I have been very disappointed lately with the Kindle First book
589280
I see this author has written many books and I will try to read all of the. I have been very disappointed lately with the Kindle First book, so was pleasantly surprised to find this one to be very good and very exciting. I would highly recommend this for anyone who likes suspense books that move along very quickly. Do not be put off that this is a translated book, as in reading it you would never guess it is a translation.
3860759
Having bought the first Kindle that came out - this was an upgrade for me.  I went with Amazon's since I have such a large Amazon library.

I'm updating my review as my first Kindle stopped charging.  The sent a replacement - we will call it #2 for this review.

#2 arrived and it's refurbished.  It would not download ANYTHING and constantly would start with the "orange circle" during videos - it was 12 times in the first two minutes of a show I had DOWNLOADED.  So, Amazon is okay, we will replace.

#3 - this was GROSS.  The screen was so FILTHY and GREASY that I had to clean it three times to get it even to an acceptable point.  (Might I point out it was in a clean and new bag.) Then the color of the screen was a very dull BROWN (and no, I'm not color blind), the software update was really out of date and it would not allow me to update it.  Plus, there were features MISSING on #3 - and of course, it again didn't download.  So, Amazon is okay, we will replace with a "new one that will be perfect" - it arrived today.

#4 - software is out of date but I have since learned how to do that myself.  The screen is again is a dull brown but that's not the worst part. This one on the left hand of the screen (no matter what orientation) has about 2 1/2 inches of darkness and a line going right down it. UNACCEPTABLE.
When plugging it in to charge (to the Kindle Charger) the top part where it plugs in and the upper back left of the Kindle gets so hot you cannot touch it comfortably.

Downloading and streaming videos if you don't mind only seeing part of the screen - well, doesn't work for me. I prefer to see the whole show....not part.

However, the hot space from where it is charging and the area at the back of the Kindle does keep me warm.

I was asked to give it one more try.  So, okay, Amazon, this is your LAST SHOT at getting me a Kindle that WORKS.
2383782
I've been one of Amazon Kindle's most loyal customers ever since the first generation, purchasing 5 new versions as they became available and giving several as gifts.  This one is by far the biggest disappointment.  The screen isn't as clear as the Fire HD 7" (I bought 4 of those and gave 3 as gifts) plus the response is sluggish and unpredictable.  The device is incredibly flimsy.  I purchased an SD card to increase memory, and the SD card cover broke after only one installation.  I now have it held in place with a piece of Scotch magic tape.  Although slightly faster, the operating system interface is not at all intuitive.  Is Amazon trying to run off their most loyal customers?  If not, they need to get their act back together quickly or they're definitely going to lose me.  You already lost my gift-giving business because I'd be embarrassed to give such a piece of junk as a gift. I'd have been happy to pay $150 more for a genuine step forward, but Amazon doesn't offer that alternative!  Please Amazon; I don't want to switch to Apple, but what else can I do?
751630
This was the first book I have ordered as an etext for nursing school. I hesitated getting it for Kindle and wish I had listened to my gut. I have been using it for this semester and I really hate it.

First, there is not a link to the table of contents. A lot of information resides between the cover and the start of the ToC. I had to put a book mark in for the ToC. Having a link to the ToC under the Go To option seems pretty straight forward to me and I am in disbelief that the publisher did not do this.

Second, there is no corresponding page numbers to the location. When the instructor gives a range of pages to read, I have to grab a friend's hard copy and find out to what chapter the pages correspond and what the topic covers in order to find it on the Kindle.

Third, tables and charts in the book are clickable to make it bigger. That is a fantastic tool, however the picture of the table or chart is so pixelated that it is impossible to read.

Fourth, all the hilights that I made are in a huge, long list organized by location. I have no idea in what chapter the hilight for location 14578 belongs. Would be great to sort my hilights by chapter.

So now I have spent another $70 on ordering the hardback edition just to facilitate my studying. Don't order this in Kindle format unless you are reading this for pleasure (and who does that?) as it stinks for reference.
3864510
You know, there are a lot of things to love about the kindle. How nice it is to read with, the digital paper, the way Amazon has made it so that it doesn't overwhelm the experience with the books themselves...

But honestly, I am just about done with it after the last few months of Amazon fighting endless wars with various publishers. It doesn't matter how nice the kindle is if I can't actually read anything on it, or terrified publishers are patently fleecing kindle users so that I am too resentful to be able to enjoy the books themselves. I've had maybe a half dozen pre-ordered books canceled. Now nothing that is coming out is even available for Kindle. In going back trying to find older books to read in the hopes of riding this whole publishing war out, now I keep finding kindle books that are more than DOUBLE the cost of the paperback version, which is insane and ridiculous. I don't mind paying a fair price for a kindle version, but at that point its patently obvious that nobody actually wants you to buy the kindle version if they're going to charge you double for it.

Honestly, the whole thing is bizarre and stupid. I bought a kindle for my mother on mothers day, and I now regret it. It could be a great product, but Amazon and the various publishers, especially Penguin and Harper Collins, have pretty much ruined it. I only hope that the publishing industry eventually goes the way of the music industry in their poor response to the transition to digital media and rues all these bad decisions that they're making like I regret buying my kindle.
23704
(Purchased at Best Buy)

After purchasing a new Kindle HDX this week, I have had nothing but issues with Kindle purchases with apps, newsstand, etc.  Today's 2.5 hours wasted on newsstand items with no resolution has convinced me to return the Kindle and purchase future content through others like Apple.  I am an Amazon prime member and order often through Amazon.  After a week of money, time, and patience lost, I have no further interest in purchasing anything Amazon Kindle anymore.  While the latest Kindle is nice piece of hardware, the digital content experiences are unreliable and horrible.  Furthermore, my Kindle content access on other devices such as the iPad have been damaged.

Much money spent on the Kindle library is damaged and not accessible with no fix offered by Amazon support.  Support, while pleasant to talk to, have no idea how to fix what has been proven to be an issue with my account on the Amazon servers.  I am deeply disappointed in how things have become difficult with Amazon Kindle products and services, and I am discontinuing as a Kindle customer.  (I am an experienced Kindle user.  This is not my first Kindle, and I have had Kindle purchases for years with multiple devices.)

Software besides Kindle items don't work well at all.  It just seems like a buggy device despite the hardware improvements.

Also, the speakers are in the rear.  They sound great if you flip the device around.  Beyond ridiculous that they don't aim forward.  Speaker sound quality is strongly dependent on direction.
2048808
I read this on the Kindle

This is the 12th book in the Maisie Dobbs series & I am very disappointed with it

This tended to repeat what had happen in previous books not just once but it got very repetitive so much so I was skipping pages as I knew what had happen

I can understand telling the read it once but you get to a interesting part then it go off telling of what had happen previously & not just in previous books but repeating what had been told earlier in the book it was as if the author couldn't make the storyline last so had to keep telling what had already been told earlier in the book which made the book very poor in my opinion

The storyline was a good one if it had been told & not dragged out with previous & repetitive bits
I certainly can't recommend this book i will say that the ending has been left that more Maisie Dobbs books can be done if this is the case I just hope that it will be new storylines & not keep going over the old ones
677972
I love the convenience and reliability of Amazon and e-books, but the latest changes are cause for concern, and may mean I seek a more open architecture for e-book purchases.

The main issue is a recent change of policy at Amazon that now when you order a product it is not automatically available on all your devices, it will only download to a single default device. So if you want to read across multiple devices e.g. iPad, Kindle and sometimes the computer, you have to log in to amazon and go through a super tedious process to download each book to the devices you want to read it on.  The screen you need to go to to download each item does not remember or indicate which books have been downloaded so if you order say 30 books and you want to read it on three devices then you need to access 60 drop down menus each of which have a delay meaning you cannot do a lot of books quickly. This basically reduces the value of you get from these books, the convenience of being able to read on which ever device is to hand has been lost.

I wonder what then what the future of these Amazon e-books will be, will there be more changes, maybe books will be redacted and modified at will, or even removed.

I am also completely amazed that the Kindle (& BTW Kindle for Mac) has no page numbers or feed back regarding what chapter you are reading.  It is impossible to get from one "page" to another or even one chapter to another easily.  It is like being lost in a sea of pages with no structure.

The Amazon location numbers are very long and impossible to remember (e.g. 32% - Locations 10,949-1,007 of 35,045 [I am not kidding]), particularly in large books. It really needs some sort of overlay telling the reader the chapter number & name as well as the page numbers.  There should be someway to "easily" bring up the index and contents page without losing your spot, so you can jump to different parts of the eBook.  The Financial Times edition on the iPad has one of the best navigation techniques I have seen for a tablet. The Kindle designers should take a good look at the FT implementation to see what navigation looks like when it is done properly.

The Kindle interface is so badly designed in this essential detail that I cannot believe anyone could enjoy using it for nonfiction, or that this issue does not get more airplay in these reviews.  Though I see now after searching the net that many people find the lack of page numbers and difficulty of navigation a problem.  This problem is particularly acute for reading technical books, so exactly where you would expect an eBook to have a strength it is weak.

Until the page number and navigation problems are fixed I will not be buying any more Kindle books.
As I understand the other eReaders on the market do have page numbers, so maybe I'll try the Nook or Sony while waiting.
Other eReaders do apparently have page numbers.

Another problem for using e-books as text books is that there is a limit in total to how much text you can highlight, once you hit that limit that is it you cannot highlight any more text in anywhere.  So again very limiting for non-fiction text books etc.

Another problem is that the keys on the Kindle are very hard to press, and the paint identifying each key has warn off in some places so I have to guess/remember what the keys are for.

I use the kindle a lot, but these changes make me think of looking at other e-readers and a more open platform.

My advice is wait until they fix these problems, before getting a Kindle. (Perhaps also don't put all your eggs in the Amazon basket)
4787615
Being a huge and devoted fan of this series, I have to say for the first time ever that I am really disappointed in this book.

That's all I,'ve got
3052477
I am very disappointed in Kindle.  We have 3 kindles and the Big Nate series is a favorite of my kids.  Why are not all books available for the kindle reader?
2988576
I couldn't even get past chapter 7. The writing was flat and the pace was tedious. I just didn't care enough about the characters to finish the book. I have been disappointed by most of the kindle first books I've gotten, this was also a wash. I wonder at the five star reviews, this book did nothing for me, wasn't original, well written, informative, or engaging. NEXT!!
1874311
I do not like the Kindle version of this book. This is my first time using a text book in Kindle format and will be my last!!! E-books have been great for me, but I am not able to scroll through pages easily and navigate. Very disappointed.
2774524
This is a new gadget for me...while I was very excited to get it, I am very disappointed in it....not being computer savvy too much, I find it not too self-explanatory...and when I have downloaded some free games and play them, this Kindle freezes up, the whole screen, can't turn it off, and it happens every time.  Not happy with this product.
46495
In my defense- with not only readers' reviews here and the author's foreward- I accidentally bought it thinking it was the first book of the series when I searched the author and series name on a friend's recommendation. I thought the first book was good, the second okay, and I told my friend the third book I was saying 'WTH' every other page or so until I just deleted it after however much I slogged through thinking it HAD to get better in light of the preceding two books. Nope. So I add my agreement to almost everyone's review- this is the first book I had to write a negative review for, rather than just deleting off my Kindle. Not that I didn't do that too for this tragedy of a book
4640110
I'm so disappointed in this book. I had pretty good expectations after the first in the series, as I liked that quite a bit and the characters had quite a bit of potential. I won't provide a plot summary here since others have done that, but I would suggest that unless you thought the first in the series was absolutely one of the best books you've ever read, do not read the second one. It disappoints on so many levels. The most overwhelming problem I had with this book is its tone, which stays consistent throughout its entirety.

From the very beginning it is full of bitterness, despair, depression, anger, hatred and disillusionment. While I thought Valerie had some potential in the first book, she lost everything in the second. Her character was so dismal and dreary that I lost all desire to read the book even though there was quite a bit of good suspense throughout. While reading, I literally began to feel depressed from all the anger, bitterness, sadness and bickering that the characters portrayed; a reader can only take so much! We get the point already! Even the sex scenes, which were decent, could not make up for the complete negativity that followed all of the characters. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about a good measure of darkness in my books, but there is a difference between the dark nature of characters and the complete and total misery of everyone involved, for the whole book!

The last problem I had was with the editing errors; there were quite a few. Unfortunately, one thing that I have noticed with the increasing number of digital books, is also the increasing amount of editing errors. Either the publishing process is not as heavily scrutinized because the books are digital, or something is being screwed up in translation. Sadly, this book also had some of the worst editing errors that I've seen in any digital book so far. I understand that the price is low (I can't really complain at $3.99) but I'd rather pay a bit more for better quality work.
944077
I thought I would save a few dollars by purchasing this book in Kindle format.  Now, I wish I had not been tempted by the savings.  Often the directions refer to page numbers and page numbers do not exist in the Kindle version.  I am still struggling to understand the concept and often have to take a guess regarding page numbers.  I also wish there were charts to go with the written directions.  I'm sure I will puzzle through the process of creating these precious  boxes, but feel  I would have saved time and aggravation if I had purchased the hard copy edition.

I am revising my original review now that I have had time to accustom myself to the highlighting and note taking features available using my Kindle App.  I actually prefer having the option to highlight as I go.  It's still a pain flipping back and forth even with the bookmarking option, but I do find it is very easy to pick up where I left off when I highlight each step as I go.  The author has also kindly posted the charts that were available in the printed version on her website so that you can download graph papers and create your own unique baskets.
3884422
I read the first book in this series and loved it. I bought the 2nd and 3rd with no reservations because I enjoyed the first so much. I am now 28% through the second and it is killing me. I am a bit of a grammar nazi, I admit it, but whoever put this into Kindle format does not appear to be fluent in English. There are words out of order in sentences, words that have no business being in the sentence present, and commas where they don't belong, or missing. If the author, or whoever is responsible for the Kindle version, would like someone to proof and correct this, I would GLADLY volunteer. I just hope I can finish this book, and I hope the third is not in the same shape.