I review everything I read, on my blog and on Goodreads. Most reviews are of a decent length but sometimes you don't have much to say about the book because of its length or you DNFed it or various other reasons. In cases like that it makes sense to write a few mini reviews in one post and clear them out your way! So lets catch up with reviews from earlier this year.
Three teenagers stumble into a haunted mansion that traps them in a deadly nightmare. In order to escape alive, they must uncover the house's dark secrets of murder and prejudice.
Emily, brother Adam and friend Jimmy are passing the creepy old manor when Jimmy breaks a window and loses his precious baseball inside. They go inside and then find that the house doesn't want to let them leave. Instead they are forced to endure the tragic story of Alice and her family who used to stay there, and an angry spirit that wants to punish them for coming inside.
I got this short story free on Amazon and decided to try it, even though ghost stories and haunted houses are not top of my list to read. I found this to be a decent read overall. The story of Alice is tragic and explores the prejudices surrounding unmarried mothers and racism in its worst form. Emily wants to find a way to help Alice as well as a way out of the house and it was an interesting overall plot. I didn't go on to read the other books in the series as I was happy to stop with the conclusion to this part.
Read April 2019
3 stars.
2) Jules Verne-20000 Leagues Under The Sea French naturalist Dr. Aronnax embarks on an expedition to hunt down a sea monster, only to discover instead the Nautilus, a remarkable submarine built by the enigmatic Captain Nemo. Together Nemo and Aronnax explore the underwater marvels, undergo a transcendent experience amongst the ruins of Atlantis, and plant a black flag at the South Pole. But Nemo's mission is one of revenge-and his methods coldly efficient.
I don't read the classics for a reason-I tend to find the writing slow, over descriptive and often too technical or wordy. I wanted to read these older explorer adventures just to see what they were like but I found this one to be like wading through treacle. I found it so slow to get into the actual story, long winded passages about packing and travelling and chasing a non existant sea monster that is actually a highly sophisticated submarine disguised as a whale. When Nemo was taking Arronax around the submarine, every single item in every room was described, every piece of equipment turned into a lecture on its use and the details just became confusing and overwhelming at times. The endless conversations between the two I found to be very boring and I was losing interest long before they started to explore together. I certainly won't rush to read anything else by the author.
DNF April 2019
1 star.
Every week, millions of viewers tune in to NBC's American Ninja Warrior, to watch as ninjas from every walk of life attempt to complete a series of iconic obstacles of increasing difficulty in the hope of becoming an American Ninja Warrior. Now, for the first time, readers get a never before seen look at the phenomenon that has taken the world by storm. With stories from the show's hosts, creators, and top contestants about preparing, training, and becoming an American Ninja Warrior, the book is packed with essential info about the legendary obstacle courses along with key fitness and training tips for viewers of all fitness levels. Readers will find amazing insights on how American Ninja Warrior contestants do their best, reach higher, and achieve their spectacular feats.
Full of vibrant color photos, sidebars, boxes, and lists, the first official book of American Ninja Warrior will not only be a thrilling and instructive read, it will be a beautiful inside look at the show and the perfect gift for every fan.
I'm a massive fan of American Ninja Warrior and I always look forward to watching my favourites compete each year. I treated myself to this book, unsure really what to expect and found it to be an excellent behind the scenes guide. There is a section on every obstacle used through the series, tips from the contestants about their fitness and routines, a full section on how the show is put together and how the obstacles are created and tested and profiles of the fan favourites. I really enjoyed looking at the content and finding out more about how the show is created, constructed and filmed. It is a good book to entertain fans of the show.
Read March 2019
4 stars 4) Jane Bingham-The Tudors
The Tudors were an unforgettable dynasty who wielded absolute power during a remarkably turbulent time in English history. Each ruler's survival required a fierce struggle to maintain control - often against incredible odds. From Henry VII, England's last king to win the crown in battle, and the tyrannical Henry VIII with his succession of wives, to the fiercely Catholic 'Bloody Mary', and her sister, Elizabeth, the 'Virgin Queen', Jane Bingham examines just how fairly history has treated these Tudor rulers. Both as politicians and as individuals, it is no wonder these larger-than-life monarchs still capture our imaginations today.
This would be an ideal introduction to The Tudors for someone looking to find out a bit more about Henry VIII, his wives and children, without being bogged down in a lot of historical detail. The book tells the main story of each ruler from the Tudor period without too much detail. I'm not going to get into discussing the accuracy of the information-my short term memory is pretty bad so in spite of reading a ton of Tudor non fiction, I don't remember enough dates and details from them to say if every fact in this book is correct. However it was a quick and easy read which I enjoyed in one night. As I said, if you are new to The Tudors, a book like this might be a good place to start.
Read March 2019
4 stars.
They slept beneath the ice for over four billion years, but now they are free! Off the coast of Antarctica, TEMPEST OUTPOST’s latest excavation leads to the discovery of some rather strange looking rock samples. Geology student Jazmin Hayes can hardly believe her eyes when carbon dating shows that they are even older than the Earth itself! Then, the rocks begin to hatch...
Jazmin is doing a 6 week internship at a research station in Antarctica where she will have the chance to be on an experimental drilling rig and learn about the geology of the area. When the rock samples they drill turn out to be actual viable eggs that hatch out deadly mutant mind controlling spiders, the entire station is at risk.
This is quite a short novella at 109 pages including titles so I read this easily in one session. I can never resist a horror story or creature feature set in Antarctica so despite my total terror of spiders I wanted to read this one. It did turn out to be a decent read to pass a couple of hours though I have read better books in the genre. I didn't care one way or another for most of the characters and with most of them being spider-fodder, there is not a massive amount of character development but that is to be expected in this kind of book. I think it was the mind control thing that I wasn't as keen on. The spiders bite someone so they can control their mind and make them drill up more of the eggs which then defrost into more spiders, some much larger than others. The plan is to control all the people rather than eat them. I think I was looking more for a spiders running wild and eating people kind of story rather than smart spiders controlling people for their evil plan. It just wasn't quite the plot I was expecting which is a pity. That said, it was still a decent enough quick read with big ass spiders.
Read March 2019
3 stars.
6) Eric S Brown-The SquadA routine training exercise in the backwoods of North Carolina becomes a desperate battle for survival as a squad of soldiers find themselves stranded with no easy way out. Worse, they aren't alone. Monsters lurk among the trees. Monsters that want to tear them limb from limb.
The story initially follows two groups of people. Four teenage boys decide to go on a camping and hunting trip and fall into trouble when they run into an angry Sasquatch on their first night hunt, causing them to flee into the woods to hide. At the same time a military squad playing a war game find one half of their people dead and ripped apart, with more Sasquatches on the loose hunting them down. As both groups run into each other, it becomes a joint bid for survival.
I've read a lot of books by this author and they always deal in lots of monsters and lots of gore, which I generally enjoy. He does a better job than most of fleshing out his characters and making you interested in whether they survive or not, even in these short novellas. I always enjoy a creature feature with deadly Sasquatches as the whole Bigfoot thing has fascinated me since I was a kid and I try to read as many of these books as I can. I did enjoy this book for the most part as it had good tension, solid writing and plenty of gore to enjoy. However I am finding that this author seems to always want to kill all his MCs in pretty much every book of his I read. I don't demand HEA but it does become hard when you invest in the characters in his many books and then they pretty much all just die for the hell of it by the final scenes. The monsters win every time and are just too unbeatable. It becomes a bit predictable and I'm now less keen to read his work which is a shame as he is a good writer. Let the odd human survive or win a small victory occasionally!
Read April 2019
3 stars.
