Tag: books

Posted in book reviews, bookit

Bookit Review: Noble Intentions

Posted on by sokorra

Title: Noble Intentions (Book 1 of 4)
Author: Katie MacAlister
Publication Date: Feburary 2002/ May 2014 (KIndle Version)
Grade:  B-

I have read Katie MacAlister before, when I was younger and my sister and I first got into her Dragon series.  My sister to this day reads every book of hers she can get her hands on, and she told me to read it.  So I did (eventually, as I have a pile of TO READ books and still do).

It’s a regency Era romance novel, set amongst the noble elite of London (as many regency novels are).  In this case, it tells the story of Gillian Leigh, a half-American lady who is escorting her cousin through her season.  She gains the attentions of Noble Britton, an Earl, a man in search of a wife.  They quickly marry, but most of the story takes place after the marriage.  Hijinks ensue as they try to solve the mystery of who’s after Noble now, and how it relates to the murder of Noble’s first wife Elizabeth.

This novel was enjoyable, although sometimes the dialogue seemed more modern than Regency.  Sometimes the minor characters get confusing, especially as there are three identical triplet brothers who work for Noble named Tremayne.  My favorite character was actually a secondary character named Harry Rosse, who is Noble’s best friend and confidante.

The story seems to go slowly at first, and changes directions a lot, but it all seems to tie in well when you get to the second half which has a great deal of actions.  My only issue is that some of the revel at the end sounds sudden, and a lot of information is given that could have been hinted at earlier.  There are also some elements that are not explained.  But this is a romance novel, not a mystery novel, so the focus wasn’t totally on the mystery.

My next bookit-review is going to be the second book in the series, Noble Destiny,  which features Alasdair MacGregor (Noble’s rival in this book) and Lady Charlotte (Gillian’s cousin).

Posted in book reviews, bookit, history

Bookit Review: The Wedding Shroud

Posted on by sokorra

Title: The Wedding Shroud (1 of 3)
Author: Elizabeth Storrs
Publication Date:  September 2010  (Kindle Unlimited Edition)
My Grade: C

This story takes place in ancient Rome, which was a bit of a change for me as most of my novels lately seem to either in the future or in Tudor(ish) England.  It follows the story of Caecilia, a young roman women who is married to a Etruscan Lord to keep a treaty in place.  She goes to this world completely different from her own despite only being across the river.  So close, that the modern-day spot is actually within Rome’s Metropolitan area.

It was hard getting into it at first.  A good deal of the first part of the book is Caecilia watching what went on around her and hating it, finding it to be undignified or lacking honor in comparison to her more sedate Roman ways.  I have to admit that its hard to catch the character of her husband, Vel Mastarna, as it seems half the time he’s gone away for some reason or another. SOme of the other characters seem half flushed out but restricted due to the single person point of view.  However, the story does eventually grab you.  There is a lot happening in the last half.  It also includes a real life person in the form of Camillus, a Roman general.

I did find the fact the character’s point of view is mostly set on how troublesome she finds this new world.  We don’t see her take charge as matriarch, or do the duties that she actually finds she likes.  Instead its barely mentioned before go back to the weird subplot with her brother-in-law who keeps her drugged and calls it piety.
This is the first book in a trilogy, although I’ve decided to forgo the second two books.  For one, a quick google search has told me where it must end, (Veii and Rome are historical places after all), but also because I promised my sister I would read a few books she chose for me.  But I feel I can recommend this book in general as a pleasant read, if not a great one.  I have to admit though that it did have its moments when it made me uncomfortable as Caecilia is, particularly when it got into detail about ancient cultures religious rites.

Posted in book reviews, bookit, Star Wars

Bookit-Review: Vision of the Future

Posted on by sokorra

Title: Vision of the Future
Author: Timothy Zahn
Publication Date:  September 1, 1999  (Paperback) Book 2 of the Hand of Thrawn Duology
My Grade:  B

So this is the final book in the five Thrawn books made by Timothy Zahn.  The first three being his Thrawn Trilogy, and the second two being the Hand of Thrawn Duology which began with Specter of the Past.

Zahn is really good at building us a universe to play in.  It’s interesting to see in the Duology how his main characters have changed in the decade between then and now.  Mara has become more comfortable with herself, and with the idea of the Jedi.  Luke also has changed, become more mature and is in the process of evaluating how he uses the force in his day-to-day life.  Leia and Han just want a peaceful vacation with their three kids where no one tries to kidnap, kill or anything else to them.  However, when push comes to shove they are going to help out.

Han in this book is a little less the rascal we all love in the movies.  It is after all almost 20 years post the Battle of Yavin, so I suppose that all that time spent with the Rebellion, The New Republic and of course being a father to three Jedi children might chill you out a bit.  There is plenty of Lando as well, as he teams up with Han to find the Caamas Document.

Leia meanwhile is teaming up with various subcharacters in the political world trying to find peace for the New Republic, both internally and externally.

I think one of my favorite things is the delving into the background of Talon Karrde, as well as seeing what Pelleaon is up to now as the Supreme Commander of the Empire’s naval forces.  He’s trying to save the Empire but is not having an easy time of it because of the reappearance of “Thrawn.”

If you like books that deal with political intrigue, character backgrounds and action you will enjoy this book.  It has a good mix of the three.  It deals with the theme of how things can appear one way but turn out not to be that way at all, it depends on your point of view (as Obi-wan once told us) and who got to write the history down.

It also sets up the next stage of the Star Wars Legends books, which is interesting but I won’t be delving into myself.  At least not right now.

I really liked the fact that Luke and Mara had basically a road-trip like plot arc (well, it was more like a hike, but the same concept).  They ended up forced to face some issues between them that had developed over the last ten years, and eventually realise they love each other.  It’s a bit sappy in its almost instantious realization, and I feel it might have been better if he had started to develop them going down that road in the first book, but there is plenty going on that needed developed.

My only problem is wondering why after the kids are sent away to hang out with Chewie and his family, no one really mentions them.  That being said, it is a good book and I would definitely put it on my recommended books list.

I do however suggest, should you try this book out to start with the Thrawn Trilogy.  While it’s not completely necessary (as there is a ten-year gap with many events happening), it does give some background on the relationships between the main characters and an interesting place to compare how they have changed in 10 years.

Posted in book reviews, bookit

Summer Reading

Posted on by sokorra

Summer seems to be starting to arrive, though we have awhile till it officially starts. Late Spring/Early Summer is one of my favorite times of the year.  Its warm enough but hasn’t reached that overbearing heat of the late summer.  And its a great reading time.

I like to read all the year round, but I know some who really only get a chance to read during vacations or summer trips.  So I’ve decided to put together a list of a few books for some Summer Reading.  Many are series starters, so if you enjoy the first book, there is plenty to read after that!

The Rowan – Anne McCaffrey

The Rowan is the first book…of sorts…in my favorite series.  The novel is a futuristic story where humans have tapped into the potential of telepathic abilities.  They have explored and settled on several planets at this point.  On one of those planets, a disaster takes place that revels a child who may be the most powerful telepath yet known.  They call her The Rowan, as that was the name of the settlement she was located at.

She is trained to be part of the FT&T system of telepaths and telekinetics who help speed about interstellar commerce and traffic.  She has both abilities, in such high qualities she has earned the spot as a Prime, a rarest level in the system.  One day she meets an equally powerful and unknown telepath and together they fight an alien menace.

Its better than my summary I swear.  My favorite book in the series is the fourth book, Lyon’s Pride which deals with the Rowan’s grandchildren.  The Talents series has five books, but it’s also connects to another series by McCafferey called the Pegasus series, which takes place from Current day and brings us up to the world of the Rowan.

On Goodreads

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is pretty well-known, and while the movies were great, I always prefer the book.  There is so much more in the books.  The only downside to the book is its done completely in Katness’ pov.  It’s a great book, although I do suggest it for older readers.  Some of the subject material -ie violence – is not appropriate for young children.  This, as the movies suggests, is part of a trilogy.

On Goodreads

Catherine, Called Birdy – Karen Cushman

This is a book that may be good for younger readers and older readers alike.  Done in diary format, it explores the life of a girl in the 1100s named Catherine, who would just like to play with her friends and forget all this mending and marriage business. She’s promised her older brother to keep a diary to help her with her writing skills, and because she loves him she keeps at it. It is hilarious and some of the phrases from the books my family still use to this day.

It won several awards for young adult novels in 1995

On Goodreads

The Memory of US – Camille Di Maio

This is a book I reviewed on this blog having read it on Kindle Unlimited I believe.  It’s a wonderful romance novel that’s more about a woman trying to adjust in Post-War Britain than actual romance although the Romance is the backbone of the piece.  The story follows Julianne Westcott as she discovers a secret brother her parents have been hiding from her due to his disabilities.  Deciding to ignore their avoidance of the issue, she meets with her brother, and meets Kyle, the son of the gardener.  The two of them slowly fall in love, and eventually get married against the wishes of her parents and his attempt to become a priest.  However, a war begins, and it changes their lives drastically.

It really is a great story and I look forward to more from this author.

On GoodReads

Bookit Review

The 100 – Kass Morgan

Like The Hunger Games, this is a dystopian young adult novel.  The concept was bought and developed into a TV show while the writer was working on the first book, so while many characters remain the same (and some characters appear with different names) the book series and the TV series have gone down separate paths.

I really enjoyed the book series, though I need to catch up on the last one released.  This book is done in rotating POV format, focused on 4 main characters: Clarke, Bellamy, Wells and Glass.    The characters are younger than their TV counterparts, and the stories each take over the course of a couple of days.  The first book has quite a bit of flashback just to warn.

On Goodreads

Posted in book reviews, bookit, Star Wars

Bookit Review: Heir to the Empire

Posted on by sokorra

Title:  Heir to the Empire  (Book 1 of the Thrawn Trilogy)
Author: Timothy Zahn
Publication Date:  June 1992  (Paperback edition.  Yep, went old school on this one)
Grade: B-

After watching Star Wars (all 8 movies) in late December and early January to celebrate Carrie Fisher, I decided that it was time to finally read that pile of Star Wars Novels that I had bought or have been given over the years but never got to.  This starts with one of the apparently fan favorites of the EU (now Legends) Star Wars universe.

Heir of the Empire is the first in a trilogy of books taking place about 5 or so years after Endor.  It starts with Leia and Luke having some emotional upheavals as Ben Kenobi says goodbye, and Leia deals with the fact that she is pregnant with twins and someone is out to kidnap her.  Meanwhile Han is busy trying to build a level of trust between the Republic and smugglers it wants to make legitimate traders. There is also Political issues in the new republic as different fractions try to get power.   So this book has aspects of a war novel, a political thriller and some Jedi lore.

The reason I started with this book was not only was it relatively close to the end of the movies, but it introduces Mara Jade, who is perhaps my favorite EU/Legends character.  I still hope some reiteration of her appears in the new film Trilogy.  It also introduces Talon Karrde who I’m finding more interesting than I expected.

The book itself took a bit to get into because it takes a moment to orient yourself in the universe.  I’m used to reading tie-in novels that have some reference to the films either by being the novelization or movies that take place directly before/after or deal with events in the movie.  However, once you figure out where everything is at, it’s a good book.  I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

 

Posted in book reviews, bookit

Bookit Review: Mr Darcy’s Mail-Order Bride

Posted on by sokorra

Title: Mr. Darcy’s Mail-Order Bride
Author: J. Dawn King
Publication: November 24, 2016 (Kindle/Kindle Unlimited edition)
Grade: C

This variation novel was alright.  I didn’t want to throw it out the window.  It just wasn’t something that made me want to ignore the clock and keep reading.  In this particular variation, Darcy and Bingley have become landowners in Oregon, seeking wives from the east due to a lack of possible wives in the West.  Darcy writes the letters for Bingley to Jane, the niece of an acquaintance of theirs, Mr. Gardner.  Elizabeth responds for Jane, and the two fall in love through the letters, not realising that they weren’t speaking with the real Jane/Bingley.   Thus awkwardness when the two arrive to be married (Darcy deciding at last minute to marry the sister).

This reads almost like vengeance fanfic.  Like Ms. King wanted to see characters she thought less of punished in some way.  Caroline is pretty much out of the picture right away, and Lydia barely spends any time before whisking away with Wickham (who keeps getting fired, and barely talks to Elizabeth).  Meanwhile Elizabeth and Jane remain the optimum examples of virtue and good nature.

So in a sense, it was like all the characters were more pushed towards the good/bad guy roles then they were in the original.  Poor Denny, the first-nameless soldier who makes the unfortunate decision to be friends with Wickham in the original book, now has become Wickham’s second hand man, possibly starting a fire at Bingley’s ranch.  Mr. Bennet turns out to just sit in his study and do nothing while his remaining children run close to starving. I must admit this is the first time where I’ve read a book and fault for the awkward marriage between the elder Bennets is placed on Mr. Bennet instead of just assuming he was dealing with a nutsy wife.

Although I did find the implication of Lydia/Colonel Fitzwilliam (who in this novel isn’t a colonel but crime lawyer) an intriguing idea.

Its an alright novel if you can’t get enough of Jane Austen variations, but nothing I’d put on my “read again later” list.

Posted in book reviews, bookit

Bookit Review: The Promise Kitchen

Posted on by sokorra

Title: The Promise Kitchen
Author:  Peggy Lampman
Publication:  August 16, 2016/June 25, 2015  (Kindle Edition/Kindle Unlimited Edition)
Grade:  B

With The Promise Kitchen I spent half the book wondering what I thought of it.  It kept changing on me.  It starts off strange with the one POV character (Shelby) and her mother trying to save money by burying two people in the same urn.  Which was not what I expected when I saw this on the “Recommend for you” scroll on my Kindle.  Still, I decided to continue to read it.  AFter all, I’m sure there was a point to why this scene was included.

The story  is about two women named Shelby and Mallory and how their lives change drastically over a year.  Shelby is a single mother of a daughter and lives with her mother, daughter and a Jackalope in a poorer community in lower Georgia.  Mallory comes from more affluent background, and lives as a food reporter in Atlanta.  They both start out the year with a big change.

Shelby gets a job at Grassos, an Atlanta based grocery chain that offers to pay for culinary school.  This is a step in the direction she wants to go to provide her daughter with a better life, but it does mean leaving her daughter for weeks at a time when she works in Atlanta (there is a 3 hour drive between Atlanta and home).

Mallory on the other hand, is having job issues of her own as her newspaper folds and decides to become a digital only company.  She barely retains her job in the transfer and has to double her job description while getting a pay cut.  And the man she believes to be the love of her life randomly left her.

Throughout the book the two women’s life criss cross without really meeting till halfway through the book when they are involved in a car accident.  Then both of their lives change quite a bit. Mallory ends up going on a tailspin that wakes her up to ongoing problems, while Shelby seemingly loses everything

Its better than I can summarize, and surprisingly, there was a point to the first scene, if its only brought up again at the very end.  The only issues I had with the book were the quick time changes where weeks would go by.  Clearly this has to happen to get through a year but at times it seemed a little confusing as to what had happened.

The summary on the back is a little misleading, as I kept thinking the two women’s lives would be more integrated.  I did enjoy it.  From what I was reading, this is Peggy Lampman’s first novel, and I’ll be interested in seeing what else she may write.  For now it seems like she is primarily focused on her food blog.

It was also originally published with the title Simmer and Smoke and contains several recipes at the end.

 

Posted in book reviews, bookit

Bookit Review: Her Hopes and Dreams

Posted on by sokorra

Title: Her Hopes and Dreams
Author:  Terri Osburn
Publication: November 15, 2016  (Kindle/Kindle Unlimted Edition)
Grade: B-

Please note:  This novel contains references to PTSD and other trauma-induced psychological issues  (One character has PTSD from military related events, another from being abused by their spouse).  If you feel triggered by this, please skip this book.  

I was a bit underwhelmed by this addition to the series.  Carrie Farmer’s story has been a back plot along most of the first three books.  In the first book we are introduced to her as Spencer’s ex-wife, who is being abused by her second husband.  In the second and third books she is adjusting to being a widow, a single mother, and being free from abuse.  In the last book in particular, she starts to focus on helping others who are in similar situation by creating a shelter for the area with Haleigh and her mother.

In this book, we get her point of view and see how she is adjusting.  She seems to have settled into her life, but she is determined, sometimes against her own safety, to help other women.   She meets her next door neighbor, Nathan, who happens to be an old childhood friend of her late husband.  They get off to an awkward start due to Nate not knowing what had gone on while he had been away at war.  There is also the aspect that both of them have trauma-induced psychological issues that they have to deal with.

The story is enjoyable, although it seems at times to be overly optimistic.  I do like the fact that Ms Osburn brings up the idea that people with PTSD and other trauma-induced psychological disorders can find a happy life.  The idea that it can be relived by finding “the one” seems a little misleading because it puts a lot of pressure on the significant other, but considering this is a romance novel, and the concept that love heals everything is a trope we all tend to find/write into these books.

There is a fifth book in this series, but it won’t be released till May 2017, so look for it under the ‘bookit 2017’ tag on this blog or the Terri Osburn tag.

 

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Bookit Review: Second Impressions

Posted on by sokorra

Title:  Second Impressions
Author: Amy George
Publication Date:  August 10, 2016 (Kindle Unlimited version)
Grade: C

The concept of Second Impressions is an interesting one.  In this, Darcy ends up holding up the engagement to Anne Darcy, and Elizabeth travels to America to visit some family there in an attempt to get over her heartbreak.

A few years later she returns to help her sister who’s expecting a baby and she is reunited with a depressed Darcy whose wife has died.  SHe and Darcy have to reintroduce themselves with who they are now.

The issue however, is that the book doesn’t really live up to the concept. In fact, the story seems to be almost more about Elizabeth’s gutsy futuristic cousin Emmeline Poston.   There is her awkward romance with John Dalton, and the side plot that really only shows up in the last third of the book where an Ex of Emmeline’s shows up and decides to kidnap her at Elizabeth’s wedding.

The positives of this book include an expansion of character with Charles Bingley, Jane, and Kitty.  They start to have more of a personality then in Austen’s original novel.  Although Jane seems more outgoing then she really was in the original material.

I feel like there are two novels in here, just both didn’t have enough so she threw them together and they didn’t meld as well as perhaps the Author hoped.

Although it should be noted that I didn’t realise it was a novella (despite that being listed on the cover) till I was finished with it.

Posted in book reviews, bookit

Bookit Review: Cinder & Ella

Posted on by sokorra

Title:  Cinder & Ella /  Say Car for Me:  Bonus Brian POV scene (C&E 1.5)
Author: Kelly Oram
Publication Date:  Cinder & Ella:  October 1, 2014 (Kindle Unlimited Version)  Bonus Scene: Kelly Oram website, 2016)
Grade: B-

As is the case with many of the books I’ve been getting off Kindle Unlimited they aren’t the best books.  They won’t be put on my re-readable shelf.  I may persue sequels, as I am doing with this one, but not strongly.

Cinder & Ella as you can imagine was inspired by Cinderella. The book gets credit for making an interesting reason why things end up in the arc that does follow the traditional cinderella story.   Its the other parts where it goes off the rails.

Ella, the main character, is a 19 year old girl who was in a car accident and has severe burns that left scaring over her body.  She is somehow declared incompetent and forced to live with the father that abandoned her when she was a child.  Her step-mom and siblings are traditionally insensitive and in some cases outright cruel.

The “Prince” in this story is the titular “Cinder” who is in fact actor Brian Oliver.  The two of them haven’t met, haven’t even given their real names and have fallen for each other.  Brian is currently starring in the movie adaption to their favorite book (where their nicknames come from, although hers has the benefit of being her real name).

The issues with this book is that none of the characters feel particularly sympathetic.  Some are outright caricatures of stereotypes.  The story keeps you reading long enough but I can’t say I stuck around for any of the characters.  I’m hoping that the full length sequel that is coming out soon will improve on that, give characters depth.

The Author did recently publish a reverse POV of a pivotal scene as a anniversary celebration for the two year anniversary of the book’s original publication.  It doesn’t really make me like any of the characters more.  Brian and Kaylee don’t look too good in it, honestly.

I am tenatively giving the full length sequel a chance when it comes out, and the Author as well.  Hopefully they will both improve my expectations.