thebacklistbook's Reviews (304)

Wow, never have I read a book that started so strong to fall so, so flat in the last 50 pages. Starts off really great with this whole Atlantis vibe, then it gets weird with the whole no crying thing. it really derails though with the whole possession and try to make the girl cry stuff. Seriously such a garbage book, and the main character is such a raging bitch.

 All in all, I would very much like to have this book scrubbed from my mind. Except for a lingering feeling of never read that again. So disappointing to feel like that about a book that started so strong.

I absolutely love it when books come in collections like this. I just loved the sass on Suze; i think she deserves to be sassy considering the hand she was dealt. 

The overall message I got from this book is that god exists and he has a very twisted sense of humor. Suze is a mediator. She can see and touch the dead. Though she does prefer the element of surprise about the ability to touch them. 

Our brave and smart-ass heroine has been talking to/ignoring ghosts since she was around 3. Trust her there is nothing worse than the possibility of your dead dad or roommate showing up in the middle of a steamy date. 

All in all this was a cute read, but it really took me for bloody ever to finish reading. Mostly due to school commitments. Gahhh! here's hoping I can read my next book faster!

this book was dull as toast. It read like watching paint dry. It was provided to me by netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I recently reread this little tale, and remembered reading it before. Back then I thought the moral was never give up your things for a person. Now I know better, it is, "the gift is not important, the intention behind it is key". 

In this little story two people are destitute and desperate to get each other a gift of value. They wind up selling off there most prized possessions to buy each other something used with that very possession. In the end they are both pleased with each other's thoughtfulness and set the gifts aside to make dinner.

This is a good story to be reading this time of year; to remind ourselves that being together with loved ones is the best gift for the holidays.

This is an accompaniment to the original series which is going to spawn a new movie franchise, of course.

This book was one I was forced to read in high school. It was a dreadful bore, I actually had to reread sections several times as to ensure my understanding. I do highly recommend it though, as a torture device.

I have no idea if it is just me, but I felt strong undercurrents of "ism" in this book. Simply replace the word nosoul with black, Chinese, gay, etc. Ana is the Newsoul in heart, or the nosoul, depending on who is asked. She replaced someone and having had zero control over this; She is still hated, fiercely. 

The people of heart remind me of certain of my own family members (distant family), who would never accept me were I certain things listed above. Some people completely shut down because as soon as they learn you are "Other" you are now an object to them, you don't matter. 

These are the people of Heart. It is more than a little Ironic that a people Living in village called Heart possess such little compassion and caring. This book really made me think; It has been a while since that happened, I thank you [a:Jodi Meadows|4116488|Jodi Meadows|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1389713448p2/4116488.jpg].

Malora Thora-Jayke is the last of her kind; the only human left in existence. She is perfectly happy this way until she is found by a herd of centaurs. They entrap her and her horses, in order to win the Golden Horse, a coveted trophy. Earned by horse racing, something which seems exceedingly dull and stupid to Malora. Through her capture Malora finds herself a new family, she feels the centaurs are the perfect blend of horse and human. She is home. 

This book was intriguing to say the least. Though the year is never discussed by the name dropping of famous people, it takes place in a not so distant future, or quite possibly an alternate present. I would absolutely read the next book.

Review to come.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne:

So glad my library had a copy with this prequel in it. Really helped me to understand Finley better. She is a down on her luck governess who can't seem to hold a job to save her life. Rather, she loses her jobs because she keeps defending her own and other people's lives. 

The Girl in the Steel Corset:

Finley Jayne is not normal. She thinks she might be possessed. Growing up in the late 1800's possession is no joke; understandably she tells no one. Until one night when she gets hit by a motorcycle. 

This story was quite the interesting read. I enjoyed reading the story, though a few things did stick out to me. It is obviously a stab at a Jekyll and Hyde retelling. There is a distinct lack of character description. 

All we know about the Aunt is that she works for the Queen and favors a piece of jewelry with a chain running from nose to ear. All we know about Finley is that she is tiny, possibly possessed, and starts off blonde. I prefer really accurate descriptions, claim your characters full identity on the page.

It took me a fair bit to get through this little beastie as I had to study for final exams.

This book blew me away in how much the writing style got in the way of the story. Seriously if you are writing the kind of book that needs a map and glossary, both should be located in the front of the book. 

Anyway the actual story itself was attention grabbing enough once I stripped away all the human activities-like drinking and eating off of china-that didn't make any sense. i did really like that the mermaids had different types of bottom halfs going on. 

Mermaids were treated more like centaurs in this book with their customs and traditions either being borrowed from humans, or it being suggested that humans got their traditions from the merfolk. I liked the attempt at saying that mermaids can be found all over the world and that they tend to take after species from those waters. 

There was a glaring issue with that science wise. Certain species of fish can't survive outside of their respective climates. I would have expected this to be addressed in some way, like song-spells to help them survive or something. Since it is such a huge plot-point that they come together. 

All in all not my favorite book but I am invested in knowing what happens to the characters now, so there is that.