Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Write On Review-a-Thon Sign Up


It's been great having the time to write reviews again on this little break from my college courses. But I don't want my blog to hibernate again when school starts back up in September! So I'm hoping to have as many reviews as possible written and ready to publish, to make keeping the blog going between assignments easier. Hence, a review-a-thon!

Part of signing up for the Write On Review-a-Thon is listing the things you reviews you need to complete. So here are the books I hope to write reviews for during the 3 day event:
  • Righteous Fury by Markus Heitz
  • Club Monstrosity by Jesse Peterson
  • Medusa Jones by Ross Collins
  • Donuts by Julia Dweck
I'd list more, but I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding that Friday (yay!), so that's one day totally out for this challenge. Also, I might change this list a bit if I review some of them before the challenge starts, but my goal will remain writing four reviews.

Monday, August 10, 2015

The Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh

Title: The Faceless One
Author: Mark Onspaugh
Publication Date: October 28, 2013
Length: approx. 410 pages (ebook)

When an archaeological dig in Alaska unearths an ancient mask, an evil god called the faceless one is unleashed. While he can't reach full power until someone puts on the mask, he still manages to brutally murder anyone who comes into contact with it. Jimmy Kalmaku, a Tlingit shaman who is now living in a Seattle retirement home, is the only one with the knowledge required to return the faceless one to his icy prison.

This book was unlike any horror novel I've ever read. First of all, the use of Tlingit mythology was a refreshing change. Jimmy is guided in his mission by Raven, and has to make use of the shamanic skills his uncle taught him when he was a child. I don't know enough about the Tlingit to judge the accuracy, but it certainly felt real.

Jimmy is a great character with a lot of depth. Trained to be his village's shaman as a kid, he came into the position just as his people began to adopt the white people's ways. Now, living in a retirement home far removed from his native land and from his traditional ways, he feels disconnected. George, Jimmy's best friend, is also a delight, always a loyal friend and eager for an adventure.

If I have one complaint about this book it's that Jimmy and George didn't get enough focus, as the story also follows a number of other characters, including the family of the first victim, a New York cop who starts off investigating the murder and gets more involved than he'd planned on, and various lawyers who are connected to the case. The cop, Stan Roberts, does have a good story line of his own and is well-developed, but Jimmy and George were my favourites.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book was. And while the ending wraps up the story nicely, it does leave an opening for a possible sequel, so here's hoping!

5 stars. Highly recommended for horror fans looking for something a bit out of the ordinary.

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants by Louise Rennison

Title: Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #4)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 2002
Length: 214 pages

Warning: This is a review of the fourth book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from earlier books. My review of the first book is here.

Georgia is still with the Sex God (Robbie), but he keeps going away on trips related to his rock star status, leaving Georgia all-aloney-on-her-owney. Meanwhile, Ellen is kind of dating Dave the Laugh, even while Georgia keeps accidentally kissing him. Much like in the previous book, Georgia can't seem to resist Dave, even while she's sure she wants to be with Robbie. And now that Dave's with Ellen, she's also got some jealousy and guilt going on.

The usual hilarious writing in this series had me laughing the whole way, and the ending was particularly satisfying for me (which hopefully doesn't give it away too much). There's not much to say about this book since it didn't have the major events that some of them do, but it's still a great read that had me giggling all the while.

5 stars.