Tag: Book Review

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Double Wide by Leo W. Banks

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers*

After fastball phenom Prospero Stark’s baseball career craters in a Mexican jail, he retreats to a trailer park in the scorching Arizona desert. He lives in peaceful anonymity with a collection of colorful outcasts until someone leaves his former catcher’s severed hand on his doorstep. Beautiful, hard-living reporter Roxanne Santa Cruz, who keeps a .380 Colt and a bottle of Chivas in her car, joins Stark to help him uncover his friend’s fate, a dangerous pursuit that pits them against a ruthless gang of drug-dealing killers.

This novel caught my eye because of the cover art. The imagery of the parched, Arizona desert with the lone camper trailer gave me the impression of a modern-day western.

I found Double Wide to be an entertaining read. Prospero just wanted to disappear from the spotlight after being caught with his best friend who had some cocaine, on top of him losing his throwing arm. However, when the disembodied hand appears, it throws Prospero back into the spotlight as he tries to solve his friend’s murder.

I liked how Prospero ran his own trailer park, and how all of his neighbors called him “Mayor”. I found all of his neighbors to be enjoyable and likable in their own ways. Especially how Prospero would give them rides into town when they needed to go to their jobs. It just shows that Prospero cares about his tenants.

I found Roxanne to be a little annoying, I felt like she was manipulating Prospero to do things that might be considered unethical. Like showing up on the doorstep of the hottest baseball manager in town in the middle of the night. Even though it was all for a good cause, I didn’t like how Roxanne was controlling the narrative when she was involved.

I enjoy baseball from time to time, and I thought a sports-related mystery made this novel and intriguing read! Even if you’re not familiar as the sport, the rules and techniques are explained in a way where anyone could understand what was going on.

If you’re looking for a mystery novel that combines the love of baseball with the struggles of drug cartels along the Mexican border; this is the book for you!

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Rise Again (Rise Again #1) by Ben Tripp

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers*

Forest Peak, California. Fourth of July. Sheriff Danielle Adelman, a troubled war veteran, thinks she has all the problems she can handle in this all-American town after her kid sister runs away from home. But when a disease-stricken horde of panicked refugees fleeing the fall of Los Angeles swarms her small mountain community, Danny realizes her problems have only just begun – starting with what might very well be the end of the world.

Danny thought she had seen humanity at its worst in war-torn Iraq, but nothing could prepare her for the remorseless struggle to survive in a dying world being overrun by the reanimated dead and men turned monster. Obsessed with finding her missing sister against all odds, Danny’s epic and dangerous journey across the California desert will challenge her spirit . . . and bring her to the precipice of sanity itself. . . .

I thought I’d make a return to the zombie subgenre after a hiatus. This novel definitely satisfied my craving for a good zombie apocalypse. There’s action, suspense, violence, and plenty of blood and gore.

My major complaint with this novel was I felt like there were too many survivors that the author focused on. I found it difficult keeping track of who’s who and what motivates them.

I did like how the author made the protagonist a female veteran. Even with what she’s seen during her service and the injuries she’s suffered from, she was still able to feel fear and confusion throughout the novel. I felt this made her more likable and relatable.

My favorite character was Amy, the local veterinarian. Even though she worked on animals before the apocalypse, she was still able to help fellow survivors and give first aid when needed. She slowly gained the ability to lead the others after Danny goes alone to look for her sister.

When Danny goes rogue from her group to go look for her sister, the finality of the apocalypse sets in really strong during this time. Towns abandoned, littered with corpses and abandoned cars. It also foreshadows the coming conflicts between various groups of survivors. You can feel the tension as Danny is on her selfish mission.

I enjoyed this novel, and I am highly interested in reading the next one in the series. I would also recommend this for lovers of female protagonists, zombie apocalypse, and science fiction.

 

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Sherlock Holmes’ Rediscovered Railway Mysteries: Four Original Short Stories by John Taylor

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers*

In a drawer in his bureau, Dr. Watson keeps a locked cedarwood chest – a ‘box of secrets’. It contains an archive of notes referring to some of Holmes’ cases that, for one reason or another, never saw the light of day. Now, for the first time, Watson has decided to reveal the truth to the world… In these four thrilling stories, Holmes experiments with the science of ballistics; locate some missing gold bullion; investigates the theft of a large amount of money and solves the baffling mystery of the Stovey murder.

Inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories, John Taylor has written four more mysteries featuring the world’s greatest detective. Read by acclaimed actor Benedict Cumberbatch, these new adventures share all the suspense of the original tales.

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I originally discovered this audiobook in an Audible Ad. I am a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch and his portrayal of the famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. So I was lucky my library had it available and I was able to listen to it for free.

I could tell that the author was a huge fan of Author Conan Doyle’s original works. These felt like they were written with love and care.

My favorite story is the story about the missing gold bullion. I felt this case was the easiest to follow and understand Sherlock’s logic. Sometimes, I felt like I know who the bad guy is and how he pulled this off! However, as always, Sherlock adds a twist and makes the crime even more clever.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s narration was awesome and entertaining to listen to. He gave each suspect their own unique voice so it made it easy to follow along. His narration made me want to go back and rewatch his Sherlock Holmes run on the BBC.

Overall, this audiobook was a nice discovery, and I enjoyed listening to all of the stories. I would highly recommend this for lovers of Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch, and classic mystery novels.

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: As Long As We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney

Posted on by elishasbookreview
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*No Spoilers*

“My wife! I think she’s dead!” Matt frantically tells park rangers that he and his wife, Marie, were hiking when she fell off a cliff into the raging river below. They start a search, but they aren’t hopeful: no one could have survived that fall. It was a tragic accident.

But Matt’s first wife also died in suspicious circumstances. And when the police pull a body out of the river, they have a lot more questions for Matt.

Detectives Loren and Spengler want to know if Matt is a grieving, twice-unlucky husband or a cold-blooded murderer. They dig into the couple’s lives to see what they can unearth. And they find that love’s got teeth, it’s got claws, and once it hitches you to a person, it’s tough to rip yourself free.

So what happens when you’re done making it work?

I am a fan of crime and mystery novels as well as true crime documentaries. When the spouse gets murdered, it’s usually their “dearly beloved” who committed the crime. So this novel caught my interest from the start.

This is told from a vulgar, and negative perspective of how a marriage can be. I was shocked by how vile some of the language is. So if you are sensitive to that kind of thing, you might want to give this one a pass.

Despite the language, I found this novel to be thrilling and hooked me from the first chapter. What happens when the wife comes home early from work and finds her husband in bed with the secretary? Anything can happen.

I felt this novel was put together well. It took logical leaps and bounds, “things aren’t what you think they are”. I found the plot twists weren’t too illogical or bewildering.

The ending was neatly wrapped up, and there weren’t any loose plot threads. I enjoy a novel that’s well written and wrapped up nice and neat.

I would recommend this novel to lovers of crime, mystery, and hard-boiled detective novels. I enjoyed this audiobook and think that you will enjoy it as well!

Posted in Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Press F5 to Load Game by LeVar Ravel

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers*

All the State House gossips go abuzz when an influential senator forms an alliance with Rep. Frannie Upwood, the capital’s most famous underachiever and the favorite butt of jokes. Why his sudden interest in such a lightweight politician?

It’s up to Lars Uxbridge, the senator’s disloyal staffer, to find out after he joins a network of political spies. What Lars discovers is a secret far beyond anything other state reps can muster. To get ahead in politics, Frannie’s got something better than snappy slogans, wealthy donors, and door-to-door volunteers.

She’s got a time machine.

Frannie shows that when you’re armed with time travel, you’re the star athlete in a game where the world is your playing field, you make your own rules, and you always beat the shot clock.

But as Frannie will learn, this game has opponents to contend with. Rivals who might not play fair. When the prizes are enormous power, money, and control of time itself, watch out for cheat moves and low blows…

This novel was offered to me through the BookSends ARC Program. This novel caught my attention because I thought the concept of mixing time travel and politics sounded interesting.

I was expecting a story like other time travel media, such as Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Doctor Who, and Back to the Future where the main characters have a vehicle that they use for their time traveling hijinks. This took a different spin on the whole time travel subgenre. Frannie uses a clunky bracelet-type contraption with the buttons “F8” and “F5”.

As Frannie explains, F8 is to make a “quicksave” and F5 is to “reload the previous save”. So if she wanted to she could get government secrets and not live through the consequences. As soon as she goes back to her previous save, her crimes will cease to exist.

If I had to put percentages to the content, it’s 80% politics and 20% time travel hijinks. If you are fans of political thrillers, this is the novel for you.

“A good game amuses us. Even better ones create characters we can believe in, with compelling goals and treacherous obsticles. The best games of all integrate these factors with an interactive challenge for our brains and reflexes. A mix powerful enough to transplant us into a whole new world where we can role-play to our heart’s content. The kind of thing that used to be the stuff of dreams” – Frannie Upwood

I felt like the ending was rushed. When the “big reveal” happened, I felt like the ending got ridiculous. It read like the author just started throwing things at the reader in hope of sounding “plot-twisty”. I felt like I was cheated out of a good conclusion, and I wish the ending could’ve been better.

However, I felt like the characters were well developed and I could relate to them on various levels. Lars and Frannie’s relationship throughout this novel is intriguing. Lars stumbling upon Frannie’s big secret, and whether Frannie is just over-trusting or whether she knows more than she’s letting on.

All in all, I would highly recommend this novel for lovers of political thrillers, time travel, and science fiction in general.

Buy “Press F5 to Load Game” HERE