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obsidian_blue's reviews
3049 reviews
Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber
5.0
The last few Blossom Street series have been hit or miss for me. I really liked her last one in the series, "Starting Now" though there was a big plot that I disliked intensely in that novel, "Starting Now: A Blossom Street Novel."
With her latest, "Blossom Street Brides" Ms. Macomber returns to Blossom Street to catch up with fan favorites such as Lydia from "The Shop on Blossom Street" and Bethanne who is still running her party planning business and a new character, Lauren who works at a jewelry store on Blossom Street.
I really did love "A Good Yarn" where we are first introduced to Bethanne and her family where we follow up with them in "A Turn in the Road" I can honestly say that I did not like that novel at all. I though that Bethanne who went from this strong independent woman in "A Good Yarn" turned into a wishy washy indecisive woman. I also ended up disliking her daughter Annie and her former mother in law.
Now to turn to this novel. First I have to say that Ms. Macomber is writing the characters are three dimensional characters again which makes me happy. She actually has plots going on with the three women and we have peeks at former characters from the prior Blossom Street novels. We have Bethanne still adjusting to her 15 month marriage to her husband Max. Lydia still trying to run her store 'A Good Yarn', be there for her family, and deal with her mother's ongoing problems with Alzheimer's disease. Lauren is starting to realize that her two year relationship is going nowhere and that if she wants to be married with children she is going to have to take matters into her own hands.
My main reason for giving this four stars is that with that said I honestly didn't understand besides the one character what this had to do with Blossom Street Brides (notice the plural). It is pretty much stretching it to the story having two brides since one of the brides was a side character in another side character's story that readers don't lay eyes on until the epilogue.
I also thought that Ms. Macomber would have been better served by just focusing on Lauren and Bethanne's stories in this one. Those two characters plots were the strongest for me and I found myself skimming over Lydia's. Also the reveal of who is leaving the baskets all over town I figured out after the first two chapters.
I would recommend to fans of Debbie Macomber!
Please note I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program.
With her latest, "Blossom Street Brides" Ms. Macomber returns to Blossom Street to catch up with fan favorites such as Lydia from "The Shop on Blossom Street" and Bethanne who is still running her party planning business and a new character, Lauren who works at a jewelry store on Blossom Street.
I really did love "A Good Yarn" where we are first introduced to Bethanne and her family where we follow up with them in "A Turn in the Road" I can honestly say that I did not like that novel at all. I though that Bethanne who went from this strong independent woman in "A Good Yarn" turned into a wishy washy indecisive woman. I also ended up disliking her daughter Annie and her former mother in law.
Now to turn to this novel. First I have to say that Ms. Macomber is writing the characters are three dimensional characters again which makes me happy. She actually has plots going on with the three women and we have peeks at former characters from the prior Blossom Street novels. We have Bethanne still adjusting to her 15 month marriage to her husband Max. Lydia still trying to run her store 'A Good Yarn', be there for her family, and deal with her mother's ongoing problems with Alzheimer's disease. Lauren is starting to realize that her two year relationship is going nowhere and that if she wants to be married with children she is going to have to take matters into her own hands.
My main reason for giving this four stars is that with that said I honestly didn't understand besides the one character what this had to do with Blossom Street Brides (notice the plural). It is pretty much stretching it to the story having two brides since one of the brides was a side character in another side character's story that readers don't lay eyes on until the epilogue.
I also thought that Ms. Macomber would have been better served by just focusing on Lauren and Bethanne's stories in this one. Those two characters plots were the strongest for me and I found myself skimming over Lydia's. Also the reveal of who is leaving the baskets all over town I figured out after the first two chapters.
I would recommend to fans of Debbie Macomber!
Please note I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program.
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
4.0
A few years back I read Ms. Tan's "Rule for Virgins" and loved Magic Gourd's lessons to Violet the courtesan. Now we move to the full length novel titled "The Valley of Amazement".
The Valley of Amazement begins with the tale of Violet, a half American and Chinese girl living in Shanghai with her mother who runs a house for courtesans. The story flips more than halfway through to Violet's mother Lucia who provides details on her characters background and what brought her to China.
I have to say that I really really loved "Rules for Virgins". I loved the character of Magic Gourd and "Rules for Virgin" appears in "The Valley of Amazement". I thought Magic Gourd's tales of her upbringing were more fascinating to me than the tale of Violet or Lucia.
Moving on to the character of Violet. At times I find her selfish, pitiable, and strong. I felt for her and the circumstances she ended up in.
The only reason why I gave this novel 3.5 stars is that I think unlike with previous Amy Tan novels I honestly didn't get a feel for food or smells. I remember reading "The Bonesetter's Daughter" and feeling as if I could taste the food described and the smell of some of the people and could picture their faces.
Also I think trying to introduce Lucia's story into the novel at such a late point ended up taking me out of Violet's story. I wanted to get back to Violet and her life.
I remember reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" and being fascinated by how women were trained up to be geishas. I thought this novel would be similar to that in providing readers with details on how courtesans were brought up and trained. Besides "The Rules for Virgins" I really didn't get a feel for how courtesans were really trained and how Violet used those lessons by Magic Gourd to capture suitors.
I still thought this was a very good read and would recommend to fans of Amy Tan.
The Valley of Amazement begins with the tale of Violet, a half American and Chinese girl living in Shanghai with her mother who runs a house for courtesans. The story flips more than halfway through to Violet's mother Lucia who provides details on her characters background and what brought her to China.
I have to say that I really really loved "Rules for Virgins". I loved the character of Magic Gourd and "Rules for Virgin" appears in "The Valley of Amazement". I thought Magic Gourd's tales of her upbringing were more fascinating to me than the tale of Violet or Lucia.
Moving on to the character of Violet. At times I find her selfish, pitiable, and strong. I felt for her and the circumstances she ended up in.
The only reason why I gave this novel 3.5 stars is that I think unlike with previous Amy Tan novels I honestly didn't get a feel for food or smells. I remember reading "The Bonesetter's Daughter" and feeling as if I could taste the food described and the smell of some of the people and could picture their faces.
Also I think trying to introduce Lucia's story into the novel at such a late point ended up taking me out of Violet's story. I wanted to get back to Violet and her life.
I remember reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" and being fascinated by how women were trained up to be geishas. I thought this novel would be similar to that in providing readers with details on how courtesans were brought up and trained. Besides "The Rules for Virgins" I really didn't get a feel for how courtesans were really trained and how Violet used those lessons by Magic Gourd to capture suitors.
I still thought this was a very good read and would recommend to fans of Amy Tan.
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
4.0
I previously read Joyce Maynard's "The Good Daughters" and liked that book so bought this one as well.
Taking place in the summer of 1987 on the Labor Day weekend, 13 year old Henry comes across a man named Frank that will change his and his mother's lives. The novel flashes back between 1987 and the present day Henry still reeling from the repercussions of that weekend.
I honestly felt for Henry throughout this novel. He is a 13 year old boy who is left adrift due to his absent father and his present mother who is not fully there for Henry. I felt for him throughout the entire novel and definitely understood why he took certain actions. Not because he wanted to hurt anyone but just because he needed to be important and loved by someone.
I don't want to spoil too much in this review except to say that Henry's mother Adele I honestly could not get a rid on at all. I don't know if as a reader I was supposed to pity or demonize her for what she choose to do and how ineffective she was in Henry's life. At times I felt sympathy for the character but with her ignoring what was best for Henry in order for her own happiness was just a little hard to take.
Ms. Maynard writes very well and her descriptions of just smells and feelings were at times so vivid I felt as if I was right there along with Henry.
I was disappointed in the ending (not because of the writing) just because to me it was so unrealistic. That was the only reason why I gave this book four stars.
Taking place in the summer of 1987 on the Labor Day weekend, 13 year old Henry comes across a man named Frank that will change his and his mother's lives. The novel flashes back between 1987 and the present day Henry still reeling from the repercussions of that weekend.
I honestly felt for Henry throughout this novel. He is a 13 year old boy who is left adrift due to his absent father and his present mother who is not fully there for Henry. I felt for him throughout the entire novel and definitely understood why he took certain actions. Not because he wanted to hurt anyone but just because he needed to be important and loved by someone.
I don't want to spoil too much in this review except to say that Henry's mother Adele I honestly could not get a rid on at all. I don't know if as a reader I was supposed to pity or demonize her for what she choose to do and how ineffective she was in Henry's life. At times I felt sympathy for the character but with her ignoring what was best for Henry in order for her own happiness was just a little hard to take.
Ms. Maynard writes very well and her descriptions of just smells and feelings were at times so vivid I felt as if I was right there along with Henry.
I was disappointed in the ending (not because of the writing) just because to me it was so unrealistic. That was the only reason why I gave this book four stars.
Redshirts by John Scalzi
5.0
I am a sci-fi/fantasy nerd. I love the Stark Trek films (even though when you think about it half the things they do are not scientifically possible). And have watched everything from Doctor Who to Battlestar Gallatica. However, my secret shame is that I don't read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy novels with emphasis on the science fiction part (cue the horrified screams).
However, after being told by my friends that I needed to read this novel and also pick up a few books by this author (have Old Man's War on my To Be Read pile) I finally finished this novel.
Mr. Scalzi's fun take of anyone in a red-shirt (except for main characters) was expendable was cleverly done.
This book follows Ensign Andrew Dahlof and some of the crew of the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid. I really don't want to get too specific since I will end up spoiling for other readers out there (and I hate when reviews do that) and just say that this novel had some serious laugh out loud moments for me. The first chapter of the book literally took my breath away and from there I was engrossed. When we find out about the secret behind the Intrepid I did feel a bit of a letdown. After I read the secret I did feel letdown since I thought it would be one of those novels which throws a MacGuffin in at the last minute and try to wrap things up in a tidy bow and was all ready to write the entire book off.
However, I am glad I kept reading since the novel moved in an entirely different way which honestly moved me. This novel could have been just a slap-sticky sort of nonsense and a poke at the Star Trek and other like series but it really in the end was not. It was an interesting look at free-will, fate, and what makes "us" us.
The only reason why I gave this novel a 4.5 star out of 5 was just because I thought coda 1 ruined the momentum of the ending and the rest of the novel as a whole. I did love coda 2 and coda 3 just once again moved me to tears.
Would definitely recommend!
However, after being told by my friends that I needed to read this novel and also pick up a few books by this author (have Old Man's War on my To Be Read pile) I finally finished this novel.
Mr. Scalzi's fun take of anyone in a red-shirt (except for main characters) was expendable was cleverly done.
This book follows Ensign Andrew Dahlof and some of the crew of the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid. I really don't want to get too specific since I will end up spoiling for other readers out there (and I hate when reviews do that) and just say that this novel had some serious laugh out loud moments for me. The first chapter of the book literally took my breath away and from there I was engrossed. When we find out about the secret behind the Intrepid I did feel a bit of a letdown. After I read the secret I did feel letdown since I thought it would be one of those novels which throws a MacGuffin in at the last minute and try to wrap things up in a tidy bow and was all ready to write the entire book off.
However, I am glad I kept reading since the novel moved in an entirely different way which honestly moved me. This novel could have been just a slap-sticky sort of nonsense and a poke at the Star Trek and other like series but it really in the end was not. It was an interesting look at free-will, fate, and what makes "us" us.
The only reason why I gave this novel a 4.5 star out of 5 was just because I thought coda 1 ruined the momentum of the ending and the rest of the novel as a whole. I did love coda 2 and coda 3 just once again moved me to tears.
Would definitely recommend!
London Transports by Maeve Binchy
5.0
I love Maeve Binchy. I honestly really did cry when I head that she had passed away. I have been reading her novels and short stories for so many years I was just used to her books. No matter what she was always an automatic buy for me. I have not had a chance to read all of her books so decided to go back and read the ones I have not up until now.
I really did enjoy London Transports. I do think that she was a very fine teller of short stories and wish that more authors out there would do short story collections these days.
All of the stories take place in London and each story had what I would consider a realistic ending. For those that have read Maeve Binchy before she has stories that deal with adultery, betrayal, abortion, love, unrequited love, race relations. I think my favorite stories in this collection were actually:
"Holland Park" when a woman comes to a realization about who she really loves and owes it all to two people she really can't stand.
"Lancaster Gate" when a woman comes to the end of a relationship.
"Marble Arch" when a woman who has sacrificed for her boyfriend realizes that not everything is as it seems.
"Holborn" a married woman meets up with her ex and his new wife and is shocked by how changed he is.
And my hand's down favorite story "King's Cross" where a woman comes along and helps her female boss in becoming noticed and promoted at her job.
I definitely recommend to long-time and new readers of Maeve Binchy's work.
I really did enjoy London Transports. I do think that she was a very fine teller of short stories and wish that more authors out there would do short story collections these days.
All of the stories take place in London and each story had what I would consider a realistic ending. For those that have read Maeve Binchy before she has stories that deal with adultery, betrayal, abortion, love, unrequited love, race relations. I think my favorite stories in this collection were actually:
"Holland Park" when a woman comes to a realization about who she really loves and owes it all to two people she really can't stand.
"Lancaster Gate" when a woman comes to the end of a relationship.
"Marble Arch" when a woman who has sacrificed for her boyfriend realizes that not everything is as it seems.
"Holborn" a married woman meets up with her ex and his new wife and is shocked by how changed he is.
And my hand's down favorite story "King's Cross" where a woman comes along and helps her female boss in becoming noticed and promoted at her job.
I definitely recommend to long-time and new readers of Maeve Binchy's work.
Barefoot Season by Susan Mallery
5.0
I tend to do things backwards. I may find out about a new author or read one of their series books out of order and fall in love with it. I did the same thing with Susan Mallery's "Blackberry Island" series. I read "Three Sisters" and absolutely adored that book. From there I read "Evening Star" and finally last weekend started and finished "Barefoot Season".
This novel is about two ex-best friends Michelle Sanderson and Carly Williams who have not spoken in ten years since an incident drove them apart. Michelle left Blackberry Island to join the military and Carly stayed behind to be a wife to her husband. Ten years later they are forced to work together again at Michelle's family's inn.
I have to say I loved both Michelle and Carly. I have no idea what I would have done in similar circumstances. Two friends who were driven apart by their own families and in both cases a need to be loved was heartbreaking at times but very well done. Ms. Mallery must have also talked to someone who is former vet or read up on PTSD. She was able to write Michelle's reactions to stress and noise very well.
Also most romance books out there have a right and true formula for the heroines or heroes to get to their HEA. I was happily surprised to see though that the HEA relationship was between Michelle and Carly and not any men that came along. This whole book was about them finding their way back to each other.
I honestly don't have anything to critique about this novel except to say that if you have a chance read this and then the other books in this series.
This novel is about two ex-best friends Michelle Sanderson and Carly Williams who have not spoken in ten years since an incident drove them apart. Michelle left Blackberry Island to join the military and Carly stayed behind to be a wife to her husband. Ten years later they are forced to work together again at Michelle's family's inn.
I have to say I loved both Michelle and Carly. I have no idea what I would have done in similar circumstances. Two friends who were driven apart by their own families and in both cases a need to be loved was heartbreaking at times but very well done. Ms. Mallery must have also talked to someone who is former vet or read up on PTSD. She was able to write Michelle's reactions to stress and noise very well.
Also most romance books out there have a right and true formula for the heroines or heroes to get to their HEA. I was happily surprised to see though that the HEA relationship was between Michelle and Carly and not any men that came along. This whole book was about them finding their way back to each other.
I honestly don't have anything to critique about this novel except to say that if you have a chance read this and then the other books in this series.
Just This Once by Rosalind James
5.0
So this series was recommended to me by a friend who told me that she felt this was a good call-back to the romance novels we used to sneak out from under our mom's beds when we were kids. You all know what I am talking about. The books with the hero and heroine gazing into each other eyes looking overcome just be touching each other. Not really understanding why your mom/aunt/sister had flagged certain pages until you read them and then you understood.
The first book in Rosalind James Escape to New Zealand series, "Just This Once" is the first book in the series and I thought was a really steamy romance novel that evoked the older romance genre books that many still love.
Our heroine, Hannah Montgomery, goes to New Zealand for three weeks to figure out what she wants to do next. While there, she meets a professional rugby player, Drew Callahan. Hannah and Drew just fit together to me and their love scenes (when they happened) made me blush...a lot. I thought it was very realistic and quite open about two people who were deeply attracted to one another and their relationship trajectory made a lot of sense to me. Nothing was magically fixed, everything took work. What really made me love this book was that it took place in a country and city I have never been to and would have not thought a romance taking place there would work, but it did. I thought Ms. James did an excellent job describing the history of the New Zealand, the intricacies of rugby, and the Maori culture.
All in all a wonderful romance read! Cannot wait to read book two in this series!
Please note that I received this novel for free via the Amazon Kindle Lending Library.
The first book in Rosalind James Escape to New Zealand series, "Just This Once" is the first book in the series and I thought was a really steamy romance novel that evoked the older romance genre books that many still love.
Our heroine, Hannah Montgomery, goes to New Zealand for three weeks to figure out what she wants to do next. While there, she meets a professional rugby player, Drew Callahan. Hannah and Drew just fit together to me and their love scenes (when they happened) made me blush...a lot. I thought it was very realistic and quite open about two people who were deeply attracted to one another and their relationship trajectory made a lot of sense to me. Nothing was magically fixed, everything took work. What really made me love this book was that it took place in a country and city I have never been to and would have not thought a romance taking place there would work, but it did. I thought Ms. James did an excellent job describing the history of the New Zealand, the intricacies of rugby, and the Maori culture.
All in all a wonderful romance read! Cannot wait to read book two in this series!
Please note that I received this novel for free via the Amazon Kindle Lending Library.
Männerfrei by Gemma Burgess
4.0
I have been missing old-school Jane Green, Sophie Kinsella, and others who used to write what I considered some of the best British chick-lit. I love chick-lit novels but they have seemed to fall out of favor over the past couple of years. More and more we have writers either for straight romance or it becomes a women's fiction book.
I really love the tale of one woman taking a detox from dating after having six disastrous break-ups in a row. The main character, Sass, still recovering over her fifth break-up that temporarily scrambled her brains and then dealing with her sixth boyfriend dumping her too has made her call a time-out from dating for at least three months. I could definitely feel the main character as I was reading this since heaven knows I and millions of other women would probably do very well with declaring a dating detox ourselves.
Taking place in London and New York we have Sass trying to be assertive at work as well as in her personal life. With three best friends (Kate, Bloomie,and Mitch) there are several laugh out loud moments that I really enjoyed (I loved the idea of every Mitch party involving a signature drink with blenders).
Having Sass provide readers with details about what went wrong with each guy who has broken up with her and having all of these same guys pop up throughout the entire novel I thought was really good.
I really love the tale of one woman taking a detox from dating after having six disastrous break-ups in a row. The main character, Sass, still recovering over her fifth break-up that temporarily scrambled her brains and then dealing with her sixth boyfriend dumping her too has made her call a time-out from dating for at least three months. I could definitely feel the main character as I was reading this since heaven knows I and millions of other women would probably do very well with declaring a dating detox ourselves.
Taking place in London and New York we have Sass trying to be assertive at work as well as in her personal life. With three best friends (Kate, Bloomie,and Mitch) there are several laugh out loud moments that I really enjoyed (I loved the idea of every Mitch party involving a signature drink with blenders).
Having Sass provide readers with details about what went wrong with each guy who has broken up with her and having all of these same guys pop up throughout the entire novel I thought was really good.
Christmas Kismet by Jemma Grey
2.0
I really love romance novels that center around Christmas. Just reading about people enjoying family and friends around the tree with snow falling and the man/woman you love being near always brings a smile to my face.
The two main characters Kate and Herni both have reasons for wanting to get away from their homes for the Christmas holidays. Kate still reeling from an emotional betrayal decides to hide away from her family during the Christmas season. She rents a cabin for the holidays. Henri, still dealing with the death of his wife and not being able to spend time with his children during the holidays goes away to spend time at his cabin and due to a mix-up with reservations ends up sharing the cabin with Kate.
I only gave this novel 2 stars because in the end I really did not like it. The plot worked but the I had problems with the two leads separately and then the "heat" between them was not really there.
First, Kate's betrayal was so big I was shocked in the end when everything seemed to be fine with her and the persons behind it since she found love again. Added to that is the fact that when I read about the "why" behind Kate was betrayed (not that it was a good reason) seeing how fast she moves in her relationship with Henri just strained my credibility meter.
Second, Henri just seemed quite dull to me. You find out about his wife, his children, and the issues with his in-laws but it was brought up as this type of side-plot that really did not go anywhere.
Third, once Kate and Henri get together I just did not buy it. I didn't see the "love" between the two characters which is always a problem when you have the two characters get together literally a couple of days after meeting one another. It can work in some situations but I have to feel the lust/pull for the two people right away. All I saw was a lot of "like" and as I said since we find out about Kate's unique situation I had problems buying that she all of a sudden felt lust for a total stranger like she did. The ending was too pat and unbelievable to me. I think if the storyline had been more than a few days with the lead-up to meeting each other and falling in love more realistic I would have liked the novel more.
The two main characters Kate and Herni both have reasons for wanting to get away from their homes for the Christmas holidays. Kate still reeling from an emotional betrayal decides to hide away from her family during the Christmas season. She rents a cabin for the holidays. Henri, still dealing with the death of his wife and not being able to spend time with his children during the holidays goes away to spend time at his cabin and due to a mix-up with reservations ends up sharing the cabin with Kate.
I only gave this novel 2 stars because in the end I really did not like it. The plot worked but the I had problems with the two leads separately and then the "heat" between them was not really there.
First, Kate's betrayal was so big I was shocked in the end when everything seemed to be fine with her and the persons behind it since she found love again. Added to that is the fact that when I read about the "why" behind Kate was betrayed (not that it was a good reason) seeing how fast she moves in her relationship with Henri just strained my credibility meter.
Second, Henri just seemed quite dull to me. You find out about his wife, his children, and the issues with his in-laws but it was brought up as this type of side-plot that really did not go anywhere.
Third, once Kate and Henri get together I just did not buy it. I didn't see the "love" between the two characters which is always a problem when you have the two characters get together literally a couple of days after meeting one another. It can work in some situations but I have to feel the lust/pull for the two people right away. All I saw was a lot of "like" and as I said since we find out about Kate's unique situation I had problems buying that she all of a sudden felt lust for a total stranger like she did. The ending was too pat and unbelievable to me. I think if the storyline had been more than a few days with the lead-up to meeting each other and falling in love more realistic I would have liked the novel more.
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
4.0
It took me a long time to start Doctor Sleep. I remember reading "The Shining" when I was a pre-teen and being scared to go to sleep for weeks without my handy flashlight next to me. I felt for Danny Torrance and his family as they were trapped in the Overlook hotel where people that were dead did not stay dead. I always wondered what happened to Danny and his mother after they survived the Overlook. Doctor Sleep allows us to see what kind of man has Danny (Dan) become since "The Shining."
When the novel begins we have Danny and his mother still recovering from the events at the Overlook. We a visit from Dick Hallorann thrown in we readers quickly find out that Danny is still dealing with the events at the Overlook and we find out an interesting side effect to the shining. Stephen King then throws the novel forward into Danny's (now known as Dan) early to mid twenties who we come to find out has become a drunk who drinks to forget his past. The novel zig-zags through Dan's life and we also have incorporated into the novel some asides to characters called "The True Knot" who apparently know what "The Shining" is and want it for themselves. Additionally we have the characters of Lucy, David, and their daughter Abra.
I have to say that I was very taken by the characterization of Dan in this novel. After everything he has been through who would not have some scarring left from that. However, I felt disappointed that we do not get to get into his life with his mom growing up except for a few short sentences referencing her and Dick. To have Dan just falling and hitting rock bottom was believable except for the part that I doubt that Dick would have ever let Dan fall that hard without a little tough love and getting back in touch. I felt as a reader that Stephen King left off some important information for me to just get into why Dan just slid as far down as he did in the world.
Regarding the characters who made up "The True Knot", I really did not find them scary at all. Definitely horrible villains but they did not make me feel as fearful or scared as I did while reading Stephen King's "Full Dark, No Stars" or the character of It in "It" (involuntary shudder) compared to those villains these people were just lightweights. I really wish that they had not taken up as much of the novel as they did or we had been able to understand exactly what moved them besides just staying alive.
I found the character of Abra interesting along with her parents and I would love to see this character followed-up on in a subsequent novel but find that once the connection to Dan was finally explained by King that I just felt disappointed. It really didn't make a lot of sense and I felt that the explanations of how everything tied together actually made the novel lose its steam at that point so when we go into the last couple of chapters I found myself not as engaged as I should have been.
All in all this was a very nice sequel to "The Shining" but I think it would have been better if we just didn't have the whole "True Knot" characters in the novel or if we did they really should have been scarier or at least I should have been scared for our heroes.
When the novel begins we have Danny and his mother still recovering from the events at the Overlook. We a visit from Dick Hallorann thrown in we readers quickly find out that Danny is still dealing with the events at the Overlook and we find out an interesting side effect to the shining. Stephen King then throws the novel forward into Danny's (now known as Dan) early to mid twenties who we come to find out has become a drunk who drinks to forget his past. The novel zig-zags through Dan's life and we also have incorporated into the novel some asides to characters called "The True Knot" who apparently know what "The Shining" is and want it for themselves. Additionally we have the characters of Lucy, David, and their daughter Abra.
I have to say that I was very taken by the characterization of Dan in this novel. After everything he has been through who would not have some scarring left from that. However, I felt disappointed that we do not get to get into his life with his mom growing up except for a few short sentences referencing her and Dick. To have Dan just falling and hitting rock bottom was believable except for the part that I doubt that Dick would have ever let Dan fall that hard without a little tough love and getting back in touch. I felt as a reader that Stephen King left off some important information for me to just get into why Dan just slid as far down as he did in the world.
Regarding the characters who made up "The True Knot", I really did not find them scary at all. Definitely horrible villains but they did not make me feel as fearful or scared as I did while reading Stephen King's "Full Dark, No Stars" or the character of It in "It" (involuntary shudder) compared to those villains these people were just lightweights. I really wish that they had not taken up as much of the novel as they did or we had been able to understand exactly what moved them besides just staying alive.
I found the character of Abra interesting along with her parents and I would love to see this character followed-up on in a subsequent novel but find that once the connection to Dan was finally explained by King that I just felt disappointed. It really didn't make a lot of sense and I felt that the explanations of how everything tied together actually made the novel lose its steam at that point so when we go into the last couple of chapters I found myself not as engaged as I should have been.
All in all this was a very nice sequel to "The Shining" but I think it would have been better if we just didn't have the whole "True Knot" characters in the novel or if we did they really should have been scarier or at least I should have been scared for our heroes.