To the Point

Guest Post: Alex Stargazer, Author; 17

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 22:06:00 +0000

Hello everyone at To the Point! It’s my pleasure to be your guest blogger today. But—perhaps some introductions are first in order?

Who I Am

I’m a writer—of fantasy, of romance; of all that brings creativity from me, and wonder to you. My nom de plume is Alex Stargazer; in life I am known as Alex Bujorianu (there’s a mouthful for you).
Of interest to you may be my age: seventeen. Yeah, that’s right—I’m still a teenager. And with a 500 page novel under my belt, along with a short story, and an upcoming novella, you could say I’ve a bit of experience doing what I do.

I’m also a poet. I write classical poetry, mostly (I do love my archaisms) although equally my topics tend to be modern.

What I’m Here For

I’m here to talk about my book: the Necromancer. It’s 500 pages (as mentioned) and it’s about... a Necromancer. More specifically, it’s about the vengeance of a betrayed soul; of the horrors wrought by the powers of necromancy; and it’s about a girl. A mere apprentice, unwittingly charged to stop this great evil.

If that sounds interesting, here’s the blurb:

From the fires of deceit, he was reborn in ice. His name bequeathes fear into the mighty; and death into the meek.

Meet Neshvetal: a being of darkest magic—beautiful, powerful, and eternal. Or so he thinks...

What About... Being Seventeen?

Here’s a shocker: I’m seventeen now, but I released it when I was sixteen, and began the first draft at fourteen.

I’m not sure how I ought describe the experience. Mostly, I felt... compelled, to write the Necromancer. It is the product of years of hyperactive imagination, musing, and hidden desire.
It wasn’t easy. There were at times when I was doing over an hour a day, nearly every day—and that’s on top of my schoolwork. I spent most of my summer holidays working on it. And I doubted myself—doubted whether I could do it, whether it was any good... whether I could ever reach the level I dreamed of.

But, I finished it. And people seem to think it’s pretty good. What can I say? I’m flattered.
But most of all, I feel that the Necromancer has started me on a road that—while long, and possibly arduous—will yet bring me to a place I could never have dreamed of.

Perhaps I’m just being romantic. But I don’t think so.

If You’re Interested...

Check out the Necromancer on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23436152-the-necromancer

You can also buy it on Amazon—or, if you prefer, my blog has links to several other retailers.

It's a Book Blitz! "Disintegration" (The Todor Trilogy, Book Two) by Jenna Newell Hiott

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 05:30:00 +0000

Just a few months ago, Jenna Newell Hiott released the first installment, Revelation, of the Todor Trilogy. Today, in an effort to help get the word out about this epically fantastic series and support Jenna's independent sophomore effort, To The Point joins with Sage's Book Blitz to help highlight today's title. There's no review today, just the book description, author bio and some links to guide your way in case you found yourself interested in learning more about 'Disintegration.'

Official Book Summary:

Aerie has fallen and the land of Todor is on the brink of war. Famine and decay have touched every corner of the land. If Todor is to survive, Gemynd, Numa and Soman must fully embrace their powers, even as they continue to uncover more secrets and lies. Can Soman survive the aftermath of his role in the destruction of Aerie? Will Numa’s love for Gemynd endure even after she sees the horrors of the Iturtian pit? And is Gemynd his father’s puppet or his protégé? The betrayals of the past weigh heavy, but can the three move beyond them in order to work for the good of Todor? Or will their inability to forgive propel them into war? Thundering toward an epic conclusion, Disintegration is the second book in the Todor trilogy. In it, author Jenna Newell Hiott paints a stunning portrait of humanity at its rawest, giving a revealing glimpse of how it fares when everything teeters on the brink of destruction.

Author Bio:

Author, healer, all-around kook, Jenna Newell Hiott boasts of having

a limitless imagination, unless it’s nap time. While many of us had an imaginary friend as children, Jenna had an entire imaginary family—complete with a second set of parents and three siblings—all of whom lived in a make-believe world of Jenna’s own creation. One could say she’s been writing fantasy fiction since she was old enough to use words. And she never outgrew it. Out of this hyperactive imagination, Jenna created the land of Todor: a world of magic, intrigue, and power plays.

Find out more about Jenna and The Todor Trilogy:

'The Golem and the Jinni' by Helene Wecker

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Horner) — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 17:39:00 +0000

Official Summary:
In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

A View Into ‘The Golem and the Jinni’:

Do you love myth, love, beytrayal, and the wiggling uncertainty that comes with historical fiction? 'The Golem and the Jinni' by Helen Wecker might just be your next favorite book:

“An immigrant tale that combines elements of Jewish and Arab folk mythology, The Golem and the Jinni tells the story of two supernatural creatures who arrive separately in New York in 1899.”

The setup immediately piqued my interest, and I wasn't disappointed. The Golem and The Jinni is whimsical and sometimes dark, but it focuses on characters first. The story twists and meanders a bit, yet finds its way to what I think is a satisfying end. There might be disagreement between some readers concerning the ending, which is a sign good storytelling. If nobody cares, then a story hasn't achieved much. Arguments and re-reads are the symptoms of a well-told story.

Helene Wecker’s tale of human myth and love make up for any perceived faults with a heart, soul, and a crisp writing style that shifts depending on what character the story follows. The depth of Helene’s research is impressive. She notes as much in the back of the book, but it’s very apparent by the details of the voyage across the Atlantic and those early days the Golem and Jinni spend (apart, at first) in New York City circa 1899.

Bottom Line: As a painstakingly crafted story of love, immigration, and folk mythology, 'The Golem and the Jinni' is a great way to pass the cold winter nights while wrapped in the worries and wonders of seemingly real fictional characters.

Contributed by Kyle Horner

'The Paper Magician' by Charlie N. Holmberg

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 15:10:00 +0000

Official Summary:
Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic…forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

From the imaginative mind of debut author Charlie N. Holmberg, The Paper Magician is an extraordinary adventure both dark and whimsical that will delight readers of all ages.

Review:

'The Paper Magician' surprised me. It was one of those books that thanks to the magic of Amazon suggestions became an unavoidable mainstay in the store, in the online suggestions carousel and on the dreaded Kindle advertisement screensaver that I'm both too cheap to get rid of and loathe to dismiss due to its (unfortunate) benefit. Amazon really wanted me to read this title but it was $11 - not much when your know what your buying but on a brand new author's brand new series, well, now we're starting some strange internal conflict*. But eventually I broke. Amazon worked its magic and after nearly two months of having it constantly shoved in my face I lost my resolve around midnight someday near Christmas.

Given the story above I'd have every right to be a little peeved with Amazon for winning yet another round of "will she read it?" but I should know better by now. The all-knowing Amazon suggestions algorithm was right, again, and so I'm here to tell you that this book was, actually "...an extraordinary adventure both dark and whimsical that will delight readers..."

Bottom Line: Not only did I shell out the $11 for the privileged of reading 'The Paper Magician' but I was so in love with it that I immediately picked up 'The Glass Magician' and have 'The Master Magician' in my cross-hairs for swift purchase when it gets released into the wild on June 2nd of this year. If you like reading anything with even a little bit of whimsy you'll love these books.

*Usually along the lines of, "$11!, I don't need to spend that much on a book... an electronic copy of the book at that. That's insane!" followed by, "Yeah, yeah, yeah - I get it. But the whole point of reading this stuff is to enjoy it. Not torture yourself with crap just because it's cheap." Round and round we go on that for a while until I usually tire myself out and pick the least expensive book on the wish list, or one of the host of books collecting dust on my home screen, a.k.a. the TBR pile.

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'Off to Be the Wizard' by Scott Meyer (Book 1 of Magic 2.0)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Official Summary:

Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard. What could possibly go wrong?

An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.

Review:

With a kitschy title, an 8-bit cover graphic and playful description I just couldn't resist - can I go so far as to say this book won me over because it's adorable? Of course I can because my blog = my rules. Can't say that a book is adorable too often... in fact this might be the first time in my entire life I've gone and done that. Although, come to think it, I'm not in the business of reviewing children's books. It probably comes up a lot more in that genre. So, let's all agree that the word 'adorable' isn't used much with books marketed to adults and leave it at. (/tangent)

'Off to Be the Wizard' is not a stuffy, inaccessible nerd-fest like you might want to think. Heck, I almost missed out because immediately following the thought that this title was totally adorable (see above) was the thought that anything this cute has got to be so heavily infiltrated with geek references that I wouldn't be able to get past a few pages without wanting to hurl it against a wall.* In fact, the author does a great job at keeping the story light without letting it float away.

My one and only complaint is for roughly 30 pages, the middle of the book borders on the edge of fluff filler. So much so that I almost feel like it could have been cut out completely without consequence to the overall storytelling. Outside of that though, the title starts and finishes on high notes that kept me interested and I'll probably be throwing book 2, 'Spell or High Water' onto the T.B.R. pile.

Bottom Line: 'Off to Be the Wizard' isn't just a cute cover with a catchy title. It's a good story with a surprisingly thought provoking premise. If you've ever attended a comic con, PAX or something like it, then I think this title is right up your alley.

*Proverbially of course - I can't go hurling my Kindle against a wall. It might break, and then I'd be sad.

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Fan-fiction: Formal Apology

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 16:40:00 +0000

In yesterday's post I gave an F to the entire genre of fan-fiction and I would like to publicly admit that I was wrong. I was reminded by Sean Huxter, friend and author of Loose Change, The Black Blade, and (illustrative to his point) Doctor Who fan comic, The Second Key that I don't in fact hate all fan fiction.

In fact I love some Doctor Who fan fiction - it's fun, quirky and more importantly, there's plenty of believable space in the world of the Doctor for this kind of writing to make sense.

I'm still pretty sure I hate everything else, though, or is there something else I'm forgetting here? Sound off in the comments below!

Rambling Thoughts on Fan-Fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 20:21:00 +0000

Like many of the mistakes I talk about here on T.T.P, this one started off with a television obsession. Namely, the CW's Vampire Diaries - a teenage vampire, night time soap opera, which would be terrible if not for the fact that I, for the sake of honesty will admit, absolutely love. I was sold on it from the first episode and in classic style, managed to chew through an entire catalog of the 120 episodes currently available in little over three weeks. I should be embarrassed but I did it, so no harm in admitting it now I suppose.

I'm not telling you this to persuade you into the same demented marathon watching I engaged in, but to convey how deeply engrossed I'd become. I was a lost cause. Have an hour to kill? Throw on another episode! Start a new book? Nah... I'll just stay up until 2 AM and finish up season three, thanks. Let's just say it was an unhealthy addiction and after that kind of binge let's just say that withdrawal ain't easy.

So I did what I've always done - I sought out the books it was based on. Well, that was mistake number one because at least where T.V.D. is concerned those books are so incredibly different that it's hard to consider them as even occupying the same relative spaces. For starters, characters not only look entirely different but act differently as well. We aren't talking substituting a tertiary character for another or an eye color on a protagonist here. No, the TV show is a full blown re-imagining of a crappy novel that shares little more than some names while it loosely borrows a few plot points. Without the original to fall back on, I made what I now recognize as being the worst move of all - I downloaded some fan-fiction.

Ah, fan-fiction. An entire arm of literature born from adoring fans who can't be sated on the original content of a book, movie or television show alone. No. These rabid followers go one step further and feel like the only way to express their love is by taking creative control of the characters. In some cases it's to 'fix' a plot point that they felt was handled poorly and write up an alternative ending. In some cases it's a way to keep the story going for themselves and their group of like minded readers. In all cases, I can't stand the stuff. I knew this.

I downloaded it anyway...

...and it only took a page for me to realize what kind of train wreck I'd made myself audience to.

But did I stop? Of course I didn't! I read all thirty three pages of some of the most poorly written garbage I'd ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on*. Just know that every missed capitalization of a proper noun, every misuse of the words their, they're and there, every grotesque editing error was noticed. Pile that onto a story that was, for lack of a better description, absolutely freaking terrible, and I was shaken. How could this exist? Not all fan-fiction is this bad is it?

Well, I'm here to tell you that it is. Not based on this one title alone. Oh no, no, no my dears, I wouldn't ever make such a sweeping judgment of an entire genre based on one title and that's because when this one turned out to be so terribly pathetic I read three more. Yes. Three. All by different authors mind you. Every single one was a steaming pile of literary poo.

You probably think I'm a bit crazy, and while that's probably a true statement, this venture through Kindle Worlds did do two things for me. The first was that it cured me of my T.V.D. addiction, (at least enough so I'll be sated with the new weekly episode). The second? Well, this adventure has shown me the darkest depths of the Kindle store. Thankfully, I recognized it as a mistake early on and managed to escape relatively quickly. But do yourself a favor - if you ever find yourself with an itch you think that only fan-fiction can scratch you'll probably be better off sitting down and writing your own. Not only will you get the story you want, but with the bar set so incredibly low, you can kick it over to Amazon and make yourself a few bucks in the process.

This belongs to the entire genre of fan-fiction.
Be gone, foul beast!

*In an effort to be kind I'm not going to mention the author or title of the work here, just know that I didn't stumble into the Kindle store and download the first thing I saw. I took my time and downloaded one of the highest rated titles with a ton of glowing reviews. Outside of that, my only criteria was that it was based on the television program and not a spin out from the book characters which turned out to be the easiest part of the whole thing: Turns out I'm not the only person whose absolutely revolted by the books but loves the program. Go figure.

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'When I Found You' by Catherine Ryan Hyde

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Official Summary:

While duck hunting one morning, childless, middle-aged Nathan McCann finds a newborn abandoned in the woods. To his shock, the child—wrapped in a sweater and wearing a tiny knitted hat—is still alive. To his wife’s shock, Nathan wants to adopt the boy…but the child’s grandmother steps in. Nathan makes her promise, however, that one day she’ll bring the boy to meet him so he can reveal that he was the one who rescued him.

Fifteen years later, the widower Nathan discovers the child abandoned once again—this time at his doorstep. Named Nat, the teenager has grown into a sullen delinquent whose grandmother can no longer tolerate him. Nathan agrees to care for Nat, and the two engage in a battle of wills that spans years. Still, the older man repeatedly assures the youngster that, unlike the rest of the world, he will never abandon him—not even when Nat suffers a trauma that changes both of their lives forever.

From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes When I Found You, an exquisite, emotional tale of the unexpected bonds that nothing in life can break.

Review:

Let me start off by saying that if it weren't for Kindle First* I wouldn't have ever heard of, never mind downloaded, 'When I Found You'. It's yet another Prime benefit that helps keep my reading list longer than it needs to be and filled with a more diverse breadth of genres. If it weren't for the services like this one, Kindle Unlimited and the Lending Library, the infamous to-be-read pile would look more like that of a Vampire Diaries fan girl then it already does... and that's (probably) saying something***.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a book review, not some free lip-service for the retail giants, so let's get on with it.

'When I Found You' is rightly billed as an emotional read, but is it "exquisite"? In a word, no. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty good and worth the journey, but I wasn't floored by it and I certainly wouldn't use a word like exquisite to describe this particular fiction. Like many others I found that the characters came across as one dimensional and lacking any sense of passion. Even then, the story itself wasn't attention grabbing though the plot has enough going on where it kept me interested.

Bottom Line: 'When I Found You' is a great, middle of the road kind of read. It's an interesting story founded on a compelling idea, but the delivery seems to be missing something that I can't quiet put my finger on so I'll just say that it feels a bit empty and leave it at that. Overall, worth the time if you're usually into reads like 'This is Where I Leave You' and 'Pearl' - although, my opinion is that both of those titles are better than this one - or you love crappy Helen Hunt movies.

*If you haven't heard of Kindle First then let me break it down for you: Do you have an Amazon Prime subscription? If you don't, you do your primary reading on a Kindle and you're constantly looking for new titles then you should. It's a little known benefit where Kindle owners get to choose two** titles from four pre-selected early releases each month. It's a great way for lazy readers (like myself) to keep that to-be-read pile insurmountably high.

**Ah-ha! So you've heard of the program and you could've sworn that you only got one title a month, right? As of 2015 Amazon is now letting us lowly Prime subscribers increase our monthly haul to two of the four instead of just the one. Pretty exciting stuff, I know.

***Does this really surprise anyone?

'My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag... and Other Things You Can't Ask Martha' by Jolie Kerr

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Official Summary:
The author of the hit column “Ask a Clean Person” offers a hilarious and practical guide to cleaning up life’s little emergencies

Life is filled with spills, odors, and those oh-so embarrassing stains you just can’t tell your parents about. And let’s be honest: no one is going to ask Martha Stewart what to do when your boyfriend barfs in your handbag.

Thankfully, Jolie Kerr has both staggering cleaning knowledge and a sense of humor. With signature sass and straight talk, Jolie takes on questions ranging from the basic—how do I use a mop? —to the esoteric—what should I do when bottles of homebrewed ginger beer explode in my kitchen? My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag proves that even the most nightmarish cleaning conundrums can be solved with a smile, the right supplies, and a little music.

Review:

Can a how-to about cleaning be chock full of useful tips and funny? The short answer is a resounding yes! The longer one is that Jolie Kerr manages to deliver a no-nonsense but chuckle inducing step-by-step home cleaning guide for the masses with 'My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag...' - a title that by itself is attention grabbing and fun.

It's not often that how-to's are reviewed on T.T.P., and this is the first none-wedding planning title to make the cut, but it needed to be shared. Kerr's slightly self deprecating, tell it like it is style makes you feel as though your getting advice from a good friend and not reading it because your a disaster of a thirty-something whose never heard of laundry bluing and the amazing thing it does for your whites.

Bottom Line: If you've ever found yourself at a lose when faced with a mess, a yellowed shirt or just need affirmation that your using the right stuff on your floors, this slightly off-kilter guide should be in your arsenal. Doesn't matter if you consider yourself a clean freak or a slob, this one gets a T.T.P. guarantee. You'll like it, and you might even pick up a few new tricks for keeping the kipple* at bay.

*For those that need a definition, well, it is my humble opinion that you should read 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' Really. Add it to your list now. Thank me in the comments later. In the meantime, the definition as provided by Urban Dictionary:

Kipple is a word coined by the remarkable science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. It refers to the sinister type of rubbish which simply builds up without any human intervention. Eventually, one day, the entire world will have moved to a state of kipplization.

'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' by Jeff Kinney (Book 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Official Summary:
Boys don't keep diaries—or do they?

The launch of an exciting and innovatively illustrated new series narrated by an unforgettable kid every family can relate to.

It's a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary.

In book one of this debut series, Greg is happy to have Rowley, his sidekick, along for the ride. But when Rowley's star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend's newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion.

Review:
Let me start out by saying that I never actually intended on reading 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid.' It just kind of happened. You don't believe me, do you? That's okay - you try ignoring the same title in the Kindle Unlimited top whatever for months and we'll have a little snoop in on your reading list. If the allure of all the nearly free titles aren't clogging up your to-be-read pile with questionable content in just a couple of days I'd argue that your using the service wrong. Yup. I went there. No. I'm not sorry.

Well, maybe a little bit sorry. But only a little. And only because now you have to suffer through a review of what is arguably one of the worst titles I've ever read. How is this crap so popular? Not only does it inhabit some strange space between a comic strip and a Roald Dahl novel - and I've gotta say that even having this garbage even spark the memory of fantastic children's writer Dahl makes me a bit sick to my stomach. That guy is a genius. This guy knows, has or was a bratty kid - but there isn't anything redeeming about the content or the main character. The so-called "wimpy kid" is a freaking jerk that is constantly blaming others for his mistakes, admittedly using his friends to avert punishment, shows barely a modicum of respect for the authority figures in his life, and steals from his brother (whose also a jerk, by the way).

The only reason I can think of that this hunk of literary garbage is so widely read is that this kid, this bratty, selfish, dumb kid is an accurate reflection of the state of childhood right now. And that makes me sad.

Bottom Line: I don't care if Kinney comes out with a hundred more of these titles and they make another fifty movies from them, my advice will still be the same: Steer clear. This shouldn't be as popular as it is, and it certainly shouldn't be in the top 100. Ultimately, if this is the direction of our culture, then I'm disappointed. With so many enriching titles out there for children, the popularity of this one is mind-blowing and makes me more then just a little concerned for the reading lists of this country's youth.

'Timebound' & ' Time's Edge' The Chronos Files 1 & 2 by Rysa Walker

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Official Summary:

When Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional. But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence.

Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and her genetic ability to time travel makes Kate the only one who can fix the future. Risking everything, she travels back in time to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the murder and the chain of events that follows.

Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does Kate have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?

Review:
I'm a sucker for sci-mance (and if that isn't an official term for a science fiction, romance mash-up, then it is now, on this obscure little book review site, you heard it here first!*), especially anything with a time travelling element. Time travel + romance = a pretty good time for the Jessle. That said, this series fits snugly in the sci-mance genre, making it an irresistible new series for me to follow.

Front and center to the story is a love triangle that's created by the timeline shake-ups that occur in 'Timebound.' The main character Kate has a choice between Trey, the guy she met because the timeline shifts and he's suddenly taken her place at school, and Kiernan, the guy from the early 1900's who knew her as 'his Kate' before a timeline shift changes her own memories and makes him a friendly stranger. The relationships get even more bizarre in 'Time's Edge' when dealing with the fallout of the timeline changes purposely made at the end of the first installment that cause Trey to forget that he had ever even met Kate, never mind having fallen in love with her.

That said, at it's core, this is a series about time travel and how changing a past event impact the future. With all the timeline bending that occurs it wouldn't have surprised me if this series had turned out to be a tangled spaghetti ball of a disaster but Walker does a commendable job with this narration; somehow keeping the story engaging and accessible at every turn. Even when the number of secondary and tertiary characters grows in book two the benefit of this tale being told from Kate's perspective really shines.

Bottom Line: 'Timebound' introduces us to a world that is both captivating and compelling enough to have earned itself a place in Amazon's Kindle World's. 'Time's Edge' keeps the story going while remaining fresh and unpredictably interesting. If you're looking for something a little different in the over crowded YA space, and like time travel novels, this one is most definitely for you.

*Or not... admittedly, I haven't (and don't plan on) actually looking up whether it exists for the purposes of this quick little post here. The way this stuff works is I'll see it somewhere else in a few weeks time, wonder if it came before or after this post, get too lazy to check the date stamp and move on. Besides, if this term doesn't exist yet then it should if only because it is way way way too obvious not to. Then again (yes I'm debating myself here - don't worry this should be the closing remarks coming up now), isn't all YA these days sci-mance? Are sci-mance and modern YA interchangeable terms? Or is some librarian out there pulling out their hair right now because it would actually be YA sub-categorized as science fiction because all YA has romance in it. That's all teens think about, really...

'Gathering Blue' by Lois Lowry

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Official Summary:

Lois Lowry once again creates a mysterious but plausible future world. It is a society ruled by savagery and deceit that shuns and discards the weak. Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, she struggles with ever broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever.

As she did in 'The Giver', Lowry challenges readers to imagine what our world could become, how people could evolve, and what could be considered valuable. Every reader will be taken by Kira’s plight and will long ponder her haunting world and the hope for the future.

Review:

Many, many years ago, way back in 1994, I picked 'The Giver' from a teacher's extra credit/recommended reading list* and it turned out to be one of those books that you never really shake off. It is hands-down the mother of all the great young adult dystopian stories. With that in mind, imagine my surprise when these two things happened over the course of the last year:

A movie was made out of 'The Giver.' Granted. It's a movie I still haven't watched, and for fear of having my memory of one of the foundation novels of my childhood marred, I probably won't.
All of a sudden I became aware of a number of follow up novels that Lois Lawry wrote and released between '00 and '12 that take place in the same universe. 'The Giver', it turned out, was just book one in a four book series. Hallelujah!

So off I went and before giving it a second thought, 'Gathering Blue' was sitting on my Kindle, waiting to be cracked open. After reading it my first thought was that 'The Giver' is better. Not only does it stand well on its own, but the story of Jonas is told in a succinct form that gives the story a power most novellas don't possess. 'Gathering Blue' with it's story of Kira and her weaving just didn't hit the same notes and it had more obvious call outs to being part of a series.

Bottom Line: Don't misunderstand the statements above, 'Gathering Blue' might not best the earlier installment, but it's still a damned good book. If you haven't picked up 'The Giver' start there and finish this series - if you have, but you didn't know it kept going, it's time to see what happened in Lowry's strange future world where magic exists in small doses and people have forgotten their roots.

* Yeah - I was that kid. In fact, I read every extra credit or recommended title regardless of passing in a report for it. It's a sickness I tell you, a wonderful, glorious, book devouring sickness that only other people who can't help but read anything and everything that someone recommends to you will understand. As an adult its culminated itself as my out of control to-be-read pile and the constant inability to find anything new on the top ten lists of Amazon that even remotely interests me anymore.

'If I Stay' by Gayle Forman

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Official Summary:

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make.

Review:

Like a lot of others I picked this up after seeing the movie trailer. For me, it wasn't about preparing to go see the film, (those trips are usually to see the latest and greatest Abrams flicks), but the premise of a comatose girl trying to decide whether she should give up and die or find something worth living for drew me in.

Many other reviewers have commented that the girl, Mia, spends very little time actually contemplating this decision over the course of the novel, but I have to disagree. While the character doesn't brood openly about her decision, every memory she has helps tip the scales against or in favor of waking up and living a life permanently altered by tragedy.

What I did have trouble with is the ending, not because it was poorly written, or out of place - the last pages of 'If I Stay' were exactly what you would hope for given the emotional roller-coaster that the author pushes you through from page one. What I had a big problem with was the preview for the sequel novel 'Where She Went' that followed the closing chapter. For whatever reason, the first chapter of the second novel, told from the boyfriend Adam's perspective now, totally turned me off to not only reading the next book, but spoiled the experience of reading the first one.

Bottom Line: 'If I Stay' is a quick read worthy of it's fan base. An emotional page-turner that doesn't get heavy handed but does feature characters that can be a touch unbelievable. Overall, a solid entry in the young adult category that I'd recommend for anyone looking for something substantial as it raises real questions about life, death, love and family. If you like titles such as 'The Fault in Our Stars' then this one is for you - just learn from my mistake and avoid reading the preview for 'Where She Went'

'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 17:08:00 +0000

Official Summary:

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

Review:

I've been holding off on this review for a little while now. To be fair, I probably should have posted something immediately after finishing it in the vain of "OMG OMG This book is AMAHSZING! Ahhhhh!" but I really do try to keep that kind of commentary for in-person, arm waving, full on animated, recommendations only. When writing for TTP, I try to keep it a bit more, um, sedated. And that is where I have failed you.

Because this book is absolutely worth picking up and you should have read it two months ago. Love, loss, science fiction, bad 80's pop culture references - it's got it all in spades.

Bottom Line: Sometimes I should just jump on and write the review, arm-waving OMG's and all. If you like video game culture, weird potential future scenarios, or science fiction written in the style of Stephenson (Snow Crash), you'll love Ready Player One: A Novel

'Double Blind' by Tiffany Pitts - Special Blog Tour Review!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 May 2014 03:38:00 +0000

Official Summary:

Delilah Pelham’s brother, Paul, is missing. She should probably be worried about that but honestly, he’s been in trouble since the day he learned the words “trust me." In fact, if it weren’t for his roommate, Carl, she would gladly leave him to his fate.

Carl is a good guy, even if he’s a bit of a dork. Okay, a large slice of a dork. Possibly the entire cake. But he wants to help, as do his gamer friends, which is how Deli finds herself in the middle of Hong Kong with the King of the Dorks, running from creepy guys with slicked-back hair and shiny black guns.

Back at home, Carl’s friends aren’t faring nearly as well. All they had to do was monitor the situation and feed Deli’s cat while she was gone. How could that possibly end in bloodshed? There is an answer, of course, but no one ever thinks to ask the cat.

Review:

Before delving into today's review I'd like to extend a warm welcome to all of those who traveled here through Sage's Blog Tour Portal. It's been an exciting couple of weeks hasn't it? And I've gotta say that I love being a part of the 'Double Blind' welcome wagon. I can say that right? Of course I can! This is my blog and I say what I want!

So, I've just finished this one (thanks to both Sage and Tiffany) and I've gotta say, while I was a bit skeptical through the first 20 or so pages, this one is absolutely fabulous. Not only does it keep you guessing throughout (as it should, given the title and all) but it's brimming with some of the best character's I've come across since 'Trail of the Chupacabra.'

If I had to say one thing bad about this book, my statement would follow in the form of a question: Why would you give your leading lady the nickname Deli? Her name is Delilah - so why not Dee, or Lila? Just saying that the first few chapters would have probably been a better experience overall if I weren't constantly imagining a submarine sandwich.

Never mind the sweaty guy behind the counter making this.

Even then, this title proved to be so good that I got passed the perspiration dripping, completely out of shape sub shop guy I kept picturing in my head every time the name showed up after a few dozen pages. A feat that I honestly thought would have been impossible if you'd have asked sometime during the first page or two. In fact, I was so engaged in this one, that I found myself opening it up at work.*

Bottom Line: If you love books like ‘Domestic Violets’, ‘Trail of the Chupacabra’, or the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett, I honestly think this one is worth the read. In fact, this one gets the T.T.P. satisfaction guaranteed. Yes, it’s just that good. I promise.

And bonus (!!!) because this is a Blog Tour and not just another book review I've got some additional details to share:

Author Bio

Tiffany Pitts grew up in the Seattle area in a time when the Super Sonics were huge and Starbucks was just a store at the end of the Market. Tragedy struck early in her life as her family moved to New Jersey mere months before Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” album hit record stores. It took nearly a decade to wean herself off the hairspray. But Seattle called her back, so she went; eventually earning a degree in Botany (pronounced “Bar tending”) at the University of Washington.

She made one more valiant attempt to leave the PNW after college by travelling around the country doing not much of value and making very stupid decisions. She is thankful every day that the internet was not a huge deal in those years. Then Seattle called again so she picked up and moved home where she spent many years being a scientist of middling talent in several labs that she absolutely did not blow up—except for that one time and everyone agreed not to talk about that any more.

Now she divides her time between writing fiction and raising two kids who are wonderful but, for some reason, won’t stop licking things.

Tiffany can be found using the following Social Media coordinates:

Twitter: @snickerpants

Website: www.snickerpants.com

or on good ol' Facebook: Tiffany Pitts, Author

*And you'll just need to take my word for it when I say that the only other time I've ever been compelled to read a title during work was when I was still in the throws of the vampire mysteries that shall-not-be-named. I'm not going there right now. Really. I might not ever go there ever again. [angry]

'Petals on the Wind' by V.C. Andrews

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 16:29:00 +0000

Official Summary:

For Carrie, Chris and Cathy the attic was a dark horror that would not leave their minds. Of course mother had to pretend they didn't exist and grandmother was convinced they had the devil in them. But that wasn't their fault. Was it?

Cathy knew what to do. She knew it was time to show her mother and grandmother that the pain and terror of the attic could not be forgotten...Show them. Show them -- once and for all.

Review:

I wasn't the only person to watch that crap Lifetime movie based "Flowers in the Attic", was I? No, of course I wasn't... although if I were I wouldn't be particularly upset about it. While it wasn't outright bad, it wasn't exactly a moving piece of cinema either. I mean, let's be honest here... it was a Lifetime movie. That's about as close as you can get to being a real potato when you're actually a Pringle. You know its nothing but processed garbage, but once you've had one you need to indulge in another. They're nothing but junk food for the soul. I know this. But I watch them anyway.

It's a curse.
A damned curse I tell you.

And after indulging in this strange form of rubber necking a life so ghastly what did I do? I downloaded this title, of course! Of course I did, because what did I see in the credits? You know what I saw. It's the same thing I see in dozens of other movies or TV shows that guides me down a similar path nearly every. single. time. I saw my call to action. I saw: "Based on "Flowers in the Attic" by V.C. Andrews."

I mean who doesn't love a good story about incest, crazy women who are somehow predisposed to become even more insane then the generation before and, oh, don't forget the truck loads of child abuse? Really what was I thinking? God, I wish I knew what I was thinking sometimes.

Bottom Line: If it weren't for the fact that it was only one of two titles I had downloaded to my Kindle when I boarded a thirteen hour flight then I would have given up after page ten. I usually try to avoid spoilers here but here's a big one: she never gets better! She never, ever, ever, gets better! Carrie surpasses her mom's level of crazy, she adds in grandma level crazy, and in some ways gets so stupid crazy batty that you hope she chokes on her own fist. Don't do it. And if you really feel like making a bad decisions today, instead of using your money to buy this book go outside and burn it. This one is braincell killer.

Bridal Title 5: 'Dream Wedding on a Dime; 7 Secrets for the Budget-Savvy Bride‏' by Bobette Kyle

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 16:48:00 +0000

Official Summary:

Getting married is like buying a house; it's a major milestone in life, and almost always, there is initial sticker shock. ("It costs how much?") Dream Wedding on a Dime; 7 Secrets for the Budget-Savvy Bride is for those who cannot afford the average cost of a wedding or want to spend less.

Review:

I think the only other reviewer of this title on Amazon is missing the point completely. Having tied the knot myself only a few months ago I can tell you first hand that yes, you might be able to stumble on these techniques on the wedding websites and yeah, you might have a friend or two that's a veteran of the process and willing to share a few tips with you, but is all that searching around necessary when you can spend a few dollars on a title like this one and have all the tricks in one place?

Not only is this a well organized book that I could see being easy to reference when needed, but the tips Bobette shares are well articulated and the positives and negatives of each are explained in easy to understand language that you probably won't find in that hastily written Top Ten Ways to Save on Blah article you just googled. She also helps the hectic bride save time by including the links to the websites she mentions directly in the eBook text, something that many other titles I've explored in this category sorely lacked.

Bottom Line: The tips in 'Dream Wedding on a Dime' might sometimes border on the common knowledge of someone whose already been through the process, but to a newbie this reference would make an excellent starting point that would get even the most clueless among us up to speed quickly. If you've spent the last six months buried in wedding info than this title probably isn't for you, but if you're just starting out, or looking for a gift for someone who recently got engaged, this one definitely deserves your attention.

'Dream Wedding on a Dime; 7 Secrets for the Budget-Savvy Bride‏' by Bobette Kyle was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Throwback Thursday: The 80's As Remembered by Me, Through Books

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:33:00 +0000

Having been born in the 80's, it's one of my favorite decades - even though I can't remember a whole lot of it. That said, let's take a look at what I consider the top 5 titles that shaped my future love of reading at such an impressionable age.

1. 'The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary'

No early childhood list is complete without the title that taught you how to read and if it weren't for this title I probably wouldn't have. Hours in the living room with my parents patiently teaching me how to sound things out.

I owe this cat, and my parents, a debt of gratitude.

2. 'The Story of Dr. Dolittle' by Hugh Lofting

Once I learned how to read, it's really all I wanted to do. I begged and begged for something to read and my dad came home with this.

I think I read it in a night and my mom quickly ended up having to add "bring Jess to the library" to her list of chores.

Unfortunately, I don't remember a whole lot about Dr. Dolittle or his animal companions. Aside from the fact that he could somehow communicate with them and magically make them better. But I guess that's all one really needs to know about this guy, isn't it?

3. Childcraft: The How and Why Library 15 Volume Set

Does anyone else remember these things? I'm pretty sure my mom bought them one or two at a time from the grocery store, but I know I owned all 15 of them, (actually, I'm pretty sure I still own all 15 of them, but now their in a box in someone's attic or basement), and I know I read every page.

For me, these books were absolutely fascinating. Pictures of ligers, articles about how the Native Americans or Ancient Romans lived, and amazing facts like people are animals*. Hours were spent with these books. I loved them.

4. 'Black Beauty' by Anna Sewell

'Black Beauty' was one of the last titles I would read in the 80's and not only was it depressing as all hell, but it taught me that both the children I went to school with at the time and the teacher could be insensitive, cruel and dumb as rocks.

I won't get into too many details, but first grade is one of the many reasons why I'm happy that I didn't end up finishing out school in the backwoods town we were living in at the time. Where I left, they told me that this book was too complicated and boring for the class to understand, and no one else my age had even heard of the title before I brought it in for show and tell.

Where I ended up it had been on the recommended reading list.

5. 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien

One of the coolest things I remember at that age was visiting my first book store. What made the experience even cooler was that the bookstore in question was owned by my mom's best friends husband!

I imagine it was for me what most kids experience the first time they go to Disney. I was overwhelmed enough that I turned to the adults and asked them what I should read. Someone handed me this, it was awesome, and the rest, as they say, is history.

*So let me tell you a little story about the day I was invited to Sunday school. The girl across the street was a catholic and I was sorta friends with her, so when her church decided it wanted to open its class up to all the heathens for a day (i.e. Jews and other non-affiliated kids in our dust speck of a town), I was invited to go. And off we went to the basement of a church that had been decorated up like a kindergarten nursery and were told the story of Noah.

Oh the heartache! Oh the tragedy!

"Any questions?" asks the teacher. Yup! I've got one, "If all the animals drowned, did they go to heaven?"

"No! Animals don't o to heaven, they don't have souls!" Ummmm.... "But people are animals, so people didn't go to heaven either?"

"No! People are special - we have blah, blah, blah - God decides and...." followed by a ton more garbage that I can't remember, and I just kept getting more and more upset until I think my mom had to physically drag me out of there kicking and screaming.

Not so ironically, it's the day I became an atheist.

'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Official Summary:

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Review:

I have to stop doing this. I have to stop seeing a book title everywhere and thinking I'm missing out if I don't add it to my TBR pile. I have to stop having thoughts like 'gee - it's on top of the NYT best seller list so it must be good' and 'someone is making a movie out of it so there must be something to it!' I have to stop doing all of this.

Instead, I need to remember that I can't stand to sit through 85% of movie theater drivel and life is too short to get all glossy eyed and subservient to our 'thought leaders' over in the NYT editorial office. Most importantly, I should remember what happened the last time I let myself get swept away in the must-read-it-madness... and someone is planning on making a movie about that one too, aren't they?

My point is that something can be critically acclaimed and still have a predictable plot line. It can be elegant social commentary, but absolutely empty of anything real, gritty or plain old fun.

Bottom Line: The characters are developed enough for you to have personal opinions about but don't fool yourself, you won't like them and they won't surprise you. The biggest 'meh' about the whole thing was the ending. Sure - I get it, but I think it was a cop-out and a disappointing ending given the narrative. Read this if you're a fan of contemporary fiction that leave you with a sense of cosmic justice but little else.

Have you read Gone Girl? Do you agree or vehemently disagree with my review above? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Stop Wasting Your Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 11:47:00 +0000

Subscribe to this blog and find your next favorite novel from the comfort of your inbox.

And as if that wasn't enough, people who subscribe before this Saturday, March 29th at midnight will be automatically entered, and given a bonus entry into the giveaway being revealed next week!

So what are you waiting for? Subscribe to To the Point by Email

'Painted Faces' by L.H. Cosway

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:10:00 +0000

Official Summary:

Dublin native Freda Wilson considers herself to be an acquired taste. She has a habit of making offensive jokes and speaking her mind too often. She doesn't have the best track record with first impressions, which is why she gets a surprise when her new neighbour Nicholas takes a shine to her.

Nicholas is darkly handsome, funny and magnetic, and Freda feels like her black and white existence is plunged into a rainbow of colour when she's around him. When he walks into a room he lights it up, with his quick wit and charisma. He is a travelling cabaret performer, but Freda doesn't know exactly what that entails until the curtains pull back on his opening night.

She is gob-smacked and entirely intrigued to see him take to the stage in drag. Later on, Nicholas asks her if she would like to become his show assistant. Excited by the idea, she jumps at the chance. Soon she finds herself immersed in a world of wigs, make-up and high heels, surrounded by pretty men and the temptation of falling for her incredibly beautiful employer.

In this story of passion and sexual discovery, Nicholas and Freda will contend with jealousy, emotional highs and lows, and the kind of love that only comes around once in a lifetime.

Review:

I always hate being on the fence about a title, but every so often it happens, like it's happening now with Painted Faces.

Why didn't it get the full green light? Answer is about as hazy as my opinion, I guess. I'm not going to run out and recommend this title to everyone I see because in a number of places during Nick and Freda's escapades the writing style seemed a little too familiar... a little too Gray, (and if you've forgotten my opinion on that 'gem' of literary history, here's the link).

But on the other hand, unlike it's genres defining cousin, Painted Faces does a number of things right. For example:

It tells a one book story in one book.
It doesn't make either of the lead characters seem weak for the sake of being weak.
There is zero BDSM in this one, but the adult scenes are still 100% working it.

Bottom Line: You liked the 50 Shades books, did you? Well I hated them. This title is written from a better place, has a better message and has funnier, wittier and generally likeable characters. Sadly though, the writing style can get a little too close to that piece of garbage, keeping it from earning a full go signal from this reviewer. If you like adult romance but can't stand it when the female character is nothing more than a brainless, undersexed zombie, then pick up Painted Faces.

'The Martian' by Andy Weir

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 13:49:00 +0000

Official Summary:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Review:

There's this guy I work with whose a book geek like myself. Unlike me, he's usually got his nose in the next epic space odyssey (a la Dan Simmons) or technical fantasy novel (think Terry Brooks). Not that I don't appreciate those two genres for what they are - hell, some of my favorite titles are founding members of those categories - but unless they've got a bit more to them, I have a tough time getting into them.

Why am I telling you this? Well, it means that when either of us are gushing about the last best book discovery the other is usually trying really hard to withhold snark comments. Instead, we nod politely to one another and say something in the grandmotherly vein of, "It sounds lovely. I'm so glad you're enjoying it." and the conversation steers itself back on course*.

This time it was different though. This time, he was blabbing on about this amazing new novel he'd just picked up and couldn't put down about some guy getting left behind on the surface of Mars, and blah blah blah... I was feigning interest through cigarette drags as best I could but my glazed over expression must have given me away because after a few seconds he changed tactics.

"The first line is 'Well I'm pretty much fucked. That's my considered opinion. Fucked.' and it just keeps going from there."

I think I chuckled at that point, but even then wasn't 100% convinced. It took another week of him relaying a few choice lines before I conceded and downloaded the title.

I should have downloaded it sooner.

Bottom Line: From the first line to the last this book had me. If you like science fiction, a good laugh or even if you just had a fleeting interest in the movie Gravity you will adore this story, guaranteed. This one is a must read.

*The proper course usually consisting of Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Almost Human, Helix, or any of the other dozen or so television shows that we both watch. We might not have matching taste in the literary sense, but it's pretty spot on in the T.V. category.

'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' (Dexter Morgan Series #1) by Jeff Lindsay

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 19:28:00 +0000

Official Summary:

Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people. And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened–of himself or some other fiend.

Review:

So you liked the show Dexter on Showtime, did you? Watched the finale and got just a little bit depressed that you'd never again see Michael C. Hall starring as the best antihero since Batman, hm*? Found out it was based on a series of books by some guy names Jeff Lindsay and got all excited, did you? Might have even thought that even if it were completely different, (because it would be wrong to not recognize that books and the media based on them are usually utterly dissimilar) there had to be something amazing on those pages... maybe something even better.

Yeah. Well about that.

Surprisingly, the talented writers, actors and staff of one of my favorite shows took a steaming pile of poo and only used it as the fertilizer for bigger and better stories and characters. Unfortunately, it means that this book, Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the steaming pile of poo. The author's got a great idea (obviously), but the whole novel feels flimsy. Poor characters, bad dialogue and I really didn't buy Dexter Morgan's ability to live behind the scenes without being caught red handed.

The one small redemption in reading it was that every so often it's possible to catch a glimpse of Dexter's personality, but it would flash by too quickly to make the book worth recommending to anyone. Well - maybe one isn't fair... it's second redeeming factor is that this book helped to create one of the best television series of all time, and for that I am eternally thankful.

Bottom Line: Even if you loved Dexter as much as I had, or are a usual fan of the mystery/thriller genres I'd say give this title a wide berth. I really wanted to love this one, and who knows, maybe high expectations were part of the problem, but it was impossible to get past the two dimensional characters or weak plot lines.

*You thought I was going to say I was depressed because that was one of histories worst finales ever, didn't you? While I'd be inclined to agree my opinions on the book and the series are trying to be civil with one another. I mean, what the hell was that?! A magical boat ride and an explosion later he's somehow living it up in the middle of freakin' no-where? Making the love of his life and his son... OMFG his SON!... think he's a dead man while he plays lumberjack? How many years of my life did I WASTE for this to be the closure? Seriously?

As you can see, it's not really working all that well.

It's Alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 12:47:00 +0000

"It's alive!" — Gene Wilder, ‘Young Frankenstein”

Hello and welcome back to TTP!

I know, I know, it's been too long. So long in fact, that you probably thought this blog had gone to the grave and you were nearly correct. It almost did. Almost.

The hiatus (as it will henceforth be referred) was brought on by a sever case of bride-brain. And while I kept reading throughout all the vendor calls, on-site appointments, dress fittings, and "parties" designed to make my poor bridesmaids do a fair chunk of slave labor fueled by wine, the idea of powering on a computer to do any writing at all was completely outmatched by the need to collapse into bed like a heap of laundry.

Starting this weekend the real fun begins! With over 30 titles in the review queue, two new book giveaways planned and a few author spotlights in the pipeline there's plenty to share.

'Pearl' by Malory Thomas

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 14:14:00 +0000

Official Summary:

Pearl, a married 30-year-old convenience store worker, longs for change and excitement. Believing she can find it in the purchase of a Mustang, she soon learns that her co-worker, Austin, a recent college graduate, offers the thrill she's missed out on. When circumstances force the two apart, Pearl faces the difficult decision of repairing her marriage, thereby staying true to her religious beliefs, or disrupting her entire life to explore something life-changing.

Review:

There are many ways that this story endeared itself to me. At first, it's the main character Pearl starting off in such tragic circumstances that I couldn't help but feel compelled to keep reading. Then its watching her as she wakes up to just how bad things really are and realizes that she might actually deserve to be happy. Finally, with the support of out-of-town co-worker and love interest Austin, she finds the strength to change things, and starts her climb out of the miserable life she's just let happen around her.

I'll also throw in that was happy to see that Pearl was believably thirty and this wasn't another story centered around teenage or young adult angst. Believe it or not, that by itself makes this title more genuine. Not because I'm in my early thirties, but because it makes what Pearl needs to do that much more difficult and meaningful.

But be aware: A handful of reviews out there seem to be deducting points from this title for being too predictable. To those reviewers, and the army of skeptics who would believe them, yes, the general story line here is predictable. However, it needs to be asked if this is, in fact, a bad spot for Pearl to be. I would argue that if the book had gone any other way that the title wouldn't be worth reading. Not because of bad writing (which it isn't) or poor character design (not that either) but because the message would have been absolutely heinous for anything but a horror novel.

Bottom Line: Pearl is a quick read and showcases the author's ability to tell an inspiring story but it doesn't really break any new ground. That said, I can safely recommend this title to anyone whose looking for an easy, Hallmark after school special, kind of read. Personally, I'm interested to see what Malory Thomas does next.

*In the spirit of full transparency, the author provided me with a copy of this title for review.