Quick Book Review: Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann

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** spoiler alert ** I initially loved this series, but when I got to this book I found myself severely bored with everything going on. I love Janie and Cabe, but most of the novel I had no clue what was going on and I didn’t understand why things happened and the background to why they happened.

Janie learning about her father was a wonderful plot twist, but she barely interacts with him or anything involving his life. It felt as if he was just thrown in for a plot twist and not used to the full potential.

There was no action, adventure or romance in this novel that made me feel like I should continue reading the book. Overall, it felt like a cheap final book in the series. I had high hopes for the book finale, and I was sadly let down.

I did love the first two books in the series and I hope Lisa continues to write books as good as the first two. This book was a let down for me.

I especially did not understand Janie getting handed an envelope near the end. I have so many questions about this book that were left unanswered, and without another book in the series, it’s very disappointing.

Lost Wolf by Stacy Claflin – Book Review

Book Review
Book Title: Lost Wolf
Author: Stacy Claflin

Introduction: This book was a requested book review. Everything I say is honest – I have no obligation to make this a fluffy/nice review. I was given this book in return for an honest review.

Review:

Lost Wolf is the first novel in the Curse of the Moon series. It’s a fantasy, paranormal, romance-esque book.

Victoria is off at college – which I can definitely relate to. As someone who went to both University and College, I can relate to the major change. Of course, Victoria has a very different change in mind than your typical college student… She can’t remember anything – no memories, no family, nothing, na da! And for some reason, Jaguars are everywhere – in name, in physical form, and it’s just plain strange!

But what happens when someone recognizes her? Was there a kidnapping? Missing people? A death? So many questions, so many mysteries.

Starting off with this book, chapter 1 has me interested. It seems like a Young Adult-esque, kind of goofy, fun feel. I really enjoy the banter and female lead. Coming from someone who needs a fast, great start – this book has it at the beginning. After only reading the first chapter, this is definitely off to a great start.

This novel slowly reveals information to you. While I find it personally a not fitting part of the book, some readers may appreciate this. In my YA/Romance/Fantasy-esque books, I like the information up front if it’s not a mystery novel. But this novel does have a splash of mystery, so it can fit. It’s not a mark against this book, but some readers may not appreciate this aspect.

It moves at a slow pace – which for readers like me can be a major issue. I really like a fast moving story. Slow stories can be interesting, but personally it didn’t hit all the tempo notes for me. I love fast moving stories!

The voice and tone of this novel is not your typical writing voice. I liked this different writing style as someone who likes to write in this very tone. After reading other reviews, I find that this voice is what makes this book stand out. With all the fantasy/paranormal/romance books out there, having this tone made the book a little step up compared to all the other typical/mediocre novels out there.

That being said – this story has so much potential for a series. The plot itself is incredible, there are so many places this story can go! On top of that, as a reader I felt drawn towards these characters. I’m invested and I want to know more. Mixing all of that in with the lore, the backstory and fantastic voice this book has – I’m invested.

Overall, yes this story was slow. For me, that would have been a deal breaker if this story wasn’t so intriguing. Were there general issues with the plot or side comments? Yes, but there always are in all books these days. If you can look past the small, silly issues and you don’t typically get hung up on small plot holes/issues then this book will be great for you!

Four out of five stars.

Quick Book Review: Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

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This novel was a big let down for me.

I picked up this book at a clearance event for books. I had wanted to read the novel for years, but I could never remember the name. The book was the cheapest of the pile and on sale on top of the clearance, which should have been a warning.

I heard rave reviews from my friends that I should read this book, so I picked it up willing and ready to be wooed. Sadly, this book was one where I had to force myself to continue, and I did not see the point in the ending.

The ending to the book, without spoiling, made me question if it was randomly made up on the spot because a better ending couldn’t be found. The ending didn’t fit with the pace of the novel or make sense. While I did not read up on the Faust story itself, I felt that the ending could have been more dramatic and exciting instead of a lame ‘The End’ feeling. The conflict did not seem to be resolved and I felt more confused than ever as to what really happened.

The novel was very slow to start, and slowed down even more when I got into it. When I was about 4/5ths of the way through, I began to become really into the book and I couldn’t put it down, but the ending didn’t fit in with the pace that was built throughout the novel.

I had high hopes for this novel, and I will read Another Pan to see if it is any better, but it was a let down.

I wish the ending would have been better, because if it went out with a bang I would have found the book much more interesting. A slow build in pace would have been nice with a spectacular ending that made up for the slow build to the climax.

This book would be good for preteens or younger, since it isn’t as climactic as most Young Adult novels.

Overall, not impressed but I will keep it on my shelf

Quick Book Review: Escape Vector and Other Stories by Bryan Young

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Escape Vector by Bryan Young was an excellent series of sci-fi, space opera stories.

I’m not the hugest space opera fan, but I’ve always loved Star Trek and Star Wars, so picking up this book was quite the treat. I hadn’t been impressed by past books relating to space, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But, Bryan Young changed my view on Sci-Fi!

This collection of stories was truly a delight! Each story was quite short, but brought the reader into a magnificent universe far away. All of the stories did not connect, but that wasn’t a problem! Bryan Young did a great job in making each story separate, and fully intriguing.

If anything, I would have liked all of the stories to connect somehow, but that is just a personal opinion. None of the stories seemed to long, or too short. Some of them I even wanted the story to continue and have more information on these intriguing characters and adventures.

Overall, I enjoyed it! Since I’m typically not a fan of the space opera genre, this was a real treat!

Three out of five stars! Great series of space stories!

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Manga March Book Review: Hamlet (No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novel) by Neil Babra

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Book Review
Book Title: Hamlet
Book Author: William Shakespeare
Adapter/Illustrator: Neil Babra

Introduction: I love Shakespeare, and Hamlet has always been my favourite of all of his plays and sonnets so when I saw this little manga on sale at a location book shop I had to pick it up and read it. I read it about 3  years ago, but I finally found it again on my bookshelf and decided to read it again and review it.

Review:

This adaption is truly an adaption – it’s not identical to the original, but it’s great for younger readers wanting to get into Shakespeare. The typical Shakespeare form is not used, but that makes it easier for read for those not fluent in his verses.

This task of adapting the famous Hamlet into a shorter, simpler work would have been hard but Neil Babra makes it look so easy. The story is shortened into a perfect, young reader-friendly adaption. The famous lines are still in there, but they are so much easier to understand and read. The book is not dumbed down by any means, so readers do not have to worry – this book is a timeless, incredible adaption that should definitely be introduced to young readers.

The artwork is fantastic and matches perfectly with the story. The wordplay that Shakespeare uses is often seen within the pages of this book in illustrated form, which can make any true Shakespeare fan get a true chuckle out of this work.

Overall, this book was fantastic. The facial expressions, the artwork, the rewording, and the narrative are all fantastic.

Five out of five stars.

March Manga Book Review: The Infernal Devices Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

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Book Review
Book Title: Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, Manga #2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Illustrator: HyeKyung Baek

Review:
This manga does a great job of sticking close to the source material. I often find that rehashes of books/movies/television series often stray and try to do their own thing, but this adaption is pretty spot on.

This adaption also does a good job of developing characters in the picture print setting. I liked seeing the characters alongside the words that went with them. It added a bonus to the original source material. I would suggest that readers go for the original source material before this adaption, since it does not do perfect justice to the Clockwork Prince novel.

This was basically a shorter version of the books. There isn’t as much development and plot, but when you can only use pictures and have so many pages, there will be limitations. Don’t expect every aspect of the book to be in this manga, but do expect it to be an incredible adaption. Were there parts missing that I would have liked to see? Yes. Would I have gotten rid of anything that was put in this manga? No. It’s perfect the way it is.

I highly recommend this manga, even if you haven’t read the book. The artwork is great, the character development and plot is beautiful, and as far as adaptions go it has won my heart over.

Five out of five stars.

Domnall and the Borrowed Child by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley

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Domnall and the Borrowed Child was a nice short story.

This story seemed like it was based on a much larger work. I felt like there was a back story to these characters that I did not know about, although this did not affect the quality of the book. It was a short, cute story that seemed like it was a fairy tale. I felt like I could have read this story to a child and they would have benefited from it much more than I did.

The story progressed well and I did not feel like it ended to soon or that it could have been pressed on further. I could see this novella turning into a full blown series with this just as a side story.

Not a lot happens plot wise, but it was a cute enough story that a child would enjoy. It wasn’t to scary and wasn’t to confusing for a child to not understand.

I enjoyed this book, but I wasn’t so obsessed that I want to read all of Sylvia Spruck Wrigley’s work.

Keep up the great writing Sylvia! I enjoyed it! I would love to see this universe expanded on.

Three out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.