Saturday, August 30, 2014

Good Together (Carrigans of the Circle C #2) by C.J. Carmichael

This was a really emotional story. Mattie has been married to Wes for 20 years, their twin daughters have gone off to college; you would think that now that their daughters have left they would have more time to do the things they used to talk about.

But, Wes blindsides her by telling her, he's leaving; just like that, no why no, nada. After 20 years of marriage, Wes acts like a coward and just leaves. Mattie is heart broken and in pain, she believes that things will work themselves out, that Wes is just going through a midlife crisis. After Thanksgiving when Wes doesn't show, Mattie has to tell their daughters that Wes has left her.

Mattie eventually learns why Wes the Weasel really left and is furious and shattered. Worse, Wes has the nerve to act like Mattie hunting his lying ass down is an inconvenience. Through all this Mattie has the support of Nat, a friend and neighbor, and really the best and sweetest guy ever. Mattie and Nat's friendship evolves and eventually they do get their happy ending, even if Mr. Such a Sweet Guy needs to be knocked up the head.

I also like that towards the end we learn Wes has had it rough and somehow I got the impression that he had a lot of regrets for ending his marriage.

What really bugged me about this book is how long it took Mattie to lawyer up, especially after all the cheap shots Wes took. Remember ladies, if your husband says he's leaving you that you guys can talk later, don't believe him, run to the best divorce lawyer you can find, hell's, speak to every divorce lawyer you can find. Even if not hired, once you consult with an attorney there is a conflict of interest if your ex tries to go to them. 

The story was very realistic and therefore made it enjoyable. Things like this often happen and I felt that Ms. Carmichael did a great job in capturing these types of events. She did a great job of creating relatable characters and life events.

Rating 5 out of 5
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Courtney Crumrin: The Final Spell by Ted Naifeh

This is the final volume in the series. Courtney, with the help of her former teacher Calpurnia is on the run from the Coven. Things look bad, especially when she thinks even her uncle Aloysius has turned on her as well. 

The ending has such a great twist and the art is incredible, very goth. The writing is good, the story is engaging and captivating. This was a good ending for a series and for some reason I feel like there may be a new series for Courtney in the future.

Rating 5 out of 5
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Thursday, August 28, 2014

Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3) by Robin Perini

What do you do when your super smart little sister disappears and the only clue is a note, you are 100% sure your sister didn't write?

If you're Deb Lansing, you go ask for help from the good looking, former cop, bartender. When Deb's little sister Ashley disappears, this tough as nails, former Army pilot teams up with Gabe Montgomery to find her sister.

Gabe is currently working undercover, but when Deb comes to him for help, he'll do anything to help the woman he's been crushing on for months. Soon, Gabe learns that his investigation is intertwined with Ashley's disappearance and a murder that happened many years ago on the night his father fell from grace.

Deb and Gabe end up running for their lives, trying to stop a major conspiracy and save the day. The story was good, the characters, despite their very over the top skills were likable. The only thing thing that I did not like, is that we don't get enough details on the villain; here he is pulling what could be considered the greatest crime in history and we know nothing about him other than he like Gucci. If you like action packed, crime solving books, you should check this one out.

Rating 4 out of 5
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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Age of Darkness Volume 1 by Patrick Shand

I love villains, they always have such great, twisted back stories, not to mention they get really cool colors and they always sound so dramatic, oh and best of all they always have really cool powers.

So, this book follows the return of the Dark Queen and her quest to eliminate all the highborns. It was good, the graphics were great and my favorite was by far the scary tooth fairy. She eats human teeth and she also eats human bones. How awesome is that? 

The Grimm Fairy Tales graphic novels put a fun and grizzly twist on the characters Disney made too frilly. Definitely get yourself a copy and continued to check out this series.

Rating 4 out of 5
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Monday, August 25, 2014

Legends of Red Sonja by Tamora Pierce, Mercedes Lackey, and Marjorie M. Liu

I think the most funny part in this book was when Gerd, one of the minor story tellers in this book suggest to Sonja that wearing a metal bikini as armor, saying that it will make her faster and that it will distract the enemy because they'll be too busy looking at her curves.

The story follows a group of bounty hunters on the hunt for Red Sonja; through their journey, they encounter many people who tell them about her greatness and her exploits, not knowing that Sonja has following them along and picking them off one-by-one; she's been leading them to where she wants them.

The entire book is basically an entire collection of short stories, it was an okay book, not great, but okay. Would I recommend it, you bet your iron bikini I would. It's always great when a woman kicks some he-man ass.

Rating 3 out of 5
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Lady Rawhide Volume 1 by Eric Trautmann, Joseph Michael Linsner (Illustrations), Milton Estevam (Illustrations)

Think El Zorro, but instead of man, a woman in a skin tight outfit. This was entertaining, it follows an old west style storyline set in Old Mexico; which based on the story is the period following the Mexican-American War. Lady Rawhide, whose name actually fits because with that outfit she'd have ridden her hide bare on a horse, is a vigilante trying to help the people of Mexico being oppressed by a corrupt government. 

The story was appealing and fun; it had everything that make anything old west related fun; the guns, the horses, the bandidos, the dirty army and the one honest soldier. I would have added more depth to the characters, like El Capitan and The Sisters of the White Rose.

My only problem with this novel was her outfit, it didn't even have any support for her breast, guys won't get this but even running without some support will hurt; other than that it's definitely worth checking this one out.

Rating 3.5 out of 5
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Friday, August 22, 2014

Keeping Her (Losing It, #1.5) by Cora Carmack

This is continuation of book 1; like, obviously its #1.5 in the series.  Loved it, this book is short and gives you the meet-the-parents horrors. 

There's very little to no drama in this mini-novella but it's all good, we get a little follow-up to the popped question. Perhaps the most important thing of this book is that it answers so many questions about Garrick's family in England.


Rating 5 out of 5

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Thursday, August 21, 2014

The Crow: Pestilence by Frank Bill, Drew Moss (Illustrations)

This story basically feels like it starts in the middle of something we get no real back story for and its basically 80 pages of killing, killing and more killing. The story focuses on a cartel in Juarez, Mexico and drug and human trafficking.

The story follows Salvador a boxer who was going to be paid to take a dive, but instead screws his payers over, wins the fight and tries to flee with the money. The catch up to him and they kill him, and take his wife and son. Salvador comes back from the dead to exact his revenge as the Crow. The characters were very one dimensional and lacked any real depth. So I personally did not like this book, because there is nothing that makes you want to root for the main character.

Rating 2 out of 5
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Mastered: 10 Tales of Sensual Surrender by Various

Why is this book great? Hmm, let me think. Oh Yeah! This book is great because its a compilation of 10 relatively short stories that really deliver for their genre. Granted, some stories are more likable than others, but that's up to the reader. So if you have only room for one more book in your eReader, go with this one, you'll get 10 in 1.

Rating 5 out of 5
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The Stories
  • Three Secrets by Opal Carew
  • His Secret by Portia Da Costa
  • Remastered by Madelynne Ellis
  • Working Out by Marie Harte
  • The Scientific Method by Joey Hill
  • Juicy by T.J. Michaels
  • No Limits by Kate Pearce
  • Ink Reunited by Carrie Ann Ryan
  • Unfettered: An Overwatch Story by Sasha White
  • Bondage on 34th Street by Emily Ryan-Davis & Jennifer Leeland




Monday, August 18, 2014

Black Science, Vol. 1: How to Fall Forever by Rick Remender (Writer), Matteo Scalera (Artist), Dean White (Colorist)

This book collects BLACK SCIENCE issues #1-6

Think Reed Richards if he was a prick and ran around on Sue Storm. Grant McKay is a super brilliant, genius scientist who has done what every science geek out there dreams of [not time travel, but close]; he has created a way to travel through the multiverse [suspense music here], they call it the onion in the book, but I’m sticking with multiverse.

For 10 years he has been neglecting his family and working like mad, for 8 of those years he has been cheating on his wife [this always comes into play later on in any series, so keep it in mind]; McKay has been building the Pillar, the device that makes it all possible.

But, something has gone horribly wrong [can’t say I didn’t see that coming] and now McKay, his two kids, his mistress [also a scientist on his team], his team and the corporate guy are all stuck; travelling from universe to universe with no way home.

The book ends in a cliffhanger to get you hooked; but the reason the book lost points with me is that in the first 10 pages they kill of two members of the crew, McKay keeps going on and on with his kids about how he’ll get them all home and everything will be okay in their family, and in the meantime while his kids are one room down, he’s with his skank.

The main character is too unlikable for my taste; but other than that, the concept is great, it has infinite potential and the illustrations are just WOW.

Rating 4 out of 5

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Rocky & Bullwinkle by Mark Evanier, Roger Langridge (Illustrations)

If you were a kid in the 60's you may have grown up watching the "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", I was not around way back then, but I did grow up on the re-runs and I loved that show. I loved how Rocky could never place Boris's voice and how incompetent the spies were.

Well, this book stays true to the format of the episodes, except, of course you have to read. We get all the silly puns and the narrator's commentary and cliff hanger ending and suspense filled intro's. There is a lot of text on each page, so a lot of people might not like it.

I loved the book, words and all, the illustrations are the same style as the cartoons, so I say grab yourself a copy, you won't regret it; plus you can get all nostalgic.

Rating 4 out of 5
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Saturday, August 16, 2014

Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer by Dusty Higgins

Netgalley provided an ARC that only goes to the halfway mark of the book [bummer]. Well, the first half of the book was good. Picture this, Pinocchio and Gepetto survive the great whale, but Pinocchio is still a wooden boy, Gepetto begins to warn Pinocchio of the great evil that is coming; but what does Pinocchio [who is still a bad boy] do, he ignores the warnings and Gepetto gets killed by vampires. As they're about to kill Pinocchio he tells a lie and pierces a vamp, turning him to flames, then dust. Now Pinocchio becomes a good boy and sets off on a quest to kill all vamps.

At the halfway mark Pinocchio becomes a real boy and the ARC cuts off, but it left me with such a cliff hanger that I'm now gonna have to go and buy; yes go, as in go to a store, if I have to buy it I want a nice hard copy.

The novel is all black and white, but it totally works with the vampire and old world motif its rocking. So this is definitely a fun read.

Rating 4 out of 5
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The Devil in Denim (New York Saints #1) by Melanie Scott

This is one of those sports meets romance novels. Alex and his two best friends, Lucas and Mal love baseball, until tragedy struck back in college and they had to give up on playing the sport. So when their beloved New York Saints [not sure if that's a real team, not very attuned with sports here] are up for sale, they team up to buy them.

Maggie is the only daughter of the Saints owner, she grew up with the team, her dream is to one day be CEO of the team just like her dad. She has spent year getting degrees in business and sports management, all working toward her goal. So when her dad sells the team and doesn't even tell her [I know right, what a prick], Maggie is crushed.

Alex needs Maggie on board with the sale because if the League doesn't approve the sale and the players are not happy, things can go bad, real bad. Well eventually all those late nights working together, lead to some real chemistry.

The only thing I did not like was the ending, it felt to rushed, would it have killed the author to throw an "I love you" in there. Since this is only book 1 in the series [book 2 will be Lucas' love story] I'm sure we'll see more of Alex and Maggie.

Rating 4 out of 5
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The Poor Man's Guide to Suicide by Andrew Armacost

The story follows Wesley Weimer; he has 2 kids from different marriages, used to be big guy on campus back in high school [still can't get over his glory days] and is a real prick.

His parenting style is up there with Peter Griffin [you know from Family Guy]; he thinks his daughter is fat
and in the book he actually says he doesn't like his son, then he goes on to say maybe I love him, maybe I don't. That right there made me dislike him even more.

All of his problems stem from him finding excuses not to better himself and then blaming the world for his short comings. The reason he didn't go to college is his father's fault, then his wife, then his kids, then the dog's. Like man up, if you really wanted to go you could have gone.

I couldn't even like the ending because rather than saying he'll try harder to improve himself and focus on positive things, he says "I lowered my expectations"; like really.

I gave this book a 1 because the character is so despicable, you can't even sympathize with him.
Like sewing drugs into his kids backpack so he could frame the ex's boyfriend and get custody, real great parenting right there, just wow; if this were a real kid in real life, there are no words to describe the amount of therapy he would need later on. The character should have just gone ahead and killed himself.

Rating 1 out of 5
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Thursday, August 14, 2014

DC Entertainment Graphic Novel Essentials and Chronology 2014 from DC Comics

This is a user guide basically, tells you which books are must reads and which books follow in what order. So this is a must, if you want to easily find great new [well not so new for some of them, some of the must reads are classics that by now, I have no doubt many have read].

Anyway, definitely worth checking this one out and keeping; it makes a nifty checklist.

Rating 5 out of 5
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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Genesis: From Creation to the Flood by Jason Quinn, Naresh Kumar

Well, it was only a matter of time before they turned the Bible into a graphic novel; maybe they'll also do the Ramayana; anyway back to this book, I am not a religious person, but I still found this book enjoyable.

So the book goes from creation to the flood [says it in the title]. In the first section "Creation" God creates the world in 6 days and rests on the 7th.

Next we have Adam and Eve in paradise and then eating from the forbidden tree and being cast from paradise and eventually having children.

Then we have Cain and Abel, personally I like the Supernatural version better; Cain kills Abel to save him from Lucifer and damning himself instead; way better than big brother killing little brother out of jealousy.

Adam and Eve eventually have another son, Seth and his descendant Noah builds the Arc that God tells him to. 

The book was entertaining reading it as pure mythology, the illustrations were decent so no complains there. The dialogue was simple which I'm guessing is a good thing, if the market this to Sunday schools [not sure if those still exist and if they do, poor children][note I'm not religious whatsoever, I'm hardcore on the evolution side of the debate] and parents with young children.

Rating 4 out of 5
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Monday, August 11, 2014

My Hunger (Inside Out #3.2) by Lisa Renee Jones

Well, Mark is still reeling from the death of Rebecca; his life is falling apart. He ends up having to go back to New York on a family emergency and is back in contact with Crystal, whom he puts in charge of his San Francisco gallery.

If you remember "The Master Undone" he has brief thing with Crystal, after finding out that Rebecca is dead [although her body still has not been found] and things look like they might get rekindled between Crystal and Mark [which I really hate because I'm hoping that in book 5, which will focus entirely on Mark, that they find Rebecca actually alive].

I love/hate this series, its too much having to wait for the remaining books to be published.

Rating 3 out of 5
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If I Were You (Inside Out #1) by Lisa Renee Jones

Think 50 Shades of Grey with a mystery thrown in there and that’s If I Were You.  

Sara McMillin is a teacher on summer break who gets a key to a storage unit she must clear out, and what she finds in that unit is a series of journals belonging to Rebecca. Sara begins to read them and is then enthralled in Rebecca's story; when the entries end, Sara decides she wants to know what happened to Rebecca. 

Sara embarks on a journey to retrace Rebecca's life and find her.  

This is book 1 of the series and this series will captivate you and make you run rampant with theories. I'm already waiting for books 4-5 of the series and all I can say is  hurry up with the release, that’s how captivating the series is.

Rating 4 out of 5
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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Desmond Pucket and the Mountain Full of Monsters by Mark Tatulli

What can I say? This book is absolutely genius. Mark Tatulli is the guy who does the Lio cartoon strips for the newspaper [if you don’t know which one that is, it’s the one with the adorable little boy that has a pet squid, or is it cephalopod], anyway, his illustrations, or cartoons since it is a kids book and illustrations sounds too grown up are incredible.

The story follows Desmond Pucket as he tries to save the “Mountain Full of Monsters” ride at his local amusement park, while at the same time getting the attention of the girl he’s sweet on [he’s a 6th grader so its ok].

With the help of his friends Desmond sets out to make enough money to give the monsters a new home; because hey, what kind of monster lover lets them get blown up? Using his love for monsters, he sets up a “Scare for Fun” business [smart kid, hard worker], because remember, you never scare to be mean, that’s not cool, he makes $500 do give as many monsters as possible a new home.

I would recommend this book for basically anyone, but technically it is a kid’s book. The story is written simply and combined with the illustrations [sorry, cartoons] it makes it very engaging for young readers. So let’s round up the little monsters [I mean kids] and get them reading.

Rating 5 out of 5
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PS. Below are some of the pictures from the book I absolutely loved.

PPS. Also some quotes that made me laugh.

Don't Get Lazy, Get All The Way To The Bottom

“YOU CAN’T HAVE A PLAN UNTIL YOU MAKE A LIST!”






And even 6th grade boys are so clueless when it comes to girls. [not a Desmond Pucket quote]







She said YES!!!







If I wasn’t so into monsters, shadow-ducking would be my second career choice.


“Monster Magic, Inc.” is an equal opportunity scarer




“And you can read all about it in my memoirs.”




Friday, August 8, 2014

Beyond Love and Hate (Wardham, #3.5) by Zoe York

Sweet short story. Beth is looking for Mr. Right + Commitment, Finn is looking for Ms. Right-Now because he is a major commitment-phobe. Beth and Finn have known each other for about a year they have a hate-hate thing going; except Beth is secretly attracted to him and Finn only pushes her buttons because he likes her [how sweet, it'd be even cuter if he was pulling her hair in the school yard].

Well, eventually Finn has to pull his head out of his ass and admit that he loves Beth and that a forever with the girl he loves, won't be as bad as he thinks it will be [again he has a lot of issues with commitment and kids, he thinks they're messy, read the story this will make more sense]. 

Beth and Finn eventually work things out and things turn out nicely; the story is enjoyable and the characters are likable, they're amusing and despite being 3.5 in the series, you don't actually have to read the other books to follow the story.

Rating 4 out of 5
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Thursday, August 7, 2014

One of Us by Tawni O'Dell

Dr. Sheridan "Danny" Doyle hasn't been back to his hometown in 12 years; having had a terrible childhood filled with abuse and neglect, he went on to become a successful forensic psychologist. Despite his great success, he is still the tormented by insecurity, panic attacks, the horrific death of his sister and the mental breakdown of his mother years ago.

When Danny gets a call that Tommy, his grandfather and the only good person he ever had in his childhood is sick, he returns to his hometown. On his first day there he finds a body near the Lost Creek gallows, on his third day there, another body is found and the mystery comes way too close to home. Teaming up with Detective Rafe; they set out in pursuit of the killer and the truths about his own family and his past.

As you start reading, it becomes really obvious who the killer is, but the story is very engaging and captivating, that you just can't put it down. Because, even though you know who the killer is, you don't know the why and that is what gets you hooked. Anyone who enjoys a good mystery will like this book.

Rating 4 out of 5
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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Alex + Ada Volume 1 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

Really promising series. Alex is your typical guy, he broke up with his girlfriend a while back, he still hasn't moved on. Then for his birthday, his grandma [every cool gift always comes from a grandparent], give him an X5 robot. These are very human like looking and people sometimes use them for you know [at least that's what Alex's grandma uses her's for].

So the story basically follows the dilemma of should robots have freewill to go along with their artificial intelligence and so on. For the beginning of a series it looks interesting, because you start to see that Alex is developing feelings for his robot and then you wonder if given freewill, will Ada [the robot] respond to Alex's feelings.


Personally, I would not give a robot freewill [Skynet anyone], they will turn around and enslave humanity and they will win because they're stronger. These science fiction stories are fun, they always make you think about the rise of the machines.


Rating 3.5 out of 5

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Monday, August 4, 2014

Taken (Give & Take, #1) by Kelli Maine

Ugh, no, no way. 
Merrick's company offers Rachael a job remodeling a hotel on a private island, when Rachael turns down the offer because of her mom. What does Merrick do? Oh, he just drugs and kidnaps her to try and convince her to take the job and maybe start a relationship with him. 
Then pretty much immediately she develops Stockholm Syndrome and she like falls for him, but holds back a bit. 

The storyline makes no sense, but if it's one of those physical romance book, where as long as the interaction is steamy the  story doesn't have to make any sense. So I guess for its genre it delivers entertaining reading. 

Rating 3.5 out of 5
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Friday, August 1, 2014

One is Enough by Love

Matsumoto meets Mizushim one day by accident and its love at first sight. Matsumoto feels very conflicted about his attraction to Mizushim since they're both guys. Through the story Matsumoto learns to accept himself and his feeling.

What I didn't like about the story is that Mizushim is an ass, who blows hot and cold. Another reason the story lost major points with me is that it felt too rushed and too blah, whatever. Overall, the story was eh, at least they both end up together.

Rating 2 out of 5

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Rocket Girl Volume 1: Times Squared by Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder (Illustrator)

Dayoung is part of the New York Teen Police Department "NYTPD", when she learns that her present "2013" should never have existed, that someone went back in time to 1986 and changed the past to create the future she now knows, she goes back in time to set things right.

Dayoung's 2013 is like a dream, they have flying cars, rocket packs, the works; the only problem is, that future should never have existed. If anyone remember Back to the Future II, where the Doc tell Marty that the 1985 they've returned to is a tangent of the created and some point in the past; well that's Dayoung's 2013, a tangent created in 1986 when someone went back in time to alter things.

In 1986 New York is crap, especially when you compare it to the New York of 2013 in the book; so Dayoung has a lot of adjusting to do.

Although the concept has been done before, time-travel is still very good, as the possibilities are infinite. I look forward to reading the continuation of Dayoung's adventures in restoring the timeline.

Rating 4 out of 5
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