For some reason I did not care for The Widow's Protector as much as I thought I would. While I really enjoyed the first and third book in the Fitzgerald Bay series the second and fourth book were both let downs for me. Since the overall plot is pretty close to the same for all four and the theme of figuring out who killed Olivia is key in all the books I believe the writing is what turned me off. Each book is written by a different author.
Fiona was an interesting character, it was nice to see a female lead know what she wanted and do what she could to make it happen. Despite her husband dying she embraced God and moved on with her life and with raising her son Sean all the while with her best friend Hunter supporting her. I enjoyed how she came to realization of how she felt about Hunter.
Hunter was a pretty generic character but despite that I wanted to smack him at times for upsetting Fiona. Just because he could not get over the guilt of Jimmy, Fiona's deceased husband, dying in a fire he had to continue to push Fiona away and hurt her.
The clues about the mystery with Olivia were a bit more subtle then suddenly shoved in your face. I just did not care for the execution of it at all.
I saw a few typos and bag grammar in The Widow's Protector but the writing style just was not cutting it for me overall.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Friday, November 14, 2014
The Kill Order - The Maze Runner 0.5
I definitely did not get what I was expecting when I read The Kill Order and it was not in a good way either.
Mark seemed a bit cookie cutter to me and since the story was told entirely from his point of view he got boring quickly. Add in the fact that the majority of characters were going crazy from the Flare little chance was left for Mark to grow.
My biggest issue was the amount of gore, blood, torture, and disgusting parts. Throughout the majority of the book Mark got the stuffing beat out of him and yet he was able to keep going despite not resting, eating, or getting medical treatment. I get that he was running on adrenaline for a lot of the fights but surely that would not last for days.
The only reason I kept reading was I wanted to know more about the origins of WICKED and not much was really shared sadly since Mark was not part of the WICKED group. All in all The Kill Order was a huge let down.
Mark seemed a bit cookie cutter to me and since the story was told entirely from his point of view he got boring quickly. Add in the fact that the majority of characters were going crazy from the Flare little chance was left for Mark to grow.
My biggest issue was the amount of gore, blood, torture, and disgusting parts. Throughout the majority of the book Mark got the stuffing beat out of him and yet he was able to keep going despite not resting, eating, or getting medical treatment. I get that he was running on adrenaline for a lot of the fights but surely that would not last for days.
The only reason I kept reading was I wanted to know more about the origins of WICKED and not much was really shared sadly since Mark was not part of the WICKED group. All in all The Kill Order was a huge let down.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Full House - Full #1
Full House was not really what I am used to getting from Janet Evanovich. I have read several of her books and liked all of them. While I did not dislike Full House it is just different from other books she has written.
Billie came off as a totally normal mom with two kids dealing with a divorce while trying to keep a sense of normality for her children. She was very stubborn, independent, and all about the rules. Well until she meet Nick that is.
Nick did not strike me as the typical rich kid who could have anything he wanted growing up. Instead he seemed to rebel against his parents and do basic things for himself like cooking. I did find it odd how quickly he became attached to Billie though. Maybe it was her no nonsense attitude that had him falling for her.
Deedee was a very different sort of character and I liked the parts with the light humor she added to the story. Her younger brother Max was far more interesting. A genius who was ignored by his parents and had no clue how to deal with being so smart.
All in all I liked the book well enough to read more of the series.
Billie came off as a totally normal mom with two kids dealing with a divorce while trying to keep a sense of normality for her children. She was very stubborn, independent, and all about the rules. Well until she meet Nick that is.
Nick did not strike me as the typical rich kid who could have anything he wanted growing up. Instead he seemed to rebel against his parents and do basic things for himself like cooking. I did find it odd how quickly he became attached to Billie though. Maybe it was her no nonsense attitude that had him falling for her.
Deedee was a very different sort of character and I liked the parts with the light humor she added to the story. Her younger brother Max was far more interesting. A genius who was ignored by his parents and had no clue how to deal with being so smart.
All in all I liked the book well enough to read more of the series.
The Detective's Secret Daughter - Fitzgerald Bay #3
The Detective's Secret Daughter was a wonderful read. Action packed and fast paced for the entire book.
Each book in the Fitzgerald Bay series is about a different member of the Fitzgerald family. The Detective's Secret Daughter focused on Owen who is a police officer in the community. All the Fitzgerald's are family oriented and family comes first so when Victoria shows up with her nine year old daughter and Owen learns he is the father sparks fly.
Victoria was an inspiring character, while I get that it is categorized as an Inspirational read nothing with Victoria and her faith seemed unbelievable or overbearing. One thing after another kept occurring at the Sugar Plum leaving Victoria scrambling for the truth. Unlike women who just fling themselves upon a man for an easy answer Victoria's stubborn streak came out and she continued to move on relying on herself.
Despite The Detective's Secret Daughter being about Victoria and Owen other characters did show up. Including Keira and Nick who seem to be doing well. Even more exciting for me was the scene between Merry and Douglas. It is nice to know what continues to happen to the people in the previous books.
For the fans who want to know more about Olivia and why she was killed never fear a new exciting clue is presented in The Detective's Secret Daughter. Despite the clue I still have not figure out the killer
The writing was smooth and I only saw one typo near the end. At first I was weary of The Fitzgerald Bay series since each book is written by a different author but I like seeing the big picture come together with so many different writers working together. I eagerly look forward to reading the fourth book.
Each book in the Fitzgerald Bay series is about a different member of the Fitzgerald family. The Detective's Secret Daughter focused on Owen who is a police officer in the community. All the Fitzgerald's are family oriented and family comes first so when Victoria shows up with her nine year old daughter and Owen learns he is the father sparks fly.
Victoria was an inspiring character, while I get that it is categorized as an Inspirational read nothing with Victoria and her faith seemed unbelievable or overbearing. One thing after another kept occurring at the Sugar Plum leaving Victoria scrambling for the truth. Unlike women who just fling themselves upon a man for an easy answer Victoria's stubborn streak came out and she continued to move on relying on herself.
Despite The Detective's Secret Daughter being about Victoria and Owen other characters did show up. Including Keira and Nick who seem to be doing well. Even more exciting for me was the scene between Merry and Douglas. It is nice to know what continues to happen to the people in the previous books.
For the fans who want to know more about Olivia and why she was killed never fear a new exciting clue is presented in The Detective's Secret Daughter. Despite the clue I still have not figure out the killer
The writing was smooth and I only saw one typo near the end. At first I was weary of The Fitzgerald Bay series since each book is written by a different author but I like seeing the big picture come together with so many different writers working together. I eagerly look forward to reading the fourth book.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Son - The Giver Quartlet #4
I liked and disliked parts of Son. The first and third book were my favorite parts and while I understood the need for the second book I was not overly fond of it. In a way I sort of related it to Plato's The Cave, which was not one of my favorite reads.
The first part of Son has Claire living in The Community and is basically a retelling of the Giver from a different point of view which I adored. It was nice to get some questions answered about Birthmothers and how that process worked.
Claire was an amazing character, I loved how she just started stumbling into her own realizations. Jonas had the Giver to help him and Claire in a sense had no one. While she did learn about her son Gabe she still could not depend on him for advice since he was a toddler. The other part I enjoyed immensely was seeing the Community's reaction to Jonas leaving. I had imagined what had happened several times to the Community once Jonas left so it was nice to have some of those gaps filled in.
Once Claire left the Community that is where thinks started to go downhill for me a bit. I just did not overly enjoy reading about the time she spent in the fishing village. Maybe if it had been shorter I would have enjoyed it more.
The third book is where things really picked up for me. I loved the story moving to Gabe and Jonas. Things started with Jonas only fitting they end with Jonas. Plus I always adored Gabe so it was nice to what kind of young man he grew into.
Like all of Lowry's books the writing was lovely and elegant. I really enjoy the style of writing and the well done editing.
I do not want to ruin anything for anyone but the Trademaster was awesome and I love the arc that played out with him.
The first part of Son has Claire living in The Community and is basically a retelling of the Giver from a different point of view which I adored. It was nice to get some questions answered about Birthmothers and how that process worked.
Claire was an amazing character, I loved how she just started stumbling into her own realizations. Jonas had the Giver to help him and Claire in a sense had no one. While she did learn about her son Gabe she still could not depend on him for advice since he was a toddler. The other part I enjoyed immensely was seeing the Community's reaction to Jonas leaving. I had imagined what had happened several times to the Community once Jonas left so it was nice to have some of those gaps filled in.
Once Claire left the Community that is where thinks started to go downhill for me a bit. I just did not overly enjoy reading about the time she spent in the fishing village. Maybe if it had been shorter I would have enjoyed it more.
The third book is where things really picked up for me. I loved the story moving to Gabe and Jonas. Things started with Jonas only fitting they end with Jonas. Plus I always adored Gabe so it was nice to what kind of young man he grew into.
Like all of Lowry's books the writing was lovely and elegant. I really enjoy the style of writing and the well done editing.
I do not want to ruin anything for anyone but the Trademaster was awesome and I love the arc that played out with him.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
The Killer of Little Shepherds was nothing like I was expecting. This was more like two books in one, the story of the serial killer Joesph Vacher and several intelligent individuals who ushered the age of forensic science into existence.
The Killer of Little Shepherds was written from two points of view, the chapters switched between Vasher and his travels to the scientists trying to standardize the birth of forensic science. Later after Vasher was apprehended the two points of view began to merge and were discussed together in the same chapter.
Vasher was a brutal serial killer and as such The Killer of Little Shepherds dose have parts that are gruesome and gory. Yet Starr does an amazing job showing that Vasher was human at times as well. Starr does a wonderful job including parts of Vasher's life that show he was a capable individual able to think coherently and thus know he was committing a crime when he did kill or attack someone.
The writing was smooth, well thought out, researched, and displayed in an easy to follow format.
The Killer of Little Shepherds was written from two points of view, the chapters switched between Vasher and his travels to the scientists trying to standardize the birth of forensic science. Later after Vasher was apprehended the two points of view began to merge and were discussed together in the same chapter.
Vasher was a brutal serial killer and as such The Killer of Little Shepherds dose have parts that are gruesome and gory. Yet Starr does an amazing job showing that Vasher was human at times as well. Starr does a wonderful job including parts of Vasher's life that show he was a capable individual able to think coherently and thus know he was committing a crime when he did kill or attack someone.
The writing was smooth, well thought out, researched, and displayed in an easy to follow format.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Black Ice
I was super excited to read Black Ice and I turned out severely disappointed. In my opinion a good thriller leaves me on the edge of the seat genuinely fearing what will happen to the characters. I never felt this for any of the characters in Black Ice.
Britt has the potential to be an awesome character but she never lived up to it in my opinion. She always seemed to take the easy way out and while she was better then Korbie who drove me insanely crazy any time she spoke. Shaun and Mason did not cut it as characters for me either. They just did not seem believable.
The love story aspects bothered me as well. It was not believable and seemed to be forced in for some reason.
The plot was a nightmare in my opinion. I like surprises in thrillers I read and this one had none for me. I had everything figured out not too far into the book. I hoped I was wrong at times just so the book would get more exciting but I was not.
Despite my complaints Black Ice does have a redeeming quality for me. I love the writing style. Fitzpatrick has a distinct style that I enjoy reading.
Britt has the potential to be an awesome character but she never lived up to it in my opinion. She always seemed to take the easy way out and while she was better then Korbie who drove me insanely crazy any time she spoke. Shaun and Mason did not cut it as characters for me either. They just did not seem believable.
The love story aspects bothered me as well. It was not believable and seemed to be forced in for some reason.
The plot was a nightmare in my opinion. I like surprises in thrillers I read and this one had none for me. I had everything figured out not too far into the book. I hoped I was wrong at times just so the book would get more exciting but I was not.
Despite my complaints Black Ice does have a redeeming quality for me. I love the writing style. Fitzpatrick has a distinct style that I enjoy reading.
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