Category: review

Two Book Tuesday
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Two Book Tuesday

MichelleLeave a comment

Two Book Tuesdays are getting a facelift… With a new graphic for these posts, tons of books I can’t wait to share with you, and a whole year in which to do so, things are looking up for Two Book Tuesday!

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Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Read by Robert Petkoff

I purchased a copy of Less by Andrew Sean Greer and didn’t really know what to expect from it other than it had a cover that made me want to read it.

Fast forward three weeks and I still hadn’t cracked that paperback open!  Instead, I went online to my library’s Libby catalog (through Over Drive) and checked it out there, figuring that if I didn’t have time to sit and read then I could listen while accomplishing other tasks.  This proved to be the correct choice and I managed to listen to Less in about two weeks.

Robert Petkoff’s performance was exceptional. He was able to make me feel pity and exasperation and joy for the situations Arthur Less continually found himself going through. In the end, I was quite happy to see where Arthur’s adventures took him, even if it was in the most roundabout of ways.

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Hadrian’s Wall
by Adrian Goldsworthy

Hadrian’s Wall by Adrian Goldsworthy is a nonfiction title I came across while browsing the shelves of my local Barnes & Noble bookstore. I have always been curious about the Roman occupation of the British Isles (I even wrote a short paper about it in school!) and I figured that this title would be of interest.

I had other things on my mind (and in my basket), so it was another two months before I was able to get my hands on Hadrian’s Wall.

I am so looking forward to cracking this book open because it is one of my absolute favorite times (and locations) in history!

blog · movie review · review

My Favorite Movies of 2019

MichelleLeave a comment

According to my Letterboxd account, I’ve watched nearly a hundred movies this year! Which is insane, because I don’t really like to sit around in front of the television… I guess being in a long-distance relationship and having PlayStation Party Dates has encouraged my couch-potato-ness.

Because the list is SO long, I’m only going to share new films I watched. Perhaps I’ll do a favorite re-watch list another time?

Continue reading “My Favorite Movies of 2019” →
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Two Book Tuesday

MichelleLeave a comment

I decided to do something a little different for this Two Book Tuesday and talk about two scary books that I’ve read recently that sent shivers down my spine and made me want to turn on all the lights in the house.

First we have Bleeding Earth by Kaitlin Ward.  A young adult horror title with a slightly dystopian feel to it, Bleeding Earth has a pretty original idea for an apocalypse where the earth literally starts to bleed and growing hair and bones.  Throughout the story, we follow Lea as she navigates trying to maintain a normal life in spite of the encroaching blood while hoping that her girlfriend will be strong enough to go public (going against her father in doing so).

Even though it has its problems (with plot and actually ANSWERING WHY THE EARTH BLEEDS TO BEGIN WITH), I absolutely could not put this book down.  It was just… viscerally disturbing and nauseatingly descriptive.  Every single time that the blood is described, I wanted to gag, and when they introduced the hair and bones I actually had to close the book for a minute and just breathe.

This book is gross.  It truly is horrific in both atmosphere and the behavior of the people trapped in a world they believe to be ending.  I rated this 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads and suggest you read it if you like Young Adult or being spooked. 👻

Book two is Down by Ally Blue and is one of fifteen titles that I purchased at the 2017 Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention.  I was lucky enough to meet Ally Blue in person and goofy enough to gush about which of her books that I ADORED!  Over the course of the discussion, she mentioned that she had just finished her first ever horror title and would I like to purchase it?

Now, I am not a huge follower of the horror genre, but I do love Ally’s writing style and honestly, how do you say no to an author who is sitting right in front of you?  I am thankful that I didn’t.  I bought that book and then sat on it for months…  Months that I could have spent reading this!  At any time!

Down is a horrific take on the mermaid mythos that has a distinctly science fiction twist and a smidgen romance.

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Book Review | Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech

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…Louie wondered how the absence of one person could take so much air out of the house.

I was really excited for this book and could hardly wait for its release date to read it! Sadly, I ended up having to wait a little while because someone got to the library’s copy before me, lol.

Saving Winslow is a somewhat short book about a little boy names Louie and Winslow, the LGD (Little Gray Donkey) foal he takes responsibility for when it doesn’t look like it isn’t going to survive.

While I wasn’t particularly drawn to Louie and Winslow, this book was absolutely filled with realistic attachments and feelings. From the “empty spaces” left behind by Louie’s big brother Gus who has joined the army to the pragmatism nearly every adult shows towards Winslow’s chances of survival.

My favorite character (sorry Winslow!) is Nora. Hands down. From her very first meeting with Winslow, you can tell that something isn’t right. She even mentions the little brother they had who was born 2 months early and didn’t survive. Later on, she suggests a leash and collar for Winslow and tells Louie that her family used to had a dog who died.

Nora has obviously been hurt by the loss of a baby brother and beloved pet and is terrified of getting too close to anyone/anything again for fear of the loss. Her actions, however, show a little girl that just wants to hang out with Louie and Winslow and not have to let them go.

Admittedly a cute book that ends with the potential return of Gus and Winslow’s departure to the farm to take up his mother’s role as LGD (Livestock Guardian Donkey) for Uncle Pete’s animals.

I do not believe that this book lives up to the claims from School Library Journal or Publishers Weekly to be a “standout tale” or “a convincing portrayal of human growth.” It was merely an ok book.

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Book Review | Pandemonium by Warren Fahy

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Except for Andy, everything about this book was a disappointment and guess what? Andy dies (spoiler).

I was super excited to get to read this book after the wild ride that Fragment took me on. I was curious about how the Hendros were adapting to life among humans and how the humans who survived Hender’s Island were coping with the horrors they went through there.

Sadly, after all they went through in Fragment, with the way they were written in the sequel, I actually ended up disliking Geoffrey and Nell! It was always “wifey” this and “husby” that… Yes, I triple checked, she calls him “husby” not “hubby.”

Nell, a brilliant scientist, runs around half naked during what is supposed to be a life threatening situation because she “forgot” to wear a bra and THEN has to disrobe AGAIN later! What the hell?!?!!!? And Geoffrey isn’t much better… he was one of the most interesting characters in Fragment, smart and funny and really likeable! But in Pandemonium, he was reduced to mindless panic and idiotic gushing over Nell like a slobbering sycophant rather than a loving husband.

I hated Sasha with a passion. If she’d been written as a teenager, her behavior would have been believable, but a ten year old pulling what she did out of her hat all throughout Pandemonium? Yeah, no.

The thing I was looking forward to the most was seeing what had happened to Hender and Andy and the other Hendros. These moments were few and far between, and felt as if they’d just been thrown on the page as an afterthought.

The villains (both human and hendro) were utterly forgettable and felt like caricatures of old-times bad guys, swirling their mustaches and clasping their hands in glee.

All in all, Pandemonium is just a bad book. If I could give negative stars, this would get -7 ⭐️’s.

An utter disappointment after the brilliance of Fragment, it will be a long time before I trust Warren Fahy enough to pick up another of his books.

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Two Book Tuesday

MichelleLeave a comment

So, I started reading Seven Tears at High Tide by C.B. Lee about two weeks ago and had to put it down because I was busy with work and life in general.  My plan is to start back at the beginning instead of picking up where I left off…

Seven Tears at High Tide by C. B. Lee is a young adult fantasy / romance about a teenage boy who wishes for a summer of love, a wish which is granted by a nearby selkie who overhears his heartfelt plea.

Kevin Luong has had his heart broken by the boy-next-door who decided he is no longer gay and doesn’t want to “fool around” with boys anymore. Instead of spending the summer together with Miles, Kevin is suddenly alone and feeling particularly unloved.

On a whim, he sheds seven years into the ocean and makes a wish, asking for just one summer to be happy and in love. He doesn’t really expect his wish to be granted.

What Kevin doesn’t know is that someone hears his wish. Morgan, a selkie boy, happens to be swimming near enough to hear and hope that he will be the one chosen to fulfill the request. His mother, and matriarch of his selkie herd, grants him permission to shed his skin and go ashore to meet Kevin.

So begins a summer of innocent love, with Kevin teaching Morgan how to be both human and to pass as a normal teenage boy.  But, as the boys grow closer, they begin to realize that there is something sinister in the works in their little seaside town.

Semiosis by Sue Burke just flat out sounded like a cool book.  I remember getting an email about it pre-release date and wanting desperately to read it.  I even texted my friend, and local librarian, asking her to purchase it for the library so that I could read it!

This book appears to be right up my alley, with first contact situations, space colonization, and an alien (possibly plant-based) intelligence. With the summary including fun words like “bizarre, inexplicable, and grapple” who wouldn’t want to read this?  😀