Wild Girls by Lisa Morton

Wild Girls by Lisa Morton

Wild Girls by Lisa Morton

ASIN: B00NXCED9Q

Publisher: Crossroad Press & Bad Moon Books

 

Lisa Morton violently violates taboo and shocks the reader with the darkness humans can possess.

 

Men are showing up dead…and violated. No one has any idea who is committing the murders or why.

A reporter defies what local officials think and throws out the idea that maybe women are committing the horrendous acts; it is rejected.

More murders occur and it spins law officials and the murders closer together until everything becomes clear and others become collateral damage.

 

While the book is well written, I wasn’t overly impressed with the story or plot. Almost every character was messed up in some dark way. There were few people who were actually decent. This creates a one dimensional existence of all involved – they’re all focused on hurting someone because they are evil or were hurt and trying to get revenge. Even the characters that create the conflict to move the story forward are only involved in selfish actions to cause pain. Heck, even the character you believe will be the hero ends up turning to the dark side by the end. According to this story, there are no good people to save the world – everyone is evil and everyone is going to be abused and die a painful death.

I give this book: 1 QUILLS

1Q

Bob the Zombie by Jaime Johnesee

Bob the Zombie by Jaime Johnesee

Bob the Zombie by Jaime Johnesee

ASIN: B00D0VPURO

Publisher: Jaime Johnesee, LLC

 

Jaime Johnesee brings readers into close proximity of a friendly zombie who is just trying to deal with his existence and the world around him.

 

Bob is now a zombie, and it’s all because his mother missed him too much to let him rest in peace. Now he has to deal with the new “life” he’s been dealt – there’s no way out.

He shares his struggles with his new friends and horde as he tries to help others out in his own kind way.

 

This book is a fun, playful, entertaining read that I can see teens loving, especially if they have short attention spans; it’s short. But, for me, it missed the mark on a couple points.

The plot in Bob the Zombie was almost nonexistent, as if it were an afterthought, thrown in half-heartedly. There was little conflict that would push the character/story forward. Also, I have to wonder if Bob was one of those people (before he became a zombie) that everyone avoided because he over shared. Like that person that if you sat by them on the bus would tell you the intimate details of his life whether you wanted to know them or not. Why do I say this? Because he shares everything about himself in what seems like a nonstop info dump. There is no mystery involved in his existence. The read tells everything in big clumps. This leads to it being great for younger readers who are eager for everything to make complete sense with no effort or tension involved. The book is more of a “memoir” of Bob’s life than an actual story, especially with the weaknesses in conflict and plot.

I give this book: 1 QUILLS

1Q

A Darkened Landscape by Algor X. Dennison

A Darkened Landscape by Algor X. Dennison

A Darkened Landscape by Algor X. Dennison

ASIN: B005QQMEKW

Algor X. Dennison offers readers an ebook with three tales.

A Mouth So Dark: This tale is about a boy who goes in search of a girl he cares for after her new guardian takes her away. He feels something is amiss and he is right.

Darkness in the West: A woman is sentenced to be hanged when she kills men who were after her father’s land.

The Flood: Two societal outcasts get revenge on the town that didn’t take the time to understand them.

I’m going to go through the tales one by one…

A Mouth So Dark: This story was not well fleshed out. The author failed to add any major conflict to the story and the resolution was too fast and devoid of any creativity. It was very disappointing.

Darkness in the West: This “story” wasn’t a story at all, but maybe the beginning of one. It just started to get interesting and it was over with nothing really to take away, because there wasn’t much there but set up.

The Flood: This was basically a supernatural tale with no set up. It was disjointed and not well played out.

On top of the above reasons of why I didn’t care for the stories of this book, there are the grammar mistakes and the mostly telling, not showing, aspect of the writer’s angle. All of these stories could be improved on if the author learns the craft of writing better and expands them out to full stories, not just hints of stories.

I give this book: 1 QUILLS

1Q

Spider Soup by Lori R. Lopez

Spider Soup by Lori R. Lopez

Spider Soup by Lori R. Lopez

ASIN: B00OZROEZQ

 

Lori R. Lopez takes the reader into some uncomfortable places…and turns their world upside down.

A couple inherited a house from a strange elderly family member – one that protected and cared for the spiders in the house. They do the same in the spirit of their loved one’s memory.

One night they wake up and find out that all of their spider friends have turned on them; they’re spun in webs and are being hauled to the basement.

 

This story is fairytale-esque, from the fantastically strained plot to the cliché dialogue between the characters. Some might find this charming, but all it did for me was keep me from connecting with the characters or story. There was also parts where the POV was confusing, and the story was packed with rhetorical questions. Otherwise, there were a few grammar issues.

I give this book: 1 QUILLS

1Q

Bloop by Eric S. Brown

Bloop by Eric S. Brown

Bloop by Eric S. Brown

ASIN: B00AVE5ZWS

ISBN-10: 0615750516

ISBN-13: 978-0615750514

Publisher: Great Lakes Artists Group

 

Eric S. Brown delivers a fantastical tale of deep sea action.

When a sea monster the likes of which had never been seen before attacks boats and eats people, the military enlists the help of scientist. When they hit a brick wall – with no more options – they seek out the help of a secret society that specializes in hunting the…unusual.

 

The action and possibility of the story was fun, but the book was very short, considering it claims to be a novel on the cover. There was no time for the reader to get vested in any of the characters or to care what happened to them. Also, there were numerous grammar errors: the tenses switched from present to past tense often, or at times were mixed together; there were missing or extra words; and there were wrong words used.

I give this book: 1 QUILLS
1Q

It’s Better This Way by Travis Hill

It’s Better This Way by Travis Hill

It’s Better This Way by Travis Hill

ASIN: B00CWV34XA

 

Evan lives in a world that has been destroyed by alien “bulls” that have destroyed and harvested minerals from major cities. He, and his partner Tony, scavenge things that are useful from the areas around them. On a trip, they come across a downed alien craft and a dead bull – it’s the closest they’ve ever come to one of the aliens and it spooks them.

They travel back to “The Farm,” where they live, and tell the leaders about what they’ve found. They decided how to handle the situation.

Meanwhile, they get a visit from someone who claims to be military, trying to recruit people for their cause: taking down the bulls.

 

When I started reading this story, I thought it had strong promise. I was quickly disappointed. There were large plot holes (just one example: at one point it was night time and then all of a sudden they’re getting ready to leave in the morning).

Next, the author explains at length that the people at The Farm, and general society, have no use for last names, and then almost every character after that point has a last name. That was a waste of words and completely inconsistent.

Then there were more inconsistencies in grammar and editing. Sometimes it was correct, and in the next paragraph it would be the wrong way (mainly in and around dialogue with dialogue tags).

The end was a total and complete disappointment with more huge plot holes. This story also suffers from telling not showing, which is another major breach in good storytelling.

 

I give this story: 1 QUILLS

 

1Q

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

ISBN-10: 0545663261

ISBN-13: 978-0545663267

ASIN: B003XF1XOQ

Publisher: Scholastic

 

Suzanne Collins brings us back into the world of District 13 where the rebellion is in full swing, and Katniss is out of control.

Katniss is the Mockingjay – the symbol of the rebellion to all the people of the districts. She has flaunted her contempt of the Capitol twice, and they want her to do it again.

She doesn’t want to. She’s injured…and scared for Peeta, who was captured and taken to Panem. They didn’t get him out of the arena.

She is now dealing with a controlled existence, although it’s not like the Capitol’s control – there is plenty of food, but people have a purpose and schedule. But she suffers through being underground in safety for her family’s sake.

Eventually, through much convincing, she agrees to be their “Mockingjay,” but she has her own terms for her giving the service. President Coin doesn’t like her, she can feel it, but it gets worse after she delivers her terms. But Katniss will do anything to save the lives of the victors from the arena who are now at the mercy of Panem.

Peeta is one of those conditions. But, what they bring back to District 13 is an abomination of Peeta; he’s no longer himself.

With her best and oldest friend, Gale, Katniss learns to be the Mockingjay…her way. She becomes not only the symbol, but the spirit of the rebellion. And, when things get difficult, she goes rogue so she can finally have a chance at ending the war and bringing an end to President Snow once and for all.

This comes at a very high price…one that will haunt her for the rest of her life. Even after she decides which man she really loves and starts a life with him in peace and freedom.

 

Again, I’m still not fond of Suzanne Collins’ writing style, which I found flat and kind of dull.  And this book, more than the first two, shows off that weakness in writing. Where in the other books Katniss was strong and rose to meet challenges, in this book she was wishy-washy; instead of developing as a character, she regressed. That, on top of Katniss being injured through almost the entire book, made it slower than the previous two. I felt like the author was bored and couldn’t inject any excitement into the story because she wasn’t feeling it. The third book was disappointing for me, so much so, that I have to give it a lower rating. If I hadn’t been vested in the characters from the movies and previous books, I probably wouldn’t have finished reading it. I hope I like the movie more than the book…when it arrives. Otherwise, there were a few minor mistakes in the book with punctuation and extra or missing words here and there.

I give this book: 1 QUILLS.

1Q

 

Dead Things by Matt Darst

 

Dead Things by Matt Darst

 

Dead Things by Matt Darst

ISBN-10: 1937727157

ISBN-13: 978-1937727154

ASIN: B007R0ION6

 

Matt Durst takes the reader on a walk through a new world…one that is controlled with fear from the undead and the living.

Ian, a young man, is trapped in a world he doesn’t entirely agree with…maybe doesn’t agree with at all. But, he can’t voice it. No one can. It’s forbidden not to obey the church that rules everything now.

The undead are still a danger and service is required of the young. Ian must serve his time on the front lines. He leaves to do his duty, but doesn’t make it there. The plane he’s on crashes and things get complicated.

Now, with an array of other people, Ian must try to escape the dangerous undead creatures around him and make his way to safety – there are many hardships along the way.

 

At the beginning of this book I was excited to see how the author played out the apocalyptic scenario of the religious control of everything in the new world. But, because of the awkward way the book was written – more telling than showing – it didn’t take me long to be disappointed. Granted, the book isn’t a bad book, but there were spurts of dialogue versus narrative telling and they were off-putting. I didn’t like it. I felt that I was only being given information that the author thought I needed and I wasn’t getting anything from the characters. There were also pages wasted on useless informational rants that I thought weren’t needed. Altogether, I felt very much like an outsider while reading this book and would have liked to connect to the characters more.

There were some grammar issues here and there, but nothing major that bears mentioning.

I give the book: 1 QUILL.

1Q

Unspoken by Nikolas Robinson

Unspoken by Nikolas Robinson

 

Unspoken by Nikolas Robinson

ISBN-10: 1478116420

ISBN-13: 978-1478116424

ASIN: B005L7VKV0

Publisher: Domus Necrophagous Media

Age Group: YA to Adult

 

Sometimes people get trapped within themselves, not because they’re sick, but because they’re scared. Nikolas Robinson shows us what this can be like… The mind is only as strong or as weak as we let it be, until it’s gone and it’s too late to even hope anymore.

Nathan is an emotional stunted man for various reasons. He doesn’t trust himself, so he definitely doesn’t trust other people.  His life is one of solitude, by choice.

He chooses to be solitary. He chooses to believe no one will love him or ever accept his love. His self-esteem is broken.

He falls in love with a co-worker, but he won’t/can’t tell her of his feelings.

The world is plagued by a strange sickness that makes everyone disappear within themselves just as he’s ready to open up, leaving him in solitude once again.

 

I wasn’t overly impressed with this book, but then I started to think about it more. I couldn’t help but realize this would be a good read for someone who is dealing with the care of a loved one who has mental problems, or someone who has low self-esteem. This book could help both in different ways; it truly shows the inner turmoil and pain someone could go through dealing with both. So, while this isn’t really a great book for me, I can see how someone else might love it and/or find it insightful.

There are a few mistakes, but nothing major. My biggest annoyance was the constant repetition and inconsistencies.

I give this book: 1 QUILL

1Q

Why is my lemon tea red? by Jeff Fleming

Why is my lemon tea red?By Jeff Fleming
Nibble Press
Age Group: Adult

I was honored to receive a copy of “Why is my lemon tea read?” and enjoyed reading fresh poetry. The chap book contained 35 poems and took me maybe 20-30 minutes to read.

Jeff Fleming takes everyday things and makes you think about them in an entirely new texture.The poems ranged in subject matter from an idle moment, to deeper glimpses into life. My favorite of this collection was, “The Music Thumps,” where simple innocence of childhood and the things that can entertain are explored briefly, but even in that time, you see a truth.

The contents also explore, lust, love, loss, frustration, pain, and everyday things that just happen in life.

Although I ‘liked’ most all of the poems, not a single one jumped out and gripped me. The mellow style of the writing just isn’t my favorite. I’m going to have to give this chap book 1 QUILL, even though I did consider giving it two because of Jeff’s use of texture – I just can’t get past the mellow though.

Rating: 1Q