A well written romance/contemporary fiction that goes deeply into character. Although this is not an action book, I still couldn't put it down. I felt so much for the central character that I just had to know what happened and how he handled his challenges. This is a very real story about very real characters. Many people may find themselves or someone they know reflected in one or more of the characters. Recommended for anyone who likes character driven stories. This is so beautifully and deeply written that you could call it literary romance. I also read the second in the series and enjoyed that as well. It’s unusual for me to read such real stories, as I usually prefer fantasy and sci fi, so the fact that I read two books in this series is a good indication of their quality. More about the book: The Wishing Shelf Award: 'A totally engrossing, powerfully written family drama. A finalist and highly recommended.' Part One of the Wild Water Series. The tragedy and comedy … [Read more...]
Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Title: Beautiful Disaster Author: Jamie McGuire Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc. Contemporary fiction/ Coming of Age The characters in Beautiful Disaster are older teens, but I’m glad the publisher has marked this as adult (at least at Netgally where I got it from), because of the unnecessary emphasis on smoking, drinking, sex and violence. I’m cool with all that when it’s not over done, but not when the most action that happens is the characters getting drunk and throwing up. Unfortunately, however, teens are reading this book and it glorifies violence as a way of solving problems. This is contemporary fiction, not fantasy, so the violence is real. The hero is a guy who pummels people as his way of coping with his emotions. I’m not into censorship, but I am into responsible publication, and this story is a socially irresponsible publication for teen readers. It would have been nice to see the girlfriend at least not like Travis’s violence! But, no, she just accepted it as a … [Read more...]
Review: The Disenchanted Pet by Kate Policani
Title: The Disenchanted Pet Author: Kate Policani Publisher: Kate Policani Available now at Amazon and Smashwords Category: Adult/young adult Science Fiction/fantasy The Disenchanted Pet is pure Indie gold, one of those books that makes me really glad that authors can publish their work so easily these days. If that weren’t the case, I would never had read this little gem. It’s a good example of something that would never be picked up by a publishing house, not because it’s not good enough – it is in fact extremely well written - but simply because it doesn’t fit the narrow parameters of what the traditional publishing industry is looking for. There would have been no point in Kate offering it to even an agent and for many of the reasons that makes it so wonderful. It’s too short for it to be profitable in print, but a perfect movie-length read for the ebook market. It’s set in the future but isn’t your usual kind of science fiction. It’s thought provoking, one of the … [Read more...]
