Saturday, December 28, 2013

Cemetery Girl by David Bell

Number of Pages: 389
Publisher: New American Library
Date of Original Publication: October 2011
ISBN #: 978-0-451-23467-4

Hey guys I'm back for a little while. 2013 has been a really rough year on me and reading sure hasn't been a possibility for me lately but I did manage to finish this one, Cemetery Girl by David Bell. I will try not to rant or be too negative in this review however I do not recommend it. I wish I would've chosen another book to read.

Abby and Tom Stuart are struggling to regain a strong life after the disappearance of their 12 year old daughter Caitlin. Their marriage is no longer to be, they lose the family pet, friendships are lost, as well as made but the ground still is crumbling beneath them because something is not quite right. Caitlin is found and returned four years after her disappearance. She is now a young woman who does not fear her captor but more is in love with him and has conflicting views with her parents opinions of the situation.

I have to be real honest here. I never read book reviews from others until after the book has been read by myself but this book was so bad that I started reading other reviews half way through the book. And I wasn't alone. The characters are unlikeable and flat. The storyline is never rounded properly, so much potential the storyline could have fails completely by the end. So many open ended questions are left, the characters never round out, and the overall mood of the book stays grim until the end. Of course Grim/Dark books don't always need to lighten up but this was to the point where the story line wasn't even believable. This is not a sci fi/nor fantasy. This is realistic fiction and it just didn't do it for me I'm sorry guys.

I am giving this book 1 out of 5 for lack of depth, flat characters, unbelievable storyline and just being a really dull book.

I will try and get my next book review up as soon as possible. Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns for me, let me know, or just simply want to talk to me. I will do book requests. You can send me a message to me on here or E-Mail me at: TeamBellisle@yahoo.com
I check my yahoo account more often then Blogspot however.

~*~ TJ ~*~


PS: Lara Adrian's Book 12: Crave The Night had an original release date of February 2014. It was pushed back due to an illness to April 2014. And now Lara has announced she is pushing it to August 2014, but she will also throw in Lazaro Archers novella right after Crave The Night's release. Such a bummer to wait though. RAWR!

Friday, March 1, 2013

Edge of Dawn (MB Book 11) by Lara Adrian




Number of Pages: 273
Publisher: Delacorte PressDate of Original Publication: January 29, 2013ISBN #: 978-0-345-53260-2


Hey everyone. Time for a new review! I read this book in one day…Tuesday. The date of its release. Took me only seven hours but I loved it! This is for Lara Adrian’s Book 11 to her Midnight Breed series, “Edge of Dawn”. I have reviewed all of the other 10 books on my tumbler account and have loved every single one of them. Lara proves herself again to be a strong writer in this one as well.

Book 11 is based twenty years later then book 10 “Darker after Midnight” when the new children in the series are grown up and a war between vampires and human is at stake. I do have to be careful what I say on this because of the amount of people I have reading this who read this series and do not want spoilers.

 The two main characters in this novel are Mira and Kellan Archer. Mira and Kellan have grown up together in the Order’s compound since they were the ages of ten and fourteen. When Mira was twenty-one she and Kellan (twenty-five) were involved in an accident on patrol one night. Kellan was murdered in a warehouse bomb…so it seemed.

Eight years later and a VIP that Mira was supposed to escort to a political rally goes missing; abducted just moments before she arrives, she finds them and gets kidnapped in the process. When she awakes she finds out that she’s being held captive by her ex lover Kellan who had been presumably dead. Mira and Kellan must find a balance between the lives they live and prove to each other that they can stop a war from occurring while being together in the end forever.

Lara introduces a variety of new and exciting characters and develops a quick and entertaining plot line. This novel is definitely a fast paced, page turning novel. You won’t want to put it down. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of the supernatural/paranormal/romance/action type…did you get all that?

I would give this book a 5 out of 5.

By the way book 12 Crave the Night is based off of Nathan. There has not been a release date for that but I’ll get it noted as soon as I find out.

I will try and get my next book review up as soon as possible. Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns for me, let me know, or just simply want to talk to me. I will do book requests. You can send me a message to me on here or E-Mail me at: TeamBellisle@yahoo.com

I check my yahoo account more often then Blogger however.
~TJ 

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien


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Number of Pages: 306
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date of Original Publication: 1937
ISBN #: 0-345-33968-1
Hey peeps. Finished another book for class. This one I have read and previously reviewed but I will review it of course again. This is the Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. A now prelude the the Lord of the Rings trilogy. 
This novel is about a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who is confronted one morning by a wizard named Gandalf who wants him to join an adventure with him. As hobbits do not like adventures he naturally refused yet the next day twelve dwarfs along with Gandalf show up at his door and convince him to come with them.
There are many conflicts on the way of this journey but they’re main goal is to get across the land to a mountain which had once belonged to the dwarfs yet was overruled by a dragon many years before hand. The dwarfs struggle with their journey and Bilbo changes along the way. Finding a ring that can turn him invisible and becoming a leader in which no one thought he could be. Gandalf had faith in the hobbit where as the dwarfs did not. Gandalf is only present in some of the adventures.
I enjoyed this novel very much. I thought it was entertaining and well written. It had it’s funny moments and it generally keeps a good story line. The only thing I didn’t really care for much were the characters personalities. The twelve dwarfs seemed useless half the time, Bilbo complained a lot, Thorin Oakenshield was supposedly the leader of the company of dwarfs but was always lagging behind and then the wizard was always leaving to do his own business. Small frustrations that I just didn’t think made any of them heroic. I wont give any spoilers but my three favorite characters die at the end…sad day. But it was still a good novel and I would recommend reading it.
I would give this novel 5 out 5 for good plot development and writing techniques. I have not decided yet if I want to read the entire L.OT.R trilogy but I will maybe in the future and get reviews up.
For those of you who followed all of my Midnight Breed Series reviews: Book 11 Edge of Dawn comes out on Tuesday and I should have the review up Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. (Yes I am thrilled to read this and I may pull an all nighter.) *This series I mainly reviewed on my Tumblr.
I will try and get my next book review up as soon as possible. Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns for me, let me know, or just simply want to talk to me. I will do book requests. You can send me a message to me on here or E-Mail me at: TeamBellisle@yahoo.com
I check my yahoo account more often then Blogger however.
~TJ 

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll


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Number of Pages: 272
Publisher: Barnes & Noble books
Date of Original Publication: 1865 (book 1) 1871 (Book 2)
ISBN #: 978-1-59308-015-0 + 1-59308-015-8
Hello everyone. Back again. :) Finished reading Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland” and the sequel “Through The Looking-Glass”. I had to read these for my sci fi and fantasy lit class…so here’s my review!
The novel was a very quick read and involved many pictures. We all like picture books right? Well unfortunately I disliked these two novels. The main premise of the story is a 7 year old girl named Alice who has an over active imagination and ends up dreaming of two quests that she has to finish. The first one being to find out who she is (she’s seven) and the second being that she wants to be a queen.
Lewis describes these novels as being written as children books but there’s no way children would even be able to comprehend half of the puns, the jokes, or the themes involved in the novel. Overall it’s just a strange novel, the characters are mainly personified objects and talking animals. 
I found Alice’s character to be most obnoxious. She cries nearly every other page and is constantly expecting everything to be proper for her when shes in a world of insanity. Her logic doesn’t fit into the illogical world that Carroll portrays, therefore she is constantly frustrated.
A few of the characters seem to help the story become more enjoyable such as the hookah smoking caterpillar and the Cheshire cat that disappears. The mad hatter also helps bring some entertainment in this novel as he’s completely bonkers. But personally I wouldn’t really recommend these two.
I’d rate this a 2 out of 5. It’s just hard for me to explain my review of these two books. It’s too weird to review.
My next review (most likely) will be of The Hobbit…so hopefully you’ll appreciate that one more. I’m going to go crawl back into bed now.
I will try and get my next book review up as soon as possible. Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns for me, let me know, or just simply want to talk to me. I will do book requests. You can send me a message to me on here or E-Mail me at: TeamBellisle@yahoo.com
I check my yahoo account more often then Blogger however.
~TJ 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

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Number of Pages: 200
Publisher: Tor Classics
Date of Original Publication: 1898
ISBN #: 0-812-50515-8
Hey guys.
I’m feeling another old classic needs to be reviewed. More like I had to read it for my science fiction and fantasy literature class so here you go: H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds.
This novel is about England in the 1890’s being attacked by martians. The theory is that the Martians were humans who became more evolution advanced by a few thousand years (if that made any sense..it’s going on midnight) due to Mars having a longer life then Earth, however Mars has a decreasing temperature so they come to invade earth for our land. The key point of their attack point is to show how Imperialism is not always the best of all ideas. England and the time thought they were superior during their reign but Wells emphasizes the human ego by crushing it with a group of aliens who come in much more technologically advanced and wipe them out.
The main character of this novel does not have a name he is simply known as the Narrator. The Narrator shows many humanistic elements that make it realistic. His fear from the alien invasion, his panic when it comes to the thought of being separated from his wife, the curiosity he has towards finding out new information about the martians, as well as his compassion and sympathy towards the victims of the inhabitants.
The enemies, known as the martians, are described to be very human like in appearance yet the exact opposite at the same time. They do not sleep or eat, they do not have a digestive system and reproduce asexually yet they inject blood into themselves to maintain the nutrients which brings a vampire theory into play. They do not ever become ill due to having none to little diseases at their homeland which becomes a problem when their immune system is unable to handle and support the human diseases that they become exposed too. 
Interesting nerd fact: Wells is the first author ever to implement telepathy  into a science fiction villain/enemy. 
Alright. I won’t give too much a way (even though i could)
I actually quite enjoyed this book. At times I felt as though it was too wordy and slow yet the overall action in this novel and the events that took place were realistic and true to human nature which is why I would definitely recommend this novel to any one who likes realistic fiction as well as science fiction. I would say go for it and read it and see what you think.
I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5, for a developed story line, good action, and  getting straight to the point.
I will try and get my next book review up as soon as possible. Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns for me, let me know, or just simply want to talk to me. I will do book requests. You can send me a message to me on here or E-Mail me at: TeamBellisle@yahoo.com
I check my yahoo account more often then Blogspot however.
~TJ 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

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Number of Pages: 240
Publisher: Intervisual Books
Date of Original Publication: 1818
ISBN #: 1-61524-349-6
Hey guys back for February :)
The first book for this month that I’ll give to you as a review unfortunately was one I did not like. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein may be a hit classic and the starter of the entire Science Fiction genre but I just could not get into this one.
I read this my sophomore year in High School and now had to read it again for my Sci Fi and Literature course in college and I still don’t like it. I appreciate it more then I did back then but I still found the novel to be overall boring and very anti climatic.
The story focus’s on Victor Frankenstein, a young, emotionally unstable man who’s born into wealth and very intelligent. Victor pursues his passion for the sciences and pours himself into creating life, in which he succeeds by creating an alien known as The Creation. The Creation is described as being quite large with yellowish skin, and not very handsome as he is made by several various organs and skin patches in which Frankenstein was able to fine in morgues and other places. 
This is a story within a story within a story. The creation’s story is told through the means of Victor Frankenstein and Victor’s story is being told by a ship captain by the name of Walton who tells Victor’s story after meeting him and believing that Victor is the man he’s been looking for as a friend for years. Walton brings out many attributes of Victor that emphasize his character, a major characteristic being: his selfishness. He wants a friend but by the end of the novel he has lost so many friends that he refuses to befriend Walton for fear of being hurt again.
Frankenstein becomes horrified by the creature he has created and despises him from the instant he becomes alive. The Creature learns language and emotions through his own means and decides that he would like a companion one day as he has been rejected by every standard human he has faced with. Frankenstein disagrees with this idea afraid that creating another horrible “monster” for him will only create more problems within the human race.
I know this was her first book and she was only the age of 19 but I felt like the plot line was just not entertaining. Slow driving. Not too much in character development apart from Victor being very emotional and the Creature being characterized as intelligent. Nearly everyone dies in the novel left and right, I felt like there was no really driving action in the end.
I would rate this novel at a 2 out of 5 for creativity but not a captivating plot line.
My next post will be on H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds.Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns for me, let me know, or just simply want to talk to me. I will do book requests. You can send me a message to me on here or E-Mail me at: TeamBellisle@yahoo.com
I check my yahoo account more often then Blogger however.
~TJ

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Death Was the Other Woman by Linda Richards

 
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Number of Pages: 261
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Date of Original Publication: 2007
ISBN #: 978-0-312-37770-0
Hey guys I’m back so soon! So I had to do Secret Santa at two of my jobs and at one of them my S.S. gave me a pack of K-Cups for my Keurig and this book: Death Was the Other Woman by Linda Richards. It’s a mystery book, didn’t think much of it when I first started reading it. I read it between clients at work (which we’re not supposed to do but whatever) and I completely got hooked on it.
This novel is based in the early 1900’s during the times of prohibition and speakeasy’s in the city of Los Angeles. The main character is Katherine Pangporn, a once wealthy goody two-shoe type of girl living in her father’s wealth. After the stock crash her father commits suicide and she starts working as a secretary at a Private Investigator’s office, that investigator being a stubborn alcohol/gamble addicted man named Dex. They are shortly contacted by a wealthy woman who hires Dex to find her husband, after Katherine finds a dead body the story line begins to thicken and the mystery begins.
This novel is an easy read and it is one where you can’t put the book down until it’s done. Richards does a good job with her writing style and keeping her characters true to their story line. The novel will keep you entertained and the ending is a twist you don’t see coming. I would definitely recommend this to any one who is looking for a book to read!
I would give this novel a 5 out of 5 for good writing and a great story line.
I will try and get my next book review up as soon as possible. Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns for me, let me know, or just simply want to talk to me. I will do book requests. You can send me a message to me on here or E-Mail me at: TeamBellisle@yahoo.com
I check my yahoo account more often then Blogspot however.
~TJ

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson


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Number of Pages: 724
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Date of Original Publication: 2006
ISBN #: 978-0-307-47615-9
Hello everyone and happy new year! 2013 should be a good one! Hope people didn’t party too hard. It’s been a while since I put out a new book review, like always. But my new years resolution is to read more so hopefully I can start putting more out. This book (sadly to admit) took me 10 months to read due to everything that I had going on in my life and I just watched the movie to it as well. 
This review is of The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. This is the second installment of the Millennium trilogy. I will try not to give out too many spoilers. This series is classified as crime fiction. The story is set in Sweden about a girl named Lisbeth Salander, who has social and psychological issuesand her struggles with her past and present situations. Her ex research friend Mikael Blomkvist from the first novel is still a major role in the book as he has 2 friends and co-workers murdered and another peice to the puzzle comes loose. 
I found this book to be slow in some parts yet very well written. Larsson does a good job at detail and building a complex plot. The story is captivating and will make you want to keep reading, especially towards the end. I’m looking forward to reading the third installment: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest.
I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 and would definitely recommend this book to be read after the reader reads the first one: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Also the Swedish movie of this book is not bad but I still hope they do an American version like they did with the first novel. Daniel Craig makes an amazing Mikael Blomkvist. And he’s all James Bond and stuff. 
I will try and get my next book review up as soon as possible. Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns for me, let me know, or just simply want to talk to me. I will do book requests. You can send me a message to me on here or E-Mail me at: TeamBellisle@yahoo.com
I check my yahoo account more often then blogger however.
~TJ
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