Kaileb's Dream

Kaileb's Dream

by Kaileb Varney

Blurb:

Once just a dream, now turned into reality the young Master of the White Blades, must fight to save the world. There is always good and evil, and the struggle is just a part of that existence. Having only been a Warrior, (an ancient race born in the early years of recorded history) for a few years this young man, must deal with the responsibility of both his new found power, and life. He must learn to find a balance within the world, and himself.

My Reaction:

This was selected by the 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back podcast.  I read this aloud with Donald, as we usually do with the podcast's reading choices.  (As you might imagine, reading aloud only adds to the enjoyment of the rich and unusual language typical of these novels.)

Um... Well, that was an experience.  This is one of the most bizarre books I've ever read, even for 372 Pages, but I have to say that I'd much rather read this than Shadow Moon or Bob Honey... or even Artemis.  At least this one kept me laughing (and wasn't painfully dull, like Artemis' action welding scenes).  

Sometimes I Lie

Sometimes I Lie

by Alice Feeney

Blurb:

My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:

1. I’m in a coma.

2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.

3. Sometimes I lie.

Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks, is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?

My Reaction:
I'd completely forgotten I hadn't reviewed this one, yet, so I'm coming to it a while after finishing it...

I listened to the audiobook version, though I don't remember much about the narrator, which is probably a good sign.  If I still remembered something about it, it would likely be because I'd found it irritating (like the childlike French accent used for one of the characters in the audiobook I listened to before this one).

I think the book was interesting, though infuriating at times.  I don't think I saw the main twist coming... But I do remember that a few things at the end don't seem to add up to me, straining my ability to suspend disbelief.  And the very ending is just a bridge too far.  What is that even supposed to mean?  

It was fine, for a mindless thriller.  Just don't expect a masterpiece.  (That's true for most of them, to be honest.)