Review: Kindred by Octavia Butler

Kindred by Octavia Butler

My Rating:

 

As part of the TBR Canine Jar Challenge, Kindred was chosen by Enya. Kindred is her third pick from the jar this year, her previous picks being The Exorcist and Middlesex. 

 
I went into this expecting it to blow my socks off as I've seen many people raving about it, but that's not what happened. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, it was engaging, the plot was great, and I flew through it in no time, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

The writing was simplistic and easily readable. It didn't require much concentration or dedication to get through and I wasn't expecting that. I don't know if I am disappointed because my expectations were too high, or because the author approached the important topics of race relations and slavery using such simplistic language and writing style.

I went into it with something more complex in mind, a deeper hard to read story and message, but I feel it was overly simplified and somewhat dumbed down in order to entertain or make it a lighter read. I highly doubt it was used as a plot device for entertainment purposes, but at times it felt that way. Perhaps it's a victim of its time, had it been written more recently this wouldn't have been the case as today's readers are more open to the truth of the brutality and realism of slavery.

The above makes it sound like I didn't enjoy it, I did and I'm keen to read more by Octavia Butler, but I'm left with questions. The time travel just happens, there's no explanation given for Dana being pulled back in time. How was Rufus able to pull Dana back to his time? What effect did her interactions with her past relatives have on her present timeline, family, and bloodline?




Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes | LibraryThing

You can also follow me on Bloglovin

Review: Gork, the Teenage Dragon: A novel by Gabe Hudson

Gork, the Teenage Dragon: A novel by Gabe Hudson

My Rating:

This is a DNF for me. I'm not a fan of the writing style, it's rather juvenile and reads like someone's high school English homework. The humour wears off very quickly, there are only so many times "my scaly green ass" can be found humorous or used as a descriptor. There was so much repetition throughout the book that it started to get on my nerves. At times it felt like every other sentence started with "Now, ..."

Not a book I would recommend.


Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes | LibraryThing

You can also follow me on Bloglovin

Review: The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis

The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis

My Rating:

I would like to thank Egmont Publishing for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

I somehow managed to miss this author's books as they were originally released many years before my own children were of age to read them. Last year I happened across his newer series, The Witching Legacy and have since read both books one and two and loved them. So when I saw this one I was eager to delve into it, especially as it's set in Whitby like the newer books.

The Whitby Witches was a lot of fun. It was full of adventure, imagination, and danger. I was completely swept along with the characters and their story. The writing was easy to read and the world was vividly described. It was wonderfully dark and atmospheric and a lot of fun all round. Everything was so easily pictured in my mind as I read. It was like being a child all over again, reliving that wonderful sense of adventure, danger and anticipation.

The only negative aspect, and it's not something that's particular to this story alone but something that seems to be a trend across many children's stories and books and something I'm more aware of now as a mother, is the fact that the majority of villains or bad guys in children's stories always seem to have some kind of disfigurement or disability. They are always "ugly" scarred or disfigured in some way. Why are we portraying this kind of message to our children? How a person looks doesn't portray whether they are good or bad. Beauty is only skin deep, the outside does not reflect who a person is on the inside. "Monsters" can look just like everyone else and just because someone isn't what most would class as "normal" it doesn't make them the bad guy to be feared. Perhaps that is too scary of a concept in truth for children but it's reality. Anyway, I realise this is a more general comment and not something particular to this book alone but it's something that I found myself contemplating after finishing this one so I wanted to comment on it.

All in all, The Whitby Witches was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm going to have to get my hands on the rest of the series now.


Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes | LibraryThing

You can also follow me on Bloglovin

Review: Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes M. Yardley

Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes M. Yardley

My Rating:


I received a copy of Beautiful Sorrow through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I don't often read short story collections and when I do I tend to read them one story at a time in-between reading other books, but in this case, I was so captivated by the individual stories that I read them one after the other. They were all enjoyable but my favourite has to be The Boy Who Hung the Stars.

Beautiful Sorrows is the first of Mercedes M. Yardley that I have read and I have to say her writing is truly beautiful. It has a wonderful peculiar and ethereal quality to it. In fact, many words came to mind while reading: poetic, haunting, mystical, melancholy, surreal, to name a few. Her style truly is unique. I've never read anything quite like it before. Not only were her stories beautiful but they were also heartbreaking, chilling, and dark, all at the same time.

Reading Beautiful Sorrows was like experiencing the wonder and beauty of fairytales for the first time as a child, but in grown up form.



Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes | LibraryThing

You can also follow me on Bloglovin

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

 As part of the TBR Canine Jar Challenge, The Neverending Story was chosen by Thorin. He's in the lead so far.

The Never Ending Story is one of my favourite books from childhood, I read and re-read this book many times and also watched the movie over and over until the tape was basically unplayable. It's been a long time since I last read it and there's no time like the present. 

 
I went into this book with lots of fond memories and I was a bit apprehensive that reading it now would possibly spoil those memories, but I am glad to say that didn't happen. I enjoyed it just as much as I did as a child. I had forgotten how vivid and imaginative the world of Fantastica was. Even now I still felt the same wonder I had as a child at the possibility of being able to physically travel through the world within a book. I have to say, it felt a bit neverending once I moved into the second part of the book. The grown up me found the second half a bit of a slog and somewhat of a flop, just like the second movie.

Reading it for the first time as an adult, I picked up on many things that I had missed as a child. The hidden meanings and messages that had gone over the head of the younger me were there for the older me to dissect and ponder on. I remember as a child always getting frustrated when I was completely immersed in the story and then bam, up pops those dreaded words “But that is another story and shall be told another time.” I remember being desperate to know what became of those stories, I didn't want to move on until I had journeyed to the end of one story. The Adult me sees the cleverness behind the words, all stories are at their heart a neverending story, each could branch off into another, and another, and so on. There's a world of endless possibilities out there, stories waiting to be told.




Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes | LibraryThing

You can also follow me on Bloglovin

Review: People of the Sun by Jason Parent

People of the Sun by Jason Parent

My Rating:


People of the Sun has everything I love to find in a book. It's a mix of horror, sci-fi, thriller, and dark fantasy, and it ticked all the boxes for me - I'm especially fussy when it comes to sci-fi and fantasy too, so they are not boxes that are easily ticked! It really has something for every reader within its pages. Seriously, is there anything this guy can't put his pen to?

I was totally captivated by the characters, completely immersed in their world, their experiences and their emotions. The world around me ceased to exist while I had the book in my hands. I enjoyed watching the characters grow and change throughout the story. Seeing them become more human and relatable, both for the better and for the worse.

People of the Sun explores what it is to be human, it delves into the good, and the bad, and the effect they have on those around us. It's a sad poignant tale, but at the same time it's tension filled and has plenty of action. I was sad to see the story come to an end. I tried to draw it out. I didn't want to say goodbye. I wanted to savour it and stay with the characters longer, but I failed miserably and ended up reading it in one sitting. I really hope there is more to this story in the future especially after that ending, it killed me.

Highly recommended!



Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes | LibraryThing

You can also follow me on Bloglovin

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

People of the Sun, Synopsis

• Print Length: 327 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Sinister Grin Press (March 15, 2017)
• Publication Date: March 15, 2017

All life comes from the sun. Sometimes, death comes with it.

Filled with hope and driven by fear, four would-be heroes are driven from their home planet in a desperate bid to save their civilisation from extinction. But survival takes on a whole new meaning when a malfunction sends their ship plummeting toward Earth.

Surviving the crash is only the first obstacle on their path to salvation. The marooned aliens soon discover that Earth’s beautiful exterior masks an ugly foundation, a place inhabited by a warrior race that’s on a path toward self-destruction.

Brimming with action and intrigue, People of the Sun is sure to entice fans of dark fantasy and sci-fi thrillers such as Watchmen and I Am Number Four. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jason Parent, Biography

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. Formerly from the Southeastern Massachusetts region, he recently moved to Rhode Island to be near his work. 

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it's harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he's back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that's another story.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Praise for People of the Sun

"Jason Parent has penned a thought-provoking, gripping sci-fi thriller. This isn't your grandma's alien invasion. My own world stopped the moment I stepped into People of the Sun. Lovers of science fiction, horror and even super heroes will revel in this roller-coaster of a tale. A true must-read!" -Hunter Shea, author of We Are Always Watching and The Jersey Devil

“With his own indelible blend of tension and dark humour, Jason Parent’s latest page-turner reminds me of what you’d get if you crossed Isaac Asimov with Kurt Vonnegut. In addition to being fast-paced and wildly entertaining, Parent’s novel also offers the occasional flash of insight into the human (and not-so-human) condition, and displays Parent’s talent for turning a given genre on its head.” -Michael Meyerhofer, author of The Dragonkin Trilogy

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Media, information and review copy provided as part of the Hook of a Book blog tour by Erin Al-Mehairi from Hook of a Book Media & Publicity.

If you’re a book blogger or media site and would like to feature Jason Parent or review People of the Sun, contact Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com. 

Follow along the tour with these hashtags: 

 #PeopleoftheSun #SciFi #DarkFantasy #aliens
#SinisterGrinPress

Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web

Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes | LibraryThing
 

You can also follow me on Bloglovin

Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

My Rating:

I would like to thank Random House UK, Ebury Publishing for providing me with an advanced reading copy of The Bear and the Nightingale.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a bit of a mixed bag. There were parts of this book that I loved and there were parts that I found unnecessary or a bit of a slog to get through.

Near the beginning of the book when Vasya's father and brothers travel to Moscow I found that it slowed right down and I began to become a little bored. There were so many new names and characters there that it started to feel like I was losing track of them all, and because I didn't know if the characters were going to feature as a constant in the story I felt the need to try and commit them to memory. I soon discovered that after slogging through this section and trying to keep everyone right in my mind, that it was a waste of time because the majority of them are not a part of the rest of the story. Almost the whole section could have been removed from the book without it having any negative effect on the story.

Once I got past the section mentioned above I really started to enjoy the book a lot more. The descriptions of the surroundings and atmosphere were done very well. So well that I could almost feel the intense cold creeping over me as I read. I kept expecting to see snow outside my window when I looked up from the book.

I particularly enjoyed the Russian folklore and fairytales that run throughout the story. The author paints a vivid world full of magic, danger, and imagination, and the writing style was a pleasure to read. The creatures and characters really came alive and I found myself completely wrapped up in their lives and their story.

Highly recommended. I would love to see this book made into a movie.


Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes

You can also follow me on Bloglovin

Review: Seriously Shifted by Tina Connolly

 Seriously Shifted by Tina Connolly

My Rating:

I would like to thank Tor Teen for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

Seriously Shifted is a fun story full of magic, mischief, and quirky characters. I flew through it in no time at all. It was great fun to catch up with Cam and to join her on another journey full of shenanigans, which in this next installment happens to be a trio of witches who are up to no good.

I did find myself having the same problem with this book as I had with the first. In Seriously Wicked I didn't feel that the characters stood out enough visually and I struggled to build a picture of them. I found it to be the same in Seriously Shifted. The descriptions centred too much on one thing rather than painting a complete picture. Each time there was a new character introduced I learned their name and whether they were white, brown, caucasian, Chinese-American, or Thai. That's not enough. There is much more to a person than that. Paint me a picture. What colour are their eyes? Their hair? Do they have freckles? Are they tall, average, short? I couldn't see them with so little information.

I liked the way the magic was written in riddles and how Cam was trying to stick to her ethics, but it was missing colour and imagination. Cam mixed all these different ingredients and cast her spells but it didn't feel magical. It was rather like baking a cake without the amazing aroma spreading throughout the kitchen, or watching fireworks in black and white with no sound, or sitting by the fire without the crackle of the logs and the heat of the flames. There was no colour or spark to it, it fizzled out.

All in all, the storyline was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it and had a smile on my face for much of the book, but visually I found it lacking and it needed more colour and description to fire the imagination.




Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes

Review: Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

My Rating:


I received an advanced reading copy of Stealing Snow from Bloomsbury Publishing.

I always try to find a balance between the good and the bad in a book when writing a review but I am really struggling to find anything positive to say about this one. There were promising moments but they were completely drowned out by everything else.

The writing was OK but I would have liked to have seen more time spent world building and firing the reader's imagination. For a fantasy novel, it was very bland and flat. It didn't sweep me away into another land full of magic and amazing scenery like it should have done.

The book actually felt more like an expanded draft of an idea rather than an in depth complete novel. Everything was rushed and the story kept jumping forward without enough development in-between.

I saved the worst for last. The dreaded love triangle. Ok, it's not really a love triangle, it's worse, it's a love square! Yep, you heard me right. A love square. The MC jumped from one love interest to another at the drop of a hat. The whole reason she's there in the first place is to save the love of her life. Who knew saving your soul mate meant sucking face with every male that crossed your path.

I doubt I will be reading any more in this series.

Not one I would recommend.



Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
Facebook | Twitter | G+ | BookLikes