The Story Traveler by Max Candee

 

3 out of 5 stars

I received this book free from NetGalley.

Haley Spade is a 15 year old who, after her parents die and her grandparents take her in, is shipped off to an exclusive boarding school in Connecticut. Several students believe that the angry ghosts of six students who committed suicide decades ago still haunt its halls. Haley doesn’t believe in ghosts, so on a dare, she spends the night wandering through the “haunted” building to prove they don’t exist. What she doesn’t realize is that someone has convinced Oliver, a fellow classmate, to sneak into the building as well to scare her. She figures it out pretty quickly and she and Oliver decide to investigate together. Unfortunately they end up taking a wrong turn and next thing you know they are on an adventure where secret doors take you into stories within stories and worlds within worlds. They encounter magical creatures like the King of the Cats, a shapeshifting crow, elves—and a menace far more terrifying than any ghost.

A young adult fantasy novel, this book started off really well and sucked me right in. It continued to hold my interest until the last half of the book. Although I still enjoyed it, the second part wasn’t as thrilling as the first part and I felt myself not quite as captured by it as before. There was quite a bit of action and enough magical creatures to satisfy one’s fantasy thirst however. There were moments though when I would have to go back and re-read paragraphs just because there are so many twists and turns that at times I would become a little confused on how it all tied into one another, but the story was an enjoyable one and I would definitely recommend it.

Available on Amazon at the link below:

The Story Traveler

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

2 ½ out of 5 stars

A vicious fifteen-year-old "droog" is the central character of this 1963 classic, whose stark terror was captured in Stanley Kubrick's magnificent film of the same title.

In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology. A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. When the state undertakes to reform Alex—to "redeem" him—the novel asks, "At what cost?"

You know a book isn’t going to live up to the high expectations you have set when the introduction from the author includes statements such as “I first published the novella A Clockwork Orange in 1962, which ought to be enough in the past for it to be erased from the world’s literary memory. It refuses to be erased however,” or “I should myself be glad to disown it for various reasons, but this is not permitted,” and when speaking of the Russian inspired slang he used heavily throughout the book, “I have shown enough, though the curtain of an invented lingo gets in the way – another aspect of my cowardice.” Had I paid attention to these quotes, perhaps I would have went in with a different attitude (I still would have read it of course) and maybe even ended up loving the book like so many others. I didn’t. But I didn’t hate it either because A Clockwork Orange isn’t a bad book. It's actually pretty good. That is if you can get past the language, which isn’t easy for everyone. Many find it difficult and even if they do come to the understanding of what all these words mean (and there are a lot of them), it can take so much effort to get there that the story itself becomes lost. What you end up with is more of a homework assignment instead of a good read. Here’s an example: “But there were the golosses of millicents telling them to shut it and you could even slooshy the zvook of like somebody being tolchocked real horrorshow and going owwwwwwwww, and it was like the goloss of a drunken starry ptitsa, not a man.” The whole thing is like that. Luckily some books come with a glossary, making it easier. Others, like the edition I had, did not, so it’s left up to the reader to either figure it out on your own or look it up on the numerous websites devoted to defining the language for you.

As for the story, it is quite violent and the characters extremely unlikable. Even with the original final chapter added, sympathy does not come easily for the protagonist. At least not from me. Because of the brutal acts within the book that he performs, I had a hard time caring what happened to him. Even when doctors went about conditioning him in ways that can only be described as inhumane, I still couldn’t bring myself to feel sympathetic because he never felt any remorse for his actions. The feelings he had towards violence weren’t his own. I suppose that’s the point though. The loss to think and act for ourselves, no matter what those thoughts and actions may be. That should be what scares you. Thankfully I don’t have to like the main character in order for me to enjoy a book and in this case it wasn’t necessary to be fond of him. I just wish I could have enjoyed this one much more than I did. The concept and idea behind it is interesting and that is why I decided to read it in the first place. Unfortunately I think I would have gotten more out of it had there been less unrecognizable slang used throughout it. Of course I will say I understand why the author used it. A means to soften the blow of how disturbing the book truly is. There were times I was thankful that I didn’t fully understand what was going on because just what I was able to figure out without full comprehension made the acts horrific enough, especially when you consider the age of those committing them. I did find the second half of the book easier to read, but that’s mostly because by then I was able to figure out what most of the words meant and I was finally able to really focus on the story. Which would have been great had it not been for the final chapter. I won’t go into it so as not to give it away to anyone that hasn’t read it. I just found it unbelievable.

Now for the question: Who I would recommend this book to? Well, I would say anyone who wants to read it. I wouldn’t avoid it just because of the possible difficulty in understanding it. Some do find it easier to decipher and for that you might find it a bit more enjoyable than I did.

Available at Amazon at the link below:
A Clockwork Orange

The Wicked Boy (The Mystery of a Victorian Child Killer) by Kate Summerscale

2 out of 5 stars

I received this book free from Netgalley.

In the summer of 1895, brothers Robert Coombes (13 years old) and Nattie Coombes (12 years old) were accused of murdering their mother. Robert's guilt was never in question, and he never denied the charges when the death was eventually discovered. For ten days after the murder, their mother's body lay in the upstairs bedroom while Robert, Nattie, and a simple-minded colleague of their fathers, who had no idea of the grisly crime, went to watch cricket, to the seaside, coffee shops and the park, played cards and other games. Family members soon grew suspicious however and the crime was eventually uncovered.

A true crime novel, I really went into this book assuming I would just become captivated by it. There is a morbid fascination that one has with child killers, The mere idea that someone so young could be capable of such violence is both interesting and frightening at the same time. Given the time period as the late 1800's, I was especially intrigued since it was even more of a rarity back then. Unfortunately I can only say this book was ok. It was well written and was obviously well researched, but it didn't engage me and seemed to lack real depth. It could be because it didn't appear that the trial lawyers had any interest in finding a motive or maybe because you don't get any real sense of the emotions of all the people involved, but I was disappointed. It's more of a "this happened, that happened and he said, she said" type of read and I had hoped that the book might have tried to make sense as to why Robert killed his mother. It didn't really. Instead the focus was on Robert's mental state and whether or not he was insane a the time of the murder. Of course it is interesting to see how they viewed such things and what they considered a person to be insane, but that alone couldn't hold my interest. I hate to admit it because it sounds so callous, but I ended up getting bored and just skimmed through the end.

Available on Amazon at the link below:
The Wicked Boy

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

 

5 out of 5 stars

A coming of age story, Charlie is a freshman who is shy and intelligent beyond his years but also socially awkward. He’s a bit weird and tends to cry a lot, but is also very deep and introspective. Unfortunately he has spent most of his time sticking to the sidelines in life. He is told he needs to “participate” and ends up meeting and becoming friends with 2 seniors, a sister and brother by the names of Sam and Patrick. Through their friendship, Charlie enters the world of first dates, family drama, sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Oh, and feeling infinite. These are his letters to whomever is reading the book telling you of his journey.

What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said by so many others? I loved it. I can’t begin to describe how much I loved it. I’ve read so many books that I liked, but never has one stuck with me so strongly. I absolutely adored the main character, Charlie. He was likeable from the first sentence and I liked him more and more as I continued to read his letters. Wise and yet so innocent at the same time, some of the things he said just made you pause and think. His initial struggle to participate in life and understand people around him really resonated with me. I guess I can relate to him on some level because I was a wallflower. Not quite like Charlie of course, and it’s been many, many years since I was in high school, but I definitely saw myself in him quite a few times throughout his letters. I understood him. I really can’t describe it. All I can say is this is most definitely now my favorite book and one of the best I have ever read. I can’t recommend this book enough to anyone who has ever felt like a wallflower….or anyone who hasn’t.

Available on Amazon at the link below:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham

 

4 out of 5 stars

I received this book free from NetGalley.

Seven people might have murdered Eric Crowther, the mysterious recluse who lived in the gaunt house whose shadow fell across the White Cottage. Seven people had good cause. It was not lack of evidence that sent Detective Chief Inspector Challenor and his son Jerry half across Europe to unravel a chaos of clues.

Not long ago, I found a few podcasts that play those old time radio mystery theater shows. Since then I have listened to quite a few and really enjoy them. This book kind of reminds me of those. Margery Allingham is known as one of the truly great mystery writers of the Golden Age and it is easy to see why.

The White Cottage is a short story. It was a little slow in the beginning and I will admit that it didn’t initially draw me in. After the first two chapters though, I couldn’t stop and finished it in just a couple hours. Once I was able to establish who all the characters were (there were quite a few) it was easy for me to get lost in the story. The thing I especially liked about this book is how Inspector Challenor focused on each character, went over their motive and probability of having committed the crime, and then ruled them out one by one. There were definitely enough suspects to keep you guessing and right up until the reveal, I had not been able to figure out who it was.

The one thing that was bothersome for me was the Inspectors son, Jerry. An ok character for the most part, he would annoy me at times with his insistence that the killer couldn’t be the girl he was smitten with, because, well, he liked her. A girl he barely knew and had just recently met. It also bothered me that he wanted his dad to give up the case and not bother finding out who did it all because there is a point when his dad suspects the woman of the murder. Luckily this wasn’t annoying enough to kill the story though. Just something I found slightly irritating.

Because it is a short story, character development is lacking. Something to be aware of if you are big on that. Personally it didn’t bother me too much since there really isn’t time to develop them completely. This is actually the first book of Allingham’s I had ever read, but I will definitely be reading more from this author.

 

Available on Amazon at the link below:

The White Cottage

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

2 out of 5 stars

So I decided to add some classics to my reading rotation this year. I didn’t want to read books that I had already read back when I was in high school so I looked at ones that I know others had to read and figured I’d start there. So far I’m not fairing so well. This was my second book in the classics category that I chose and I’m not really sure what to say about it. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. It was basically just ok, which saddens me because I was really looking forward to this book. I liked the synopsis and thought it would be one I would greatly enjoy. It unfortunately fell flat for me. I found most of it very tedious ad boring and I really struggled to finish it. I get the point that the author was trying to make, I just felt like it was too wordy (especially when it came to describing the island…very long winded) and the dialog was choppy to the point that many times I had no idea what they were even talking about because all they did was talk over each other. I get that is what kids do, but it was annoying and it made it hard to follow the story.

Available on Amazon at the link below:

Lord of the Flies

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

2 out of 5 stars

When I was in high school all those years ago, we had 3 English teachers who taught 3 separate Literature classes. When it came to the required reading list, each teacher had a different curriculum to avoid us all reading the same books. Because of that, The Catcher in the Rye was never a part of my required reading so I decided all these years later to give it a go. I kind of feel bad for the other class. I can honestly say I did not like this book, at all. The story is basically about a teenager, Holden Caulfield, who is fighting adulthood and has never really gotten over the death of his brother. I guess it would be considered a coming of age story, except he never really evolves. He pretty much hates anything and everyone and refers to most everybody as phonies. Of course he is the biggest phony himself, which some seem to think is the point of the book. Perhaps it is, but I have a hard time with that since Holden himself never seems to realize it. Maybe it’s not necessary that he does. I just think that if that is indeed the point, him realizing it would have made a bigger impact. Regardless, the most interesting thing about this book for me is that you either absolutely loved it or you completely hated it. There is no in-between really. I’m glad there are people who adore this book and feel so strongly about it. It’s never a bad thing to be taken by a book, but unfortunately I’m going to have to go into the hated it column. The reason I’m giving it 2 stars is because of the strong feelings it seems to bring out on either side.

Available on Amazon at the link below:

The Catcher in the Rye

The Spirit Chaser by Kat Mayor

4 out of 5 stars

 

I received this book for free from NetGalley.

Austin Cole is the star of the hit TV show Spirit Chasers Investigations, a reality show where a crew goes into haunted places and ghost hunts. Casey Lawson is a psychic who can see dead people. Together they hunt with a full crew and all seems to be going well. That is until an evil entity takes over one of their own. Now it’s not about hunting, but surviving.

Well, where do I start? I liked this book, almost loved it. I had a hard time putting it down for the most part. But something about it made me unable to give it 5 stars. The first part of the book was a little slow but I really enjoyed it and pretty much plowed through it. The second part, where most of the action was, didn’t hold my interest as much as it should have, which is strange. For some reason, even though a lot was going on, I had a harder time getting into it and just felt like it dragged a bit. Not that I didn’t enjoy it. I did. It was just harder for me to focus. Maybe it’s because I had a feeling what was going to happen and once it got to the ending, I was a little disappointed. Not because the author chose not to go for the typical happy ending. I actually applaud her for that. I think it’s more how it all happened. It felt like a big build up, but without the climax. I can’t explain it.

The characters in the book were fairly well developed. There could have been more background on them and the romantic part of the story was a little rushed and became too intense too quickly for my tastes, but it didn’t really detract from the ghost story itself. I liked Austin. He could be a real pain and there were times when he was a little overconfident, but he was a likable character. The rest of the crew were a mixture of personalities that seemed to mesh well together and helped tie in the story. My only real character issue was Casey. I had a love/hate relationship with her. There were times in the book that I really liked her and other times where she was being so ridiculous I could hardly stand her. One moment she would seem like a really talented psychic and then it would seem like she really didn’t know what she was doing. Especially when it came to her own boyfriend. I was really confused that she didn’t sense anything from him and when his behavior drastically started changing, it never occurred to her that something more paranormal could be going on. I just figured she would at least consider it since she is the one who cleansed his house for him because it was so full of paranormal things that latched on during their ghost hunting excursions and he ended up unintentionally bringing them home.

When it came to the ghost hunting, I have to say, the author really seems to know her stuff. I found that part the most entertaining and really enjoyed how she could pull you in and make you feel like you were hunting with them. She didn’t sugar coat it or make it seem like an easy job. I like the fact that she also made sure to have Casey walk through a place and declare it not haunted. I have watched different ghost hunting shows before and was always skeptical when every place they went was haunted. Makes it seem less believable. I really liked that she didn’t do that. There was plenty of suspense and scary moments to really keep you interested. Even though I couldn’t give it 5 stars, I would definitely recommend it.

Avaiable on Amazon at the link below:

The Spirit Chaser

 

Karma's A Bitch (A Pet Psychic Mystery #1) by Shannon Esposito

4 out of 5 stars.

Karma is a Bitch is the first installment of the Pet Psychic series by Shannon Esposito. Darwin, the main character, moves to St. Pete, Florida and opens a Pet Boutique with her friend Sylvia. She’s trying to escape from the family gift and making an attempt to be normal. It’s alluded to that her family is full of psychics. Darwin herself is able to get visions from touching animals. She ends up befriending a homeless man, Mad Dog, who has a canine companion, Karma. When he ends up dead, Karma is alone and Darwin takes him in. She gets visions from him that shows her it is not a suicide like the police believe. She starts investigating on her own and finds out both the good and bad side of the homeless world.

I got this book free from Amazon Kindle and I have to say, I really liked it! The characters were well developed and the story was engaging. Darwin was very sweet and easily likable and I absolutely loved the dog, Karma. I was glad to see that the love interest side of the story with Will, the detective, flowed nicely and didn’t take away from the mystery part. That is something I have seen happen in other cozy mysteries. Although I do have a hard time really calling this a cozy. It is a bit on the darker side but not so dark that you could categorize it as a hard hitting mystery. I think the fact that the author used the homeless community for this story is why. She was able to show the way they become family to each other, while also giving you a glimpse into the darker side. It wasn’t as light as other books and while there is a fun tone to it, there is also a depressing one as well.

One thing I especially like though was the fact that when it came to the ending, it wasn’t one of those moments where the main character gets saved before anything happens to them. She didn’t walk away completely unscathed and it made it more believable. I was also not expecting the why. I had kind of figured out who the murderer was (I was not completely dead on, but close) but I had no idea really why they had done it so the ending came as a surprise to me.

There were a couple of issues I had which led me to not give it a full 5 stars. I was disappointed that she didn’t share her secret with anyone, especially Will, since it was looking like she was going to. I was also wishing the author would have given more of a back story on Darwin’s family and why she left.  The idea is that they are psychic, but doesn’t explain why that would be something for her to run from. Aside from that though I really enjoyed the story.

 

Available on Amazon at the link below:

Karma's A Bitch

 

The Latent Psychic: A Tarot Card Mystery #1 by Ashley Carrillo

3 out of 5 stars

Tasha Costerman finds a deck of Tarot cards on sale when her roommate Lauren and her visit their favorite book store. She thought it would be something to do on a Saturday night. But when they get them home and decide to try them out on a reading for Tasha, their normal, un-exciting lives change. Her cards reveal a death, a scandal and her own latent psychic abilities. An accidental death at work she "knows" is more than an accident. When the police say it's just an accident Tasha decides she needs to investigate to prove it was a murder and her main suspect is the handsome new forklift driver, Knox. But even Lauren thinks she's nuts, not psychic.

This was a short (about 99 pages), quick read. I got it free through Kindle. There were quite a few grammar errors and the story was very rushed, but overall it was actually enjoyable. I do think the author could have built up the mystery a little more and there were things that could have been omitted since they didn't really add to the story much. I would never have guessed the killer because I don't think he was even introduced until the reveal, but I could be wrong on that. There were quite a few characters whose names all started with the same letter so I could have missed it. If you can handle the bad grammar, it's not a bad book if you are looking for a quick read.

Here is a link to get yourself a copy from Amazon:
The Latent Psychic

A Sweet Murder (Storage Ghost Murders #3) by Gillian Larkin

1 out of 5 stars.

Grace Abrahams is the main character in this book. After the car accident that claims her parents, she is able to see ghosts. She meets them while looking at storage lockers at auctions with her brother, Frankie. Grace is visited by an older woman, a ghost by the name of Connie Flamingo, who is not sure how she was murdered but knows it was by someone close to her. Grace investigates to find out who wanted the lady dead and while doing so, it has an unfortunate side effect on Grace.

I tried. I really did, but unfortunately I will have to add this to my “abandoned” pile. Not something I do very often. I got this book for free through Kindle and thought it sounded like something I would like. The reviews were all positive and people seemed to really enjoy it. I wish I could say the same. I am a big fan of cozy mysteries, but I got about halfway through this one and realized I just couldn’t read anymore. The characters were all one dimensional and kind of annoying. Pearl, the resident ghost who hangs out at Grace’s shop, is the only somewhat loveable character in the book and even she would get on my nerves from time to time. The dialogue throughout the book is amateurish and awkward and the mystery itself is boring. I honestly just couldn’t get into this book and finally decided that I didn’t care who the murderer was, so I put it down.

Available on Amazon at the link below:
A Sweet Murder

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

4 out of 5 stars.

Tessa and Callie never talk about what they saw one summer night back when they were childhood friends. Tessa moved away when she was nine, Callie still lives there. Callie tries to make the ghosts of that evening disappear by partying hard. Tessa can't stop thinking about it because things never quite added up. It haunts her. Now she's going back and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to the killer. This time she won't be able to run away.

I received this book as part of a First Reads Goodreads giveaway.

The Darkest Corner is a young adult psychological thriller. An intense and well written book, it is what you would call a slow read. Even with that said, the story really grabs you right from the beginning. The characters were so realistic and relatable that you found yourself falling into the story. You could feel their emotions through the pages. As the story progressed and moved towards the ending, family secrets started making themselves known. The more that came out, the more intriguing the story became. I really had a hard time putting this one down. I definitely would seek out more books by this author.

Available on Amazon at the link below:
The Darkest Corners