Looking for Your Next Book

In the film world there are giants like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and then we have the Roger Corman's ... those who produce fast, cheap knock-offs that are definitely entertaining but not likely to have blockbuster sales.  The same exists in the literary world. There are series that are enormously popular (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, etc) and then there are the indie-published options (I initially wrote "alternatives" but in truth, it isn't an 'either/or' choice) - cheaper and less polished.  The Guardians series (based on this first book) by Lola StVil is the latter. There's not much apparent plot here. Our protagonist, Emmy, is an emotionally charged teenage girl. It's been decried that she's going to save the world.  Or ... she's going to destroy it. It's all on her.   This should be a big responsibility but all Emmy thinks or cares about is Marcus. The first moment she laid eyes on him she was completely ...

 Niri Lakani is the last surviving heir to the throne of Annwn, uncrowned ruler of the realm of Arawyn, sorceress master of the five elements and warrior guardian of Qi. She fights dark forces all across the magical realms as she looks to defeat the Mistress Witch with some help from some newfound friends. This is about as close to a DNF as I've ever come with a book.  I was absolutely ready to delete this from my Kindle about 20% into it when I thought I'd see what others were saying about it.  Seeing an overall rating of 4.63 on Goodreads, with only five and four star ratings I was shocked!  Clearly I was missing something, or the book was going to get much, much better. I wasn't, and it didn't. I continued because it was either going to be a really good book, OR there needed to be some reviews that provided a different viewpoint. First off, let's talk story.  There's nothing that really happens here.  Seriously.  It's a "wander" book - character...

There's a really fine line, when writing stories set in dream worlds with nightmarish denizens and frustrated teens, between well-crafted worlds that make a certain kind of necessary sense even if it's not obvious to the reader at first, and self-indulgent whimsy that may have made sense to the author upon writing, but doesn't hold up for a general audience read. This book falls into the latter category. I think it's fitting to share the author's description of the book from Goodreads here (in part, I admit, because I'm not sure I could sum this up): Emmett’s dream is always the same. Tingling with half-forgotten memories, he stands in an unknown room surrounded by mirrors, curio cabinets, and nesting dolls. A painting, Belshazzar’s Feast, hangs on the wall, its disembodied hand numbering the King’s final days. Then comes the stranger, the serpent-wielding young woman with the glittering amber eyes. Her words are always the same. Emmett will soon save her. Then ...

In the community of Lower Lockwood, it is time for the annual tradition of the Christmas panto ("a loud, fun, enjoyable musical comedy theatre production" - according to an in-the-know website). The community has its own group of dedicated thespians, known as The Fairway Players. But even a small theatre group can see its share of petty jealousies, divas, and dictator-like behavior. But when things start to go wrong, someone needs to step up and take charge, right? The Christmas play this year is Jack and the Beanstalk . Since money is tight - tighter than usual - so they're renting a very old, slightly run down beanstalk. But a rumor starts to spread that the reason the old set piece is taped up is because it's made with asbestos. The truth, though, is much worse.  There's a body in there, well decomposed. But what's a little mummification when there's a show that must go on? And how do you keep control over a cast that mistakes illegal drugs for the swee...

Two orphan boys, Benjamin Timmons and John Nicholas are adopted by a toymaker, Rudolph Stern, in 1820, as they show talent in woodwork. They apprentice Stern, a kind and giving man, and become journeymen, on their way to becoming master craftsmen. One day, Mr. Stern passes away of a heart attack, and not long after, Benjamin dies from a cholera epidemic and John is left to run the toy making business by himself. John is visited by the spirits of Ben and Rudolph and told of a workshop at the North Pole just for him. When he arrives he encounters magical elves, animals that ha can talk to and who can talk to him, and Jessica ... the manager of the castle where he will live. Everything will come together, with Rudolph and Benjamin's oversight from beyond, to have John Nicholas become Santa Claus, and Jessica, his wife. I was quite disappointed in this and I'm not entirely sure who the target audience is. It's not a picture book, it's not an easy reader, and yet it's to...

 Oof. This was a tough read. Our story (as best as I can sum it up): Kevin Knight has been pre-destined to be the galaxy's savior - an actual knight, so to speak. But things go sideways when tragedy strikes, he winds up in jail and demonic forces embed themselves like a parasite inside of him. The galxay now is doomed! But wait ... "Until a trench coat-wearing alien renegade shatters his understanding of reality" (from the Goodreads description of the book). Now his role of galaxy savior is back on, but his understanding of what is real and what is imaginary has been challenged and changed. And who does he listen to ... the renegade alien who has rescued him, or the demonic voices in his head? The fate of the galaxy stands in the balance. The problems here are .... well, numerous, but ultimately it boils down to some poor writing. The first thing that stuck me was the main character saying things like: "I was the family doctor for a while. The wounds my mom and I suf...

Kell Kressia is a living legend.  A hero about whom tales are told. This stems from an incident when Kell joined a band of rugged warriors to slay the Ice Lich. The Ice Lich was killed, thereby saving the world, according to legend, but Kell was the only human to return.  Since then, he's tried to maintain a low profile, embarrassed by any fawning attention, and prefers to work the fields as a farmer. But a new terror has come to light.  Up north, taking residence in the Ice Lich's lair, is something possibly far worse than the Ice Lich.  The frozen land is spreading south and the clans of the area are calling for men to gather and save the region once again, and the man they want to lead them is the legend himself, Kell Kressia. What Kell has never told anyone, is that he is no hero.  He was lucky the first time and in truth, he's a coward who wants only to be left alone. So... this is a 'reluctant hero' story, taken to the extreme.  Not just reluctant, bu...

 Maybe, if I start checking reviews on Goodreads before requesting a book, I might have saved myself a little time by NOT reading this graphic novel. It's been over a century since the fall of civilization as we currently know it and now different gang factions inhabit the great metropolises. Giala and her tribe live in the ruins of the metropolis when they are attacked by a group of slave traders. The men in Gaia's tribe are killed, the women taken captive, and the children quickly hidden in dangerous, abandoned buildings. Giala manages to escape. While dealing with grief at the loss of friends, she also plots to help those who were taken and may still be alive. There's a bunch of fighting. One of the many sad aspects to this books is that there is absolutely nothing new here.  Every pastiche you've read before about a post-apocalyptic future with men turned barbarian.   It's Mad Max in Manhattan and it's a mess. While we start out with some intriguing possibi...

I no longer request an ARC of a book unless something about the book (sometimes the author, sometimes the description, sometimes even the publisher) attracts me to the title. So it should go without saying that I genuinely want to like and enjoy each book that I read.  Sadly, that is not always the case. Five children have been abducted from a very small town in the past four months.  The FBI send agent Eliott Cooper to investigate. But what Cooper thought would be a pretty straight-forward investigation takes a sharp turn as an ancient evil begins to reveal itself in the woodlands around the community. Cooper is in for more than he ever bargained for. This book was a bit of a slog to get through. The mystery premise of the book was interesting and I was initially looking forward to getting more into the investigation. But the supernatural element just didn't play well.    But the problems here are more than just an element that isn't presented cleanly.  Th...

Vincent Alan Chell has a lot to say. He talks about his wife, Yael, who committed suicide.  He talks about a cult group that meets in a church basement. And he talks about the robots serving mankind and how the Peacemaker - an artificial intelligence - has been controlling the peace for decades. Vincent Alan Chell talks, and not much else. The most important thing to know about this book is not what it has to say, but how it says it.  This book is told as a series of interviews - Chell answering questions ... without the questions presented to the reader.  Instead, a square black bullet indicates where a question is posed and all we get is Chell's response.  Clearly we could generally infer what the question might have been, if we wanted to. "If we wanted to."  That's the key.  There is very little here to keep a reader engaged. Given the challenge of the style of writing for this book, we need to be brought in to something really interesting or really exci...