I received this book for review from NetGalley.
'Two' by Karl Alexander is the story of twins, Parker and Emerson Leigh, who become the main characters in upcoming young writer, Tim Raines' first novel.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. It was well-written and had an interesting story-line but there was something off about it. I think I liked it. I'm not certain.
Character-wise, I really grew to love the main trinity. At the beginning of the book, I quite disliked the twins. They irritated me and I found them to be immature and manipulative. That didn't change much, but somehow they grew on me. I loved their relationship and how much they genuinely cared about each other.
All of the reviews I've read have something bad to say about Tim and I can understand why, but I enjoyed his character. He had more than his share of sleazeball moments, but overall I thought he was great. I loved the portrait of this young, passionate writer who becomes so obsessed with his novel that he struggles to separate reality from fiction.
I really enjoyed the time spent in the novel within the novel. I felt completely transported to 1906, even with the twins being almost obnoxiously modern.
I'd give this book 3/5 stars
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Friday, 25 April 2014
'Stepping off a Cliff" Book Review (3/5)
I received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review.
Stepping off a Cliff is the second book in Doug Dillon’s St Augustine trilogy and it has an interesting, unique storyline.
The book centres on Jeff Golden, a teenage boy who, under the guidance of an old man named Lobo, has learned to develop and control his extraordinary gifts – such as the ability to stop time. Jeff and his girlfriend Carla – also endowed with supernatural capabilities – once again have to use their skills to save their hometown of St Augustine. In this instalment, an evil being threatens to destroy St Augustine and all of its inhabitants and they must combine their powers with Lobo’s wisdom and experience in order to defeat it.
Although I found the three main characters - Carla, Jeff and Lobo – difficult to connect with, they are well developed and have grown and matured since the first book. Their relationship with each other has also developed, although I found the dialogue a bit forced at times.
While I am a fan of first-person narratives, as I found it challenging to bond with Jeff, I struggled to enjoy the story as told from his perspective. I think that based on the plot, a first-person narrative was the correct way to go as it provided insight into the emotional and physical distress caused by the events in the book. That being said, Jeff was a good narrator and told the story with great detail, I simply couldn’t connect with his voice.
Lobo, with his controlling and secretive nature, annoyed me in the first book but this lessened greatly in Stepping off a Cliff. He becomes more open to being a team player, as opposed to his more dictatorial nature in Sliding beneath the Surface. He opens himself up to suggestions from the others and is far more forthcoming with information. Learning his history and backstory was also very interesting.
Lyle, a secondary character who featured briefly in the first book, plays a much greater role in this one and I enjoyed getting to know him better. He too has an unexpected and fascinating backstory and he kept me emotionally hooked. When he wasn’t making me laugh, he made me want to cry.
Once again, I loved the historical aspect to the book and enjoyed learning more about St Augustine’s rich history.
Overall, the book was interesting and well-written and any faults that I found came down to personal preference.
Stepping off a Cliff is the second book in Doug Dillon’s St Augustine trilogy and it has an interesting, unique storyline.
The book centres on Jeff Golden, a teenage boy who, under the guidance of an old man named Lobo, has learned to develop and control his extraordinary gifts – such as the ability to stop time. Jeff and his girlfriend Carla – also endowed with supernatural capabilities – once again have to use their skills to save their hometown of St Augustine. In this instalment, an evil being threatens to destroy St Augustine and all of its inhabitants and they must combine their powers with Lobo’s wisdom and experience in order to defeat it.
Although I found the three main characters - Carla, Jeff and Lobo – difficult to connect with, they are well developed and have grown and matured since the first book. Their relationship with each other has also developed, although I found the dialogue a bit forced at times.
While I am a fan of first-person narratives, as I found it challenging to bond with Jeff, I struggled to enjoy the story as told from his perspective. I think that based on the plot, a first-person narrative was the correct way to go as it provided insight into the emotional and physical distress caused by the events in the book. That being said, Jeff was a good narrator and told the story with great detail, I simply couldn’t connect with his voice.
Lobo, with his controlling and secretive nature, annoyed me in the first book but this lessened greatly in Stepping off a Cliff. He becomes more open to being a team player, as opposed to his more dictatorial nature in Sliding beneath the Surface. He opens himself up to suggestions from the others and is far more forthcoming with information. Learning his history and backstory was also very interesting.
Lyle, a secondary character who featured briefly in the first book, plays a much greater role in this one and I enjoyed getting to know him better. He too has an unexpected and fascinating backstory and he kept me emotionally hooked. When he wasn’t making me laugh, he made me want to cry.
Once again, I loved the historical aspect to the book and enjoyed learning more about St Augustine’s rich history.
Overall, the book was interesting and well-written and any faults that I found came down to personal preference.
'My Snowy Valentine' Book Review (4/5)
I received a free copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.
My Snowy Valentine is the third episode of the White Cairns Ski School series by Scottish author Roz Marshall.
Jude, the owner of White Cairns Ski School, receives a letter from the Ski Development Trust saying that they are interested in having White Cairns run ski trials. It would be a phenomenal opportunity for the ski school and bring in some much needed business. However, they don’t own timing equipment and aren’t in a good enough financial position to buy some. Luckily, the annual Ski School Race is coming up and the first prize is timing equipment! The White Cairns instructors start training hard and are looking to have a chance of winning when disaster strikes and they wonder if they will still be able to ski and snowboard to victory.
As the name implies, this episode includes some romance. Debbie gets a surprise (and secret) Valentine and Mike gets a stalker! Callum tries desperately to get out of the friendzone and Jude struggles with her budding feelings for someone other than her husband. A very tentative foundation for two couples is laid in this episode and I can’t wait to see where things are going to lead.
I enjoy the author’s tendency to focus on only one or two characters in each part. As each episode is fairly short, I feel that it works better than trying to focus on all of the characters. In this way, you get to know a different character really well in each part, rather than getting a shallow look at all of them at once.
Continuing the high standard of the previous episodes, the author has produced another highly enjoyable read and I am very eager for the next part.
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
'Fear of Falling' Book Review (4/5)
I received a free copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.
Like Winter Arrives, the first episode in the White Cairns series, Fear of Falling, by Roz Marshall, was well written and enjoyable.
This episode centres on Fiona, one of the instructors at White Cairns Snow School and the tragedy that befalls her on her first day back at work. The story has a decent level of drama and suspense.
At the beginning of Fear of Falling, the reader picks up on clues that Fiona seems to have had a miscarriage and is going back to work after consequently taking some time off. On her first day back, she is in charge of a school group and all seems to be going well with their lessons until a blizzard comes in. Naturally, all the ski groups start to head towards the bottom of their respective mountains but halfway down, Fiona notices that there is a child missing from her group. She bravely endeavours to find her way back up the mountain and search for the absent boy. What happens on the mountain has the potential to change her perspective on and the way she lives her life.
Fear of Falling was absorbing and leaves you wanting more. It allowed greater insight into the characters than Winter Arrives and you really start to get to know them and their quirks.
I do have one criticism. The reader is often bounced around between the different characters immediate situations. On the one hand, this is nice as it gives you an overview of everything that is happening at the same time, rather than reading about a long period of time and then being sent a few hours into the past. On the other hand, however, I felt that sometimes too short a period of time was spent with each situation and being moved around so much made the narrative somewhat jerky. On occasion, you’d be transported to another scene while something was still happening in the scene you were in. This shift provided an element of suspense, but the moment didn’t seem like it called for suspense.
With the exception of that (which, in fairness, is probably mostly to do with personal preference), I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next episode.
Like Winter Arrives, the first episode in the White Cairns series, Fear of Falling, by Roz Marshall, was well written and enjoyable.
This episode centres on Fiona, one of the instructors at White Cairns Snow School and the tragedy that befalls her on her first day back at work. The story has a decent level of drama and suspense.
At the beginning of Fear of Falling, the reader picks up on clues that Fiona seems to have had a miscarriage and is going back to work after consequently taking some time off. On her first day back, she is in charge of a school group and all seems to be going well with their lessons until a blizzard comes in. Naturally, all the ski groups start to head towards the bottom of their respective mountains but halfway down, Fiona notices that there is a child missing from her group. She bravely endeavours to find her way back up the mountain and search for the absent boy. What happens on the mountain has the potential to change her perspective on and the way she lives her life.
Fear of Falling was absorbing and leaves you wanting more. It allowed greater insight into the characters than Winter Arrives and you really start to get to know them and their quirks.
I do have one criticism. The reader is often bounced around between the different characters immediate situations. On the one hand, this is nice as it gives you an overview of everything that is happening at the same time, rather than reading about a long period of time and then being sent a few hours into the past. On the other hand, however, I felt that sometimes too short a period of time was spent with each situation and being moved around so much made the narrative somewhat jerky. On occasion, you’d be transported to another scene while something was still happening in the scene you were in. This shift provided an element of suspense, but the moment didn’t seem like it called for suspense.
With the exception of that (which, in fairness, is probably mostly to do with personal preference), I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next episode.
2014 Book Resolutions
I'm not much one for New Year's Resolutions (mostly because I always make them and never achieve them), but I'm a huge fan of LittleBookOwl on YouTube and this video inspired me to also make some book resolutions for this year as, if they're book-related, I may actually be inspired to do them.
Read 70 books in total
Read 10 classics
Read 10 fantasy novels
Read 5 YA novels
Read 2 biographies
You can add me on Goodreads to see my progress.
Keep reading ;)
Kelly
Read 70 books in total
Read 10 classics
Read 10 fantasy novels
Read 5 YA novels
Read 2 biographies
You can add me on Goodreads to see my progress.
Keep reading ;)
Kelly
Introducing Me
Hi guys!
As you can tell from my the URL, I'm Kelly. I'm 17; I live in South Africa and I'm Roman Catholic.
I love books, films, writing, making art, crafting, taking photos and being around my favourite people. Also cats. I'm slightly addicted to coffee and most of all, I love Jesus.
Introduction blog posts are always super awkward to write, so I'm going to leave it at that. You'll get to know me better by reading my posts! :)
Kelly
As you can tell from my the URL, I'm Kelly. I'm 17; I live in South Africa and I'm Roman Catholic.
I love books, films, writing, making art, crafting, taking photos and being around my favourite people. Also cats. I'm slightly addicted to coffee and most of all, I love Jesus.
Introduction blog posts are always super awkward to write, so I'm going to leave it at that. You'll get to know me better by reading my posts! :)
Kelly
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