Joshua Burns

Joshua Burns is now friends with Molly Bryant

Joshua Burns rated a book 4 of 5 stars

A Trace of Moonlight (Abby Sinclair, #3)
by Allison Pang (Goodreads Author)

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A Trace of Moonlight maintains an enjoyable air of complication. With main characters with names like Brystion and Talivar, the initial impression would be these names belong to aliens, which considering the fact that the fi...more As seen on Rabidreads.ca:

A Trace of Moonlight maintains an enjoyable air of complication. With main characters with names like Brystion and Talivar, the initial impression would be these names belong to aliens, which considering the fact that the first eats people's dreams and the latter sports pointed ears, could not be far from the truth. The law of Mike, Craig, and Jon rightly deserves to have been broken. The shortened form of Ion for Brystion does a lot of work to keep me comfortable.

Beyond the names of Abby's love interests, there stretches a four tier plane of existence encompassing elves, heaven, hell, and humanity. This show, no different from any of the previous, I came into two acts late, so if my explanation of the logistics falls short, that is to blame. It is to this plot's credit that quickly a mantle of clarity settled over my shoulders. Certain scenes such as camping out in the wild where trolls lead their goats around or elaborate shark-infested dream sequences stick in the memory due to the amount of time they are given for development. One feels that the author has taken massive shorthand of Abby's previous adventures as frequently a paragraph of “this event is kind of like this one I had awhile back” appears.

Characters outside of the main trinity of Talivar, Brystion, and Abby, with the exception of the talking unicorn (a little uncouth), the Elven Queen (a little mad), the Elven Princess (a little recessed), and the Bad Guy (a little mysteriously hateful), are not as well developed as one would hope. With such a large cast, it is to expected that majority of them would serve as tools i.e. this one is the Wild Music carrier, this one acts as an angel, etc. Perhaps they were better characterized when first introduced but if not it cannot be too much of a shortcoming.

I completely forgot that it has a consistent awareness of how ridiculous it presents itself. One could call it a sense of humor. One could call it the bickering of a long joined family. I'll say there could have been a bit more.(less)

Joshua Burns rated a book 2 of 5 stars

Liquid Lies (The Elementals, #1)
by Hanna Martine (Goodreads Author)

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Liquid Lies probably could have done with some cuts. It takes awhile for the passion we all know is going to happen to happen and it takes stars for Gwen, our diplomatic protagonist, to make the critical decisions. This tre...more As seen on Rabidreads.ca:

Liquid Lies probably could have done with some cuts. It takes awhile for the passion we all know is going to happen to happen and it takes stars for Gwen, our diplomatic protagonist, to make the critical decisions. This tremendous delay comes with some benefits.

When Reed and Gwen finally do connect (I hope that isn't too much of a spoiler), it feels like much has passed between them and not just a lot of dialogue, mainly a lot of tension. Even with all the space the two characters are given to be fleshed out, Reed and Gwen still come off as caricatures. Not to mention Griffin and Gwen's father, her family, who quickly disappear into the organization they briefly stuck their heads out of.

Gwen, a bit of a Daddy's girl after losing her mother a little ways back and having her sister banished due to her fraternization with a Primary, works under her father and the Board at the Company where they as aliens that appear human sell magical products that alter people's appearances. If this all sounds a little too corporate, it is.

Reed, also known as the Retriever (a complete joke of a title, please tell me it's a joke), "retrieves" important people. Surprise, surprise Reed's path crosses Gwen's. It is unclear who should trust who.

The alien backstory gradually becomes more and more of the interesting centerpiece in this otherwise predictable world until about a third of the way through when its imagery and imagination completely steals the show in one stunning scene, then it is forced to succumb to our original Reed/Gwen truststory. From what is shown in that one scene, it feels like the author has much more to offer rather than this hokey - not even worthy of the defamation B-plot tag - story. The first few pages of the next book in the series also direct our attention to more quirky protagonists.

Perhaps the feeling here is that the author could have gone out on more of a limb than she has? With stories like these, when entirely new cultures are introduced, there should be opportunities for inserting more totally alien fixtures, colors that our eyes cannot see, things that completely defy human communication and certainly there is a bit of that with the fact that Gwen can speak twenty + different languages but that is all handled in a minimal, nearly offscreen way.

Although I begrudged the beginning and the end of this book (and had some sort of hope three quarters of the way through) I will hold out hope that the next book, Alien in Ice Land, will deliver.(less)

Joshua Burns rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Succubi Are Forever (Succubus Diaries, #4)
by Jill Myles (Goodreads Author)

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Succubi are Forever has potential out the wazoo. Jackie, a succubus on a divine mission, answers to a vamp/fallen angel, Zane, and a pure angel, Noah. I have, of course, come in on the show right at the end. But the plot h...more

Joshua Burns rated a book 5 of 5 stars

Deadtown (Deadtown, #1)
by Nancy Holzner (Goodreads Author)

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Deadtown really excels at the level of characterization. It seems no matter how small one's part is in this mutant (or monster?) Boston, you will receive a interesting name, with the exception of Daniel Costello, and you wil...more

Joshua Burns rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Eventide (Dark Ink Chronicles #3)
by Elle Jasper (Goodreads Author)

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Eventide is most remarkable in the way it presents itself on the page. Plenty of spacing between lines. Healthy doses of italics. Rather large epigraphs. It makes for an inviting read of a well-built character. Riley Poe...more As seen on Rabidreads.ca:

Eventide is most remarkable in the way it presents itself on the page. Plenty of spacing between lines. Healthy doses of italics. Rather large epigraphs. It makes for an inviting read of a well-built character. Riley Poe may not be the most straight-laced of the residents of Savannah but she is willing to admit that and much much more.

Perhaps because of the line-spacing her thoughts feel less dense than they should. I should specify this book is written in a hard first-person and only gets out of it through the previously mentioned tricks i.e. italics in which Riley may or may not be in her body and epigraphs in which some other character is providing a paragraph of his or her thoughts.

As a novel I am not sure it entirely works. To Spark Notes the events that led up to these, events that keep in mind I had to sort through all fresh having not read book one or two (again, I know, so sorry), Riley must deal here with vampiric urges overtaking her. Thus much of the struggle stems from Riley's psyche as she comes to grips, and fails to often, with what exactly she is.

Time skips frequently as Eventide plays up the unreliable narrator to an extreme. Where this whole unreliable narrator thing falls short, however, is in just how much Riley's friends still adore her, for if you are going to have a narrator that maybe is not in full control of her thoughts or feelings, there should be more "Oh my gosh you're chewing on Rick, I'm not sure if you should be allowed in this household".

Basically no matter how out-of-control Riley might have become there is never any question that she will not do anything that will not make her a hero and if she did do anything evil the book leaves enough gaps that it is still up for discussion when it is over. You really cannot complain too much either way because the book flies by at such a fast clip.

Did I mention her friends, admittedly hard to keep track of since yet again I am coming in late, range from thin as cardboard to egg cartons, the egg cartons being her two lovers, Eli and Victorian who actually get to have scenes with Riley that last more than a page and involve some scenery?(less)

Joshua Burns rated a book 5 of 5 stars

Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1 (The Parasol Protectorate Manga)
by Gail Carriger (Goodreads Author)

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Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1 brilliantly - ahem - condenses all that I thought I knew and thought I loved about Soulless. What's more interesting, from my viewpoint, is how it would have appealed if I had not already indulged...more

Joshua Burns said "yes" to attending Jessica McClain Book Club

date: April 22, 2013 06:00PM
location: The United States
description: Amanda will be hosting her first Jessica McClain Book Club on April 22nd. She'll be discussing Full Blooded as well as answering questions about the upcoming release of Hot Blooded. Please join us!

[image][image][image]...more

Joshua Burns rated a book 5 of 5 stars

The Last Werewolf
by Glen Duncan

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The Last Werewolf, for the bulk of its fliptime, reads like a postmodern thinker incubated in a Gothic cellar. The catchphrases, “God is dead” and “we’ve all seen this before” and “why are we still listening to narratives we...more

Joshua Burns rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Ironskin (Ironskin, #1)
by Tina Connolly (Goodreads Author)

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Ironskin sports two spiffy but slightly misleading “like this, like that” quotes which I will save you the trouble right now of being lead astray by.

Certainly Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre (although I haven’t read the la...more

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Joshua Burns is now friends with Molly Bryant
Apr 18, 2013 06:32am · like
Joshua Burns rated a book 4 of 5 stars A Trace of Moonlight (Abby Sinclair, #3) by Allison Pang (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As seen on Rabidreads.ca: A Trace of Moonlight maintains an enjoyable air of complication. With main characters with names like Brystion and Talivar, the initial impression would be these names belong to aliens, which considering the fact that the fi...more
Apr 17, 2013 10:51am · see review
Joshua Burns rated a book 2 of 5 stars Liquid Lies (The Elementals, #1) by Hanna Martine (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As seen on Rabidreads.ca: Liquid Lies probably could have done with some cuts. It takes awhile for the passion we all know is going to happen to happen and it takes stars for Gwen, our diplomatic protagonist, to make the critical decisions. This tre...more
Apr 17, 2013 10:50am · see review
Joshua Burns rated a book 4 of 5 stars Succubi Are Forever (Succubus Diaries, #4) by Jill Myles (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As seen on Rabidreads.ca: Succubi are Forever has potential out the wazoo. Jackie, a succubus on a divine mission, answers to a vamp/fallen angel, Zane, and a pure angel, Noah. I have, of course, come in on the show right at the end. But the plot h...more
Apr 17, 2013 10:49am · see review
Joshua Burns rated a book 5 of 5 stars Deadtown (Deadtown, #1) by Nancy Holzner (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As seen on Rabidreads.ca: Deadtown really excels at the level of characterization. It seems no matter how small one's part is in this mutant (or monster?) Boston, you will receive a interesting name, with the exception of Daniel Costello, and you wil...more
Apr 17, 2013 10:48am · see review
Joshua Burns rated a book 3 of 5 stars Eventide (Dark Ink Chronicles #3) by Elle Jasper (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As seen on Rabidreads.ca: Eventide is most remarkable in the way it presents itself on the page. Plenty of spacing between lines. Healthy doses of italics. Rather large epigraphs. It makes for an inviting read of a well-built character. Riley Poe...more
Apr 17, 2013 10:47am · see review
Joshua Burns rated a book 5 of 5 stars Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1 (The Parasol Protectorate Manga) by Gail Carriger (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As seen on Rabidreads.ca: Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1 brilliantly - ahem - condenses all that I thought I knew and thought I loved about Soulless. What's more interesting, from my viewpoint, is how it would have appealed if I had not already indulged...more
Apr 17, 2013 10:45am · see review
Joshua Burns said "yes" to attending Jessica McClain Book Club date: April 22, 2013 06:00PM location: The United States description: Amanda will be hosting her first Jessica McClain Book Club on April 22nd. She'll be discussing Full Blooded as well as answering questions about the upcoming release of Hot Blooded. Please join us! [image][image][image]...more
Apr 17, 2013 10:39am · like
Joshua Burns rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As Seen on Rabidreads.ca: The Last Werewolf, for the bulk of its fliptime, reads like a postmodern thinker incubated in a Gothic cellar. The catchphrases, “God is dead” and “we’ve all seen this before” and “why are we still listening to narratives we...more
Mar 01, 2013 01:32pm · see review
Joshua Burns rated a book 4 of 5 stars Ironskin (Ironskin, #1) by Tina Connolly (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As Seen on Rabidreads.ca: Ironskin sports two spiffy but slightly misleading “like this, like that” quotes which I will save you the trouble right now of being lead astray by. Certainly Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre (although I haven’t read the la...more
Mar 01, 2013 01:31pm · see review

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