This is a very interesting book...
Our main character is producing a study on human decision-making. It starts off with an MRI and then goes forward to telling you that you have to make a decision between three boxes. One of the boxes will have $1,000,000 in it, one of the boxes will have $1,000 in it, and the other box will have nothing. We do not know which box has what. In a week's time the main character must come back and make their decision. During this time the main character has to sit in jury duty in a case involving manslaughter. Throughout the week as they are serving jury duty they sit and ponder on the human decision-making process. Okay first off, this book is very heavy on the scientific and legal terms and jargon. It also has extremely long-winded descriptions which make it difficult to make your choices when you are choosing your own adventure. I think that shorter descriptions and choices would have been preferable. I also want to point out that this book is extremely difficult to enjoy the way that it was supposed to be enjoyed, in ebook format. Obviously it's a little more difficult to flip through the pages when there are no pages to flip through. That really kind of killed the experience for me. 😞 However this book is definitely well-researched. The entire book is very much your own study in human decision-making which I think was exactly what the author was trying to convey and, if that is so, he does it very well. Overall this is a very interesting book. Not quite sure if I liked the choose-your-own-adventure aspect but I didn't hate it either. I most definitely did not enjoy this book as an ebook but would have preferred a paper copy. And I would recommend this in paper copy form to those who like a little bit of literary fiction.
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Brutal...
Stephanie Ann Allen takes us on a journey through her life and the struggles that she has had with multiple mental illnesses in this memoir. Let me start off by saying that I can relate to it all... the psychosis, the childhood bullying, not fitting in and feeling awkward, the alleged rape, the delusions, the weight gain, the depression, the self-mutilation, the suicide attempts, all of it. I have indeed been through it all as well. I will be candid here and say that I share some of the same diagnosis as the author who wrote this book. But this book isn't just about me and it's not just about the author. This book is a testament to the things that we face, that we fear, that we struggle with every single day of our lives. As people with mental illness our lives are not easy. Simply seeing things straight most days is not easy. We are constantly battling with our own minds and thoughts. The author is a very brave individual to share so much about herself and her struggles. As a book itself I feel that it needs a few finishing touches and final polishes to make things a little easier on the readers and the target audience of the book: If you don't relate to the narrator in any way you will find the writing very dry and raw. The book could really do with some filler and/or dialogue as it is just straight facts written here. As a reader looking in from the outside it is hard to build up emotion for the narrator when it is written in this manner. That along with the bold, block text makes it very difficult to read. This book is not an easy read to begin with as some of the points that are brought up are heartbreaking to say the least. It is quite unimaginable that one person could go through so much and still come out on the other side. I always look up to individuals who are able to do that. To the author of this book I say that you are a very strong and beautiful individual. I thank you for sharing your story with us. ❤️ Stunning... An age-old curse is unleashed when Franci dresses up as her favorite movie star and now it is up to her friends to find a cure. Through magical worlds and mythical beasts, will they be able to find a cure and save their friend before it is too late? Okay let's start at the beginning here. Let's begin with the cover art. I think the word that I used "stunning" refers mostly to the cover that you see when you first pick up the book. Brilliant use of color and hints of magic behind every corner. You can almost smell the earth and water mingling together as you stare at the design. This book flows well from beginning to end with no chop when the characters are traveling from world to world which is very difficult for most authors to do but somehow this author pulled it off. The creatures that she describes in this tale are more than magical they are imaginative! And the world that they live in seemingly takes your breath away. Still, I feel like I am missing something by not having read the first book (as this is the second book in the series). The author writes obviously strong characters but they are seemingly built up in the previous book which I have unfortunately missed. But never fear with this novel, because by the end of page 50 you are so enveloped in the story and the characters that you want to continue to read. And indeed are rewarded for doing so. Absolutely phenomenal book inside and out. I would definitely recommend this book to all fantasy fans or those who like a good epic adventure. Amazing storytelling... Corinne is a skeptical little girl who does not believe in the magical beings that inhabit the island along with her and her village people. But when they become larger than life itself, it becomes difficult for Corrine to deny the fact of their existence. Masterfully written, this Haitian fairytale comes to life in vivid color as the author takes you on a well detailed journey of love and discovery. Very well put together and thought out this book is both easy to follow and a very enjoyable page-turner. When you think of a strong female character you usually think of a female in a woman's body, not in a child's. However this book somehow pulls off both. The strong female lead is absolutely inspiring. And somehow the fact that she is a child makes her story even more believable. When faced with insurmountable odds a child will always stand their ground for the ones they love. I absolutely enjoyed this book. I found it more than entertaining. It was delightfully unique and coming from an adult's perspective I enjoyed it as though it were an adult's novel even though it is written for those much younger (ages 8 - 14 approximately). I feel like many other adults would agree with me in appreciating the wonderful work done on this book. Despite its fantastical premise the message is classic... love conquers all! ❤️ Beautiful book! This is a book that I would recommend to children of all ages! Excellent 👌...
Loosely based on the tale of The Little Mermaid, this book follows the journey of Isla, a young mermaid who is banished from her kingdom but instead ends up saving it from an evil plot. My first thought on this book is that it should be a film. I'm serious. A full length feature film with big Hollywood actors and the whole caboodle. It is rare that I come across books like this but when it does happen I like to say so. The author should definitely think about turning this into a script and selling it. The only problem that I had with this book was I wanted to see a little bit more of the worlds. Everything else was very well described and very well put together but both the human world and the merfolk world seemed to be lacking in description. Other than that everything else was amazing. The writing was descriptive enough to make it interesting but blunt enough to get the point across without having to repeat scenes over and over again. The story line was very well-thought-out and very well put together. The characters were very well developed and by the end of the book you find yourself cheering for the victors. Speaking of the ending, I thought it was particularly lovely the way the author decided to tie everything up in a neat little bow. And I mean that truly. The ending was perfectly sweet and also very well done. This is definitely a book that I would recommend to others. Alice has a seemingly perfect life. But for the memory of her dead husband and her current husband never really being able to fill his shoes, all is well in paradise. She has the cars, the house, the children, and the best friend. Or does she?
Okay I liked this book but there are a couple of small problems with it. Granted I am reading the ARC edition, but I doubt that something like this they would have changed in the first edition. The problem that I had is the world building and detailed descriptions. Simply put, there is none. One minute they're in London and then the next second they are in Tokyo with not even a hint of description. Not about the airport, none about the flight, no detail whatsoever. This happens throughout the book and in my personal opinion needs to be fleshed out a little bit more in order for the reader to completely immerse themselves into the story and the book as a whole. I also think that the sex scenes could have been fleshed out a bit more. If the author had gone into a little more detail it would have added to the steaminess of the story itself and fed more to the reader's emotions. This book is literally just a straight story. There is no detail to wrap it up and there is a lot of dialogue in the story. Which is totally fine and it works for this type of book but it leaves the reader wanting a little bit more to the story. The other pet peeve that I had is just a personal one and that is in the beginning Alice continues to go on and on and on about her ex-husband who has passed away to the point where it is an obsession. I'm sitting here reading this thinking "why on Earth has she gotten married again? It's been 10 years and you are remarried girl you need to move on!" But then you get to the ending and it kind of all makes sense the way that the author wrapped up the ending in a nice little terrifying bow. Although elements of the ending were frightfully predictable, I still found it a bit surprising when it finally got to the portions where the final revealing was happening. So it was indeed written very well on that point. The characters were also very well developed and by the end of it you really do feel for what happens to each of the characters at the final standoff. All things considered I'd say this was a pretty good book. I would recommend it to those who like a romantic thriller. Written by Liz Crowe
Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows is an interesting, well-edited novel of magical realism in the style of Harry Potter and others up to and including the title of the book. It is set in the middle grade of a young man’s life in So Cal, contains plenty of characters of color (if they are a bit stereotypical) and tells the story of how this young man comes to find out his destiny as descendant of a long line of powerful magicians. The first third of the book is a lot of telling and world-building and lacks the pace of the second half. The conflict storyline is reminiscent of a super popular Marvel movie one (bad guy wants to eliminate a lot of the horrible people clogging up the world using powerful crystals) but presented in a middle grade way that is creative. Most of the female characters (mom, potential girlfriend, savvy older wizard, bad chick in leather) are one dimensional and, as a fan of “realistic realism” I wasn’t a huge fan of Thomas’ picture perfect relationship with the adults around him. But perhaps a more teenager-like Thomas will appear in later books in the series. It’s an imperfect, yet intriguing romp of a magical kid-based story that HP fans will enjoy. 3.5 stars ** spoiler alert **
This is the hardest review I've had to write to date. This review is going to be a little different from my normal format and I will try to articulate my words as best I can. It's 1976 in Sao Paulo and Karen and Rick have just been married. They plan to live a long and happy life together filled with love. But when they are abducted from their bedroom early one morning in May and charged with a phony drug charge, they are plunged straight into hell. For 45 days they endured imprisonment along with starvation, torture and rape. When they are finally released from their wrongful imprisonment their lives are anything but happy. Everyone tells them that they must be silent about the traumatic events that happened and about being imprisoned as a whole. With no one to turn to and no comfort to be found, the happy couple now finds their marriage crumbling into pieces as they drift further and further apart from each other. Yet somehow Karen has managed to survive all of it and to tell us all her story in this volume. I personally find myself unable to find the proper words in the English language to express the gravity of this book to you all. This book did more than tear my heart out. To be quite honest with you all it gave me nightmares. It even made me physically ill at some parts. And yet it is a beautifully written and remarkable story. The fact that this was indeed a true story written by the woman who went through it all makes it even more brilliantly remarkable. I believe that this book and books like it stand as testament to the strength of the human soul and the perseverance that we can all achieve when put through the lowest circles of hell on Earth. This book will most definitely rock you to your core! It will make you question humanity in yourself and in others. Karen Keilt writes her story so vividly and paints the pictures so well that she puts you into her very own shoes. You are right there in the cell with her. Waiting for your next meal of sour rice and rotted meat. Counting the bugs crawling all over your skin. Sitting there waiting.... waiting for the monster to come again and take you. This is not a book that I would recommend to everyone. The simple fact is that there are people who are not able to stomach the subjects brought to light in this book. But for the ones who can read it, I commend you. This is not an easy read in any respect. It is however very educational. A note to the author: Karen, I can barely express to you the deep felt sorrow and sympathy that I feel towards you. You are an amazingly strong person. Obviously stronger than you knew. Even reading your story I'm sure does not give it justice. But perhaps it brings you some closure. I hope that it does. People know your story now Karen. It's not a secret and you can talk about it. I hope this is a comfort to you. I wish I could give you a great big hug and tell you how strong you are that you made it through. Just know that your story will probably be with me for the rest of my life. I will never forget reading your book. You are an inspiration my dear. Please know that. Yours truly, Tamara |
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