May Latest Reads
I
have to admit, this latest reads has some of my new favorites! Three out of the
five, were ‘I can’t put this book down’ and ‘why do I have to work again?’
whines. And the other two were decent, so all in all a good reading experience.
I think one of the best parts about this edition was the fact that I got to
compare a book and movie…one of this nerd girl’s FAVORITE things! I always read
the book first. I have to be
able to develop the characters and setting on my own first. Sometimes, like
with Silver Linings Playbook, I heard
about the book after the movie, so the characters already had a face. This usually didn’t pose a problem as long as I don’t
know too many details. I hate knowing what’s coming next. It doesn’t work for
me as a reader. I don’t have the luxury of the using my imagination to figure
it out (or at least get close). After
reading the book, I rented the DVD, which was absolutely superb! It was more of
a love story that surrounded a broken family. The actors and actresses did a
fantastic job, but I already love Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert
Dinero. I highly recommend the movie.
Read
on for my thoughts on this book and others.
Silver Lining Playbook by
Matthew Quick
I
read this cover to cover in about four hours and absolutely loved the character
Pat Peoples. He is unique, engaging and quite whacky! The book is really a
story about a man. The readers sees Pat go through many changes as he tries to
cope with ‘the incident’, which is even worse than he remembers. The reader
follows Pat as he experiences life on the outside (of the mental institution). We
watch his growth and change. We feel his experiences. Matthew Quick did an
excellent job!
Final thought: One of my new ‘all time’
faves!
A Fool and his Honey by
Charlaine Harris
I
follow this series. I follow Charlaine Harris. Roe Teagarden is an enjoyable
character. She has become more serious since inheriting a bunch of money and
marrying and older man. In this book, Ms. Harris really keeps the reader
guessing. There is a lot going on at one time and even though all the incidents
appear to be haphazard, they are nothing short of methodical and purposeful, deliberately
placed to entice the reader all the way through. As a reader, I’m very
disappointed in the ending. As a writer, I completely understand the author’s
actions and choices!
Final Thought: I am anxious to see what Ms.
Harris has in store for Roe next!
Beautiful Darkness by Kami
Garcia and Margaret Stohl
I
am so drawn to this series. One day, I hope to have a fraction of the talent
and storytelling ability these two women have. At the end of Beautiful Creatures, Ethan and Lena overcame a great travesty at a
huge price. This story picks right up with the angst and pain caused from the
climax of book one. In the second book, Lena pulls away from Ethan as she copes
with her growing abilities and the uncertainty of the future. Ethan, ever the
gracious hero, refuses to give up on Lena, or their love. About halfway through
the story, my jaw dropped to the floor (a brilliant plot twist). The authors might
as well have climbed out of my kindle and smacked me upside the head; and that
was only the beginning! The authors continued to WOW the reader with twists and
turns right up until the very end. Can’t to carve out some time for the next
one!
Final thought: Love this series even more
after book two!
Illuminated Knights by Brian
Bresee
In
this self published novel, a young man learns of a secret higher society and
his role in an extraordinary destiny that lay out ahead of him. The premise of the story is quite captivating.
My criticism of this story surrounds the style of writing. As a reader, I
prefer to feel a story, and to see a story unfold in my mind’s eye. Bresee does
a great job of telling us about the story instead of painting a picture and
allowing the reader to get lost within the story. You may have heard of ‘showing
not telling’…this story has more telling than showing.
Final thought: It has great premise, but the
storytelling work.
Uniquely Unwelcome by Brandy
Nacole
I
received this book for an honest review. As an avid paranormal fantasy fan, I
appreciated the ‘unique’ spin Nacole uses in her creation of the Shadow World.
In this story the main character, Racquel, is something of an enigma. Her
cohorts are fun and entertaining characters. Right away the reader is drawn in
and intrigued by the entire plot. However, the downside to this story was the
multiple typos and grammatical errors.
Final Thought: All in all, I enjoyed this
story.
Thanks you for reading! I
hope you’ll join me for another edition of Latest Reads. Next up:
Dead Ever After (The final
Sookie Stackhouse novel)
by Charlaine Harris
Rules of Prey (A Lucas
Davenport Novel) by John
Sanford
Destined Oracle by J. G. Martinez
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
The Long Road (A Zombie
Awakening Book 3) by Cynthia
Melton
JHappy
ReadingJ
