July 2017 – Page 2 – Looking For a Good Book

July 18, 2017

THE CIRCLET TREASURY OF EROTIC WONDERLAND – J. Blackmore, editor

**WARNING — THIS BOOK AND REVIEW CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT** Yes, this is a bit of an odd choice for me to read. I haven’t rated some previous erotica very well, but it wasn’t because of the subject matter, but the execution of it. Still, requesting to review erotica did feel strange. However, it was the… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, OTHER, ROMANCE, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Erotica, Reviews, Romance, Sex, Short Stories

July 17, 2017

WHAT IS A SUPERHERO? – Robin S. Rosenberg & Peter Coogan, editors

You can hardly turn around today without seeing a movie or television show featuring a superhero and they’re often on the covers of magazines and there are novelizations of their stories. And of course there are the comic books and graphic novels from which many of them sprouted. But what is a superhero? Such is… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, comic book superheroes, Entertainment, essays, non-fiction, Reviews, superheroes

July 14, 2017

ELVES – graphic novel

Elves, Vol. 1 is a beautiful graphic novel. This graphic novel contains two parts, written by Jean-Luc Istin and illustrated by Kyko Duarte. A pair of individuals has discovered that an Elven city has been slaughtered. It looks as though humans may be at the cause of it, further fracturing already tense relations between the… Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

July 13, 2017

THE BONE WITCH – Rin Chupeco

I follow a lot of different publishers through email and social media, and I follow a number of other reviewers and review sources mostly out of curiosity and partially to see what’s trending in literary circles. One of the books that I’ve been seeing almost everywhere has been The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco. In… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult

July 12, 2017

A PARTICLE OF DREAD – Sam Shepard

I love to read plays and don’t have as many opportunities to do so since the Fireside Theatre Book Club went out of business (when was that…the 1990’s?). There seems to slowly be a revival of getting plays in print for the general reading audience. It should come as no surprise to anyone who is… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Mythology/Legend, Plays, Reviews, Theatre

July 11, 2017

NIGHTMARES – Ellen Datlow, editor

There was a time when I sought out collections of horror stories. I couldn’t get enough. Today, with my literary tastes having expended to include more genres, I don’t often read much horror any more. And what I have read hasn’t been as thrilling as I remember it from my teens. I’ve thought that perhaps… Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, Short Stories

July 10, 2017

IN SESSION – M.J. Rose

I’m a virgin to all four characters here: Dr. Morgan Snow, Cotton Malone, Jack Reacher, and John Rain. But the premise intrigued me and the length was just right to make some introductions. Dr. Morgan Snow is a sex therapist. Not surprisingly, the people she comes in contact with on a daily basis have some… Continue reading

SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews, Sex, Short Stories

July 7, 2017

1984 IN THE 21ST CENTURY – Lori Perkins, editor

Well, it didn’t take long for someone to put out a collection of essays relating George Orwell’s 1984 with the Donald Trump presidency. Of course it’s been the lingo in the press and on social media since Trump won the U.S. election and editor Lori Perkins, who writes in her introduction of having had affection… Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, essays, non-fiction, Reviews

July 6, 2017

INSTRUMENTAL – graphic novel

I’ve been on a personal quest for a number of years to find that perfect blend of music and literature. We often use the same language to discuss both (themes, beats, movements, rhythm, etc) and I’d love to find a musical composition in a written work as well as a complex story in a composition.… Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Music, Reviews

July 5, 2017

DIVINITY III: STALINVERSE

I was not aware that this was part of a larger series when I requested the ARC, though I am not surprised. This is collecting issues of a comic series to republish in graphic novel format. Previous to this are Divinity and Divinity II. I definitely got the sense that I was missing out on… Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

July 4, 2017

BREAK THE CHAINS – Megan O’Keefe

I wasn’t a big fan of the first book in this series, but I already had/have books two and three in my ARC queue and have decided to try to give the series a chance – particularly in light of all the great reviews it is getting, and because I generally really like this publisher.… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

July 3, 2017

TRASH CAN DAYS – Teddy Steinkellner

Four youngsters are about to start middle school – Hannah and Jake Schwartz, Danny Uribe, and Dorothy Wu. They attend San Paulo (California) Junior High. They of course have the ‘usual’ concerns including who likes who, friendships that come and go, who is going to be the best basketball player, and how to be the… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized, YA

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, Young Adult