I have returned to my love of the classics and am in awe of the masterful way these wizards of words weave their worlds. There is no one, to this day, who compares to the writers of old. I hear authors state these classics are boring but if that is the case, why are they timeless? Why have they lasted when so many other titles have met their shelf-life and been neglected? Why have movie adaptations been made over and over depicting these "boring" stories? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced us to an amazing machine of detection. Today, I start this journey with A Study in Scarlet, a story of Sherlock Holmes.
My Review:Disclaimer: My reviews are based on my own opinions. By no means will I ever discourage a reader to form their own opinions by reading the author's book. Do NOT contact me and complain about your review. I am and always will be brutally honest and expect my reviewers to be the same. A Study in Scarlet is the first installment in the legendary journey of Sherlock Holmes. It begins with Sherlock Holmes being called to a bizarre scene where a grisly murder awaits and a word is written on the wall in blood. What unfurls is a mystery involving lost love and a vengeance transcending 20 years. I am very and I mean very excited to have re-read this timeless classic. Arthur Conan Doyle reminds us as to the reasons why he is one of the masters of weaving the true mystery. Doyle offers a unique approach to his novels by having Dr. Watson be the one who recounts Sherlock's adventures in his journal instead of having the story told from Sherlock's point of view. This is not something commonly seen in today's "literature." Though Doyle does not provide the depth of world-building I usually prefer and relies largely on dialogue to create the story, I find his works one of the finest examples of the detective story to date. Something I personally suffer from is the ability to figure out the killers, the motive and the method of murder mid-way in many of the mysteries I read. This is not the case in works by Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle or Edgar Allan Poe. I adore this about Holmes. With rich characters, multiple twists and turns in the plot and of course, Holmes' miraculous ability to deduce details otherwise hidden to the naked eye, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creates true works of literary art. They are a fresh breath of air in a world where weaving such tales is becoming a scarce art. Have a book you want to recommend? Want me to review yours? I'm always looking for new books to review! Be sure to read my review policy before contacting me. There are changes! Make sure to be aware.
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Recently, I have had the pleasure of finding a renewed love of all things mystery. Knowing what people know about me, it may be surprising for them to find I have a soft spot for cozy mysteries. This led me to finding a cozy mystery group on Twitter that I am enjoying very much. Let's get to the review!
My Review: Disclaimer: My reviews are based on my own opinions. By no means will I ever discourage a reader to form their own opinions by reading the author's book. Do NOT contact me and complain about your review. I am and always will be brutally honest and expect my reviewers to be the same. Live and Let Chai follows the story of Everly Swan, a young woman who just opened up a dream cafe within her home where she serves tea to the lovely patrons of Charm, North Carolina. A man by the name of Mr. Benedict Paine makes it apparent his disdain of the lovely little shop. However, he soon winds up dead, apparently poisoned with a jar of Everly's tea in hand. This does not bode well and Everly finds herself defending not only her reputation but the reputation of Sun, Sand and Tea by tracking down the killer(s). All this while falling for the handsome Graty Hays, a detective who recently moved to Charm. To start, this book was a lovely read. I enjoyed almost everything about it. It was my first venture into Bree Baker's work and let me say, it does not disappoint. It has many aspects one comes to expect from a cozy and executes them in an impressive manner. The writing was beautiful, flawed in some places, but more on that later. The characters were probably my biggest problem. I couldn't really connect with any of them nor did I find myself feeling too much sympathy for Everly. However, I did indeed understand her drive and could experience it pleasantly throughout the book. I did not like the concept of the Aunts. As a fan of Joanne Fluke and Charlaine Harris, I am more fond of the over-controlling parent figure but can respect the desire of the author to change. I also found myself wanting more sleuthing on behalf of the sleuth BUT loved the dynamic between Everly and Detective Hays. Those two made up my favorite characters, which in retrospect, is what needed to happen. As I mentioned above, the writing was absolutely beautiful. There were a few places an editor could have caught but it is not uncommon to find a few mistakes and I can easily overlook them in light of a good read. This novel will bring me back to Ms. Baker's work as I want to know more about her work. A refreshing read and a beautiful one. Highest recommendations to lovers of a good cozy mystery with a change from bakeries and libraries. Have a book you want to recommend? Want me to review yours? I'm always looking for new books to review! Be sure to read my review policy before contacting me. There are changes! Make sure to be aware.
I am slowly catching up with my TBR list. Thank you to everyone for being willing to send me paperbacks. It's been difficult to keep up with eBooks due to eye strain and migraines. What I think I'll do is try to do a book review at least twice a month and movie reviews on Mondays since I watch so many. Something else future reviewers need to be aware of, I am updating my review policy so please read it before sending a review request!
My Review:Disclaimer: My reviews are based on my own opinions. By no means will I ever discourage a reader to form their own opinions by reading the author's book. Do NOT contact me and complain about your review. I am and always will be brutally honest and expect my reviewers to be the same. To begin, I will not be providing a synopsis to this novel because the author's blurb does a bang-up job at doing so. I also want it known as per my review policy, if a novel or novella does not catch me by 33% in, due to overwhelming requests, I will DNF (did not finish) it. I hate doing this but unfortunately, I have to. This was one such novel. I tried so hard to go further but after 17 chapters of hearing how much Yvonne's life sucked and her angsty complaints about her break-up - plus her father's complaints about his life sucked, etc - I'd had enough. None of the characters caught my attention. They were under-developed and focused solely on how horrible things were for them and their messed up pasts and presents I couldn't connect with any of it. While I understand learning about the characters is indeed important (as I do it myself as an author), this went too far. There was so much back history slammed at me all at once. The author could've easily spread it out or cut down the detail. We had no plot other than hearing how much Trent wanted to improve on his "god-complex" and liked to mess with peoples' lives. It became a real "enough already, we get it, the guy's a narcissistic psychopath" situation quickly. It took 17 chapters for Trent to mention he even had a plan besides stalking the White family and wanting to tear them apart. This is a real problem. The inciting incident, as it is known in the writing world, should occur - especially in a promised "horror thriller" - no later than chapter 5 or (and this is pushing it) 6. Doing so any later loses the reader and becomes a drag. There was so much "why do we even need to know this?" For example, why did we need to know about Heath's past with bullies in detail? He could've easily gotten the point across to his daughter by mentioning brief backstory at the table. We didn't need a whole chapter on it. Same with meeting his wife - who, by the way - only seems to appear and disappear when she's needed to be a catalyst for something. This is weak character writing. The plot could've been strengthened by not even having the mom there or even really set off the horror plot by replacing the dead raccoon with Heath's wife. Something positive I can say is the cover is gorgeous. Simple, yet tells a story. The blurb was beautifully written and I loved the way it appeared the author took great care in editing and formatting. These are rare so as a reviewer, I appreciated it. I did like Trent, I thought he could've been a smashing psychopath with a signature and everything. I enjoy a nice serial killer thriller. I only wish such care was given to the plot as I see gorgeous potential. I will gladly re-read and re- review if another edition is provided. All in all, I'm sorry to say, Vultures did not deliver on what it promised. When an author says "an agonizing initiation into the violent laws of masculinity, Vultures is a horror-thriller that will leave you breathless," I expect it to be one. This means tension, suspense, horrifying scenes and feeling of hopelessness until hope is taken from the "jaws of defeat." None of this happened in this book. Have a book you want to recommend? Want me to review yours? I'm always looking for new books to review! Be sure to read my review policy before contacting me. There are changes! Make sure to be aware.
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AuthorMy name is Iona Caldwell. I'm the author of the British Occult Fiction, Beneath London's Fog set to be published by FyreSyde Publishing October 2019. When I'm not busy weaving worlds of the arcane and dark, I'm spending time out in nature. I love books. My biggest inspirations are H.P Lovecraft, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Edgar Allen Poe. I blog about many things but mostly everything bookish. Archives
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