Tag: Book Reviews

Posted in Spicy Romance

Claiming Their Royal Mate, pt. 1

Posted on by Little Bee

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Claiming Their Royal Mate pt 1 by Andie Devaux

Narrated by Carly Robins

Goodreads rating: 3

Audible rating: 3.5 stars

Does anyone here share accounts with their parents? (Amazon Prime…Netflix…Audible?) Yes? Maybe you will understand my struggle. About a year ago, I got my mom ridiculously addicted to audiobooks. My mom loved books, but she never has time to sit and read them (which is funny because she will sit and listen to an 8 hour book in one session…) So, we started listening to some audiobooks together when we would drive to work (we carpooled). She buys audiobooks all the time on my account, and then tells me, she is enhancing my library. I believe my Audible Wishlist has roughly 22 pages. Do you know how many pages the books I want take up? 3. So, during a recent sale Audible had, I went looking for some books I wouldn’t mind giving a go. Claiming Their Royal Mate happened to be one of those books. I couldn’t remember placing this book on my list, and I figured given the subject matter, my mom was the one who did it. So I purchased it.

Now, I like a good shifter book, I am not sure why, but I love the sex appeal. It is a big reason that shifter paranormal books do so well in today’s market. What I don’t like, are somewhat confusing shifter books. A little information on this book: girl was adopted, girl grows into a woman, girl lives next door to guy and becomes friends, girl likes guy, guy suddenly starts to be an asshole, girl starts hating guy, girl suddenly has sexual urges she cannot resist, girl goes to guy and guy explains it is because she is a powerful alpha female and she is going through the “transition.” Girl doesn’t believe guy. Guy shows her he is a shifter. Guy feeds girl’s sexual needs. Girl falls in love with guy. Guy falls in love with girl but explains he cannot mate her because she is promised to alpha male in pack. Alpha male shows up. Alpha male notices that girl has been mated by guy. Alpha male wants to fight to the death for girl. Girl has none of this. The three of them come up with some bargain to share her (alpha male gets her for breeding since she is a purebred like himself). It is after all, for the good of the pack. Later, guy gets kidnapped. Book ends.

Now, I know I gave some spoilers, and I know this is “part 1,” however…predictable. Sexy scenes are what gave this story a higher rating. Narrator’s voice you had to get used to but once you do, it’s alright. So, why is it confusing? The book just didn’t make sense to me. I feel this story line is played out so much that there was nothing new added to this particular genre that hasn’t been done MULTIPLE times before. Will I continue on? Maybe if there is another sale or my mom buys the rest of the series…

Posted in Book Reviews

My first take on a photography book review!

Posted on by Little Bee

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My Rating: 4 stars

I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

Lately, I have been stepping outside of my comfort zone regarding books. I have never reviewed a book of photography before and it has been about 10 years since my last photography course in which we also learned how to critique photos. Therefore, in this review, I will not be reviewing the aesthetics, since that is a little outside of my zone and knowledge base.

One thing that I do like about this book is that it’s not all photography. I do love photography, however, it is nice to read descriptions as well. Since I have never been to Norway, the “Impressions” sections were nice. I was seeing through the eyes of the authors and photographers. So it is up to them to get me to feel like I am there. Having that said, I did come across a couple of errors/typos. On page 16, “and” should be “an” in the first sentence. On page 24, first paragraph, last sentence, I believe there is a word missing? “But thanks TO nature…”? I re-read that sentence a couple times, something just seems missing.

I wish the the photos had titles so I could refer directly to them. But my favorite photos can be found on pages 30, 32, 43, 57, 67 and 77. As an avid hiker, these made me miss the hiking season and put Norway on my list of hikes I wish to go on in the future. I also want to point out, how close the ecosystem is to that of the Guadalupe Mountains (Texas) and Mt. Wheeler (New Mexico). I presume these were taken somewhere in fall/winter, but it looks a lot like the summer time in West Texas’ Guadalupe Mountains! Nothing wrong with that. Would love to see some vibrant photos when Mother Nature is at her most luscious self!

Posted in YA Book Reviews

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Posted on by Little Bee

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Overall rating: 4 stars

I am on a mission to read all the books that are banned or challenged in the US. I want to point out that upon some investigating of these banned/challenged books, most of them have a subject matter that happened in the US or is currently happening in the US. For example, To Kill a Mockingbird has been banned or challenged in many states because of its strong story line regarding racism in the south. I want to point out, that many of the states banning or challenging this book are SOUTHERN. Now, I am from the south. I was born in Mississippi. I don’t think you can get more southern than that. I think books like To Kill a Mockingbird are important. I don’t agree that it puts the south in a bad light. Racism, slavery…these are a part of the United State’s history and it is important to teach our children and future generations to PREVENT such hatred from continuing. You can’t ban historical events. You just cant. It is like all those people who swear up and down that the Holocaust never happened. It just doesn’t work that way.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is another one of these books. I am pretty sure the reason for banning or challenging is “Let’s not allow children to read this because it shows how horrible “white” citizens were to Native Americans.” I want to point out that my grandfather was not allowed to go to school with “whites.” He also left his education early and eventually went on to work into the Nuclear industry. My family never lived on a reservation, but they experienced poverty and bigotry regardless. This story broke my heart. Some of the events are from memories of Sherman Alexie’s life. How atrocious of a society are we?

Books like these are important because someone needs to teach future generations that there is no superior race and every other lesson that can be found in these stories. In fact, there are studies that indicate within in the next 50-100 years there won’t even be a pure “white” person. Color of your skin does not create a person. It does not indicate that you are better than someone else.

So now that some of my feelings and viewpoints are out of the way, let’s talk about the book eh? I think this book was well written. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me angry, it basically made me FEEL. That is why we read, right? To feel something after the book is over? The truth is, these are very real situations that happen. Maybe a lot of us put it out of our minds because we do not have direct experience with it. Sherman Alexie makes you feel from start to finish. For his first YA, this is a definite hit. I felt for Junior in this story. He was caught between two worlds. He was successful in the white world, but was failing in his own Native American world. He was a stranger in both. It took him deciding to go to a different school where he was the only Native American for him to discover the possibilities. To know he was strong and that he could do anything he put his mind to. That he could give his life purpose beyond alcohol and poverty and death and loss. Alcoholism is prevalent in this society.  I, myself, have to be careful because many of my family have a problem and have struggled.  I think Junior was successful in how he handled everything he went through. Every emotion. He had no one to really talk to, because he was always the outcast. Junior was the caged bird that broke free. He felt guilty, but he soared higher and higher.

If you haven’t read this story, I do suggest it. It is very moving. I only gave it 4 stars because I felt like it could have used a bit more. Junior went through a lot during that school year, but I wanted something significant to really happen. So that is just my opinion. If you read it, be sure to read between the lines for the full message of this story 🙂

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Santa Claus vs. The Aliens…a Real Disappointment!

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Actual Rating: 2.5 stars

I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

Have you ever read a book so bad you just didn’t know how to put your feelings to words? How do you go about writing a review for a book that took you almost 3 months to get through 120 pages?  So why did I give it 3 stars on Goodreads to keep it’s rating high? I guess that extra half was a pity star.

First, it is important to note that this book is geared towards middle grade readers. I want to point out that I am completely capable of reading middle grade aged books. Some of my favorites are:

  1. Fablehaven (Brandon Mull)
  2. Vampirates (Jason Somper)
  3. Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus (Rick Riordan)

I want it known now, at the beginning of this review, that the low rating was not because I couldn’t review this book for the age group it is geared towards. I can, as I have done reviews for this age group in the past. So where did this story go horribly wrong? At it’s execution.

I think this story line held a lot of promise and could have been something fantastic. I get that it is more for male readers, but that is not the issue. Reading this book almost felt like I was reading something translated directly into English. It felt broken, incorrect word usage and incorrect use of commas. For example, the first paragraph in Chapter 9 was one sentence. It contained almost 100 words (I counted) and 7 commas. I can’t even begin to explain how irked that made me. There were times I had to re-read sections multiple times just to make sure I understood what was happening. Sometimes you couldn’t tell who was talking because what was said didn’t fit the situation or the person who was supposedly saying it. Another major issue I had was the atrocious way Edwin talked! Look, I get that it is based in New York City and I can see why you want to get the “accent” across, but really? Here is an example:

 

Yeah, that’s it. I got some kinda cold or flu or summin’ and I’m de-loosional. None of that stuff happened today. No, can’t be. That’s crazy tawk. To think I actually thought that that all really happened! Ha! Whatta dope I am!

There is so much more grammatically wrong with this whole story, but I think I will talk about some positives. I like the reference to Krampus that Sister Clara referenced in the book. If I didn’t know the story behind Krampus in the Alpine culture, I would have completely missed this during Edwin’s flashback to the Boogen and ‘Sami Claus.’ I am curious as to why StreetSmart is trademarked in the story…? I will point out at the end there is a “Christian message.” The author mentions it as an “underlying” message, but it is blatant and in your face. I don’t have issues with this, but I felt like it was beaten to death. In fact, in some situations there were so many descriptions I would skip the rest of the paragraph. Some extremely long run on sentences actually repeated the same words, becoming completely redundant and having zero purpose in the story at all.

Goodreads reviews says this book has 4 stars. I read some of the reviews, majority of the readers gave it 4 and 5 stars. Which makes me ask myself two questions: 1) did I get a rough draft copy while others got the corrected version? or 2) am I the only reviewer who couldn’t get past the horrible grammatical structure of the ENTIRE story? I feel like maybe the second question is more applicable. Maybe everyone else overlooked the execution and stuck with the story line?  Am I the only one on this planet that cannot enjoy a story that has horrible grammar?  I think this story line held so much promise and I bet if some major edits were made, it would be more enjoyable. Making edits will not distort the idea of the story, but enhance it and make it more enjoyable and easier to get lost into this Christmas Eve adventure with Edwin.

Actually, after making it through this review, I am probably going to take away my pity star…Oh the conflict!

Posted in Book Reviews

I’m Still Here

Posted on by Little Bee

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My rating: 5 stars

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. This is my honest review.

There will be a minor spoiler at the end of this review. Just throwing it out there.

I was super excited when I found out that I had won this book. It is one book that I truly wanted and wanted badly. The whole premise just sounded spot on. Kathryn Biel delivered.

Esther has this sense of humor that is completely relatable. I enjoyed every interaction she had with Kingston. Their banter was spot on. My heart broke for Esther having a family that didn’t want her. Who couldn’t care less about her. My heart hurt for her for having a twin sister that just suddenly disappeared. Esther tried moving on with her life as if Aster was dead, because she truly thought she was.

Like you can read in other Goodreads reviews, I laughed throughout this book. I cried. I was angry. I was in shock. My heart literally hurt. I got so anxious that I had to read faster and I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t read any faster than I was. This was truly a phenomenal read. I am glad I got to go on the journey with Esther. (Spoiler)–I wish she retained her memory, but I am glad that her and Kingston were able to further their relationship and she let him and that he was man enough to stay when everything happened. Some men that would have scared off. It was nice to see a nice strong male lead so deserving a strong woman. Esther had everything I want in a female protagonist. She is strong. She is independent. She is witty. She is relatable. She has strength when everyone around her is barely holding on. She has perseverance like I haven’t seen in a character. She just keeps moving, keeps going forward, keeps doing what she has to do to keep her head above water. When she finally drowns, the family she never had, rescues her and gives her the will to keep going.

I highly recommend this book to pretty much everyone! It was so good. I read it all in one sitting. I was left just…feeling. I wasn’t even sure how to write this review. It was a moving story and I will definitely be seeking out more of Biel’s works.