Book Reviews
This is the main category for my book reviews. Every book I've reviewed will be listed in this category. If you wish to fine-tune your search, try searching by a specific category, such as cookbooks, fantasy, historical fiction, etc. (the category list is at the bottom of this page).
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Book Review: Spellbreakers
Author August Niehaus launches her new series, "The Library Attic Collection Presents" with Spellbreakers, a collection of a half-dozen stories. This collection reminded me a little of a Tardis, as it's much bigger…
- Action and Adventure, Book Reviews, Coming of Age, Dystopian, Historical Fiction, Realist Fiction, Suspense and Thriller
Book Review: Strawberry Fields
Strawberry Fields by Patrick D. Joyce My rating: 5 of 5 stars In 1968, I was a bookwormish fourteen-year-old whose biggest worry was finishing my math homework. In those insular, pre-internet times in…
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Book Review: The Husbands
I'm a sucker for a good book blurb. I know how hard it can be to write one that's short while also compelling. "Do you take this man? No? What about this one?"…
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Book Review: Starter Villain
I dove straight into Starter Villain just after closing the third book in John Scalzi's "The Dispatcher" series. It wasn't too much of a jolt, as the author's voice is so strong in…
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Book Review: Travel by Bullet (The Dispatcher #3)
While Scalzi always does a great job of coming up with something really unusual for his characters to grapple with, he really outdid himself this time.
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Book Review: Playing With a Full Deck
Playing With a Full Deck: Stories of Hope in Hard Times: An Aces High, Jokers Wild Collection by O. E. Tearmann My rating: 5 of 5 stars Now and then, loyal readers of…
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Book Review: Suck a Little Happy Juice
Whether you're a fledgling author or a seasoned one, this book is for you. Even if you've 'gone traditional', you'll get a lot out of this book of advice, written by an author…
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Book Review: The Dispatcher #2, Murder by Other Means
I love how Scalzi created a concept and then explores all its possibilities. I was darkly amused by the entertainment possibilities of experiencing death just for the thrill of it.
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Book Review: Legends & Lattes
Our protagonist, Viv, is an orc who’s grown weary of the fighting life, so she retires to the city of Thune to build a coffee shop. Amusingly, no one in Thune even knows…
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Book Review: The Dispatcher
A big concept in a small story. That ratio is perfect, since we the readers are expected to not only accept an absurd phenomenon, but embrace it. We're not alone though, as the…
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Book Review: Fueling the Appetite: Poetically Speaking
Poetry carries connotations of romance and seduction, and what can be more romantic than indulging a chocoholic with poetry about chocolate… while enjoying chocolate?
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Book Review: Alpha Bette
What a strange book. Enjoyable, but odd. With each new chapter, we change the point of view, rotating through what's happening with eight characters, all just trying to get though the day.
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Book Review: The Old Place
With a lot of trimming, this could make a fine novella. But it's just too much of an unfocused wander for a long read in a large book.
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Book Review: Love, Factually
Did I expect the author of The Brothers Jetstream and Afro Puffs Are the Antennae of the Universe to take on the Hallmark Romcom Movie genre this holiday season? No, I did not.…
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Book Review: Him
When author Brian Gotta first offered me a copy of Him, I wasn't sure if the book was for me. The synopsis sounded sweet; the story of a dog's predicament, told by the…
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Book Review: The Lavender Companion
Often a book that tries to be a cookbook and also incorporate advice and information beyond recipes only succeeds in padding out the page count, but not really delivering solid, usable information. That's…
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Book Review: Riddles and Riches
This is book two in the Vegas Chantly Mystery series. I didn't deliberately skip the first book, but my love of puzzle solving pulled me directly into this one first. The blurb tempted…
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Book Review: Fireside Warmers
A cookbook for people who enjoy the outdoors and love life! There's plenty of camping cookbooks out there, but this one should quickly rise to the top of the heap.
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Book Review: Lucy Burdette’s Kitchen
I enjoy reading and using cookbooks based on favorite movies, TV shows, and books. It's a fun and practical way to expand my enjoyment of fictional worlds. Lucy Burdette's Kitchen does almost everything…
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Book Review: The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill
The ability to make bargains with the supernatural is a compelling notion. Whether the bargain is made with a jar of graveyard dirt, cat bones, a photograph, and yarrow buried at a crossroads,…
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Book Review: How to Train Your Human
How to Train Your Human: A Cat’s Guide by Babas My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve been owned by a formidable Russian Blue for a dozen years now, so you can imagine…
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Book Review: The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger
If you like reading about the birth and growth of a successful business, author Lynsi Snyder, the current president of In-N-Out, shares her company's entire history - which is tightly bound with her…
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Book Review: Lost Kingdom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars Laurel Black has created a fantasy tale with a nail-bitingly difficult and twisty quest, multi-faceted dual protagonists, and an impressive array of secondary characters. And, she believes…
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Book Review(s): Three Painting Books from Leaping Hare Press
My thanks to Leaping Hare Press for their over-the-top generosity. When I won a Goodreads Giveaway copy of Painting Cats, I didn't expect to receive a total of three painting books (Painting Cats,…
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Book Review: Divinity 36
Divinity 36 by Gail Carriger My rating: 5 of 5 stars Is there anything more frustrating than enjoying the first book of a series, only to then find out that the rest of…
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Book Review: Halloween Treats to Make and Bake
At just 32 pages long, and loaded with brightly colored illustrations and photographs Halloween Treats to Make and Bake" is a cookbook your novice baker won't feel intimidated or overwhelmed by.
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Book Review: Gothic Coloring: Color Your Dark Side
Mindful patterns to immerse in are a beautiful way to sluff off a stressy day. Adult coloring books are popular enough that there's something for everyone, and if you have Gothic tendencies, you…
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Book Review: Ansible 15715
A story so powerful and horror-filled that I'm grateful it was only 21 pages. But it served its purpose by showing us the extreme downside of a technology that allows travel to other…
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Book Review: The Thai Cookbook
If you enjoy Thai food and want to try your hand at making it yourself, this cookbook is a good place to start. There's a wide variety of dishes for every skill level,…
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Book Review: Discount Armageddon
The first book in the InCryptid series is also my first introduction to Seanan McGuire, and it's certainly not going to be the last book of hers I read. In fact, I can…