So so, not classic Sheldon, not impressed with Bagshawe
594892
Predictable story, redundant similies (everyone does something "like a snake" at some point), and poor writing in general--this story could have been written by a youngster for a creative writing class.  I found it especially irritating that instead of actually taking the time to write descriptions that would convey the wealth and pomp Bagshawe intended for her characters, she just peppered her characters with designer apparel--it was like the author did a google search for "expensive brand names" to save herself from having to actually paint a picture with her own writing.

At best, okay as a mindless read at the beach.
1162192
I was so eager for Flavia's return home that the disappointments she encountered when she got back to Buckshaw set a negative tone for me for the whole rest of the book.  And the last few pages have me wondering if I'll read any future books in the series.

The mystery and solution is quite odd.  "Odd" is not unusual for Flavia, but this one seemed pretty contrived.

There is no additional character development for her sisters or for the other people in town.  People pop in and out, but I don't feel like I know anyone at all better than I did before.  It's mostly about Flavia and Gladys, her bicycle.

On the positive side, Alan Bradley's writing still pulls you along so you want to keep reading.  And you feel the atmosphere of the place ... almost too much, since for me it went from a long standing positive outlook of "Really hope they can find a way to save Buckshaw and the family!" to too much sadness and a "why bother anymore" feeling.

Maybe if the next book is "Flavia and Dogger move to London and work under cover for Scotland Yard" I'll try it.  Otherwise, sadly, I don't think I will.
2313515
This was my first read of anything by the alleged great Sidney Sheldon - and I was shocked at how poorly it was written. The entire time I was reading it, I felt like the author was racing to slap the words on a page and get it over with. This was especially true of the dialogue. It is laughingly, pathetically BAD. There is nothing about it that feels or sounds like how people actually talk to each other! It had a forced, rushed quality to it, like maybe the golf links were calling to the writer and he couldn't wait to get this assignment over and done with. The plot was predictable and trite and quite honestly, I'm amazed I stuck with this book until the end. I guess I kept hoping that it would improve - I mean, after all, the late great Sidney Sheldon's name is on it, right? But sadly no - no improvement ever came. It leaves me to wonder if he indeed had anything to do with its actual creation. I will be hard-pressed to want to ever read anything by him again.
4258568
l didn't really feel a connection to Bram from the other books, and this one didn't change that for me.  It just felt disconnected from their relationship, to no romance at all.

Bram fathered two children by two different women, and he falls head over heels for our h, who isn't his physical type at all.  As another reviewer wrote, why didn't he send word to his family that he was alive?  Or at least request the clan he  visited to give them the good news?

I had no feeling one way or the other for our h, which isn't good.

The plot was very far fetched for me and left me scratching my head.  The ending also had  me questioning where they end up living, was very confusing.  Also, he greets his cousin and brother, but his mother's reaction wasn't mentioned, and she was in the room sewing.

I would recommend the first two in the series, but if this is $.99 or free then read it.

The character's in this story were not as developed as in the other stories.  We do get a HEA, some suspense and  very mild lovemaking within
marriage. (ljb)
4459256
No Jilly Bean, hard to best the other series
4454385
I was disappointed. It wasn't what I expected. I quit reading before I finished it. Some of the writing was too vulgar. If you are a Sheldon fan I don't recommend this book.
2080119
I stumbled upon this series in my Prime membership, and being a fan of so many other British comedies I thought I might give it a try.  I have very mixed feelings. It has some good moments, but overall is so silly that it is difficult to watch at times.  I realize it was filmed in the 70's, but I have other shows from that time period that I still love.  This feels dated and the acting is not nearly as good as say "As Time Goes By", nor is the writing anywhere on par with shows like that.  It is a bit of fluff to get you by, but a steady diet of it would rot your teeth!
2258282
This novel from the superb TV series has Buffy and the Scoobies battling demons called rakshasas, taken from Hindu mythology, who can turn friends violently against each other and are trying to do the same to the Scooby Gang.
It's a good idea, but the exploration of it here isn't compelling.  My main problem is exactly what the last reviewer complained of: Garton doesn't seem to have a real command of the show and its characters.  The behavior and dialogue just aren't quite right.  You could explain that as the effects of the rakshasa magic, but Garton lets slip a few times that he doesn't know enough about Sunnydale.  Willow describes a new Sunnydale High guidance counselor created for this story, Ms Daruwalla, as the first real person hired by Sunnydale High since Rupert Giles - ignoring her close friendship with Jenny Calendar.  At another point, Willow say she doesn't know anybody who's ever been transformed into an animal, ignoring the transformation of Buffy into a mouse and Xander into a jackal (or was it hyena?).  And although the story takes place at a time when Faith is in town, she is never mentioned in the book.
Granted, these little mistakes are only going to upset obsessive Buffy fans like yours truly, but isn't that pretty much the target audience for these books?  I really can't see many of them being sold to or read by people who haven't seen the series.
The plot does have some nice twists, and the sections where Buffy is playing detective, trying to track down the source and nature of the latest evil, are pretty good.  But overall, I didn't think this one had enough bite.
1465377
It seemed disjointed, just like his hike.  It was also difficult not to lose just a bit of respect for them because of their frequent lack of readiness to hike the trial.  There is a thin line between goofy but lovable amateurs and flakes.

And I normally love Bryson.
3851812
Bagge starts with an interesting concept, then decides not to explore it.

In "Reset", a comedian-turned-actor whose career has taken a nosedive is given a chance to use a new virtual reality device to relive pivotal moments in his past in order to make better choices. I had expected the book to explore the "road not taken" and show some of the different lives the protagonist might have led, but Bagge actually spends little of "Reset" on the virtual reality stuff. Instead, the story focuses on who is funding the strange VR project and what the device's real purpose is -- which turns out to not be all that interesting or surprising.
3223460
Turning to Nicholas Blake straight after Sayers and Allingham was probably a mistake on my part.  However, I read a few Nigel Strangeways books years ago and I don't recall him being so limp or fey in those.  Perhaps he becomes a stronger character in the later books - in this one, the first, he spends an inordinate amount of time drinking tea and theorising to himself so that even the reader is excluded.  The book is almost tediously procedural and the policeman Armstrong is pig-headed to the point of idiocy.

The strong points of the book are the characterisation of the boys and the creation of the prep school atmosphere.  In continuing the series in order I hope that Strangeways develops some character beyond his tea-drinking.
1570842
Setting the usual bachelorette-waiting-for-next-romance scene in a caf was a good idea as such, but somehow for me the pieces and characters of the book did not "click" together as a whole. I think part of it is because the central character's choices in terms of men are so unappealing to me. (Kenny?? ugh...)
Then there is the fact that everything is a little too easy for our girl-hero. You like to write? Oh, how handy, there is a job available at university. That sort of thing. There is not even that much that happens, as the focus shifts from her to her would-be midwife friend to her day job in the caf and not-at-all-lovable suitors. Can't say I enjoyed it.
2988258
I can't really give this a complete review since I have only read the first chapter.  However, I may not go any further.  The main character is like Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory..... a show I know is very popular, but personally don't like.  So if you adore Sheldon, you will probably like this book
4445737
'The Adventures of Basil and Moebius' is a collection of three adventures of a pair of ne'er do well thieves.  The art kind of threw me off as well as the over attempt at making the characters seem authentically British.

The first story tells how Basil and Moebius meet.  Basil's a former soldier who is now one of the Queen's Guard.  Moebius is an Oxford scholar with a sharp sword and a sharper sword.  When they meet, they instantly dislike each other, so you know it's the beginning of a strange friendship.  Before long they find themselves in the employ of a mysterious and threatening man.  There is also a fair amount of chasing after girls, chasing after treasure, and staying one step ahead of the law.

It's a formula that should work, but it had it's flaws.  First off is an art style that was inconsistent and sometimes not that good.  Secondly, the overuse of every British slang phrase just made the characters feel like parodies of British characters written by someone outside the culture.  Finally, I just didn't like these two.  I wanted them to be loveable rogues, and at times they came close, but they came across more as slimy and unlikeable.  It's a pity.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
2804932
this is certainly no "downton abbey".  i've not read the book from which it is adapted, but if it lives up to the introductions and end commentary fellowes provides in each episode (ala "masterpiece theater") this series needed to be at least twice as long as it is.  the redemption of the villains comes as a sentence or two on a deathbed and in no way shows trollope (author of the book) as a deep student of character motivations or as having any interest in providing more than two dimensions for his characters, and those two dimensions are layed on as broadly as possible. why only 4 episodes?  there is very little treatment of any backstory aside from this happened, then this happened...no exploration of how events affected anyone and so very little sympathy engendered for any of the characters.  and they are, except the title character and the star crossed lovers, all reprehensible in one way or another.

i was so disappointed in the story itself that i'm not going into too much detail on the production which, while handsome, also seemed hollow. aside from dr. thorne, i've seen better acting in high school plays. even ian mcshane, whom i've always loved, is hamming it up like an easter dinner. it is as if everyone involved had to lay the archetypes (drunk, snooty, angelic, befuddled) on so thickly so the audience would "get it" immediately as there was not going to be time to develop these characters naturally.

i'm a prime member, so at least i didn't have to pay extra for this. such a let down.
3144320
I decided to read this book because I am a huge fan of The Big Bang Theory and thought the book would be at least mildly entertaining. I only took one course of Philosophy during my undergrad so I was only slightly familiar with some of the Philosophical theories presented in the book. Honestly, this book should have  made the topic easier for those to understand who did not have a strong Philosophical background. This book could have been more entertaining but it failed to appeal to a majority of its readers.
1340229
Read it only if you're the kind of person who would enjoy watching Phil Mckelson play a round of golf...before he had even the slightest grasp of the basic fundamentals of the game. There is absolutely none of the magic found in his later books, like Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. I read it only because I was told it took place in an earlier century before Pandora's Star. But you won't find much at all about the future Commonwealth worlds. And it's a fairly painful read, just not very well done at all. I did have high hopes when a character named Nigel was mentioned early on, but there is no indication that this would later become Sheldon. The only name you'll recognize is Gore Burnelli, who has a no-dialogue conversation with the main character, Jeff Baker. It's ostensibly a story about Baker and his family. Baker is the first person to ever undergo a rejuvenation, the only other real link to the later books. Baker is a poor first choice who is suggestive of the notion that we would not necessarily do it better the second time around if we could do it all over again. In fact, he makes the most atrocious choices possible. But he has a chance to redeem himself, even if it costs him almost everything. And that rejuvenation? Well, sometimes seems to have gone terribly awry with that...Wow, I'm about to make you read it, aren't I?