mxhermit's reviews
949 reviews

One of the best things I've discovered on Twitter this year is Meg Eden (@ConfusedNarwhal) and her book Post-High School Reality Quest. Being a big fan of video games, I was intrigued when I saw the premise of this book: At her high school graduation, Buffy finds that her life has started being narrated/controlled by a text parser in the style of an old school text based video game. This leads to some weird experiences. She dies, comes back to life, makes extreme choices, and more over and over again while trying to figure out not only what this voice in her head is, but what is life now that she's supposed to be growing up and going to college?

Meg Eden has a way with dark humor and that certainly shows throughout the book. Buffy is having a hard time of it because not only does she have all these experiences going on, she's got the text parser bringing her back to life after major episodes, which sounds traumatic. While reading it's such an adventure, trying to tell what's real and what might not be real. 

Mixed in with the days that are dated for us as being in Buffy's college semester are episodes from the future in which she's in a doctor's office (her words, because the text parser says psychiatrist, which she thinks is judgmental). This method of storytelling, going back and forth, was a little confusing at first, but after a couple of chapters I got into it and was really just trying to figure the characters out. What did they mean to Buffy, were they part of this "text game", just what was going on? Real life, it seemed, was intangible at times and at others all too real. That feeling made the reading so strange and so tragic at the same time with certain passages and, particularly, when trying to decide how I felt about the ending.

The formatting of the book was pretty cool too, as it wasn't set up like a normal book with the words of the text parser relegated to italics or something. I haven't played a text game or RPG in awhile, but this book brought back the feeling of one and that made me quite happy. It's an intriguing setup and definitely an effective one in relaying Buffy's story to the reader.

I'm a fan of most of Debbie Macomber's books, especially her Blossom Street series because of the central knitting theme it has. However, while I was reading this book, it really hit me how incredibly formulaic some of her character's love stories were. It wasn't just a genre or trope, either, but specifically for her novels: the two polar opposites who are extremely judgmental of each other for many very many, if any, concrete reasons, one of which is from a well off background, the other from a rougher or working class background, but who will obviously end up together in the end.

The main characters in this book, Sam and Beth, were harder to connect to than previous Macomber couples. Their attraction, after being set up on a blind date that neither wanted and being thrown together, quite literally, by an accident on the way home, seemed to happen really quickly with next to no foundation. I've seen instalove in young adult novels, but this really took it to another level.

Beth annoyed me at some points because on the one hand she kept "telling" the reader that she knew what her mother was like, the typical overbearing mother who thinks she knows what is good for her daughter no matter what the daughter says, but on the other hand she ignored classic warning signs like when Ellie, her mother, said "she was afraid this would happen" and upon being pressed for meaning says "never mind." That should have been a huge red flag because, not long after, a mother provided road block pops up. This was one of those moments like when you're watching a horror movie and shouting at the stupid person checking out the noise in the dark backyard, knowing only doom awaits.

Beth's aunt, Sunshine, was a cool character at first. She lived in Portland, the new town that Beth had moved to and was giving her as much support as she could while allowing her to be her own person. However, when Beth started meddling in her past and that became Sunshine's main story, I started to dislike where it was going. The painful memory of her past, an intense love with a man named Peter, was something that I wouldn't have minded being reconciled, but not to the extent that it went. Peter begs Sunshine to give up a once in a lifetime art trip to Italy because he doesn't have the funds to go, she goes anyway, and while she's gone he cheats on her with her sister.

When Sunshine comes back, Peter and Sunshine's sister say they're in love. That was bad enough, but to have the author write a story where Sunshine forgave him because she loved him so much and accepted him back as her love interest felt wrong for two reasons: 1) No. He cheated once and you can't trust him, especially since it was with someone so near to you. 2) The reconciliation/new relationship with the cheater is quite contradictory to almost all of Macomber's other books where the women leave cheating husbands/boyfriends who "swear they'll never do it again". This twist felt like a betrayal.

When the story began to end, Beth also came back with something that annoyed me and that was taking Sam to a piano recital. At the recital they saw Lucinda play, Lucinda being the daughter that Sam has never met and has no parental rights to due some thorny issues thirteen years ago. Beth should have known how painful this would be, but it never once occurred to her and that made her seem incredibly selfish to me, which is how Sam starts out when he gets mad at her for bringing him there. Of course by the end of the book he forgives her, so she never really suffers for her actions and I doubt she'll really learn, so what was the point? The whole Lucinda story felt cruel because there was no resolution,  one way or the other, by the end and Beth dredging it up when she knew Sam wouldn't want that felt horrid.

Overall the book lacked a lot of content. Most of it went by with nothing really happening and that, while at times relaxing and interesting if the story is character driven, was not the case here. If Not For You is one of the most disappointing Macomber books I've read yet.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: DNF

This book sounded like it would be really engaging. I've read books before where the reader is given bits of the same puzzle the characters are trying to solve, to see if they could solve it first. When the summary for Detention Land gave hints that it would be very much like this, trying to figure out why the main character Roger is locked in a barbaric detention room, I thought I'd give it a try.

I had to DNF this book at 43% because it was so frustratingly boring. Roger was an aggravating character. I would've understood if this was a reaction to being in the detention room, but then there were journal entries that just made me dislike him more. In the detention room scenes I got the feeling that Roger might be a bully on the outside, though there were a couple of sentences that offered a glimmer of redemption for him. However, these were once again countered by the journal entries were he revealed a manipulative personality that I disliked reading intensely. 

I'm all for unlikable characters (Joe from You, The Darkling from the Shadow & Bone series) but there also has to be something about them that makes me want to know what happens next to them, to find out more about their story. Roger is nowhere near either of  these characters and I did not care to read to the end to find out one more iota of information about him.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sammy Jo, who is used to counting 10 sheep in order to get to sleep, is confused one night when 20 sheep show up! What will she do?

This book was a cute bedtime story. The art reminded me a bit of Dr. Seuss stories, which my son loves, due in part to the fact that the sheep were polka doted and striped. I personally thought it was a good dream-like style, with the drawings of Sammy Jo reminding me more than a little of the old-fashioned Strawberry Shortcake. A great nostalgic touch because that was one of my favorites growing up.

Kamra's story also has a good message about not everyone being the same. When Sammy Jo is trying to find a home for the sheep, she suggests members of her family, but they all count different things to fall asleep (superheroes, handbags, and cars!). Sammy Jo, in the end, demonstrates a good sense of problem solving. She's a smart little girl who didn't give up when confronted with counting big numbers. Instead, she tried different solutions until arriving at the right one.

This is a good book for bedtime reading, as I mentioned at the beginning, both as a read aloud story from parent to child, and as one for a child to learn to read themselves as they get a bit older.



I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a big sports fan, but baseball is one of the few that I can understand pretty well without having to do a ton of research on rules, yard lines, whatever. I remember seeing the commercial for the show Pitch and when The Perfect Game was comped with that, I thought I'd like to check it out.

Pauly is a very dedicated person to baseball and it was easy to feel that throughout the book. Her knowledge of stats was amazing, as was her commitment to the sport. 

Ian started out as kind of a douchebag, which was the point I think. His drinking and womanizing was a much talked about point on the team and I wasn't sure how he and Pauly would ever work out, whether professionally or personally.

The relationship that did develop was a bit confusing, as I couldn't really connect with it. Even though they had been teammates for a few years now, the more personal and physical relationship happened really quickly and became more serious than I'd have expected in such a short period of time.

As to side characters, the most developed one were Ian's father, though more were introduced including other teammates and members of Pauly's family. Ian and his father, Ray, had an intense history and the troubles they went through in The Perfect Game was interesting. It's ending was a bit sad, but I thought the author did a well thought out job of dealing with Ray's alcoholism and it's effect on his life.

There were moments of tension regarding Pauly and her career, but as important as these events are, they didn't feel like a big deal within the context of the story. What tension they brought up didn't last long or leave much of a real mark on the story.

There were definitely some steamy scenes between Pauly and Ian, which should satisfy those looking for the romance aspect of the story. As I said before, I didn't care for the rapid development of their relationship, but I can see that there will be reader that enjoy those scenes, as well as the happily ever after once The Perfect Game concludes.

This was a good story, if not among my favorites. There were aspects I didn't care for, but I think other readers may well. I liked the baseball aspects, even if I wasn't quite familiar with the set up of major league, minor league, and club teams. There's a little of something for quite a few classes of reader and I do hope others will enjoy Pauly's rise in the sport.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Zinnia is a young girl whose mother is overbearing, her brother has disappeared under the pressure, and a colony of bees has made their new home in her hair! This middle grade novel has just the right amount of magical realism and teachable moments to make it a good read for not just the 9-12 year old age group, but for others as well.

The bees, normally creatures that I wouldn't want to be near because I don't care for insects, became sympathetic characters here. The group was formally transported from crop to orchard and so on as professional pollinators. Never having been in a wild hive or having had to fend for themselves, when a car accident sets them free they have to make the best of a bad situation. In a town with few trees, worker Bee 641 is the bee elected to find a new place to go and follow their collective dreams, taken from stories passed down from bee generation to bee generation. The bad part? That new home is Zinnia's hair, with a smear of mint chocolate chip ice cream to attract her new "friends".

Zinnia also has her fair share of problems. Her mom doesn't seem to understand her or her knitting/yarn bombing tendencies, activities that she deems "non-useful". Her brother, whose interests also lie in the arts, has left after escalating arguments with their mother about his future. Add this to the loss of her closest group of friends and her summer is looking pretty dim.

Reading Zinnia's story, her working through her problems and her summer days, including reluctantly making friends with her neighbor's nephew and walking her mom's new dog, was always interesting. Zinnia has a pleasant voice, even as she was navigating a difficult time. Her interest in knitting and yarn bombing made her very relatable to me and, I think, somewhat unique. I almost never see main characters that knit like she did; artistic skills like drawing and painting seem to be more popular.

There were alternating chapters and the others not told from Zinnia's first person perspective were told from that of the bees. That was fascinating because, as I mentioned before, I'm not a fan of insects. Reading the activity I've seen going on in the real world from a more personable perspective made it a unique experience. They were friendly creatures, telling the story of going from crop to crop until the day they break free and have to figure out what to do with their new found freedom. Going off "family" stories and, eventually, Zinnia's kindness and knitting know-how, they find their place and worker Bee 641, originally mocked for her lack of hive finding abilities, redeems herself and is revealed as the voice of the bees from the beginning.

Zinnia learns a lot about grieving, about distancing herself from her friends while trying to cling too tightly to another important person, and about being true to yourself, even at the risk of losing everything. From the cover and from the description, one might not think that this novel has as much depth as I discovered it did, but rest assured that Danielle Davis did a masterful job of communicating important values while weaving a magical story.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As the parent of a six year old, I make a lot of sandwiches. They're practically their own food group in our house. While my son has his preferences (peanut butter & jelly, turkey & mayo), he is open up to trying a variety of new flavors so I thought that checking out this book would be a good way to find new sandwiches and to include him in their preparation.

This book will appeal to both adults and children with a combination of fun graphics and handy information. Each recipe is full of simple illustrations about how to prepare the sandwich, including a symbol for the tools (i.e. knives, etc.) necessary and side pics for possible alternative ingredients like different cheeses, proteins, or sides.

There's a lot of useful information that will appeal to older readers, though sharing it with younger readers may make the experience of preparing food more fun. Each recipe, besides the appealing layout, has snippets of information that vary between each recipe: origins of the sandwich, regional names, significant dates in history, etc.

Split up into five sections that progress from easy prep (Plate & Knife) and end with more skilled handiwork (Extra Cooking, Recipes, & Prep Work), there's a variety of flavors for every palate. Oftentimes there are recommendations for quick fixes to kick a sandwich up a notch, but each chapter also has a "We Dare You" page for wacky, out of the park things to add to a sandwich, like apple pie filling or apricot jelly, bananas or ranch dressing to a grilled cheese. Maybe tasty, maybe gross, who knows? It's up to the reader to experiment!

I appreciated how, as new techniques were introduced and prior to the recipes using one, the book took the time to guide the reader through them in an accessible manner that will leave bellies and mind full.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have long been a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I have seen the movie, read the book, heard the book read by Christopher Lee. I thought that a manga adaption could, at the very least, be interesting. It came at the perfect time too. One never knows if this should be a Halloween or a Christmas book and, as this version is set to be published November 8th, it comes in relatively close to both holidays.

Despite all that, I was sorely disappointed in it. This had none of the life that any of the previous adaptations had. There were a few portions of the book where the lyrics for the iconic songs were included to attempt to harness some of that energy, but they fell flat.

Some of the characters felt like watered down versions of themselves, Sally in particular. She may have secretly been in love with Jack in the original, which is evident to the viewer, but in the manga, she became ever more of a wishy washy love sick girl and that took away some of the strength that Sally always had within her.

The art was alright, but it wasn't spectacular work that could make up for weak writing. If it had been of a higher caliber, than I might have been able to forgive a lot of the other faults, but this was sadly not a book that was meant to be highly rated in my esteem.

If you're a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I highly recommend sticking to the movie or Tim Burton's original picture book. Both are much more deserving of your viewing/reading time.

I may not be in the kitchen much at the moment, but when I do I prefer to use recipes and what better way to incorporate my geeky interests and eating than using recipes based on titles I've read or seen? The Geeky Chef, back with a second collection of nerdy delights, has made it her business to bring together fans of Minecraft and Doctor Who, Games of Thrones and Harry Potter with something we all need...food.

The recipes include measurements for chefs outside the U.S. (good old metric system) as well as suggestions for substitutions should you or the person you're cooking for be vegan. Before the book even starts, there are also base recipes, such as for simple syrup or a soup base. These base recipes will be handy for a cook to learn as the skills within them translate to other cookbooks you might be tempted to try.

There is quite a lot of variety in this book, from alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to seaweed noodles and herring/pumpkin soup. I wasn't too sure about some of these from the titles alone (here's looking at you, Kiki, for that fish & gourd soup), but like the hotter spices, I'd be willing to try it at least once.

My favorite recipes in The Geeky Chef Strikes Back include Otik's Spiced Potatoes. There were spices and herbs used throughout that, while I had heard of, were not ones I usually ate because I am not a huge fan of heat in my food. I admit to being inspired to try bolder flavors, particularly if I could imagine favorite characters eating the same meal with me. The Mushroom Stew, inspired by Minecraft, was also a recipe I was anxious to try because I love mushrooms, soup, and the recipe sounded so rich and hearty.

I would have liked to see more pictures alongside the recipes. There were a couple, but in a cookbook I would expect at least one for every entry, at least of the finished product. This may have to do with the fact that this was a digital copy and sometimes e-arc copies have errors. Please be sure to check the final product for the full range of photographs of this delicious food.  The soup section had the most overall that I could see, making my mouth water as the weather cools in my region and it becomes proper soup season again.

Most of the games, books, or movies in the book were either ones I enjoy myself or have come across in my geeky travels. For the properties that I was not intimately familiar with, the author gave a brief overview of the title and why she was inspired to create the dish of the moment. Any reader may well feel the need to try put a new game or watch a new film while sampling the dishes within The Geeky Chef Strikes Back.

I was surprised that the author, in the introduction to the book, thought that geeky cooking was still a niche market, that "you wouldn't think" there were so many geeks out there willing to make and taste pop culture inspired food that she was able to write a second book (I have not read the first in her collection entitled The Geeky Chef). I don't agree and before you leave this review, let me share with you some geek themed cookbooks I've found, and cooked from a few, that have been published over the years:


Dining With the Doctor by Chris-Rachael Oseland
Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook by Georgeanne Brennan & Frankie Frankeny
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Buchotz
The Narnia Cookbook by Douglas Gresham
Doctor Who: The Official Cookbook by Joanna Farrow
Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes by Roald Dahl, Felicity Dahl, & Josie Fison
The Secret Garden Cookbook by Amy Cotler



I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.