I never start one of Mr. DeLeo's books until ...
349234
I never start one of Mr. DeLeo's books until I have gotten all the laundry and dish washing done, set snacks and drinks by my side, and turned off the phone.  Oh - and, have made sure I will have complete control of the Kindle for however long it takes me to read the book.
2380038
Let me begin by saying that I am ashamed of myself for not getting around to reading this book sooner.
4032560
Based on the ending alone, I will never invest in another Sandra Brown book. This was the second book I'd read of hers, and I never intended it to be my last. My third grade students invest more of themselves in writing an ending worthy of the time it took to read their stories than Ms. Brown invested in the ending of this book. I feel robbed.
478740
Sometimes it's really hard to understand how different books from a favorite author can be. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous installments in Mr. Shames' Key West capers, but I can't explain what has gotten into him. Everything I liked about his books - the plot and most of all the humour - have disappeared and only Key West as a background remains. It's hard to list all the faults of this book, but Shames' biggest mistake is probably to start the book with the situation he usually puts his heroes in at the end of the others: he's moved to Key West a long time ago,lives a comfortable life there and doesn't do much. All the ensuing complications are hard to understand - I didn't like the hero in this book at all . I sincerely hope that Mr Shames didn't model him after himself - the character is even revealed at being an author, albeit one who has only troubles with endings. In this books the author has a lot more problems. Add a few of the most unerotic scenes I have ever read to the mix and I'm all but ready to throw in a fittingly bad pun: It's a Shame.
3621282
I was so surprised when I turned the page and it said epilogue. After the build up of all the injuries and then he's in the hospital! How did he get there? Who found him and how? The suspense was lacking and I don't think I will read any other book by this author.
3755684
I was so excited to start this book. Here you have a mute boy with all these marvelous dogs and one who will be a friend for life. Then Claude appeared and I became skeptical as to why this brother is coming to ruin this entire story. I am not one for happy stories in particular but this character just rubbed me the wrong way. Then I said to myself I'm going to have a peek at the end because I so love animals and didn't know if I could take reading a whole book and then be heartbroken at the end. I especially didn't like the handling of Forte and Claude and Edgar. When I began to see what the ending was like I immediately closed the book and never opened it again. I then began reading the reviews on Amazon and was so happy to see that I wasn't the only one to see that this book was horrific. Thank goodness I didn't waste my time on this book. No saving graces at all. All blown up in  smoke were the characters and for what purpose?
4014516
I dread coming to the end of a Connelly book, because then the realization sinks in that I will probably have to wait for a year to read his newest work.  He's written close to 30 books, and I've read every one of them.  Harry and Mickey are like old friends.  I may have to begin reading the series from the beginning, to get my fix!  And don't take so long to put the next season of Bosch on Amazon Prime!
407001
I have read all of James Patterson's books starting with, "The Midnight Club".  I've loved everyone of them and couldn't put any of the books down for very long.  I'm now on chapter 56--page 194 of "Private Games"-- and I find I am forcing myself to read.  I am extremely disappointed in this installment of the "Private" series.  The characters are interesting as is the plot.  I think I have to agree with previous review writers that it's the style of writing that's putting me off.  I hope I can make myself finish the book but right now I really don't care who done it!
2683790
Total bulls*** if Delani believed any of this he's a complete and utter hypocrite. He says nothing is black and white then he judges his students by a single standard. Not caring about physical, social, or mental disabilities. Yet throughout his book he stresses not judging others by their issues but their beliefs, values, and actions.
3821198
This is about a diverse group of strangers banding together during a catastrophe. A very diverse group. A magician, a call girl, a thief, a cabbie, and a gambler wake trapped in a casino after it collapsed on top of them following a meteorite impact. And another very large asteroid is about to wipe out the human population of earth in 72 hours.
Something just didn't ring true in this story. I don't know if this was a disaster book, or a book about working together, or what, but I think the characters didn't ever become believable for me. Some things they did and said seemed beyond reason, and maybe that's why I didn't care for this. I haven't read anything from this author previously, so I can't compare this to any of his other books. I won't say I wouldn't read anything else by this author, because this book may not be representative of his other work.
Results: while I didn't particularly care for this book, it wasn't badly written. It wasn't filled with graphic sex, violence, or cursing. My opinion is just personal preference.
71825
I have read every other book by Romano. Had I bought this one first I never would have read any more.
3530604
I am not sure I will read the next book in this series. I did read the first book. The plot did not flow well for me.  It took me a week to get through it.  That is always a bad sign.  I just finished it a few days ago and I can hardly remember what it was about.  I thought the premise of the woman cleaning abandoned houses is unique and interesting.  Then the added story line of her starting up her own bake shop continued from the first novel.  The story seemed evenly divided between the murder mystery and bake shop.  That was the problem.  One should have been more important than the other. And the important part should be the murder mystery, not all those different kinds of pastries.  I am not sure how I feel about the "box" and its paranormal attributes.  I would not recommend this book to my friends.  However, there are people out there that will like it.  I am not one of them.
1484687
Book provides a unrealistic character and unrealistic plot.  I will not read another Bernard Lee DeLeo book because he presents his neo-con, far right Republican views within the story line.  Writing a fictional book is no place to spout off your political views to a reader.
4405605
I read the first few chapters and had to stop.. After all the books I read, I've never quit ready so early on.
783778
On the strength of this novel, I have purchased most of the rest of the author's books!  Love his characters, their humor, the real drive for the truth - the good guys vs the bad guys.  The hero is everything we freedom loving Americans want in a man:  Libertarian (NOT a RINO) true to his word, larger than life, kick ass when need be, yet sentimental.  This old WOMAN loves the SHTF novels, and never cared for detective stories before, but Mr. DeLeo has converted me.  I hope for many more books, from him.
2411720
After a year passed since I read The Body Artist, I started anticipating what Don DeLillo would write next.  While I found The Body Artist to be somewhat of a disappointment, this is still the writer who thrilled me with White Noise and The Names.  This is the man who wrote the incredibly beautiful prologue to Underworld.  DeLillo can flat out Write.
The basic plot of Cosmopolis follows Eric Packer, a 28 year old billionaire, as he crosses New York City (pre 9/11) in his limo to get a haircut.  Such a simple trip takes all day since the President is in town and there is marches, riots and a funeral.  At the same time, Packer is told that someone is out to kill him.  Confused?  Don't worry, DeLillo uses plot as a device to enable him to riff on aspects of society and while the characters do not sound like real people, it is the characters the provide the interest and pacing of the narrative.  In Cosmopolis, DeLillo takes on high finance and the lives of the ultra-rich.  DeLillo's view is very comic and deeply scathing as he reveals how shallow these lives really are.
As talented as Don DeLillo is as a writer, this was not a very engaging novel.  While plot and character are merely devices for DeLillo (instead of being the point), in a better novel this is not a problem and would barely be noticeable.  The fact is that all of the characters sound the same and given a different name would be identical to the other characters.  There is very little distinction between characters.  This is not unusual for DeLillo, but again, in a better novel I wouldn't be thinking about that.
Cosmopolis is a step back in the right direction for DeLillo (after the awful novel The Body Artist), but would still only fall in the middle of his body of work.  This is a middle tier novel from a top tier talent.
3373909
I had heard a lot about Mr. Harris' books so when I came across this one while on vacation, I thought "Why not?" It will be my last by this author.  I read a lot, across many different genres ,and I can't say much more than this book is poorly written.  I could not have cared less about the characters and what happened to them.  The only consolation was that the book was written at such a basic level that I got done with it in about 4 hours.  I cannot figure out how people can give it five stars... especially if they are extensive readers.

The copy I picked up had been in a high school library.  As a high school teacher, I find that unnerving.  There are many graphic scenes and no positive message to take away from this book.