Tag Archives: 3-stars

Review: Henry James – Daisy Miller

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Daisy Miller
Henry James
Daisy Miller is a text for my *final* Bachelor of Arts unit, American Literature. As such, I wasn’t too excited to read it, but it was necessary. It was a very short read, around an hour (possibly less), so it’s an easy investment if you like the Classics.
Henry James is a well-known American writer that all classics readers should know of. He reminds me a bit of Irish literature actually – simply due to the writing style and his name. Oh yes, that would be my brain telling me James Joyce is similar, but of course, the two styles are not identical and they have different focuses.
The characterisation and narration of this novel are what add interest. The whole point of the novel is that the main character, Winterbourne, filters the reader’s perception of Daisy Miller. Daisy is an enigma – is she a simple flirt, or is she something else?
Above all, this novel is a tragedy, although the reader does not necessarily feel that way about Daisy entirely. It’s whether you feel that she had the end coming to her or not. References to going to and coming from are rife throughout the text.
In the preface/introduction to my version, the editor complains about the changes between the two editions, one which James revised and one which was the original. Interestingly enough, this novel was also adapted as a play, although that was apparently very unsuccessful.
As with any Arts text, it wasn’t enthralling. At least this one wasn’t too painful though. Let me get back to you on that once I’ve written the essay…

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Review: Sharon Wood – Keepers of the Zodiac (review and giveaway)

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Keepers of the Zodiac
Tonya Fitzharris

Welcome to Reading Addiction Blog Tour’s stop for ‘Keepers of the Zodiac’.

Syrie has been given the most important task – to collect the 13 Keepers of the Zodiac and prepare them for their new roles. He falls in love with one though, and that complicates things beyond what he could have ever imagined.

The official blurb:

The stars have shifted and the Earth is rapidly moving into the throes of chaos.
Four god-like beings known as the Zodiac High Council, send their winged herald, Syrie, out
with twelve sealed envelopes. His mission? To bring a chosen group of thirteen future Zodiac
Keepers, including a set of mesmerizing twins, to the Isle of Oriba for training. Syrie never
could have imagined that he would fall in love along the way—ultimately forcing him to choose
between betrayal and death. Keepers of the Zodiac is an enthralling tale of obligatory fate,
temporary hope, and impossible love.

My review:

This book looked like a fun read, and the concept initially reminded me of the Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz (which I have been waiting for the fifth book for a long time). I was happy to review it particularly because this tour company is excellent at getting novels to me in a timely manner so I can really read and enjoy them before posting a review.

16069534I have to say that the concept was awesome, very interesting, but then the execution was a little flawed. I felt like most parts of the novel were quite stilted in their extravagant descriptions of things and I ended up skipping over them. The dialogue was also quite stilted, and I didn’t really get into the characters’ minds. This was a plot driven novel wholeheartedly (nothing wrong with that, just not usually my style of thing).

The almost steamy kissing scenes would make this novel suitable for older teens, if your younger teen is wary of such a thing. I know some 13 year olds that would be grossed out simply by the thought of kissing! I guess it’s boy cooties or something. This novel could equally be for males or females, but I feel that because of the romance element its more of a girly book.

Poor Syrie! Of all the characters, I felt for him the most. I was a little leery of his island naming, and I couldn’t believe that coincidences such as that happened in such a structured world. Not to mention the revelations for him, and his future. To love, and then to lose. Throughout the novel I felt like there had to be more going on than what met the eyes…

The ending is a cliff hanger. I would quite like to read the second book in this series, simply because it’s so uncertain! How can so much happen in a day? And what is going on with Syrie? Arg! Those twin sisters are nothing but trouble. Perhaps a borrow from the library book.

People who follow and believe in the Zodiac may be a little affronted by this novel, because I don’t think it necessarily reflects those beliefs accurately. Not being a follower myself, I doubted that all the signs could have all those positive portrayals. I might have enjoyed the novel even more if I remembered each of those.

Ew, foot flakes. Gross. That’s all I’ll say about that, but really, it’s quite humorous. There’s some other points of humour, but as a whole it’s quite serious, as befits a novel that is trying to prevent the collapse of the world as we know it.

Three stars from me for this novel. Plot yes, execution no. An easy read, probably well suited to teenagers that have less experience than me for pulling novels apart.

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Giveaway!! (sorry, US & Canada only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Sharon Wood is a married, mother of two boys. She was born and raised in Northern California, and attended college at San Jose State University, where she studied Marketing. A self-proclaimed Disney fanatic, Sharon enjoys collecting Vinylmations and talking about Disney related things to anyone that will listen. Besides writing, she enjoys playing and coaching volleyball, dancing, and reading. Keepers of the Zodiac is her first novel, and she is currently hard at work on the sequel!  

You can find her at:

Not sure if you like my opinion? Good thing this is a tour! You can look at some other reviews, guest posts and promos at each of these tour stops:

November 13 – Reading Addiction Blog Tours – Meet and Greet
November 14 – The Cozy Dragon – Review
November 15 – Wonderland Reviews – Review/Interview
November 16 – Corssroads Reviews – Review/Interview
November 17 – Lovely Reads – Guest Post/PROMO
November 18 – Pink Fluffy Hearts – Guest Post/PROMO
November 19 – Winged Reviews – Guest Post/PROMO
November 20 – My Cozie Corner – Review
November 21 – The Solitary Bookworm – Guest Post/PROMO
November 22 – Emily Ward – Interview/PROMO
November 23 – Lost in Fictional Worlds – Review/Guest Post
November 24 – Oh Chrys! – Guest Post/PROMO
November 25 – Book and Appointment with Wisdom Books – Review/Guest Post
November 26 – LovLivLife Reviews – Guest Post/PROMO
November 27 – Inside BJ’s Head – Review/guest Post
November 28 – The Book Maven – Review
November 29 – Books and Swoons – Review
November 30 – Books, Books, The Magical Fruit – Gues Post/PROMO
December 1 – In This World of Books… – Review/Interview
December 2 -A Bibliophiles Thoughts – PROMO
December 3 – Getting Your Read on – Review
December 4 – My Seryniti – Review/Guest Post
December 5 – Rolling With the Moments – Review/Guest Post
December 6 – YA Novel Reader – Review/GuestPost
December 7 – Bookworm Lisa – Review/Guest Post
December 8 –Fiction Prediction – Review/Interview
December 9 – Pa
ulette’s Papers – Guest Post/PROMO
December 10 – Read-A-Holicz – Review/
December 11 – Willing to See Less – Guest Post/PROMO
December 12 –Bookishly Devoted – Review/Guest Post
December 13 – My Reading Addiction – Review

Review: Melissa Wright – Rise of the Seven

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Rise of the Seven

Melissa Wright

Welcome to Reading Addiction Blog Tour’s stop for ‘Rise of the Seven’. This is actually the  last post in a series of four reviews of this series.

Frey has recovered her memories, her throne, her people. But she’s still a bit confused on what she should be doing about Chevelle… and there’s plenty of action to keep her occupied in the meantime.

The official blurb:

Memories and magic recovered, Frey is restored to the throne. But as she works to regain control of the North, a small silver dagger nearly brings her end. She raises The Seven of her guard and proves her abilities in order to secure her position. But another attempt on her life, from what appears to be fey, reveals not all are pleased with her return. If she could only figure out the force behind the attacks, she might be able to relax enough to decide what to do about her other problem… Chevelle.

My review:

I was a bit confused from the beginning which what was going on, and how much time had passed and so forth. Where had Frey’s extra power come from? What was the importance of the twins? What the hell was she doing? But that evened itself out, and I found myself enjoying the novel.

The style of this novel was much improved from the first two novels in the trilogy. The action was a lot more balanced, with things happening throughout ramping up to a quite satisfactory conclusion.

I could have sworn this was a trilogy, but the way this one reads is that it could be the start of something new (ie. an epilogue would have been useful) or else it would have done a good job of being a standalone (with a bit more at the beginning).

The romance between Chevelle and Frey ramps up a bit in this novel, but the reader is still left hanging with the bonds. What kind of bonds are they?! That’s something that appealed to me though.

Something I loved about each of the novels were the covers. Really visually appealing, made me want to read it. Never-mind that Frey doesn’t wear those dresses from what I could tell.

The stand out episode in this book was the dining room and Frey’s display. Yep, awesome, wish I was there!

Again, I’d recommend this for teens, possibly of all ages, as although there’s some blood flying and various other gory parts, I don’t think they were romanticised.

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Not sure if you like my opinion? Good thing this is a tour! You can look at some other reviews, guest posts and promos at each of these tour stops:

November 5 – Reading Addiction Blog Tours – Meet and Greet
November 6 – My Daily Obsession – Review
November 7 – Wonderland Reviews – Review/Interview
November 8 – The Cozy Dragon – Review
November 9 – Book Nerd – Review/Guest Post
November 12 – Bound By Words – Review/Interview
November 15 – My Cozie Corner – Review
November 17 – My Reading Addiction – Review
November 18 – Reviewing Shelf – Review/Guest Post

Review: Melissa Wright – Molly

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Molly
Melissa Wright

Welcome to Reading Addiction Blog Tour’s stop for ‘Molly’. This is actually the third post in a series of four reviews of this series.

Molly wants to believe she is special, but she’s part of an army of breeders…

The official blurb:

Molly dreamed her whole life of living in a world of magic… until the day she walked into one. This short story falls between The Frey Saga Book Two: Pieces of Eight and the third book, which is scheduled to release late 2012.

My review:

This little novella was hardly long enough to qualify for a review, but I promised 4 posts, so here’s number 3. I actually quite liked this little story, and it was pleasant to hear some someone other than Frey for a bit.

The gradual idea/picture that is being built here is that half-breeds are more powerful, but that they kill their parents in some way – usually by accident. Molly’s half-breed son should be more powerful than Frey, but it’s hard to tell.

This short story raised more questions than it answers in my opinion. Which is good if you’re trying to draw your readers on for more. I think it’s more polished than the first two books, and I have hopes for the third novel to be more exciting again.

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Not sure if you like my opinion? Good thing this is a tour! You can look at some other reviews, guest posts and promos at each of these tour stops:

November 5 – Reading Addiction Blog Tours – Meet and Greet
November 6 – My Daily Obsession – Review
November 7 – Wonderland Reviews – Review/Interview
November 8 – The Cozy Dragon – Review
November 9 – Book Nerd – Review/Guest Post
November 12 – Bound By Words – Review/Interview
November 15 – My Cozie Corner – Review
November 17 – My Reading Addiction – Review
November 18 – Reviewing Shelf – Review/Guest Post

Review: Michele T Villery, Tigris Eden and Riley Ross – Romantic Tales 1: Bedtime Stories

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Michele T Villery, Tigris Eden and Riley Ross
Romantic Tales: Bedtime Stories

Welcome to Reading Addictions Blog Tour’s stop for ‘Romantic Tales: Bedtime Stories’.

Romantic Tales: Bedtime Stories has a little of everything. From your everyday Contemporary Romance (The Getaway) To your Hot and Heavy Rockers turned Werewolves (Crave) and your Sci-Fi/Paranormal with Erotic overtones…. (The Genesis Project) Each Episode will entice its readers, draw them in. A quick Bedtime story before they dream, keeping them pleasantly satisfied while peaking their interests for next month’s installment. All for 99 cents. During the interim there will be previews of next month’s Episode…
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The official blurbs:

By Ty Langston: CRAVE

As a reporter for the Wakefield Post, Harper Erkstine has seen everything. From murders to robberies, all of her recent stories have ended with tragic consequences so great, that she began to question if she made the right career choice for herself.

While all of her friends were dating, or going to clubs, she was winning journalism awards for covering the latest drive-by shooting or a home invasion that cost someone she knew, their lives.

She loved her job, it was rewarding to be a crime solver and get to the truth of the matter. As much as she loved her job, but the hours of a Metro beat reporter began to descend her into burn out mode.

She craved balance. A break, a welcome distraction every now and then. She forgot what it was like to have fun, to take a breath, smell the roses.

Was it wrong to want a great career and to have some kind of a personal life? She couldn’t remember the last time she had a date or danced with someone from the opposite sex.
In the middle of working on a missing person’s story that has rocked her town to the core, Harper decides as a favor to her friend and colleague to do a feature on local an up and coming rock band, called ‘Crave.’

It was a break from her routine, but Harper soon discovers that this band may have ties to the missing person, not only does she question why, but she also finds there is more to this band than just their music.

By Tigris Eden: The Genesis Project

Old earth has been deemed unsuitable for life, New Earth is home. With the Uni-War over, races have joined together in order to sustain their way of life. All life was deemed worth saving, but only one race failed to submit. Humans.

Now extinct, humans are a thing of the past, or at least their way of life. The people of New Earth won’t acknowledge their hand in the human’s eradication, but they have benefited from it. Dr. Vaggo Blackmore has found the answer, he’s restored his races way of life- sustenance through farming. The one thing that will give them back their long lives….. Blood: human blood.

Biologically engineered in a lab, Genesis Blackmore has always been different. Her father has told her it’s due to her enhancements, the Federated Council sees her as a genetic mutation; and her fellow peers see her as the shiny new toy. Gen has had better days.

Everyone on New Earth has milky white skin, platinum blonde hair, and electric blue eyes. It’s the norm. Genesis’ glossy, black hair, ice blue eyes ringed by gold, would have almost made her socially acceptable- if it wasn’t for her honey, almond skin and blue, gold veins. In a sea of milky white she alone is the dark anomaly.

All Pars get their life’s nourishment through blood plasma. All Pars find their match through the tasting. Gen can do neither, forbidden by her father to do so. She can neither taste, nor be tasted. Something that’s never bothered her until now.

By Riley Ross: The Getaway

The Getaway isn’t your typical romance woman meets man of her dreams, loses him and then they get their happily ever after. It’s a romance story with hints of drama and plenty of comedy. Mike and Juliet have been dating for about four months. Juliet is madly in love with him but has never shared her feelings.

Mike hasn’t said those three magical words so she doesn’t even know if they are on the same page when it comes to their relationship. Mike takes Juliet on a two week vacation, so she can escape her family drama and stresses from her job. He has romantic surprises planned and there are several unexpected surprises for them both. How well do Mike and Juliet really know each other especially when an explosive secret from his past is revealed? Will their relationship survive a visit from his family and his ex-girlfriend? Will the secret destroy them or make them stronger as a couple? His mother has made it clear to everyone that she wants Mike back with his vile ex-girlfriend?

Will his mother sabotage her son’s relationship with Juliet? Juliet does have an ally in Mike’s father. Will Juliet fight for her love? Or will she let him go without exposing his mother for her dastardly schemes? How far will his mom go to ensure she gets what she wants for her son?

My review:

This is not normally my style of novel – I don’t go for the thigh clencher romances or short stories. The elements of fantasy, and the idea behind The Genesis Project though made me think that maybe I would enjoy them. I picked up this tour almost by accident really too!
The first short story, CRAVE, confronted me with sex almost immediately. The elements of fantasy were hinted at really subtly, and I wasn’t sure if there was really going to be fantasy, or whether it was going to be more of a mystery! They did come out though, and the protagonist is just as confused as I was.
The protagonist is likeable, although I’m not really sure why she is such a pushover! I love my job, but I wouldn’t spend long days on it. Her justifications for journalism didn’t sit right with me, but then I’m a scientist. I didn’t know how a reporter could possibly find the truth when the police couldn’t.

The dialogue and descriptions are a little stilted, but tolerable. And I absolutely have to say, the
author knows how to end it on a cliff hanger! The action was just getting started, and then the episode finished! Arg! I wonder whether this serialised form is for me in general, although I have considered a Baen books ARC subscription before.

The Genesis Project is the one that I was looking forward to read the most. It was actually in the middle of the other two stories, and having just read CRAVE I was dreading another possible cliffhanger – which of course happened!

I loved the concept of this episode, and it was defintely worth reading. I did have some minor problems about how it was implemented, and the awkward history information didn’t work. But the concept was good, and I could definitely empathise with the protagonist.

The Getaway was the let down of the three. From the excerpt I read, it didn’t seem in any way different from any other free romance novel. The element of fantasy wasn’t evident, and although his mother seemed a bit strange, it wasn’t that type of thing.

I think overall, I wouldn’t buy this for myself, but only because I only really enjoyed two of the stories. The format also doesn’t work for me – I’m hopeless at remembering to catch up on episodes.

I’d recommend this book for adults only. It does come with a tag of erotica, and in this case that means explicit descriptions of sex and so forth.

I received this book free as part of a tour, but this has no way influenced my review.

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You can find out more about this series/magazine on the Facebook and BLOG.

About the Authors (and where to find them)

Tigris Eden: 

Author of Shadow Unit Series, 1st Book Enslaved In Shadows… I love all things books! Music
and much more! I write PNR, Contemp, SCI-FI, Erotic, and HORROR….. Yes I love the gore!
 
Currently working on Burned In Shadows… Due out sometime in January 2013.
 
There isn’t much to say about me truly… I am not that interesting… But I promise to make you
laugh at least once!
 

 

Ty Langston: 

As a child, multi-published author Ty Langston loved to read about dragons and knights so
much that one day, her grandmother told her to “just write about them.”
So she did.
From that day forward, she never left home without her pen, a notebook, and some kind of
music playing in the background. Her love of reading expanded from fantasy into science fiction,
and eventually into paranormal romance and erotica.
She enjoys different works from George Martin, Anne McCaffrey, Stephen King, and Jackie
Collins. But some of Ty’s favorite writers are from the world of TV and film: namely, Tudors
creator Michael Hirst, and the late John Hughes.
Ty has a certificate in Broadcast Journalism along with a degree in Business Administration.
She is single and enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Riley Ross:

To date I haven’t published anything yet but I love to write wrestling fan fiction, romance and light erotica. I will be married for fifteen years this month to my best friend and Prince Charming all rolled into one. I am mommy to two Syberian Huskies.

Not sure if you like my opinion? Good thing this is a tour!

Review: Peter Koevari – Legends of Marithia: Prophecies Awakening

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Legends of Marithia: Prophecies Awakening
Peter Koevari
The prophesy is arising, and the dark witch is on the loose. Two opposing prophesies are at odds, and it is not yet clear whether the balance will tip in favour of the light or the darkness.
Although I was reading on a Kobo, and it’s purely black and white, I really enjoyed the pictures of the various characters that were interspersed in the text. It’s nice to get a view of how I should be imagining the characters in my mind, and it adds more reality to the read.
Dragons! It’s been far too long since I read a book with dragons in it. This novel has dragons. Several of them. In fact, they are invisible dragons most of the time, but they are still there! I think this is another story point that could have been made more of, coupled with more details on Varten’s training, and a bit more of Kassina’s history. Although the prologue covers that, I couldn’t really understand why Kassina had gone bad so quickly. I can understand how seeing her parents killed like that was traumatic, but not so bad that she feels the need to laugh manically at every human ideal and set fire to things after draining the blood of innocents.
This novel reminds me a fair bit of Mercedes Lackey’s Obsidian Mountain trilogy. The elves and their forest, the dark demons who feed from the living, and the man who must save them all against the odds. The notion of the special device is different though, and I wouldn’t say the styles of writing were at all the same.
This novel does sentences/paragraphs at the start of the novel in the right way. They add something to the story that you wouldn’t otherwise realise from the point of view. Often they highlight a character’s perspective that you don’t actually get in the rest of the text.
Ah! There was one point where I was sure they were about to be uncovered, and then bam! It was something else! Koevari really sprung it on me, and I was really unable to put the book down in anticipation. he does this cliff-hanger technique in such a sneaky way lots of times, and it really gets things going.

Sadly, I wasn’t at all convinced by the dialogue or scenery in this novel. The dialogue again felt a bit stilted to me (although I know that getting dialogue right is really very difficult) and I felt like occasionally the characters were having monologues. The scenery was often described in similes, and it was just too much detail. For example, the elven forest is guarded by faeries and special elven guards. And this is stated basically like that, with a bit more detail. I feel that a better way of doing it would have been to have the queen and her daughter enter the forest and come across each of these things. Perhaps it would have used up some more words, but I feel like it would have been really valuable. Another thing was the epithet of ‘hot spurting blood’, it just came up so many times!
I found it interesting to read, and I certainly wouldn’t say no if I won the second book in this series from Goodreads this time around. I likely wouldn’t buy it for myself though, simply because I don’t think it’s a reread, and also because I have so many other novels on my to-read list.

I’d recommend this novel for adults only due to the erotic mixed with horror content of Kassina’s rituals – a particular episode with a virgin still sticks in my mind uncomfortably. A decent read, quite compelling towards the end. I only had those minor complaints, and it certainly wasn’t a trial to read the novel – I enjoyed it. Probably three stars from me.

I received this ebook free after missing out on a hard copy through Goodreads: First Reads. This did not influence my opinion in any way.

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A note from the author…

It is impossible for me to choose a favourite character, race, or aspect to writing my books. However, one of the things I absolutely loved creating, were the concepts in the books that made them truly unique. The greatest example of this is the dragons and their abilities, including the dragon lore. There is so much to discover in Legends 1 and 2… and you will be introduced to many characters, species, locations, and concepts. I look forward to discovering what all the different readers out there find most enjoyable about my books, what characters are their favourites, and their reactions to the many surprises I have carefully wrapped inside the covers. Enjoy the journey into Marithia… it will be one that will surprise you.

Review: Jessica Penot – The Twilight Saint

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The Twilight Saint
Jessica Penot
Ailive has been born to be an assassin but is constantly underestimated due to her sex. When she is neutered and saved by her doctor brother she still wants to serve the tribe even as she believes she is being punished for past sins. The betrayal within her tribe undermines her ability to stay unchanged, and then when she wanders as a tribeless she does not know where her feet will take her – unless it is to the university where her love still resides.

Other people on Amazon I saw had complained about the callous killing of a puppy early in her training. To me, it fitted right in with her character. There is so much other blood shed going on that a single puppy-beheading is not going to make a huge difference! I suppose if you don’t have a strong stomach, don’t read this novel as there’s plenty of bloodshed – although not all of it is unnecessary.

I found it quite interesting that the cult formed by her brother seemed a lot like the coming of Jesus Christ and his disciples. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I tolerate Christian religion, but don’t have much time for it being the saviour of all things. This cult being formed though seemed like although most people were converted when they were exposed to it, it really was a peaceful conversion, nothing like the Holy Wars and Crusaders of Jerusalem.. This quickly faded though…
This book is not outstanding, but I didn’t feel like it was a waste of my time to read it either. I probably wouldn’t read it again, as the plot lines were quite transperant and nothing really came as a surprise or was intricate enough for me. I think overall I have mixed feelings about this novel. The ending was actually sort of depressing to me. Not in a bad way, and I couldn’t have imagined it ending in any other way, but it was just very sad.

The dialogue in some parts seemed strained, and the flipping between first person perspective of Ailive and what seemed to be an omniscient view, seemed odd. I was occasionally tossed out of the narrative by these things, but in other parts I felt compelled to read and read.

The character development and relationships are what carry this novel along. The travelling and overall theme of ‘the journey’ is also apparent. You have to feel sorry for Ailive, she has made so many mistakes, yet it seems like she will never have peace.

It is concerning (but perhaps a positive sign) that a number of books I have read recently have commented on the inevitability of war and how humans always seem to follow the same paths as they have taken before. This should be thought provoking for people – if one man or one woman can change the outlook of an entire war, then every little bit each of us do in our daily lives could have an effect too.

I would recommend this novel for adults due to the generous amounts of spine snapping and ugly pain. It’s an easy read in terms of language, but it requires a little more out of you if you expect to get some expansion of human knowledge from it.
I received this book free as part of an Amazon promotion. This did not influence my review in any way, and I did not have any correspondance with the author or her managing agency.

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Review: Travis Berketa – Dark Heart: Images of a City

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Dark Heart: Images of a City
Travis Berketa
An unnamed vigilante roams the city, trying to reverse the damage done to a city by people who say ‘so what?’ His decent into madness is inevitable – and in a way, this novella reminds me of Batman!
9208457This is a novella – it took me around an hour to read it. It was fast paced, although there were a couple of sections where I felt the language was awkward. The present tense really drew me into the character.
I liked the way the narrator felt the need to explain himself, but still things went downhill. The journal form that this is written in is ideal for showing the mental deterioration. This is a stream of consciousness book that others might enjoy more than me.
I find it hard to comment on such short books as this one. This novella highlights the shortcomings of the police force, but also reveals what can go wrong when taking the law into your own hands. I can at least say it was thought provoking, although I don’t see myself wielding an iron bar like that any time soon.
Oh the irony. The protagonist just doesn’t seem to notice that sometimes people do care – and he ends up damaging them as well! His mentions of God are equally ironic – something that fits in with my own viewpoint.
The RRP for this novella is $24.95, which to me is way too much for such a slim book. If it was on Amazon for $0.99 I would be far more likely to recommend it to you. For that much, I can recommend a whole other set of books that would no doubt further the same ideas.
There is explicit violence and rape in this book, so I would recommend it only for adults.
I received this book as part of the Goodreads: First Reads program, but this did not influence my review in any way. All opinions are my own.

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Brolga Publishing3star

Review: Jeff Sparrow – Money Shot: a journey into porn and censorship

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Money Shot: a journey into porn and censorship
Jeff Sparrow
I must admit I felt some trepidation when this book arrived at my doorstep to be reviewed. The lurid pink cover, even the title, didn’t see very appealing to me – despite this being a book I ordered. A book about porn…

15781784I got stuck into the novel just as I promised myself I would though – and it turned out to be an enlightening and interesting journey. I couldn’t say I enjoyed it, but it was interesting.

It’s difficult for me to pick out bits of this novel, because this is a non-fiction book, a genre which I rarely attempt to read and review. Something in this book’s favour is that I did stick with it, and it wasn’t unpleasant like some other non-fiction book I have come across. Sparrow was an engaging writer, and his sense of humour carried the book. The conversational tone, and the individual episodes of speaking to each of the interest groups, worked.
I’ve never really thought about the XXX-stores, other than a passing ‘ew, I could never be caught going in there’, but this book is quite an eyeopener. Chances are, some of the DVDs in there are ones that were never permitted by the Australian registration board.
I had to feel a little sorry for the old men who are described by Sparrow – it seems a little cruel to be picking on them when they are being open about their desires. I agree there is something a little sleazy about the whole idea – but isn’t that what porn is? It’s easy enough to imagine people in cinemas getting off on a screen reel, but I’m sure most people at some point have watched porn in the privacy of their homes.

Zombies, Poppers and Pork is a particularly witty and well written chapter. Sparrow effectively manipulates his reader into feeling negative about Wolstencroft from the beginning, so you aren’t all that shocked to here that he is somehow a libertarian fascist!

Perhaps the most important thing is that there should be a mid-line between porn and complete puritanism. The points Sparrow makes about the Bible Planetshakers, and the natural curiosity of teens are very relevant and somewhat worrying. There is such a thing as good porn!

From nannying the net (internet filters) to predation on children, almost everything about porn in Australia is covered in this book. There are things that some people wouldn’t be interested in reading about, and I did find myself skimming a couple of chapters towards the end (racial porn for example). Do you have an interest in the future of porn, and the worrying ideas of Tony Abbott and completely censoring the net (with filters that also chop out useful sites)? An open mind is a must.

If you are interested into insights about censorship of porn in Australia and learning more about the guidelines that govern its import, this is the book for you. Due to the content, I would recommend it only for adult readers. It would likely be a useful read for people in the porn industry of Australia.

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Review: Ellen Guon – Bedlam Boyz

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Bedlam Boyz
Ellen Guon
Kayla has run away from home. It’s not great, but at least she hasn’t gotten into being pimped out yet and she has a home. Kayla has been having increasingly worse headaches though, and when confronted with a bullet wound she discovers that she can heal it. It’s a valuble talent in the gang ridden LA district, and Kayla is suddenly hot property.
538125Kayla isn’t really sure what she is doing, except when she is doing it! Kayla quickly has to adapt (yay, character progression) to being able to heal. She has to stop herself healing eventually or she will burn out. I find it fascinating that she is able to sap energy from Ramon. How awesome would it be if healing actually worked like that?
The elves in this series, as well as Kayla, feed very nicely into the other books in the Bedlam’s Bard series. This book was actually written after Knight of Ghosts and Shadows. Ria and Kayla are both reoccurring characters, although this is the book that really offers the most insight into Kayla’s character.
I wasn’t convinced that the Unseelie elven queen would have let her go just like that, or that Kayla could have picked up that she was being poisoned from such a long way away. I would have liked a little more depth there, particularly into the Unseelie world. I wanted to know exactly why it was decaying! And why they didn’t make more of an effort to save themselves. I’m not sure if these exact eleves appear in the other novels.
This book lacks some of the polish that is seen in other books of this series, perhaps because it is not coauthored by Mercedes Lackey. It’s an enjoyable read, even if I found myself skipping over some of the gang perspective parts in favour of Kayla’s storyline. I’m disappointed that Guon has not written more novels, but apparently she is quite a weighty force in computer game design, which takes up most of her time.
I’d recommend this book for teens and adults alike. Yes, it has lots of blood, drugs and death, but that is equally weighted against healing and understanding. For someone like me who has never been a runaway, nor considered it (it’s a bit harder to do successfully in Australia), it is an eyeopening account for me into some of the US society’s flaws.

This book is out of print! I was going to snaffle a hardcopy on ebay, but forgot to bid and then someone else got it. I have a pounce set up on ebay to try grab it – so don’t even think about getting my copy! It’s probably available from ABbooks if you are from the US or UK, but shipping tends to be prohibitively expensive to Australia. I’ve given links for Amazon and The Book Depository, but I don’t think they will have them in stock (except as second hand).

Update: Sept 2018 – I got my hands on this novel in hard copy and reread it. I’m upgrading this review to 4 stars, because I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

Find it on:
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Or alternatively you can get an ereader copy from Baen Books.