Hi, everyone! Welcome!
Today I’d like to share reviews of an eclectic group of books I’ve read lately. I’ve enjoyed reading since I was a child, and I have my favorite “go to” genres, but through the years, I’ve diversified my reading. I figured life as a whole has romance, horror, suspense, thrilling events . . . and reading different genres gives me insight into all aspects of life. With this knowledge, I can ground my fiction in reality and also add an extra layer to my stories.
My first review is of a children’s book titled Oskar’s Quest by Annika Perry. You can get a copy of it here.
BLURB:
Oskar is afraid of adventures. Yet one day he finds himself on a mysterious island which needs his help. Join Oskar on this unexpected and magnificent quest, where he finds not only courage but so much more. Perfect for ages 3 to 6.
MY REVIEW:
What a lovely picture book! This marvelous children’s book is filled with beautiful and colorful illustrations and is a riveting story.
Oskar is an adorable little bird that was frequently afraid. The other birds often teased him calling him “Scaredy-bird.” One day, he got lost on his way home and landed on a beautiful flower on an enchanted island. The flower cried in sorrow because the island’s most exquisite songbird, Maya, had been kidnapped by an enormous, ominous cloud. Although Oskar felt fear, he decided he would rescue Maya, anyway.
In the end, Oskar conquered his fears, rescued Maya, and befriended the scary cloud. I loved this sweet, compelling story, and the amazing illustrations added to my joy.
I recommend this book to parents who want their kids to learn to triumph over their fears, feel for others, and make new friends.
I wrote the next review for Book 4 of author Yvette M. Calleiro‘s Chronicles of the Diasodz series. There are five books in the series and including this one I’ve read four of the five. I’ve enjoyed each book more than the last. You can check out all five books here.
BLURB:
Rafe has successfully rescued Sofia from his enemies and has brought her home. He is excited about Sofia meeting their father and joining the Raizyns in their fight against the Diasodz. Unfortunately, bringing Sofia home does not have the effect he had hoped for. In the process of trying to bring his family together, he may have discovered a reason to tear them apart.
When Sofia awakens, she discovers that her life has been uprooted once again, and this time she is in more danger than she has ever been. Sofia’s only focus is on finding a way to escape and get back to Ar’ch, but leaving Rafe becomes more difficult when she realizes that not everything is as it seems.
Damiana is furious when she learns that her daughter has been brought home. Her plans to use Sofia as a secret weapon within the Diasodz compound is destroyed with Rafe’s meddling. Despite the setback, Damiana knows that she still has the upper hand, but her control is tested when even more secrets are exposed.
Each of them believes that she/he knows who the true savior of their people is, but when the truth is revealed, how will they handle it? And whose side will the savior support? The stakes have never been higher for the Raizyns, and Damiana plans to make sure that the savior is on their side no matter what it takes.
MY REVIEW:
The One Revealedis the fourth installment of author Yvette M. Calleiro’s Chronicles of the Diasodz. I’ve read the last three books in the series and enjoyed them very much, but this book is my favorite so far.
In this story, Rafe rescues his half-sister, Sophia, from the Diasodz. He thought he was doing something great only to find out that Sophia resented him for taking her away from the people she loved. Frustrated and confused, Rafe continued to try to convince his sister that she was where she ought to be—with her true family. Meanwhile, while Ar’ch and Angel search desperately for Sophia, Drake was changed by the love he has for his children and became more and more in opposition with the queen of the demons while Mel was trying all measures to save her mother from the diabolical Damiana.
I enjoyed the narratives from both the Diasodz’s and Raizyns’s viewpoints. The character development was superb and revealed much about the main characters. There are many secrets, twists, and truths exposed. The book was filled with so much action and intrigue it was hard to put down.
I would have gladly given this book a five-star rating, but there were too many typos to ignore, which surprised me because the other books in the series did not. That being said, it was still an engaging read, and my favorite book in the series so far. I can’t wait to read book five, The One Awakened.
The last book review I wrote was for a book by award-winning horror writer Ken Stark. This is the first book in his Zombie Apocalypse Series. I’m looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy. You can check out his books here.
BLURB:
Blindness is just the beginning.
Once the virus strips away everything remotely human, all that’s left is a mindless, savage predator.
Finalist, Fiction Horror – 2018 International Book Awards
Bronze Medal, Fiction Horror – 2017 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards
Official Selection: Horror – 2018 New Apple Summer E-Book Awards
From multi-award-winning, horror writer, Ken Stark, comes a pulse-pounding, post-apocalyptic zombie novel that will keep you pumped up until the very last page. For fans of World War Z, The Last of Us, and The Walking Dead.
MY REVIEW:
I’m a huge fan of the horror genre. I especially enjoy character driven zombie stories like this one.
The story begins with the main character, Hank Mason (aka Mace), on his flight home from what should have been a couple’s retreat, but instead, he was on his own. He had one too many scotches to get over being dumped and passed out. He woke up with a terrible headache and a sense that things were not right. The big guy in the seat next to him was sobbing, and many of the passengers were yelling and fighting. Eventually, he found out that sometime during the flight while he was asleep, everyone on the plane had lost their sight, including the flight attendants and pilots.
When one of the flight attendants realized that he was the only person on the plane that wasn’t blind, she took him to the cockpit, and with direction from the blind pilots, he lands the plane safely.
Mason was suffering from a terrible hangover and decides to sit at a bar at the airport terminal. From where he sat, he could see the passengers from his flight exhibiting some strange behavior. He watched the big guy who sat next to him on the flight bite someone trying to help him. Disgusted by what he had witnessed but not really thinking much about it, he goes home.
When Mason arrives home, he continued drinking, deciding to vegetate at home for a few days. When he finally leaves his apartment—a week later—he finds the world in chaos. The city was overrun by crazed, flesh-eating creatures that were once regular people. These creatures were blind but had a heightened sense of hearing.
When Mason tries to escape the city, he runs across a ten-year-old girl named Mackenzie. She was blind, and he watched her groping the walls of a building while moving as silently as a guppy with a group of crazies following a few feet behind. He knew it would not be long before she made a little more noise, and the monsters would hear her and attack. Mason couldn’t leave her behind and rescued her, taking her under his wing from that moment on, even knowing that she was blind and might soon turn into one of them. The little girl, whom he called Mack, was searching for her aunt. Mason didn’t think it was likely that her aunt had survived out in the open by herself but decided to delay his escape out of the city to look for the girl’s aunt at the hospital where she worked. Mack and Mace developed a strong bond very quickly. They helped each other as they navigated through the city.
Ken Stark is an undeniably skillful writer, and I enjoyed the story. That being said, this was 200+ high-velocity pages of nonstop chase, fighting, near deaths, attacks . . . . It was at times exhausting for me. I could have used a little breather between some of the action, and more downtime where we could have seen Mace and Mackenzie’s relationship develop into what it became. Also, the last quarter of the book felt rushed. The ending left me wanting more, too. Despite these things, I did enjoy the book and look forward to reading more books by this author.
I recommend this book to fans of horror and zombies who enjoy a scary story that whizzes along.
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