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sarahthegaymer's Reviews (305)
As the second book that I’ve read in this series of Once Upon A Time Continuations; this is not it for me. Just, nope.
While I understand that it serves a purpose, filling in the gap of time between Season 6 & Season 7, and what happened to Henry and Violet…after reading it I would have been fine just not knowing, too.
It’s written a bit like fan-fiction, which is OK and to be expected. But overall, I felt it was lacking good context. Basically, the moral of the story is Henry is so ‘in love’ with Violet he will blindly follow her into whatever she asks. But Violet pretty much doesn’t feel the same. Or, she might have, at one point.
This follows a school trip to NYC where Henry & Violet once again run away to do their own thing. Throughout the day as they run off on their own, they run into a bunch of problems, and ultimately everything is resolved but they break up. (And now you don’t have to read it.)
Finally, something that personally really, really irritated me was that Regina is HARDLY mentioned and when she is, Henry refers to her TWICE as Regina and not Mom. I’m sorry. But no. I cannot see that happening.
While I understand that it serves a purpose, filling in the gap of time between Season 6 & Season 7, and what happened to Henry and Violet…after reading it I would have been fine just not knowing, too.
It’s written a bit like fan-fiction, which is OK and to be expected. But overall, I felt it was lacking good context. Basically, the moral of the story is Henry is so ‘in love’ with Violet he will blindly follow her into whatever she asks. But Violet pretty much doesn’t feel the same. Or, she might have, at one point.
This follows a school trip to NYC where Henry & Violet once again run away to do their own thing. Throughout the day as they run off on their own, they run into a bunch of problems, and ultimately everything is resolved but they break up. (And now you don’t have to read it.)
Finally, something that personally really, really irritated me was that Regina is HARDLY mentioned and when she is, Henry refers to her TWICE as Regina and not Mom. I’m sorry. But no. I cannot see that happening.
After 29 books; you would think listening to Stephanie Plum getting into trouble would get boring…but it doesn’t!
Another day, another FTA. Another car explosion, abduction, funeral…all the things you know and love!
Follow Stephanie as she’s on the hunt after *two* people close to her get kidnapped, at different times, by the same people. All the while, Stephanie is focusing on her FTA’s..one of which is Grandma Bella!
Follow her as she weaves through relationships with Morelli and Ranger and maybe thinks marriage?
Can’t wait to see what Book 30 has to offer!
Another day, another FTA. Another car explosion, abduction, funeral…all the things you know and love!
Follow Stephanie as she’s on the hunt after *two* people close to her get kidnapped, at different times, by the same people. All the while, Stephanie is focusing on her FTA’s..one of which is Grandma Bella!
Follow her as she weaves through relationships with Morelli and Ranger and maybe thinks marriage?
Can’t wait to see what Book 30 has to offer!
This is the start to a highly anticipated, long overdue, read through of The Sookie Stackhouse Novels. I watched the HBO Series, TrueBlood around two years ago and quickly became obsessed with the show! If I’m being honest, I never really thought I was someone who would be into Vampires and Werewolves, but with this series…it’s just too good and makes sense! Truthfully, the hardest thing about reading this series is trying not to compare it to the show.
In this first book, you get to meet a few of the characters that you’re going to follow along with on the journey of the series. Sookie Stackhouse, a telepath from a small Louisiana town called Bon Temps meets Bill Compton, a vampire that has recently settled in the Bon Temps area, just across the cemetery from Sookie’s and her Grandmother’s house. After a life-threatening event, Bill and Sookie ‘click’ and from there they have a..romance of sorts? Then, tragedy strikes the Bon Temps area and suddenly everyone is on high alert and everyone can’t help but wonder if the vamps are responsible (or maybe Sookie’s brother, Jason). You’ll follow Sookie and Bill in their quest for a relationship that ‘real’ meeting some other vampires and supernatural friends along the way.
I feel like after only reading this first book, I don’t really have much to review or critique. It follows the HBO storyline fairly well, with a few tweaks here and there. The character development is pretty strong, and you get a good feeling who you’re reading about even though everything is through Sookie’s point-of-view.
In this first book, you get to meet a few of the characters that you’re going to follow along with on the journey of the series. Sookie Stackhouse, a telepath from a small Louisiana town called Bon Temps meets Bill Compton, a vampire that has recently settled in the Bon Temps area, just across the cemetery from Sookie’s and her Grandmother’s house. After a life-threatening event, Bill and Sookie ‘click’ and from there they have a..romance of sorts? Then, tragedy strikes the Bon Temps area and suddenly everyone is on high alert and everyone can’t help but wonder if the vamps are responsible (or maybe Sookie’s brother, Jason). You’ll follow Sookie and Bill in their quest for a relationship that ‘real’ meeting some other vampires and supernatural friends along the way.
I feel like after only reading this first book, I don’t really have much to review or critique. It follows the HBO storyline fairly well, with a few tweaks here and there. The character development is pretty strong, and you get a good feeling who you’re reading about even though everything is through Sookie’s point-of-view.
I've waited awhile to write this review because I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to say. This was my book clubs book of choice for the month of November. I went into it without any expectations as I had tried to read Anxious People by the same author and couldn't get into it. I was quickly taken by full blown surprise!
In this story, you'll meet the main character, 7-year old Elsa. Elsa and her Grandmother have an incredibly special bond. Elsa's Grandmother's relationship with everyone else..especially those in the apartment building...well those are a little more complex. The bond between Elsa and her Grandmother even extends to a dream world and a secret language. When her Grandmother passes away; she leaves Elsa a special mission...only no one is really sure what that mission is and how it's going to play out.
Let me tell you. This book wrecked me. I cried for probably a good hour after finishing it. As someone who has a pretty close relationship with my Grandma & who is an older sibling that was just never truly understood..this book hit those heart strings freaking hard!!!
One of the things I enjoyed the most was getting to read the book from Elsa's point of view. There is something about being inside of the mind of a 7-year-old that really makes you slow down and appreciate things at a different level. I also enjoyed getting to meet each of the characters within the apartment complex & see how each of their stories intertwined or how their paths crossed. Each of them had such a special story and a meaningful part in the book. There wasn't a single a minor character that was actually 'minor'. In my opinion, anyways.
The way this portrays the relationship between a grandchild and grandparent is truly unique, as well. That unbreakable bond of unconditional love, getting away with things your parents never did, and having someone that just gets you for exactly who you are without any conditions..it's magical!
One downside to this book, though it was not enough to make me lower my rating; was the dream world chunks. The dream world that has been created by Elsa's Grandmother is mentioned A LOT and in GREAT GREAT DETAIL. It's very repetitive and sometimes I'd find my mind wandering when I was trying to read it. However; as the story wraps itself up; the dream world made much more sense and I feel that had I known that going into the book, I would have taken the time to pay a bit more attention to what I was reading. Again, this was just something personal but doesn't take away from the story in any way.
If you are looking for a book that will make you smile, laugh, be scared, and cry - this is it! I highly recommend it and I am looking forward to giving other titles by this Author a read (& a second chance).
In this story, you'll meet the main character, 7-year old Elsa. Elsa and her Grandmother have an incredibly special bond. Elsa's Grandmother's relationship with everyone else..especially those in the apartment building...well those are a little more complex. The bond between Elsa and her Grandmother even extends to a dream world and a secret language. When her Grandmother passes away; she leaves Elsa a special mission...only no one is really sure what that mission is and how it's going to play out.
Let me tell you. This book wrecked me. I cried for probably a good hour after finishing it. As someone who has a pretty close relationship with my Grandma & who is an older sibling that was just never truly understood..this book hit those heart strings freaking hard!!!
One of the things I enjoyed the most was getting to read the book from Elsa's point of view. There is something about being inside of the mind of a 7-year-old that really makes you slow down and appreciate things at a different level. I also enjoyed getting to meet each of the characters within the apartment complex & see how each of their stories intertwined or how their paths crossed. Each of them had such a special story and a meaningful part in the book. There wasn't a single a minor character that was actually 'minor'. In my opinion, anyways.
The way this portrays the relationship between a grandchild and grandparent is truly unique, as well. That unbreakable bond of unconditional love, getting away with things your parents never did, and having someone that just gets you for exactly who you are without any conditions..it's magical!
One downside to this book, though it was not enough to make me lower my rating; was the dream world chunks. The dream world that has been created by Elsa's Grandmother is mentioned A LOT and in GREAT GREAT DETAIL. It's very repetitive and sometimes I'd find my mind wandering when I was trying to read it. However; as the story wraps itself up; the dream world made much more sense and I feel that had I known that going into the book, I would have taken the time to pay a bit more attention to what I was reading. Again, this was just something personal but doesn't take away from the story in any way.
If you are looking for a book that will make you smile, laugh, be scared, and cry - this is it! I highly recommend it and I am looking forward to giving other titles by this Author a read (& a second chance).
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This was a book that my wife and I chose to read because it was a quick, 6-hour listen via audiobook. (We drive to work together every other week and often try to pick books we can finish/listen to in a week.)
I went into it not knowing anything about it, other than reading the blurb on Libby. Boy! Was I in for a surprise!!
This follows a couple that finds their marriage in a time of turmoil and therefore they make an "arrangement". This arrangement basically says that they each get one night a week where they get a free pass to date others people (read: sleep with). No strings attached, no feelings or anything long terms. If they follow the rules, it should be easy and no one will get hurt and ultimately the goal is to make them come back together and value each other...until the rules are broken and people do get hurt.
I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that I was pleasantly surprised by this one! There were a lot of plot twists that I did not see coming..at all! After reading a lot of thrillers, sometimes it's easier to pick out where a book might be headed or what you think might certain characters may or may not be guilty of. With this one, I was wrong almost every single time!
It's told from both the husband and the wife's perspectives, alternating with each chapter so it's easy to follow. I wasn't a fan of the narrators, however; I didn't let that sway my review and rating of the book - just a heads up for anyone else that might be checking it out on Audio.
The only reason that this didn't receive 5-stars from me is because there were sections that felt a bit slow/choppy and really just unnecessary to the story - but they were few and far enough between that it was easy to overlook leaving this a 4..maybe 4.5 star read.
I went into it not knowing anything about it, other than reading the blurb on Libby. Boy! Was I in for a surprise!!
This follows a couple that finds their marriage in a time of turmoil and therefore they make an "arrangement". This arrangement basically says that they each get one night a week where they get a free pass to date others people (read: sleep with). No strings attached, no feelings or anything long terms. If they follow the rules, it should be easy and no one will get hurt and ultimately the goal is to make them come back together and value each other...until the rules are broken and people do get hurt.
I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that I was pleasantly surprised by this one! There were a lot of plot twists that I did not see coming..at all! After reading a lot of thrillers, sometimes it's easier to pick out where a book might be headed or what you think might certain characters may or may not be guilty of. With this one, I was wrong almost every single time!
It's told from both the husband and the wife's perspectives, alternating with each chapter so it's easy to follow. I wasn't a fan of the narrators, however; I didn't let that sway my review and rating of the book - just a heads up for anyone else that might be checking it out on Audio.
The only reason that this didn't receive 5-stars from me is because there were sections that felt a bit slow/choppy and really just unnecessary to the story - but they were few and far enough between that it was easy to overlook leaving this a 4..maybe 4.5 star read.
This is a filler story that falls between books 4 and 5 of The Sookie Stackhouse Novels. While it's not necessary to read it; it does help fill in the storyline a little bit.
As with all of these stories, I find myself comparing them to the TV Series as I watched it first and I don't really recall the Fairy characters (though it's been long time since I've watched it - a rerun might be necessary).
If you just can't get enough of Sookie Stackhouse and her extraordinary life, then I recommend you check this out!
As with all of these stories, I find myself comparing them to the TV Series as I watched it first and I don't really recall the Fairy characters (though it's been long time since I've watched it - a rerun might be necessary).
If you just can't get enough of Sookie Stackhouse and her extraordinary life, then I recommend you check this out!
Another fill-in chapter for between book 4 and 5 of the Sookie Stackhouse Novels.
Again, not necessary to reading the series, but it's a fun little thing to break things up.
If I'm 100% honest with you - I just read this about two weeks ago and I already don't remember what it was about...maybe something with Eric hosting a party in the hopes that Dracula would show up? ..I think!
Anyways, enjoy!
Again, not necessary to reading the series, but it's a fun little thing to break things up.
If I'm 100% honest with you - I just read this about two weeks ago and I already don't remember what it was about...maybe something with Eric hosting a party in the hopes that Dracula would show up? ..I think!
Anyways, enjoy!