Book Review: Gracianna by Trini Amador
3 Stars , Fiction , Historical Fiction , Latest Posts / November 19, 2013

In the early 1940s, Gracianna Lasaga, a young girl from the mountains, sets her sights on reaching America. However, soon Gracianna is entangled in world War II and Nazi occupied Paris. Soon Gracianna finds a way to fight against the occupiers while also trying to achieve her dream and help her sister.

Book Review: Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
3 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / August 6, 2013

About: Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the sixth book about the Lord of the Jungle. Even though this is the sixth book about a character with an established history, it is a prequel. My rat­ing for Jungle Tales of Tarzan — 3 Buy this book in paper or FREE in elec­tronic format More Books by by Edgar Rice Burroughs Thoughts: Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a collection of short stories which tell of the adventures of Tarzan before he met any white people. As the other books, these tales are very readable and make for a quick read. The stories are loosely related to one another and most of them are told in chronological order. In these stories Tarzan learns to love, develops religion, and philosophizes about the moon. Meanwhile, our prolific ape-man analyzes himself in relation to the other jungle animals in general, and specifically apes. The book is filled with fights, it seems Tarzan fights a representative of every jungle animal he encounters as well as the Gomangani tribe. The novel is filled with fast paced action and good characterization. For the modern reader however, the book will seem racist –…

Book Review: A Survival Guide for Life by Bear Grylls
3 Stars , Latest Posts , Non-Fiction / July 10, 2013

About: A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character by Bear Grylls is a self-help / motivitional book written by the template of all men himself. Mr. Grylls is the host of Man vs. Wild, a successful TV show, and is the ideal outdoor survival expert brand. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 288 pages Publisher: William Morrow (July 2, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 0062271954 My rat­ing for A Survival Guide for Life — 3 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* More Books by Bear Grylls Thoughts: I usually don’t read many self-help books or the dime-store psychology type, but I figured I’d give this one a shot because I know Mr. Grylls has lived an interesting and fascinating life. A Survival Guide for Life by Bear Grylls (website | Facebook | @BearGrylls) is a series of short narratives (75 in all), many telling anecdotes from the life of the authors tailored and/or manipulated to accommodate the bullet point the narrative tries to make. While this book is not really a “guide” to anything,…

Book Review: If You Were Here by Alafair Burke
3 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / June 26, 2013

Jour­nal­ist McKenna Wright is writ­ing a fluff piece when she thinks she saw an old friend who dis­ap­peared ten years ago with­out a trace. Using her con­nec­tions as a for­mer pros­e­cu­tor and her investigator’s instincts, McKenna pur­sues the mat­ter in a search across New York City and finds long buried, dark secrets of those she loves the most.

Book Review: The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern
3 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / June 10, 2013

Arti­cle first pub­lished as Book Review: The Death and Life of Superman by on Blogcritics. About: The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern takes the saga of “The Death of Superman“, “Funeral for a Friend“, “Reign of the Supermen”, and “The Return of Superman“, which appeared in comic book form in the mid 80’s, and turns it to light reading. 418 pages Publisher: Bantam Books Language: English ISBN-10: 055309582X My rating for The Death and Life of Superman – 3 Buy this book from Amazon.com* Thoughts: The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern, a successful comic book writer, is a fast read for someone who wants to get caught up on the Death of Superman saga without reading the comics. There is a bit of suspense and mystery, but overall there are no surprises and little mystery. The story starts slow, does not have the “punch” of the comic book stories, but picks up pace towards the end. I was a bit disappointed because it seemed to me that the author just looked at the pictures of the comic books, and turned them into words, without adding any new insight. There are no character studies, smart twists or interesting tidbits….

Giveaway & Book Review: Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson
3 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / April 18, 2013

About: Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson is a mystery novel taking place in 1936. This is the fourth book in a series starring author Josephine Tey. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 432 pages Publisher: Faber & Faber Language: English ISBN-10: 0571246281 My rat­ing for Fear in the Sunlight — 3 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More books by Nicola Upson Thoughts: The reason I chose to read Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson (website | Facebook) was because Alfred Hitchcock was in the story, I had no idea it was part of a series and probably wouldn’t have noticed either until I read it somewhere. I was looking forward to read a good mystery which was somewhat involved in Hitchcock’s movies. However the famed director is a character in this novel much like anyone else. Granted, not everyone has his insecurities and eccentricities but there is no Hitchcock specific take on the story. The story was very slow to start but once it got going it held my interest until the end, but the large cast of characters kept me confused and I…

Book Review: A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash
3 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / January 22, 2013

Article first published as Book Review: A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash on Blogcritics. About: A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash is a novel taking place in a small town in North Carolina. I saw a lot of great reviews and articles about this book and thought that I might enjoy the story as well. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 320 pages Publisher: William Morrow Language: English ISBN-10: 0062088149 My rat­ing for A Land More Kind than Home — 3 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* Thoughts: I had a tough time getting into A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (website | Facebook | @WileyCash). The first 80 pages or so seemed to drag and only when the sheriff was introduced did the story pick up. even though the book is cataloged under the “mystery” genre, the story is pretty much straightforward and there is no mystery per-se. From a technical aspect, this is a superb book. Mr. Wiley is extremely talented and even though I might not have enjoyed the whole of the story, I certainly enjoyed embracing the literary aspects…

Book Reivew: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
3 Stars , Fiction , Historical Fiction , Latest Posts / January 15, 2013

About: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier is a historical fiction novel taking place in 17th Century Holland. The book has fascinating descriptions of the times, how people lived and behaved. 256 pages Publisher: Plume; Deluxe edition (August 30, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0452287022 My rating for Girl with a Pearl Earring – 3 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Tracy Chevalier Thoughts: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (website | Facebook | @Tracy_Chevalier)was neither here nor there. The story seems like an episode of the old British drama “Upstairs Downstairs” set in Holland with a coming of age story neatly tucked in it as well. The plot is somewhat interesting with one well developed character (Griet) and none others I cared about. The book is written very well but nothing happens and for awhile I was actually bored. Some of the characters are well developed but I was hoping for Johannes Vermeer’s character to be more in depth. To my disappoint Vermeer played a minor (yet important) part in the book. However, the descriptions of 17th Century Holland, the class system and mercantile society were excellent, which by itself was worth finishing the book. The descriptions of how the paintings were…

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