Public Enemy Zero is a bit of a paradox for me. I didn't care for the book a great deal, but the author was skilled enough to keep me involved for the entirety of the book. The protagonist, Mitch, I have learned (since I finished and thought about the book for a day) is the reason I was able to stay involved. He is a well-thought-out protagonist with a lot at stake (including his life, or freedom).
My main gripes with the book are that it was very, very repetitive. Mitch's trips into town (happens at least 3 times in the book) become very trite and tiresome. They read almost exactly the same as the one previous. Think 28 Days Later without the excitement or originality. I thought the story lagged in the middle in a serious way and that the author was reaching for action pieces, but the action pieces were not very original and became boring and predictable.
However, despite the middle of the book being slow, and the middle of the book lagging (I think some serious editing and omitting could have been done in the middle), I give Public Enemy Zero a marginal recommendation. The beginning and ending make this a slightly above average horror/action story and almost overcome the mediocre middle. I will definitely check out another Andrew Mayne story in the future.
Public Enemy Zero is available on Kindle (this is how I read it) for $.99. It is most definitely worth a read for that price.
Final Score: *** out of 5. This is at the lower end of 3, however.
Scott.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
We Take Suggestions!!
Anyone who would like can leave suggestions for books you would like to see us review. Becky will be reviewing mostly urban fantasy (Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, etc.), Cozy mystery (Charlaine Harris, Victoria Laurie, etc.) and paranormal romance (Christine Feehan, Lynsay Sands, etc.). Scott will be reviewing mostly books with elements of mystery, including horror, traditional British mystery (PD James, Charles Todd, etc.) suspense authors (James Patterson, Harlan Coben, etc.), and just about any other type of mystery novel. Please leave your suggestions and comments and we will take them all into consideration.
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for reading!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Night Prey by Carol Davis Luce
In less competent hands, Carol Davis Luce's psychic thriller could be a trite mess of a read. Fortunately, Luce knows how to draw characters. Her main character, Robbi is an extremely likable protagonist with plenty at stake. Even the psychic element is kept interesting and isn't overplayed as is usually the case in a book of this type. It has elements of horror, mystery, romance, and suspense. All of these elements are balanced well, and woven into a very suspenseful, sometimes disturbing read.
The villain in the story isn't the most original idea in the book, but it doesn't matter. Luce is a very skilled mystery writer who knows how to draw the reader in. The villain is well-rounded enough to make us dread the passages they are in...in a good way.
Night Prey is violent, sometimes a little gory, and always a little suspenseful. It does have it's weaknesses, though. The most noticeable weakness is the absolute silliness of some of the situations the main characters are put into. You will know what I mean when you read them. This does detract from the overall storytelling and serves to take the reader out of the story for a short time.
Night Prey is violent, sometimes a little gory, and always a little suspenseful. It does have it's weaknesses, though. The most noticeable weakness is the absolute silliness of some of the situations the main characters are put into. You will know what I mean when you read them. This does detract from the overall storytelling and serves to take the reader out of the story for a short time.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good, entertaining, late-night read as the pacing is perfect to steal a night's sleep, and there is enough suspense to keep picking it up at every free moment. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
If not for the books main weaknesses, this book would have a nearly perfect score. As is it, though, being taken out of the story at times detracts a full star. My final score is 4 out of 5 and I recommend Night Prey to anyone who enjoys a good suspense story with elements of horror.
Final Score ****
This book can be found on the Kindle store, and the paperback seems to be out of print, but is available from abebooks.com at a good price. It is currently available for $2.99 on Kindle and Nook.
This book can be found on the Kindle store, and the paperback seems to be out of print, but is available from abebooks.com at a good price. It is currently available for $2.99 on Kindle and Nook.
Scott.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Accidental Finds
For my first post, I thought I'd review a series of books that I found recently. So far, there are five books in the series and the sixth is due to be published next year. The Accidentally Paranormal series by Dakota Cassidy is a fun paranormal romance series that keeps a reader giggling from beginning to end, and even delivers a few stand-up-and-cheer moments.
The books revolve around a group of three ladies who are transformed into paranormal beings through a series of rather odd happenings. These ladies gradually discover how to cope with their new situations - along with the help of the terribly sexy men who are responsible for their respective predicaments in the first place. As the series progresses, other accidents occur that add couples to the growing group.
I'm rather fond of this series. One of its strengths lies in the fact that the paranormal beings the group encounters are so varied. The first book, Accidental Werewolf, is about Marty and Keegan. When Keegan accidentally turns Marty into a werewolf, her life takes a turn for the dangerous and sensual. The second book, Accidentally Dead, is about Nina and Greg. Nina, a foul-mouthed dental hygienist, is accidentally bitten by a vampire on the first day of her new job. Hilarity ensues as she tries to come to terms with a situation that she sincerely does not want to come to terms with. The third book, The Accidental Human, is about Wanda, the terminally ill friend of Nina and Marty. She is hosting a party in her home one evening, trying to recruit new sales people for the cosmetic company she works for. Imagine her amazement when one of the hopeful salespeople is a man. Kooky weirdness follows. After all, her best friends are a girly werewolf and a hot-headed vampire. What could possibly go wrong?! Accidentally Demonic introduces Casey, Wanda's sister. Her life - already crazy - starts to spiral out of control when a strange man - best friend of Greg (Nina's husband, remember?) - accidentally spills demon blood on her. The latest book, Accidentally Catty, is about Katie, a veterinarian who attempts to help a wounded cougar and gets much more than she bargains for.
A werewolf, a vampire, a...I am so not telling you, it would blow the surprise, a demon, and a cougar. The storyline never gets boring and every book is a fresh installment to the paranormal theme.
Another strength can also be considered a weakness, in this case. The books are extraordinarily simple. I'm not exactly a speed reader, and I've read all five of these books in the last three weeks. If you are one of those people who enjoys reading for the sheer pleasure of escaping this world to traipse into another, these books are certainly a great way to go. Also, the language in this series - okay, Nina's language in this series - is somewhat shocking at first. But, you sort of become used to it after a time.
This series is a fun, easy set and is great for the recreational reader.
Since this is my first post, let me explain my scoring system. I'll give each book or series I review a grade in moons. One moon means Good Lord, don't read this. Two moons means Only read this if you're feeling adventurous. Three moons means This is a pretty good book, I recommend it. Four moons means I really liked this book. I definitely recommend it. Five moons means Break out the truffles and wine, you're not going anywhere until you finish this book! So, I would give the Accidentally Paranormal series three and a half moons because it's a fun, easy read.
***1/2
Becky.
The books revolve around a group of three ladies who are transformed into paranormal beings through a series of rather odd happenings. These ladies gradually discover how to cope with their new situations - along with the help of the terribly sexy men who are responsible for their respective predicaments in the first place. As the series progresses, other accidents occur that add couples to the growing group.
I'm rather fond of this series. One of its strengths lies in the fact that the paranormal beings the group encounters are so varied. The first book, Accidental Werewolf, is about Marty and Keegan. When Keegan accidentally turns Marty into a werewolf, her life takes a turn for the dangerous and sensual. The second book, Accidentally Dead, is about Nina and Greg. Nina, a foul-mouthed dental hygienist, is accidentally bitten by a vampire on the first day of her new job. Hilarity ensues as she tries to come to terms with a situation that she sincerely does not want to come to terms with. The third book, The Accidental Human, is about Wanda, the terminally ill friend of Nina and Marty. She is hosting a party in her home one evening, trying to recruit new sales people for the cosmetic company she works for. Imagine her amazement when one of the hopeful salespeople is a man. Kooky weirdness follows. After all, her best friends are a girly werewolf and a hot-headed vampire. What could possibly go wrong?! Accidentally Demonic introduces Casey, Wanda's sister. Her life - already crazy - starts to spiral out of control when a strange man - best friend of Greg (Nina's husband, remember?) - accidentally spills demon blood on her. The latest book, Accidentally Catty, is about Katie, a veterinarian who attempts to help a wounded cougar and gets much more than she bargains for.
A werewolf, a vampire, a...I am so not telling you, it would blow the surprise, a demon, and a cougar. The storyline never gets boring and every book is a fresh installment to the paranormal theme.
Another strength can also be considered a weakness, in this case. The books are extraordinarily simple. I'm not exactly a speed reader, and I've read all five of these books in the last three weeks. If you are one of those people who enjoys reading for the sheer pleasure of escaping this world to traipse into another, these books are certainly a great way to go. Also, the language in this series - okay, Nina's language in this series - is somewhat shocking at first. But, you sort of become used to it after a time.
This series is a fun, easy set and is great for the recreational reader.
Since this is my first post, let me explain my scoring system. I'll give each book or series I review a grade in moons. One moon means Good Lord, don't read this. Two moons means Only read this if you're feeling adventurous. Three moons means This is a pretty good book, I recommend it. Four moons means I really liked this book. I definitely recommend it. Five moons means Break out the truffles and wine, you're not going anywhere until you finish this book! So, I would give the Accidentally Paranormal series three and a half moons because it's a fun, easy read.
***1/2
Becky.
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