Dal Cecil Runo
Blood and Goth
A little bit of Twilight, a little bit of “Goth Beauty and the Beast,” a lot of blood. This book is a fast-pace ride of torture, hence the title.
I recommend this to people who like vampire stories but are looking for something a bit different. The author has created her own lore and creatures, but the influences are clearly present.
Overall it's a solid debut.
All The Love In The World!
This book...I am so eternally grateful that this book exists.
Before I start fangirling, quick disclaimer, I'm a partially blind reader. Audiobooks and ebooks with a robotic screen reader are the only way I can read books.
So, I have a defined rating system for fiction books. Here it goes.
1. Did I put the book down?
Impossible. I listened to the audiobook version on the Scribd app. I started in the early afternoon and I couldn't let go of the book. My body refused to fall asleep until I finished. I felt it that much. There goes one big star!
2. What about the characters?
Georgia is perhaps one of the most relatable characters I have ever read. Oh, yeah, another quick disclaimer, I am asexual. Anyway, very relatable for the most part. All the supporting cast was awesome to read about too. I know people like all of these characters in the real world. It'sunusual that I get so hyped while reading a contemporary story, but when it happens, it is a big hype from me.
3. How about structure?
Engaging! At no point did I feel bored, even if the story revolved about college life. There was always something going on, and the way Georgia slowly figures things out was realistic for many aces out there who are still discovering their orientation, which brings me to...
4. Writing
It's good and it flows nicely. The author is not trying to be someone she's not. The dialogue sounds realistic and to me that's a big plus.
5. Subjective stuff
Like I said, I'm ace. I would love to read more books with ace protagonists. This was the basics, a story about a character figuring out who she is and discovering that she is not really into romance and sex. Fantastic! Alice is paving the road for us aspiring authors who also happen to include this kind of perspective into our stories. I am so glad that this book got published and quite popular. There are no specifics I would critique about it, so here it is, my 5 stars in detail.
I received an ARC to give this an honest review. Now, how much honesty? To clarify, I'm partially blind, and I use a screen reader, with a robotic voice.
Why did I give this 5 stars? I'll use my usual rating system:
1. Did I put the book down?
Yes and no. I did stop for brief moments, because the narrator goes on tangents and back and forth between present moment and backstory. I am not at my best time right now, and because I related so much to this way of thinking, I had to take some healthy breaks. But, I wanted to know what happened next. As soon as I felt like I could go on with it, I did. Finished this in less than 24 hours. There goes one star.
2. What about the characters?
I couldn't relate more. This is where I'm fearing that I'll get too personal. I'll try not to.
Emma, the protagonist and narrator, suffers from anxiety, with hints at depression, and a sense of being born in the wrong time and place. OCD runs in the family, too. This is why all the going on tangents.
I'll just say that I'm dealing with my own anxiety and depression. I'll just leave it at that so I don't spoil other things.
Daisy, the old lady who shows up at Emma's home in the middle of the night, is suffering from Alzheimer's.
I'm currently working with an old lady who's going through advance stages of senile dementia and Alzheimer's.
This story hit home, and it hit hard. There goes a second star.
3. Structure?
Tangents...tangents everywhere. For the first time I see why it is narrated that way, and it fits the portrayal of Emma's psyche so well, that I can sense it comes from a real life perspective and I'm here for it. There goes the third.
4. Writing?
Savy's prose feels like a new friend that you just met at a bar, and you end up chatting through the night, only to realise that you're the last 2 to leave the bar after the music stops and the owner's like “ey-yo we're closing in 5!” Natural flow, no snob pretentiousness...I'm here for it. Fourth star.
5. Purely subjective stuff
Like I said in point 2, this book hit home, hard. Not only about the stuff I talked about, but also, music. I'll not spoil things, but there were parts where I could almost see my younger self walking in Emma's shoes, or like Emma was walking in mine. When I said “I need this book” and signed for an ARC, I just knew this, and I'm glad the book delivered.
It's a must read for 2020.
One of the best books on writing I've read. No magic formulas, no quick and easy. There is a lot to unpack here, and the book will remain one of my craft companions for many years to come.
After reading all the sections, there are several writing exercises for the reader to start a concrete practice. It's fantastic, you don't need more of my rambles, go read it.
What's real anymore? That what the book wants you to question
Here goes my rapid fire reasoning for my 5 stars:
1. I couldn't put it down.*
2. The characters felt so real I wouldn't doubt this as much, but I doubt anyway. *
3. The twists and turns of the structure had me engaged, very stream of consciousness. *
4.The writing was simple, yet catchy and authentic. *
5. Critique on religion? Yes, give me all of it.
Fantastic novel. For brief moments it made me question whether this minister was a real person.
Science fiction meets Norse Mythology
It's official, Andri is among my favourite authors. I couldn't put this book down and I read it in one evening.
The worries and warnings of the sci-fi genre meet the poetry and transcendence of old Icelandic myths. A book that clearly has that distinct North Atlantic island's flavour, yet it doesn't ignore the existence of the rest of the world. The contrasts of a mechanised and heavily controlled society against the most primal and pure aspects of human nature.
It's an entertaining yet thoughtful story, with a refreshing writing style.
I bought the book because it was on sale, I like Jenna's YouTube channel, and so I was curious to see the work in itself.
I have a rating system for fiction books so here it goes.
1. Did I put the book down?
Not really. I am almost blind, so I read with text to speech software that sounds a bit annoying. So if a book is well written, and the pacing is good, and the story is interesting, it will sound good even with a robot reading it. Sidenote, I had no cash for the audiobook so...I only paused my reading because I had to sleep. I was maybe going to DNF, but I felt like picking it up again just to see. So in all fairness, I read it in 2 sittings, it gets the star. Good sentence flow.
2. What about the characters?
Here I have an issue. The main characters were unrealistically perfect. Yes, Tobias had to kill, but we are all used to killings in fiction aren't we? It was a gladiator-like contest. The killings did not make me think he was flawed in the slightest. What flaws did he have? There was not much realism here, and I cannot give that star.
3. What about structure?
I suppose I can give half a start here. It was well paced, yes it was, but it was predictable. No I don't remember other reviews. It was easy to figure it all out, too easy, and that is a huge no no for me. I love it when I cannot predict things. I'm not talking just about the big reveal, everything was easy. Half a star for good structure.
4. How was the writing?
It was good. Some strange word choices here and there but everyone is allowed to have their own style. I can give it a star. I appreciate the effort she put into this aspect of the novel.
5. Overall subjective stuff?
I am not the target audience. This is for straight women, I'm ace. I can give it half a star because it had some good representation, but...this had too much love stuff, the love was very focused on the physical aspect of romance, and I don't give a....
All in all, this is very commercial, and I can see the appeal to younger, straight girls. There were a lot of shirtless dudes running around and killing each other. Great. It's fine, not for me.
I love you, Cassie
Partially blind reader here, and in this book's case, that's something I should mention before I dive in with my rambling reviews.
Why 5 stars?
1 did I pu the book down?
No, impossible. I listened to this in ebook formate with the screen reader telling me the whole thing. I remember as soon as I finished the 1st book I went on to this one. I had lunch while listening, did some other mechanical chores while listening, I didn't stop until I finished the book.
2. The characters.
I already said in my review of book 1 that I love Tara, and now I love Cassie. I wont go into spoilers, but it is known from quite early on that Cassie is blind, and also she's in the foster care system. I'm partially blind and adopted. Should I say more?
3. Structure
This book is where the repetition aspect was effective instead of jarring, unlike some other books.
Tara has a hard dilemma in this story, and with every attempt she makes, it hurts more and more. I want to quote it, but I'll restrain myself and keep spoilers out of this.
4. Writing?
It takes sensitivity to write a character like Cassie Yates. Joey understood her so well it kinda scared me.
5. Subjective stuff
Although Cassie is the more known case of the pitch-black blind portrayed in fiction, her personality was something I needed to see as a teen. I'm thankful to find her as an adult. This book made me cry, and made me thank my adoptive parents for being in my life.
I understand this is for teens...but I'm not impressed
Barely 2 stars from me
This review contains heavy spoilers
So, I found this book through my querying process, and recently found the audiobook and gave it a listen because we are supposed to read recently released books in the genre we write in. I went in not expecting much because I'm an adult and this is for teens. I had my “let's be nice” hat on.
First I'll detail my rating system and why I'm giving it this rating.
1. Did I put the book down?
Yes, and almost threw my phone against the wall. I'll detail more about that later. I picked it up again soon after, out of spite, and sped through it, bookmarking the stuff I needed to bookmark, dreading the rest of the book, knowing that if I didn't finish it quickly, I'd just DNF and wouldn't have the proper knowledge to write this flaming review. So half a star because I sped through it, but I did pause the audiobook and took breaks often.
2. Characters
Stereotypical fictional teenagers. You know it's bad when you can assign each one a label and the book doesn't prove you wrong. The hot, exotic, reluctant bad boy; the opposite morally good twin sister of the bad boy; the girl with an attitude; the stoic Russian boyfriend of the girl with an attitude. Should I go on? Ah yeah, the “I have one quirky trait” protagonist. She likes some manga...and strawberries, and that's it.
I will give the author a break and say she handled the scenes of grief better than other YA authors I've seen. I still didn't care, but it's fine, I can give her that. Still, no star here because damn I couldn't care less. I was speeding through this.
3. Structure
Predictable. The exotic reluctant bad boy just showed up in a surveillance cam and the bland protagonist was instantly attracted to him like...seriously. I know, I know, “Come on, its YA!” Sure...it's boring. So the story keeps moving with the whole back and forth between the prisoners and the guards and the mysterious things and so on and oh! Evil aliens! As if this couldn't be more tropey. And oh wait! The aliens are blind! Alright folks, here is where I was about to throw the phone at the wall. Of course the less important pseudo-major characters died, because romance and grief mix together like any other mainstream novel...I'm bored. Next.
4. Writing
It was fine at first, the average YA style, no problem. It sounds like a teen except in some tiny moments here and there but, it was fine I guess. When I picked up this thing again, after the “guys, I'm pretty sure those things are blind” moment, it seems the line editor also got bored and abandoned the project. A lot of repetitions in sentence style. Sure enough, soon enough, sure enough, I heard that sentence starter perhaps 7 times in one chapter alone. For reference, the chapter where the bland protagonist and the exotic bad boyfriend are exploring the alien ship. I myself have had this same repetition problem with sure enough or whatever enough. So here I am not heartlessly bashing, I noticed it and I learned from it too. Besides that problem, I can give it half a star here because I still managed to finish this story somehow. I give her a break.
5. Purely subjective stuff
The good: I liked seeing the use of other languages in this story. Fantastic. More of that please, already half a star.
The bad: so the evil and creepy non-human creatures are blind AND asexual...oh? I didn't know I was suddenly the source of inspiration for this novel. Hi! I'm also blind and asexual. Ooooh I am sooooo scaryyyyy.
I can laugh at this stupid trope. I've seen it so much I'm kind of feeling pity for the lack of creativity in today's writing world. Authors really can't think of some other disadvantage other than blindness? Something spookier than milky white cataracts for the aliens to look so evil and soulless? Really? Are you authors that deprived of imagination lately? Here I am being heartlessly bashing, not just to this author, but to everyone who falls into this stupidity.
I'm an adult, I'm fine. My reason to write this whole thing is precisely because this is aimed at teens. Do you authors think blind and visually impaired teens don't read? And this thing has an audiobook available! I've seen this trope from Harry Potter and Percy Jackson to the rarest and lesser known YA books. It's there. It's everywhere. Whenever I see it, I will call it out. Teens with disabilities are bullied more than the average school kid. Reading is a potential escape to those teens as well as any other teen out there. Getting into this supposedly cool world where teens have superpowers only to find out that the only creatures, again, CREATURES, somewhat experiencing a similar disadvantage are all evil and they all have to be killed because they deserve it.
Listen, I understand that this is just fiction, but a child trying to escape from possible daily abuse at school and some even at home, might find this persisting trope another signal saying “you should be dead because your eyes are ugly.” Is that the message authors want to send? I don't want to think so. This is just some bullshit overdone trope that they learned in their years of imitating their favourite authors and now it's a part of their own stories because they sincerely cannot think of anything else.
Well, this was my ramble of the day. I'm staying clear from YA sci-fi if this is what it has to offer. Not impressed.
So you see, I didn't get to 2 stars at all!
Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but...
1. Did I put the book down?
No. I was supposed to do something else, found this book, listened to it all the way through.
I wish I've had this book as a teen
Something I love about Joey's books is that she knows how to sound like a teen without sugarcoating a story. There is a lot of realism, no matter how fantastical the paranormal aspects may be. There is beauty in the supposed simplicity of the narrator's language. YA is not my go-to age category, but I can enjoy it when it's sincere.
Why 5 stars?
1. Did I put the book down?
No I didn't, and I listened to the ebook with a robotic voice reading it for me. It has to be good if I can't put down an ebook.
2. What about the characters?
I love Tara, and her Dad, and everyone in this story. They feel real. No need to say more.
What about the structure?
Good pacing, not a predictable structure. Joey knows how to do her mystery, and do it well.
4. The writing?
It is about a teen, it sounds like a teen, and it wasn't jarring, again, I'm listening with a robot screen reader.
5. Subjective points
Yes. If I say all the stuff I love about this novel I'd be dropping spoilers and I don't want to. So, yes.
One of the most helpful books I've read in a while. You don't have to be a romance author to find gems within it. If you're a new or even an experienced author, but marketing has always been some mysterious monster from another dimension you don't understand, i think this book will shine a light for you.
Can't recommend it enough.
Loved it. I don't know much about Turkey, so this was a little bit of a taste. I also know the author isn't Turkish, so I applaud the bravery of writing about such a rich and old culture. I assume it isn't perfect, but I couldn't put it down.
Middle of the road
This book is a thriller/suspense about a Finnish bodyguard trying to figure out who killed her former employer after she resigned due to a fight over a lynx fur coat.
I was so here for this. I could relate to Hilja losing her temper over animal fur. I am one of those. No shame.
Hilja had a thing for lynxes, and as the book goes on, the reader learns why is this so important to her.
The international mystery aspect was a great contrast to the familiarity I got from the Finnish countryside setting. I was so into this. “Kiitos! Vihdoinkin!” I shouted late at night when I started the audiobook on Scribd. Now my rating system...here we go.
1. Did I put the book down?
I did. I hesitated to pick it up again. I can't give it a star here. The narrator practiced her Finnish pronunciation, but no one helped her with the Russian and the random out of the blue Spanish that suddenly appeared. I know a multilingual narration is a pain in the a** for a lot of narrators so, I was satisfied that at least she handled the Finnish names well. Can't say the same for the Maria Kallio series narrator. Oof. I dropped that after a couple of minutes.
2. The characters?
I like Hilja, for the most part. I wanted to like this book. And then...and then...I think I can give it a star here, because I did enjoy multiple aspects of her character. So there goes.
Made-up fantasy, too visual, too many classes. I'm blind, I don't do made-up worlds in general. Not the book's fault. I should have read the blurb before picking it up. Someone recommended it because there's a blind character somewhere, but this is clearly for sighted readers. Just not my kinda genre.
Love this!
To clarify, I'm partially blind and I use a screen reader with a robotic voice.
From concept to characters, this book is the bomb. This is a great blend of sci-fi, and a crime mystery, from a YA perspective.
Hetti is a relatable character. She feels real, despite this being a futuristic story.
Since this is a mystery, I don't wanna talk about the plot, I don't wanna say anything that might spoil it. So I'm just gonna say, that I'm almost a Clairvoyant, lol. I love the mystery genre, and if I can predict a reveal way before I should, I won't give a book 5 stars. Now look up, I gave this book 5 stars. I didn't see that coming!
It took me a long time t review this book, because I don't wanna spoil, and I've re-read it a couple of times, so, I don't want anything to slip.
One little nitpicky thing if you will. There was a description phrase about a character's car-driving style that repeated a wee bit, I spotted it. So, one little flaw if we can say so. Does it detract from the book? Nah. I love a story that I cannot predict.
Not the book for me. Anything with a half blind villain being the only blind in the book is not my jam, at all. I'm gonna leave it at that.
The thing with short stories is that there isn't much page time to get to know the characters. This is more of a plot driven short. A lot of research put in this work. That's why I liked it. Still, not a 5star for me.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am also a member of the street team for this book, but as you can see from this disclaimer, I am here to write my honest thoughts.
Savy Leiser has a unique style of writing that I got to know from her fiction books; very conversational and casual. Listening to her usual writing voice in a non-fiction book about starting your own business was a very nice touch.
She has the credentials to write such a book, and it is easy to research and find out about all the things she does for her author career and her Furever Home Friends business. This book is as honest as they come, full of helpful tips and useful information for those who are looking to create their own small business but maybe don't know where to start. This is not a motivational book with affirmations and prayers and dreams. Here she details how she did it. Things may vary depending on the kind of business the reader is looking to start, and also, depending on which country the reader lives in, if outside of the United States, things might be a little bit different with some of the chapters of the book, but that is just common sense.
I'm giving it five stars because I read this book in one afternoon, with a robotic text to speech software because I am almost blind, and still, I was never bored or confused. I've read it twice, and gone back to specific chapters from time to time and took some notes. I fully recommend it and I hope this helps people to start their own thing.