Book Reviews

Book Review

Book Review: The Deadly Mark by Katherine Nader

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

In our latest self-published author spotlight, I present to you: The Deadly Mark, by Katherine Nader.

The Book

“The Deadly Mark”

The Genre

Historical Fiction

The Author

Katherine Nader was raised in Lebanon, then moved to Canada in 2004. She is currently studying Biology, English, and Professional Writing at the University of Toronto.

The Plot

Threatened by the desires of dangerous men who see her as nothing more than a pawn in their games of power, Princess Kathleen finds herself coveted by a cruel prince who is determined to marry her at all costs. Her only ally is Eden, a man hired by her father to keep her safe. But how can Eden protect her, when the person who wants to harm her most is Kathleen herself?

The Review

If you put all the politics and courtly intrigue aside, The Deadly Mark is basically the story of a tormented princess who turns to suicide in order to escape the machinations of the various overbearing males trying to control her life. I enjoyed following Kathleen’s story, because her self-destructive nature, coupled with her questionable decision-making skills, gets her into all sorts of sticky situations. Kathleen is a very empathetic character, and it’s easy to sympathize with this girl who is manipulated by everyone around her. I also enjoyed the character of Eden, the loyal guardsman, because he truly has his work cut out for him keeping Kathleen from offing herself at every available opportunity.

My two main issues with this novel were the length, and the point of view. The book is fast-paced, which is good, but it moves so quickly, and the setting descriptions are so sparse, that I had trouble keeping track of where the characters were, and why they were doing what they were doing. So I would have definitely liked to see more description—Kathleen is a princess, after all! A few mentions of “soaring archways”, or “golden chandelliers”, or whatever would have definitely helped immerse me in the world. The other problem I had was with the POV. The Deadly Mark is written in omniscient third person, which means that you can see into every character’s head. This takes a lot of the mystery away, because you already know what everyone is thinking.

These issues aside, I did enjoy reading The Deadly Mark, mostly because Kathleen and all her foibles greatly amused me. It’s pretty good for a debut novel, and I have high hopes for the author in her future writing endeavours.

The Rating

4 out of 5 stars

Random Link of the Day:

Check out Cracked.com’s latest photoplasty slideshow: 23 Small Changes That Make Adorable Things Terrifying

Click here to view the slideshow.

Awesome Video of the Day:

The Old Spice guy gets even more awesome:

Categories: Book Reviews | Tags: author, book review, books, ebooks, iuniverse, katherine nader, old spice, self-publish, the deadly mark, writing, yolo | Leave a comment

Book Review: 2 Novellas by Keri M. Peardon

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

In this latest self-published book review, we turn our attention to fellow blogger Keri M. Peardon, who has written two delightful little novellas–The Last Golden Dragon, and The Widow.

The Novella

The Last Golden Dragon

The Genre

Fantasy/Romance

The Author

Keri Peardon graduated from Hollins University in Roanoke, VA in 2001 with a B.A. in History and a strong background in creative writing. She is a life-long resident of Tennessee and is currently employed as a legal assistant to a private-practice attorney. In addition to writing, she is active in medieval re-enacting and does too many handicrafts.

The Plot

Aine, a young Irish peasant girl, is looking for the last golden dragon. Whilst wandering about the mountains, she meets a handsome man named Eammon, who offers to take her to the dragon’s lair.

The Review

I thought this was a quick, sweet little love story. And the ending was adorable! I had great fun following Aine into the dragon’s cave and experiencing the adventure with her. Eammon was delightfully enigmatic, and his banter with Aine was quite funny. My one issue with this novella is that I saw the big plot reveal coming from literally the first page. Maybe I’ve just read too many fantasy stories, so I knew what was going to happen long before it did. Regardless, I definitely enjoyed The Last Golden Dragon, and recommend it to anyone looking for a light, romantic read.

The Rating

4 out of 5 stars

The Novella

The Widow

The Genre

Romantic Drama

The Plot

Ever since her husband died, Carol has been cooped up in her house. Her best friend solves this problem by signing her up for creative writing classes at the local community college. After her first class, Carol runs into a handsome local artist named Daniel, who offers her both coffee and sympathy. They begin to meet every week after her writing class, and eventually Daniel asks Carol to model for his next painting. She accepts, and he proves to be the perfect balm for her wounded heart.

The Review

I loved this story. Unlike most romances, this one actually had a legitimate plot that kept me flipping the virtual pages to find out what happened next. I loved the author’s descriptions of the painting/modelling scenes. I could easily imagine Carol there in Daniel’s studio, posing silently as he brought her to life on the canvas with each brush stroke. Their romance is gradual, believable, and just wonderful to read.

The Rating

5 stars out of 5

Congratulations to Keri for writing such awesome novellas! Head over to her Smashwords page for more information.

Random tip of the day:

Forgot to lock your car, and don’t want to walk back? Car too far away for the remote to work? Try pressing the remote against your skull and pushing the Lock key. It gives your remote extra range, and I have no idea why.

Categories: Book Reviews | Tags: author, book review, books, car, dragon, ebooks, indie, keri peardon, review, self-publish, smashwords, widow, writing, yolo | 7 Comments

“Poetry of a Madman” Book Review

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

So I was scrolling through my “Blogs I Follow” page yesterday, and I found this post by Jason Alan. In the post, he mentions that he’s had his book of poetry, Poetry of a Madman, up on Amazon for over a year with no reviews. And I thought to myself, “I can review things”. Hence this post. Oh, and check out that link, because he’s offering the kindle edition for free (for a limited time), so snap up a copy before it’s too late!

The Book

Poetry of a Madman

The Genre

Poetry

The Author

I don’t know much about Jason, so instead I will quote the blurb on his WordPress blog: “Short stories, rants, poetry, unfinished novels, and look! Cows!”

The Plot

It’s a book of poetry. It doesn’t have a plot. Sheesh.

Basically, it’s a collection of poems, most of them by Jason, with the first section devoted to guest poets.

The Review

Poetry of a Madman was a very interesting read. My experience with poetry is mostly limited to what I read in English class, so I didn’t have any expectations going in. And I was quite impressed with what I found.

Many of the poems are about serious topics — current issues, the human state, etc. — but there are also a selection of more light-hearted pieces that really drew me in. One of my favourite poems was “i am, part one”, which Jason wrote years ago, lost, and is now trying to recreate. I loved the cadence of the poem and the imagery he used — when I read it, I found myself kind of singing along in my head. I think this poem would make an excellent song.

Another favourite was “digital heartache”. I don’t want to give away too much, but to give you a taste of the awesome:

“my farmville crop is sprouting weeds

these angry birds have too many needs

my mafia family has ceased to get paid

and my warcraft warrior never gets laid”

The book has a lovely blend of poetry. There are sad poems, happy poems, quirky poems, funny poems, and thought-provoking poems. I’m a bubbly person by nature, so I enjoyed the funny/quirky ones the most. But overall I thought Poetry of a Madman was a great poetry collection, and I definitely recommend it to all you poetry lovers out there.

The Rating

4 out of 5 stars

Click here to purchase a copy of Jason Alan’s Poetry of a Madman.

Categories: Book Reviews | Tags: book review, books, ebooks, free, indie, jason alan, poems, poetry, poetry of a madman, self-publish, writing, yolo | 10 Comments

Be Still — Book Review

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Michelle Proulx

Me with my copy of Be Still!

The Book

“Be Still”

The Genre

Romantic Drama

The Author

Tania L. Ramos. This is her second novel, which is self-published through iUniverse. Check out her blog and her website for more information!

The Plot

Plastic surgeon Jack Silver thinks his life is perfect – until he loses his daughter and wife in a series of tragic events. A decade later, Jack discovers that he is dying. He desperately wants to reconnect with his estranged son Travis, but Travis wants nothing to do with his father. Enter Dr. Christina Amity, Jack’s protégé and dear friend, who strives to help father and son work out their issues before Jack’s disease claims him. But even as Christina and Travis grow closer, Jack finds himself inching towards death, drawn by what he thinks is the spirit of his dead wife. Will Jack make peace with his son before he rejoins his wife and daughter in the afterlife? Will the emotionally-damaged Travis ever find love? Read Be Still to find out!

The Review

Let me start by saying that, despite the genre of this book being the polar opposite of what I usually read, I really enjoyed Be Still. The plot was engaging and well thought out, the characters relatable and believable. It’s a tragic story that’s at the same time uplifting, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the romance/drama genre.

I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t the hugest fan of Jack Silver. He basically gives up on living after his wife dies, withdrawing from the world and from his son, all of which really irked me. I have a hard time connecting with parent characters who emotionally abandon their children. At the same time, I totally understand why he did what he did because his plot arc was beautifully written, so even though I didn’t really like the character, Tania still got me to sympathize with him.

On the other hand, I loved Travis and Christina. Their romance is sweet, and realistic, and flawed, because when does love ever go smoothly? I actually found myself caring more about Jack because I was seeing him through Travis and Christina’s eyes, and it was bittersweet because their shared grief over his impending death is one of the things that brings them together.

I quite enjoyed Tania’s writing style. It flowed nicely, and it was very easy for me to lose myself in the story. One criticism I would make is that the description sometimes got a little flowery, but for all I know that’s the norm for this genre of writing. It certainly didn’t detract from the story, it just made me pause and think, “Goodness, that’s a lot of adverbs”.

The Rating

4 out of 5 stars, plus an “Awww!” factor of 8 puppies.

Remember that blog tour I mentioned?

If you have an excellent memory, you’ll remember that I’m participating in a blog tour next week – the blog tour of Tania L Ramos, to be specific, aka the author of Be Still! Whoa. Crazy coincidence, right? Anyway, here’s a reminder of the blog tour dates:

July 19 – http://katherinenader.tumblr.com

July 20 – http://nerdybookreviews.wordpresscom

July 21 – http://freebies4myfamily.blogspot.com/

July 22 – http://davidmcgowanauthor.com/

July 23 – https://michelleproulx.wordpress.com/ ((ME!))

July 24 – http://www.youtube.com/user/tramossnvvc/videos ((video blog))

Tania is also holding a sweepstakes right now, which can be viewed on her Facebook page. Basically, for every 100 books she sells by August 30th, she will donate a copy of her book to a high school of the winner’s choice. It only works for U.S. schools (something about foreign policy), and she promises to donate a book even if she doesn’t hit the 100 books sold mark. And if you’re poor like me and don’t want to buy a copy, you can still go to the Sweepstakes tab on the Facebook page and enter anyway.

So come back next Monday for my leg of the blog tour!

Tania will be writing a guest post about … about … okay, we really don’t know yet. If you have any ideas, sound off in the comments! She’s a self-published author, so maybe you have some questions you’d like her to answer? Just relay them in the comments section here and I’ll forward them to her.

Cute and addictive game:

http://www.silvergames.com/nyan-cat-lost-in-space