KIND OF CUTE...RESPECTABLE DEBUT........
592835
...but disturbingly sterotypical.  A tale about the unexpected romance that blooms in all the wrong places...between the young, single, African-American Renee Howard and the equally young and single--although Italian--Giovanni Luchesi.  The two meet one snowy night when Renee becomes snowbound in front of the Luchesi family restaurant....and Giovanni offers his assistance.  Fresh out of a relationship with a two-timing, gorgeous African prince, romance with a White boy is the last thing that Renee Howard can imagine.  But there is something so gentle, so loving and so sincere about Giovanni that Renee finds him incredibly attractive, and soon the two of them become the most unlikeliest of couples.  Giovanni professes his love for Renee, and she for him....; if only she can get Giovanni to pass muster with the most important person in Renee's life--and the most difficult; Shirl Howard, her mother.

Although a cute tale that basically reinforces the belief that "love conquers all," the story left me feeling that Black women are indeed overbearing, bossy and loud--compelling characteristics of the three main female characters in the book.  I disliked Renee, and the way she spoke to Giovanni--I found it demeaning and emasculating.  Colette struck me as loud and lacking decorum...as did Shirl, Renee's mother.  I disliked them all, and could not for the life of me figure out how either of them had a man at all.  The saving grace of this novel for me was the fact that it was based on the author's true life romance with his African-American wife.  Despite the sterotypes in the characterization, I did find the subject matter to be somewhat of a refreshing change.

DYB
1252033
Well, my roommate and I have finally agreed upon an album we both like, with this decent debut from Badly Drawn Boy.  She adores it, but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. After all the hype that seemed to surround this record, I was expecting something revolutionary - or at least evolutionary.  Rather, it plays like a typical British pop record.  The Beatles, Oasis and even the Stone Roses come to mind when listening.  Don't get me wrong, the melodies are flowing and transitionary - I like the layers that seem to unfold within each song, but I couldn't help but think I had heard it all before.  The piano that appears in some songs is a nice touch - it adds a bit of depth to a fairly predictable album.  Overall, I would say buy it - it's better than most of the recycled garbage out these days - but keep your expectations low.
521992
Vivian Green's CD seems to have listeners divided (based on the other reviews I'm reading here).  While it's not boring or contrived as some would argue, it also won't make Green r&b's "Next Big Thing."  Instead, "Love Story" is a modestly-crafted record that will appeal to those who will appreciate it on its own terms following a few listens.  This is laid-back soul with light touches of jazz, devoid of the faux-boho/neo soul stamp.  We get the soulful stride of the catchy "24 Hour Blue" and "Fanatic;" the jazzed-up "No Sittin' By the Phone," and the assertive "Superwoman" (no, it's not a remake of the Karyn White hit).  This debut is far from revolutionary, and it covers familiar ground both musically and lyrically, but "Love Story" does have promise and is a respectable outing.  It gets a B in my school of music.
2653031
A pretty obvious debut novel for this writer.  She still needs to learn a lot about character development in my opinion.  However she does have a lot of potential.  She reminds me a little of Fannie Flagg with her working with small towns and their quirks.
I certainly do wish her well though because there was a lot I also enjoyed about the book.
2724510
This is an OK GbV album, but isn't anything too grand. I was expecting more from that Cars producer guy. Some of the things on here are unlistenable to me.  Buy the Hold on Hope EP instead...there are no bad songs on that at all and they all rock and it's strange how they were from the same sessions and they turned out better than the LP. This major label debut is full of "mehs" and the awkward songs like the weird version of "Teenage FBI"...but yeah...enough putting this record down.

There are some awesome songs on here though like the awesome pop tune "Surgical Focus", "Things I Will Keep", "Dragons Awake", the short "Mushroom Art", the cool "Unmarketed Product", the obscure "Zoo Pie", "Hold on Hope" and etc.

Heck this is still worth owning if you enjoy GbV, there's just some weird stuff on here and it just isn't that great.  It's just ain't even Mag Earwhig or even close to the classic lo-fi.  Plus the EP is better than the LP..that's just strange...3.25 stars.
2769748
.....than you will really like this. I don't want to knock it, because it is really OK as a 'deep cut' release. At least it is not 'overly commerical.' But like early Small Faces they try to sound 'soulful' but are missing the melody. While not overly commerical, they seem to try too hard for that.....
2220155
After listening to Katharine McPhee's self-titled debut, I can with some reason understand why she didn't win AMERICAN IDOL(I'm really questioning if she even deserved second).  While many raved about her powerful vocals on the show, particularly when handling ballads, that powerhouse vocal work isn't really in evidence here.  Whether that's due to overproducing or not, it doesn't help that alot of the songs rarely rise above generic.  First single "Over It" sounds like third-rate JoJo--personally, I'd rather listen to the genuine article(a better singer and better songs).  A few of the tracks here aren't bad--"Love Story", "Not Ur Girl" and "Do What You Do" all adhere to trendy production but still manage to be somewhat catchy if unspectacular.  The ballads aren't particularly bad either--she manages to cover Aguilera territory("Home") as well as Mariah Carey("Better Off Alone", which could have come from any one of Carey's album).  The problem is she doesn't have that one track that's going to break her out a la Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone".  Next time she might want to sacrifice trendy production and vocal enhancement for quality songs and a few heartfelt performances.
967945
Former Cinderella front-man Tom Keifer released his solo debut album in the spring of 2013. To say this album was a while in the making would be a huge understatement. I always liked Cinderella more than most bands of their genre, and had really high hopes for this album as well.

People that gave this album an overwhelming five-stars must be bigger Tom Keifer fans than myself. This album is pretty good throughout, but it's not five-stars to me. I actually really dig most of the sounds Tom puts on the record; however, sometimes I feel like he ventures a little too far into the experimental territory. This isn't a terrible thing, but it kind of turned me off just the slightest bit. That being said, this is a worthy debut for the former Cinderella leader. Songs like "Solid Ground," "Flower Song," and "Mood Elevator" are the best of the bunch, but most of the rest are decent as well.

If you enjoy Tom's voice and songwriting, you'll more than likely enjoy this album too. If you're looking for the resurrection of Cinderella circa 1989, better check elsewhere.
4246466
This is a fine debut album by the Monkees.  Nesmith's "Sweet Young Thing" and Boyce/Harts "Last Train to Clarksville" alone make it worth the price.  I don't think it is quite as good as some of their later albums such as "Headquarters" and "Pisces, Aquarius..." when their artistic freedom from Don Kirshner led them to some great music.  Some of the Davy Jones stuff gets a little cloying.  Still, there is good music, and some fun moments such as "I'm Gonna Buy Me a Dog" with comedy bantering between Jones and Dolenz.  Worth buying, but I wouldn't make it my first Monkees purchase.
2286988
It's a cute comedy.  A bit formulaic perhaps, but a nice setup and likeable performances.  Nothing Oscar-worthy here, but my wife and I enjoyed it.
2516216
The town was the star of this book. The author gave a nice feeling of the snowed-in town during the festive season. Jordan and Avery were both likeable characters. While I enjoyed this, it had a few problems.  There was no conflict, none whatsoever. Jordan seemed like a really nice guy, stuck in a rut and with a failed relationship behind him, understandably reluctant to act on his attraction to the new arrival in town. Avery, fairly or not, seemed like he'd be ready for the first port in the storm so to speak. Oh, and the kitten? Um, what about it's toileting arrangements? I don't think I would want to go into that spare bedroom after a few days... Eyes watering just thinking about it.

There was a back story here that wasn't explored -- the elephant in the room: why had Avery's parents divorced, exactly what was going on? Why the sparse contact between Avery and his dad? Did Avery make his deadline?  Hmm, a few lose threads.

There is a point in the story where we get Avery's POV, and it's kind of disconcerting. He seems pretty offhand about things. That said, there was, strangely, a nice feeling about this story.

Since this is labelled Book 1 -- are we going to to continue with these characters? Are we going to move on to someone new in town? It's not made clear, which is a pity, because I would be interested to see what develops with these two guys. There are lost opportunities here to develop an interesting relationship with conflict and something going on to hook the reader.

I think this writer can write, but this? It just sort of ends flat, at least for me. I will seek out more of her work, I just felt as if I was left stranded waiting for something that never came. Or maybe it is coming?

But, as ever -- great cover. I really, really have to stop buying books for the covers. But they look so good...
2452856
A good debut from Kanye's cousin, with the same kind of wit/banter, but definitely a more intense, battle-rap style flow than Kanye's.  However, production-wise, it seems like this album has the good beats front-loaded.  Dynomite and Brand New start off solid, and the rest of the beats on the album are solid for the most part, but there's a noticeable drop in quality, the songs towards the end are just not as catchy or filled with the same kind of fire as Dynomite (except for maybe "Bullet", which features Citizen Cope singing the hook from his "Bullet and a Target" song).  Look for his sophomore release, Rhymefest is full of potential but needs to hit it off with either more producers or more consistent production.
830775
Vetiver's first album is a rather wonderful debut, and possibly telling of a very interesting place for the band in the contemporary folk scene. For what I know, hey hailed from San Francisco and could be considered "psych-folk" kin to Joanna Newson, another young promising artist, and Devendra Barnhart, although not as dark and adventurous as the latter, both of whom guest here along with Hope Sandoval.
Actually, "Vetiver" is the name of an essential oil which is described as "Woody, earthy, herbaceous, spicy almost smoky," which is not a bad description for the overall mood of the songs included here. To this I'd add "tender, hushed, quiet yet not bland."
This CD, impressive for a debut, already shows a wide breadth of interests and a distinct sound, from the zanier "Amour Fou" -not one of my favorites necessarily - to the Spanish-sung- pastoral "Los Pajaros del Rio."
This is not to say that Vetiver is beyond influences, Nick Drake -as much as his name has been an abused reference to most recent folk ... I know- and Vashti Bunyan , or even early Donovan, come to mind easily.
Along with these, "Without a Song," "Amerilee," "Belles" and "On a Nerve" are worth exploring for their diverse beauty. I must say too that I am impressed with how versatile their arrangements can be -using almost exclusively guitar, cello and violin- and the appropriateness of its stripped production.
Actually, going back to the eponymous essential oil, among its possible uses, this oil is supposed to help in healing depression, exhaustion and insomnia. I would not discard the possibility that this music may have similar beneficial effects.
4667240
Cute main character...  First time reading this Author.  I'll be back to read more from her...
3423783
Debut album from Toronto, CanadaAlvvays play bright & bouncy indie guitar/keyboard pop led by strong female vocals.  Some of the songs carry a bit more muscle that most material in this genre, and the band isn't afraid to darken up the edges a little with some droney/fuzz notes and a touch of melancholy.  It helps, too, that they're well-written, played and produced.  Reminiscent of bands like Veronica Falls, Girls Names, Allo Darlin, Talulah Gosh, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.  Overall, the band manages to project a cheery indie pop aura without sacrificing integrity or intensity.  Good.
2899708
This was a cute story!

Abby basically grew up without a mother, and her dad just moved her back to Scotland, a land she doesn't really remember. Good thing her big sister's there to help.

But being so close to where her mother died, Abby decides to do a little digging, and the big green dog demanding that the Red King free him certainly sparks a helping dose of curiosity.

When she goes to Faerie Mountain to look for clues, she encounters the green dog again, but this time he sends her back in time. She's dropped on top of Rory, a young man who has lost everything, and together they must figure out why she's here by digging into their own pasts.

This was a fun story. I love the elements -- the evil faeries, the big green dog, and there's plenty of that lovely brogue to immerse you in the Scottish setting. The characters are endearing, and the story is fast paced and full of mystery.

So why four stars? First, I kinda hate the cover. The drawing is beautifully done, but the upward shadow on the face is kinda creepy, and the overall coloring of the cover doesn't read YA Scottish fantasy to me. The writing was fairly solid, a few typos and such, but not so much as to overly distract from the story. But the characters at times acted a bit odd, even for 14-year-olds (although I don't think Abby or Rory's ages are ever mentioned in the book...) -- at one point, Rory stomps around, pulling his braids, yelling how it can't be true. It was a tad over the top.

But all that aside, I enjoyed the story, the riddle, and the mystery, and there's even a little bit of adorable romance in there. An enjoyable debut novel and start of a series. I look forward to the rest of the Red King trilogy.

I received an ARC of this story with no obligation to review. This is my honest opinion.
2647533
TCG is a good attempt at a contemporary studio album that shows the Cheetah Girls are growing up.  It has a couple of great dance songs (Fuego in particular) and a couple good mellow songs with a message (Who We Are and Homesick).  Ironically, the three songs that are pushed as the "hits" on the album cover sticker are some of the weakest tunes (Human, So Bring It On and the very weird car analogy Crash). The album notes say the Cheetah Girls helped write at least half of the songs and the good news for parents is that all of the songs are clean.  There's no reason to fear that they have tried to grow up too fast.  Most of the numbers are about dancing--and even though this album isn't as good as the Disney movie CDs (mainly because Raven isn't on this CD), it's something that fans should enjoy until the next movie can come out.