Somewhat of a disappointment
938280
I was sort of disappointed to discover that this power adapter is so short...if not for the extended life of the battery I would literally be connected to a power source. Also, it doesn't fit into the laptop securely, in fact I always have to be checking that it's inserted and push it all the way in...
4095370
I was mildly disappointed with this book. It is supposed to be a verse by verse tour of the Old Testament, giving cultural, historical, and social information that lies behind the text. But even though the Old Testament is three times bigger than the New Testament, this book is a tad shorter than the NT companion volume written by Keener.

Moreover, the book is very uneven. Some parts of the Old Testament are loaded with information, and other parts of the Old Testament are skipped entirely. And then you have paragraphs of scripture that have only one or two lines of comment that are not always helpful to the preacher who is looking for a bit more to give to the people.

Yet in some sections, Walton, Mathews and Chavalas deliver the goods. For example, the information in Genesis 12 about how difficult and unprecedented it would be for a man like Abram to leave everything behind to follow God was very helpful to me as I was preparing a sermon on this portion of scripture.

And I really appreciated the background information in Exodus 5-8 about how there was an Egyptian god that was overpowered in every area where Moses raised his staff.

Therefore, I am giving this book 4 stars, but really, you will need another book to give you the rest of what you will need when teaching through the Old Testament. Perhaps the IVP Dictionary of the OT Pentateuch and the IVP Dictionary of the OT Historical Books will do just fine. Or you may want to add the New Nelson's Manners and Customs of Bible Times.
190269
Kenneth Johnson's long-awaited sequel to his original mini-series "V" is a mixed bag. It ignores the plots of the sequel miniseries "V:The Final Battle" and the subsequent weekly television series. Johnson brings in a new cast of characters (and brings back a few old favorites), for another battle between the Resistance and the alien Visitors. But there's also a new ally (or enemy?) on the horizon as a mysterious group of new aliens appears, who have their own reasons for wanting to defeat the Visitors. Its a fun ride for a while, but too much of what occurs feels like a rehash of ideas from other science-fiction series and novels. And while Johnson had nothing to do with the sequel series, ignoring all their plot developments outright makes it feel sort of...incomplete (e.g. no Ham Tyler, no Red Dust?)

While this is being touted as the basis for a new tv miniseries or movie (and I hope it happens), after closing the book, you can't help but feel a little disappointed.
4159785
I enojoy both paranormal mysteries and cooking themed mysteries and I thought this book would have a bit of both.  It does but I was expecting a bit more..I felt sort of disappointed with the characters.  Chef Cain is very preoccupied with her cooking abilities which is understandable for a professional but at times she seems unaware that she is a female.  She is not fond of the idea of doing any "girlie" type things like manicures or pedicures; infact, she seems uninterested in doing anyting but cooking.  I was hoping her character would be more dimensional.  Also, the love interest and his family had some odd views of one another.  The love interest is in paranormal security; yet, he is unable to find his sister.  He has no clue as to where she is??  Which I guess if he did the book would be considerable shorter.  Also, Chef Cain's brother, Chet, is rather lame and his mood swings almost gave me whiplash.  In the beginning he was concerned and worried for her then he drops everything.  I do plan on reading the next book since I understand the first in a series is trial and error.
597711
A fan of this series, I had high hopes for this book.  It's like returning to your favorite town and cast of characters.  While I did enjoy the chemistry between the two main characters and related to their struggles, there were some things that took away from the story in spots and really bothered me.

The first thing that distracted from the main plot was the back story. There were paragraphs on paragraphs at times and it seemed like it was too much.  The second thing that distracted from the main plot was giving so much time to a secondary character.  I would of been fine with some information and scenes with the ex-wife but, again, there was so much that it seemed over the top.

As expected, the two characters have internal issues they are dealing with and the town is trying to help them out and push them together.  Large families, boisterous get-togethers, whispered conversations.  Everyone wants to help out the girl jilted at the altar, especially Jack.  He's been the "date" many times so why shouldn't he go this time.  Emmaline isn't interested.  She'd prefer a perfectly nice stranger.  After all, she still has her ice cream to go home to and isn't a damsel in distress.  No longer does she have to worry about eating what's healthy since her fiancee dumped her for his personal trainer.  She doesn't need a knight in shining armour.

Dealing with PTSD, Jack tries to hide from everyone what's really going on.  Overcoming her stutter, Emmaline tries to keep the demons from returning.  When they keep bumping into each other, neither can deny the attraction they feel for each other.  Surprising for both of them, they must figure out how to make it work without their past coming between them.

Relationships of all types are addressed in this book and that was a pleasant surprise.  Stepfamilies, adopted children, at-risk teens, elderly relatives, gay siblings, etc.  Higgins did a great job of making all those relationships add to the story in a way that worked.  Add the lovable german shepherd puppy named Sarge and you have a nice addition to the series but not the best so far.
3848265
It was nice seeing the couples again. There was a great deal of sickeningly sweet exchanges between them, though. Too much was packed into too short of a story. Mac and Connor would have been better in a novel. Some of it seemed rather pointless. There was too much detail taking up space that could have been used to offer more of a plot. I didn't get the point of Anthony getting ill. Why not have more interaction with Dean? Could have been better without the sex scenes, that were bland and uninteresting. Also too choppy, with scenes switching between couples and events. I didn't totally dislike it, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped.
1864753
I have to say that this book was a bit disappointing. It is not a bad book, I did enjoy reading it, but it is definitely the weakest of the books in the series that I have read so far.

Gin is still likable old, well not so old maybe, Gin the badass assassin. Her friends are still around and are equally likable. This time Gin and Bria get out of Ashland for a while and I had quite hoped that the change of scenery would bring a bit of freshness into the series.

Unfortunately it did not bring as much fresh material as I hoped. In some sense rather the inverse. Gin and Bria starts off with a rather strained relation with some nonsense Bria-the-cop cannot really deal with the fact that Gin is an assassin and are breaking the law. Then to make matters worse Donovan I brought back into the series. I was really happy when that self-righteous, must-not-break-the-law wuss leave. I though it was for good so I got really disappointed when he was brought back. Of course he was the same wuss this time and I quite disliked the pages where he was present and bitching about Gin and how she should just leave. Needless to say he was just as wrong this time as in the previous books.

The parts without him where much more pleasant to read even though the book as a whole still followed pretty much the same recipe as the previous ones. Gin just have to stupidly walk into a mess and get herself beaten up or otherwise half-killed half way through the book in order to later get back and deal out some pain and death the Gin style. For a seasoned assassin she is more than a little stupid and amateurish. This time she seemed to have forgotten all about staking out the victims and actually learning something about them before taking any dangerous actions.

Okay, enough of the complaining. The book is nevertheless enjoyable to read. I like Gin and her friends, I like the dialogue (bitching, bantering whatever) between Gin, Bria, Finn and Owen. I like the action and the no BS throat-cutting and skull-bashing when Gin gets going.

I will definitely continue to read the series despite this little dip in the series.
933269
For my full review, check out my blog: [...]

This book had lots of potential and there are areas where I feel like it's interesting and well-done. However, as a whole, I just wasn't feeling it. Perhaps because this is supposed to be the beginning of a series, the author felt the need to shoehorn in some things and leave out others that I felt needed more explanation. In the end, I found it a bit lacking. I don't regret reading it, and it was a surprisingly fast read, so I'll say this: check it out from the library or get a cheaper e-book version. I don't think this is a full-price read.
1553407
I was somewhat disappointed with this novel.  After all the press & critical attention it was getting, I expected to be blown away.  Instead, I found that while it started off strongly (amazing opening!), it petered out eventually.  I also found the character of Emiko woefully one-dimensional.  Bock had better success with Anton and Sophie, and I love how their relationship was portrayed.  I didn't like Bock's first novel, Olympia, either.  I do think that perhaps my reaction does stem from the fact that I don't like Bock's themes - war, sport, etc. don't appeal to me.  Perhaps it was a great book (everybody else certainly seems to think so) but it just didn't "ring my chimes".
1134442
After reading both Comanche Moon and Comanche Heart, I was eager to read Indigo's story.  I was somewhat disappointed because parts of the story just didn't seem plausible in light of her family history.  First, I cannot imagine Indigo, having been raised by Hunter the Wolf and Loretta (interracial marriage) having some of the stereotypes and fears she held.  I could understand Hunter and Loretta having them, as parents brought up in a different time.  Clearly, all of our racial problems have not be solved, but the series has lead me to believe that Hunter's story is about pride and honor in the midst of the racial prejudices.  I did not see much of this in Indigo's character.

Nor did I find chemistry between Indigo and Jake.  Yes, I could grasp her sexual fears in light of her earlier attack, but her character was made to appear submissive.  I liked Jake's character, even though I did not understand his patience with Indigo -- and was pleased to finally get to the well-written confrontation he finally has with Indigo.  It was a great summation of racial prejudice, low self-esteem and the fear that often accompanies both.

Again, this was not my favorite in the series, though it was a good read.  I just think it could have been better.
1173246
It has a couple of funny spots, although not as entertaining as previous books. Also as noted by the kids, does not cover a very large time span.  They have been fans for the whole series and were somewhat disappointed with this book. Maybe should have checked it out at the library instead of purchasing.
3082450
I recently got my hands on a used copy of this book as I am an avid fan of The Dark Crystal. I have to say that I was disappointed. This book delivers on some fronts but lacks in others.
It does have some good points. Probably the best part of this book is how it details the thoughts and political machinations of the various Skekses. We get into their minds and can tell just how they're trying to undermine each other's power and how they detest each other. We get some great insight on this front.
However, the book lacks on almost every other front. Often we get vivid description of events that aren't pivotal, but many events that are come across as sparse and rushed. The shocking thing is that the Skekses are better developed than the gelflings. Their scenes come alive, but the scenes with Jen and Kira are often flat and dull. The ending was awful. I wasn't expecting a big explanation of the urSkeks, but Smith rushed it horrendously. We get about a page or two between the healing of the Crystal and the last sentence.
All in all, get this book if you're a big fan, but don't expect too much out of it. It feels like a late draft that got rushed into production due to time constraints. The movie was MUCH better than this poorly-written novel.
3737020
I wanted to like this book. But there were some shortcomings. With a few exceptions, the emotions of the characters didn't come through.
4503394
I am a big fan of young adult fiction, and I must say I am not as impressed by this series as I had hoped to be. It is reminiscent of both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, but does not quite live up to either (which, I admit, would be difficult to do). I find myself more interested in the crossword puzzles on my bedside stand than this book. I ordered it to qualify for free Super Saver shipping with another order, and otherwise might not have bought it. I will finish the book, but am disappointed that it's not the page-turner I had hoped for.
1807884
I had high hopes for this book, but was a little disappointed.  I bought conspiracy x, expecting great stuff, and it met with my expectations.  Cryptozoolgy didn't.  First, it's set up with information divided into two parts: the gamers information, and the GM's information.  the result is that you have to look in two different areas for information on different "supernatural creatures".  Most of the regular freaks of nature are covered--Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, Sasquatch, etc.  I was pleased to see a few others like the Mokole.  The writing is a lot more pendantic than I'd like--but that may be a direct result from being written in character, where teh character is old, stuffy, and bombastically long-winded.  If your game will run into a supernatural creature, it might be worth checking this beek out.  If not, I wouldn't bother.
2868570
I, like other reviewers, found this book very disappointing as compared to the earlier (pre-Narcissus in Chains) Anita Blake novels.  However, this book was frustrating not so much because of the typos or occasionally annoying catch-phrases, but because it actually has some elements of both the best and worst of the series.  For example, the murder investigation was pretty interesting. . . but the story unfolded in fits and starts and it had no resolution, really.  Also, some fun/interesting characters were represented (Nathaniel, Damian, Jean-Claude), but really only one develops in an appealing way character-wise.  (I'll let you discover which one.)  However, other characters that I like and who also seem to be fan favorites are missing completely; a stray mention here or there does not count as that character's presence (Edward, Asher).  Still, other characters I view as ancillary (Micah) are still around.  And, of course, that brings us to the gratuitous sex scenes.  Honestly, many of them weren't even that hot.  (Plus, it's gotten a little hard, at this point, to believe Anita is that conflicted about her new sexual freedom.)  I just knew that with a book this long, there'd be enough going on to save it, but I was wrong.  The early reviews I read when the book was first released were bad enough that I had fairly low expectations.  I thank those reviewers, because I picked the book up from the library, and wasn't nearly as disappointed as if I had spent money on it.  Hoping for much better next time.
7783
Third book in the series, and I feel for the author. It's very difficult to redo the A-Team in space and keep it interesting. Our beloved leader isn't quite as beloved any more, and I found his reactions to things rather more forced than in previous stories. Ultimately I was somewhat disappointed in this book.  Not enough to stop reading the series, but mindful that it could have been better. To many issues were left unresolved, just who is crusher anyway, and why is Jason so bent on not learning everything he can about the tech he controls so effortlessly?  Why the sudden hostility between him and Twingo? Actions are semi inexplicable. Jason had seemed to pretty much have it all packed in one sock previously is now all head strong and quite unhinged in some areas. Toss his ex girlfriend into the mix and he is nearly useless. So yeah Jason gets a little uncomplicated canoodling but at what cost to his soul? And yeah he will be coming back to earth because you know the incredibly stupid and boorish military will stop at noting, including the upcoming kidnapping of said ex girlfriend and family. And I don't care what kind of super hacker genius you might have on hand, a lottery of random balls can't really be fixed three days in the future. All in all there are some glaring idiocies in this story, but then again I am fairly sure I can't write a better yarn.