Monday 1 October 2018

September Book Reviews


Recap: A social services department in the US is put under the microscope.

Review: At times this book is a damning commentary on social workers and the foster care system but it's also a love story between two highly stressed civil servants. The book is written in snippets so you follow one particular character or storyline for a short while until the latter part of the book where we focus on the love aspect. The stories highlighted about the foster care system are sad to read because this really is the teeny tiny tip of a huge iceberg.






Recap: Ben Garston is the last dragon, a remnant, bound by an ancient pact. But now the pact is broken which can only mean thing. There is another.

Review: A mash-up of old medieval dragon tales, Egyptian mythology and African folklore. But an unlikeable main character meant I didn't really care and knowing he could instantly heal made all the torture and injuries rather moot. I wish there had been more Rose, now she was a character! That said, I'll probably read the next one if only to find out about the... well, that's a spoiler!





Recap: Liara and Nagarath search for Khariton's Mirror, a fabled device capable of great power. They must stop Anisthe from regaining his magic and prevent the mirror from falling into the wrong hands.

Review: It's really 3.5 stars because there were parts of this book that had my heart racing, reading as fast as I could to see what happened next. But there was also a great deal of inner monologue soul searching and slow plot unravelling which while not necessarily a bad thing detracted from the pacey parts of the book for me. I am furious with Nagarath so obviously, I'm going to read the third book.






Recap: Rosie Strange & Essex Witch Museum curator Sam are embroiled in another local mystery, this time with connections to Rosie's own past.

Review: 3.5 stars I enjoyed reading the character of Rosie and I loved the inner monologue she had when she was trying to be clever etc but I was dismayed to discover she has got no further in her will they won't they relationship with Sam. I've read book one but hadn't got round to book two before book three fell into my lap and I should've because I was definitely missing some key information. That said, the twists and turns in this book kept me guessing up until the end. The thing is, I want to visit the Essex Witch Museum, despite the fact it doesn't exist so I shall definitely be going back for book two and checking out book four! They'd better kiss by then!!!



Recap: Lori Belkin comes home from holiday to discover her parents have moved, she's on her own. She may be 25 but Lori has zero life experience and staggers from one disaster to the next.

Review: What a mad book. Highly amusing but completely mad. Lori really is a special little snowflake but she does make some great points at the end of the book about her generation. I loved Lori's outlook on life and how she responds to everything in a literal sense. Her escapades were hilarious whilst tinged with some sadness. At times she seems too childlike to deal with the adult themes happening around her. The comment on the literary Zeus effect and then using said effect was brilliant. Everything ran away from the authors but they still managed to tie it all up with a neat bow at the end.




Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.














No comments:

Post a Comment