Month: June 2016

3/5, AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2016

Review: Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

Tara

Fool Moon
by Jim Butcher

Fool Moon

Copyright: 2001

Pages: 401

Read: June 9-18, 2016

Rating: 3/5

Source: Paperbackswap

 

 

Blurb: Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn’t been able to dredge up any kind of work – magical or mundane.

But just when it looks like he can’t afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses – and the first two don’t count…

Review: So I read the first book in the Harry Dresden series, Storm Front, a full two years ago. I knew going into this one I might have some problems remembering who was who and what was what. Honestly, I really didn’t have much trouble jumping back in with Harry and his friends.

Overall I suppose this is just an average book. It was just an okay book for me. I want to like paranormal books, but I still have a lot of trouble accepting these crazy happenings. I don’t know, it’s hard for me to explain. I suppose I just have trouble suspending my beliefs long enough and accepting that I’m reading about wizards and werewolves.

So while this book wasn’t bad, it probably won’t be very memorable down the road for me. However, I can say that I’m more than willing to give Harry another chance … maybe in a couple of years 😉

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, D, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2016

Review: The Dead Place by Rebecca Drake

Tara

The Dead Place
by Rebecca Drake

The Dead Place

Copyright: 2008

Pages: 359

Read: June 4-8, 2016

Rating: 3/5

Source: Paperbackswap

 

 

Blurb: The first victim is found floating in a creek – naked, beautiful, brutally garroted. Lily Slocum was a college student with everything to live for and nothing to fear … until a madman made her his obsession…

At first glance, a quiet campus town like Wickfield seems like the ideal place for Kate Corbin to start over after a traumatic attack. But when another young girl disappears on her way to class, Kate’s fear resurfaces in earnest. She’s right to be afraid. Behind Wickfield’s picture-perfect facade, a nightmare is unfolding … and it’s about to strike chillingly close to home…

A serial killer is on the loose … ruthless, twisted, and lethally smart. Now, locked in a desperate race against time, Kate’s only chance of stopping a madman’s grisly game is to venture deeper into a diabolical web where no one is who they seem to be … and the smallest mistake could be her last…

Review: My thoughts on this book are going to be difficult to explain. First off, it’s not a bad book. However, I can’t really say that I enjoyed it all that much. It was just an “eh” read for me.

You see, I couldn’t stand the main character – Kate. I understood that she had been through a traumatic experience (rape), but at the same time, she was also losing her grip on reality completely. And yet she fought the idea of therapy/medication to help her function properly. She made wild accusations and did incredibly stupid things throughout this book. It’s precisely because of her behavior that I just couldn’t stomach much more of her. And then at the end it was like nothing had ever happened – everything was all hunky dory! I don’t know … her character just didn’t work for me…

There were a lot (and I mean a lot) of really stupid grammatical errors that should have been caught before publication. This also didn’t help my opinion of this book.

The plot didn’t seem very interesting to me – I’m pretty sure I could have read something along these same lines somewhere along the way in the last 10+ years that I’ve been reading thrillers. So there wasn’t anything “new” … no great twist, no surprises. It was (and I hate to use this word in reviews) predictable.

So bottom line … not a terrible book, but definitely forgettable.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2016

Review: Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo

Tara

Pray for Silence
by Linda Castillo

Pray for Silence.jpg

Copyright: 2010

Pages: 322

Read: May 28 – 31, 2016

Rating: 4/5

Source: Paperbackswap

 

 

Blurb: The Planks moved from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to the small Amish community of Painters Mill hoping to resume the comforts of the Plain Life in Ohio. Less than one year later, the family of seven is found dead – slaughtered on their own farm.

Police Chief Kate Burkholder and her small force have few clues, no motive, and no suspect. But when the diary belonging to the rebellious teenager Mary Plank turns up, Kate is surprised to find a murder suspect: the charismatic stranger who stole Mary’s heart. Then there’s Mary’s brother, Aaron, who’s been shunned by his family and the rest of the Amish community.

Formerly Amish herself, Kate becomes immersed in the case, and as her obsession grows, so does her resolve to bring the killer to justice – even if it means putting herself in to the line of fire…

Review: I read the first book in this series back in March and just absolutely fell in love with it. So I was more than anxious to read the second one. What’s surprising is that I didn’t follow my normal routine and wait 3 years before reading the second book in a series. Thank goodness I didn’t, because this was another great book!

Just a warning – this book is really gruesome. It’s pretty graphic in places. But that sure didn’t stop me from reading and enjoying it.

I did enjoy this book, but I will admit that I think the first book was better than this one. I felt like Kate made some stupid decisions based on her emotions that the case brought forward from her past. I could understand why she did those things, but it didn’t make it any smarter.

Overall, a good book that I enjoyed and I definitely recommend it.