Fiction

Echo North

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Echo North
Author
Meyer, Joanna Ruth
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

Echo North is such an amazing book because the little girl wanted to save her farther because she loved him very much. For her to save her farther she had to make a deal with a white wolf that she had for many years. The wolf said if she makes and deal with them it would change her life forever. The wolf said that she had to live with them in their enchanted house under the mountain and than they would save her farther. She agreed to the deal and the wolf took her to world that she never knew was there. She sees that world seems very lonely and sad but she has to be strong because she want her farther to live as long as he can. I have only read a little bit of this book and it seems like it is very funn and has some exciting parts and loving because she did that for her farther.

Reviewer's Name
Mia C.
Genres
Awards

Web of Shadows

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Web of Shadows
Author
Sleeman, Susan
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

Two years ago FBI agent Nina Brandt sent a hacker with a paranoid disorder to prison, and he has spent these past two years to make a detailed plan of how to get is revenge. At the same time, her ex-fiancee's brother hacks into the TSA's No Fly List. When Quinn Stone, her ex-fiancee, realises his brothers only hope to stay out of jail is to ask her for her help. What Nina and Quinn don't see coming is that their past is going to come back to haunt them. Nina is pulled far deeper into the investigation that she ever thought she would be. Although crime isn't the only thing on Nina's mind. She realises quickly that she is falling for Quinn again. Everything depends on if Agent Brandt can manage to solve the crime and prevent terrorists from receiving the No Fly List information and also keeping herself from being killed by Wiley, the felon out to get her.
Web of Shadows is the second instalment of the Agents Under Fire Series.My reason for reading this book is that I have read other books of Sleeman's and this one sounded interesting. From its many intriguing plot twists to Nina's romantic indecision, I enjoyed almost everything about this books. The only thing I don't like, is at the beginning most of the point of view is from the felon. I think the type of people who would enjoy this book the most are teens and adults, and it is a fiction mystery.

Reviewer's Name
Clarabelle

They Both Die at the End

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They Both Die at the End
Author
Silvera, Adam
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

They Both Die at the End is a book about two teenage boys, Rufus, and orphan with a sad past and Mateo who’s father is in a coma and spends most of his day in his room. At the beginning of the day both Rufus and Mateo get a call from Death Cast, an organization that lets people know that they will die in the next 24 hours. The two boys meet through an app called last friend that hooks patrons up with a friend to spend their last day with. As the book continues the two boys start to fall in love but only have 24 hours left to spend with each other. They Both Die at the end is an enthralling book that I couldn’t put down. I loved how the author also brought in other perspectives besides those of Rufus and Mateo and I also like how they visited places from their pasts throughout the day to help the readers understand the characters a little better. I have no complaints about how the book was written and I kept reading because while I was reading I experienced a full range of emotions form happiness to sadness and anger.

Reviewer's Name
Nadia G.
Genres
Awards

Black Cake

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Black Cake
Author
Wilkerson, Charmaine
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

This book is a about a family. More specifically their mother and the life she has. While reading this book you are learning about the mom and how the connections she had to different people. This book has so many twists and turns that will keep you on your toes. I choose to read this book because it seemed interesting to uncover all the mysteries that were going on in the book. It seemed fun to piece together a story. In this book I really liked the element where the characters also didn't know everything about their mom. They were learning it along with you. I didn't like that the timeline was hard to follow along because sometimes it would randomly say something from a different part of the story which sort of confused me. I think you would enjoy this book if you like piecing together things to find out the whole story of what happened to someone you would really enjoy this book.

Reviewer's Name
Lucy

Abaddon's Gate

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Abaddon's Gate
Author
Corey, James S. A.
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

'll admit that watching the Expanse television show spoiled this book for me. I already knew what was going to happen, so there weren't too many surprises in this book because the show kept close to the source material. Even with this a priori knowledge going in, I found Abaddon's Gate to be my favorite book of the series so far. The plot felt like it was actually getting somewhere instead of just dancing on the edges of the important series arc that finally solidified in this book.

Some of my favorite moments of the series were retained in the written form of this book, including the description of the first "sudden stop" when someone tried entering the alien portal. The human drama was also interesting because it wasn't entirely geopolitical but wove in elements of religious beliefs as well. It helped that the crew members of the Rocinante are fully fleshed out characters by this point in the series, since these books really are about how they react to being in the middle of this interplanetary (and now intergalactic) alien conspiracy. And while it might be nice to have the "character of the day" stick around for more than one book, I understand the decision to only focus on the Rocinante throughout the series.

As with previous books in the Expanse series, Abaddon's Gate excels in its depiction of realistic science in a fictional setting. Unlike more traditional hard sci-fi, this book uses these moments of real science sparingly to drive the plot forward instead of stopping at every instance and lecturing the reader as to the mathematical physics behind what is happening. This is so effortless in its execution that it never distracts from the action, which keeps the pacing at a nice, brisk action-based pace.

An exciting turning point in the Expanse series, I give Abaddon's Gate 4.0 stars out of 5.

Reviewer's Name
Benjamin W.

Plain Truth

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Plain Truth
Author
Picoult, Jodi
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

This book tells an amazing story. Picoult is an amazing author who has a way of keeping readers on the edge of their seat. And this book is no exception. It's an emotional rollercoaster but at the end, you've really enjoyed the ride.

Reviewer's Name
Lena R.

Waking Gods

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Waking Gods
Author
Neuvel, Sylvain
Rating
2 stars = Meh
Review

When I read Sleeping Giants , the narrative technique used to tell this story blew me away. I was hooked, and it pleased me to learn there were two more books in this Themis Files trilogy. Sure, I still had some qualms with the first book, but it was mostly from an "omniscient exposition dump." It took me a while to get back to this series, but I was looking forward to reading the second book, Waking Gods. In that time, something changed, and I did not enjoy this book.

Despite loving this indirect narrative approach in the first book, the technique showed its cracks as it reached past its limitations in Waking Gods. Interviews and recording transcripts can only show so much, and it's difficult to get into the characters when they're at arm's length. And perhaps this was the other thing I didn't like about this book: the characters. None of them are particularly likable or logical—especially the main character of Dr. Rose Franklin. The odd twist that was introduced at the end of the first book didn't help either. None of the characters could catch a break, save one mistake that led to the twist ending that propels the reader into book three.

Maybe all these weaknesses were in Sleeping Giants, but the excitement of finding an extra-terrestrial robot distracted me too much to care. In Waking Gods, there were more questions than answers. It didn't help that the plotlines that had the most focus were the ones I didn't feel added anything to the story. I can still appreciate the science fiction in this series, but I'm only going to continue to the last book in this trilogy just to see how it all ends.

A significant downgrade from its predecessor, I give Waking Gods 2.5 stars out of 5.

Reviewer's Name
Benjamin W.