tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48680340841658285482024-03-11T23:51:39.098-05:00I've Read ThatOpinions on & Reactions to BooksMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09575839458599807879noreply@blogger.comBlogger489125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-381415335001760102024-02-08T20:11:00.001-06:002024-02-08T20:13:01.346-06:00The Paris Apartment<div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Paris Apartment</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Lucy Foley</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.</div><div><br /></div><div>The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.</div><div><br /></div><div>The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge</div><div><br /></div><div>Everyone's a neighbor. Everyone's a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.</div></blockquote><div></div><br /><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">(I listened to the audiobook version of this novel.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This took a while to really get going. I think the constant shift among different points of view, and at least a few of them with accents that blurred together at first, didn't help. It took me a while to recognize the names and voices/accents. Then the story was just kind of treading water for chapter after chapter. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once it finally got going, it wasn't bad, but some of the bigger "twists" were predictable—possibly unavoidable when you've read or listened to this many examples of the genre. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, I know you're not supposed to expect/require likeable characters, but it's not always easy to care what happens to characters you don't like. There are a couple of okay-ish people in this mix, but none of them are particularly easy to love. I just felt very "meh" about this collection of characters, and I got very tired of listening to Mimi's baby voice and intonations. (Sorry, but after a while she drove me nuts.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Still, it was something to listen to!</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-16842097063618538242024-02-08T19:26:00.006-06:002024-02-08T19:30:00.321-06:00The Naked Clone: A Nick Nolte Mystery<div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Naked Clone: A Nick Nolte Mystery</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Conor Lastowka, Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, and Sean Thomason</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b><br /><div></div><blockquote><div>This hilarious mystery was written serially by the minds behind RiffTrax, with each writer picking up where the last left off.<br /><br />There’s trouble in Hollywood.</div><div><br /></div><div>Big surprise, Sheepdip, there’s always trouble in Hollywood. But for Yours Truly, Nick Nolte, private dick, actor, entrepreneur, collector of exotic and often dangerous commodities, and People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive (1992), Hollywood is a filthy, decaying, half-empty swimming pool, and I’m gonna dive in head-first.</div><div><br /></div><div>Someone’s kidnapping Hollywood bigwigs? Hell, I wish I’d thought of it first. Clones runnin’ amok from Pismo to Tijuana? Sounds like fun, hand me a gun. A dame in distress willing to hire me for a sack a’ quarters? I’m in. I’ll even put on my best shirt for the job, which is easy, ’cause it’s my only shirt. A diabolical plot to mess with the space-time continuum and take over Tinseltown, maybe the whole damn world? I’m on the case. I might get distracted, or black out a few times, or both, but I won’t stop till I bring in these evil peckerknobs and win the heart of the femme fatale…</div><div><br /></div><div>…Sorry, blacked out there for a minute. Maybe an hour. Maybe a day—look, who’s counting?</div><div><br /></div><div>So strap in, Shortpants, it’ll be one full-throttle, mind-twisting, weirdass ride, and I got the wheel. Just hand me that bag a’ pills and that can a’ Sterno and try not to scream so damn much.</div><div><br /></div><div>—Your Pal,</div><div>Nick</div></blockquote><div></div><br /><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">(Donald and I read this together to fill in gaps between <i>372-Pages </i>podcast episodes.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is one crazy ride. I can recommend it for hardcore Rifftrax fans, but if someone unfamiliar with Rifftrax were to read it, they'd be baffled. Considering that it wasn't really planned out like a normal novel—and that it was passed along from author to author, chapter by chapter, I don't think it would be fair to critique the plot as I would with a typical book. There were some laugh-out-loud moments, and I think that's the most you can ask of something that's essentially a strange writing experiment.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I do wish there were some sort of key or something at the end to indicate which person wrote which chapters. We speculated about that as we read and would've been interested to check the accuracy of our guesses.</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-91195467268472380952024-02-03T06:31:00.008-06:002024-02-03T06:42:03.663-06:00"The Thing in the Hall"<div style="text-align: left;"><b>"The Thing in the Hall"</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by E.F. Benson</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Synopsis:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A man invites an unknown spirit into his home. This proves to have been unwise.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction (with SPOILERS):</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't have much to say about this one. It has some gruesome and creepy elements, but I didn't find it particularly effective, overall. Not destined to be a favorite, I'm afraid. The main thing that stuck out in this one, for me, was the fact that cheating at cards is presented as roughly the equivalent of torturing one's own pet to death. Both are described as "depravity", but needlessly, intentionally hurting an animal (especially one you've agreed to protect and care for) is several orders of magnitude worse than card sharping, in my opinion. The two aren't even comparable. I've observed this attitude in books before: In the past, at least in certain circles, cheating at cards was seemingly a much bigger deal than it seems to me. Not that I condone cheating, of course, but it simply doesn't feel deserving of quite the level of gravity that some authors grant it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That my main focus from this story was <i>this</i> should tell you that the rest of it fell a bit flat for me. There are some things going for it, but they are undercut by the same pseudo-scientific approach and strange pacing that plague many of these stories (from what I can recall of the ones I read years ago). There are moments of horror and eeriness, but sometimes they're buried under too much "evidence". Does the author think we can so quickly forget that these are fictional short stories? Frankly, I'm not interested in made-up science or "proof", because—how can I put this politely?—I know you just made it up. Trying to dress it up as scientifically documented truth is pointless. Just make it feel creepy! To be fair, Benson is doing essentially the same thing as M.R. James and many other successful "ghost story" writers, framing his tales in realism and attempting to lend them a sense of verisimilitude, but maybe he's just not as good at it. Some of his horror tales are lacking in a sufficiently haunting atmosphere and instead have an almost clinical feel. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And...that's it! That was the last story in the collection of E.F. Benson's short horror fiction!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was a bit of a weak note to end on, but I'm glad to have finally finished this collection of short stories so I can scratch it off the list once and for all. I can't believe it was sitting neglected on my Kindle all this time with only two stories left to read! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been so long since I read the bulk of the stories that I no longer recall much about the individual tales. My opinion is that Benson is a much better satirist / humorist than writer of horror, but that's not to say that his eerie stories aren't worth reading (and some might be worth a re-read, at some point). However, I suspect most of them may be a little too dry to appeal to the casual modern reader; they're better suited to people who appreciate a more old-fashioned writing style.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-78206320097326589092024-01-30T20:20:00.001-06:002024-01-30T20:29:55.923-06:00"Inscrutable Decrees"<div style="text-align: left;"><b>"Inscrutable Decrees"</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by E.F. Benson</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Synopsis:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">An unnamed narrator stumbles upon the death notice of a remarkable woman he once knew. He then shares his memories of the woman, followed by a discussion with an old friend, which reveals the solution to a macabre puzzle. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction (with possible SPOILERS:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I can no longer recall if I stopped writing reviews for individual stories in this collection of E.F. Benson's short stories that I have... I know I stopped reading, years ago, but am uncertain of whether or not there may have been a backlog of stories I had read but not reviewed. At this point, I suppose it doesn't matter. I thought I might try to finish the collection, so I'm picking up where I left off with reading (if not reviewing). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I found the beginning of the story was actually more amusing than horrifying, which reminded me that it may be time to revisit the <i>Lucia</i> series again. As for this story, it was merely okay. There's some vague creepiness, but you see the culmination coming from a mile away, so there's no element of surprise, and if anything, I thought the crime committed was milder than expected. The ghostly element undercuts the horror, I think. I'm not big on stories with seances that reveal visible ghosts, and... well, spoiler alert, I guess! There's a visible ghost called forth by a seance. Not the best of his work, but the central character herself is an interesting one for an armchair criminological psychologist to ponder. </div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-18914957820262681932024-01-28T20:24:00.003-06:002024-01-28T20:30:14.721-06:00Bitter Sun<div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Bitter Sun</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Beth Lewis<br /><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">"Stand by Me" meets "True Detective" in this stunningly written tale of the darkness at the heart of a small mid-Western town and the four kids who uncover it. In the heatwave summer of 1971, four kids find a body by a lake and set out to solve a murder, but they dig too deep and ask too many questions. Larson is a town reeling in the wake of the Vietnam draft, where the unrelenting heat ruins the harvest, and the people teeter on the edge of ruin. As tension and paranoia run rife, rumors become fact, violence becomes reflex. The unrest allows the dark elements of the close-knit farming community to rise and take control, and John, Jenny, Gloria, and Rudy are about to discover that sometimes secrets are best left uncovered.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">DNF one-third of the way through the book. </div><p>This book—or as much of it as I read, since I abandoned it after reading the first third—was such a disappointment! I enjoyed <i>The Wolf Road</i>, the author's first published novel, and had high hopes for this one. When I finally had a chance to read it, I jumped right in, but almost immediately it just wasn't working for me. I think I gave it a fair chance, but instead of improving it was starting to seriously annoy me. It's time to set this one aside and move on to something else. I'm still interested in trying another of this author's books, in the hopes that they're more like her first work and less like... this.</p><p>So, what didn't I love about this? </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Set in the United States, yet too often the characters use British words and turns of phrase that simply don't feel authentic to me. I could overlook this in a more compelling read, but on top of everything else, it was grating. </li><li>I could have done without some of the tangents (commentary on the Vietnam War, for instance). Maybe they're supposed to set the scene and paint a picture of the time, but I didn't like them, and in a slow-paced book, the last thing we needed was more blah-blah-blah that didn't advance the plot. </li><li>I couldn't believe half the things that happened (and that was just in the first third of the book). Bizarre things, and way too many of them. No, I don't think this is a fair portrayal of small-town America in the 1970s (or ever), and that annoys me (as someone from small-town America). </li><li>Gosh, these characters! There's hardly a decent person in the book. Even the kids were utterly blah. Everyone feels like such a cardboard cut-out cliche. There's no joy in reading about these characters. </li><li>I need a plot that actually moves at something above a snail's pace.</li><li>There are a LOT of "bad guy" characters in this book, and according to their descriptions, they're all absolutely disgusting. (Quite a few of the baddies seem to be fat, too, by some strange "coincidence"...)</li></ul><div>I skimmed some reviews to try to at least see what happens in the end, but I'm still not sure what (if anything) is the solution to the mystery. What little I did gather about the conclusion is even darker than I was expecting, so I don't think I missed much. Maybe I'll skip to the end and see if I can learn more, but I doubt it's worth the effort. The impression I get is that it's not a particularly satisfying conclusion, even for those who like the book. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm just glad to put this in the rearview mirror and try to find something that doesn't make me angry every time I read it!</div><p></p>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-26786419539486674992024-01-11T21:30:00.001-06:002024-01-11T21:30:35.021-06:00Doggone Christmas<div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Doggone Christmas</i> (Polly Parrett Petsitter #1)</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Liz Dodwell</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>Polly is juggling the care of her wheelchair-bound mother, her pet-sitting business and the sale of the family home. On top of that she finds herself having to deal with an arrogant but really sexy realtor, and Christmas is coming! None of that seems important, though, when she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and must find the real killer before an innocent homeless man and his dog are wrongly convicted.</blockquote><br /><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Donald and I needed something to fill the gap between <i>372-Pages</i> books, and it was still in the Christmas-y time of year, so we decided to read another "Christmas cozy" from the podcast's shortlist of cozy mysteries. We went through the ones not selected this time around and chose one that was available to us for free. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, all I can say is that I think it's a good thing they chose the book they did instead of this one. I'm sure they could have found things to talk about, but this felt much more like a standard cozy mystery to both of us, compared to the one they ended up choosing. It's very much what you expect from a cozy mystery.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've forgotten most of the things that stuck out, but I do recall deciding that the author must be British, because a few words/turns of phrase stuck out to us as not sounding authentically American—someone was described as being "in hospital", for instance. Just a point of interest!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-89381445818786649552024-01-11T21:10:00.001-06:002024-01-11T21:10:46.786-06:00The Pesthouse<div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Pesthouse</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Jim Crace</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Once the safest, most prosperous place on earth, the United States is now a lawless, scantly populated wasteland. The machines have stopped. The government has collapsed. Farmlands lie fallow and the soil is contaminated by toxins. Across the country, families have packed up their belongings to travel eastward toward the one hope passage on a ship to Europe.</div><div><br /></div><div>Franklin Lopez and his brother, Jackson, are only days away from the ocean when Franklin, nearly crippled by an inflamed knee, is forced to stop. In the woods near his temporary refuge, Franklin comes upon an isolated stone building. Inside he finds Margaret, a woman with a deadly infection and confined to the Pesthouse to sweat out her fever. Tentatively, the two join forces and make their way through the ruins of old America. Confronted by bandits rounding up men for slavery, finding refuge in the Ark, a religious community that makes bizarre demands on those they shelter, Franklin and Margaret find their wariness of each other replaced by deep trust and an intimacy neither one has ever experienced before.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It took a little time to get into the flow of the language with this one, and even once I did, I had some issues with the pacing, but on the whole, I found this an interesting tale. I appreciated that it wasn't remotely as gratuitously dark as so much post-apocalyptic fiction tends to be; that made for a nice change. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There's a lot I still don't understand about the world the author built in this book. Why have people forgotten so much about their history, for instance, while they've managed to hold on to other things (like the traditional, Founding-Father names)? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway, I find I don't have much to say about this, now that I'm done with it. It's different... If you don't mind a meandering pace and feel intrigued by a future civilization that feels more like a medieval/Old West mash-up than <i>The Jetsons</i>, this is for you. Ah, just be forewarned that it's a post-apocalyptic romance, minus much of what you usually find in a romance! (It's an odd book.)</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-74196851011742361882023-12-27T19:47:00.002-06:002023-12-27T19:53:05.355-06:00Horrorstör<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Horrorstor-Novel-Grady-Hendrix-ebook/dp/B00JCRXBSU?crid=1DDN08WKC7QSM&keywords=horrorstor&qid=1703727475&sprefix=horrorstor%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=dfbcc6f04f9be7904968566cc2f04b1b&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00JCRXBSU&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B00JCRXBSU" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Horrorstör</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Grady Hendrix</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.</div><div><br /></div><div>To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.</div><div><br /></div><div>A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, <i>Horrorstör</i> is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, <i>Horrorstör</i> delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was my first time reading anything by this author, and it was a shared read-aloud with Donald. I happened across it on Goodreads; the idea of a horror story set in an IKEA was too intriguing to pass up. Since Donald is Swedish, I thought he might be interested, too. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I guess I was picturing very mild, even goofy horror. Something like a slightly more adult version of <i>Scooby-Doo</i>, maybe. It started out kind of like that, but then it turned into more traditional horror. Unfortunately, that part of the novel wasn't really to my taste. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There is one genuinely creepy scene where people are trying to navigate the empty store and simply can't find their way around. That's my kind of horror. After that, when the scary stuff is actually there in the flesh and starts inflicting torture and blathering on and on, I basically lost interest and just wanted it to be over. On a positive note, it did get a tiny bit better again at the very end. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The catalog format is clever, and I did like the humorous IKEA references. I've never worked retail, but I can see how the book is tailored for those who have or do. Still, I think suggesting (even in jest) that working retail is akin to being imprisoned and tormented is extremely silly, to put it mildly. <br /><br />I feel the novel as a whole lacked polish. There are major plot points that are never fully explained (such as why the police couldn't find the store for so long), and it lagged a lot in the middle (again, the horror-heavy part). Still, I'm intrigued by the blurbs/titles of some of the author's other books, so I'll probably try another. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-91245651574581923692023-12-26T21:57:00.000-06:002023-12-26T21:57:01.181-06:00Rock Paper Scissors<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Paper-Scissors-Alice-Feeney-ebook/dp/B08QGLNSFK?crid=2SISTEUO60P2P&keywords=rock+paper+scissors+alice+feeney&qid=1703649259&sprefix=rock+paper+s%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=020288ef405a74fd9ffaeae53f4b8815&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08QGLNSFK&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B08QGLNSFK" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Rock Paper Scissors</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Alice Feeney</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Think you know the person you married? Think again…</div><div><br /></div><div>Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.</div><div><br /></div><div>Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts—paper, cotton, pottery, tin—and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">(I listened to the audiobook version of this one.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I didn't see that coming. Not sure if it was because I was listening with divided attention while doing other things (piecing a quilt, mainly), or if it was just that deftly handled, but the twist caught me off guard. I'm not sure it makes complete sense under closer scrutiny, but as a casual listener, I found it entertaining to have the rug pulled out from under me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm only getting around to writing this a fair bit of time after finishing the audiobook, so I'm probably forgetting things... I vaguely remember burning out on the story and giving it a break for a while, reverting to podcasts for entertainment. I think I found the characters tiring and frustrating, perhaps, and the pacing a little slow. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The author again displays her usual tendency to insert "clever thoughts" (described by some as cheesy cliches or fortune cookie sentiments) here and there throughout her work. It's a very distinctive style, and while a little of it is fine, after a certain point it can be wearying, if not annoying. I most certainly rolled my eyes at the gibe at people who dare write one-star reviews. (I imagine it was supposed to be amusing, but it came across as thin-skinned to me.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ah, more of it is coming back to me, now... I remember wondering what on earth was about to happen after the book ended. I can't get into it without revealing too much, but... Well, what's supposed to happen next? What were two of our characters expecting to happen? What's their plan? It feels odd that they just left evidence behind (on display, even) for someone to inevitably find and question. Very weird behavior from apparently sane, intelligent people. Did they actually believe that no-one would ever go there and see it? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, now that I see that this is being adapted for TV, I find myself wondering how they'll handle the element of the anniversary letters without giving too much away. I'll be interested in seeing it when it comes out. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm going for 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars (despite my irritation with the 1-star reviewer comment). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-44380907013008906892023-12-26T21:07:00.005-06:002023-12-26T21:07:56.244-06:00A Killer Christmas Affair: A Cozy Mystery<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Christmas-Affair-Mystery-Sunflower/dp/B0CM811HZX?crid=2TS8EXMWQLW79&keywords=a+killer+christmas+affair+a+cozy+mystery&qid=1703646297&sprefix=a+killer+christ%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=4a0e67163f96be8248319cf24fe8ebc2&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0CM811HZX&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B0CM811HZX" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>A Killer Christmas Affair: A Cozy Mystery</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Sussie Jordan</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>The Christmas party is in full swing as Darbie and Marisol show off their new business venture, Sunflower Hacienda, as a magnificent Mexican style resort on Lake Travis, when suddenly, Santa is found dead. The Sheriff announces it was an accident. Now it’s up to Darbie and Marisol, with the help of their loveable Saint Berdoodle, to find the killer before anyone else gets hurt and to save their business! Who would want Santa dead?</blockquote><br /><br /><b>My Reaction:<br /></b>Oof, I don't know how to rate this one...! It's another <i>372-Pages</i> selection—this year's cozy mystery for the lead-up to Christmas. It's not uncommon for books featured on this book club podcast to be a bit challenging to rate: Sometimes I'll rate one highly simply because it was unintentionally hilarious and therefore fun to read. Other times, my rating more closely aligns with my opinion of the book's... quality (or lack thereof). This time, there's an extra complication in the fact that so much of the story seems to have been "borrowed" (lifted directly) from another book (one that guides would-be cozy authors through the process of writing Christmas cozy mysteries). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, I can heartily recommend the episodes of the podcast about this book. The book itself needs a lot of work, to be honest. I wasn't expecting much complexity, given how short the book is, but there is barely any investigation at all before the guilty party goes nuts and brings everything to a too-hasty conclusion. Not a satisfying resolution to the mystery, though I have to admit there were some funny bits to enjoy before the precipitous ending.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-43853605809187904492023-12-02T14:46:00.003-06:002023-12-02T14:48:55.708-06:00The Land of the Moepek<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Teen-Archaeologists-Book-Moepek/dp/1434358747?crid=251W4J4ZHMRI1&keywords=the+land+of+the+moepek&qid=1701549956&sprefix=the+land+of+the+moepek%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=7e28d6f4aa705a20ca2e43a72bd8d2ce&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1434358747&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1434358747" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Adventures of the Teen Archaeologists: The Land of the Moepek</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">by Larry Elis and Denise Brown Elise<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>Three teenagers Billy who is seventeen, Thomas who is sixteen and Rebecca who is fifteen are from Britain and are the children of archaeologists. During a family vacation to Africa they meet Samirah and her two best friends Adam and Atikah. The six teenagers travel through the Pyramid of the Moepek and find their way to the underground city of the Moepek civilization using an ancient map. They not only encounter wild animals, dinosaurs, warriors, and assassins, but also realize they they are prisoners in the strange underground world. There is Naeduur who is the head warrior in charge of protecting the king and his royal family. Naeduur is furious at the six teens for entering into the Land of the Moepek. Naeduur would like nothing more than to destroy the teenagers. There is also Isabella. She is very powerful and can perform all kinds of magic. She will stop at nothing to destroy her enemies and those that get in her way. The Land of the Moepek is full of traitors and plots to destroy the entire royal family. Princess Assuenta with the help of the Teen Archaeologists must work to stop the assassination of her father the king and the destruction of her entire family. Not even her parents believe their daughter the princess. Princess Assuenta must find a way to make them believe or her father will die. The people of the Moepek are an extremely wealthy civilization with riches beyond the teens' imaginations. But all their wealth means nothing if they can't survive the gigantic flying dinosaurs and the gigantic gorilla creature that threatens them.</blockquote><br /><br /><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">(This was another <i>372-Pages We'll Never Get Back</i> selection and a shared read with Donald.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So. What can one say about <i>The Land of the Moepek</i>, really? It is utterly bananas and hilarious—just read the blurb for a tiny taste of the writing style. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're the right kind of reader, this book (and the podcast episodes devoted to it) will be a source of amazing entertainment. If you're not, you'll be convinced we're all nuts, my friend. (Sorry, that was more a reference to the authors' other novel, <i>Antigua: The Land of Fairies, Wizards and Heroes</i>—also covered by <i>372 Pages</i> and also highly recommended.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm giving it 5 stars out of appreciation for the joy it gave. </div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-61532174160609401222023-11-30T21:16:00.026-06:002023-11-30T21:40:31.404-06:00The Lost Village<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Village-Novel-Camilla-Sten-ebook/dp/B08BYCMH48?crid=Q41WGCH0ZG1Q&keywords=the+lost+village+camilla+sten&qid=1701400482&sprefix=the+lost+village%2Caps%2C272&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=a8e6ed4fc406688d4eb9a831cdefd25b&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08BYCMH48&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B08BYCMH48" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Lost Village</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Camilla Sten</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>translated by Alexandra Fleming</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left—a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn—have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened.</div><div><br /></div><div>But there will be no turning back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:</div><div><br /></div><div>They are not alone.</div><div><br /></div><div>They’re looking for the truth…</div><div>But what if it finds them first?</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This started off promisingly, with a creepy and interesting premise—abandoned village, about 900 people disappearing without a trace, evidence that something went terribly wrong—but at some point the plot began to run out of steam, and the ending didn't win me back, unfortunately. I can't get into my issues with the book without spoiling it, so keep reading past the spoiler alert, if you're interested in why this is only a 3-star read for me...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>SPOILER <br />ALERT!!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Spoilers follow.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, where to start? As I mentioned above, the premise is intriguing and creepy. I love the idea of a whole village vanishing without a trace—shades of Roanoke—and the fact that the book has it happen in the relatively recent past (1959), gives an interesting twist. The prospect of a Swedish ghost town, preserved untouched, like a time capsule? That's fascinating, too. Then there's the evidence of a brutal crime, the mystery baby, etc.—all very good. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Our modern-day ("Now") characters are a bit of a mystery, themselves, at first. Some of them are connected and have obvious history, but what are their different backstories? What's the source of the tension? What are the secrets they're keeping from one another? Some of it is precisely what you'll probably guess, but that's fine. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As for the "Then" characters (those living in the mining town in the 1950s)... Eh. That was a bit mixed. The dual timeline thing is sometimes effective, but at other times I groaned when we switched perspectives yet again. I think it interrupted the flow, at times. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Maybe this is just me. So many of the books I've read lately do this, splitting the story into multiple perspectives or different timelines, then flashing from one to the other throughout the novel. It can work, but it doesn't <i>always</i> work, and it almost feels like a crutch. I think it's overdone at the moment, and I'm ready for some thrillers that don't do this!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The set-up—getting to the village, starting their exploration—I loved it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But then things started to unravel for me. I didn't know whether to expect something supernatural or not, but either way, it could have worked. Except it just didn't, really. It's not exactly surprising when "all is revealed", because by then you've pretty much worked it out on your own, but it's simply unbelievable. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So here are the things that annoyed me or didn't work for me:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">First, I loathe the whole cult angle of the book. It's such a terribly boring explanation for what happened—so disappointing!!—and also not very believable here, in my opinion. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes, cults exist, but as I understand it, unless the members are raised in the cult (groomed from an early age, with no idea that there's any other way of living), they're targeted and gathered together from a wider area. It's not like a wannabe cult-leader can go somewhere and expect to recruit everyone in a five-mile radius into his madness, no matter how charismatic he may be. I find it doubtful that it's this easy to "convert" almost everyone in a whole, single village. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">These characters are people who were raised in a normal, mainstream society (isolated, but definitely normal for the time). Surely there should have been more people who would be steadfast in their faith—strong enough in their personal convictions to resist the pressure to succumb to the mass hysteria. I guess the mine shutting down is supposed to be the disruption or catalyst that makes something like this possible, but... I strongly dislike that plot element, too, which brings me to the next point: What were these people thinking, staying in the village so long after the mine closed down? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I suppose I can accept that Elsa can't bring herself to abandon Birgitta, though what miracle she was waiting for to save the day, I can't say... As for everyone else in this town, why wouldn't they accept the inevitable and get out while they still had some savings?! It's not easy to leave behind your home, I know, but if you have no way of earning a living there and no prospect for improvement, you have to leave and start over! No-one was stopping them from leaving; they simply didn't want to, I guess. It's just... Well, it's just <i>stupid</i> that so many of these characters were just watching their savings dwindle away and refusing to take action. I don't believe that is likely, either. (Maybe I'm overestimating the level of common sense in the average human.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But okay, you have a community of mostly good, Christian Swedes in the late 1950s. Times are tough (because they're too darned stubborn to take the plunge and get out of their dying town to start a new life somewhere else). Men have no work, and some of them turn to drink for escape (since apparently they lack the gumption to plan a literal escape for themselves and their families). Then this new, androgynous-faced pastor comes to town, and before you know it, he's converted everyone to his twisted cult religion. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(Ugh, I hate that plot point.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And <i>then</i> he gets them riled up against one mentally ill (or challenged?) woman who can barely communicate and stays shut away in her own little hut, bothering no-one. ...Why do they go along with him on this? We're all familiar with the concept of a witch hunt, but this is modern times and all targeted at one single, solitary woman who doesn't have anything of value to covet and doesn't even venture out her own door! I find it difficult to believe that a whole village in 1959 Sweden could be so easily and quickly brainwashed to believe that she was any kind of threat to them, purely because some newbie preacher-man told them so. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh, good grief! I just can't bring myself to get into most of the rest of the nit-picking, because the basic premise annoys me so much, but I can't go without commenting on the king of all "um, what?" aspects of this novel:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Aina has survived for 60 years in complete isolation, with no human companionship, no medical attention, no technology, no nothing. All she has is what the other villagers had in their homes, for her clothes, shelter, and food. She's been living for 60 years on the old canned food left by people who were already starting to struggle for money. ...No, I don't believe that, either. No mention at all of her having a vegetable garden, hunting, or fishing, so I'm assuming she didn't. She just lived off a very limited supply of slowly disintegrating canned food for SIXTY YEARS. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And after a lifetime of this meager diet and no medical care, now in her 70s, she manages to overpower healthy young people who are fresh from civilization, with all the benefits of a consistent diet and modern medicine. Yes, in at least one case there are circumstances that work in her favor, but in general, I'm not convinced that this is at all likely. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Before wrapping up, I'm annoyed that the book tries to have it both ways: We have the physical threat of the Amazing Aina, 70-something-year-old miracle who doesn't need no stinkin' nutrition or medical care to take down those young whippersnappers—and yet we also have some supernatural elements that I don't think can be explained rationally. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anything that Aina thinks she hears, sees, or knows can be discounted, because she's obviously cuckoo, but the others see and hear spooky, supernatural things, as well—things that I don't believe can be explained away by the existence of Aina. And then there's the odd case of Tone, who seems to have been temporarily possessed by the spirit of her grandmother, only to immediately return to her usual self as soon as the crisis has passed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This probably shouldn't irritate me as much as it does, but there you have it. It was a disappointing ending. I didn't even get into how annoying the present-day characters are, but plenty of other reviewers covered that. </div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-74192328034281113752023-11-11T17:48:00.004-06:002023-11-11T17:48:49.858-06:00A Heritage of Shadows<div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>A Heritage of Shadows</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Madeleine Brent</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">When Hannah MacLeod, established independently in Paris, the secrets of her past well hidden, takes pity on an Englishman who has been assaulted, a sinister train of events is set into motion.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've read and enjoyed six of Madeleine Brent's novels, before this one. I believe I started with what is probably the best of them, <i>Moonraker's Bride</i>. Though "Madeleine Brent" is the pen name of a male author, he did a marvelous job of writing a female perspective and creating strong female characters. I've enjoyed everything of his I've read, so far. Nothing else has quite matched <i>Moonraker's Bride</i>, in my opinion, but they've been very readable. They tend to rely on some unbelievable coincidences, and they're formulaic, but they're still highly enjoyable.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While <i>A Heritage of Shadows</i> fits that same "proven formula" in many ways, in some key elements it's significantly different. To spell out how it differs, however, would reveal a huge spoiler, so I won't go into it. Suffice it to say that it's much darker in subject matter than everything else I've read from this author. I didn't care for this, and unfortunately, the way that the heroine reacts to certain events in her life makes her less relatable to me. I suppose I understand what the author was going for... The character has a defense mechanism that has allowed her to survive shocking and horrific experiences—but at some point it's frustrating to see someone keep turning the cheek. She's a little too perfect for me. I can't completely believe in her absolute self-control and lack of negative human emotion. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I do like that we get a fair bit of interaction between the hero and heroine, but... Well, it leads to more spoilers if I get into details. I just didn't find this book quite as enjoyable to read, for a variety of reasons. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-18165261213479967982023-11-04T10:21:00.002-05:002023-11-04T10:26:12.807-05:00A Head Full of Ghosts<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Head-Full-Ghosts-Novel-ebook/dp/B00MTSKHKO?crid=1KBFN9T0RPVG&keywords=a+head+full+of+ghosts+paul+tremblay&qid=1699111167&sprefix=a+head+full%2Caps%2C699&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=6d10d049005186e4889ff517f37690a8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00MTSKHKO&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B00MTSKHKO" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>A Head Full of Ghosts</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Paul Tremblay</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.</div><div><br /></div><div>To her parents’ despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie’s descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight. With John, Marjorie’s father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface—and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hm. I'm feeling ambivalent about this book. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">First things first: I listened to the audiobook version, and while this is the first book of this author's that I've "read"/listened to, I did watch <i>Knock at the Cabin</i>, the film adaptation of <i>The Cabin at the End of the World</i>, then went and skimmed a synopsis of the novel (after reading that the movie went in a different direction from the original story). Based on that experience (both the movie and reading the synopsis), I wasn't feeling confident I'd love <i>A Head Full of Ghosts—</i>but I'd already put it on my list a long time back after seeing it recommended highly, so when the opportunity presented itself, I gave it a try, anyway. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's not bad, but it's also not a favorite. There are a few good, chilling moments, but in my view it doesn't live up to the hype. Maybe I missed something, but... Eh, I wanted more answers rather than questions and hints and suggestions that, more often than not, seem self-contradictory.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Specifics:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">—I've never watched <i>The Exorcist</i> and have no desire to do so. It's one of those "classic" horror movies that holds no allure for me. The whole "exorcism genre" has never appealed to me, and any time a movie includes an exorcism, I wish it would finish quickly so we can get on with the interesting parts of the story. I just don't get the appeal. The idea of actually being possessed (or being around someone who is or believes they are) is, of course, horrifying, but the actual exorcism itself? No, not interested in that. Since so much of the book revolves around that plot point, that's a strike against the book right away. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">—I see that I'm not alone in finding the blogger character's writing style frustrating to read. I believe I understand why the author did it this way, but it's still deeply irritating to read, after a while. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">—Didn't care for how the narrator voiced male characters... And her way of pronouncing "always", shortening the second half of the word so it sounds like "alwys", makes me shudder, for some reason. Funnily enough, I catch myself saying it that way sometimes, too—but not alwys. (Ha ha.) Oh, and the "yeah?" that the two sisters kept tacking onto the ends of sentences drove me up the wall, too. (Okay, maybe I'm a bit too easy to irritate.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">—Marjorie really annoyed me. "Mom" annoyed me. "Dad"? Also annoying. Young Merry is mostly relatable, though even she is occasionally annoying. The whole cast kind of rubbed me the wrong way, at one point or another. (Let's just get it all out there... Grump, grump, grump!)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">—This novel is also being made into a movie, evidently. I'd be interested in seeing it, at some point, to see how they adapt it. It might work better on the screen, though I'm not sure how they'll handle the blog element...</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-32234494252736366212023-10-24T05:37:00.004-05:002023-10-24T05:45:20.669-05:00Painting Happiness: Creativity with Watercolors<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Painting-Happiness-Watercolors-Terry-Runyan-ebook/dp/B09VZLV47Y?&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=852613aad00410f956dba3899114a63d&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B09VZLV47Y&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B09VZLV47Y" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Painting Happiness: Creativity with Watercolors</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Terry Runyan</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Combat stress and anxiety and release your own inner creative with this beautiful mindful watercolor book.</div><div><br /></div><div>In this simple and vibrant guide, hugely popular Instagram muse @TerryRunyan explores the art of watercolor through the lens of mindfulness, presenting activities and projects which you can paint along with as you allow your creative side to flourish.</div><div><br /></div><div>This watercolor guide is easy and accessible for beginners, as Runyan gently delves into the basics of the artform, starting with simple techniques which you can follow along with, as well as presenting some fun projects ideas for painters to explore.</div><div><br /></div><div>Alongside beautiful examples of the techniques and styles explored in the book, Runyan also encourages readers to practice mindfulness as they paint, and explores the ways in which art can be used to help improve mental health. Exploring the idea of 'perfectly imperfect watercolors', Runyan places emphasis on self-expression and allowing yourself to make mistakes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Painting Happiness also includes fun projects for readers to try at home, From technical skills and notes on materials to insight into the creative process, this book has everything you need to start flourishing in watercolor.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I wanted to use up some points I had accumulated on Amazon and was interested in spending more time getting familiar with watercolor. When I came across this book, I thought the style was cute and "do-able" for a beginner like myself. To summarize the review to follow, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to people who are more interested in encouragement and enjoying the experience of painting than in highly detailed tutorials of specific techniques. The book does include exercises and introduces basic techniques, but it's more about the experience and letting go of preconceptions—accepting and even embracing imperfections instead of feeling you must strive for an unobtainable ideal. My takeaway was this: Let go of perfectionism and overthinking. Live in the moment—and just let yourself have fun painting!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I didn’t realize it until I started reading, but I’ve actually seen this artist’s work before, in fabric. She has a very specific “mid-century” illustration style that reminds me of children’s books from the 1960s, like many of the books I loved so much as a child. It’s a simple, happy, playful style that is less likely to be intimidating to a beginner. And while the book isn’t really a step-by-step guide to learning or mimicking her unique style, looking at the illustrations is fun and inspires me to try to take some of her ideas (and that retro look) and put my own spin on them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>The book is mostly about letting go of self-critiques and just enjoying the process—releasing your own innate creativity—with suggestions for exercises to help you get more out of the experience. It’s about exploring the joy of creative self-expression with less judgement and worry, approaching art as a journey rather than a destination.</div><div><br /></div><div>To be honest, some of the language is a little more reminiscent of a self-help book than I was expecting. One phrase in particular—”you are made of well-being”—is particularly befuddling to me, and I’ve never felt I completely understood the whole “mindfulness” thing. But I do value activities that are supposedly conducive to “being present”, etc., and maybe this language makes more sense to others and helps them silence their overbearing inner critic. It’s definitely an encouraging book and one I’d recommend to anyone who struggles with self-doubt in their creative endeavors. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first suggested activity involves simply painting for at least five minutes every day for 30 days in a row. It goes into a little more detail than that, and there is a list of prompts, if you’re in need of inspiration. I decided to give it a try, and I found it beneficial. It can take time to really let go of worrying about whether what you're making is good enough, whether you're wasting materials, etc., but if you stick with it, it does get easier over time. </div><div><br /></div><div>I see now that the author has just published another book about painting cats, titled... <i>Painting Cats</i>. While cats are cute, I'm really more of a dog person—but I'm adding it to my wish list anyway! (I'd assume that many of the ideas can be applied to any animal you prefer, and I'm sure there's plenty of inspiration to be had.)</div><div><br /></div><div>(I originally posted most of this review in <a href="https://sewisee.com/painting-happiness/">this post on my craft blog</a>, back when I first read the book.)</div><div><br /></div></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-79064662031338962822023-10-24T04:16:00.001-05:002023-10-24T04:16:08.786-05:00Home Before Dark<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Home-Before-Dark-Riley-Sager-ebook/dp/B07Z2TY6HV?crid=ZRK1B5B9RD6W&keywords=home+before+dark+riley+sager&qid=1698138630&sprefix=home+before%2Caps%2C412&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=2306bdef97d91148bbef0d8042857aff&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B07Z2TY6HV&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B07Z2TY6HV" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Home Before Dark</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Riley Sager</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div><i>What was it like? Living in that house.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling <i>The Amityville Horror</i> in popularity—and skepticism.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father's book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father's death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div>I believe this is my second time "reading" (listening to an audiobook version) anything written by this author. The previous one, <i>The House Across the Lake</i>, was more to my liking, though the major plot twist comes out of the blue and feels odd and out of place. <i>Home Before Dark</i>, on the other hand, had essentially the opposite twist—a comparison that will make no sense unless you've read both books...</div><div><br /></div><div>I found it more entertaining before it became obvious that... Well, without going into spoilers, before that twist I referred to before. </div><div><br /></div><div>The atmosphere through much of the book reminded me of the recent(ish) miniseries adaptation of <i>The Haunting of Hill House</i>. But unfortunately, part of that similarity was a pervasive feeling of sadness. It feels less frightening than depressing. So much wasted potential, in so many lives! </div><div><br /></div><div>Another problem was that I couldn't warm to the main character, or feel much of <i>anything</i> for her, one way or the other. Her father, who speaks through his "book within a book", is more engaging, but there are issues with him, as well. (For one thing, you never know—until the end—how much of what he's saying is true.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Ultimately, it's fine, but not something I'll revisit. I'd happily read or listen to more by the author, though. This type of book doesn't need to be amazing and unforgettable to be a perfectly decent read, in my opinion. I'm just looking for something fictional to think about while I quilt, and this did the trick!<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Nitpicky Specifics:</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The title doesn't make much sense. I like it as a title, but it doesn't fit with the story. </li><li>I really don't understand the need for a father to discuss any aspect of his sex life with his daughter. Gross. Should have been left out, as it was completely unnecessary. </li><li>The regional accents adopted by the two narrators are strange and distracting. Every time the male narrator voiced the teenage girl I cringed, and all the "locals" voiced by the female narrator sound like a version of Rhoda Morgenstern from <i>The Mary Tyler Moore Show</i>, which I very much doubt was intentional. </li><li>The female protagonist keeps making unforced errors, putting herself into stupid situations for no apparent reason. Not uncommon in fiction, but always annoying!</li></ul><div>3.5 stars, but not rounding up this time. </div></div></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-87354776258041353382023-10-13T20:22:00.002-05:002023-10-13T20:22:50.262-05:00No Exit<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/No-Exit-Novel-Taylor-Adams-ebook/dp/B07B7MCM7G?crid=29NUAXPZJGW3V&keywords=no+exit+taylor+adams&qid=1697246512&sprefix=no+exit%2Caps%2C267&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=2790c681c85e1ff21ca8353f3cbbf5b2&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B07B7MCM7G&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B07B7MCM7G" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>No Exit</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Taylor Adams</b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.</div><div><br /></div><div>Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?</div><div><br /></div><div>There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?</div><div><br /></div><div>Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape.</div><div><br /></div><div>But who can she trust?</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The blurb sounded like something I'd like, but it didn't work out that way. Based on the information in the blurb, I knew there was probably going to be some medical content, but when the specifics unfolded... and it just kept coming up... that was a problem for me. I've mentioned on here before that I really dislike books to focus <strike>what I consider to be</strike> too much on certain medical problems/diseases. I'm reading for pleasure, and that is the exact opposite of pleasurable reading, for me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, there were frequent references to a horrible disease that I don't want to think about, and then there was the fact that it felt like I was making slow progress (and constantly in the back of my mind dreading the next gotcha moment with the disease). Oh, and I'd just read far enough (not that far, really) to see that a villain was identified. So... What? Was that it? No more mystery? That was disappointing and essentially finished off my interest in reading the book. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There's a movie adaptation of the book available, so I decided to just watch that instead. The adaptation was okay (though somewhat more depressing that I expected), but at least now I don't "have" to finish the book to know what happens. Phew. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(It was interesting to note that someone saw fit to change the nature of Darby's mother's medical problem.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-61804989407134533642023-09-17T21:49:00.001-05:002023-10-24T04:23:46.401-05:00What Lies Between Us<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Lies-Between-John-Marrs-ebook/dp/B07XDVHDH4?crid=MJ5F4SCMNJIV&keywords=what+lies+between+us+by+john+marrs&qid=1695005313&sprefix=what+lies+between+us%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=609721406ecb33bdb73f923c8c3a08e0&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B07XDVHDH4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B07XDVHDH4" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>What Lies Between Us</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by John Marrs</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>They say every house has its secrets, and the house that Maggie and Nina have shared for so long is no different. Except that these secrets are not buried in the past.</div><div><br /></div><div>Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. When they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room in the attic, and into the heavy chain that keeps her there. Because Maggie has done things to Nina that can’t ever be forgiven, and now she is paying the price.</div><div><br /></div><div>But there are many things about the past that Nina doesn’t know, and Maggie is going to keep it that way—even if it kills her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because in this house, the truth is more dangerous than lies.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This started off well enough, but by the end I was disappointed and just glad to be done with the sorry thing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The premise is intriguing, and I was curious to see how it would all play out. I quickly developed some theories, and sure enough, they were correct. Ordinarily, that would leave me uncertain of whether to be proud that I'd been so perceptive or annoyed that it was too predictable (a sentiment amusingly shared by one of the characters as she ponders her own penchant for reading mystery-thrillers), however, after my "twist" predictions all came true (and yes, it was a <i>bit</i> annoying that they were presented as twists, when they were so obvious), there were a few more twists and turns waiting in the wings. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, was <i>that</i> a positive or a negative? I just don't know! On one level, yes, it was unexpected. On another, some of it was unexpected because it was either straight out of Cuckoo Town, relying heavily on characters behaving stupidly. After a while you find yourself mumbling to the book, "Oh, come <i>on</i>!" Eye-rolling and sighing may occur. And in the end, you just kind of shrug. Okay, book, if you say so. Whatever, I guess. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another reviewer described this book as simultaneously predictable and unrealistic, and that encapsulates my feelings completely. I found the reading of this book morphed from an interesting experience into one of frustration. And worse yet, one of the plot points I didn't see coming until it smacked me in the face is among my least-favorite things to read or think about. (It's health-related, and I'll leave it at that, to avoid a direct spoiler.) I just can't bear reading books about this topic. Because it cropped up so late in the book, I didn't want to just drop the book entirely, so I skimmed around those parts, to the best of my abilities, but it certainly didn't improve my enjoyment of the reading experience!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ultimately, it wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a good choice for me. I found it very lacking in any sort of satisfying conclusion. Maybe that was meant to be "the point", but... Blah to that!</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-21700472749627814372023-09-17T21:18:00.003-05:002023-09-17T21:21:40.417-05:00The Starlight Barking<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Starlight-Barking-Sequel-Hundred-Dalmatians-ebook/dp/B00YM7LY8Y?crid=3IIKMV9OSVB99&keywords=the+starlight+barking+dodie+smith&qid=1695003492&sprefix=the+starlight+barking%2Caps%2C1090&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=093c80ea57f6b9eec6b1915e9571b091&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00YM7LY8Y&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B00YM7LY8Y" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Starlight Barking</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Dodie Smith</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:<br /></b></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">Dodie Smith's <i>The Hundred and One Dalmatians</i>, later adapted by Disney, was declared a classic when first published in 1956. <i>The Starlight Barking</i>, Dodie's own long-forgotten sequel, is a thrilling new adventure for Pongo and his family, lavishly illustrated by the same artist team as the first book. As the story opens, every living creature except dogs is gripped by an enchanted sleep. One of the original Dalmatian puppies, all grown up since the first novel, is now the Prime Minister's mascot. Relying on her spotted parents for guidance, she assumes emergency leadership for the canine population of England. Awaiting advice from Sirius, the Dog Star, dogs of every breed crowd Trafalgar Square to watch the evening skies. The message they receive is a disturbing proposition, one that might forever destroy their status as "man's best friend."</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">(This was another <i>372 Pages We'll Never Get Back</i> read with Donald.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been decades since I've seen Disney's adaptation of the first book, and I've never read it (though I <i>have </i>read <i>I Capture the Castle</i> multiple times, and seen the film version). I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I certainly wasn't expecting this. It's... Well, it's just weird. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's impossible to say how I'd have felt about this as a member of its target audience—that is, a child, or at least someone who had read and loved the first book as a child. Would I have found it charming or dull? As an adult, I found there were a few oddities that stuck out (such as the strange bits about the different dog breeds and the importance of maintaining breed standards), but for the most part it was simply a bit boring. Some elements were rather dark for children, too (thinking specifically of Sirius' motivation for whisking all the dogs away from Earth, which is a spoiler, but... Eh, I don't think it'll be a problem!)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a strange book, to say the least. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I didn't know much about Dodie Smith's life before starting this, and was surprised to learn that she and her husband moved to live in the U.S. during WWII, because he was a conscientious objector. That's interesting, given some of the jokes made on the <i>372-Pages</i> podcast. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I hardly know how to rate this one. Personally, I didn't enjoy the book. </div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-41705420584041518832023-08-25T21:05:00.001-05:002023-08-25T21:06:53.595-05:00His & Hers<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/His-Hers-Novel-Alice-Feeney-ebook/dp/B07RYGHRTS?crid=J2L40BUFUV01&keywords=his+%26+hers+alice+feeney&qid=1693015146&sprefix=his+%26+%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=cd84a380a32357cf5c2bb3cde29c7d47&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B07RYGHRTS&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B07RYGHRTS" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>His & Hers</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Alice Feeney</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb: </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.</div><div><br /></div><div>When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation. Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This novel kept me guessing right until the end! I developed a theory, changed it, then changed it again. The final reveal took me back to one of my earliest suspicions, but hey, the author did a good job of luring me away from it! You just can't be sure what's really going on, because there are too many equally good possible solutions. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">On the downside, there are some coincidences that are honestly too big to swallow, and most of these characters are fairly repugnant in one way or another—but I can't deny that I enjoyed reading most of the book. (It always feels weird to say you "enjoyed" a book of this sort! It's pretty dark in spots, not to mention enraging.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll be keeping this author in mind for future reads.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Random Thoughts:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There's an odd mix of UK and US English here... My guess is that whoever was responsible for editing the book for the American edition missed a few things. We have American "candy bars", "chips" that are clearly the American version (as opposed to "crisps"), yet there are "biscuits" that really ought to be "cookies" in US English. There are other examples of this strange blending of terms, but those are the only ones I bothered noting.</li><li>Based on this and <i>Daisy Darker</i>, this author has a weakness for deep / meaningful / clever comments. Here's one that didn't quite land for me: "Lives are like light bulbs; they’re not as hard to change as people think." Only... <i>Do</i> people think changing light bulbs is difficult? Maybe the ones that you can't reach without a ladder...</li></ul><div><br />These last two are a bit spoilery (I guess), so here's your spoiler warning, if you're worried about it...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"Jack accused me of a few bad things when we were married, and a few more when we weren’t, but never murder. It makes me wonder whether he always had a negative view of me, even when we were together." Sorry, but that just made me burst out laughing! He'd never accused her of murder? Well, I should hope not! </li><li>I'm not buying that the teenage craft-queen character would have known how to prepare fur. I mean, you have to <i>do</i> something to the skin, right? Tan them? You don't just skin an animal, dry out the pelt, and use it as a fur, do you? (Well, maybe it works for the short-term. I could be wrong here.) That whole part of the story felt really odd to me. I can't picture that character being all excited about skinning dead pets... </li></ul></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-16880596229529544662023-08-06T19:57:00.001-05:002023-08-06T19:57:05.321-05:00Don't Let Her Stay<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Stay-unputdownable-psychological-ebook/dp/B0BSCQ3ZX7?crid=I875K2GL2V4L&keywords=dont+let+her+stay+nicola+sanders+book&qid=1691369793&sprefix=dont+let+her+st%2Caps%2C457&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=225ed56bc4bc4acb0a707ac6793887f1&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0BSCQ3ZX7&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B0BSCQ3ZX7" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Don't Let Her Stay</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Nicola Sanders</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Joanne knows how lucky she is. Richard is a wonderful husband, Evie is the most gorgeous baby girl, they live in a beautiful house… Life couldn’t be better.</div><div><br /></div><div>Until Richard’s twenty-year-old daughter Chloe turns up. Chloe hasn’t spoken to her father since the day he married Joanne two years ago. But Chloe wants to make peace. She’ll even move in for a few weeks to help Joanne with the new baby.</div><div><br /></div><div>It sounds perfect, but when things happen that make Joanne feel like she’s losing her mind, she begins to wonder: Is Chloe really here to help? Or has Joanne made a terrible mistake by letting her move in?</div><div><br /></div><div>And is it too late to ask her to leave?</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh. My. Gosh. Look, I know people have different tastes, but I cannot fathom why this book has such a high collective rating! It's simply inexplicable, except for the fact that it is/was included in Kindle Unlimited, which I suspect often bumps a book's ratings by virtue of the sheer number of people reading it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This took much longer to read than it should have because I kept having to put it down in annoyance. I knew I should've made it a DNF, but at that point, I wanted to see just how irritating it could be (and yes, what would happen). I really should have just stopped. It wasn't worth the frustration. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">These are some of the most infuriating, stupidest, worst-written characters I've ever come across. As another reviewer put it, the only characters you can remotely care about are the dog and the baby (and even the baby kind of annoys me, if I'm honest). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you enjoy spite-reading, give this a try. If you get a sick thrill out of reading about characters that you actively dislike—characters so excruciatingly idiotic and weak that you want to reach into the book and slap some sense into them—you're in for a real treat with this one. Otherwise, save yourself the annoyance!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(I don't think this would be something <i>372 Pages We'll Never Get Back</i> would ever go for, but there's certainly plenty to talk about, assuming you don't mind a ton of "OMG, this is so stupid"...)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-5441161316005965882023-07-15T15:12:00.001-05:002023-07-15T15:13:32.276-05:00On a Quiet Street<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Street-Seraphina-Nova-Glass-ebook/dp/B09FGTCN7V?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=JfDSG&content-id=amzn1.sym.dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587%3Aamzn1.symc.a0a8e5a1-16ef-41aa-8da7-a8b3ace24c23&pf_rd_p=dba1a2d0-88dc-4504-a5d7-10259373e587&pf_rd_r=DXJ4D92F98WFWD202KJ4&pd_rd_wg=MfmSX&pd_rd_r=5e478fd9-5a51-4e76-a9de-9986410614c6&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=bec1c2c25c55422372337e13d05e856d&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B09FGTCN7V&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B09FGTCN7V" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>On a Quiet Street</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Seraphina Nova Glass</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>The perfect neighborhood can be the perfect place to hide…</div><div><br /></div><div>Who wouldn’t want to live in Brighton Hills? This exclusive community on the Oregon coast is the perfect mix of luxury and natural beauty. Stunning houses nestle beneath mighty Douglas firs, and lush backyards roll down to the lakefront. It’s the kind of place where neighbors look out for one another. Sometimes a little too closely…</div></blockquote><div></div><br /><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, I like the cover, and the title is okay... Based on the blurb, I was expecting something a little gossipy and maybe <i>slightly</i> trashy—something inspired by the old <i>Desperate Housewives</i> TV dramedy, which could be okay, since I'm just borrowing it through Amazon. <i>Desperate Housewives</i> may well be the intended vibe, but it just didn't work for me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I found the plot ridiculous. The irritating characters' behavior is nonsensical and frustrating, to the degree that I lost all patience with them, so I stopped reading at 28%. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After skimming some of the unfavorable reviews (and completely ignoring the many who apparently loved it), it doesn't sound like I'm missing out on much. DNF, and relieved to move on to something fresher!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-62559093196358084182023-07-08T20:40:00.000-05:002023-07-08T20:40:43.630-05:00A Flicker in the Dark<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Flicker-Dark-Novel-Stacy-Willingham-ebook/dp/B092T9G4Y5?crid=3TCWFTHN3ILAY&keywords=a+flicker+in+the+dark+stacy+willingham&qid=1688866704&sprefix=a+flick%2Caps%2C415&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=2a207679187477fe63f5af58c3afc498&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B092T9G4Y5&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B092T9G4Y5" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>A Flicker in the Dark</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Stacy Willingham</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren't really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm having difficulty rating this one, because I enjoyed reading most of it, but at the same time, there is room for improvement. Some of the twists are predictable, though you're kept in enough doubt that it's still very readable in that respect—plus I'm always curious about how the finer details will work out. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One of my main annoyances with this book is the way characters sometimes behave so illogically. I know, real people do that, too, but... Eh, it frustrates me. It can also be irritatingly repetitive, some of the metaphors really don't work for me, and at times the science and police procedures are questionable at best. However, I still found it an interesting enough read. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'd certainly consider reading more by this author. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-14950092907635655762023-06-25T16:47:00.000-05:002023-06-25T16:47:01.835-05:00The Victorian Chaise-Longue<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Chaise-Longue-Marghanita-Laski-ebook/dp/B00LJ61CBU?crid=3WFYOT8859SJ&keywords=the+victorian+chaise-longue+by+marghanita+laski&qid=1687725133&sprefix=the+victorian+chaise-longue%2Caps%2C470&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=96a299379c10aeee5fe9de97b6eba6d6&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00LJ61CBU&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B00LJ61CBU" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Victorian Chaise-Longue</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Marghanita Laski</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">A young married woman lies down on a chaise-longue and wakes to find herself imprisoned in the body of her alter ego ninety years before.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've had this one on my list for years, but now that I've finally read it, I never want to read it again—and that's not because it's so horrifying that I couldn't bear to revisit it. Though this work of psychological horror certainly <i>is</i> unsettling—and it also happens to feature the type of horror that probably bothers me most, body horror, health horror, medical horror—it's not calculated to leave me sleepless or anxious. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Sadly, I wouldn't care to read it again because I didn't find it a satisfying reading experience. Though it's already short, as a novella, it felt in need of yet more pruning. It could easily have been cut even shorter, and I believe it would have been more effective if it had been. As it was, it felt repetitive in a way that numbed and stupefied rather than heightening the tension. (On the other hand, it could have been fleshed out into a more engaging full-length novel, but the repetitiveness still would have needed to be addressed.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There were some interesting ideas to explore here, especially the way that a culture's standards of morality and acceptable behavior shift over time. What would be an unpardonable sin during one period of time might be almost a mere foible a hundred years later. When (not to mention where) we are born can be the difference between life and death, joy and misery. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As for the ending, maybe it's just a matter of taste... I know some people like open-ended stories, but I'm not one of them. A little ambiguity can be okay, but this felt disappointing. At least it was short!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4868034084165828548.post-63924594227660432822023-06-25T15:14:00.012-05:002023-06-25T17:03:54.655-05:00The Writing Retreat<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Retreat-Novel-Julia-Bartz-ebook/dp/B0B3Y84THW?crid=SQLYOP6U4IW4&keywords=the+writing+retreat&qid=1687723658&sprefix=the+writing+retrea%2Caps%2C302&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&linkId=17c0e975ac4eea9e3e3a1e6a0cb8eb70&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0B3Y84THW&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gulfcoastlocal-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B0B3Y84THW" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Writing Retreat</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Julia Bartz</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Blurb:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.</div><div><br /></div><div>But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she’s desperate to discover the truth and save herself.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Reaction:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hm... Not what I was expecting. This wasn't quite my cup of tea. (I wasn't expecting it to verge into erotica, for one thing!)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A few thoughts:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>—This would have been better without the "book-within-a-book" snippets. They didn't add much, in my opinion, and ended up being a distraction from the real story. </div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">—When you have characters speaking about how well-written the "book-within-the-book" is and then include some of said fictional book, there's always the danger of readers thinking, "Eh, this isn't quite the work of genius we've been led to expect." That's certainly what happened here for me. Didn't care for it!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div>—Actually, the entire secondary story about the tragic and/or creepy history of the house feels completely unnecessary. You may think it's going to be important, but no, it could easily have been left out. It's supposed to be relevant to the conclusion, helping Alex make realizations and breakthroughs, but... I'm not buying it. There were other ways to develop the character without dragging in paranormal red herrings and making us read Alex's boring book. </div><div><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>—I listened to the audiobook, and it took a while for me to get used to the narrator for this one. </div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">—Had to roll my eyes at a few things, including the scene where the women share their pronouns. Yes, that felt <i>completely</i> natural and unforced. No agendas on display here!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">—There are a few plot points that may leave you scratching your head, such as a character who looks much younger than she actually is and Alex's mother's bizarre timeline. (How old <i>is</i> she?!)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">—The ending was strange and unsatisfying. All this build-up to how horrific and crazy a certain character is, then it all just ends with a puff a smoke. Yes, there are "stakes". Yes, there are bad things happening, but... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ok, I can't write about this without going into spoilers, so...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">SPOILER</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> ALERT</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After all the build-up of danger, even though some characters do die, it feels like the ones you're supposed to <i>really </i>care about are all okay. And the Bad Guy just agrees to... leave. It's abrupt, odd, and anticlimactic. And then when it turns out that Roza is alive (obviously), Alex's reaction is strange and difficult to understand. She has this bizarre crush on Roza, even after all she's done. It's gross. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Since I've already put up the spoiler warning, did Roza really think she'd get away with murder and stealing yet more books? I mean, I guess it's nothing she hasn't already done, but this feels more visible—more likely to draw the scrutiny of the authorities and possibly raise some eyebrows. And why? She's apparently very wealthy, already, and she's established her legacy as a famous literary author, so again, why? </div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228081099716179894noreply@blogger.com