Tag Archives: 3-stars

Review: Tara J Lal – Standing on my Brother’s Shoulders

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Standing on my Brother’s Shoulders
Tara J Lal

Standing on my Brother’s Shoulders is a novel about Tara J Lal and her journey towards acceptance of the grief brought by her brother’s suicide. She also must face her father’s madness and her mother’s death.

25614430It could be quite a heavy book but Lal makes an effort to keep the action moving and to always have a bit of humour. If not, there was a profound insight being shared, or expanded upon. I particularly enjoyed the notes from her brother’s journal.

I read about half of this novel, put it down, then read whole bunch of other things, and came back to it. I actually felt like the story action grew on me more after letting it sit there. I wasn’t particularly focused within reading the novel perhaps because I just wasn’t particularly convinced that she knew what she was doing in the order of actual writing.

I felt frustrated a lot of the time with her ‘character’, but really felt like I got to know her, flaws and all. For goodness sake, seeing a counsellor is always a good place to start (yes, yes, take your own advice). I felt like I really came to know her brother as much as she herself had known him. I would have liked to hear more about her current doings now that she’s overcome her grief.

I’d recommend this normal for those that have been touched by grief and those that are interested in real life memoirs. It is not an entertaining story to read, but it is a valuable addition to anyone’s reading list.

3star

Review: Andy Mulligan – Liquidator

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Liquidator
Andy Mulligan

Liquidator is an amazing new sports drink that people just can’t resist drinking. It’s more addictive than Coca Cola and Coffee, and billed as being good for you! When a couple of kids stumble over the truth, they find themselves facing life and death situations, not just for themselves.

25464528So we’ve got a couple of kids are in high school and they all manage to intertwine into facing off the guys that are in charge of Liquidator. You see more and more characters being added to the visible ‘cast’, and yet you aren’t overwhelmed because the story is moving too quickly for that to happen!

What got me really really grumpy about this novel was that it wasn’t clear which person was speaking without reading the chapter headings. That being said, the different perspectives work really well and make it more are a unisex novel. There’s no romance as a refreshing highlight and it’s just generally a feel-good novel about what difference teenagers can make.

Something else that annoyed me was that it was all about Jamie Song. I didn’t understand why this one person could make such big difference. Even if they didn’t have his photos and he didn’t survive, I don’t think it would have made a huge difference to what happens at the concert. I mean of course they wanted to save him but any of the other records they had would have made a difference. Perhaps this was just a reflection that you need a human face to make a difference.

It was fascinating how the author brought together all the different story lines. I’m going to give it three stars from me, maybe an almost 4. I kept reading because even though I could see how the different plot points were going come together, I couldn’t believe how quickly they were happening.

I’ve got someone in mind that will enjoy this novel and that’s a teenage boy. Target genre right there! It’s action packed, any teen could get hooked. I couldn’t imagine a sequel for this but if it was to happen I would hope it would be as our interesting and complex as this was.

3star

Review: Kaz Delaney – The Reluctant Jillaroo

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The Reluctant Jillaroo
Kaz Delaney

Harper and Heidi are identical twins that are anything but alike in personality. After an accident at the last minute prevents Harper from going to her dream summer week, Heidi steps in to create instead a week of awkwardness.

27161175There’s too much reliance on obvious differences between Heidi and Harper to get some good characterisation happening. I couldn’t have cared less which one wore the pants or the skirt (and isn’t that cover awful? There wasn’t a pink tutu to be seen, thank goodness). Or which one is epic with guys, and the other is completely oblivious.

The guys themselves are just as predictable. There’s the comic duo, fighting over one unlikely lady, and the dark, steely Chaz who Heidi of could has to fall for. You could tell from the first page that he was going to be the love interest, and you would have been super disappointed if they didn’t get to be together.That’s not even a spoiler.

I would have really enjoyed more depictions of outback life, which would have made it possible for this novel to provide some interest to USA or UK markets. The things referenced weren’t in nearly enough detail. I think that could have been made more of in the campfire scenes, but Heidi was too busy staring at the sexy Chaz to pay attention.

On a final note, I’m not sure why there was intrigue added. It honestly didn’t do much for the novel, and I would have given a lot to have some more realistic characters in that page space. Or more character background. Or different perspectives.

What frustrated me the most was the too-neat, super annoying ending. Of course! Ah yes! Why didn’t I see that? Oh, because it wasn’t hinted about at all. Or it wouldn’t fit the romance. Before that point, I might have been generous to the novel, but that just dropped my opinion completely. I’ll give it 3.

3star

Review: Philippa Christian – Nanny Confidential

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Nanny Confidential
Philippa Christian

Lindsay is an elite nanny working in the homes of the rich and famous, looking after their kids so they can present their best face to the world. As an Australian far from home, her family worries about her rich lifestyle. Lindsay on the other hand has her feet firmly on the ground.

23680856I really don’t remember requesting this novel, and I can’t find evidence for it in my inbox. But I picked it up with a positive will, thinking it would be perfect pool-side reading.

Personally, I wanted less asides into the other nannying positions she had had, and more focus on a main family. I would have been enthralled by more details. As it was, it was a little too skinny for me. The blurb writes it up as a dashing romance vs a hard life of looking after children not your own, but that wasn’t the case.

The problem may have been that I’m not familiar with any of the celebrities that were mentioned, or hinted about. I understand about the limitations of working with famous people and writing not always positive things about them!

Unfortunately I felt a bit empty after reading it. Where did that time go? Did I learn something useful? Not really. Is it perfect for a light read? Yeah, maybe, if you like to peep into ‘Celebrity lives’ at home. I”m going to be generous and grant it 3 stars, because it wasn’t awful.

3star

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for this complimentary copy. As always, my views are my own.

Review: Keren David – This is NOT a Love Story

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This is NOT a Love Story
Kerin David

The world never seemed to revolve around Kitty. But when she finds herself in an entirely new environment with two hot boys to chase (not that she would ever admit to liking them), she creates a new persona for herself.

22838328This novel started out with so much promise, but failed to deliver. What you think is a horrifying lovers spat gone wrong is nothing more than a joke – on both the reader and the characters. Kitty! You stupid, selfish character. You’re so busy being ‘cool’ that you missed everything. And being cruel to the other characters is just ugh. Did not endear me to you despite you being the main character.

And this Instagram thing, which I assumed was included to ‘keep up with the times’? It just dated the novel for me, and didn’t actually do anything to further the story. Maybe if images were included, then it would have been more useful. As it was, I could have done without it, and more character development.

Considering that more than one point of view is shown in the story, you would expect to get a good grasp of the characters. But I didn’t feel like I knew any of them. Ethan was ‘moody’, Theo was ‘clever’, but apart from Ethan being constantly rude and Theo focussing on London Jewish politics, that was it. It had promise, it really did. Ah, but it was all lost.

Oh! And did I mention some of the characters were gay? Just goes to show that you need some solid story as well as some queer references to get my vote. 2 stars from me, with a sympathetic 3 if I must.

2star

Review: D.E. Wyatt – No Good Deed

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No Good Deed
D.E. Wyatt

Elsabeth and Hieronymus are always getting into trouble, yet always manage to scrape out by the skin of their teeth. When Elzabeth forgoes a warning in favour of sex, things get a little more heated that she intended.

18710486This novel reminded me a bit of Robin Hood, except that the two main characters couldn’t have cared less about anyone else. But you know what? I don’t actually have a problem with that! It’s nice to have protagonists that aren’t ‘nice’ for a change. Scoundrels can get away with a lot more fun things.

Elsabeth is great at everything she does – swordfighting, sex and scams. But she’s just not very good at thinking. Compared to the other protagonist, Brother Hieronymus, she does more thinking, but damn, they’re both stupid! Why do you not get that you are being led on the whole time?

In this novel I felt like I was being spoon fed too many details. I didn’t need to think for myself at all. I was told, not shown, most of the excitement. There could have been more immediacy to the whole thing.

I received this novel from the author quite a while ago *cough cough, 2013??* but never got around to reading it because the front cover just didn’t fill me with glee. I’m giving it 3 stars now, but that’s being generous. I could put it down and pick it up far too easily.

3star

Review: Anthony Horowitz – Crocodile Tears

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Crocodile Tears
Anthony Horowitz

Genetically changed crops are the next stage in feeding the world. But of course, they can also be the source of a plague. Alex Rider is pitted against someone that isn’t even the obvious threat. It’ll take his wits (as usual) to get out of it…

6566616This novel gets off to a roaring start with a party and a road accident. Things seem to go back to normal then, but of course, Alex is in the middle of something before he even notices. Alex never learns. He just can’t help himself, and so he gets into trouble, and he doesn’t know if he’ll survive. But he just has to do it! MI6 chose the right person for the job.

I find myself frustrated by the usual formula of needing to use every gadget you are given! It means that I knew how things would work out. But then again, I love gadgets, and I would have been happy to see a bunch more of them! Gadgets are way more exciting than guns.

The blurb says that this is ‘his most dangerous adversary yet’, but I don’t think it is. All of the villains get a bit same-y eventually. Their motives are usually power, or money. And they all feel the need to brag about their plans! And pretend that it’s cool that it’s a 14 year old in front of them, a bright one, but still too young to make any sort of sense of most of the stuff.

It had been a while since I read the other novels in this series, but it honestly didn’t matter. This book is a stand-alone, any extra information you might need is briefed by one of the other characters. 3-4 stars from me, simply because it wasn’t that absorbing. I got it as a talking book to listen to while I worked, and it made a lovely distraction.

3star

Review: Andrew J. Peters – The Seventh Pleiade

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The Seventh Pleiade
Andrew J. Peters

Atlantis is real, and it contains a sixteen-year-old Aerander who is not sure what sort of romances are normal. As he struggles with his sexuality and the expectations of his partners, there is a deeper plot going on. When his old best friend disappears, he feels obligated to find him and save his family’s honour.

17290841For a novel that I thought would fit firmly inside my interest range – a guarenttee of a good read with a queer main character and Greek mythology, this was a bit of a fail for me. I just couldn’t get to like any of the characters, and Aerander was just so STUPID.

The surprise ending could have worked for me, but the problem was that I didn’t get enough clues as I was going along in order to work it out for myself, and that’s something I really like to have. But then again, the other revelation that Aerander makes isn’t that interesting either, and he’s just so stupid! Aerander trusts everyone. For someone who I thought would be relatively bright, he was about as dense as two bricks. Every idea I had, it took him at least 2 pages to work it out.

This is not the only novel I have read recently with someone with their tongue torn out. I was thinking it would gross me out a bit, but it didn’t. Although I couldn’t really understand why the character in this book still wanted to keep living… I would have fled the minute I worked out what going on!

Some of the world building in this was breathtaking. I could absolutely see the hole in the ground, and the under-world – but I had no idea what the rest of the world looked like, and I didn’t take away a clear picture of the main characters either.

The ending. Hmm. It was a bit, unfinished for me, which is something I always hate. It was a good enough ending, but I really wanted to know what happened in the long term. How can a bunch of men possibly manage anything useful together? Adolescent males in particular are really stupid! (Sorry, sick of ‘feminists’ at the moment, but reading a lot of articles about them being idiots too has affected my feelings). How long can they realistically survive, and what is the point of it when they pretty much can’t reproduce?

Look, I’m aware this isn’t a very positive review from me, but I’m still going to give 3 stars. I think for a less exacting audience, it might be perfect, and perhaps I’m just the wrong person to read it. A young gay male might connect with Aerander more, and that would make the book work for them.

Review: Christopher Mannino – School of Deaths

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School of Deaths: The Scythe
Christopher Mannino

Suzie always thought that a Grim Reaper was just a story tale, left over from the Middle Ages. When she finds herself wasting away in the human world, she doesn’t know what to do next. When she finds herself in the Land of Deaths she is determined to get home as soon as possible, but that soon changes.

21798470The blurb left me a bit wanting. It basically promised me more than it could offer. The concept was good, but the classes just didn’t live up to expectations. Actually, it reminded me a bit of Harry Potter, except that there wasn’t any real bad guys. Just distant dragons, and the fact that ‘Mentals were treated badly.

Suzie is not particularly bright, as far as I can tell. She frustrated me with her naivety and inability to deal with people. And the romance that eventually happened? Sigh. I just couldn’t love it. I wasn’t convinced. Maybe because her character sometimes came across as very young, and sometimes came across as a teenager.

A million years is a long time… And something about that says to me that Deaths shouldn’t just ferry human souls. We’ve been around as ‘humans’ for around 6 million years. But I suppose the whole concept of this novel steps away from what is possible, so that should be ok…

I didn’t understand the motivations of many characters. In fact, I didn’t understand the big deal about there being a female Death, except that apparently all female Deaths are bad! Or maybe it is just adapting to it. Seriously guys, get over it. I know you aren’t all from the 21st century, but surely you aren’t all bastards?

I read this in one sitting. I always find that ebooks leave me unhappy and not feeling like I’ve really read something with substance. As interesting as the concept of this novel was, I just didn’t feel like it was executed well enough for me to give 4 stars. 3 stars from me. I have hopes for the sequel, but I’m not sure I’ll be volunteering to read it.

3star

I received this novel as part of a tour.

 

Review: E.K. Johnston – A Thousand Nights

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E.K. Johnston
A Thousand Nights

A desert girl gives up her life to save her sister, promising herself in marriage to Lo-Melkhiin, who had killed 300 girls on their marriage night. Instead, she tells stories every night, and continues to survive despite the odds. When she discovers she can see magic, and that Lo-Melkhiin might not be who he seems, she is even more determined to save the man she thinks she might love.24820300

This novel felt quite shallow, but at the same time it was a really enjoyable retelling of a fable. If you were looking for something new and exciting, I’m afraid this wasn’t it. But in its style, it was good. Far better than Book of a Thousand Nights, which I was disgusted with.

Magic. It makes fantasy worlds work, and in this one the author has effortlessly used it to change the story and make it more interesting. It is not just her storytelling ability that saves her, it is her strength of will. In fact, I don’t even remember her name, but I can remember the way it felt to be inside her head.

The idea that magic can push talents forward, yet also warp them is an interesting one. I’d love to see more of this discussed, perhaps in a separate story. The world-building in this one made me want to read more. The detail to the costumes, all of it came through as a properly interesting and realistic Arabian novel.

How many stars do I want to give this? Maybe 3. It’s hard to decide. It wasn’t as gripping as I might have desired, but I did keep reading it.

3star

Thanks to the lovely folks at Macmillan Children’s Books who gave me a proof copy to read.