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.


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Review: 1,342 QI Facts to Leave You Flabbergasted

 
1,342 QI Facts to Leave You Flabbergasted


My Rating:

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

There's not a lot I can say about this one. It is what it says it is; a book full of weird, funny and interesting facts that will have you either chuckling, WTF'ing, or scratching your head.

Here are a few examples:

- The Very Hungry Caterpillar was originally called A Week with Willie Worm.

- In China, it's illegal to reincarnate without filling in a government Reincarnation Application form.

- Men who watch a lot of porn have smaller than average brains.

- In the 18th century, chickens were known as "cacklers" and eggs were "cackling farts".

- "The Copper-Penis Owl" is the monster used in Hungary to scare children into behaving.

I now find myself throwing out random useless facts during conversations, lol. As an added bonus, my point score has gone up when watching QI on TV!



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Review: The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen by Hendrik Groen

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen by Hendrik Groen

My Rating:



I received a free copy of The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 ¼ Years Old from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I wanted something fun and humorous to lighten the mood a little and I figured this would be the perfect book. It wasn't what I was hoping it would be at all.

It was billed as being charming, hilarious and laugh out loud funny but I'm afraid I didn't find that at all. The main character, rather than being funny and sarcastic, was instead an annoying, bitter, grumpy, cantankerous old man. I quickly got tired of his whining.

There was the odd amusing scene but there are only so many times that the same scenario can be funny. Repeating almost the exact same scene, but with different characters, quickly becomes repetitive and tedious.

Not one I would recommend.



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Review: Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale David Duchovny

Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale David Duchovny

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale from the publisher in return for an honest review.

This is one that ended up on my did not finish pile. I just couldn't do it. I felt like I was being lectured under the guise of bad pop culture references, awful satire, ridiculous puns, and phrases that contain words(?) like "cray cray", "totes", "bae" and every other modern phrase that irritates the hell out of me.

The writing style is inconsistent. The author changes style constantly, jumping between telling a story, to something along the lines of a screen play, to then breaking the fourth wall. The whole thing is just odd, irritating and makes no sense. It's full of rants about politics, religion and animal rights and welfare, disguised as what I believe is supposed to be humour. And I understand it's supposed to be a book for all ages? I wouldn't subject an adult to this book let alone a child.

I have to wonder, had this been written by anyone else, in other words someone who's not a "celebrity", would it have been published at all?

Not recommended.


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Review: Truckers: The First Book of the Nomes by Terry Pratchett

 Truckers: The First Book of the Nomes by Terry Pratchett

 My rating:

 

I received a free copy of Truckers: The First Book of the Nomes from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Truckers was such a fun read. It's full of humour and adventure and sets the imagination on fire. I know it's a children's book but I completely forgot that fact while reading as it's so well written and fun for all ages.

The way the author has approached everyday objects, giving them a whole new outlook or meaning when seen from the Nomes point of view, was refreshing to read. I think what appealed to me the most was the style of the humour. It's subtle and innocent and it sneaks up on you. The characters themselves are being funny without being aware of it, if that makes sense, and that makes it all the more humorous.

"How many books are there?" said Masklin.
"Hundreds! Thousands!"
"Do you know what they're all about?"
Gurder looked at him blankly. "Do you know what you're saying?" he said.
"No. But I want to find out."
"They're about everything! You'd never believe it! They're full of words even I don't understand!"
"Can you find a book which tells you how to understand words you don't understand?" said Masklin.
Gurder hesitated. "It's an intriguing thought," he said.

My favourite part has to be the books, so many books and so much wisdom to be found inside. The way they read them and assume everything they read to be true really tickled my sense of humour. We pick up books and we know what's fiction and what's true, but how different would the world seem if we didn't know and we were to experience it through all kinds of books assuming everything we read was fact.

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Review: See You in Hell

    See You in Hell by David Thome

    My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars.





I received a free copy of See You in Hell in return for an honest review.

Lucinda is a hard boss to work for, she's heartless and expects 100% from everyone, 100% of the time. But times are tough and Lucinda's company isn't making the profit she desires, lay-offs are being made and a disgruntled employee turns on Lucinda. Picture if you will, a man with a gun and nothing to lose, a woman who thinks she has complete control, and you have Hell, literally. You've heard I'm sure, that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Lucinda is furious and upon her arrival in Hell, decides that she is going to be the one in control.

See You in Hell is full of satire, punchy one liners, tongue in cheek humour and was a fun read. Lucinda is a bit of a bitch but she grows on you and you have to admire her wit. I enjoyed the way that the author approached the whole religion and heaven and hell aspect of the story. It's a serious subject for most and it was a refreshing take on it. The story is narrated in the voice of Satan and he was a lot of fun. He was witty, smart and charming, I liked him, don't judge me!

The ending was a bit predictable but it was an interesting and fun read, one that I would recommend.

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Review: The Package

The Package by Evans Light

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




This story really doesn't paint Santa in a very nice light, infact he's positively glowing under a great big neon asshat sign!

I found myself getting rather pissed off at Santa and the way he kept putting down poor Mrs Claus. I mean cmon he's no hunk of a catch himself and it would take a miracle to find his junk under that belly, especially considering how lacking he is in the trouser department. And as for his new package, lets face it the only way that's going to be even slightly appealing or see any action, is if it's removable, has a bow wrapped round it and put it under someones tree!

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The Naughty List

The Naughty List by Edward Lorn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Well who would of thunk it. Santa and his reindeer are badass!

This was a fun and twisted little story.



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Review: Fog Warning

Fog Warning by Edward Lorn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




I received a copy of Fog Warning from the author in return for an honest review. I really enjoy Edwards books and I dropped everything else I was reading at the time in order to get to this one asap.

There is just something about the way Edward Lorn writes, it's very easy to read, to relate to and to enjoy. There's no effort to reading his work, the pages just grab you and you fly through them, you can just sit back and lose yourself in the story and enjoy it. The only words I can find to describe reading one of his books is... It's like sitting down with a friend, it's familiar, comfortable and good company no matter how scary or horrifying the plot of the book is.

Fog Warning has plenty of gory cringe worthy moments, creepy hair on the back of your neck moments and plenty sarcasm and wit that will have you chuckling. The dialogue was great, it feels natural, almost like you're overhearing a conversation. The story itself creates a creepy atmosphere and just when you think you know what's going on it throws in an unexpected twist, ones that I certainly didn't see coming. Edward does a great job of playing your emotions when it comes to the main character, at times you think he's an idiot and deserves all he gets, then he has you feeling for him and wanting him to succeed.

I have so many highlights in this book, I couldn't help but highlight many sentences and descriptions as they were impressively written and expressed. There was one short description of an event that happened that I read and reread, I was literally in awe with the way it was written. It made me catch my breath and I could feel the tension creep up on me. Even reading it now, it still has the same effect.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it's an easy 5 stars from me and it has earned a place on my favourite shelf.

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Review: I Need a New Butt!

I Need a New Butt! by Dawn McMillan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I received a copy of I Need a New Butt! from the publisher via netgalley in return for an honest review.

This book was lots of fun, I read it with my niece today who's almost 4 and hilarity ensued. It resulted in her parading around the room showing me how she would walk if she had to get a new butt like the ones the little boy thought of in the book. The illustrations were great and really got her imagination going, she spent ages after reading it talking about all the different styles of new butts she could think up and how funny they would be.

A definate 5 stars for this one, it was so fun to watch my niece laughing and enjoying herself and watch how it got her imagination working overtime.

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Review: Inspector Hobbes and the Curse

Inspector Hobbes and the Curse by Wilkie Martin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I received a copy of Inspector Hobbes and the Curse from the publisher via netgalley in return for an honest review.

I haven't read the previous book, but this one really reads fine as a stand alone novel.

Inspector Hobbes and the Curse is very much the funny mans Sherlock Holmes, it's a light hearted tale full of mystery, quirks and puns. The tale is told from the character Andy Caplets point of view, poor Andy, he's accident prone and as a result is left jobless, broke and homeless. He's taken in by Inspector Hobbes and takes on the role of a somewhat bumbling Watson to Hobbes's Holmes and together they set out to solve an unusual supernatural whodunit mystery.

This was a fun read and is full of chuckle worthy puns and word play. I wouldn't say it was a page turner it's more one of those books you can pick up and read without having to think too much about the plot and just enjoy the humour and the tale.


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Review: Stone the Heir

Stone the Heir by Ronald M. Young

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I couldn't finish this book, I tried so hard as I hate to not complete a book. It just wasn't for me, I did enjoy certain parts and many were laugh out loud.

It didn't seem consistent, I would have much preferred if it had followed the format of a story rather than being narrated and I felt like it was jumping around a bit. That being said I am giving it 3 stars because I did enjoy what I read and I had a few good laugh out loud moments, I just found myself reading it in stops and starts as it felt really slow to me and I couldn't read it for any length of time. I think perhaps a lot of the humour in the book will be appreciated more by males.



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