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christinereads0's reviews
307 reviews
Rock and Roll Explorer Guide to New York City by Crispin Kott, Mike Katz, Legs McNeil
4.0
Great compilation of famous places and people in rock and roll in NYC. Unfortunately, a lot of the places have closed down but I love that the creators included a mark to distinguish this.
Remembrance by Mary Monroe
4.0
purplemanatees.org
This was a sweet short story about self-discovery and to not always assume the worst. Remembrance by Mary Monroe follows Beatrice Powell and her mid life crisis in a way. She finds that she is bored in life and seeks comfort in the homeless shelter she volunteers at. When she begins questioning her marriage, her journey takes a deeper turn and Beatrice struggles to find her way.
I got this book as an ARC at Bookcon. On Sunday, we rushed out of the queue line with desire to stand in any and all lines we see. Lo and behold on the tables in front were multitudes of this book just chilling there. Calling my name! Of course, I scooped them up.
One problem I had with the book was that every mother was called mama. This led to some confusion between whether mama had referred to Beatrice or her mother. Another problem was that Beatrice was a little too friendly with every person she met. To me, no one is that nice or outgoing.
Altogether, this was a quick read and it is a great grab-and-go book! I really suggest picking this up if you see it.
This was a sweet short story about self-discovery and to not always assume the worst. Remembrance by Mary Monroe follows Beatrice Powell and her mid life crisis in a way. She finds that she is bored in life and seeks comfort in the homeless shelter she volunteers at. When she begins questioning her marriage, her journey takes a deeper turn and Beatrice struggles to find her way.
I got this book as an ARC at Bookcon. On Sunday, we rushed out of the queue line with desire to stand in any and all lines we see. Lo and behold on the tables in front were multitudes of this book just chilling there. Calling my name! Of course, I scooped them up.
One problem I had with the book was that every mother was called mama. This led to some confusion between whether mama had referred to Beatrice or her mother. Another problem was that Beatrice was a little too friendly with every person she met. To me, no one is that nice or outgoing.
Altogether, this was a quick read and it is a great grab-and-go book! I really suggest picking this up if you see it.
Maiden Voyage: A Titanic Story by Sarah Jane
4.0
purplemanatees.org
purplemanatees.org
Yet another score from Bookcon! This one is a Scholastic Advanced Readers Copy of a Titanic retelling.
Maiden voyage written by Sarah Jane follows three girls and their intertwining stories. Lucy is a girl from a wealthy family on their way to vacation in America, Abigail is their maid, and Isabella has just been sent on the ship by herself to start anew in the new land. These three girls embark on the Titanic, which we all know what ends up happening.
This is a great middle school book that is equally suspenseful and page-turning yet educational about the times. Showing the different classes and their dynamically different quarters really emphasized their historical time period. The inclusion of that along with the details of the titanic's route and what actually happened after the crash into the iceberg were relatively accurate.
The only Oh No I had was the amount of luck that Abigail had was just way too much. She got away with everything and too many people were luckily on her side. But it is a middle school book so maybe it was just for convenience sake.
Other than that, the characters were quite thought out and I loved how fast paced the book was. It is short, only 247 pages, so it was a quick binge read for me. Do give it a buy if you can't think of a simple present to buy for a younger cousin! I will supply a link below for a fast and easy amazon purchase just for your convenience sake ;)
purplemanatees.org
Yet another score from Bookcon! This one is a Scholastic Advanced Readers Copy of a Titanic retelling.
Maiden voyage written by Sarah Jane follows three girls and their intertwining stories. Lucy is a girl from a wealthy family on their way to vacation in America, Abigail is their maid, and Isabella has just been sent on the ship by herself to start anew in the new land. These three girls embark on the Titanic, which we all know what ends up happening.
This is a great middle school book that is equally suspenseful and page-turning yet educational about the times. Showing the different classes and their dynamically different quarters really emphasized their historical time period. The inclusion of that along with the details of the titanic's route and what actually happened after the crash into the iceberg were relatively accurate.
The only Oh No I had was the amount of luck that Abigail had was just way too much. She got away with everything and too many people were luckily on her side. But it is a middle school book so maybe it was just for convenience sake.
Other than that, the characters were quite thought out and I loved how fast paced the book was. It is short, only 247 pages, so it was a quick binge read for me. Do give it a buy if you can't think of a simple present to buy for a younger cousin! I will supply a link below for a fast and easy amazon purchase just for your convenience sake ;)
Frozen Perfection by Rae B. Lake
2.0
purplemanatees.org
purplemanatees.org
Katherine is a Fae and one of the last of her kind. As many of us know, Fae are all-powerful. But, in this world they have one enemy. Palaens. These creatures are commonly known as Vampires and when a family of them move in, Katherine has to figure out how to survive. Not only that, but one of the Palaens seems to have struck a chord in her four hundred year old heart.
In short, this book akin to that of fan-fiction. A beginner novelist who is just learning the ropes of story telling. The authors heart is in the right place but there is a lot more to learn like pacing and writing. You can tell that the author self-published this book so we must not be too hard on our reviews. This is extremely courageous and the story was very well thought out as a whole.
Oh No's
Katherine is known for her incessant clumsiness. Unfortunately, one thing was not clear and that was how she suddenly caught herself with her powers as if it was nothing. Why had she not done this before? Also, the effects of her clumsiness were a little too over the top although that seems to be the point of this story. And to note, they suddenly drop off the face of the Earth. As if she was never clumsy to begin with.
Why did they not leave the town and just run away together with their families. Nothing in this book gave off that they had to stay in this city with these other Palaens. Usually there is a back story of a significance to the town but with all these creatures hunting them, why not move like they've always done before?
The ending of this book was way off. Throwing in a cliffhanger in the last two chapters was not necessary. Especially something as brutal as what happened. I feel that the end should have been switched with the middle because all of that build up was just shattered half way through. The chapters were good but the book as a whole needed a little reworking.
Yays
Loved that the story continued past the drama of her "dream" and the discovery of her powers. It was great to read a second book in the first (in a way). Although, the end was slightly lacking in interest, the continued reading was great.
This is a fan fiction type of read so if you are looking for Vampire and Fae bonding, then look no further. If constant drama is your game, then this book is ripe of the picking!
The cover is gorgeous but just note that the Fae use elemental type magic but none use Ice, which is unfortunate. But that cover has so many pretty blues that I thought it would match up nicely with my other blue and white books (Pictured Above).
In summary, this is a very drama filled book with teenage love and constant misunderstandings (think younger Twilight). Vampires and Fae have to learn to work together and learn things about the others that they never knew before. I will not be getting the second book but would love to see what other series this author comes up with next.
purplemanatees.org
Katherine is a Fae and one of the last of her kind. As many of us know, Fae are all-powerful. But, in this world they have one enemy. Palaens. These creatures are commonly known as Vampires and when a family of them move in, Katherine has to figure out how to survive. Not only that, but one of the Palaens seems to have struck a chord in her four hundred year old heart.
In short, this book akin to that of fan-fiction. A beginner novelist who is just learning the ropes of story telling. The authors heart is in the right place but there is a lot more to learn like pacing and writing. You can tell that the author self-published this book so we must not be too hard on our reviews. This is extremely courageous and the story was very well thought out as a whole.
Oh No's
Katherine is known for her incessant clumsiness. Unfortunately, one thing was not clear and that was how she suddenly caught herself with her powers as if it was nothing. Why had she not done this before? Also, the effects of her clumsiness were a little too over the top although that seems to be the point of this story. And to note, they suddenly drop off the face of the Earth. As if she was never clumsy to begin with.
Why did they not leave the town and just run away together with their families. Nothing in this book gave off that they had to stay in this city with these other Palaens. Usually there is a back story of a significance to the town but with all these creatures hunting them, why not move like they've always done before?
The ending of this book was way off. Throwing in a cliffhanger in the last two chapters was not necessary. Especially something as brutal as what happened. I feel that the end should have been switched with the middle because all of that build up was just shattered half way through. The chapters were good but the book as a whole needed a little reworking.
Yays
Loved that the story continued past the drama of her "dream" and the discovery of her powers. It was great to read a second book in the first (in a way). Although, the end was slightly lacking in interest, the continued reading was great.
This is a fan fiction type of read so if you are looking for Vampire and Fae bonding, then look no further. If constant drama is your game, then this book is ripe of the picking!
The cover is gorgeous but just note that the Fae use elemental type magic but none use Ice, which is unfortunate. But that cover has so many pretty blues that I thought it would match up nicely with my other blue and white books (Pictured Above).
In summary, this is a very drama filled book with teenage love and constant misunderstandings (think younger Twilight). Vampires and Fae have to learn to work together and learn things about the others that they never knew before. I will not be getting the second book but would love to see what other series this author comes up with next.
En scène! #1 by Nathalie Bougon-Bastide, Satoko Fujimoto, Cuvie
4.0
Pages: 215
Genre: Slice of Life, Sports, Young Adult
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A manga! I haven't read one of these babies in so long! After realizing it's not worth buying the translated versions of manga, I now stick to the cheaper Japanese ones when I can afford it. Unfortunately, that's a rarity. I've also just been more into novels with full stories than quick page-turners with no completion.
But, I decided to enter this giveaway on goodreads to score one of these babies! It is a kindle version which made for easy reading and brought me back to my manga binging days.
This manga is about Kanade, a girl who goes to a ballet performance and becomes inspired. She follows in the footsteps of her neighbor, Risa, and together they work towards learning the art of ballet.
This manga covers all of the trials and tribulations that go into learning ballet. It's not easy and this manga shows how much young people have to give these hobbies their all. The characters were really developed and each had their own personality, as well.
Unfortunately, the first book doesn't really come to an end. I'm assuming this manga is usually published week-by-week in a magazine so the continued story is what they work towards, chapter by chapter.
Besides that, it was a cute slice of life story. This manga is incomplete so don't purchase this with the intention of having a full story. But if you have any interest in the real world behind ballet, then have at it!
Genre: Slice of Life, Sports, Young Adult
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A manga! I haven't read one of these babies in so long! After realizing it's not worth buying the translated versions of manga, I now stick to the cheaper Japanese ones when I can afford it. Unfortunately, that's a rarity. I've also just been more into novels with full stories than quick page-turners with no completion.
But, I decided to enter this giveaway on goodreads to score one of these babies! It is a kindle version which made for easy reading and brought me back to my manga binging days.
This manga is about Kanade, a girl who goes to a ballet performance and becomes inspired. She follows in the footsteps of her neighbor, Risa, and together they work towards learning the art of ballet.
This manga covers all of the trials and tribulations that go into learning ballet. It's not easy and this manga shows how much young people have to give these hobbies their all. The characters were really developed and each had their own personality, as well.
Unfortunately, the first book doesn't really come to an end. I'm assuming this manga is usually published week-by-week in a magazine so the continued story is what they work towards, chapter by chapter.
Besides that, it was a cute slice of life story. This manga is incomplete so don't purchase this with the intention of having a full story. But if you have any interest in the real world behind ballet, then have at it!
Triumph: Taming the Monster Within by Ingrid Kern
2.0
Purplemanatees.org
Purplemanatees.org
Title: Triumph: Taming the Monster Within
Author: Ingrid Kern
Pages: 166
Genre: Autobiography, Non-fiction, Sports
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
This is the autobiography of a woman going after everything she has wanted to do in life, including the Senior Olympics. Told through a series of journal entries, Ingrid Kern shows us how busy her life is and what sacrifices she had to make to get what she wanted. These journal entries take place over the span of five years and what Ingrid believed that she could accomplish and do during that time.
Oh No's
I feel like this woman is trying to accomplish every single thing she has ever wanted to do. It's the ultimate bucket list. She writes books, models, runs, finds love, gets face surgery, write self-help, the list goes on and on. I feel there is so much that she is attacking, the pain she feels could simply be from the amount of activity she is doing. This also felt like she jam packed every weird experience she had into this book as well.
The writing was a quite mediocre in places with LOL and OMG popping up at weird intervals. This woman's audience seems to be aimed toward older adults but she seems to want to appease to the younger generation as well. The writing lacks a lot of grammar but tries to make up for it in story.
All-and-all is it a post by post journal. The writing is quite repetitive in that each day is similar to the day before. This woman literally writes everything that comes to her head and included it all in the novel. I felt some things could have been edited out or maybe more content could have been added. She also accomplishes her senior Olympic goal half way through the book and the rest is just about her working on her running and keeping her exercise up.
Yay's
The inspiration in this story is wonderful. Age is just a number and just because you missed your shot in life once before does not mean you will miss it again. Good things come to those who wait. Second chances are absolutely possible.
Her writing is quite simple, as I said before. Which does make this book an easy read. It was really quick since it's less than 200 pages. I definitely suggest this book if you feel stuck in a part of your life. Ingrid shows us that there will always be time to try something.
The story was exactly what you expect it to be. With a low cost publisher, the writing may not be perfect. Getting published is a fight in its own and at her age and with her accomplishments, she should fight for anything she wants. Including being an author. Therefore, this journal was published for herself and she did it.
Favorite Quote
"And when I think about it, life is a book. So why am I so opposed to having different chapter? Isn't it much better to look forward to a better chapter instead of lingering in the old and depressing one?"
Pg. 72
Purplemanatees.org
Title: Triumph: Taming the Monster Within
Author: Ingrid Kern
Pages: 166
Genre: Autobiography, Non-fiction, Sports
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
This is the autobiography of a woman going after everything she has wanted to do in life, including the Senior Olympics. Told through a series of journal entries, Ingrid Kern shows us how busy her life is and what sacrifices she had to make to get what she wanted. These journal entries take place over the span of five years and what Ingrid believed that she could accomplish and do during that time.
Oh No's
I feel like this woman is trying to accomplish every single thing she has ever wanted to do. It's the ultimate bucket list. She writes books, models, runs, finds love, gets face surgery, write self-help, the list goes on and on. I feel there is so much that she is attacking, the pain she feels could simply be from the amount of activity she is doing. This also felt like she jam packed every weird experience she had into this book as well.
The writing was a quite mediocre in places with LOL and OMG popping up at weird intervals. This woman's audience seems to be aimed toward older adults but she seems to want to appease to the younger generation as well. The writing lacks a lot of grammar but tries to make up for it in story.
All-and-all is it a post by post journal. The writing is quite repetitive in that each day is similar to the day before. This woman literally writes everything that comes to her head and included it all in the novel. I felt some things could have been edited out or maybe more content could have been added. She also accomplishes her senior Olympic goal half way through the book and the rest is just about her working on her running and keeping her exercise up.
Yay's
The inspiration in this story is wonderful. Age is just a number and just because you missed your shot in life once before does not mean you will miss it again. Good things come to those who wait. Second chances are absolutely possible.
Her writing is quite simple, as I said before. Which does make this book an easy read. It was really quick since it's less than 200 pages. I definitely suggest this book if you feel stuck in a part of your life. Ingrid shows us that there will always be time to try something.
The story was exactly what you expect it to be. With a low cost publisher, the writing may not be perfect. Getting published is a fight in its own and at her age and with her accomplishments, she should fight for anything she wants. Including being an author. Therefore, this journal was published for herself and she did it.
Favorite Quote
"And when I think about it, life is a book. So why am I so opposed to having different chapter? Isn't it much better to look forward to a better chapter instead of lingering in the old and depressing one?"
Pg. 72