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mxhermit's reviews
949 reviews
Crossing the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux
3.0
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Crossing the Ice was a lovely story. It was simple to read, easy to put down and pick back up again. The story had the romantic elements that made it lighthearted and the nasty characters that added drama.
The problem with these perfectly nice elements is that they made the book wholly predictable. I could tell from the out set what would happen. It would have been more interesting if the plot had veered away from the traditional path and brought something unique to the table.
The characters, while they did serve their purpose, were not very interesting by themselves. They seemed rather one dimensional, like they were actors playing a part they had to rather than characters living their lives. The villains of the piece had next to no character development. They were there to be evil and you didn't get any sense of redemption for them, or reason for their being hateful people other than they were the rich snobby types that are designed to be evil and little else.
I will say this for the author: she included quite a lot of skater talk, as it were, that enables the reader to feel as though they are a part of the figure skating community.
Crossing the Ice was a lovely story. It was simple to read, easy to put down and pick back up again. The story had the romantic elements that made it lighthearted and the nasty characters that added drama.
The problem with these perfectly nice elements is that they made the book wholly predictable. I could tell from the out set what would happen. It would have been more interesting if the plot had veered away from the traditional path and brought something unique to the table.
The characters, while they did serve their purpose, were not very interesting by themselves. They seemed rather one dimensional, like they were actors playing a part they had to rather than characters living their lives. The villains of the piece had next to no character development. They were there to be evil and you didn't get any sense of redemption for them, or reason for their being hateful people other than they were the rich snobby types that are designed to be evil and little else.
I will say this for the author: she included quite a lot of skater talk, as it were, that enables the reader to feel as though they are a part of the figure skating community.
The Face in the Mountain by Tolulope Okudolo
2.0
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book because it looked beautiful, had a good message, and seemed like it would be a quick and pleasant read.
Well, it was quick and the art was lovely, but that was about it.
As it is, the prose was too much. It dragged the story on and made the going very dull. I tried reading it myself first before reading it to my son. He got bored with the amount of talking there was for the amount of pictures.
The story was good, but this book was stuck in a hard place. It felt too long to be a good picture book and much too short to be a good children's book. With a bit of development in either direction, I think this book could have been a lot better.
I really wanted to like this book because it looked beautiful, had a good message, and seemed like it would be a quick and pleasant read.
Well, it was quick and the art was lovely, but that was about it.
As it is, the prose was too much. It dragged the story on and made the going very dull. I tried reading it myself first before reading it to my son. He got bored with the amount of talking there was for the amount of pictures.
The story was good, but this book was stuck in a hard place. It felt too long to be a good picture book and much too short to be a good children's book. With a bit of development in either direction, I think this book could have been a lot better.
The Palace Library by Steven Loveridge
4.0
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a rather fun read.
Anyone who has ever read the Narnia books or seen any of the movies will notice right away that there are a lot of similarities in The Palace Library. This was a little troublesome at first because I had some difficulty separating the two, but as I read further I started to enjoy the story more.
The thing that I liked the most was the setting. The library was everything that one could want in a library and it was so lovely that I wish I could open a secret door and find myself there.
The writing has some ups and downs, I'll grant you, and there were parts that dragged a bit. I think some of it was the fact that there was a lot of overly descriptive parts, particularly dealing with feelings. Adults don't seem to care for those parts as much as a younger reader might, which is who this book is aimed towards.
I would recommend this to any child that enjoys books and their parents as well, especially one that might need reminding that magic exists, especially between the pages of a story.
This book was a rather fun read.
Anyone who has ever read the Narnia books or seen any of the movies will notice right away that there are a lot of similarities in The Palace Library. This was a little troublesome at first because I had some difficulty separating the two, but as I read further I started to enjoy the story more.
The thing that I liked the most was the setting. The library was everything that one could want in a library and it was so lovely that I wish I could open a secret door and find myself there.
The writing has some ups and downs, I'll grant you, and there were parts that dragged a bit. I think some of it was the fact that there was a lot of overly descriptive parts, particularly dealing with feelings. Adults don't seem to care for those parts as much as a younger reader might, which is who this book is aimed towards.
I would recommend this to any child that enjoys books and their parents as well, especially one that might need reminding that magic exists, especially between the pages of a story.
Doctor Who: System Wipe by Oli Smith
3.0
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book read like a classic episode of Matt Smith's Doctor. I think it would appeal to fans of the 11th Doctor and it might attract some fans of online trap stories: SAO, Log Horizon, etc.
The characters came across a bit flat in parts, which is why I couldn't rate it higher than a 3. Especially with 11, Amy, and Rory, there's a lot of personality there that you just can't mess with or you lose a lot of what makes them the characters Whovians know and love.
This book read like a classic episode of Matt Smith's Doctor. I think it would appeal to fans of the 11th Doctor and it might attract some fans of online trap stories: SAO, Log Horizon, etc.
The characters came across a bit flat in parts, which is why I couldn't rate it higher than a 3. Especially with 11, Amy, and Rory, there's a lot of personality there that you just can't mess with or you lose a lot of what makes them the characters Whovians know and love.
Kanga and Baby Roo Come to the Forest by A.A. Milne
3.0
The illustrations are nice, but how did I not remember how dry the narrative is?
I'm glad Kanga had a sense of humor. I wonder what Rabbit and Roo did on their Tuesdays together?
I'm glad Kanga had a sense of humor. I wonder what Rabbit and Roo did on their Tuesdays together?
The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey!, #1 by Ben Fisher, Steve Uy, Ken Haeser, Ben McCool, Elliott Serrano, Royal McGraw
3.0
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I love Grumpy Cat. I think her pictures are cute, funny, etc. I have not yet seen her movie, but I am a fan of hers. When I saw that she had a comic being released, I thought I'd give it a chance and see what was what.
The "storylines" are a bit childish. There are some segments that are kind of funny and the art is nice, very smooth, but not art art, if you know what I mean.
Each chapter is a different story for Grumpy Cat, so in that sense it was easy to pick up and put down with ease. A few of the chapters were slow and the humor felt stilted. It may have been that some of them would have suited a younger audience better and I'm not amused by all the same things anymore.
One of the problems I had was that the character of Grumpy felt really cruel at times. I understand that her face and her "grumpy attitude" are part of the brand of GC, but she's was a really horrible character at times. She tortured Pokey (her brother) and the dog (not sure of the name) and enjoyed them getting into trouble. I wasn't a fan of this kind of characterization and, because of who we're made to believe Grumpy is, there isn't any reason for her to move beyond this and learn something about how she's treating other.
This volume reminded me of a slice-of-life manga, so if you've found yourself liking that sort of comic in the past, this book might interest you.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I love Grumpy Cat. I think her pictures are cute, funny, etc. I have not yet seen her movie, but I am a fan of hers. When I saw that she had a comic being released, I thought I'd give it a chance and see what was what.
The "storylines" are a bit childish. There are some segments that are kind of funny and the art is nice, very smooth, but not art art, if you know what I mean.
Each chapter is a different story for Grumpy Cat, so in that sense it was easy to pick up and put down with ease. A few of the chapters were slow and the humor felt stilted. It may have been that some of them would have suited a younger audience better and I'm not amused by all the same things anymore.
One of the problems I had was that the character of Grumpy felt really cruel at times. I understand that her face and her "grumpy attitude" are part of the brand of GC, but she's was a really horrible character at times. She tortured Pokey (her brother) and the dog (not sure of the name) and enjoyed them getting into trouble. I wasn't a fan of this kind of characterization and, because of who we're made to believe Grumpy is, there isn't any reason for her to move beyond this and learn something about how she's treating other.
This volume reminded me of a slice-of-life manga, so if you've found yourself liking that sort of comic in the past, this book might interest you.
The Trick to Landing by Jenny Kaczorowski
2.0
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
I thought, from reading the description, that this would be a very interesting books. The characters sounded unique, fun, and like they'd have a good story.
I found both of the main characters, Summer and Bastian, to be one dimensional. They each had one, maybe two, things that defined them and that was it. In Summer's case, it was her X-Game aspirations; for Bastian, his hemophilia and photography. Even the photography, something he loved and started to share with her, fell by the wayside. We heard more about Summer's past, or at least her guilt over it, than any real development of their character.
The narrative was alright, but there was a lot of repetition and I found myself skimming over bits. Some incidents seemed to be thrown in for dramatic flair that felt false and did not end up working out.
I wouldn't highly recommend this, maybe not even at all, but it has some potential with the writing if only it was a bit shorter (cut out the scenes that read the same again and again!) and the characters were fleshed out.
I thought, from reading the description, that this would be a very interesting books. The characters sounded unique, fun, and like they'd have a good story.
I found both of the main characters, Summer and Bastian, to be one dimensional. They each had one, maybe two, things that defined them and that was it. In Summer's case, it was her X-Game aspirations; for Bastian, his hemophilia and photography. Even the photography, something he loved and started to share with her, fell by the wayside. We heard more about Summer's past, or at least her guilt over it, than any real development of their character.
The narrative was alright, but there was a lot of repetition and I found myself skimming over bits. Some incidents seemed to be thrown in for dramatic flair that felt false and did not end up working out.
I wouldn't highly recommend this, maybe not even at all, but it has some potential with the writing if only it was a bit shorter (cut out the scenes that read the same again and again!) and the characters were fleshed out.