Basic Plot: Digger is too focused on playing to listen to his mom when she wants him to clean up.
Overall, not bad for a free Nook download. The art waBasic Plot: Digger is too focused on playing to listen to his mom when she wants him to clean up.
Overall, not bad for a free Nook download. The art was polished and effective. The story and writing were extremely simplistic, but it is designed for young children just getting used to the idea of reading, so it's a good fit. The story uses some puns, too, as the young dinosaur mishears his mother and friend's instructions, which is good for beginning readers to get a sense of the sound of words as well as the visual recognition. My little monster has asked for it twice now, so it even has some staying power.
Merged review:
Basic Plot: Digger is too focused on playing to listen to his mom when she wants him to clean up.
Overall, not bad for a free Nook download. The art was polished and effective. The story and writing were extremely simplistic, but it is designed for young children just getting used to the idea of reading, so it's a good fit. The story uses some puns, too, as the young dinosaur mishears his mother and friend's instructions, which is good for beginning readers to get a sense of the sound of words as well as the visual recognition. My little monster has asked for it twice now, so it even has some staying power....more
Basic Concept: A supplement for Pathfinder 1st edition that is a comprehensive guide to all kinds of equipment, both mundane and magical.
This may seriBasic Concept: A supplement for Pathfinder 1st edition that is a comprehensive guide to all kinds of equipment, both mundane and magical.
This may seriously be the most useful of the supplemental books to this game to exist. It breaks down every single type of item into easy to search tables, gives clear descriptions for items, gives pictures for just about everything, and in general gives both players and GMs tons and tons of resources for using and creating items for games. If you play this rpg, you should have this book....more
Basic plot: There's a monster under the bed! Or is there?
This was a cute story, clearly designed for reading aloud. There were a lot of fun sound effeBasic plot: There's a monster under the bed! Or is there?
This was a cute story, clearly designed for reading aloud. There were a lot of fun sound effects and silly animal antics to make the reading experience more fun. The art in the book was also really well done, and you can't beat the ending for its sheer cuteness factor. I highly enjoyed it....more
This book cracked me up. After trying to bully another ladybug, this ladybug goes around trying to piBasic Plot: A grouchy ladybug learns to be happy.
This book cracked me up. After trying to bully another ladybug, this ladybug goes around trying to pick fights with various animals and then gets whacked by a whale's tail, after which it learns to be satisfied with what it gets. The first thing that cracked me up was getting to read, "wanna fight?" on just about every page. The second was the whale bit. This was a really fun one to read with my son....more
Basic plot: 3 very different young people come together to battle the demons that plague their world every nighWon from Goodreads FirstReads giveaway!
Basic plot: 3 very different young people come together to battle the demons that plague their world every night.
After the first few books I won from the giveaways, I was a little leery of this one and the glowing reviews it has received. This one, however, is deserving of all of the praise it has received. I was amazed that this was a first novel, as the writing seemed very polished. There was a good balance between direct and indirect description, something that new authors tend to struggle with.
The world-building is unique and interesting. Demons pour out of the Core every night, rising up from the ground to attack humans and their settlements. Humans must ward their homes, fields, animal pens, even cities in order to be safe from them. They travel even more rarely than medieval people would have, because to be caught outside after dark out of one's wards is a death sentence. Why not fight them? The trick of battling the demons was lost long ago, and mortal weapons can't hurt them. These facts drove the plot and were so quickly ingrained into the reader's mind that it helped build suspense throughout the story.
The plot was well-paced with moments of action and calm. There were also changes of perspective among the three main characters to keep things interesting. This aspect of his writing actually reminded me a lot of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. In the best way, though- don't panic Jordan haters. What Brett did was give his characters their very important back stories and motivations for action, telling each of their stories in turn, then he brought them together to battle the demons. See? Not too painful. Jordan keeps his characters apart for thousands of pages (literally), telling their different plots. Brett, on the other hand, brings his characters together within the pages of this first novel. He keeps them apart only long enough to tell their basic stories, and doesn't fear skipping a few years of boring life to get to the good parts.
The characters were interesting, too, if the weakest part of his writing. They are individuals with different backgrounds, but they don't "sound" very different in voice or action. They go about things slightly differently, but the differences between herbs, violin, and wards become semantic at times. Maybe Brett did this deliberately, wanting his characters to be as similar as possible, but maybe it's that new author inexperience coming out. And seriously, what is it lately with fantasy authors and female characters getting raped? Is that really necessary? Really? Bleargh.
This was the first book in a series, and I believe the giveaway I won was in honor of book 3 coming out. I will definitely be checking my local library for book 2 soon, and book 3 when it comes out (if it hasn't already). This is a new author who has piqued my interest and I intend to follow....more
Basic Plot: Children playing encounter a giant, but make it home in time for dinner.
This is a tribute to small children's imaginations. The little winBasic Plot: Children playing encounter a giant, but make it home in time for dinner.
This is a tribute to small children's imaginations. The little windows and doors within the book provide great entertainment for my little man, because he wants to open everything and see what's on the other side. The book is filled with Carle's trademark colorful art, which actually takes precedence over the story. There is no narration, only dialogue to tell the story, which is unusual, but successfully done. Bug loves it, so that makes me happy....more
Basic Plot: Hope has a relatively normal life until she runs into a monster attacking some people in an alley and she gets swept into a world of demonBasic Plot: Hope has a relatively normal life until she runs into a monster attacking some people in an alley and she gets swept into a world of demons and monsters.
I think I have decided to like these books despite themselves. The romance tropes irritate me (this one again had the "undiscovered only female of the species" thing happening again, this time with amnesia!), but the stories are appealing despite that. The writing is fast-paced, but not obnoxiously so, and I find myself liking the characters. There are also layers to the stories, with lots of subplots going that actually have nothing to do with the central "romance," but everything to do with the overplot of the series. As a note, I skipped about 3 books by reading this volume 2nd. My local library only has a few of the books, so I took a chance on reading this and understanding what was going on. I was glad to discover I could understand events. Clearly, there were events I missed, but there was enough info in this book to make me understand the gist of things without feeling confused.
This volume features Logan (Sanguinar aka vampire, and I STILL think Sanguinar is a way cheesy name) as the male lead. He's not nearly the alpha-male-testosterone-laden he-man that the Theronai seem to be. This is not a bad thing. He's interesting; again there are layers. I find SK's tendency towards possessiveness in her characters a mite bit disturbing (male and female), and the continuation of the "meant for each other" trope makes me sigh in exasperation.
Overall, I say it's better than book 1 of the series, still not perfect, but an enjoyable read. Literary popcorn....more
Basic plot: Helen is an undiscovered female Theronai, one of the last of her kind and very valuable to the race. Drake bonds her in order to ease his Basic plot: Helen is an undiscovered female Theronai, one of the last of her kind and very valuable to the race. Drake bonds her in order to ease his pain and gain her assistance with helping to find a missing sword.
I do not know how to feel about this book.
The plot was incredibly formulaic. Of course, there are no new stories and it's supposed to be all about how well the story is told, right? *sigh* Sometimes I even manage to convince myself of this fact, which is probably why I continue to watch different versions of "Pride and Prejudice" movies. This was not "Pride and Prejudice."
All the same, I did find myself getting into the story at times. The problem was that every time I found myself getting into the story I got slapped upside the head with a couple of basic facts/plot points that REALLY PISSED ME OFF. Helen, our protagonist, is a fairly weak character, constantly whining about how she's doomed to die in a fire while Drake watches. Drake is a typical supernatural badass: burly, dark-haired, and some strange cross between Arthurian knight and caveman in philosophy. He kidnaps Helen and "bonds" her without telling her what she's getting into, hoping that she can save the Theronai and ease his pain. He has insta-love, and they are "meant to be together."
Pardon me, I think I just threw up a little. I'm better now, though.
*sigh*
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I can talk about the positives. I kinda liked the idea of the bonding of the Theronai, not because of the "meant for each other" bit (because that is explained later to be typically the choice of both members of the couple who may actually be compatible with other Theronai and Helen/Drake's situation is atypical), but because the bonded couple works TOGETHER AS EQUALS AND PARTNERS to defeat evil. That made me happy. The vampires in this story are questionable as to their morality and whether or not they are allies or enemies, which also makes me happy (although I find calling them Sanguinar to be cheesy and annoying). The romance scenes were *very* steamy and pretty well written. I never felt like the story took a back seat to getting the characters in bed, which also made me happy considering the book is labeled Paranormal Romance, which I grow ever more leery of. Positive plot elements include layers of depth and (not-so-subtle) hints of an overplot beyond just the one novel. Not to mention a really creepy little kid prophet (reminded me a bit of Ivy from the Dresden Files). This leads me to a confession.
I read the book largely because I was curious about how Jim Butcher's wife would write. I love the Dresden Files, so I wondered what similarities and differences I would see in their work. I could definitely see connections.
Overall, there were times when it annoyed me, there were times when I was intrigued, and the final effect is that of a serious inner conflict. I think I may read one more of these Sentinel Wars books to see if the inner conflict goes away and I end up liking the books or I end up wanting to choke the woman. I have the feeling I won't end up ambivalent....more
Basic Premise: Colorful pictures of animals and a repetitive pattern designed to get kids interacting with the book.
My son LOVES these books. This isBasic Premise: Colorful pictures of animals and a repetitive pattern designed to get kids interacting with the book.
My son LOVES these books. This is the third one that Carle and Martin teamed up on that we've gotten from the library, and the little man participates eagerly in the reading.
Personally, I don't think this one is quite as good as Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? or Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? as the pictures are less "realistic" and the animals are more "normal," but that isn't dampening the 5-year old's enthusiasm one whit, and I suppose it's his opinion that counts more. If he wants to read them and participate, I'll happily keep getting them for him (or maybe Santa will bring the set for Christmas/Solstice)....more
Basic Plot: Jessie Ralle takes a senior trip to Las Vegas that introduces her to a new game, a new world, and a new lifeWon in a First Reads giveaway!
Basic Plot: Jessie Ralle takes a senior trip to Las Vegas that introduces her to a new game, a new world, and a new life.
I remember reading a few Christopher Pike novels back in his earlier career days. He was really popular in the early 90's for his YA horror. Judging by the excitement surrounding this book, he hasn't done anything like that for a while. Frankly, I think Pike needs to move on to adult books at this point. This book is labeled YA (In my opinion) because the main character is only 18 and there is no *graphic* sex or violence. It could have been an adult book very easily, though, and I'm not just talking about the sex or violence, I'm mostly talking about the attitude and voice of the narrator of the book. Jessie is supposed to be 18, but does not in any way sound like an 18-year-old (neither do any of the other characters): the slang is wrong, the cultural attitude is off, and the way they react to their environment/technology is WAY off. Pike seems out of touch as a result. I teach high school and thus know teens pretty well. When teens are using their cell phones ONLY to make calls, the book is out of touch. The characters were caricatures of teens and adults, with only vague descriptions and no real personalities.
The plot was convoluted at best and downright frustrating at its worst. The title leads the reader to believe there will be an urban fantasy feel to the book, with witches and magic at the core. This is NOT the case. Witches in Pike's world are beings who have special abilities based on their genetics. Once "connected" to their powers, they become "witches" and have access to a parallel dimension referred to as "witch world." Plot-wise, there is a reason the book tops 500 pages: a LOT of crap happens. We have mystery men, near death, learning powers, plotting and scheming, meeting a missing father, finding a missing baby, and a lot of smacking my suspension of disbelief in the face. It ended with the promise (threat?) that Jessie's story would continue in Witch World 2.
Overall, I didn't find a single character in the book to be likeable, and some of them were downright unbelievable. At over 400 pages into the book I found myself trying to evaluate what the plot/conflict of the book actually was. The fact that I didn't quite know does not speak well of the book. There were a lot of moments when a single, well-placed sentence would have justified various goings-on (why a character did/knew/didn't know something) but that sentence never came and I found myself getting more and more frustrated. Sheer stubbornness allowed me to finish this volume, and I have no plans to read its sequel. I'm sure there is someone out there who might like this book, but that person is not me....more
This play did not do anything for me. The jokes, such as they are, didn't seem funny to me. Not being a follBasic plot: the Book of Job, 1970's style.
This play did not do anything for me. The jokes, such as they are, didn't seem funny to me. Not being a follower of Judaism or Christianity makes these religious stories fall flat with me. There is nothing here that transcends individual religions. It just makes me wonder about people who would follow a deity who beats up on them just to see if they'll take it.
Side note: I grew up hearing that Neil Simon was essentially "the man" in theatre and that his scripts were the best. Either I'm reading the wrong damned scripts, he really isn't that good, or his writing is so dated that it doesn't work anymore. :P...more
This is a darker book by Mercer Mayer, more in the vein of Where the Wild Things Are than the Little CrittBasic plot: little boy wants to be a knight.
This is a darker book by Mercer Mayer, more in the vein of Where the Wild Things Are than the Little Critter books I've been reading with my little guy. The art is darker, too, but contains the level of quality and attention to detail Mayer is known for. Overall, a good read if mildly disturbing....more
This book was identical in structure to Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, also by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. Carle's colorful, distinct artwork accompanies a simple, repetitive question-response format that my little guy really loves. The only trick was getting him to say "see" instead of "hear" like he did in the other book. As before also, I wasn't terribly into it, but he was, and that's the important thing with these stories. To see him get involved with the reading, I'd happily read a dozen of these....more
Basic Plot: Gerald takes on his first janitorial assignment, while Melissande and Bibbie start their own business up. Oddly their first case intersectBasic Plot: Gerald takes on his first janitorial assignment, while Melissande and Bibbie start their own business up. Oddly their first case intersects with Gerald's, dropping the ladies into top-secret business.
I understand logical progression of character, and I completely understood the changes Gerald went through in this book. They made sense in light of the events of the first book. All the same, though, I wanted to like this book a lot more than I ended up liking it. It was actually hard to finish, and considering the intrigue in the plot, it shouldn't have been so hard to do. The problem with this book, though, wasn't Gerald's changes. The plot got bogged down in the details associated with the Witches, Inc group. That plotline couldn't decide what it was trying to be: feminist rant, mystery, or some kind of bizarre comedy of errors. It wasn't engaging. The feminist rants about "gels" also just went over the top. I consider myself to be a feminist, but this book's "feminism" was irritating. I'm just irritated in general. It wasn't a bad book, but the bad parts really bogged down the good parts. I'm honestly trying to figure out if the next book in the series is going to be worth the bother of reading it. I don't know....more
Basic Plot: Gerald Dunwoody goes from government bureaucrat to Court Wizard, and from barely a level three in power to beyond level one after an accidBasic Plot: Gerald Dunwoody goes from government bureaucrat to Court Wizard, and from barely a level three in power to beyond level one after an accident at a staff factory causes his potentia to fully realize itself. Now he's caught between a desert and a mad king...
I have to confess, it was the second book in the series that first caught my eye, something about witches, but I couldn't bear to read the second book in a series before the first, so I grabbed this one, despite not being entirely sure what it was going to be about. I was quite pleasantly surprised.
It's sort-of urban fantasy. The world is clearly based on ours, but isn't ours. Gerald is from Ottosland, which bears a strong resemblance to England. The humor in the book is very British-tongue-in-cheek, which kept me smiling. The writing was clean and direct, and the dialogue felt very natural. I liked the plot, which could have very easily gotten bogged down in the details of world-building, but didn't.
I had never heard of the author before, so I thank the happenstance that caused a librarian to purchase this book and the further serendipity of my randomly finding it on the library shelf. I'm now quite eager to get to that book I originally spotted....more
Ok, Eric Carle's art is interesting, but I don't find it to be phenomenal. There are some good words in tBasic plot: animals and the sounds they make.
Ok, Eric Carle's art is interesting, but I don't find it to be phenomenal. There are some good words in the text to describe the sounds animals make, but they are hard to reproduce when reading to a small child if you've never actually heard the sounds in question. Matter of fact, I would have rated this a solid 2 and moved on, BUT... my son picked up on the pattern of the pages and started chiming in to read the story with me after just a few pages. He also requested it for a second read. This gave me pause. Something about the book appeals to his child senses that doesn't hit my adult ones, and that's worth looking at. That's worth at least a star in my book....more
Basic Plot: Little llama is nervous about going to sleep and wants his mama.
This book was too cute for words. The drawings, particularly in regards toBasic Plot: Little llama is nervous about going to sleep and wants his mama.
This book was too cute for words. The drawings, particularly in regards to the llama's facial expressions, were excellent. The book was also fun to read aloud. The rhymes were well done, and even included some good words to teach little ones. Overall, an excellent bedtime picture book....more
Basic Plot: Cassie needs to solidify her position as Pythia, but people keep trying to kill her. She also needs to prevent Apollo from entering the woBasic Plot: Cassie needs to solidify her position as Pythia, but people keep trying to kill her. She also needs to prevent Apollo from entering the world and causing mass destruction.
More manic pacing, more body switching, and lots of running from certain death. This time there are drag queens, though.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. In reading other reviews, I see that a lot of people have problems with the comedy relief, though I actually liked it. I do concur with other readers that I do NOT like the way Mircea was portrayed in this book, whether it was a change in character or just his logical progression, I did not like seeing him as a controlling jerk. Too cliche and not at all in character for Cassie to stay with him when he's acting that way. Her attraction to Pritkin continues to baffle me. He has no redeeming romantic qualities. And here I am talking about the love triangle as if it were the main plot, which irritates me further because romance wasn't really the main point here. There was quite a bit of relationship worry in the book, though. Hopefully the resolution of the book will see the pace of Cassie's life slow down a bit in the next volume, but I'm not holding my breath....more
Basic Plot: Cassie Palmer doesn't want to be the Pythia, but it seems the only way she's going to survive is if she not only becomes the Pythia, but aBasic Plot: Cassie Palmer doesn't want to be the Pythia, but it seems the only way she's going to survive is if she not only becomes the Pythia, but also travels through time to save the life of Mircea.
I am impressed by Chance's ability to weave a complex plot that makes sense. There were a few hiccups in continuity and description, but largely they were minor issues. Chance continues her love affair with famous dead people, and further shows she's an intelligent writer by including mythological references and by having one of the characters constantly quoting from a certain famous Scottish play. Also in her favor is the fact that she continues to put plot above romance, even though there is some romance in the book. There were a few moments that had my Anita-Blake-panic light blinking, but by the end of the book those fears were allayed. The pacing is fast and kept me turning pages even though the storm last night knocked out the power and I was forced to read by candlelight (incidentally, not a bad way to read a suspenseful battle).
Overall, this was a good, light read and I look forward to more....more
Basic Plot: Cassie has to remove the geis Mircea put on her and discovers the true nature of the Pythia's power.
I didn't like this book quite as well Basic Plot: Cassie has to remove the geis Mircea put on her and discovers the true nature of the Pythia's power.
I didn't like this book quite as well as the first two, though it was by no means bad. I think it was just a little too convoluted for me. I can follow a lot (back in college i read A Clockwork Orange without any kind of glossary. Masochistic, I know.) but for whatever reason, there were just too many timeline jumps for me in this volume and keeping track of who was when started to get a bit irritating. There were a lot of new characters tossed into the mix, too, who didn't necessarily have a real purpose for being present beyond being targets (Tami and the kids), whereas some old characters got completely ignored (Tomas is still in Faerie and I don't think he was even mentioned). Pritkin as a character is irritating. He does not currently seem to have many redeeming qualities beyond an increasingly interesting backstory. But every time he opens his mouth I want to punch him, so the cool bits don't balance out. So many characters in these books just don't listen to what is said to them and bullheadedly keep acting/chooting/whatever, it's frustrating to read them. If I wanted to deal with people like that, I would have taught summer school this year. The pacing also got a bit convoluted in this book with the time jumps and whatnot, so it didn't grab me as well as the others did.
I did like the book, don't get me wrong. There was a nice sense of closure at the end of this book, as the plot arc that had been going through all of the first 3 books of this series largely finished in this book. There are still loose ends needing tied up, but I could see the resolution of the biggest plot threads, which will dramatically simplify the task the author has for the next story....more
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