Patricia Hamill's Blog: I read too much! - Posts Tagged "found-free"

Sergeant Obvious by Donald Meisenheimer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Absurd, crazy and vivid. A rollercoaster ride.

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Adventurer's Honeymoon by Kevin L. O'Brien

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a quick, fun little short story featuring a couple on their honeymoon. It's just long enough to introduce the characters and show off their fighting prowess. It hints at a larger story in which the characters play a major part and is followed by several excerpts, which make up a majority of the ebook content.

The fight scene is well written and enjoyable to read. I think other stories by this author might be worth looking in to, but I prefer longer stories. I'd want to read a story that takes a bit longer to get through to get a better feel.

Between the time I picked this up and the time I wrote this review, the cover changed. The original cover gave the impression that this would be a comical tale, but I don't think this can be considered a comedy. There were some humorous moments, but it's not the focus I think. Still, the original cover seems to make more sense than the one with the bird on it. The young newlyweds fighting played a much bigger part than the large bird companion that the two can ride.




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Occasionally, I'll pick up a children's book instead of the usual YA, NA, or adult fiction I tend to prefer. This is one of those that caught my eye, and it didn't hurt that I found it for free on Amazon. So, if you have kids or if you're a kid at heart, this may be a good read for you.

Maisy and the Missing Mice by Elizabeth Woodrum

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Totally cute, well-written, and logical. Great story for young readers.

Maisy is a fourth grader who has an extraordinary talent for solving mysteries. Someone has stolen the mice from one of the classrooms, and the students are beyond worried. The little critters are the school's unofficial mascots and are beloved by all. It's a good thing Maisy is on the case, but her newest challenge may be more than she can handle. The culprit, soon known as The Black Boot, has taken her beloved collection of cherry lollipops hostage. Can Maisy rescue the mice and her stash of lollipops from the mysterious thief?

I loved this little story. Maisy's a cool little kid who totally gets into her role as investigator, even allowing her surroundings to fade into the black and white of the old detective movies she loves. Her fedora in place and her notebook in hand, she cannot be swayed by The Black Boot's attempts to get her off the case. I liked how splashes of color begin to leak back into her world as the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place.

Another thing I like is that this story is very well-written, providing a great reading opportunity for young readers without giving everything away. The quality of the writing and the choice of vocabulary would make this a great option for challenging young minds in a fun way. Teachers might want to stock this on their shelves.

I totally recommend this for older elementary school and up readers as a starter chapter book. Adults who like a lighthearted escape into their own childhood might also enjoy this. I was reminded of how I used to feel reading Beverly Cleary books. It had me smiling the whole time I read it.



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Innocent in Las Vegas by A.R. Winters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Entertaining, fun and a little dangerous.

Innocent in Las Vegas is a book I came across while scanning for freebees on Amazon a while back. The version I have features a cupcake on the cover, just the sort of quirky thing to catch my eye, and having now read the story, a pretty good match to it.

Alright, I'll start off with the basics. Although I haven't read many in this genre, I would have to classify this as a cozy mystery. Tiffany Black is a novice Private Investigator who hopes to one day ditch her job at the casino for a permanent job as PI. The only problem is, she doesn't have her license, she's inexperienced, and she has no clue what to do when her first high profile case (one that no one else would take) gets dangerous.

Just like the cover on my edition, this story is quirky, which is a good thing in my opinion. The main character loves pastries, and that works its way into the plot a few times. She's also single, and her parents and grandma are constantly trying to fix her up. This leads to some amusing misunderstandings and drama, but I won't go into details for fear of spoilers. I think these things make Tiffany interesting and somewhat believable.

As for the mystery, I was surprised by the ending, which is a good thing. If I'm able to figure something out before the sleuth, it's not as fun. Now, that's not to say it couldn't be figured out. The clues are there, the suspects are well-portrayed, and Tiffany works the case pretty well for a novice, pastry distractions and all. Still many of her interviews and follow ups read a little dry and down to business, and she has a tendency to drop an interview as soon as the target realizes she's a PI and says they're done, perhaps a side effect of her inexperience.

I like stories featuring tenacious investigators like Colombo or even Psych (yeah TV shows), who dig in and drive their suspects to confession by popping up in annoying and amusing ways. There is a little of that in this story, but just a little. She's mostly winging it and gets lucky here or there with a new lead or surprising bit of gossip that relates to the case.

The general approach and character archetypes are similar to those few other cozy mysteries that I have read. Inexperienced female sleuth, strong-willed and kooky grandmother, parents trying to set her up with a boyfriend, random love interest, and x-factor (in this case cupcake addiction).

Overall, I liked this story, mostly because it made me laugh. Also, the resolution was a surprise, but not out of nowhere. Fans of cozy mysteries may like this story, but it's similar in some ways to other offerings in the genre.



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Perception by Lee Strauss

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A near future dystopian.
Perception is about a girl who discovers that there is much more to the world than her limited, yet privileged existence has revealed. Zoe might have lived an incredibly long and happy existence, but one day her brother Liam disappears. Instead of accepting his disappearance, she decides to investigate it. In the process, she teams up with her maid's son and his group of naturals from beyond the gates. What she learns challenges everything she has known about her way of living and herself.

I thought this was well-written, overall, though it started off as more of a cozy mystery, not a YA dystopian, which I think it was meant to be. Zoe clunks her way through the discovery process, hiring Brody and his people to do what she can't. As things become more dangerous, she and Brody become close and a romance ensues. This creates a lopsided love triangle between her, Brody and her current boyfriend Jackson.

In addition to this, Zoe isn't exactly endearing. She's self-absorbed and has grown up in an environment that has left her feeling vastly superior to those who reside outside the gates, the naturals. She tries to become a better person, and as the title implies, her perceptions begin to change. I still liked her, but I could see how she could get old. Brody starts off kind of dangerous and rebellious but as the story progresses he becomes kind of lackluster, revealing that he really wasn't all that invested in his cause.

Overall, this is a good book and well edited. I enjoyed it. It's kind of a mix between a cozy mystery and a dystopian YA. I thought it was interesting having such a fledgling dystopian society. The main character is the granddaughter of the man who invents the tech that has created the dysfunction.

Recommended for folks who enjoy dystopian YA. Not recommended if you don't tend to relate well with a snobby main character. She tries not to be, but she is.




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Hangtime by Jack Thompson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Imagine sparking the ability to speed through time and work miracles. Then imagine figuring out how to do that through the power of math.

Hangtime is a short story that tells the story of an ordinary man who figures out the secret of hangtime while watching sports one night.

There are so many things I like about this story. The sweet little romance that developes, despite Laslo's cluelessness in the face of an office crush. The ability to span time, the effect reminding me of Flash Gordon. How Laslo likes watching sports, not because of the game, but because he likes calculating angles and velocities of the players in his head.

I also love how solid a story is packed into this tiny bundle. This is a short story, but it doesn't feel rushed. It feels just right, and it's a complete tale, from start to finish. No cliffhangers, but really an excellent and satisfying conclusion that left me smiling.

I loved this little story and look forward to reading more from this author. I'd recommend this to folks who love a good sci-fi with a nerdy hero. There's a little clean romance and adventure, too. Short and sweet.

I picked this book up on Kindle during a free promotion. I don't always take authors up on their Tweets for freebees, but he was basically putting up a handful at a time, and I couldn't resist.


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