Mendoza is a whiny prat... otherwise I like it...
589064
Honestly, the only thing that makes me stumble through the series is the fact that after a while, Mendoza really grates on my nerves. There comes a point at which I really wish that I, or one of the characters in the book, would grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. Every time she bemoans her fate or declares her antipathy towards mortals the actual story comes to a shuddering halt. She is such a tremendously flawed character that I was actually relieved to see the ending of the book.
But I like the book. Really. The setting is a break from stories set in a western city, the background characters are unique and intriguing and this is the book where the ominous undercurrents of The Company begin to surface.
This book, much like the setting, is a way station before some exciting destinations.
413477
I really liked this show and the great cast.  Skeet Ulrich was my favorite.  I didn't like how some episodes didn't have real closure.  The bad guys always need to get their comeuppance, especially when they kill the star.  I thought it was sad how in the desire to push their liberal agenda, they turned the only Latina character into a lesbian.
1746736
It's a solid outing for Junot Diaz, and this book is an easy and fun read most of the time. Some chapters are very gripping. The story really works when there aren't forced in Fuku or Lord of the rings references. I was never really bored while reading this book, but I've got to admit, there were several times I was irritated by the prose. Oscar Wao's weakest points are I think what many consider its strengths--The surreal elements, like the Fuku, and the pop culture sci-fi/fantasy references, and the humor... But I was rolling my eyes anytime any of that came up. I figured I would love those elements (one of the reasons I bought the book). The pop culture references show up every couple of pages, it gets really annoying and doesn't feel authentic. The fuku stuff is really cheesy, comes up way too much--and I feel it's put in there simply for exposition; dumb readers. And the humor isn't funny to me, which is fine, I understand humor as one of the most subjective aspects in life, but Junot's is just lame. He thinks saying mother f'r and the N-word, or mentioning lord of the rings will make things funny, and it might if there was a joke or something, but there isn't. Everything just comes off as forced. Lastly, Oscar comes off as a pathetic whiner. It's hard to feel sorry for him whenever bad things are happening, because everything bad that happens to him is mostly due to his own stupidity and failures. And when you can't relate to or even empathize with the main protagonist, there's a problem. I think I might've enjoyed this book a lot in middle-school though, so I think it warrants the 2 star rating.
2786672
As always with David Drake and Stirling, the book moves right along, and you can't really argue with the society portrayed. My problem was that I had this little nagging voice saying: "Yes, but it's Rome," and  wanting to know how it is that a social situation so very similar could  possibly exist, except by the writers getting singularly lazy.  Note,  also, that there was some sloppiness in the plotting, too. Nothing major,  just I would have liked to see a little more detail of the thought  processes involved in planning Adrian's approaches to problems. In the  General, which I enjoyed immensely, or in the Chosen (ditto), the sense of  depth was better, and I felt that the control over the material (never mind  that it was perfectly recognizeable to anyone who stayed awake through both  Western Civ courses) was better. I liked it, damnit. I always do, even when  I'm bugged by parts of it. Whenever Drake gets into Rome, I know I'm in for  a great ride that won't make me say, "Er.., but didn't such-and-such  happen..." God knows, it's great fun to see history played with. But a  society this parallel doesn't feel credible to me.  Sorry, I liked it, but  I can't give it a higher rating than I did.
2725728
The songs are very annoying...
Example: tengo un dedo chiquitito tito tito tito tito.  Repeat that times 10Xs and you get an idea. And that's pretty much every song.
I would donate it....but I like other people.
4680378
I love this authors books but I have to be honest Kendell kind of got on my nerves and if Andre used the lords name in vain in Spanish one more time I think I was going to scream! Talk about annoying. Otherwise it was a good book as usual. And I've already preordered the next one in the series!
4679331
Copy courtesy of Netgalley
I enjoyed Rachel and Bam. Bam may be a little rough around the edges but he was funny and very likable. I know the other characters called him an animal, but he was real. I would have given a 4 star if not for the ad onward story of Kerrie and Sean. She was annoying and he didn't matter to me. He was kind of annoying too with all the rushes and then falling for his coach's wife. Really? I almost gave up because I didn't want to hear their story. I pretty much skipped through that section.
370552
"A Funny Dirty Little War" is a novella that packs a lot of irony and black humor into a bitter commentary about Argentine politics in the 1970's.

In the small, fictional town of Colonia Vela, somewhere near Tandil, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, a minor conspiracy escalates into a small scale civil war as everyone in tiny Colonia Vela chooses sides in the struggle.

Don Ignacio Fuentes, Deputy Mayor, is shocked when the Mayor approaches him with a request to fire his long time employee, Mateo.  The charge against Mateo is that he is a Marxist Communist who has "infiltrated" the government.

Don Ignacio, knowing that Mateo like himself was a supporter of General Juan Peron during his exile, claims the charges are untrue and refuses the request.  Ignacio is then also accused of being a Communist and asked to resign.  From there, things only get worse...and worse...and worse.

The speed and ferocity of the reprisals are as ridiculously and hilariously overblown as they are bleak and tragic.  Both sides claiming to be true Peronists fighting for "Peron or death!".

Briefly, the story's historical background is based in the struggle between the left and right wing supporters of Juan Peron.  The left wing Montenero guerilla movement was formed around 1970 and vowed to bring Peron home from his 18-year exile in Spain.  Their hope was that Peron could turn Argentina into a "Socialist Fatherland."  To further their goals they used terror tactics such as bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations.  When Peron did return to Argentina in 1973, over three million people were waiting near Ezeiza airport to greet him.  Snipers, believed to be from the Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, right-wing Peron supporters, opened fire on the crowd killing at least 13 people and injuring over 300 more.  Although Peron had previously enjoyed support from both left and right, after the Ezeiza Massacre the split was irrevocable. Peron banned the Monteneros from his Justicialista party, aligning himself with the right wing (dominated by the labor unions).  After Peron died in 1974, the Monteneros returned claiming to be the true supporters of Peron's "social vision" and continued to employ terrorist tactics to undermine the right wing.  The clashes eventually led to the military government takeover and the subsequent Dirty War.
4160430
The person I bought it for really appreciated that it corrected the flat ass, however this person complained that it made them itch.  I really don't care.

I like that they are irritated, it amuses me.  Knowing that when they go home with a love interest and drop this on the floor makes me grin even more.
221901
Okay, sue me, I am addicted to a number of Bravo's Real Housewives of ... series, which are produced by Andy Cohen. He makes me laugh. And I figure that if Anderson Cooper is best buddies with him, he must be a good time. So, I got this --- also on a whim while picking up holds --- and for the first half or so, I was amused. Then, what felt to me like a real lack of appreciation for the privilege in which he lives started to wear me out. Which, I suspect, has an equal amount to do with my envy of someone who can buy and remodel apartments in New York City while I can't pay off a tax bill for which I am being dunned or afford rent on the near hovel in which I live. That said, this book is what it is and doesn't pretend to be anything else, and that's a good thing.
1563570
When every person in your book (except the under 14 children) cuss like sailors - it's no longer a character trait...it's an author trait and a strong indication of a poor vocabulary. Bricio might have cussed five times every time you read about him (instead of every other sentence), but the other characters would not - not all of them - not in real life. I'm actually sad...the story line is great, and really the grammar isn't poor...but it's like listening to a show and hearing bleeps every 20th word; how annoying! I won't move on to season two.
476576
I so wanted to love I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. As a Latina, I love that there are more YA books coming out featuring Latinx characters and written by Latinx authors. That's not something that I really had when I was a young adult. However, there were just a couple of things about this novel that kinda rubbed me the wrong way, so I can't give it a higher rating.

The Good: The mental illness aspect in I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter seemed, for the most part, really well-done. I really liked how Julia's depression was sort of slow to start. For the most part, you weren't really sure if she was really depressed until it was sort of extremely obvious. That seemed true to form, at least in my experience. The cultural aspect of this book also seemed very true to form. I loved that it delved into the Mexican culture and what it means to be the perfect Mexican daughter and how Julia wasn't that.

The Eh: I found Julia to be incredibly judgmental and somewhat unlikable. There's being sarcastic and funny and then there's being a jerk. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Julia was the latter. She also made a joke about someone having an "asexual mom haircut" and that really left a bad taste in my mouth. I also wasn't a big fan of the resolution. It was very much "that's it?". I just expected more from it.

In the end, I liked I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, but I didn't love it. While it was a quick and engaging read, there were a few things that kept me from truly enjoying it.
849638
I read the entire series because I enjoyed the mysteries and Ivy' s growing into her magic. I don't like the bickering and sniping between the main characters, though, especially when it seems to be the only way they can enjoy a physical relationship. It gets too snarky, and feels disrespectful. By the time the last story ended, I was starting to see a slightly sick co-dependency in the relationship between Ivy and Jack.  I gave a three-star rating, but only because there's no half-star...otherwise it would be less.
1321042
I'm middle of the road about this book. On one hand the author's style doesn't bother me in terms of structure, but I do find the overuse of vocabulary words (so called because they feel like them in context) to be a bit distracting. The humor is present for those who want it, but it isn't a knee slapping kind...it's more like the having a conversation with someone and they say something and you point and clap and chuckle a bit because they are so right kind to me. I liked it. I would have liked it to have been more refined throughout the book, but as it is...the book is okay
4278203
Okay, over all, this book kicked some serious ass. It totallyis the book to pick up the Tortall stories. I just had a few problemswith it, my pet peeves. 1) NO GEORGE! OR Thayet or Buri or anyone like that. EVen in the Immortals... I'll drop it.  2) Jon was portrayed as a pompous ass. He totally ticked ALanna off and got what he deserved. Though, looking at Tammy's web site...and what he did to Kalasin... Well... 3) Kel was a little snobbish. I mean, she said that the Yamanis did it this way, they did it that way. She's not in the Yamani Islands anymore. Ah well. I'll be quiet. It's a good book! It's just, those were my pet peeves. PAGE is gonna be sweet! That's all I'm gonna say.  ;-)Hm... Now to look at Tammy's page for updates and a sneak peak at PAGE.
4791904
I enjoy My Fitness Coach with the exception of the music.  The only music that seems to fit the workouts is Latin and I am already getting kind of tired of it.  Beyond that I like how the workout can change from day to day and is adjusted to your abilities.
2382562
Boy, did I get tired of listening to the main character complain about how ugly she is.  She's obviously not a troll; I feel like she has some serious mental issues to figure out.  Glad she found love and all, but not a fan of how she feels completely unacceptable until she finds a man.  If only she was a productive member of society before he came along!  Oh wait...