Review: PANIK

PANIK by Chris Selwyn James
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Well folks, here it is—the first read of 2020 to grace the “OMG Bad” list. It is an honor richly deserved. This is one of those books where the author tried entirely too hard to be intellectual and clever and instead comes off as nothing more than a novice with a pen. Take, for example, the juxtaposition of the names of two of the therapists—Godly and Fersatan. Really? That’s just lazy, not to mention wrong on so many levels. And that’s just the beginning of the writing that had me rolling my eyes so far it hurt. I could write a dissertation about why this piece should have gone straight to the trash, but it just doesn’t warrant one more minute of my time. Seriously. Find something else.

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Review: The Silence

The Silence by Daisy Pearce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another case of a bridge too far, this is a decent book that could have been great but for the heavy-handed prose. Pearce takes a straight forward story that builds suspense and turns it on its ear, drowning in self-indulgent writing that takes itself far too seriously. Characters spend too much time opining in paragraph after paragraph of over-written narrative.

“I study him. He has a day’s worth of stubble peppering his jaw, shocks of grey in his hair. We’ve been together just two months and are still at the stage of our relationship when we want to devour each other, sinking our teeth into each other’s names, the details, the rich smell of him in the crook of his neck. Perhaps that’s why I can’t tell him where the money went. Perhaps that’s why the lie slips from my mouth like ribbon being pulled from between my lips. ‘I don’t”

Beyond just the morose text that drips like thick, wet seaweed from the page (what can I tell you—it must be contagious), there is just no great mystery here as to what is simmering between the lines. The gathering suspense isn’t the result of some tremendous secret suddenly revealed, as even the least astute of readers will see through the gaslighting and wonder why Stella, the main character, is so ridiculously naive.

Clearly, Pearce is a talented author, able to create incredible tone that resonates and builds. She is just in desperate need of an editor to reel her in when she gets lost in melodrama that steals the spotlight and disengages the reader.

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Review: And Then She Vanished

And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A couple of notes to preface this review. First, the book appears to be a rewrite/serious overhaul of a previous edition by author Nick Jones. Whomever suggested the rebranding/packaging was SPOT ON. It was a combination of the title and the cover that drew me in, and I can guarantee you, after looking at the original, that I would have walked right past it in its original iteration. Which leads me to my second note—this novel was COMPLETELY outside my wheelhouse. I rarely read sci-fi, unless it’s post-apocalyptic, so again, kudos on the enticing changes and redirection in marketing.

With all of that said, I dove into this not realizing it landed smack in the middle of the science-fiction genre and in fact wouldn’t have been able to identify it as such until well into the story. When the improbable elements of science-fiction did emerge, I was already in neck deep, inhaling pages as quickly as I could turn them. In fact I was so engaged in the reading that I had little difficulty suspending my disbelief and bought in to the time-travel premise hook, line and sinker.

Jones proves himself to be a major contender in the arena of modern literature, as he brilliantly conveys tone and mood in a way that is both rare and beautiful. I found myself holding my breath, laughing and crying right along with the major players, who are all interesting, well-defined characters. The ambiance of each scene is brought to bear through some of the best writing I’ve had the privilege to read in a very long time. The heaviness that is built around the protracted grieving of the protagonist, Joe Bridgeman, is something that is so real and so alive it’s almost as if the reader can reach out and touch the sadness.

The conclusion here was where the sci-fi crowd will find pay dirt, and also where I found the book lost a bit of traction. It was difficult to follow the convoluted finale, as it seemed to spin in a thousand directions. The onslaught of details, and the flash-forward/flash-back structure, became disorienting and sent me back through a few pages seeking clarification on more than one occasion. I am putting this down to my inexperience with the genre rather than any missteps on the part of the author.

In the end, I was left breathless and fulfilled, a state that left me longing for just one more chapter. Lucky for me, this appears to be a part of a series. I can’t wait to dive in to the next volume!



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Review: The Fall in Love Checklist

The Fall in Love Checklist by Sarah Ready
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Clumsy writing, characters built on stereotypes and awkward dialogue are actually the highlights here. When these three fatal flaws barrel headlong into an ill-conceived plot, the result is a story as inane as it is implausible.

Here’s the worst offense committed by this author—instead of digging in and owning her characters, author Sarah Ready attempts to use cheap dialogue gimmicks to carry the weight of their individuality. This taints every page of what may have otherwise been at least a mediocre story. One woman says “bah” every single time she opens her mouth to speak. A youngster moves between roles, seemingly borne of the author’s inability to commit—portrayed as both a petulant girly girl and a tomboy with a two word vocabulary—“dude” and “bro”. In yet another iteration, the author attempts to give her an “impish” allure and infers that she is surely headed for a life of con games and crime.

In the end, rather than imbuing each player with distinct characteristics that are subtle and well placed—aspects of themselves to drive their actions—Ready instead brow beats the reader with her “dialogue-carnage”. This approach is hammered home in line after line making the reading stilted, amateurish and exaggerated.

Two stars for a coherent, albeit unlikely, plot.

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Review: Good Neighbors

Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After finishing this book and perusing these reviews, I think it’s quite possible that I read something COMPLETELY different than the writing upon which so many of you bestowed 4 and 5 stars. Suburban horror? Domestic noire? While the genre may be unclear and up for debate, the prose “I” read was quite clearly an overzealous attempt by a writer to appear profound and insightful; a series of stylistic choices that smacked of self-indulgence in the form of overplayed metaphors, surreal dialogue and stereotypic characters. Passages of clipped conversation hint at layers of meaning but only truly deliver hazy and obscured inference. I felt like I was missing some underlying text and was seeing the plot unfold from behind a layer of gauze. I repeatedly blinked to try to clear my field of vision, to no avail. Entire sections here were related in the form of thinly veiled PSAs as well—statements of politics and mental illness, of pedophilia and the implications of socio-economic life stations. It was as if the book needed to be all things to all people—an overly ambitious reach that resulted in confusion and chaos.

It’s clear Langan has chops and can craft an intriguing tale. Taking on less would have resulted in so much more.

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Review: Beautiful Lies

Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Until ten minutes ago, this was the best of 2021 thus far. Until ten minutes ago, I was hoping that this was one in a series so that I could inhale the next. Until ten minutes ago, I was mentally drafting and revising my letter to author Lisa Unger’s publicist asking to be officially named as a recognized “super fan”. And then.....oh, and then. ::sigh:: And then I read the final pages...and I’m pretty hacked off.

Now here come the spoilers folks. The first 99% of the book is brilliant. Seriously. Well-written, well-drawn characters, well-developed plot. So things are going along swimmingly. As a reader, you get that little tingle—you know, the one that is strangely sad, knowing the end is right around the corner; but, also exhilarating, to be finally getting some answers after the investment you’ve made in the story. Suddenly, and without warning, the narrator—our beautifully smart and just as beautifully flawed protagonist—is using the “let’s wind this thing down” time to utter phrases that amount to “we may never know”, and “that remains unanswered”. Oh sure, she is using far more engaging vocabulary, and her style is still there, but she is basically telling us, us invested readers, that she has just plum run outta time, sugar! Every damn question that had urged me forward and propelled me through the pages sat quidam, orphaned and alone, of absolutely no consequence EXCEPT TO ME. You just can’t suck me in, then, as I get close to the finish line, say “oh man, I can’t believe I told you so much....and now, well just LOOK at the time! I GUESS YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO BUY MY NEXT BOOK!”

So Ms. Ungar, when you can tell me who killed Teresa; when you can tell me how Max ended up with the baby; when you can set me straight on how, exactly Jake ended up back in the system—when you can begin to address these burning questions, only then can I possibly consider “super fan” status. Really, now. This was just.....soul-sucking.

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Review: The Apocalypse Seven

The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book—from the diverse characters to the realistic dialogue and settings, everything was masterfully developed and seamlessly integrated into the story line. What most appealed to me, however, was the unexpected humor this author infused into many of the high stress scenarios. Unfortunately, it all fell apart when the author attempted to bring this one to its conclusion. I had a very difficult time wrapping my head around what actually transpired, and while I’m fairly sure I got the gist, the details remain murky. It was a disappointment, at that point, on many levels, including the author’s tech-laden geek explanation as well as my own clearly subpar intellect. So a solid 4, bordering on a clean 5, immediately bore the brunt of my frustration, resulting in a 3.

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Review: Logging Off

Logging Off by Nick Spalding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nick Spalding is an acquired taste. At least that is what I am led to believe when I read all the rave reviews of his work. Seemingly well-adjusted, intelligent people are incredibly dedicated Spalding fans, forging a fiery path of cult-like loyalty and leaving scorched earth beneath the ashes of Spalding detractors. This being the case, I am awarding the book a full three stars, which should be enough to keep the over-zealous Spalding groupies from blowing up my social media. I do, however, fear there MUST be something I am missing—that the whole world is in on a joke and refuses to clue me in. Instead, I’m left shaking my head in wide-eyed wonder at the plethora of worshipping reviewers.

So all in all, this was a long way to travel to say that, in the end, while admittedly not a popular opinion, I found this novel to be droll, juvenile and filled with jokes about bodily functions that, seriously boys, JUST AREN’T FUNNY after the age of 12. I hope Spalding continues to write as he matures past the frat boy phase. He has some great chops that would be an asset to a writer for grown-ups.

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Review: Ready Player Two

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, I will give Ernest Cline this—he has one hell of an imagination. And while I’ve now read Ready Player One and Ready Player Two, I am still not fully onboard the Cline fan club train. Yes, his references to 80s pop culture, particularly the obscure ones, did make me feel like I was part of the “cool-kid” crowd, but equally his video game references made me feel very, very old. Therein lies the problem folks—I have no idea who the target audience for this book might be. It reads too mature to be considered adolescent lit, and I have a difficult time believing Cline would write for readers on whom so much meaning would be lost anyway. By that same token, I believe the more intellectual crowd, regardless of age, would feel that much of the content (seriously, Queen Itsalot?) is just plain silly. Perhaps, then, the target reader would be a 50-60 year old single virgin (male or female), living out their days with both hands on a video controller and a VR headset strapped over their eyes, emerging only to read a few mindless paragraphs, order pizza and piss before returning to their own world of make-believe. For me, now that Cline has ruined my memories of Prince and the Breakfast Club, I’m swearing off any more of his books. I prefer my recollections of the 80s to remain colored by the drug and alcohol haze in which they were created instead of bleached and sanitized by the spotlights of Cline’s books.

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Review: Forgotten in Death

Forgotten in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have read every one of the 53 books in this series, and I can honestly say that this is the first to disappoint me. The premise is intriguing—the skeletal remains of a pregnant woman and a fetus are found walled within an aging building that is being rehabbed. Add to that the body of a “quirky” homeless woman, a family with myriad secrets and a retired Russian mobster, and the stage is set for what originally promised to be another J.D. Robb blockbuster. Unfortunately, the pacing, character development and overall tone here were lackluster and maddeningly “average”. The fiery passion Roarke and Eve have so often shared is barely smoldering, and even Peabody is missing some of that spark that makes her such an integral part of the entire body of work. Additionally, Summerset seems to have discovered a filter for his witty and biting running commentary(which is a shame really), and Nadine is all but absent.

If you’re a fan of the series, I wouldn’t necessarily skip this volume and would read just for the sake of continuity. If, however, you are new to the work of J.D. Robb, aka Nora Roberts, I certainly wouldn’t start here.

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Review: One Summer Sunrise

One Summer Sunrise by Shari Low
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Initially, I found this novel to be intriguing. The opening was unique and immediately drew me into the eclectic cast of characters. As the story progressed, however, I found that I really just didn’t “like” any of the players. I didn’t find the underlying themes of self-sacrifice and self-discovery to be in any way noble or even particularly notable. Instead, I was troubled by the forever-changing allegiances; forgiveness offered for nearly unforgivable offenses; the stereotype of the forgotten senior citizen; the seemingly cavalier attitude toward the sanctity of marriage; and the list goes on. It just wasn’t, for me, the uplifting beach-read it professed to be. Three stars for the infused humor alone, but beyond that you can color me confused by the stellar ratings.

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Review: The Locked Door

The Locked Door by Freida McFadden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m just not fully understanding the plethora of brilliant ratings for this very mediocre novel. The entire story is reminiscent of In My Father's Basement, but without the intense character development and attention to detail that made Payne’s tale a solid stroke of genius. Instead, the brusque, straightforward style employed by author Freida McFadden is almost too simplistic. The attempt here to portray Nora as a potential heir to her father’s murderous throne comes across as elementary in technique and is never completely convincing, while the final epilogue seals the book’s fate as a valiant effort, minus the “valiant”.

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Review: The Layover

The Layover by Lacie Waldon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In spite of the sometimes over-the-top characters and unrealistic portrayal of life as a flight attendant, I enjoyed the kitschy romance. This is the type of book that if you look too closely, you will become mired in details that just don’t always make a great deal of sense—so if you’re a deep thinker, eager for a volume that allows for multiple levels of interpretation, you may find yourself profoundly disappointed. If, however, you are in this for a quick feel-good read that will make you giggle, this is positively perfect! This is my first exposure to this author, but it certainly won’t be the last.

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Review: Utopia Project: Everyone Must Die

Utopia Project: Everyone Must Die by Billy Dering
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Rife with stilted dialogue, editing errors and nonsense that includes melting humans. No word of a lie. I just couldn’t bring myself to finish.

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Review: More of Us to the West

More of Us to the West by Trinity Dunn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I could get past the narrator speaking to herself in italics. I could look over the shoulder of the sometimes ridiculous scenarios. I was even able to skirt the often offensive stereotypic characters. What I could not suffer, however, was the fact that this entirely too-long novel was, in the end, nothing more than chum—bait to sell the next episode. The conclusion was so insanely ridiculous as to have left me wanting to toss the whole lot straight in the pool. If I hadn’t been reading on my Kindle, the waterlogged volume would have then been summarily deposited in the fireplace, where, after drying out I would have incinerated it to ashes. Two stars for the fact that this author’s publicist managed to make this sound like a good read.

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Review: The Girl They Took

The Girl They Took by Leslie Wolfe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I closed the cover on this one with an “eh”, and even after ruminating on it for a few hours, I’m just not able to find a whole lot more to say. This was my first Wolfe book, and sadly, it may also be my last. Perhaps if I’d had an investment in the series, I would have been more inclined to overlook what were, for me, choices in the narrative and/or vocabulary that removed me from the story. Although petty, one of those choices that most irked me was the development of the character who was a tweaking junkie, ballsy enough to situate herself right in the middle of a high stakes kidnapping. This rough, unpolished street rat, when making her outrageous demands to be cut in on the action, suddenly finds her filter and blurts out “what the heck?” to display her frustration. It felt sanitized and synthetic, like watching a Disney version of a gritty crime drama. Additionally, Miriam, mom of the kidnapping victim, was completely unlikable and just didn’t elicit the sympathy needed to engage the reader in her plight. I found myself wanting to smack her off of her pedestal when I should have been sharing her fear and angst.

Overall, a very mediocre read that may have more of an appeal for fans of the Winnett series.

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Review: Don't Trust Her

Don't Trust Her by Elizabeth Boles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Innovative premise with a lot of moving parts. The characters are well-developed, and much of what initially reads as, perhaps, “awkward”, eventually gives the reader an “ohhhhhh” moment as it comes together. I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but when this author wrapped things up, she did so by providing a long and exhausting narrative that, to me, read as a lazy summary of what could have been written as a profound conclusion.

Good beach read with revolving perspectives that will definitely keep you guessing!

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Review: Competitive Grieving

Competitive Grieving by Nora Zelevansky
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I really wanted to love this—the writing is just beautiful. Unfortunately, 300 pages of grieving couched in sophomoric humor just didn’t appeal. Next?

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Review: The Missing

The Missing by Kiersten Modglin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those reads that you just know is completely far fetched, with a plot that is fantastical and action that is unfeasible, and yet...you find yourself wholly engaged and invested. Kiersten Modglin may be one of the most underrated contemporary suspense authors publishing today. I find her work to be compelling and immersive—the kind of books that you swear you’re only going to read a few pages at a time, then suddenly you glance at the clock and realize you’re an hour in and don’t want to close the cover.

Five unsuspecting strangers are lured, under false pretenses, onto a luxury yacht for a “free boat ride” and end up stranded on a deserted island, fighting for their lives. I know, I know—I can almost hear you sneering and insisting this whole premise has been done to death. I can promise you, however, that it’s never been done like this. Just when you are convinced you’ve figured it all out, Modglin hits you with a punch you will never see coming. She then lulls you into a false sense of security before once again pulling the rug right out from under any scenario you’ve constructed.

If you’re looking for believable characters that defy stereotypes, plot twists that will raise you out of your chair, and stories you will think about long after you turn the final page, don’t miss this one. Well done, Ms. Modglin. Well done.

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