Book Review: Being Henry David

Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Okay... pretty much my only three problems with this book: The kid was miraculously good at anything. He's like, "Oh. I lost my memory. A guitar, what? I'll try it. Oh wow. I'm awesome at guitar. And running. And building. And memorizing." And the language. Holy Hannah there was a lot of rough language. Finally, there were a lot of loose ends. I mean, a lot.

Now that that is out of the way here is what I liked:
This book was so interesting. The main guy was a little bit of a pansy in some ways (face up to your problems already, dude) but he was also great. He was flawed and insecure. He was empathetic and yet a little dangerous.
Hailey was a lovely character: helping him find some redeeming qualities in himself.
The story line was interesting and all the ties to Walden seemed well-researched. I kind of wished we found out why he was drawn to Walden, but ah well. It didn't ruin the book that we never did.

Aside from some major loose ends, the ending was great. Everything came full circle and one of the most important plot arcs got all worked out.

All-in-all I enjoyed this book. It wasn't perfect but it kept me interested.



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Book Review: The Death Collector

The Death Collector by Justin Richards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's Jurassic Park, it's Neverwhere,it's The Librarian,it's Frankenstein, it's The Death Collector!
This book reminded me of the above mentioned books (and T.V. movies in the case of The Librarian)
A pick pocket, a museum worker, a pastor's daughter, and a man who works in a special section of a museum where things go that contradict or defy science all work together to try to uncover a mystery left by a famous paleontologist about dinosaurs.
On the trail of this mystery is also a creepy man and his band of thugs and machine men plus his crazy pet dinochine.
Our four heroes have to figure out the mystery and protect it from crazy man before he creates an army of living dead men and dino machines.
To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd like this book but in the end I really enjoyed it. I could put it down, but I did want to see how it ended and enjoyed myself on the journey.
Worth the time to read? Definitely.
A little bit too creepy for little kids, but I think tween boys especially would really enjoy the book.

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Blog Tour: Book Review: "Tide Ever Rising" by Mandi Tucker Slack

 Welcome! SO glad you could pop by my blog to read my review of Mandi Tucker Slack's new book, "Tide Ever Rising". If you're visiting, I hope you'll come back soon. Make sure you "Join This Site" if you want to keep track of what's going on here at Write On!.

On to the review:

Okay, first off, let me just say: Wow. This story totally impressed me with its great pacing (and yes, that's not supposed to have an apostrophe!). I never felt bored, nor did I ever feel rushed. I was able to follow the characters' journey without ever breaking from the story due to boredom or confusion. It was definitely a book I had a hard time putting down and thanks to my amazing hubby was able to finish it in one day.

I haven't read a lot of romantic mysteries, but I will tell you this: I am converted. I loved having a mystery to try and figure out while also getting to watch the characters fall in love. This book was definitely intriguing and also romantic. I love romance in my books (it's almost a must for me), but I'm picky -- it has to be clean and it cannot be super cheesy! (A little cheese tends to be inevitable in a clean romance book.) "Tide Ever Rising" accomplished both of those things. It was clean and not way cheesy. The love story was sweet and exhilarating. The love interest was lovable and a little swoon-worthy.

I had fun reading this and was happy with the ending (also a must). I am actually thinking about reading it again. I was so grateful for the opportunity to read this book. When I saw it on Cedar Fort's website, the cover totally made me want to read it. FYI the book is definitely as good (if not better than) the pretty cover suggests. It was neat to get to read it as an electric ARC. I am now probably going to go out and buy a hard copy for my clean romance collection.

P.S. Mandi... you rock. And I want to read more of your books!

This book was very much:

 Again, thank you so very much for stopping by and... happy reading!

If you want to purchase this book you can go here

And here is the blurb the author sent me:

"

Tide Ever Rising Blurb:

 Kadence Reynold’s favorite pastime is exploring old ghost towns, but when she and her sister, Maysha, stumble across an old journal and cheap pendant hidden in the depths of a crumbling foundation near Eureka, Utah, their world is suddenly turned upside down. Immediately, strange dreams and premonitions begin to haunt “Kadie” as she learns more about the author of the journal, Charlotte Clark. Kadie sets out on a journey to learn more about Charlotte and her family, and she and Maysha travel to Bremerton, Washington, where they discover Charlotte's still living twin sister, Adelaide and her family.  

  Kadie and Maysha, upon arriving in Washington, are immediately immersed in Adelaide and Charlotte’s story. Kadie soon learns that Charlotte disappeared the night of a tragic fire that took the lives of Adelaide’s entire family. With the help of Logan Mathews, Adelaide’s handsome grandson, and Charlotte’s ever disconcerting presence, Kadie delves into the past. Hoping to solve the mystery of Charlotte’s disappearance, Kadie immediately discovers the secrets contained in the journal will toss her and Adelaide’s family into a world filled with mystery, past regrets, and dark unknowns."

Book Review: My Life Undecided

My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well the concept for this book is cute... a teen has poor judgment so she decides to let her blog readers make all her decisions for her but in the end learns she can't avoid her problems and, therefore her consequences, that way. There are the two boys... one she would choose, one she should. There's the awful best friend who sets a bad influence, and there's the older lady who teaches her the lesson she needs to learn.
I found the language (lots of swears) obnoxious... the main character was brassy and annoying... no class. Everything that annoys me about some teen girls today. I'm not saying we have to be high brow ladies, but a little class would be nice. So, that bothered me because younger girls would probably read this and it's not a voice I'd want my daughters imitating.
Not a bad book. It's clean, though there is teen drinking in it and the girl never seems to learn her lesson about it. I don't mind teen drinking being brought up as long as the author is trying to teach their readers the dangers and pitfalls of it... otherwise it just seems to be telling kids it's okay. Not a total waste of time, I suppose, but I will not read this book again and I would not want to own it.

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Book Review: A Wish in the Woods/ Wish

A Wish in the Woods by Beth Bracken

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I read an ARC copy of the new illustrated version via Netgalley. It was titled "Wish" on Netgalley. I'm grateful to the publisher for letting me read this book.

Here's what it comes down to... If I could make a wish in the woods, I would wish that this book had worked. I wanted to like it... the ideas were fine and some of the artwork was pretty but. BUT. The voice was awkward and stilted, a lot of the pictures were just... off, the ending was abrupt, and everything happened too fast. The girls seemed too young for all of this "jump right in an kiss someone" kind of a love story... even if real thriteen year olds do that, these girls were immature and juvenile and naive and it didn't work.

What I did like: The story idea was fine, cute even. The characters were likable even if they were underdeveloped. The story makes you want to see what happens next. Some of the artwork was beautiful.  I think that was the hardest part for me about the artwork: how inconsistent it was. How awkward and silly some of the pictures looked compared to others that worked.

It took very little time to read and I don't think I would say it was a waste necessarily, but I don't plan to read it again and probably won't seek out the next book.

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Book Review: A Conspiracy of Alchemists

A Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars





A fusion of Steampunk, fantasy and mythology. The effect was kinda cool. I was totally interested in the storyline and characters. It was inventive -- there were fairies and warlocks, oracles and scientists. The setting of Victorian Era Italy, Budapest, and Paris were vivid and lovely.

Mr. Marsh was a good leading man. He was a strong character with a lot of power, but his abilities didn't overshadow Elle. Elle was great -- strong, intelligent, "powerful", and just cool. She felt helpless but came into her own and turned out to be pretty darn awesome.

There was some language and some... not-quite, but almost explicit bits. No full-on sex scenes (I don't think. I started skimming when they started kissing) or anything, but just enough description of "feelings" to make one blush a little and skim for a paragraph or two.

Overall, I was totally interested in this book and liked the way it ended. I would be interested to see where the Epilogue leads us in what I assume will be a sequel. I would say this is not a waste of time.

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Book Review: Chocolate Covered Baloney

Chocolate-Covered Baloney by K.D. McCrite

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Okay, to be fair this is probably closer to three stars than two...

I liked the message of this book... Family and forgiveness and accepting people instead of always judging them. I loved the ending and I was glad everyone was able to work out their individual issues. Each character showed a lot of growth and that was very satisfying to me. April didn't grow up as much as she could have, maybe... but then again it might have been weird and inauthentic if she had grown a ton. She is just a little girl, after all.

The reason my rating is so low: The voice is clear and consistent through the book but it is... obnoxious. At first I was giggling to myself, April Grace is silly and funny and kind of the clear head between her and her sister. After a while, though, she just started to sound mean and catty. Her jabs at her sister were cruel. (Of course, I have sisters and I get that they can get on one's nerves, but she never had a single nice thing to say to her sister.) She used the exact same words and exact same phrases over and over again and it got old.

All in all... I don't feel like I wasted my time, but I wouldn't read this book again. It was cute and had a good story and a lot of redeeming qualities... I just didn't love it.

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Book Review: Edenbrooke

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had seen this book on different blogs and goodreads and thought, Hm. that sounds like a nice book. Perhaps someday I will read it.

Then. My friend lent it to me. I went out as soon as I had finished and bought a copy.

This book was so good and I have read it... like five times since last summer. Literally. And not the hyperbolic literally... the literally literally.

Okay. What I love about this book is:

A lot of romantic suspense
Great characters (especially the main guy. He's one of my literary crushes, for sure). And the girl -- not obnoxious at all. LOVE that. I will , but don't enjoy, reading a book with an obnoxious main girl. I don't like sitting there thinking, this guy deserves so much better.
CLEAN. I cannot stress this enough. I think that having a great kiss be your romantic climax is much more thrilling and much nicer to read than a pervy ol' sex scene... That's just me. I could read this book in public and never worry that someone would see what I am reading.
A nice story outside the love story. There's not a lot outside the love story, but there are some plot bits that keep one interested as well.

This book is great and I am glad I own it. Whenever I'm feeling like a "regency era romance", but don't want to take the time to read P&P or something (this book is a pretty quick read) I pull this out.

NOT a waste of time.

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Book Review: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
 
 I can appreciate what Spinelli was doing with this book. More so, I found myself in the uncomfortable postion of identifying with Leo, valuing fitting in.

 What I did not like was that it was predictable. I saw where it was headed quickly, and it did nothing to change the formula.

 It was a fun read but not one that I am likely to read again.

 Three out of four stars.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Well... usually I don't like depressing books with crap endings. Granted, this book was sad but not ACTUALLY depressing and the ending is way sad, but not crap. I would normal characterize the events in this book as such, but the beautiful writing and the raw emotion and amazingly real characters make this book awesome. It's sad, but it's supposed to be -- unlike a love story that ends in a bad way just 'cause the author is trying to make a point about how there aren't always happy endings in this world. Blah, blah, blah. :)

I was sad there was sex. I mean, c'mon. Is it the end of the world if someone dies a virgin?

There was also some language, but it didn't detract from my liking of the book. I mean, in all honesty I wish it wasn't in the book just because I feel like it's unnecessary, but it felt authentic and not gratuitous so that's something.

The characters in this book were well developed and real. I loved how they weren't perfect -- how they weren't shown as these amazingly perfect, loving, people but people who got angry at their situation and who felt despair and got mad at how unjust their cancer was.

Definitely worth a read.



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Book Review/ Blog Tour: Rapunzel Untangled

I am excited to share my thoughts with you about this new book, "Rapunzel Untangled" by Cindy C. Bennett. WELCOME! If this is your first time stopping by, I hope you will come back and welcome back to all of you returning readers. Thank you so much for coming (virtually) over.

On to the review: This book sucked me in and I was trapped (in a really good way) until everything was solved. WOW. Talk about intense. A lot of action, a lot of romance, a lot of fun.

This is definitely a dark book, so for the faint of heart: be aware! Trippy, nuts-o-cuckoos running the show, delving into witchcraft, and just being plain psycho add a lot of danger and intrigue keeping it all interesting. "Rapunzel Untangled" had really great pacing so even when I was just getting to know the characters, I was never bored.

The book starts off with a prologue where you see a woman staking out children at the supermarket. She sees a child near the apples. The child is beautiful and has long blonde hair even though she is only six months old. This speaks to the woman and paints the child as her target. Skip forward 17 years and we see Rapunzel -- a 17 year old girl with ridiculously long and thick blonde hair who is sequestered from the world due to an illness. Her mother (named Gothel... JUST Gothel) told her it is called SCIDs -- an auto immune disease. Rapunzel can never leave the tower and is told that the fate of the world rests on her and her hair. She cannot cut it -- she cannot leave.

Rapunzel is old enough to start yearning for some sort of companionship which finally leads her to meet Fab Fane. Who, can I just say, is a really fab character. He, of course, is our lovely prince... the knight in shining armor with golden eyes that takes a chance on a girl locked up in a tower and shows her the world.

I won't keep going... you'll have to read the rest for yourself, but I promise this book is definitely :

Be prepared to read "Rapunzel Untangled" when you have some uninterrupted time because you won't be able to put it down.  I am usually a fan of fairy tale re-tellings and I definitely was not disappointed. Cindy C. Bennett did a wonderful job modernizing the Rapunzel story and making the situations and details fresh and inventive.

If you like a little romance, if you like intrigue, if you like fairy tales, or if you're just looking for a new book to take a chance on then I say: Buy it, borrow it.... JUST READ IT!
OR! Follow this link to a Rafflecopter giveaway!!

A Girl Trapped in a Mansion . . .

A Mysterious Old Woman . . .

The Boy Who Will Change Everything . . .

Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C Bennett

Fab Fane Fannigan: Are you saying you live at GOTHEL MANSION??? The Gothel Mansion?

RG: My mother calls it Gothel Manor, so maybe that’s different?

Fab Fane Flannigan: No, Rapunzel, there’s only one that I know of. It has to be the same. Are you telling me the truth here?

RG: Yes, of course. Is it weird that I live here?

Fab Fane Flannigan: No, not weird, just . . . never mind. So you live in the tower?

RG: Uh, the tower? I don’t know. Is it a tower?

Fab Fane Flannigan: Yes, it is. I know where it is. I’ll be there Friday at 8.

Rapunzel sensed the difference in his tone. Something wasn’t right.

Fab Fane Flannigan: Rapunzel, promise me one thing.

RG: Okay.

Fab Fane Flannigan: Don’t Google your house.
　
Rapunzel is not your average teenager. For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet long. Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from certain destruction.

But then she meets a boy named Fane, who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she really is.

Filled with romance, adventure, and mystery, Rapunzel Untangled is one story you won’t want to put down. Discover the true meaning of love and friendship in this modern twist to the classic fairytale.

Rapunzel Untangled from Sweetwater Books February 12, 2013. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or at a bookstore near you!

Join the giveaway below for your chance to win one of many great prizes, including a Nook and an MP3 Player! (Domestic only. For international giveaway click here.) Nothing required to win other than signing in.

About the Author

  

Cindy C Bennett was born and raised in beautiful Salt Lake City, growing up in the shadows of the majestic Rocky Mountains. She and her husband - who happens to be her high-school sweetheart - raised two sons and two daughters. She's now blessed with two daughters-in-law as well. She developed a love of writing in high school when a teacher introduced her to the joys of escaping reality for ten minutes each day in writing.

When she's not writing, reading, or answering emails (notice there's no mention of cleaning, cooking, or anything remotely domestic), she can often be found riding her Harley through the beautiful canyons near her home. (Yes, she rides a Harley.)

You can find Cindy at:  Blog    Facebook    Twitter    Goodreads

 

Reminder!!! Blog Tour Tomorrow for Cindy C. Bennett's new book, "Rapunzel Untangled"

Reminder!!! Blog Tour Tomorrow for Cindy C. Bennett's new book, "Rapunzel Untangled"... there's a giveaway being done by Cedar Fort that is attached!

Book Review: Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield

Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield




I read this book as an ARC from NetGalley. I was impressed with the writing, the complexity of emotions, the feelings it invoked... I was also pleasantly surprised that a book from Harlequin wasn't... well, what I thought all Harlequin books were like. To be honest, when I requested the book I thought it was from Harlequin teen. I mightn't have requested it otherwise. For the most part I am glad I did.

Now, a warning... there is some strong language (the "F" word... twice? Maybe once or so more) and a brief.. scene... not terribly explicit, but at the same time it was. It just didn't go on and on.

This book ended with a twist. A mind-blowing twist. Loved that. I love to be surprised in books. It is sometimes easy to predict an ending (especially when there is foreshadowing) and that's okay, but it is really fun to read a book and be so sure you had it figured out and BOOM! You don't. You couldn't have even guessed. Or maybe if you go back you'd see clues, but never the first time through.

This book was set partly in the late 70's and mostly back in the 40's during the Japanese internment at Manzanar. The scene is set so well and the characters are vibrant and alive... the villains practically 3D.

In the end I didn't love the... message? this book sent. I can't say without giving away the ending, but for me I wish things had been different -- that people had been stronger. I also wish that justification wasn't so prevalent. However, it was terribly well written and heart-wrenching.

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The Winner is...

The winner of yesterday's giveaway is:

Karlene

You have been e-mailed!

Thank you all for entering. I'm so sorry the rest of you didn't win. I wish I could send you all a copy!

I hope you come back soon.

I will be participating in another blog tour this Sunday and there will be another giveaway attached through the publisher. It will be for Cindy C. Bennett's new book, "Rapunzel Untangled".

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!!

Thank you for entering the giveaway. I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning and contact you to get your information to get your free book sent to you! Thank you so much for coming by my blog. I hope you come back soon and I hope you all get a chance to read this fun book. Check out all of Shannon's stuff -- it'll definitely be worth your time.

BLOG TOUR: BOOK REVIEW: GIVEAWAY: Shannon Guymon's new book, "Do Over"

Do Over by Shannon Guymon (goodreads link)




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This book was......







SOOOO Good. I have read almost all of Shannon Guymon's books and this one was my favorite. I feel like it was also her best yet. The plot rose and fell a lot more than her other books and there were lots of different conflicts that kept me interested and kept me wondering. I also loved the love story.

There was a lot of romantic suspense and just when you thought things were working out, something else threw a wrench in the relationship. It reminded me of the book, Edenbrooke (if you've read that) in that there were lots of exciting romantic happenings that kept you squealing over and over again and tons of situations that just made you swoon a little and smile as you read. A very well written, CLEAN romance. And that can be very hard to find.

It was lovely to see all of the other characters from the previous three books in Shannon Guymon's "Alpine" series, though I kept thinking the whole time: tsk. Sophie!!!!!! (Read it; you'll see what I mean.) It's fun to read books with recurring characters because by the end you really get them and care about what happens to them. It's also fun to see how the characters develop over a longer stretch of time than one book typically reaches, and to see how everyone's story works out. It's nice to see that they get together in the end, but it's even nicer to see that they're happy months down the road. That's one of the reasons I love this series. You fall in love with the characters and then you get to see them again: like being reunited with good friends years later and getting to see how their lives worked out.

This book also introduces a new character, Iris. She's fun and spunky, she's taking a terrible situation and growing from it. You start to worry she's going to be a bitter chick and drive you nuts, but she surprises you and you end up loving her and rooting for her.


Then there's Trey (His name must be said with a sigh). Trey's character has been burned a lot, and he's the kind of character that deserves to find a great love interest. Sometimes in books authors write these practically perfect male characters and the female protagonist never seems to deserve him -- not this time! There's nothing annoying, obnoxious, or gag worthy about Iris and she definitely deserves Trey and vice versa.

This is definitely a book worth adding to your collection -- the kind of book I know I'll read again and again. It's the kind of book I know I can turn to whenever my spirits need a lift or whenever I'm in the mood for a sweet romance. A MUST read if you like a good romance without a lot of blush-worthy moments.

AND NOW! On to the giveaway... You have a few opportunities to enter your name into the drawing to win a copy of this book from Cedar Fort. You can do one, or all of these things. The more you do, the better your chance of winning!

First: "Join This Site".
For a chance to enter: leave a relevant/ thoughtful comment ON THIS POST about this review or another of Shannon's books. 
For another entry: BLOG ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY and leave a comment ON THIS POST (leave a link to your post in the comment) .
For another chance to win: post a link about this review on Facebook and leave a comment ON THIS POST saying you did.
And finally: visit Shannon's website and "Join This Site", then leave a comment ON THIS POST saying you did.

Only comments on this post will be entered into the drawing. The drawing will close at 10:00pm MST.

The winner will be announced TOMORROW morning! Please leave your first name and last initial if you have to comment as annonymous!

 Good luck and happy reading! 
 

Reminder: Blog Tour... Book Review... Giveaway. All happening TOMORROW

Hey everyone!!! Reminder about my review tomorrow of this ^ book. Shannon Guymon's new book, "Do Over". Come by tomorrow to read my review and enter a giveaway!!! Who doesn't love a chance to win a free book?!

Make sure you "Join This Site" and comment on TOMORROW'S POST to have a chance to win.

Blog Tour Day One: a Link

Shannon Guymon's Blog Tour for her new book, "Do Over" has begun.

To read the first review go here!!

AND there's a giveaway linked to it!

Free Kindle Book on Amazon

Another free Kindle book.

Your Happily Ever After by Dieter F. Uchtdorf








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