Category: Personal Blogs

This will be my Personal Blogs section where I talk about life in general and maybe some upcoming stuff.

Posted in Bite-Sized Reviews, Book Reviews, Discussions, Personal Blogs, Rapid Reviews

2022 in Review

Posted on by elishasbookreview
Photo by ready made on Pexels.com

I don’t know if anyone else had a rough year, but for me and my household, it was a rough year. We had to kick out a roommate who had been causing a lot of headache and trouble. I was out of work, and we struggled up until I finally got hired back to a company I’ve worked for previously,

Now enough of real world stuff, let’s get into some book stats!

Overall of 2022, I read 82 books! That broke my record of any count of most read books per year! All the way back in 2018 I read 72 books. So I’m looking forward to destroying this goal in the coming year!

Now, let’s talk about top books/series I read this year. I kind of hit a hard dry spell in the last few months when it came to posting a reviewing books. However, I plan on coming to 2023 in full force! At least, that’s the goal anyway. So now for the favorites list!

  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldtree- This was a cute and fun adventure that didn’t involve fighting dragons, or chasing after a mad wizard. The most difficult thing they do is start a café in a town that didn’t know what coffee was.
  • Doctor Who: Scratchman by Tom Baker and James Goss- I would recommend this Doctor Who spinoff for both Classic and New Doctor Who. When the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry land on a strange farm, and things aren’t quite right, it’s up to The Doctor and his companions to get down to the truth.
  • The Last One by Alexandra Oliva- I found this on a recommendation list for survival stories. This one sounded unique so I decided to check it out, and even though it might be as gruesome as The Troop by Nick Cutter, I still think about this book from time to time. This a fantastic take on survival horror that doesn’t depend on gruesome details to keep you on the edge of your seat. All you need is a girl lost in the woods with broken glasses, and there’s your intro into The Last One.
  • Sakamoto Days Vol 1-4 by Yuto Suzuki- Now, I will admit this isn’t a new trope we’ve seen in manga. Way of the Househusband is the first to come to mind that uses this trope. However, what makes Sakamoto Days different is how Mr. Sakamoto got fat after retiring from the assassin world. However, even though we weighs an extra 100 pounds or so, he still knows how to kick butt like nobody’s business! This series is full of heart and humor, so this comes as a high recommendation for manga fans.
  • Rooster Fighter Vol 1-2 by Shu Sakuratani- I found this manga series from browsing Amazon, and it has quickly become one of my favorites manga series this year. It’s about a lone rooster who’s fighting kaiju not only to save the humans in harm’s way, but to seek out the kaiju that killed his sister. He makes friends along the way, and whether he admits or not he appreciates his friends dearly. Volume 3 is coming out next month and I’m hoping to read it as soon as it comes out! This series is funny and action packed.

That’s my favorite reads of 2022 in no particular order, of course out of all the books I read last year I struggled with picking just five books/series. Let’s hope 2023 is filled with more to read other than just graphic novels.

Hope you had a safe and fun celebration, here’s to 2023!

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Posted in Personal Blogs

UPDATE: Slowing Down, and Taking it Easy

Posted on by elishasbookreview
Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com

I know I haven’t posted a blog update in quite awhile. I have been dealing with a lot of mental health as well as physical health issues.

I have discovered recently that it’s easier for me to write a review when I feel like I have something to say about a book. Sometimes, even my rapid reviews feels dry and tasteless.

There’s a lot of books out there that are “I like this, I can’t explain why, but please read it”. Not that there’s anything bad or wrong with that. I just struggle finding the words to talk about the books I read sometimes.

So, from now on, or until I start feeling better, I’m only going to post a review when I feel like I have something to say about the book. Maybe, I can do a monthly wrap-up of the books that I can’t do a full review for and give tiny reviews. I kind of do that on my Instagram sometimes. An example below.

So, for now that’s the plan. I’m going to be taking it easy and try and gather myself so I can return to better writing. Until next time, keep browsing the library!

Posted in Personal Blogs

Gaming REVIEW: Chicken Police: Paint it Red!

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*This game is rated M* The language used is not suitable for children. Additionally, some scenes might be disturbing to a young audience due to the described violence, visual partial nudity, tobacco and alcohol abuse.

A wild tale of love, death, chickens, and redemption! Chicken Police is a buddy-cop noir adventure with a carefully crafted world, a gritty story, and absurd humor. The game mixes classic adventure games with visual novel-style storytelling, presented in a beak-droppingly unique art style.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I found this on Steam (a website where you can purchase PC games) when the algorithm recommended it for me. I tend to enjoy visual novels, farming simulators, and RPGs (Role Playing Game). So, I added it to my Wishlist and I intended to purchase it when it went on sale. However, my fiancé and I went to our local GameStop to get the new Pokemon game, and even though they didn’t have it in stock, they had a used copy of this game for the Nintendo Switch. So let’s peck out the clues and solve this mystery.

First off, I love Noir mysteries. I know we as a society tend to romanticize that era in history, but something about a jaded private-eye solving a case that quickly devolves into a deep mess is exciting.

A screenshot of Marty MacChicken and Lewis C. Hayworth

Our main characters are Sonny Featherland, a police officer who’s fallen on hard times and was put on sabbatical until his last 100 days of service are up. Sonny’s former partner and best friend, Marty MacChicken is still working for the police department and misses the days of when the whole world knew about the Chicken Police. Marty is the comedian of the duo, and I have some screenshots with some of his more memorable quotes.

One small hang-up I had was with the interrogations. At the beginning of each section, it would tell you ‘[character name] is [character traits] we can use that in our favor and squeeze out the truth.’. It wasn’t until I was about halfway through the game when it finally clicked what the game was conveying. I’m not sure if it was me being sleep-deprived while playing this, or just me missing the hints.

I had to look up some hints to the puzzles. Although most I figured out on my own, there was still one or two that I needed help with. I like it when games have puzzles I can easily solve on my own. Either by giving context clues or just exploring and examining everything in the room.

I loved the characters in this story, they were full of charm and humor. My favorite character was Monica. She works the front desk of the police station and is basically what is holding the place together. She doesn’t put up with anybody’s crap and is willing to help out Sonny and Marty when they needed to bend the rules. Monica ended up being my MVP by the end, I wanted to know more about her and be her friend.

Overall, I enjoyed this game. The mystery was great and even though once they hit a certain clue it was pretty predictable. Nonetheless, the characters, art style, and humor is what sells this game for me. I wish more people new about this game, but it’s okay. I guess I like my games how I like my books, hidden gems.