A. Renee Hunt's Blog, page 75

Deep Devotion by M. C. Norris

     Deep Devotion, by M. C. Norris is the second book I own by this author.  His first book, I reviewed just a few days ago, (Falling Prey, May 5th) was very interesting but left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.  I've been craving a monster story and I thought I'd try one more time with this book, just in case the first one was a possible fluke.

​The Synopsis:
Rising from the depths, a mind-bending monster unleashes a wave of terror across the American heartland. Kate Browning, a Kansas City EMT confronts her paralyzing fear of water when she traces the source of a deadly parasitic affliction to the Gulf of Mexico. Cooperating with a marine biologist, she travels to Florida in an effort to save the life of one very special patient, but the source of the epidemic happens to be the nest of a terrifying monster, one that last rose from the depths to annihilate the lost continent of Atlantis.  Leviathan, destroyer, devoted lifemate and parent, the abomination is not going to take the extermination of its brood well.

     If that doesn't sound like a monster story- I don't know what is!  This book is AMAZING!  The concept and points of views, from Mitch (the Marine Biologist), Kate (the EMT) and the Parent (the Creature) are written so amazingly real- you can't do anything but read the freaking book from start to finish!  I finished it in less than 36 hours - which include my showering and going to bed!        You know I don't give SPOILERS! but I have to say, you won't ever look at Crabby Patties or Scott Summers the same again!  lol  Let alone crab cakes!  The story begins with something as small as parasites, but the story is so much deeper than that.  You get to watch the circle of life in this story, but on a gruesome level.  I found myself engrossed in the tale- something I'd been looking for for quite some time.  The only let down of the story was again, with M. C. Norris's tale, the endings always seem to end abruptly.  I was looking for such a humongous ending.  I mean, they'd "Released the Kraken!" and for it to fizzle the way it had... I was sorta bummed.

     M. C. Norris did an excellent job with Deep Devotion though, and I understand the title now.  I was captured by the cover of this book.  The quality of the picture, along with the crispness of HD- made me curious as to how this beast and a human could carry such a relationship- if in fact they did.  The only way you'll find out is if you read this.  A cool monster story indeed that gave me the desire to own it in both ebook and paperback!  
On to the next read!

Awaken by Zach Bohannon

     This ebook and short story is free in Amazon's Kindle library.  The book's cover didn't call out to me or anything like that but the word FREE did!  One of my favorite words is how I came across it .  So here's the gist:

Overview: 
Where am I? 
Andy awakes with no recollection of where he is, how he got there, or how long he's been there. All he knows is that it's cold, it's dark, and he's alone. 
When he finally escapes, he encounters strange, supernatural creatures. Terrifying monsters of the night.
Thinking of his daughter, Emma, his only goal is to get home and make sure she's okay. 
And he has only one choice... 
...Run. 
A 3,000 word story, perfect for any fan of suspensful horror!
     Because it's a short story, it's difficult to say what this story is about without giving anything away.  As soon as I began reading, I knew what was going on but the character has no clue.  The story itself isn't that difficult to follow or to get, but Bohannon wrote in a way that managed to keep me hooked.  It's actually a good story and could easily be turned into a novella.  It honestly would have been better; it ended way too soon.  Well written and filled with obvious suspense - check out Awaken.  Hey, it's free; it can't hurt.  On to the next book!  

What Price Gory? and Other Horror Tales

     I usually don't like horror tales books.  There are so many and most turn out to be awful. They're full of silly stories that either don't make much sense or try to gross you out and they lose all direction.  Happy for me, after reading the first story titled: Car Nex, I found an appreciation for Terry M. West.  The story was good and I happily .moved forward in my reading.  

     The ebook's not very long, less than 200 pages, and full of stories that present to the reader a mental movie similar to Creep Show.  Some stories were serious, and others are rather comedic, like the backwood story of Clinton and Bubba when they met a succubus.  The read isn't one that will have you bragging to your friends about how great the book was, but it will provide an interesting read.  

     One in particular that I found rather side-splitting was Held Over.  It was about a dying old codger who was looking to make arrangements for his second life after death.  Yup, you guessed it!  Okay, so there's a facility where you can go, if you haven enough money, where you'll be taken care of during your second life, but you have to sign over all of your fortune-occluding any and all beneficiaries!  Something happens because the old man makes a request that turns demand and POW!  I loved it and I found an appreciation for sunsets.  LOL  I kept seeing the old guy in Creepshow yelling, "Where's my cake!"  

​     There are other tales, like The Hairy Ones and Midnight Snack that were pretty good too, but horrific?  Nah.  They're spooky stories; I haven't read a horror story in quite some time.  There are disturbing ones and many that are gross, but it's been years since a book gave me the heebie jeebies or nightmares.  I'm still looking, but don't let that discourage you from reading a few short stories, like those of What Price Gory? and other Horror Titles.  It's a cool read- especially the snipped of Cecil and Bubba at the end of the book!  

On to the next read!

The Berenstain Bears: Mother's Day Blessings by Mike Berenstain

     I don't receive many children's books, so when I get one from a series I've been reading all of my life, it's exciting.  There's nothing like The Berenstain Bears' Bear family, with Mama, Papa, Brother, Sister and Honey Bear.  They're cute, funny, relatable and until I'd become an adult, I never knew were Christian!

     This children's story, from a long line of stories is about Mother's Day and explains how even though I think my mom's the best- so does everyone else!  Brother, Sister and Honey want to do something special for Mama and Grizzly Gran.  It's cute.  When Mother's Day morning arrives, which is always on a Sunday, the cubs are explained how Mom's all over town are being cherished by their children, while traveling to church.  Mother's who are farmers, doctors, police officers and more- all loved by their cubs in Bear Country and showing it. 

     I've loved these stories forever and a day.  I read them to my first born and to my youngest- and now to my Ewoks. The book is wholesome and simplistic, enough for the youngn's to understand and enjoy.  It's also enough of a 'message' without feeling preachy to those who just want to read a story and not be offended.  But who can truly think of their mom and all she's done without feeling blessed and a deep appreciation?  The Berenstain Bears Mother's Day Blessings is sweet and will hopefully remind my youngest how special I am even without it being Mother's Day!
     I love this book!

RIP Tyde: A Deep Sea Thriller by H. E. Goodhue

     I found this book at the end of another ebook.  I love when they give you just enough of a story to go and buy it- this one cost me $2.99.  

The blurb:
   Legend has long spoken of the prehistoric monsters that silently glide through the waters surrounding Long Island in the Bahamas. Locals know that some areas are better left unexplored - Dean's Blue Hole being one of them. 
   Blue holes are found throughout the world and the number is growing. These expansive underwater caves call to divers, but remain largely unexplored. 
   Cursed with a strange name and dying marriage, Tyde Gregory, plans a last ditch effort to save his relationship. Diving at Dean's Blue Hole on Long Island seems to be the only thing Tyde and his wife, Wendy, can agree upon. As hope turns to horror, Tyde realizes that there are things far worse than a broken marriage.

     This blurb does nothing for the book.  When I followed the animation of my iPad's digital page and found the first three chapters of H. E. Goodie's novel, I immediately hit Amazon.com and purchased RIP Tyde!  I needed to read the rest, especially since I'd been seeking something different- having grown weary of zombies, vampires and werewolves.  RIP Tyde: A Deep Sea Thriller was exactly what I was looking for, right... ?      It was.  For a the briefest of moments, I was disappointed with the story.  Not because it wasn't interesting but because there were many areas where the author was on a writing spree and left words out here and there.  Or he added too many and the sentence caused me a mental hiccup, making it necessary to go back and reread the sentence.  Was it a disruption: Yes, but did it damage the story?  Not in the least.  This story about 60% of the way in is like an all-out MONSTERFEST!  I loved it- from the lusca to the swimming dinosaur, to monstrous crabs ripping people in half - what a fantastic read!  

     RIP Tyde's not excellent executed, but it's a good read.  The story is fun and you can't be anything but entertained.  There's another book this story refers back to that I'm going to pick up later, called Tidal Grave, but it didn't receive rave or even really good reviews.  That's never stopped me before though, Ha Ha! (in my best Errol Flynn voice)  On to the next book!

Falling Prey by M. C. Norris

  I love a good monster story.  I love the idea of something unreal doing lots of damage and that's what this story gave me.  

     Falling Prey, by M. C. Norris, starts out fairly strong.  The first thing I noticed was, they were flying TWA- that plane company has been gone since... I don't even remember!  93?  Maybe even sooner.  Then of all things, a terrorist attack of sorts takes place and all heck breaks loose with people falling from the sky... into the gaping maws of a ginormous mosasaurus!  I was like, what?

     Then the story hit some serious issues!  I realized I was about 70% in to the book and another entirely new situation was kicking up and I still had no clear idea on why any of the story had even taken place!  How in the world can you bring a new story into play when the book's about to end?  I didn't really like that, but from the way I'm understanding it, the author either left it to possibly return with a sequel later or my imagination.  To be honest, I think my imagination's much better.  I really liked Falling Prey but it was rather wordy and those words didn't bring everything together well.  Like, the volcanic eruption that just came out of nowhere- what was the deal with that?  Was it planned?  Did the crazy Doctor know there would be an eruption?  The crowd of chanters- it was all weird, like Norris just decided,  "Welp, that's enough of that!"   and  WHAM! ... The End. It's a massive, weak cliffhanger (if that was his intention), but the book just didn't end on a decent note.  I felt like I was dumped in the center of a story and then it ended.  I can say though, I understood enough of the ending to sorta imagine what may have happened next...

     Anyway, I have another book by Norris.  I'm hoping it will be better.  On to my next book!!

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clark & various authors

     Okay, so... this book had me laughing so hard- I cried (a few times)!  When Magnus was in Lake Titicaca and tried to impress Imasu by learning to play the charango!  OMGoodness!  He told Magnus:

"When you play, all of my mother's flowers lose the will to live and expire on the instant. The quinoa has no flavor now. The llamas are migrating because of your music, and llamas are not a migratory animal. The children now believe there is a sickly monster, half horse and half large mournful chicken, that lives in the lake..."

     The book is funny and totally opposite of what I expected from the great, Magnus Bane, but it's not entirely comical.  When I was first introduced to Magnus, in the Infernal Devices, I saw him as so cool, steeled and  sexy.  As the book series (The Mortal Instruments) flowed, his amazing demeanor sorta warped.  He began primping and talking about fashion and hair gel- it was just... off!  Not because he was bi-sexual- it was the loss of the amazing Warlock I'd envisioned him to be.  The Bane Chronicles gave me a visual of Bane's actual life, from immature adventure seeker, courting monkeys and crashing powdered wig parties to stopping demons from walking through a doorway at Pandemonium!  The book allowed me to view his maturity through the many  years of his existence.  It even showed how he went from only caring about himself to caring for the ignorant but entertaining mundanes.  

     The stories that explained his relationship with every Shadow Hunter name, such as the Herondales, Lightworms- Oops!... Lightwoods, Greymarks and Waylands, as well as how he came to meet particular Downworlders.  Even how he used some of his skills to pull of jobs like a Private Detective!  It was engrossing, humorous and filled in a lot of gaps.  I do not regret purchasing or reading this one.  
Not one bit.  Now on to the next read!

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare Part 2

     Thanks for returning and following my reviews for the remaining books of the Mortal Instruments, by Cassandra Clare.  I decided to not include The Bane Chronicles in this review, because... well, it's not really The Mortal Instruments and thought I'd be serving a great injustice by having him tag along.  So he's later.  On to the book reviews- Oh, photo credit for my banner belongs to tmisource.com.  It's their photo, but I jazzed it up. The City of Lost Souls (book 5)      If I've ever been happy to see someone told off before- it was while reading this book!  Clary and Jace are thorns in this story!  When her mother told her, and I quote:
​"No, the more you get involved with Jace, the more you wreck your life! her mother snapped back. Every risk you've taken, every danger you've been in is because of him!  He held a knife to your throat, Clarissa-"
unquote.
I was like, "Amen, Momma!" - Jocelyn was right.  The entire storyline, Clary has taken risk after risk, and put her life, and the lives of others on the line, for Jace!  Even when he was protecting her she screwed up.  I can't stand the girl- no wonder they keep calling her a child.  Nothing disturbs me more than when a character doesn't grow.  This is book five baby! get a clue!

     So the story had Jace in the background as his body, or the illusion of him going about working with Sebastian in this book.  I liked the storyline there.  It worked and kept the Clave on their toes the entire story.  I didn't like how Luke got played but it made for a good read.  What did not work for me was the square-love thang.  A lot of action died away due to Maia and Jordan, Simon and Isabella- come on! Okay, I need to chill to keep from giving SPOILERS to the book.  I just see myself burning out of the series and I was hoping that wouldn't happen.  Am I the only one feeling this way? 

     I have to admit though, the epic battle near the end was, well Epic!  I loved it and it made the story close an an amazing note.  Even though the bad guys don't always win, something evil always gets away, yeah?  I thought it was handled in good taste and kept me interested in what's to happen in the final book, because frankly, I'm looking to close this chapter of my book life.  
Ratings: 

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (Part I)

     When these books originally came out, I didn't pay attention to them.  I was tired of how YA seemed to be all the same.  When I started blogging books, I realized, I needed to read them.  So I started at the beginning- the second set of the two series series.  LOL  I read The Infernal Devices and reviewed them (2/23/2016) and LOVED them all!  

     So I went out and decided to purchase the Mortal Instruments collection by Cassandra Clare, the first series of the 2-series series, but the first series to come out.  You still with me?  Okay, so I also want to explain that I have not watched the movie either.  And as far as the tv show on Freeform, formerly ABC Family, it's a yawn.  

     I did happen to catch about three or four episodes, but found the actress playing Clary to be annoying.  Her acting wasn't doing it for me and I felt I was forcing myself to watch the darned show, BUT if they are going by the books, maybe I'll try again.  But as for now, I'm going strictly by the books.    

​     Lastly, because there are like, seven books in this series, I'm breaking the review of The Mortal Instruments collection into a 2-day review!  LOL  I'm also including The Bane Chronicles.  Nuff said and away I go...        City of Bones is set in modern-day USA with no UK accents which bothered me immensely, but I made do.  Clary Frey is oblivious to her best friend's crush and mind wiped concerning her mother's past.  She has no clue, but she's part of an elite group of people who fight demons, vampires, werewolves and more.    

     After stumbling across these people, these Shadow Hunters, she's thrusted into a world where she's able to see things no mortal- er, Mundane should be seeing and now things, and someone, are after her for something she never knew she ever had! 

     This book wasn't too bad for an introduction.  I already knew a few terms,  like a parabatai , what seraph blades were, and who the Silent Brothers are from previous reading.    What I didn't know was what a young girl who was in denial about everything was going to do.
     
​     I didn't really see a lot of growth in Clary.  She had a lot of gumption and a smart mouth, but as a Shadow Hunter, she didn't do that well.  I felt disappointed that she just ran off, abandoning her best friend for the Shadow Hunters who later became her friend, but I guess young people do that now.  It stole a lot of the reality for fantasy, but it was tolerable and I actually liked it.  I'm not raving with love but it gave me the desire to move on to book 2, so... On to City of Ashes
Favorite quote:
“Investigation?" Isabelle laughed. "Now we're detectives? Maybe we should all have code names."
"Good idea," said Jace. "I shall be Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein.”
Rating:  

Kuma-Kuma Chan's Home by Kazue Takahashi

     There is no greater honor than when someone adores your review so much on their book, they come out of the blue with gifts and another book for review.  Last year, when I began my epic journey of reviewing and blogging, I received a book titled, You Look Yummy!(10/29/2015).  It was a beautiful story with original artwork that blew me and my Ewoks away.  Friday I was gifted, not only with a new book, but a letter of thanks from the Museyon Publisher, but also a calendar with photos of all their books!  Never is appreciation so warming!      Kuma Kuma Chan's Home, by Kazue Takahashi is the story about a nameless boy who receives an invitation from his friend, Kuma Kuma Chan.  A bear.  This book is really a picture book, with a sprinkling of words.  It's soft, even Kuma Kuma Chan looks softly drawn.  There's a ataractic feel to the story, with soft, pastel colors that reminded me of hospital decor.  The book is also small, with dimensions of 5 1/4 X 6 3/4, so it was more than easy to hold.  For little hands...

     The book didn't do much for me, but for my first-born Ewok, she thought it was wonderful!  The fact that a bear had a home and entertained a human friends was hilarious for her.  She's seven and read the book with the sweetest of ease and conversed over every photo.  Because it's a picture book- this is what I'm hoping Kazue Takahashi was looking for.  

     This book was for my Ewok, not me.  It was a read that brought her joy and that always makes me smile.  Pick up your copy of Kuma Kuma Chan's Home (US $12.99, 52 pages, ISBN 978-1-940842-09-7) and releases May 1, 2016.  Your little one will love it.
Next book!