Mood for Love by Rachel Gibson only $0.99 for Kindle today. Who isn’t in the mood for love and laughs?

8 31 13 Electronic Deals

Only $699 for 50 inch TV. DEAL. Hurry.

Halloween Food! Time to plan for ghosts and goblins. Free.

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August 31, 2013 · 12:12 pm

Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare

  The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

I say:

“Superb, scary and satisfying. A moody ghost story with chills and a touch of romance.”

In the 1920s London, Sarah Piper is alone in the world. She lives in a boarding house and works for a temporary agency to make ends meet.  The agency offers her an unconventional job. Sarah accepts the position as an assistant to wealthy ghost-hunter and World War I veteran Alistair Gellis. Gellis is not just a ghost hunter, he is an obsessed ghost hunter.

He hires Sarah because his regular assistant is on leave and special circumstances surround this potential haunting. Sarah accompanies Gellis on a trip to a rural small town. Summoned by Mrs. Clare the property owner Gellis will be allowed to document the haunting but he is not allowed to enter the building. The ghost will not tolerate men.

They visit Mrs. Clare and learn that the ghost arrived at their door one night as a brutalized young child. She damaged physically and traumatized emotionally. The family took her in and named her Maddy. Incapable of little the family cared for the girl until she committed suicide in the barn leaving a note, “I will kill them.” Mrs. Clare wants Alistair Gellis to rid the barn of Maddy and her rage.

With no training or skill Gellis sends Sarah into the barn with a recorder and a camera. Sarah is to document the ghost and ask her to leave. Nervous but determined Sarah calls to the ghost. She senses the spirit then a door start to move. The ghost taunts her in a terrifying encounter.

They return to the pub where he has secured them rooms. Gellis is euphoric with the manifestation. His assistant, Matthew Ryder, arrives eager as well. Sarah is attracted to Matthew and accidentally sees the burns scars covering his body. Sarah learns that the two men met and developed an enduring bond during the war, WWI.

Further encounters with Maddy escalate the violence and threat. Three damaged people suffering from trauma must uncover the mystery. The poverty-stricken and lonely Sarah, sophisticated Gellis and rough edged Matthew must learn what happened to Maddy, what she wants and how to put her to rest because Maddy is very angry and will stop at nothing to get her revenge.

The story is told in first person by Sarah. Her narration is filled with nuance and details setting the mood and building the characters. The feeling of loneliness and isolation radiate from the Sarah and the men, each trying to overcome a trauma just as Maddy herself suffered.

The mystery is easily determined by the reader. Yet the tension ratchets higher with each page. The author, Simone St. James does a superb job of engaging the reader. I was engrossed with this un-put-downable book. My reading of the book lead to my blog of Review Interruptess.

St. James is the winner of two RITA Awards from the Romance Writers of America ,best new book and best book with strong romantic elements also, the Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. She deserves these awards for penning a chilling, scary read that draws you into the lives and fear of her characters.

Product Details:

  • Print Length: 335 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0451235681
  • Publisher: NAL; 1 Original edition (March 6, 2012)

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August 20, 2013 · 11:32 pm

Review Interruptess and a Probable 5 Star

I have reviews I want and need to write on a few books

  • Keepers of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. A grade 5 to grade 8 book. Short review: Recommended.
  • Time Thief: A Time Thief Novel and Time Crossed: A Time Thief Novella by Katie MacAlister.
  • Some not worthwhile, self pubbed ‘How to Make Money on the Internet’.
  • And ALL the Darynda Jones ‘Grave’ books.

    • But I picked up a book on my list, The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James. I cannot put the book down. My Kindle says I have read 18% of the book. I will be up all night reading. I see a 5 star review on the way.

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    August 12, 2013 · 11:50 pm

    Downton Abbey and Public Television

    As always,hooray for PBS. If for no other reason, Sesame Street. And I watch PBS a lot: Nova, Nature, Antiques Road Show, Live Concerts of War and Heart, on and on.

    Somehow I rarely watched Masterpiece Theater. At the beginning of this year I started to hear about Downton Abbey.

    When I tuned in to Downton Abbey I was hooked immediately. I went on-line to PBS.org to view all the episodes. I am now a rabid Downton fan.

    Season 1 begins with an idyllic life for the Crawley family in Edwardian England. But the sinking of the Titanic leaves Downton without and heir. Succession now goes to Matthew and his mother Isobel, part of the ‘new’ middle class. We meet the Earl and his American wife, married for her money. Their three daughters, Mary, Edith and Sybil. The dowager countess Violet.

    The servants include the strictly by-the-book Carson and head housekeeper Mrs. Hughes. Devious O’Brien and Thomas the footman. Mr. Bates is the new valet, Daisy a scullery maid, Anna and Branson the Irish chauffeur.

    I love the soap opera-ish drama, the view into a different age. The characters are three-dimensional. And the creator Julian Fellowes has killed off some major players bringing me to tears.

    Yesterday PBS had a special hosted by Angela Lansbury, Downton Abbey revisited. New viewers are brought up to speed. Behind the scenes interviews. But most importantly if you donate $200.00 or become a sustaining member of $16 a month you can get all 3 seasons of the series on DVD and a special on High Clere Castle where the series is filmed.

    But wait, there is more! For a limited time your donation will get you the entire Season 4 on DVD. After the premiere episode in January you will be shipped the entire season before it airs.

    Not only is this a remarkable and unprecedented offer but you can feel good about yourself by donating.

    And I encourage you to donate.

    If you have never watched Downton Abbey, give it a chance. Let me know if you loved or hated. Who is your favorite character? Other than the marvelous Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Downton who do you like? I am enamored with the entire cast and show, however my favorite couple is Sybil and (gasp) Branson.

    Below is a link to join Amazon prime. I point this out because as a prime member you can watch episodes for free.

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    August 11, 2013 · 7:06 pm

    Review: Dead to Me

    Dead to Me by Anton Strout.

    Simon Canderous has a double edge sword of a talent, psychometry. Psychometry is the unique ability to divine information about the history of an object through touch. Formerly a petty thief Simon answers a cryptic newspaper ad and becomes a new employee for N.Y. City’s Department of Extraordinary Affairs. The D.E.A. is on the side of Good. Our young protagonist takes his new position seriously. He views good versus evil the same as black versus white.

    Simon struggles with learning the aspects of a real job, office politics and other-worldly skills. His mentor, Connor, specializes in ghosts and points out a lovely young woman sitting across from them in a coffee shop. Because she has not moved on they interview her trying to determine why she is still here. The ghost has no memories but she says something cryptic about the movie Apocalypse Now. This suddenly makes her a priority case though why is not clear.

    As Simon and Connor work to discover information about Irene they stumble across the Sectarian Defense League. The SDL is a cultist rights movement legalized by the city as part of equal rights movement. A kerfuffle ensues and the Mayor’s liaison arranges a meeting between the D.E.A. and the SDL. Simon is sent and meets Jane for dinner. Jane is the personal assistant to the evil Faisal Bane, chairman of the SDL. Simon is attracted to Jane but conflicted because she works on the side of darkness. Simon’s investigation leads him zombies, ghost sniffing drug addicts and other forces of darkness.

    Dead to Me is light urban fantasy. Fans of the Dresden Files will in all likelihood enjoy this book. Author Strout has four Simon Canderous books published to date, obviously the series had potential. But this book is a bit uneven, the characters under-developed and the action come across as a series of confrontations from an outline. The humor in the book seems thrown arbitrarily. I am not saying it isn’t funny rather the characters aren’t funny.

    Examples: “Are you implying you had someone murdered? The Mayor’s Office does not condone that sort of conflict resolution.” And

    “A lot of people who have come to work for us over the years have come to us from …. shall we say suspect backgrounds. Involvement with the dark arts, telemarketing and worse.”

    The first chapters of the book introduce the reader to Simon and his motivations. The writing could have been tighter. The book came out in 2008 and I started to read it but wasn’t engaged. It sat in my TBR pile for 5 years. Simon is a likeable, hot-headed but good intentioned, 24-year-old man. The secondary characters are interesting. However sometimes the story gets ridiculous. When Simon wants to learn if Jane really a bad guy, he reads her diary. Her diary that she was writing in a chick lit voice when she was on a rooftop spying on him and having been sent to kill him.

    I did like reading the book and may give the second book a try. I can’t rate this book a 5 but if you want light urban fantasy this is definitely worth a try.

    Product Details
    Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
    Publisher: Ace (February 26, 2008)
    ISBN-10: 0441015786
    ISBN-13: 978-0441015788

    Ratings 1 – 5
    • Readability: 3.5
    • Likability: 3.5
    • Recommended: 3
    • Book Club Read: 0
    • Author Watch List: 2
    • Laugh Meter: 32
    • Cry Meter: 0
    • Three Word Description: Light Urban Fantasy

    Other books by Anton Stout.

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