the story gets pretty crazy, but a easy read
591620
The book was simply written, the story gets pretty crazy, but a easy read.
1720556
some of the events are unrealistic, but the story is good.
4366175
It took me a while to get used to the present tense writing style used throughout the book, but once I got into it, the style did lend itself to the crazy, chaotic characters and plot. I could really get into the mindset of the slightly crazy angel Anael. When she leaves heaven to have a little adventure, she ends up being tortured in hell by a demon duchess and rescued by a demon Transporter named Gaap. For a while they get sidetracked to southern California due to the summons of a teenage satanist. But that just gets them in touch with a demon-possessed five year old who will play an important part in the story. Turns out Anael and her motley crew may be just what's needed to put Lucifer in his place.

St. Peter, Lucifer, Hades, Charon, Styx, Cerberus, Persephone, and other underworld favorites figure in this wild romp through Hell, Purgatory, and Topside. The characters are interesting and unexpected. (Pete tends bar, Lucifer plays skins game golf for real skins!) If you like weird twists on mythology, this is for you.

There is flirtation, innuendo, and a love story, but no sex, which surprised me. However, since Anael is such an innocent, I think that was perfectly fine for this story.

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
1235354
This novel starts with the whistleblower's story about a corrupt judge
and an Indian tribe running a crooked casino, which is easy enough to
understand, But, then, we learn that there are layers upon layers of
bad guys in this organization and they don't know and can't identify
each other and any investigation results in death of the detective.
Eventually, a path toward stopping Mr Big is found by DNA,
but that piece of the puzzle goes by so quickly that it is
essentially hidden and readers who miss it can't be blamed.
My reaction to this novel is mixed - I admire Grisham's ability to
devise and manipulate this huge setting, but I think other
commenters here are right to complain about the last part of the
book defaulting into a "just the facts, ma'am" report.
1773195
It was a good story in that it pulled me in and read the book very quickly. But there was a lot of weird stuff going on that the author just kind of glazed over quickly without any explanation that left me saying, "wait - wtf?"

Spoiler Alert

Things like...Kate's mother's affair with a teenager, Opal's problem of "just taking things," Kate's compulsive lying, even at the age of 41, the ghost hauntings, Kate's mother being possessed and why oh why was the bus driver possessed? Where did that even come from? It happened, and then it was not talked about or discussed AT ALL.

My biggest problem with the story was its construction. I didn't mind the jump back and forth from past to present, but everything just happened so neatly and conveniently. it was almost like the author would come up with an idea and write abuot it in the past (example: Raven, "I was raped by Del's Dad.") Then, she would realize that this idea doesnt fit in anywhere, and then  would come up with a backstory (example: Nicky, "I knew what was happeneing to Del at night.") I felt like this happened over and over again. The big murderer reveal at the end was just too neat and clean. Mother-possessed-by-long-dead-murdered-girl comes and finds Kate, tells her to "hurry! there isn't much time!" kate follows, runs into the woods, and oh no! runs right into the killer, setting up to murder opal. And wait! Nicky shows up too! Kate pulls the trigger - thankfully she had all of those BB gun lessons 30 years ago because she kills him with one bullet! She hits him right in the bullseye. Possessed-mother turns and talks like Del, "I guess we're even" and poof! The ghost is gone.

This was chick lit disguised as a mystery-ghost-story. Its a shame because the idea was a good one, and could have been spookier if it were written better.
881431
This story is so strange, and it abruptly changes subgenres in the middle. I like it for the first half where the characters are sort of rebuilding basic civilization from scratch, which, it seems like that's what everybody who likes this book enjoys best.
4740581
A little convoluted in parts and too predicable, but still not a bad read
3553297
I thought this book was very odd, but I was entertained and kept looking forward to reading it. The plot is ridiculous. There are way too many coincidences and unlikely happenings for almost any of it to ring true. But it's funny. At one point the main character takes some medication and her reaction is trippy and hilarious. The characters felt cartoonish at times to me, which wasn't necessary given the quirky plot. There is some sexual tension and more, so if that's not your thing, you may not want to read this.

So, if you're willing to not take a book seriously, and you're okay with it being a little racy, then you'll probably enjoy Making Waves.
2157954
Firebug is a glimpse at a bigger story. It does have a beginning, middle and end, but leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

I wasn't 100% sure where the story was going when I started reading, an old guy moaning about progress, the loss of the woods around his property and such. But it quickly escalated and took a rather bizarre turn.

I must admit, the twist in the tail end really is what secured this short story it's 3 stars. It was over so quickly, but rather juicy, in a horrific sense.

The writing style is simple, with the exception of the drawl-like speech of the old man. It should be easily accessible to most readers.

An interesting tale and very quick read.
2615853
This story was okay.  It was interesting and different, but it was a bit long and chatty.  I had to read it a lot slower to really understand the story.  Joy has a freak accident that puts her in a coma for a week.  Her family thinks she was trying to commit suicide, but that wasn't the reason she was on the roof.  I won't tell you why, that secret is a big part of the story. You will just have to read the book to find out.  While in a coma Joy hears and remembers everything that people say around her. When she wakes her she decides to become a new Joy and live the life she has put on hold for so long.

I was given an ARC to read for an honest review.
4747203
The story moves at a jaw dropping pace, sweeping through the land. Lots of irony (maybe not as much as a Collins-LaPierre classic). Hard to put down.
The author notes that it's hard to get everything correct, and imagination has to be used somewhat. But it's a nice easy read, and not like a textbook.
2005002
Very easy going story, no real surprises or twists. The use of past tense was overwhelming and annoying at times, but nothing that can't be overlooked. The male lead starts out annoying and narocistic, but through the relationship that develops with the lead female he transforms into a nice guy. The female is an author, so the reader gets an little bit of an insiders view on self-publishing.
412584
The story begins with the ever-dreaded phone call in the middle of the night, summoning Kitty to London because something's happened to her mother.  Heavily pregnant herself, Kitty gets on the first flight, and, we think, starts the story from the beginning to demonstrate how she and her family got to the point where her mother lies in the hospital.

As a child, Kitty lived a somewhat idyllic life in the English countryside with her mother, brother, sister, aunts, grandparents, and nanny.  Dahl vividly describes her setting, and one can almost feel the warmth of the sun and the breeze.

But Kitty is not destined to remain there.  Kitty's mother, Marina, is presented to the reader as someone who does not make the best choices in life.  Kitty herself is the product of an affair Marina had as a teenager with a married man.  As the story begins, Marina has just found religion, through Swami-ji, the leader of an unnamed cult.

Though benevolent in intention, the effect of the cult on Kitty's family is dramatic.  Soon, Kitty is separated from her family and sent to a drab boarding school, while her mother and siblings go to New York.  Her mother becomes a successful painter in New York, and after a single school year, decides that Kitty should join her.  She does, and it is in New York that Kitty first begins to follow her mother's example in walking on the wild side.

When the family moves back to London (having been rejected by the cult), Kitty's inhibitions seem to stay in New York.  Once in London, she falls in with varying crowds, doing drugs, going to wild parties, and the like.  From the loose time references we are given in the book, it is the mid-'90s and Kitty is about 14.  Not to be overly naive, but she is far too young to be doing the sorts of things she does (I guess that's where the book gets its title), but even worse is that Marina encourages Kitty's behavior, sometimes even joining her at parties, and passing around the drugs.  That Marina genuinely loves Kitty makes this picture even more tragic, as it does not ever seem to occur to Marina that her choices and behavior might be destructive to her children.  Finally, Marina takes an overdose and is rushed to the hospital.  Kitty calls her grandparents, and is finally able to return to their home.

But, although the scene has remained the same, Kitty herself has changed too much to stay there, and decides to go back to boarding school, this time in Connecticut, to make a new start.  But here is where the book fails us.  Having detailed Kitty's descent, Dahl leaves her redemption to our imagination.  We know only that she does manage to make a stable life for herself.  Having spent so much time in the dregs with Kitty, it would have been nice if we could have walked with her a bit on her journey up.
1375831
3.25-3.5 STARS

Dr. Alex Taylor suffered a horrific and terrifying ordeal at the hands of her psychotic abductor.  Upon her release, she recounts her unbelievable tale to no avail.  The police don't believe her story, and her almost fianc is convinced she needs psychiatric help.  Even Taylors co-workers are skeptical, finding her sudden erratic behavior unnerving.

As the story progresses, an overly ambitious police detective sets her sights on unraveling  Alexs story and proving that shes responsible for the murders that subsequently follow.  A twisted psychological story unfolds, as a desperate Alex tries to convince her friends, co-workers and the police, that shes telling the truth.  If she cant, more lives could be at stake.

While I found the premise to be unique and intriguing, I also thought it unrealistic in many respects.  First, I found it unbelievable that EVERYONE discounted the word of a well-respected doctorhow quickly and easily they dismissed her account of events.  Really? Not one person in her life believed she was telling the truth? Then, there was the unorthodox behavior of a female detective hell-bent on turning this victim into a murderous perp.

Aside from the story being a bit too far-fetched for my liking, I also found several of the characters annoying.  And while the story was able to hold my attention throughout, I was able to deduce the true culprit early ononly the motivation still left to be determined.  So, while, I liked the overall premise, the execution left a lot to be desired.  What promised to be a thrilling read, in the end, failed to live up to my expectations.
2145256
Too many characters telling the story, but still a good story.
4285870
Claire Cain is a teen reporter who stopped a drug ring and was attacked for it.  When she has healed enough to return to school her father takes a sabbatical in a small Missouri town.  The problem is that the day the come to town a high school girl is murdered.  Claire cannot stop looking for the person who killed her.

The main character behaved like a reporter, but I am not sure that she behaved in the way that she would have in order to tie up the ending in the way that the author choose to end the story.

I do however, believe that teens will enjoy reading this book and fail to see that things the main character does during the story do not make sense if one really considers the ending.  This isn't a matter of critical thinking as much as it is a matter of life experience.  That I can understand.  The author not doing the research and knowing how someone would react, or behave, I don't understand.

I did enjoy the story, right up to the silly ending.  I didn't even mind the cats that much, but I just cant get over the unrealistic behavior if the author wants her story to end in the way that she wrote it.
4227457
I have to say that this is one of the weirdest books I ever read , its starts off crazy and you really feel bad for the main character Farrah Cotton but as the plot thickens you see that Farrah is much like her sick family in ways that we never would imagine , and I also find it Interesting that her disease is real and so is the urban legend. This was graphic in so many ways but still a good read