This Week On The Blog!

As you may have noticed, I did not post a "This Week's Reads" and I'm also not posting a review. My reason for that is that I'm leaving today for a short trip to...

....Paris!

I'm so excited, and nervous- as is natural during travel. However, this trip has put a small obstacle on my reading and posting schedule. I posted this week's video (My first tag video since 2011!) yesterday on my Youtube channel, and I will be back with next Wednesday's review over "Animals Make Us Human".

All that being said, I will perhaps write a few posts about my trip when I return, and I hope everyone has a lovely and safe week!

Book Review | "The Second Lives of Honest Men" by John R. Cameron

This week's review is also coming a day late due to a busy schedule, but it's here! My review over "The Second Lives of Honest Men."!
As you guys probably know by now, I'll start this off by giving you the Goodread's description:

On the evening of April 14th, 1865, a flawless duplicate replaced the 16th President an instant prior to his assassination. Two centuries later, Honest Abe opened his eyes to a world in desperate need of guidance.
THE SECOND LIVES OF HONEST MEN is a prescient vision of where society's dependence on technology could be taking us. It's a character driven story about love, redemption, and hope, with deep philosophical underpinnings related to how we think, feel, and reason in a world where it's ironically easy to feel disconnected.

I was sent an e-pub copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review. There is also currently a giveaway posted on Goodreads for a paperback copy that ends March 25.

This book is a dystopian, character driven plot that aims to look at the future of social media and what our constant reliance on technology could do to humanity in the future. 
Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure how I would feel about the book going into it, but I'm glad I read it! Sure, there were a few details that I had problems with: Jacob is in arguably too excellent of health considering his age, the antagonists' personalities are all over the place- bordering on bipolar at times. The points of view could sometimes switch in a way that- with the epub at least- it was sometimes difficult to keep up, making the story seem chaotic for a bit. The timelines were a little off- Jacob and Bryce speak as if they've known each other longer than they have...as well as Bryce and Julia for that matter. While Briana- while completely dependent on tech. seemed a little overdone in her mental underdevelopment. Finally, Abraham seemed to take the shocking news of his new life very well- perhaps too well considering what a change it was.
All of those things were minor details that I noted kept the book from being perfect, but I think the author did a good job regardless of those little things- that I picked up on because I was reading the book with a critic's eye. Unlike some other books, the plot kept me intrigued enough that those little issues didn't bother me at all. The characters as well, I had some problems with them, but I still cared about them. 
I think the book gives a lot of insight into a very possible potential future by taking some elements of the past to compare the two almost extremes. 
I gave the book three stars on Goodreads, but I think it deserves a 3.5. What kept it from being four stars was purely the fact that I was so interested, and the world was so vast that I would have loved for the book to be longer! To see a little more development in how the world came to be the way it was in the story, to see the characters together more....I think the book easily could have been at least fifty pages longer without dragging on. I think out of everything, that is my main critique: I wished there had been more!
I definitely recommend the book and will be interested to see what other stories the author comes up with!

This Week's Reads!

I'm writing this between studying and reading, so I'll make it quick!
This week, I plan on finishing the last 30 pages or so of "Animal's Make Us Human" by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson. After that, I'll start in on "Losing It"- which I just got from the Book Depository this past week and have been itching to read it!
In other quick news, if you read my "Marked Anthology" review, or if you've been following my Youtube channel for a while, you know that I'm a fan of Kit Rocha's (adult) "Beyond" series- And the fourth book in that series, "Beyond Jealousy", just released today as an ebook! Personally, I'll be waiting until it comes out in print-but it's still exciting and I couldn't help but share the news!

Be sure to come back Thursday to check out my review of "The Second Lives of Honest Men" by John R. Cameron!

Review Wednesday- Thursday Edition! | "Fog of War" by Ethan Jones

This week's review is a day late, so I'll just get right into the review. The author sent me an ebook for review after I had entered the Goodreads giveaway for it which has ended.
As always, here's the Goodreads description:

When an Iranian nuclear scientist wants to defect, Canadian Intelligence Service sends in its best agent, Justin Hall. After his mission is compromised and Justin barely escapes northern Iran with his life, he sets out to discover who has put him and the Service in grave danger.

CIA information about a traitor in the Service sends Justin into violence-soaked Somalia, where he quickly becomes ensnared in a web of lies and deceit. He's left with no choice but to go rogue and form an alliance with Romanov, a sinister Russian oil baron.

Cut off from the Service, Justin is forced to navigate through ever-shifting alliances and survive deep inside a Yemeni terrorist stronghold. All the while, he's being hunted by a traitor.

This tour-de-force spy thriller is the hottest page-turner of the summer. New and old fans alike will love this new suspenseful novel in the Justin Hall series.

"Fog of War" is technically book three in a series about the Canadian Intelligence Service agent Justin Hall, however, it's not entirely necessary to read the other books before you read this one. Like other spy/agent plot lines, there isn't one singular plot line that makes it crucial to read the story from the beginning, but it may help to do so- if nothing else, to get to know the characters better. I haven't read the other books in the series, so I don't know if this book did a good job of rehashing Justin as a character, or his relationships etc.or if they were more glossed over because this is the third storyline he's starring in.
For that alone, I would recommend reading this series from the beginning, because I didn't find myself caring about him as a character.
The narration of the story tended to be a little confusing, at least in the beginning. It was a third person P.O.V., but I would find myself not knowing which character I was following at certain times.
Really though, the main problem I find even looking back through my notes are mostly character related. Justin's personality was all over the place, but it didn't seem to follow any sort of believable pattern. He's the tough as nails agent, but wait- he's also a loving fiance`, oh and he's very very close to Nathan, his partner. So much so, that they're finishing each others sentences as if they were the Sherlock and Watson of war. But wait, Nathan isn't is actual partner, Carrie is- and they're also close, so close that when she shows up, Nathan is practically in-existent. Not to mention the weird charges of sexual tension I was feeling between Justin and Carrie that I really found were unnecessary.
None of the relationships really felt authentic to me. Not even the main character and his girlfriend, Anna. In fact, the only relationship I actually started to believe was Nathan and Justin's dynamic- and possibly because it was a little too overdone. However, like I said- that duo stops existing as soon as Carrie shows up in the story.
The plot was character heavy, which as a series, probably works- just like the relationships in the story are probably more solid and realistic in the other books as well- but as a singular book, people were coming and going before you could really tell who was who. It was all sort of done chaotically. Top that with some line edits that I found which could have used a little polishing up (though I'm nit-picking there)- it didn't make me excited about the storyline and doesn't make me want to read the rest of the books.

Now, I see why some people like this book. I really do, it's a "shoot-em up" in book format. I admit, that's not my type of story- so I was focusing more on the relationship building, the personal changes and conflict within the characters. Doing that, I found the story lacking.
Do I recommend this book? Sure- if you want a really light read or a war/secret agent sort of story in book form. Or if you've read the other books int he series. However, if you're looking for a character driven story with intriguing and complex personality building- and this would be your first book by the author, I would maybe give it some second thought.

This Week's Reads!

Okay, so the books I mentioned I was waiting for in last Monday's post arrived, but I decided to finish "Alice in Zombieland" anyway. I gave it three stars, and I'll be doing a full video review in the near future if you want to hear my full thoughts on the book.
Other than that, I literally finished the e-book I had planned on finishing this past week- "The Second Lives of Honest Men" a few minutes before I started in on this post and quite enjoyed it! So be sure to check out my full review for that next Wednesday.
Now, because I just finished the e-book I was planning on continuing this week as well, I'll let this be short and let you guys know the physical book I'm planning on reading which is- drum roll.....
"Animals Make Us Human" by Temple Grandin. It's a non-fiction almost reference book, so it is a little slow, but I was recommended the book and over-all am enjoying it for what it is.

My review over "Fog of War" by Ethan Jones will be posted this Wednesday, and happy reading!

Review Wednesday| "Mysteries in the Locket" (Rise of Oliria #1) by K.D. Williams

This week I'm reviewing K.D. Williams' "Mysteries in the Locket", which the author sent me digitally in exchange for a review. In addition to the review here on the blog, I'll also be talking a bit about the book in my February Wrap-Up which should be up this Friday.

As always, before I get into my thoughts, here's the book's Goodreads description:

21 year old Jinalie has a few challenges she cannot handle alone. No day is ever a bore between almost getting killed by and eighteen wheeler truck to trying to be the perfect queen for her country. The biggest of her problems is realizing she’s in love with both, Matthew her formal language teacher and Eli an ex con who tried to kill her and take the throne. Jinalie can keep her country and life protect, by discovering the secrets of her deceased mothers locket, but not without betraying at least one of her  lovers. In the process she’ll discover who she truly is and why only she can rule the country to success.

Okay, I'll be honest, I was a little hesitant going into this book. The description sounded interesting, but at the same time...I was unsure as to the genre and what to expect, but the reviews on Goodreads were good, so I figured I would check it out.
Now...I think this book had potential, a lot of potential, and if you can look past a lot of line edit issues, you'll probably enjoy it! However, I had a lot of issues with the book.

Right off the bat, the relationships between characters were confusing. Jinalie's relationship with her father didn't have a clear dynamic, and neither did her relationship with anyone else- Matthew and Eli included. Part of this, I think, had to do with unnatural dialogue that made everything seem forced. I didn't believe the characters' emotions. The antagonists were written in a way that made them just seem like unstable children, which might have been the point, but irked me a little. A lot of the world and society building was dispersed throughout the story in an awkward sort of way that took away from the plot some and made those details seem like after thoughts. Like they were thrown in to explain away something.
The government is supposedly a monarchy, but there are elements that lead to confusion as to how the country is actually ruled, and characters such as Emily- who very clearly could have been charged with treason- aren't handled at all. Eli's whole storyline was slow to me and confusing. I didn't know what was going on with his character internally until halfway through the story, but then it seemed like his story was tripping over itself to make up for that....and why on earth would he be one of Jinalie's advisers so soon after meeting him?
The reason behind the conflict in the story was drowning in metaphorical meaning that seemed a bit like overkill and really sort of put me off to the villain...but not for the reason I was supposed to be.
Jinalie seemed ignorant as a character. This is really only a huge problem for me because it's written over and over that she has been preparing to be queen for years, yet she doesn't even know where Matthew was being kept- a fact that should be made clear to the ruler of a country.
Other problems I had were mostly technical- there were some grammatical errors that had been looked over, Eli kept being described...or there were specific instances where things either didn't make sense of the plot stumbled.

Over all...I didn't really enjoy this book and had to force myself to keep from skimming. That being said- I tend to notice and be stopped by details if I'm not in love with anything in the story. That's the case here. I liked the storyline, but I definitely wasn't so enthralled by it that I could look past all the little things that others potentially could look past. I don't exactly recommend it, but if you get the chance to read it, or if it's available on sale or for a promotional free download- then there's no harm checking it out.

This Week's Reads!

Last week I finished both books I had planned to read! Now, I'll be reviewing "Grave Mercy" on my youtube channel, but "Fog of War" will be reviewed here on the blog next week, so look forward to that!

This week is a little different as far as what I'm reading.
 I plan on making a dent in "The Second Lives of Honest Men" by John R. Cameron who was kind enough to send me a digital copy of his book in exchange for a review. For those of you interested, there is currently a giveaway posted on Goodreads for the book that ends March 25.
I am also currently reading Gena Showalter's "Alice in Zombieland", however I really haven't been very excited by the book. I'm reading it for now but will most likely take a break from it when the two books I recently ordered come in. 

Be sure to come back Wednesday for a new book review over K. D. Williams' "Mysteries in the Locket" and Happy Reading!