Thursday, May 26, 2016

The Complete Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Erica Awano

6810681

     I received this free from NetGalley for an honest review.

     I am so torn about this review. I love the stories of Alice, and this book sticks to those stories. Where I am torn is the artwork. I like the artwork but I do not, as well. The artwork is beautifully done. The artist does a fantastic job of capturing detail and is quite skilled. I think we each have an opinion or idea of classics and how they look in our heads. I do think that this art would appeal to so many, but for me it just does not match what I think Alice and her adventures should look like. The artwork presented is very much formal and grandiose. I would like to see it more whimsical and fantastic.

     All in all, this is a beautiful rendition of a classic story, and I do not discourage others to give it a try. Just because it is not how I think it should be does not mean that it would not appeal to others.

     I gave this 3/5 stars.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt

29243635

     I received this free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

     Dr. Catherine Bennett has worked hard to earn her title, and all is left in shambles when she is accused of a murder she did not commit. Suddenly she must gather her belongings and her maid and head to the unknown, untamed West. Her adventure offers horrific violence, lost, fear, and romance. Was the move worth it or not? She may just lose her life anyway.

     I truly enjoyed this adventure. You can't help but fully support Catherine as a woman doctor that was such a rare occurrence. The opposition that she saw for her choice of career keeping true to the time. As she runs for her life she meets the unknowns of a life in an untamed land with horrors of massacres and raids. It was awful to read of the violence, but it is not the first time I have read these things as they were based on reality. It was still awful to read as the reader feels so connected with the characters in the book. There were so many things that Dr. Bennett came up against in the book, and I was cheering for her the whole way. She does find a passionate romance in the middle of so much trouble, and it is an enjoyable romance to read about.

     There will be a second book, apparently, since there was a sneak peek at the end. I read that sneak peek, and I cannot wait until August 2016 to read this continuation of Catherine's story.

     I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Sugarland by Martha Conway

Sugarland

     This may seem a little familiar, but since I am participating in a blog tour to promote Sugarland I am posting again. This is a book that I do not mind posting about in duplicates. I enjoy books that take place in the wondrous Jazz Age. I find myself taken in by the music clubs and the bold girls. This book is no exception. Martha Conway gave us a world full of genuine atmospheres of the age and time. I think she did an excellent job of giving us a peek into the world of racism at this time in history. She serves all of this with a side of murder and mystery. 

      I received this for free for an honest review from Netgalley.

     Eve Riser, a jazz pianist on the circuit, is present when a man is accidentally killed.  In conspiracy with the man she was with, Eve is sent to Chicago with money and a letter to help cover up the crime. She joins up with her pregnant stepsister, Chickie, who later disappears. There is another murder that Eve witnesses, and Eve is injured in the crossfire. Eve, along with the latter murdered man's sister, Lena, set out not only to find Chickie, but to find who murdered Lena's brother. 

     This book draws the reader into a world of 1920's jazz, Prohibition, and racial tension. I did enjoy the book and its peeks of life in the 1920's for a person of color. I liked seeing behind the scenes of the clubs and glimpses of how the police cast a blind eye to alcohol to imbibe themselves. It was interesting to once again witness the racial tension of that time in novel form. I feel that the author wrote genuinely the glares and words that would have been directed at the opposite ethnicity.

     Where I found a lacking in this book lies with the mystery/mysteries. There wasn't an intense mystery and was obvious in its ending. I usually don't mind figuring out a mystery before the ending of a story, but I do not enjoy the answers to the mystery served to me on a silver platter. I want the author to give me hints and clues along the way and give me a chance to put it all together. I found with Sugarland I was given the answer instead of the clues.

     I still enjoyed this book for the setting and the characters if not for the mystery.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.

MARTHA CONWAY BIO BLURB

Martha Conway is the author of Sugarland: A Jazz Age Mystery [Noontime Books], available via Amazon as of May 12, 2016. Conway’s first novel was nominated for an Edgar Award, and her second novel, Thieving Forest, won the 2014 North American Book Award for Best Historical Fiction. Her short fiction has been published in The Iowa Review, The Carolina Quarterly Review, The Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, Folio, and other journals. She teaches creative writing for Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program and UC Berkeley Extension, and is a recipient of a California Arts Council Fellowship for Creative Writing. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she is one of seven sisters. She currently lives in San Francisco.

Connect with Martha on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her website: www.marthaconway.com


Please check out all the stops on this blog tour.


Monday 5/9: TRUE BOOK ADDICT (http://www.truebookaddict.com/

Tuesday 5/10: WAG THE FOX: GEF FOX’S DEN FOR DARK FICTION (http://waggingthefox.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 5/11: 100 PAGES A DAY… STEPHANIE’S BOOK REVIEWS (http://stephaniesbookreviews.weebly.com/)  

Thursday 5/12: WORTH GETTING IN BED FOR (https://worthgettinginbedfor.wordpress.com/

Friday 5/13: MYSTERY FANFARE (http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/

Saturday 5/14: READING WITH WRIN (http://readingwithwrin.blogspot.com/

Sunday 5/15: GINGER ST. GEORGE (https://gingerstgeorge.wordpress.com/

Monday 5/16: BETH’S BOOK NOOK BLOG (https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/

Tuesday 5/17: LOOKING FOR A GOOD BOOK (https://lookingforagoodbook.com/


Thursday 5/19: I’M HOOKED ON BOOKS (https://imhookedonbooks.wordpress.com/

Friday 5/20: TONSANT WEADER REVIEWS (https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/

Monday 5/23: A WORLD UNDERNEATH (http://aworldunderneath.blogspot.com) You've made it here. :)

Tuesday 5/24: LITERARY MARIE (http://www.literarymarie.com/

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Crimson & Cream by C.M. Skiera

Crimson & Cream

     I received this free from LibraryThing for an honest review.

     Jetsam is a 13 year old orphan that loses his twin brother to a troll attack. He is then wrongfully accused of murder and that sends him on the run to escape punishment. His adventures lead him to run from a bounty hunter and straight into the arms of a not so innocent gang of a knight, wizard, and squire. After joining this unlikely crew, he begins to learn magic, has his mind controlled, meets a talking dragon, fights goblins, and meets a powerful wizard on the run.

     I really enjoyed this lighter fantasy read geared towards a younger audience. It is not bogged down with so much world building but instead focuses more on the adventures that Jetsam experiences. I enjoyed the fights that occurred with the trolls, goblins, and dragons. I feel that this book is a perfect fantasy for those not familiar with this genre or for those who already enjoy fantasy and want an easy read. I think the author did a great job of giving the reader a fantastical story that leaves room for more adventures to come in a later book.  I definitely want to read more.

     I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

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     I received this free from NetGalley for an honest review.

     In 1988, four 12 year old papergirls get caught in a very old generational conflict leading them to fight for their lives. This story includes flying dinosaurs, weird teenagers, spaceships, and futuristic laser guns.

     I really enjoyed this story line. I think that Mr. Vaughan did an excellent job creating a plot that stands alone without needing artwork. The artwork is just an incredible bonus to the story. I loved watching the girls fight for themselves against unknowns. They had to decide who is good and who is bad. We are left with a great cliff-hanger, and I can't wait to read the next volume.

     I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young

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     I received this free from NetGalley for an honest review.

     A little girl named Gertrude wishes her way to Fairyland and gets stuck there for 27 years as she looks for the key to the door that will lead her home. As she ages closer to 40 years old, she hates Fairyland even more as she battles every person she meets. Gertrude hates Fairyland and Fairyland hates Gertrude.

     I completely enjoyed the artwork in this graphic novel. Beautiful landscapes, creatures, and colors were used to tell the story of Gertrude who just couldn't find the key. I have to say that the story is a little crude in nature and there is quite a bit of bloodshed (definitely not a story for young ones), but the graphics drew me in. I thought the creators were very clever with how they portrayed the different features in the book---mountains looked like old men, the wounded moon became a crescent, and so many more creative pictures. The story line was only enjoyable when paired with the hilarious and entertaining artwork.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

The Mysterious Case of the Mysterious Case by John Press

29127030

     I received this from PublishNation for free for an honest review.

     Susan Queen rolls her wheelchair up to Homes the iPad using genius dog and declares him hers. This is the start of some fun and dangerous adventures. They join forces with Susan's best friends, Di and Robbie, as well as some "talking" pigeons and a kleptomaniac cat. All of them come together to solve the hideous crime against animals that is occurring in their town. Someone is torturing and killing animals while filming it and distributing DVDs of the crimes. These sleuths use some unorthodox methods to try to catch the guilty leading the reader on a hilarious journey.

     This is a good book for younger readers. A cute mystery with "talking" animals with high intelligence. The humor in the book was absolutely fabulous! I found myself laughing out loud quite frequently. I would recommend this book to a younger audience to thoroughly enjoy it. It's definitely worth a quick read.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Smoke by Dan Vyleta

Smoke: A Novel

     I was sent this for an honest review.

     This book takes place in England about a century ago. In this world, people who do or think wrong smoke from their bodies to show the wrong. The gentle class does not smoke, but the lower class is covered in black soot from the Smoke. London is a grimy, sooty place of wickedness and sin, and the upper class come into the city to indulge in the Smoke by volunteering in the city to help those less fortunate.

     Thomas and Charlie are two young boys that attend an elite boarding school and are led on a journey of their own into London. Here they search for the original source of the Smoke, witness tension between those who embrace the Smoke and those set against it, and find their own way in a Smoke filled world.

     I enjoyed this fantasy story of an alternate England. I believe Mr. Vyleta did an excellent job of creating the Smoke and its history. I found myself at a tug-of-war within quite often throughout the book. What is right? What is wrong? The different points of view given gave a richness to the story line and added depth to this alternate world. This was a fantastical adventure of right vs wrong.

     I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

Sugarland by Martha Conway

Sugarland

     I received this for free for an honest review from Netgalley.

     Eve Riser, a jazz pianist on the circuit, is present when a man is accidentally killed.  In conspiracy with the man she was with, Eve is sent to Chicago with money and a letter to help cover up the crime. She joins up with her pregnant stepsister, Chickie, who later disappears. There is another murder that Eve witnesses, and Eve is injured in the crossfire. Eve, along with the latter murdered man's sister, Lena, set out not only to find Chickie, but to find who murdered Lena's brother.

     This book draws the reader into a world of 1920's jazz, Prohibition, and racial tension. I did enjoy the book and its peeks of life in the 1920's for a person of color. I liked seeing behind the scenes of the clubs and glimpses of how the police cast a blind eye to alcohol to imbibe themselves. It was interesting to once again witness the racial tension of that time in novel form. I feel that the author wrote genuinely the glares and words that would have been directed at the opposite ethnicity.

     Where I found a lacking in this book lies with the mystery/mysteries. There wasn't an intense mystery and was obvious in its ending. I usually don't mind figuring out a mystery before the ending of a story, but I do not enjoy the answers to the mystery served to me on a silver platter. I want the author to give me hints and clues along the way and give me a chance to put it all together. I found with Sugarland I was given the answer instead of the clues.

     I still enjoyed this book for the setting and the characters if not for the mystery.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.