Review: White Fire

White Fire by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

.Review to follow, sorry, that I am late in writing reviews..
While still good, I think the series should come to an end.
This books is with Corrie Swanson, which is more interesting, the next books tend to be more of the same Pendergast stories and I am more interested in Corrie S. than in Pendergast nowadays.

Still recommended, although other reviews speak of factual or logic errors, bad sign if that is true, that I overlooked them.

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Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by Alexander Freed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not having seen the movie (yet, waiting for the Blu-ray), I pre-ordered this book August 31, 2016 and think it is a wortwhile, very good adaption, as stated by the publisher with additional scenes giving more insight.
Well, that remains to be seen, when compared to the movie. Will add to this review then, or add that as a comment.

Dark, so far as I remember from the official Star Wars movies/books the highest body-count. Body-count being counted as viewed deaths on-screen, so killing and showing 10 people during combat counts, blowing up a city or a moon does not count, as you do not see the people die.

Reasonably fast read, also as I did only know the other parts of the story (Princess Leia, RIP Carrie Fisher meeting R2D2/C-3Po etc.), only few things where obvious. Some twists where not, and the newly introduced persons where complex and well written, mostly. The blind Jedi was a bit repetitive with his chanting and musings, and could have been deeper and more developed.

Recommended, even for non-Star Wars-fans. But normal fans will get more out of this book.



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Review: Snarl

Snarl by Celina Grace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The best so far in this series. Also feels like in the UK most of the time, only very little romance and I think the book is better that way, some sex mentioned, but no explicit or long scenes, also rather tame, nothing kinky.

Would have liked a deeper look or more meat around the story of the main baddy. The twist with the crime as revealed in the end could not be guessed, and I was rather sad to see the story ending there. Would have liked more of that, and the nearly always unanswered question what happens after the crime is solved? While the storyline as presented was so far the best of all the Kate Redman books (some I read out of order), the ending left me unsatisfied. Given that, I normally like it, that the books in the series are short novels, and a fast read, but this could have been longer
for me.

Highly recommended, with 4 stars, would have been 5 one or more of my problems would have been adressed. Just to be sure, I state it again: for me so far the best in the series.

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Review: Lost Girls

Lost Girls by Angela Marsons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! Unicorns jump through Rainbows, light Music is playing in the background, while you stroll barefoot through grass and savor the wet feeling from the morning dew. HEA all around. SCREEEETCH the sound of fingernails on the
chalkboard, sorry, took a wrong turn.

Trigger-warning: children, psychological and physical torture promised and short torture-scenes, but not too explicit or drawn out. Cruelty to animals. No rape, little to no romance, no sex.

Nearly read this great page-turner in a day, only sleep and the need to cook and eat something prevented that - although I usually read while eating. This was also fueled by great pacing, no dull times in the middle and a lot of relatively short chapters - you always think, you can read just one more ... .

Gritty, horrific, dark tale, and I tried to guess the mastermind, but was wrong twice.

The hint at a coming romance in the last book was not pursued. Great storytelling, great women, betrayal, the whole lot.

Ending is it a bit much, but believable written in the situation with Kim running towards the end-fight. Nicely done, and she is not entirely alone this time.

Very highly recommended page-turner, as good as the last book, and I do not regret that I already bought all available books in the series. Just have to keep myself from reading them back-to-back, as there are only two left and sometimes (James Patterson, I am looking at you!) I get fed up with too much writing in the same style from the same author.

After a few disappointments, or series which tend to offer too much Romance (Celina Grace - Kate Redman Mysteries, which I still consider good, but not supergood 3-4 stars), this is even better than Robert Bryndza - Detective Erika Foster, which so far only features 3 books.

In 2016 these 3 series (Kim Stone, Erika Foster, Kate Redman) where all new to me, and while comparable, Kim and Erika score the highest points in (to me) new crime-thriller-mystery, fiction, non-SF, non-Fantasy. Not as far out as Mo Hayder, who also had some lesser books (Pig Island, Tokyo/Devil of Nanking dragged in places), not as epic as Val McDermid.
Angela Marsons is an author I will probably buy other books without hesitation and without checking reviews or blurbs first (until I get burned).

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Review: The Braque Connection

The Braque Connection by Estelle Ryan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Snatched this up for free, as I was not too satisfied with the last book, I would not have bought this.
Not sure, if and when I will read it.
Not recommended. A few short suspenseful scened (the beginning) could not save it, without spoiling it, it is dangerous to say more. Not enough twists, and I think there should have been more people killed. Would have liked to be surprised, but sadly I was not, it plays out like I expected from nearly the beginning, and even that could been more interesting. The little group huddles together and manage to somehow solve the crime, not very convincing. While the idea was good and different in the first book, now it is worn out for me and too much of the same is not very interesting. Still regard the second book as the best so far in the series (the crime was better). Sex is mentioned, romance is advancing, but no details, which I think is ok for this story, explicit (or kinky) sex-scenes would have been nice, but would not have saved the book and would not have fit in the feeling from the first two books.
Took me too long to read it, as I had to force myself to finish it. Thought about DNFing it, but my Kindle displayed a supposed 90min. reading time left, which did not warrant it to DNF for me. That said, the 90 min. was stretched into 3 days while looking in other books and doing other things.
Glad I did not pay for it, may not even read the next books if the they are free for me.

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Review: Silent Scream

Silent Scream by Angela Marsons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On a lark and as the price was ok, I bought the (current) rest of the series, having already bought this one in 2015 and the fourth book June 2016.
Setting is in the UK (hm, for some reason I thought Ireland, not sure where that came from).
This is comparable to the Kate Redman series and the Erika Foster series.
So what is the difference or why should you read it - or not)?
First you might read this review of the third Erika Foster, a clear 5 star and this review if Imago (Kate Redman).

So what is this book? As a first in a series, and because I feel like it, I gave 4 stars. The UK-feeling is bit better than, in "Imago", but still not as good as in the "Erika Foster" books. But that may change with the next books, for better or worse. What is also comparable are the the heroines, Kim vs. Erika vs. Kate, all are strong willed, flawed and do their own thing, being single, mostly keeping to themself and getting reprimanded despite their success-rate.

Interesting twists, which although clues where given (I did not check back, but believe they where given), most I did not see coming, one is rather surprising, one I did see coming, it was just too obvious, but I cannot write about it, without spoiling the story. As most twists where near the end, it became a bit much, and one felt like a break in the story, not being built-up to it, just directly after the first reveal.
Also in the middle (as I find a lot of crime books, even Val McDermid at times) it dragged a little, with suspense highest in the beginning and the last third. So it was not entirely a page-turner and took me too long, but that may also be because of other duties beside reading.

Highly recommended, I do not believe that will change with the next books, but wether they warrant 4 or even 5 stars remains to be seen.

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Review: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A collection of short stories or novellas centering around one of my favourite characters from The Mortal Instruments: Simon Lewis. Being a geek/nerd myself, this is the character I can most relate to.

Most stories are very good, all offer more insight in some of background of what happened, even going back two centuries with a tale from Tessa about London in the late 19th Century, although not having read Clockwork Prince nor (obviously) Clockwork Princess I was mildly spoiled by what I did not know yet (but guessed from other books) about Tessa.

The next to last story "Born to Endless Night" was the one I disliked most, while a surprise, it was not what I wanted to read, also I am no fan of Magnus Bane, have not yet bought nor read some of his extra stories, and am not sure I will.

This is not really functioning as a standalone, and regarding the spoilers, you should already have read all 6 books from the Mortal Instruments and all 3 from the Infernal devices.

As I thought this was somewhat mild, not much happening, it went out with a bang, although I guessed that twist, it was still surprising.

Still, even with the story I did not like, highly recommended.

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