Patricia Hamill's Blog: I read too much!, page 2

Review: Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

Description:
The wise and funny national bestseller about four decades of laughter, heartache, and friendship in the lives of five small-town women--members of AHEB (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons), an unofficial club that becomes much more.

My Review:
I read this book about a book club under the utmost sense of irony. I couldn’t help it. Why? Because I was reading it for a book club. I kept getting distracted by all the books the women in the book were choosing and fighting the urge to write them down for later. What can I say?

Read the rest of my review here.

Review: Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis (Amanda Lester, Detective, #2) by Paula Berinstein

Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis by Paula Berinstein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was pleased and surprised when the author of this books asked if I’d like to review more of the Amanda Lester series. So here’s my review for Book 2, Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis.

The story picks up at the beginning of the second half of Amanda’s first year at Legatum Continuatum. Right off, she’s paired up with the new kid, Scapulus Holmes. Everyone loves him, but Amanda can’t stand him, making that unintentionally clear the very first time she sees him.

What I liked most about this story is that it’s fun to read. The orange crystals aren’t just some interesting thing; they are alive, and they aren’t necessarily harmless. The decorating gremlins also make the story a hoot. In the first book, they didn’t really have a face, but in this one, we see a lot of them as witnessed by the students, and they are pretty funny.

There’s also plenty of detective work, though I thought everything seemed rather close in delivery to Harry Potter, even with in-story references and comparisons to those books and a few of its characters. Instead of magic wands, there are evidence kits. Instead of magic items, there are mysterious, coded secrets, a special item upon which the fate of the school rests, and some technology that, although inspired by something real, seems almost magical in how it works in the story.

As for what I didn’t like. I’m not sure about Amphora in the story. She’s, what, twelve? Utterly boy crazy. And her crushes and such aren’t limited to the boys her age. She flirts like crazy, and while some girls are like that, it isn’t a good thing. Still, I liked hers and Simon’s relationship arc. He, at least, is her age.

As for Amanda’s relatives, well, I didn’t get them. They’re in your face, unlikeable, and I thought for a bit that they were part of some sort of conspiracy to lure Amanda into danger. Had they been, it would have made more sense, but nope, they’re just there being annoying and weird. This and a few other things gave me the impression that the plot and delivery weren’t quite as solid as in the first one, though the overall quality is good.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. Folks who enjoy tween-aged detective stories with some danger, a fair share of technology, and plenty of crushes and rivalry will likely enjoy this book.

I received the review copy of this book from the author.




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Review: Myth Taken Identity by Robert Aspirin and Jodie Lynn Nye

Myth-Taken Identity by Robert Asprin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Good, but way longer than it needed to be.

I received this book as a gift from my husband. He was poking around on Amazon and noticed this series had more books. We'd both thought that was done with since the author (Aspirin) passed away, but apparently he wrote a few more and transitioned the series into the hands of another author (Nye) before then.

Anyhow, about the book. It's pretty much what I was expecting: a bit of fantasy, a lot of puns, and some humorous multi-dimension sleuthing. If you like that sort of thing, I think you'll like this. I'm a big fan of the Myth series, but though I liked this book, I didn't love it.

It seemed like the authors were working towards a word count, trying to stretch the story to what is more readily accepted as novel length. It didn't really work, though. About halfway through, I felt like the story should be wrapping up, but it just spun off into another approach to the problem the characters were facing. And even when the thing seemed near resolution, the final chase was drawn out to the point I had no problem setting the book down for the night.

So, overall, it's a mildly amusing story with some cute characters, lots more content than needed, and not quite the spark that Aspirin's earlier Myth stories emit. I liked it, but I couldn't say I'd drop everything to read it again.




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Release Day for Avalee and the Dragon

Happy Release Day!

The day is finally here. Avalee and the Dragon is live on Amazon!

As a huge fan of fantasy and swords and sorcery books, I'm excited to announce this book, the first one I've written in that genre. I read through the story again last night (you know, pre-release jitters and last looks), and I feel great about this one.

Title: Avalee and the Dragon

Author: Patricia Hamill

Cover Art: Jack Baker Design

Released: February 14, 2016

Genre: YA, Fantasy, and just a touch of Romance (clean).

Description:

Every ten years, a maiden must be sacrificed to the dragon to ensure the safety of the village for the next ten. This year, Avalee has been selected.

But unlike those before her, she has no intention of submitting to her fate. No, she intends to fight, and not just fight, win. If everything goes as planned, the dragon will never trouble her village again.

Then again, things seldom go as planned. . . 


Intrigued?

 

Pick up a copy at Amazon:

Amazon.com     Amazon.co.uk   

 (Hint for international readers, replace the .com or .co.uk in the amazon link with your country's website suffix. The rest of the link's the same. :-D)

Do you love getting your books in both ebook and paperback?

The paperback is in review, so it should follow the Kindle edition soon. I always turn on matchbook, so if you're planning to get the paperback and want a discounted copy for your Kindle, too, I'd say wait for that. I'll post when both the paperback and the matchbook are live.

Avalee and the Dragon Cover Reveal Sign-up Live

Every ten years, a maiden must be sacrificed to the dragon to ensure the safety of the village for the next ten. This year, Avalee has been selected...

The Avalee and the Dragon cover reveal is scheduled for February 1st. Want to be one of the first to see it and, at the same time, help share this awesome cover with your followers? Sign up here at Lola's Blog Tours.

Funny how most of my books start in fall...

I was doing some formatting and preview loading for most of my books yesterday and noticed something interesting. Most of them start in fall.

Shadows of Valor #1 has Edwin, the main character, racing along a leaf-strewn road right at the beginning. The Freeze, even though the season is indistinguishable from winter due to, well, the freeze, begins right before winter, so, the fall. Fearless, the zombie book, starts right before Halloween, hmm, a trend. And, even funnier, so does Avalee and the Dragon, which starts during a festival, you guessed it, in the fall. Oh, that yet-to-be-named vampire book I've been tinkering with starts at a state fair, which tend to run in the fall.

You may be wondering why this is. I did so I've been considering it, and all I can guess is that perhaps it has something to do with when I actually start writing these stories. All but Shadows of Valor and the in progress vampire book were started in November, when leaves are just starting to turn, the air is getting a bit of bite to it, and the occasional frost drapes the morning landscape. SOV started in winter and the vampire book started in October, hence thoughts of the fair.

Ok, so maybe I need to initiate my writing projects throughout the year because my inspiration is obviously affected by what's going on in real life. That's a good thing, right? Or, perhaps I should take some time to plan out a few stories that start in spring or summer.  We'll see.

Then again, maybe I just like the fall.

Fight for Valor now available in paperback!

Fight for Valor by Patricia Hamill




Now live in paperback!

The all-in-one is also available. Look for The Complete Shadows of Valor Trilogy on Amazon and elsewhere.



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Fight for Valor Coming Soon in Paperback

Fight for Valor by Patricia Hamill




Waiting for print? Not to worry, the paperback should be out in mid to late December.

I also have plans for releasing an all-in-one paperback that gives you all three books in the series, though I'll need to design a new cover.

Anyway, it's an exciting time.



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Fight for Valor (Shadows of Valor Book 3)-Amazon Link

Review of a Classic: Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck

Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck returns to Cannery Row, a rundown place that’s fallen upon hard times since the local waters were all fished out and the canneries have all closed down. Central to this story is Doc, returned from the war to his failing business. He’s feeling low, and everyone in the neighborhood knows it. They just don’t know exactly what to do about it.

This is a delightful story, even for someone like me who hasn’t actually read the previous book. That being said, I found that the plot didn’t quite become evident until several chapters in after all the “where are they now” stuff was covered. At that point, it took off and I must say in quite a wonderful way. This book left me grinning so hard my face hurt. I feel a welling of emotion just thinking about it.

I mentioned what I was reading to my dad and told him it was the sequel to Cannery Row. He’d seen the movie for Cannery Row and asked if the book was just as good. I guess this means I’ll have to track that book down and see how it all started. That’s as good as a reason for reading it as was the one I had for reading this one. I read a blog post about hooptedoodle and it made me curious.

Anyway, I totally recommend this, though perhaps the first part might have been better had I actually read the first book. This story won a Pulitzer Prize in Literature, well deserved in my opinion.

I borrowed this book from the library.




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Review: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It did have an end, sort of. I vaguely remember bits of the second movie in this, but as I'd blocked that one out, I can't say how well it compares to the book. This is an odd story, but I liked it.

So, this is a story within a story, with two distinct adventures built in. Then again, hints would have the reader believe they are also part of the story in a never-ending cycle of storytelling and belief that fuels the good in our world and keeps the fantasy land of Fantastica whole and healthy.

First, the story of Bastian stealing the book and hiding away in his school's attic to read it takes center stage. For those who have seen the movie called The Neverending Story, this part of the book is the source of that movie. I must say this is the part that I liked the most. Following Atreyu in the book as he tries to solve the mystery of The Nothing and save Fantastica. It kind of surprised me that his horse talked and that the big guy from the movie who sent him on his quest was supposed to be a centaur. Other things were also nice surprises, like the Childlike Empress taking a more active hand in saving her world than in the movie. Then again, I think the movie was fantastic: scary and awesome, adventurous and whimsical.

The second part of the story picks up after Bastian is pulled into Fantastica and begins making his wishes. This part corresponds to the second Neverending Story movie, which was aweful. The book version is ok and shows Bastian wishing and building Fantastica and its history up. The only problem is that he only has as many wishes as he has memories, and if he runs out before he can return to the real world, he'll be trapped in Fantastica forever.

So, there's some plot here, but the story just bounces along and starts many smaller offshoot tales that are for another day (If you remember the first movie, that's how it ends. Turns out that's a rather common theme throughout this book). On the good side, the two main stories do resolve, quite well, and the rest, well, they leave plenty of room for the reader to imagine their own outcomes.

And, perhaps the best part, is I finally learned what Bastian named the Childlike Empress. I was never able to make it out in the movie. Then again, it was a stupid name in the book, and unlike that which was implied in the movie, it wasn't his mother's name.

So, overall, it's a good story, highly whimsical, with two distinct plotlines in one overarching one that implies the reader is also included. The nature of wishes, of selfish philanthropy, and learning to love who you are are all explored through Bastian's journey. And the idea that losing yourself in the book is not only an escape for you but of benefit to mankind is also nice.

I'd recommend this to folks who enjoyed the movie and to folks who love to read, particularly fantasy books.




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