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serinde4books's reviews
901 reviews
Salsa Nocturna by Daniel José Older
3.0
I found this when I went to see if there were more books in the series, it is marked as being book 2.5. So I didn’t realize that this was a collection of short stories. And per the introduction really a prequel to Half-Resurrection Blues. Once you start to read it though, it’s ingenious the way each story can stand alone, yet when read in order make up a much larger story. I had planned to do a blurb for each story, but realizing that each story makes up the part of a bigger picture, I erased my comments.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
5.0
So this has been on my TBR pile for a while, but it got moved up because of the Netflix movie release. I literally read this on one sitting. This was so suspenseful and easy to read. I had to know what happened to her housemates and if she made it to where she was going. I could not find a stopping place. The writing was so fluid and vivid. The details so sharp that even with the few given it creates an image that is intense and dark. I really like the idea of limited imagery, because the characters are blindfolded, and really it much more visceral than that, and the writing invokes that darkness and suspense with an ease, I didn't find it scary, I found it thrilling.
** SPOILERS***
Watched the movie. They changed so much, the way Malorie joins the house, who is in the house, her sisters name and death. The way she travels down the river. Although John Malcovich as Don/Douglas is amazing casting though, even better than I imagined. They are on the River much longer than in the book too.
Malorie never would have made one of the kids look at the rapids, the one part where she had to pick the right river fork, she looked. Tom lived past the birth! What? Tom’s death so much more dramatic. The kids never disobeyed. But the ending was perfect.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
** SPOILERS***
Watched the movie. They changed so much, the way Malorie joins the house, who is in the house, her sisters name and death. The way she travels down the river. Although John Malcovich as Don/Douglas is amazing casting though, even better than I imagined. They are on the River much longer than in the book too.
Malorie never would have made one of the kids look at the rapids, the one part where she had to pick the right river fork, she looked. Tom lived past the birth! What? Tom’s death so much more dramatic. The kids never disobeyed. But the ending was perfect.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
Pretty Little World by Elizabeth LaBan, Melissa DePino
4.0
This is a Mom’s Book Nook Book of the month. It is the story of three families that tear down their walls literally and combine their three individual homes into a single large home. My best friend lives 3 houses down from me and we do lots of stuff including holidays together, but sharing a kitchen and living rooms sounds like the end of our friendship to me.
The wives are for, 2 of the 3 husbands are ok with the idea. The hold out changes his mind when he had a medical scare and the crazy commune idea begins. It went about like how I expected, drama and weirdness, and not really working out. But only one family was broken up, and that break up really had nothing to do with the commune. I liked the writing, it was easy and light and the story moves at a good pace. It felt predictable, but that is ok. Sometimes it's nice to have a fun light book to read.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
The wives are for, 2 of the 3 husbands are ok with the idea. The hold out changes his mind when he had a medical scare and the crazy commune idea begins. It went about like how I expected, drama and weirdness, and not really working out. But only one family was broken up, and that break up really had nothing to do with the commune. I liked the writing, it was easy and light and the story moves at a good pace. It felt predictable, but that is ok. Sometimes it's nice to have a fun light book to read.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This story is set in Brooklyn in 1912 through 1917. It follows the life of a poor family, the Nolans, mainly from the point of view of the precocious Francie. I really liked it, I thought it was an easy read, the characters were likable and relatable. I even liked Johnny (the drunken father), I have a soft spot for characters who are truthful with themselves. He knew he was a drunk, he tried to do right by his family, but he never denied what he was. I think stopping drinking is what actually killed him, he was going through withdrawal and that is why his hands shook so. I loved that Francie had a love of reading and how her mother cultivated it. I understand Katie's desperation to give her kids a better life than she had herself, I think that is what all parents want. I can relate to the being poor, although as a kid we weren’t that bad off, or if we were my parents did a better job of hiding it that Katie did. I didn’t like the ending though, the whole novel felt so real and gritty, and then the fairytale came true that they had enough money and the kids could finish school thanks to Daddy Warbucks, I mean officer McShane. If Francie had continued to fight and put herself through school it would have seemed much truer to the story to me and I would have been happier. But overall I liked the book.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
The Seven Steps to Closure by Donna Joy Usher
So next in line on my kindle, is little read. I'm not sure what I thought this would be about, but I was totally impressed for how hooked I got. This is the story of a woman trying to recover from a divorce and how her friends push her down the path of recovery with 7 steps. This turned out to be a romance novel that snuck up on me. Now I have nothing against romances, but I find them a little too formulated. Girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, something separates girl and boy, some how girl and boy find each other again, and live happily ever after. Now I'm not saying this book doesn't follow the formula, because it does. But it was a fun read, it reminded me of the movie Eat Pray Love (sorry haven't read the book, only know the movie, and I'm sure they are very different).
The main character is likeable and has limited moments of sopiness. Surprising the object of her affection comes later in the story and of course is every girls dream boat. Her friends are great and funny. The story has some real growth and healing, and romance. The landscape of the storyline is amazing, beauty and love on an unexpected place, but isn't that usually how it its?
I was surprised at show much I enjoyed d this book. The storyline was very fast paved although it covers many months it doesn't drag on. There isn't a ton of literary critiquing for this book, it is just a nice quick read.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
The main character is likeable and has limited moments of sopiness. Surprising the object of her affection comes later in the story and of course is every girls dream boat. Her friends are great and funny. The story has some real growth and healing, and romance. The landscape of the storyline is amazing, beauty and love on an unexpected place, but isn't that usually how it its?
I was surprised at show much I enjoyed d this book. The storyline was very fast paved although it covers many months it doesn't drag on. There isn't a ton of literary critiquing for this book, it is just a nice quick read.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
Locked Up In La Mesa by Steve Peterson, Eldon Asp
So this is the next book in line from my free Kindle books. This is the story of a white guy in the late 70’s that got caught smuggling pot from Mexico into the US. His bad was luck was that he got caught on the Mexico side with no bribe money and was sent to La Mesa. Apparently this is a famous Mexican prison, but I had never heard of out before I read this book.
It was an OK book, the writer has some wild stories, but it is not well written. The chapters are short stories almost, but the writer has a tendency to go off on tangents. The stories are believable, and not as crazy in this day and age as they might have been in the 70's. I have pretty neutral feelings it was an easy filler book, but not something I would read again.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com
It was an OK book, the writer has some wild stories, but it is not well written. The chapters are short stories almost, but the writer has a tendency to go off on tangents. The stories are believable, and not as crazy in this day and age as they might have been in the 70's. I have pretty neutral feelings it was an easy filler book, but not something I would read again.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com