Review: Unforgotten by E.M. Vail

Unforgotten by E.M. Vail

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! Another one that kept me up til the wee hours of the morning.

Before I begin, I need to disclose that I picked this up quite a while ago from BookRooster.com which doesn’t seem to exist anymore. I feel it is my fault, in a way, as I can only review so many books a month. But I download many, many per day and had at least 25 of the BookRoosters lined up. I am sorry to all authors who awaited my review. Even so, I will get to all of them, eventually. I only ordered the ones that sounded like my kind of books.

Look, I gave this five stars in spite of the bad editing. I am hoping that the new Kindle version (which, by the way, is free on Kindle Unlimited and only $2.99 for regular Kindle) is well edited. As I understand it, this is a first novel for the author, E.M. Vail. In that case, WOW!

Prologues are usually nonsense. I ordinarily don’t like them. They are a distraction that doesn’t pull the story along. In this case, I can say that when the story bogged down it was the curiosity about that prologue that kept me reading. I wondered all it would all come together.

The best thing about this book is how well developed all the characters are. Okay, I must admit that some of the dialogues felt stilted. And some of the actions or thoughts felt unfitting. But if one can keep moving regardless the story is fantastic. And as you fall in love with the characters and worry for their lives, keep a box of Kleenex handy. Around 90% in you will need them. And the pay-off of the prologue comes in the epilogue. Now you’ve come full circle and know why.

This is more than a coming of age book about three friends. This is a story of neighbors and the web of life for all. It is a full sized novel that I am happy I was given the chance to read. It could honestly be a good movie.

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Review: Time Walker by Meghan Ciana Doidge

Time Walker by Meghan Ciana Doidge

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book through BookRooster.com. I received it after Spirit Bound by the same author, Meghan Ciana Doidge. Whereas Spirit Bound stars a strong adult female lead, Theo, Time Walker stars her young adopted child, Beth. As Beth grows up before our eyes, I learned to like her. But mostly I got tired of how she seemed–well, immature. Mooning over her brother while another adoptive brother mooned over her, whining about her lack of talents or gifts of magic.

Okay, I am not the audience this book is aimed for. But I think this may have been for the middle-grader, not even for a young adult, much less for a 65-year-old who wishes she had learned to time walk. There were parts of this book I liked, but I wish it would have had more of the Spirit Bound, Theo, in the story. She does show up after dealing with the aftermath of an Earthquake. But I missed her spirit.

Don’t take my word for it. I have been looking at the other reviews and most are of higher praise than mine. I might just be in a mood or something. I will try to read more by this author. I think I would like to meet Beth as an adult and see what she’s has made of herself and her abilities.

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Review: Atlantis Riptide by Allie Burton

Atlantis Riptide by Allie Burton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have always wanted to be a mermaid. I lived for my time in the water. I never understood my friends who spent hours working on their tans when a perfectly good body of water was there calling me. In late grade school, early junior high, my brother and I walked three miles over a hill. We stopped at the bottom of the hill where my aunt lived so we could get a drink of her Sparkletts water then continue our walk to the pool. There we would pay our first dime for the first session of swimming (I think it was an hour and a half) then we’d dry off and hang out in the park until the second session. Then we’d pay our second dime and swim some more. After all that swimming we would walk back to our aunt’s for another drink then attack that three-mile-hike over the hill. I loved summer and all that swimming! A secret I learned later was that our aunt would call our mom each time we stopped so that Mom would know we were okay. Thank goodness I wasn’t raised now. I can’t imagine not having that kind of freedom. Anyway, I say all this because I still wish I was a mermaid. The only difference now is that I cannot handle cold water with my fibro. I miss swimming so much. Thereby, I read.

I must have really wanted to read this book. I picked it up twice from BookRooster.com then once again for free on Amazon. (It is free right now.) The version I read was the BookRooster as I can listen and read on the same machine (MoonReader Pro). By the way, I don’t know what’s up with BookRooster site. I can’t seem to find it so I won’t be able to post the review with them. Anyone know what’s up with them?

Back to the book. It is a Young Adult/Romance. Romance is the part I hate most. For all the angst wondering about the love interest, this mermaid could have been swimming and enjoying the flora and fauna beneath the waves. More time could have been spent talking about the freedom there is in swimming, the sensations of water as the body slices through it. But the author did give me the best gift: if you are a mermaid you don’t notice the change in temperatures. Your body can stand the cold of deeper water or the heat of being near the volcanic vents. Now I wish I were a mermaid even more. Oh, and if a mermaid breathes into an air breather more than 5 times an air breather can then live in the water as a merperson. Where do I find a merperson to do this for me?

Romance or not, I was happy that this poor mermaid found a friend who cares for her since her life didn’t seem to have much of that. And having this extra person to help her opens her life for new experiences. I don’t know if my writing is coming across rather haltingly, I am trying not to give spoilers. Hope I succeeded at piquing your interest in reading this book without giving too much away.

This book is part of a series, but the book didn’t leave the reader on a cliffhanger. Whew! I was glad about that. It did leave me wanting to see what happens next. So as soon as I can afford it I will pick up the next in the series. My inner mermaid needs more!

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Review: Spirit Binder by Meghan Ciana Doidge

Spirit Binder by Meghan Ciana Doidge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love BookRooster.com! I have discovered so many gems this way. Books I might not have been able to afford or wouldn’t have known about otherwise. I have nearly one hundred books on my queue starting way back in 2013. This one came to me about that long ago. Yes, I am slow to read all they send me, but they don’t seem to mind my ADD of books.

For a while, I only read my BookRoosters on my Moon Reader Pro. Now I find I can send by email to my Kindles. I love MRP because I can read and listen on the same device. But with the emailed one, I can make sure to get the books sent to my tablet or any of my Kindles. Sure, I have to listen on the older Kindle while reading it on my tablet or Fire, but it reminds me to read it more quickly as I can see readily all the books I have waiting my eyes on the carousel.

Now for the book itself. Spirit Binder feels to me an Epic Fantasy as there is magic, and swords involved. Not my favorite genre of fantasy, but, with the main character a strong female, I felt more inclined to get involved in the story. I know there are those who LOVE Tolkien. Not me. Too many warring men. Just not my kind of story. Theo is gusty and smart. Though the book starts with her at a disadvantage, having forgotten the last ten years of her life, she claims back her own bit by bit with all the love and power she can–and that’s quite a lot!

Luckily, BookRooster sent me book two so I can follow up in the near future. How cool is that?

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Review: The Art Faculty by P. J. Vye

The Art Faculty by P. J. Vye

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I picked this e-book up from BookRooster dot com quite a while ago. Sorry that I am just now getting to it.

This story was unique. It started out with a recently orphaned teen. I liked her right away. Since it was so long ago that I was sent this book, I couldn’t figure out why I got it. I just kept reading. And even though it was written in the present tense, and in the first person, I got used to it. It wasn’t long into the story that I saw that the story was a science fiction. Space flight, other worlds. Yay! My kind of story!

Look, really, this got me as it was the right-brainers, the creative, musical, artistic, and dramatic save the day. How often does that happen in sci-fi? And the main character is a female and she is the hero though not in her own mind. Yes, there is a bit of romance, but it isn’t the guiding force. I hope I haven’t given spoilers. There is so much in this seemingly quiet story. Action takes over the end of the story. Meanwhile, get to know what the main character is going through. There was so much that I could relate to.

I hope P. J. Vye, the author will get this out for the general public. This would have been a favorite story for me as a teen. There are others who will love it, too!

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Review: Special Offers by M.L. Ryan

Special Offers by M.L. Ryan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this fun book through BookCrossing dot com. I put off reading it for a long, long time. Why? The title and the cover. Even the blurb didn’t make me want to read it. But I am so glad I finally did!

It is only vaguely about Special Offers. What it is is a humorous paranormal story. When I started reading it I couldn’t stop. I needed something light to read as my husband was in the hospital and I was in the middle of a fibro-flare. So I couldn’t be at the hospital with him. Instead, I started this book. What a joy!

The characters M.L. Ryan invented were wonderful. Haily, the main character, is quirky and fun. She isn’t a hopeless romantic, she is practical and has a sharp wit. That romance happens in the deal is felt as rather coincidental. The rest is quite the adventure!

Even though I picked this up from BookCrossing, I want you to know it is free for Kindle on Amazon right now. I recommend it for adults, as there are a couple scenes that might be too racy for young adults. I picked up another copy so I could read it in my other readers when I feel the need of the fun ride again.

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Review: The Exemeus by Folami Morris

The Exemeus by Folami Morris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up this e-book about two years ago from BookRooster.com I’m glad I finally gave it a shot. This was a fun ride.

It starts in a dystopian future when a nerd, forever the recipient of the wedgies and other tricks of the bullies. It doesn’t take long to like this kid. In spite of himself, he is a smart yet patient young man.

Without going into spoilers… hmmm…how to do this? Well, he ends up with a journal that his mother kept back in our days. Through this and a few other happenings, we see how much he is like his mother and we watched his magic bloom.

Well, that didn’t give anything away, but it doesn’t seem all that exciting. But it was! I really loved the characters, even the bad guys. They were all well fleshed out. The plot was an interesting take on the dried up meme of dystopia.

When I get new books that aren’t from Amazon I usually download them to my Moon Reader Pro where I can read along with text-to-speech. That way I don’t need a light like I do for my older generation Kindles. MRP is backlit like the Kindle app on my Tablet or on the Fire. It was a very fast read. I was sucked in right from the beginning and didn’t want to let it go until the end. Sleep and other needs got in the way of the read.

There is to be a book two. I can’t wait to read it. I didn’t feel this book left me with a cliffhanger. We know how THOSE bug me! I guess the only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because there were places that I felt there were holes in the story, that things had been left out with little segue between parts. I managed to pick up the threads but felt unnerved by how it was done.

By the way, It is now $.99 on Amazon for the Kindle version. Not bad for a great bit of entertainment!

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Review: Olivia’s Trek by D.M. Sharp

Olivia’s Trek by D.M. Sharp

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I picked this up from BookRooster for review for free.

First of all, I need to warn you that there are probably triggers in this book for those who might have been through rape or self-harm or addictions.

Second of all, there are a lot of typos. The book needs a good editing.

The saving graces of this book, at the story, and the characters. But many times it turned into a counseling brochure and became just a little bit unreal. Another saving grace, though, were a few of the tricks that the counselor teaches the patient. I actually had them help me a couple times since I read this. So it’s worth the read.

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Review: Season of Lies by Monica Shaughnessy

Season of Lies by Monica Shaughnessy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclosure: This book came to me via BookRooster dot com in exchange for an honest review.

Another disclosure: I had just finished the writing a review when my tablet froze and lost the whole thing. I know it was much better than this one is going to be. Isn’t that the way it is?

By the way, if you are looking for ways to find new books to review, BookRooster gets you fun free ones.

I have had this book for a few years. It is embarrassing to know I have had it that long. Still books don’t spoil while sitting on the shelf waiting for eyes to read them.

Okay, now about the book itself. Though it seems to be a fantasy, girl who has hidden talent, it is a contemporary young adult book. The main character can communicate with animals … or has a mental illness. Possibly killed her brother. Yikes!

As you get to know her, Robin, the main character, grows on you. She is sweet, sensitive, and strong. As you watch her growth you can hardly wait until she come into her own life. I loved all of this and it kept me reading.

What I didn’t like was the accents. This might come across okay to the silent reader. But for those of us that use text-to-speech it is not only annoying but confusing. Even when I haven’t needed to ‘listen’ to my books, this kind of thing is distracting from the main story. I read it on my Moon Reader Pro which sounded foolish at times as it tried to figure out how to pronounce those contracted words. Because of that, I had to pay attention to the written words as I went. Not a great one to listen to on the road or while busy doing other things.

Anyway, I don’t want to discourage anyone who might want to read the book. You might have a better time with it than I did. And I am curious to read other works by this author.

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Review: Sunspots

Sunspots by Karen S. Bell
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I’m sorry. I just couldn’t get into this book. The first chapter was okay. I felt sorry for the main character as she lived through her losses. But mostly the rest was memories of her falling in love with the cowboy-lawyer or whatever he was. I just didn’t like the characters and the writing was so boring that I was looking for other things to read. So thanks. But no thanks. Not for me. I see that others loved it so it must be the kind you love or hate. There are books for everyone and all moods.

By the way, I picked this up for free from BookRooster for honest review.

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