Chicks Get Lit: 4-star

Showing posts with label 4-star. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Th Legion (books 1 and 2) by Kami Garcia

In Unbreakable we meet Kennedy. At a young age she’s already had enough to deal with. Her father walked away from her mother and her when she was young. Now her mother has died and she’s about to be sent off to a school she’s never seen by an aunt she doesn’t know. That was the plan anyway, until all hell broke loose. A ghostly girl and a couple of boys suddenly appearing in her home, in her room — that changes everything.

Kennedy learns of a group known as the Legion. A small secretive ghost / demon hunting organization. One that believes she is the fifth and final member of the group’s current configuration. Her mother never told her anything. She is sure they have the wrong girl. Still, she ends up taking off with the boys and meets their partners. Desperate to belong somewhere, to be needed by someone, she settles in with the Legion - the twin boys who found her: Lukas and Jared, the girl who funds it all: Alara, and the youngest of the group: Priest, the boy who builds weapons from soda cans.

Using their family journals and unusual talents they head out in search of a tool that could put an end to the biggest, baddest demon any of them are aware of. A demon who is desperate to make the world his playground. He’s not strong enough yet, but he does have a scary amount of power over the spirit world.

I like this book, but didn’t love it quite as much as I could have. The rushed immediate forever and ever romance between the broken teens might have been a good setup for book two, but felt forced. The tension between the brothers also seems awkward (even after reading book 2 and getting more insight there on their story). The throwing an unprepared girl into the action without even covering the absolute basics with her seems very wrong even from teens.

That said the overall story is good. Good enough that I read book two immediately after finishing this one. It has potential as an extended series if handled properly.

Unmarked (The Legion Book 2)

I’m giving this book 4 stars after having given the first book in the series 3. I just couldn’t give this book the same rating as the first as it’s actually better (one of the rare sequels that surpasses the first). BUT, it’s still probably more like 3.5 stars.

This book picks up just weeks after the first book ended. Kennedy’s aunt has sent her to a school where she won’t have to deal with her. Being away from the Legion doesn’t change much. They’re still all Kennedy can think of, especially Jared — when she is not busy tracking stories that sound like the work of Andras that is. Luckily for Kennedy, all the Legion (or at least Jared) can think of is her and they how up to "kidnap" her… again. This time they’ve brought along

Kennedy's BFF, Elle, now an unofficial member.

This book commits my ultimate book series sin — it is a cliffhanger that feels like half of a story.

This time around their mission(s) are far more personal. Kennedy learns things about her family that she didn’t know. Alara and Priest learn about the list that Jared had created and the role it played in their family members deaths. Lukas opens up about his jealousy for Jared. And of course there are demons, mainly Andras, who get way too close to them all. Oh, the Illuminati is here as well.

As I said, it’s a cliffhanger. I hate books that leave me feeling that I didn’t read a full story. Sure, they can be continued, but if I don’t feel like I accomplished something in reading the book, I end up quite disappointed. So in that sense this book was a total failure for me. On the other hand, it really is better than the first. It left me curious enough to read on, but it didn’t need the incomplete story to accomplish that. It feels like it’s going somewhere good. If it goes beyond three books, I hope the next one at least wraps this story up (there’s plenty they can do beyond this). If not it will probably be the last I read in this series, but I will be reading at least one more.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of Unmarked at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Neil Gaiman's The Last Temptation 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Hardcover

I’d never read this one before. Maybe because I wasn’t an Alice Cooper fan or because I didn’t really know of Neil Gaiman when this was originally released. Now that I have read it, I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t Gaiman’s best work but it’s not bad either. It doesn’t require you be a fan of Alice Cooper, though that might help some. It’s the kind of story you read just before Halloween. A mysterious theater appears in town, threatening to take make Steven a part of its show--forever. Teased by his friends. Taunted by the Showman. Steven is stuck trying to figure this game out on his own (with a little assistance from a nice old librarian).

The last 30-40% is actually not the story, but the making of the story. The letters and scripts and early b&w art.

For fans of any/all involved, I’d say this is a solid 4 stars. For the average person who knows nothing about any involved (do those people exist?), it’s probably more like a 3 star book.

* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Slimy Underbelly by Kevin J. Anderson

Slimy Underbelly (Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.)

Not all zombies are obsessed with eating brains. Dan Chambeaux, for example, has kept his life much like it was when he was alive. He’s still a P.I., though he’s now set up in the Unnatural Quarter. He has the same girlfriend (she is also dead and now exists as a ghost). He’s also somewhat famous in that the new book trend is stories about the not so human folk. Dan does have to keep explaining he’s the REAL one or yes, that book series really is about him.

A lighthearted kind of series even when dealing with the bad guys. Part noir, part camp. The three biggest cases in this story involve a child mad scientist, a nasty election between two weather wizards, and a famous opera star ogre’s stolen voice. Dan and his team face alligator men, garden gnomes, a tentacled realtor, and some crazy weather.

Books being turned into an unnecessary series has been one of my biggest pet peeves. Here I welcome a series. In a world full of crazy undead beings there is plenty of room for more investigations.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility: A Novel

I knocked this down to 4 stars just because it felt like it was missing something, I'm not sure exactly what. A little more story to connect some of the secondary characters maybe. I felt like I was missing out on some of their bonds, which is weird for such a character driven story.

That's the bad. The good is almost enough to just bump it up to 5 anyway. It's the style here. The writing. The way you feel like you're really in NYC in the late 30s. Not many books can truly make you feel like this is all authentic instead of some writer's imagination. This book is one that feels real.

The story is basically just a few years in the life of Katey. That's it. A young lady just trying to make it (and preferably get ahead) in the city of NY during some rocky times. We meet her friends, her loves, her co-workers. We surely all have that (at least) one person in our life that gets described as a real character. That is all of the people connected to Katey, each in different ways.

Story wise it's not bad. Style wise it really is one of the best books I have read in awhile.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Handbag Workshop by Anna M. Mazur

Handbag Workshop: Design and Sew the Perfect Bag

To be released: October 14, 2014

If, like me, your idea of making a purse has thus far been sticking an outside fabric and a lining together, adding a zipper, and a plain strap AND you find that you might be able to go a LITTLE more advanced — this book is not for you.

The beginner section is more like intermediate. There’s leather, suede, frames, hand stitching details like chains onto the bag. Not really something that most “Beginners” would be comfy with.

That said, if you are more advanced and not afraid of tougher fabrics, lots of little tweaks, etc you could use the patterns (18 total) to make bags as nice or nicer than some designer bags.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Poe by J. Lincoln Fenn

Poe by J. Lincoln Fenn probably isn't a genre of book I'd usually read, but something about it screamed to me "Read me", so I obeyed.

The plot is fairly simple: Dimitri fell into a deep'ish depression when his parents passed away. He'd dropped out of college and was getting nowhere on his novel. He did, barely, have a job writing the local obituaries. On Halloween, his boss gave him yet another chance to save his job: head on out to the local dilapidated mansion and write up a story on the experience.

As he arrives at the mansion he discovers that he'll be experiencing the ghost hunt with his phone crush (Lisa, an employee of the local nursing home who often gives him an early warning about who if up next for the obit list) and his not so best friend from work, Nate. A medium rounds out their team. Everything that can go wrong does, landing one of them a spot in the morgue - probably the best part of their night.

What ensues is a bunch of murder, possible ghosts, family secrets, demons and the like. Virtually everyone that Dimitri knows will be affected in one way or another and if Dimitri doesn't figure out what is going on then he could lose everyone he cares about.

It's actually a little less horror than I expected, a little more fantasy and mystery - though the horror is there in spots.

Could have been a 5 star book except little quirks in the writing here and there made me have to re-read a few small sections to make sure I hadn't someone skipped ahead. The ending seems a little off from the rest of the book. Still, an excellent read.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer

The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy

What made me decide to read this book was the blurb I saw with it: "Move over Glee—here comes a hilarious and heartfelt book about a group of friends who vow to save their prestigious school for the performing arts from a corrupt reality TV show."

That is a fairly accurate description, except for the "Move over Glee" part. This book isn't quite at that level, but it is good.

Ethan (our narrator), Jackson, Elizabeth, and Luke don't like what is happening at their school. The reality show "For Arts Sake" has taken over. It's making their students look bad -- or at least the one that Ethan is most interested in. Maura, a prima ballerina, is being made to look like a tramp. Thing is she doesn't even mind. When you attend an art school such as Selwyn Academy, you'll be heading for schools like Juliard, and that prize scholarship means that you'll do anything to win.

Believing that their favorite teacher is on their side, they set out to sabotage the program. As they get deeper into their plans they start to realize that things are not as they seem. Does the school have some sort of financial interest in the show? Is their teacher really on their side? Could they, themselves, give in to the temptations of money and fame?

The book does start out a little slow. It took me until about 40-50% in to realize I was actually into it. Despite the slow start, it's a charming book. Poetry, untrustworthy people, a gerbil, reality tv -- there's a little of everything here.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Grimm Volume 1

Nick, Monroe, Hank. If that trio doesn’t sound familiar to you then you probably haven’t been watching NBC’s Grimm. This is a comic that is mainly for fans of the show though it does recap all of the most important things you need to know if you’re not already a fan of the show: Nick is a Grimm aka he sees the Wesen (fairy tale animal like creatures) in people that the rest of us don’t, Hank is his partner who knows about all of this, Monroe is one of the Wesen -- he just happens to be a good guy and quite the useful sidekick.

In this book we witness a pretty standard Portland case - aka a wedding gone wrong when a group gets wind of a mixed marriage (that's probably not what you think it is -- unless you know how this show works).

We also find a not so typical case -- the three guys taking a last minute “vacation” together in Europe after Nick’s mom calls home and it becomes clear that everything is not okay where she is.

Fans of the show will probably love this book. People who haven’t yet watched the show would probably find it okay, but it really does help if you’re a fan to fill in those finer details that this book just couldn’t fit in. The art was good, though some of the show characters look more convincing than others.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

(re)Visions: Alice

(re)Visions: Alice Included in the anthology are the following stories:

Lewis Carroll’s "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” - yeah, the classic story is here. Good luck to the other authors in the collection trying to compete with that. Surely everyone knows at least a bit of this story. Alice falls down the rabbit hole and ends up in another world, one filled with magical mushrooms, sneaky cats, hatters that are mad…

Kaye Chazan's "What Aelister Found Here” - This one tied with “Knave” for my favorite story (excluding Alice, as I said, good luck competing with that one). A young man breaks his arm, runs away, and winds up in Jack the Ripper’s London.

Amanda Ching's "House of Cards” - A bit more abstract than the other stories making it felt the closest to the original, albeit a bit darker.

Hilary Thomas's “Knave” - A crime noir story with hints of Wonderland thrown in (mainly names but there are other little hints here and there). One of the best of the 4 tribute pieces.

C.A. Young's "The World in a Thimble”. - The story of a young art gallery owner who is thrown into Wonderland while waiting for an artist to show up at the gallery. He won’t be the same if he finds his way out.

Not every story here is a 5 but it is a solid collection / tribute / re-telling.