A man and a woman have moved into a small house in a small village. The woman is an “examiner,” the man, her “claimant.” The examiner is both doctor and guide, charged with teaching the claimant a series of simple functions: this is a chair, this is a fork, this is how you meet people. She makes notes in her journal about his progress: he is showing improvement, yet his dreams are troubling. One day, the examiner brings him to a party, and here he meets Hilda, a charismatic but volatile woman whose surprising assertions throw everything the claimant has learned into question. What is this village? Why is he here? And who is Hilda? A fascinating novel of love, illness, despair, and betrayal, A Cure for Suicideis the most captivating novel yet from one of our most exciting young writers.
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My Review:
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Reviews are encouraged as long as they're honest, but never required.
Well, at least I didn't spend money on it.
I didn't like this book at all. AT. ALL. I mean, I'm the last to scream about "you're telling, not showing!" because I can usually find something great about the writing style. This book is literally all telling, no showing. It's all dialogue. In 35 pages I counted about 3 paragraphs worth of actual prose. I read books, not screenplays.
It would be something if the dialogue was interesting, or showed us something about the characters. Nope. Boring, boring, boring. DNF.
Where the outlaws are out of this world...
US Marshall Sam Kyote has been sent to the dry old town of Coyote Bluff to recuperate from a top-secret government experiment that's left this law man a little...well, different. But Sam's about to find out that the town of Coyote Bluff has a whole lot of secrets. Most of which lead to Libby Mayden-the sexy, long-legged, and tight-lipped sheriff who saved his ass from an alien ambush.
The last thing Libby needs is a US Marshall poking around her town, especially one who's hotter than the Nevada desert sun. She can't let Sam find out most of her town are wanted outlaws. Between the aliens, the gunfighters, and a searing sexual attraction to Sam, she's in a whole heap of trouble. And Libby'll stride both sides of the law-and Sam-until she's forced to choose between self-preservation...and her heart.
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My Review:
I received this book from a Goodreads Firstreads giveaway.
So you all know I usually don't do romances. Or aliens. And tto be honest, wild west stories are not the first things I will pick up. Yet, the author did a pretty good job combining all three. It started off like something straight out of Agents of Shield, which got my attention. Sam started off pretty awesome, but then petered out a little into the unbelievable. The romance felt a little forced and waaay too intense for the emotional relationship that had been set up so far. The love scenes were not ridiculous, which was a nice surprise. And Libby was an awesome character whose emotions never felt out of place. I just can't get past Sam. Not only would I not buy this book, but Sam also cost the book points in the Developed Character category. Good thing the plot and flow of the book were on point--but my review remains at 3 stars.
New Consumer Tech: Smartphone Device Interfaces with the Human Brain
Sarah Whiting, young, attractive, techno-savvy homebody, researcher by trade, accepts a potentially lucrative offer to join a product/market analysis team that is performing the final evaluation of the believed technological breakthrough of the century before its release to the public.
New “Smartbrain” technology interfaces advanced smartphone capabilities directly with the human brain. But revelations about the technology's true origins, its potential consequence for the human brain, for society, and for this lonely backward planet, have Sarah second-guessing herself, and her sanity, when she falls for one of the engineers of the new tech and is suddenly swept into a dangerous ruse of deception, which may just be all in her mind, or may truly threaten the entire world.
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My review:
The author sent me this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked this book for about 180 pages. I enjoy realistic, predictive satire like brave new world or 1984 and from the blurb (and first 100 pages) I thought this would be along that sort of genre.
I was really really hoping that the foreshadowing wasn't as obvious as it seemed, and I was able to deal with the romancing bits because the rest of the concept was good and had so much promise.
But then aliens. Of all the directions this book could have possibly taken--aliens. Not for me. I put it down to go to the next book on my tbr list. But even though I DNF, the writing is pretty good. I just wish it had gone a different direction.
What if a whole race wanted you dead, where would you go? And what if you didn’t know why? What if everything you thought you knew about yourself was wrong?
One thousand years have passed since nuclear war wiped out civilization in the northern hemisphere. The planet slowly heats and water becomes a rare resource. Out of the ruins of a devastated civilization rises a new breed of people - those with the power to control magnetism. Teslas
Sebastian, a young orphan boy from a quiet rural town, is being hunted by strange part-machine, part-human people. His only hope is Melanie, an angry, dying teenage girl who is dragged into the adventure and sets out to deliver him to the Steam Academy, even if it's just to stop him talking. Seb must confront an unknown past and fight against everything he believed in. And occasionally wash his hair.
No one said it would be easy.
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My Review:
Disclosure: I got this book for free through NetGalley from the publisher. I'm not required to post any positive reviews--just honest ones.
The author's note in the description of this book lost me--I don't play Assassin's Creed. Luckily, you don't have to be a fan of the game series to enjoy this book. Unlike other reviewers, I don't think the scientific explanations were too over the top. We underestimate middle grade readers if we assume those explanations would take away from their experience of the story. Even as an adult, the writing kept me engaged from start to finish. Ever time I put it down I wanted to pick it up again instead of doing grown up things like work. The irony of reading this book on a cellphone wasn't lost on me, either; I found it funny. Sebastian was very well rounded and even his companion Melanie had depth in her own way--she reminded me a lot of Toph from The Last Airbender series. Lingane did a fantastic job with the story line of this book, pacing it so we didn't feel everything was resolved too early while keeping enough action throughout the book to keep it from getting stale and boring. This would be a wonderful addition to any classroom or library, and I'd definitely get a kindle copy for myself. As for a physical copy, I'm not sure if it's something my daughter would want to read just yet. When she gets to that age it'd probably be something I suggest to her on our weekly library trips.
Connor’s dead. But she can still feel him. Is it just her imagination or something more? Celeste wants to know. And she’ll stop at nothing to find out.
A once-aspiring artist, Celeste is going through the motions of life. She’s stuck – in a job she doesn't love, with a man who isn't right for her, in a web of painful memories from the past. Adding to her despair is the sudden and unexpected death of Connor, her true love. As she struggles to make sense of the world around her, strange coincidences and mysterious events lead her to question her sanity. When the happenings persist, she wonders if Connor’s spirit is trying to tell her something. Her jealous husband Dave insists it’s all just her imagination. But when Celeste’s young son has an experience of his own, she is determined to uncover the truth.
Join Celeste as she risks her marriage, her career, and her own safety to escape the demons from her past and unravel the mysteries of life and death. With so much uncertainty, there’s only one thing Celeste knows: her world will never be the same.
My Review:
My first thought when I started reading this book was "wait...Connor, the one true love, is an ex-boyfriend?" I was thinking he was an affair, or a reeeeally close friend that was her "almost boyfriend". But not an ex. It wasn't a bad thing, but certainly surprised me. Kahler wrote in a way that kept e reading not because the book was necessarily action packed, but because she expertly used foreshadowing that is unfortunately missing in a lot of books I read. I think most authors could learn a thing or two from Kahler.
Character review:
Celeste, as the main character, was obviously well rounded and had a lot of depth. I would have been disappointed if she hadn't. She was flawed, she was relateable, she was fun to read about.
Dave, on the other hand, felt like a plot device. Honestly he didn't really have any character development until nearly the end of the book.
Connor is a special case. You get an idea of his feelings and ideas, but as a spirit, "where there is no hate, only love and God and forgiveness" he had no flaws! I would have liked more on Connor when he was still human.
Star: I couldn't have enough of her. I want a whole book on Star. Maybe Connor and Star met up at some point in Rome? huh? Anyone? I'd read it.
Overall:
Kahler writes in a way that keeps you guessing about what will happen next--but your guesses are always wrong. She writes great characters in a voice that flows easily. Recommended for readers of romance, family tales, spiritual books, and friendly ghost stories.
My Rating: 4.5/5
