Gone Fishing~J. W. Metcalf | Review

Title: Gone Fishing (Tony Gavel #1)
Author: J W Metcalf
Genre: Mystery
Length: 179 Pages (Kindle)
Publication: December 2014
My Rating: 3/5 Stars

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review

This novel has a lot of potential and I really enjoyed reading it. Tony is the type of character who seems to find trouble no matter where he goes, so it's no surprise when his relaxing stay in his woodland cabin turns into a manhunt for a missing serial killer. And then Tony's friend Josh ends up dead, creating an even more dangerous situation. 

The mystery in this novel was really interesting. The concept was what had me interested in the first place. Mystery novels are just fascinating and the setting and premise of this one sounded great. 

I really enjoyed reading this novel and it kept me interested as I read. It's always nice to try and figure out the mystery along with the main characters. It was fun to work alongside Tony and try to discover what was happening and why all of these seemingly unconnected events and people were suddenly connected. 

The setting was great. We spend the majority of the novel in a small mountain town where everyone knows everyone. Despite its small size, the town is very diverse. It seems like a quiet town that people moved to in order to get away from the hustle of life and ended up bringing the hustle along with them. I don't want to discuss too many of the details of the novel in case I spoil the mystery. 

There are really only two reasons that this novel did not get a higher rating from me. The first is the characters. I think that all of the characters had much more potential. The reader is thrust into the main mystery almost from page one, which is good in some ways. It would make reading more compelling to have a bit more of an introduction to Tony and his past (even though some of that would have come in the previous novel) before jumping directly into a new mystery for him to solve. It left me feeling like I wasn't really connected. 

All of the characters throughout the novel were interesting, I just wish there were more development to them. I had a hard time connecting with the story lines. Just a little more background and some of Tony's history with these individuals (since he already know so many of them) would be great. 

The writing was the only other thing that fell flat for me. The novel could use some more polishing to make it more easily read. The writing itself was alright, it just needed some touch ups. A few commas here and there, some apostrophes, that sort of thing. 

Overall, I think the novel was a fun read and the ending was great. The mystery worked itself out nicely and it was able to keep me thinking the entire time. I was always chasing the characters, trying to figure out their motives and intentions. This novel is great for mystery fans who want a quick read. With some polishing this would easily be a four star book for me. With those edits and some more background into the characters it could be a five. This is a really fun and entertaining read.

Fantasy of Frost~Kelly St. Clare | Review

Title: Fantasy of Frost (The Tainted Accords #1)
Author: Kelly St. Clare
Genre: Fantasy
Length: About 400 Pages (Kindle)
Publication: January 2015
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review

This book throws you right into the world and then builds that world around you. It is really beautiful and detailed. The world building is fantastic. Everything was introduced quickly and with detailed, but not overly tedious details. The worlds of Osolis and Glacium were both interesting and well depicted. 

The characters were one of the reasons this novel is so good. Lina, the main character, is strong, intelligent, loving, kind, and flawed all in good measure. I never really felt that she was overdone. She knew she had limitations but she wasn't afraid to test her bounds on anything. And since we're in her head we get to see a lot of what has shaped her.

Sometimes with first person narratives the other characters fall somewhat flat. I did not find that to be the case here at all. Each character offered something and we got to see several different sides of their personalities. There are plenty of questions surrounding many characters, but I never felt that any of them were forced or introduced without reason. Kedrick and Jovan are two of my favorites. Being a prince and king of Glacium, they are very different than the people Lina is used to, but each of them has so many layers to their personalities. I'm interested to see if their younger brother Ashawn has more of a part in the next novel. The delegates are all very interesting as well. 

It was great to see two very different societies. We didn't see as much of Osolis as we do Glacium, but there is enough there for comparison. The author did a wonderful job differentiating the two societies and their customs. It was always easy to keep the two straight in my head. 

We also get to see Lina grow a lot as a character. She discovers new places and people. Although strong in the beginning, she gets even stronger as the story progresses. I love the way her relationships with the other characters push her to improve. 

I'm very interested to see where this story goes and what happens with the characters. I have some ideas. I guess we shall see if I'm right when book two comes along! I was somewhat confused by  the movement from location to location based on the weather. I found myself thinking in circles when I first read about the rotation through the different sectors in the beginning. I honestly don't know why. I'm sure it makes much more sense than my brain can make of it at the moment. I often over think things. 

This novel was a great read. The world, the characters, the mystery introduced within its pages is just so beautifully crafted. I am very much looking forward to reading the next installment. I just wish I had it right now! I think this would definitely appeal to fans of high fantasy who enjoy strong female leads. It's a very compelling read.   

Tuesday Talks | Interrupting Reading

Tuesday Talks is a weekly discussion hosted by Janie and Janelle. You can find the goodreads group here if you're interested in joining in on the discussions.

Is it rude to interrupt someone who is reading?

I think the severity of how rude the interruption is has to be based on more than one factor. There are different reasons you might interrupt someone. Some of them are definitely rude while others may not be so rude. It also depends on how you go about doing it. Being overly obnoxious about getting someone's attention while they are reading is definitely not cool. So here are some of my thoughts.

If you need to ask somebody a question or tell them something then interrupting is not necessarily rude. I personally like to pause at the end of a paragraph while I'm reading, so someone not waiting for me to finish that paragraph can be extremely annoying. If they actually need to tell me something and wait for me to pause once they've gotten my attention then it's not a big deal. I can easily start back where I just left off once they've communicated their information. 

Interrupting someone just to interrupt them or to get their attention on something else is just rude. It's not ok to force someone out of their reading and into an activity that is more appealing to you at the time. I hate when people do that to me. Asking if I want to go and do something with them after I finish a certain section of my reading is one thing, just pulling my attention away however, is definitely not ok. 

If you interrupt someone to discuss the book they are reading this can go either way. Just letting them know you enjoyed the book is fine, I think. Stopping their reading to start a long discussion is not cool though. Let them read!

So basically what I'm saying is that there are sometimes reasons for interrupting someone's reading that are ok. The way in which you get the person's attention is a big factor. If you are polite about interrupting them and actually have something to say, then it's generally not a big deal. At least for me as a reader. Being overly loud and attention grabbing just to get them to focus on you is not cool.

What do you think about interrupting someone's reading? Let me know in the comments!

Dragon Dodgers~V.R Cardoso | Review

Title: Dragon Dodgers (Wounds In The Sky Prequels #1)
Author: V. R. Cardoso
Genre: High Fantasy
Length: 78 Pages
Publication: October 2014
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Review

This novella begins by throwing you directly in the action of the story. Enrig, a fourteen year old boy, wants to venture above his underground home with a group of Watchers. The Watchers are watching for dragons. Enrig's real goal is to become a Runner. The Runner's travel on the surface from place to place, evading the dragons as they go. It can be a lonely life, but also full of adventure. 

It was great being thrown right into the story. I often wish that full length novels would do this more. Sometimes it can be too slow getting into the world and the setting, but here we're thrown right in and introduced to the world right away. For a novella of this length it was a necessity, but it also worked really well and grabbed my attention. Sometimes too slow of a buildup can leave me wanting more. 

The main bulk of the story follows Enrig as he embarks on a quest with a group of Runners fronted by Captain Targon. We witness fights among the Runners, attacks by dragons, and overall adventure. It has a nice Lord of the Rings feel to the adventure and some elements similar to The Hobbit, particularly in reference to the dragons and their lairs and attacks. I really liked these similarities. It wasn't a copy of another story, but rather pulled elements from some great works that are still loved today. 

The main drawback for me in this story was that I felt I never became attached to the characters. Probably due to the length of the story, the development of the characters meant that none of them were able to reach their full potential. This left me without much connection to any of the characters. The story would be more powerful if I had been able to become more fully invested. 

I did really enjoy reading this and look forward to future stories set in this world. The ending was somewhat surprising and a nice twist. I highly recommend this to lovers of the fantasy genre.    

The Remedy Files: Illusion~Lauren Eckhardt | Review

Title: Illusion (The Remedy Files #1)
Author: Lauren Eckhardt
Genre: YA Dystopia
Length: Around 280 Pages
Publication: December 2014
My Rating: 3/5 Stars

Click the title for more information about this novel.
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review

Many people are under the misconception that a three star rating means I didn't like the book. That is certainly not the case. I enjoyed this novel very much. Now that that is out of the way, let's get started with the real stuff. 

The story follows Evangeline, a girl living in a society where there are no feelings, physical or emotional. As is the case with most dystopias, I could see elements here that were familiar from other stories. It had very many similarities to Delirium by Lauren Oliver and Matched by Ally Condie.  This did not, however, diminish my liking for the story. As I said before, that was to be expected. I actually thought that the combination of elements from those two stories worked very well together.

The main reason this novel did not receive a four or five star rating was the pacing and the love story. The beginning felt somewhat slow. There was a lot happening and it held my interest, but I felt the world was introduced too slowly. The novel picked up after a few chapters and the world and its history started unfolding more rapidly, which helped me see the society and how it was defined more clearly. This in turn helped me understand more about our main characters and how they had been shaped throughout their lives.

I am not a huge fan of love triangles and this one introduced one that I was not particularly happy with. I thought that Evangeline and Gavin were cute together, but his character was never explored deeply enough for me to really become attached to him. I appreciated some of the flash backs to their first meetings, but it just wasn't enough to really get me invested. Their relationship was also sporadic. They would be best friends one minute and having a screaming match the next. It was a little too abrupt in that sense. 

Insta love was the other factor of the love triangle that really pushed it over the edge for me. Evangeline meets Liam and then can barely have a thought without him appearing. Her immediate connection with him was just somewhat off putting. I can understand being attracted to someone after first meeting, and yes, people do fall in love after only one meeting, but it's hard to portray that in a novel. I have yet to find a novel that I think that type of a story line works with.

As I said before, the story picks up and by the halfway point I was having a hard time putting it down. Evangeline starts to realize all of the flaws within her community, questioning everything she's ever been taught. Because of this, the story became more action packed and intense and I was constantly waiting to see what exactly was going to happen next. My only real issue during the last half was that it became too focused on the love story. It could use some more balance where the love story and the questions of changing society are concerned during the last half or so of the novel.

While well written, this novel could use some polishing. It's nothing major that kept me from enjoying the story, but I think some tweaks here and there could make it a better overall read. There were some sentences here and there that could be improved through use of commas and other punctuation to separate ideas or just rearranging the word order. Authors generally improve as the go, so I expect the next installment to be more polished than this one.

The novel ended with quite the cliffhanger and I'm honestly not exactly sure where the story is headed at this point. Overall I really enjoyed reading this and will definitely be reading the following novels. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys dystopias. If that's a genre you like to read, this novel is one to add to your list. It's a very enjoyable read!

Saint Odd~Dean Koontz | Review

Title: Saint Odd (Odd Thomas #7)
Author: Dean Koontz
Genre: Thriller
Length: 338 Pages
Publication: January 2015
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Click title for more info (linked to goodreads).

Review

"You are destined to be together forever."

Warning: Spoilers for previous novels in the series.

In this novel Odd finally returns to Pico Mundo where his story began. The novel reads much like the first one, with many parallels between the two stories. Even the covers of the novels are very similar. Odd has known all along that things would end where they began. He's not running, in fact, he's looking forward to it. 

After his love, Stormy Llewellyn, was killed during an attack on the Pico Mundo mall nearly two years earlier, Odd has been trying to earn the destiny given them by Gypsy Mummy when they were sixteen. Now Odd, our ghost seeing fry cook, is pretty sure he's close to either stepping into that destiny or stepping forever away from it. He doesn't seek death. To do so would make him unworthy of the promise he received. He doesn't hide from death either. He does what he has to do.

I found this novel to be the perfect conclusion to the story. Odd is once again trying to foil the plans of a satanic cult before they can devastate the world. His main obstacle is that now they know what he looks like and have guessed some of his abilities.

There were actually fewer encounters with ghosts in this novel, which I thought was very interesting. I guess I just assumed there would be more of the lingering dead around, trying to help Odd along the way. I also thought more of them would be wanting his help to settle scores with the satanists, but it made sense in a way that there were not. 

Some readers may find the Odd novels slow, but I find them beautifully paced. They are slow and fast all at once. Odd's humor is what makes the novels so perfect. He's just so funny (as are most Koontz characters) and his attitude is one to envy. I wish I could be as good a person as Odd. 

We also get to see some favorites that have had very minor parts since book one. Ozzie Boone, Odd's novelist friend and surrogate father and Chief Wyatt Porter, Odd's other surrogate father both make appearances. I love these characters and was thrilled to have them back again.

As Odd tries to prevent a new disaster he is lead by visions in dreams, words from his friends Annamaria, Edie Fischer, and the guidance of strangers who see the good in him. We see Odd struggle with some of his decisions, questioning his own motives for certain acts he has always felt he's done out of necessity. The struggles made his character that much more enjoyable. 

Overall I thought his was an excellent novel and a beautiful conclusion. I will miss not having future Odd novels, but am looking forward to re-reading the series. It is definitely one of my favorite series. This will definitely be one of my top reads of 2015.    

Tuesday Talks | Reviews with Spoilers

Tuesday Talks is a weekly discussion hosted by Janie and Janelle (you should go check them out, right now. Well, first read this post. Then check them out. Just click on their names for a link to their YouTube channels!). Every week we all discuss fun bookish topics. Come join the goodreads group here.

Reviews with Spoilers

I generally don't write reviews with spoilers. Obviously a few will slip in here and there (just minor things that I don't normally consider spoilers), but I avoid spoilery reviews as much as possible. The few reviews where I do have spoilers included, I always give a warning. Usually, here on my blog, I will set it off with a different color and font or something and say that's where the spoilers start and where they end. 

Book discussion with a group of people who have already read the book are great places to have spoiler filled conversations. It's fun to discuss the details of a novel with someone else who will understand them. Generally, reviews are not the place for spoilers.

To me a review should be your overall impressions of the story, characters, relationships, writing, etc. When I read a review I'm looking for someone to persuade me to read the novel they are reviewing. That can be done with just the barest of details into the story. All it takes is explaining why you feel the way you feel. It doesn't involve saying anything about what triggered those emotions in the story. 

I like to read reviews for novels I have never read and sometimes ones that I don't really plan to read. It's not to find out what happens. I read hoping that someone will give me a reason to want to read the novel. I don't want the details, I want the feelings. When you feel passionate about something it comes across in your writing. 

So, do you share spoilers in reviews? And if you do, do you give a warning first? Let me know in the comments!