Not what I was hoping for...
341815
For my last trip I was looking for a shovel that would run the range from a "bury your trash" tool all the way to a full on entrenching tool.  This one looked like it fit the bill.  Having used other similar products I have a decent baseline for comparison.

The good:  I liked the wider handle.  The serrated edge and the sharpened edge are definitely nice features.  Just keep them in mind if doing SAR or close quarters work around other people.  The blade was nice, strong and well crafted.  The blade bends and various angles so that the spade is usable for a variety of tasks, including, in a pinch, chopping. It collapses into a very compact package.

The bad:  There is no positive locking mechanism for the handle so you have to tighten it and hope that it's locked fully.  Also, while the blade articulates, there is no positive lock/retention mechanism so that any decent level of force will bend the angel of the blade.  Kind of useless to have a 20 degree bent blade if it won't stay there.  My biggest gripe is that it has very sharp serrated teeth and with no protective cover it did rip up my pack a bit, despite my wrapping it cardboard.  Definitely needs to come with a plastic edge protector at the least.  Also very heavy.

All in all, I am not sure if I would purchase again.  Leaning toward a no on that Scott... :)
3637295
Having adored Ms. Cantrell's first two outings, especially 'Not the Trembling Kind' (which I played obsessively, even non-stop, for three days or so after I bought it), I picked this one up the day it came out and popped it right into my portable CD player (yes, I'm one of those dinosaurs without an iPod)... and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. She seems to have abandoned the largely traditional and stripped-down sound that made for so much of the charm of her first two CDs in favour of a ambitious palette... but one which I don't think suits her. I understand that L.C. wants to grow as an artist and not just keep cranking out what her fans expect of her over and over again, but I don't think she's playing to her strengths here...

  ...but then again, some of the music I love the most today I hated ay first hearing, so I'm willing to stick with this one - I'll get back to you if and when the penny drops!...
151925
I thought this would be a really good read because of the mob series but I can say this was the total opposite because nothing was going on. I tried to really stick with it because it started to pick up a little around chapter 3. Then I was thinking it would gather more steam which it did sizzle a little but nothing close to what I was hoping. I'm only reading the next one because of the other series but I can't go another book if it's going to be this drab.
1026370
I am going to be honest....I received this book from net-galley a while ago and read it a while ago but did not post my review right away. There was a lot of hype around this book and I was a bit let down after reading it. It is not that I disliked it because I do not, but I did not think it lived up to the hype.
This is why....
It starts out slow and is difficult to get into the novel because it is difficult to follow. The characters are not strong enough for me, there was hope there just no complete characters. The world-building was not that great and the rules of the world were a bit confusing. I did like the book toward the end the plot picked up and kept my interest which is the only reason why I was able to finish the book. I feel like this book fell victim to the first book syndrome, where the author has a difficult time setting up the world and characters. I hope the second book is better.
2033052
I didn't like it ... Not  really felt muddled and long  with out really giving us much in return,I skipped about all over the place hoping
I'd eventually find a place where I connected with or at least found it more interesting... Sadly that time NEVER came I finished  the book unsatisfied hoping the 2nd part would be better only to skip a head a bit to see how it ended and realized at least for me the ending didn't seem good enough for the effort I'd have to put in ... This book wasn't ... I can't say buy it or not all I can say was this book did not do that t for me  ( At All) , a bit long winded with characters I could connect with but if this your type of genre .99 and s a price that's lets you try ;)
883297
I wanted to really like this book. But I really had a hard time getting into it. It moved rather slowly for my taste. I think there's a good story here somewhere Just got to find it. It took me entirely too long to read this book simply because I wasn't thrilled to pick it up every day. I was, however determined to finish it. Which I did. Sadly I will not be reading any more books in the series.
4175896
Hmmm... I am struggling to find the right words for this book. I didn't hate it but I also didn't really love it. I was extremely excited because the character had some meat on her bones so I was like... whoot whoot let me check it out (If you have read any of my reviews you know I am not a fan of the extremely thin, flat stomach, perfect body characters) however I just didn't feel the connection with the characters.

I think I was expecting something a little different when I went into the book but that is not to say that other readers will not like this book... it had a nice message in the story.. which is why I gave the book 3 stars.

So with this being said this book would be a great pick me up.

Signing off.. It wasn't for me but that doesn't mean it isn't for you.
1548058
Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton has received a number of glowing reviews, so I was really looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, I found as I got into the book that I was disappointed. I always like to be able to admire or to sympathize with the main characters in a book. With this one, I found that Ms Hamilton's early years were just completely off-putting to me - the drugs, the petty crime, the alcohol, etc.  I could not bring myself to pull for her.

I also thought that the book would be more about the restaurant business and being a chef than it turned out to be. I learned more about her family strife and personal problems than I wanted to. The book did not meet my expectations.
856337
Well, if you are motivated by reading what "others" did, then this might be a good book for you.  It, however, did not hold my attention at all.
I just lost my career due to a motorcycle accident (I was a personal trainer and my injuries will make it impossible to continue in my old job) and I was hoping that this book would help me to figure out where to go from here.  It did not do it for me.  Sure, the "chicken soup" aspect is nice, but I'm still lost.  I didn't expect this book to have all of the answers, but I had hoped for more than a pep talk.
Like I said, it didn't hold my attention, so I didn't finish it, but you might find a different experience within the pages for yourself.
576929
It was O.K., just not what I was really looking for.
2225138
I had high hopes for this one...but it didn't quite deliver. Plenty of PR was provided for the dining establishments in California though. A few of the places I will certainly visit if I'm ever in the area. Coupled with details about the latest fashions, the rap industry and the drug game---it was a lot to absorb. And DeMarco. Pages and pages of details about this man. Most of what was written didn't support the story. It was too long. I found myself skimming. Maybe I missed the good parts?
3681942
Based on the title of this book I was hoping for a different type of plot. I can and do read stories with difficult material but it was not what I was hoping for here. I found this plot too unsettling for me and did not finish the book.
3128259
Not really what I was expecting.....kinda boring actually....
538660
I was disappointed in this book.  I was looking forward to reading it after reading the previous books in the series; however, I became disheartened when I reached page 800 and was still wondering when it was going to get interesting.  There are so many characters being introduced and not much depth to any of them. I had trouble deciding what the central plot actually was and who were going to be identified as the main characters. Unfortunately I wasn't able to finish- it just wasn't worth it.
267719
I wanted to love this based on the premise and I don't like giving such low-star reviews, but because of the hype and my overreaching hope of falling in love with a brand new world, I think it made my disappointment that much more. I realise books need hype to get in front of eyes, but sometimes the buildup sets a reader up for a bigger let-down. Schwab can clearly write and has an army of fans, but I'm afraid this just wasn't for me. I was never sure if it was meant to be YA or adult, as it leaned more toward YA as far as some of the more ... derivative elements, and character development (or lack thereof, until at least 2/3 of the way through the book). As I say, she's an excellent writer, but this was just not for me. I grew bored at various stages and when I find myself skimming, with a towering TBR pile of books on my nightstand, it's time to finish it and move on. Sorry to say, I'm not one of the legions of fans!
532181
Not as user friendly as I wanted.  I was hoping for something that helped to guide me on my journey.  Not made for that.
3787447
Not what I was expecting...slow...just not working for me.