A. Renee Hunt's Blog, page 94

Doctor Sleep by the Great Stephen King

     I have to admit, when I first began reading Doctor Sleep, I was concerned.  The mini hero of The Shining had turned into a dissociative fugue, lost in drugs and alcohol.  His state was more than depressive and I found myself wanting to place the large novel aside.  Then Abra and the True Knot stepped into the picture.

     They brought to the story all the purpose Dan Torrence needed and the book to life!  I started on Monday and finished on Wednesday!  I was amazed, anxious and compelled to see what would happen next!  That's the sort of book a reader is jonesing for when it comes to horror.

     Stephen King is a man of detail and he gives it to you in this book, on a moderate scale.  None of that over-kill that presses one to jump ahead a few sentences or to the next paragraph.  I admit, it's a bit slow once Dan transforms from the adorable kid with Tony in the back of his throat into the coke-fiend in adult years, but once he gets where he's supposed to be, it's all good!  Be prepared for about thirty pages of bar fights, stealing and guilt, then burn through and don't look back.

     This book tells of Dan's maturation while dealing with a child who won't leave his mind or chalkboard alone.  The second story told of the True Knot, an inhuman group in search of Steam- a person's essence that grants immortality- from particular people.  Dan and Abra, the girl, and the True Knot come together with an clash so epic, it could only be written by the great man himself.  Check out Doctor Sleep! 

*Rating: 

The Curse of Crow Hollow by Billy Coffey

     This Friday's novel is The Curse of Crow Hollow and I highly recommend it.  The story is about five families, but primarily about faith, mystery, occult and mob mentality.  

     Teens bring on what the town's folk consider a curse.  Strange happenings, illness and much more is centered around Alvaretta, the mountain witch.  When she places a curse on the four teens that assaulted her, things get hairy.  

     I found this book a wild ride and especially enjoyed the narrator, who is an elderly local.  Coffey gives a great story, using a unique style and keeps readers intrigued- anxiously anticipating the ending. Happily, I didn't figure anything out- It keeps one guessing and a little creeped out!

      I would encourage any reader to pick up this book.  I must admit, it's a little slow around the center of the book, but the ending is explosive and there are no loose ends, leaving you satisfied.  
     
      Billy Coffey is a Christian author, so I held it to a higher expectation and was not let down.  I could definitely put him in the same category as Peretti, Dekker and Malley.  You have to read this book!  
Have a great day and pick up another book!

Starers by Nathan Robinson

     I've received so many books within the past four months, I don't even remember where I came across this one.  I can tell you this, I started Starers on a Friday afternoon and did not finish the book until around 10:30 that night.  Thankfully, I don't cook dinner on Friday's, so my family didn't suffer.  I couldn't put the darned book down!

     In this 136-paged story, Nathan Robinson wrote of the Keene family.  A poster family of dysfunction, they endure every day issues that keep Dylan in the pub  alongside his brother Lennon, Kirsty (the wife) at home, suffering from a litany of mental disorders and their hormone-enraged daughter, Lucy.  They are your typicals, your norms and your ordinary.  Or are they?  When they find everyone on their street, their block, town and further interested in their home, they aren't sure what to do.  First an old man, then neighbors (sometimes in the buff), then hundreds of strangers stood in a catatonic state, staring at their home and Lucy begins to suffer prophetic nightmares.  With all ideas chucked on the cause of such occurrences,  Lennon decides the cabin fever is too much... and that's when the bizarreness really kicks off!
  
     This book was totally awesome!  I know, that's not how I should share, but it was such a fun read.  From the moment the guys get home and spot an old man at the bus stop, to the end; it's a thrill-ride.  Robinson shows how multiple forms of evil can settle in and stare you in the face, like a lethargic, nosy neighbor and bring out both the best  and most troublesome qualities in you and your family.  You have to read this one; go ahead.  I think you'll enjoy it! 

The Marked Hosts by Auden Johnson

      I was honored to receive The Marked Hosts as a 'to-be-released' novel.  Since I'd previously purchased two other books by this author, I expected great things.  
     
     The Marked Hosts is about Contessa Torain, a sort of emissary between humans and Brevia (soul-eaters).   She's at the top of the Devortus (her home) caste system but she finds herself distracted by a Draior child and the safety of her loved ones in her homeland.

     First off, I love the amazing book cover.  Book covers are a huge tidbit for me, like eye-candy.  I've seen Johnson's in-process cover creations on social media; she's got a true talent.  As for the story, it was a difficult read.  I was looking for an intriguing, dark sci-fi of a thriller.  Instead, I found a near impossible plot to follow.  

     The author carries a rudimentary style of writing that feels convulsive.  The story's there but due to the way it's written, I couldn't enjoy it.  The characters are under-developed, but I feel it's due to a lack of anthropological background on Devortus.  Much of the information given feels made up along the way and caused a bit of conflict with previous data.  Lastly, the author took away the reader's ability to see what was happening and where.  I found everything told to me instead of described, even the most basic of details, preventing me from  seeing what was taking place.   I still have no clue as to what Contessa and Cezon look like.  To the reader, this is vital to the imagination; they need to see the characters in their mind's eye.

      I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I couldn't; I found myself stopping and starting up several times.  When I did finish the book, I realized there was a story with possibility.  It just needs more structure and proper flow.  This author is determined and I see her improving with future books.  
Have a great week and and even better book!

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

     Believe it or not, I finished this book in less than 24 hours!  I got caught up from beginning to end, stopping only to eat, and conduct proper hygeine.  Well, I did sleep.  And before I went to sleep, I read another book, but I always do that.  Anyway...

     The Thing About Jellyfish is the story of Suzanne "Zu" Swanson and how she dealt with the loss of a loved one.  A friend.  A friend she'd hurt and never got to apologize before said friend, Franny, drowned while on family vacation.  The story occurs during the most confusing of times in a young child's life... Middle School.

     The story was a great read, because from the very start you know "Zu" is a dumb kid.  She's almost typical, dealing with both mortality and acceptance; which is impossible to do alone.  She romanticizes everything using jellyfish facts and analogies as she grapples with the emotions she refuses to share with friends, family or counselor.  She tries her best to cope but it's rather ridiculous.

     Ali Benjamin wrote "Zu" as  scatterbrained, creative, curious and just about anything else a 6th/7th grader could be.  As if reaching back into adolescence, she managed to grasp a piece of childhood and actualize the ignorance that once dwelled within us all, which made for a fun story.  Especially when "Zu" decides to go away, seeking understanding from a professor and biologist in Cairns, Australia!  How many of us fantasized about running off to make the impossible possible... by stealing someone's credit card or pocket money? 

     This YA novel will warm the hearts of elementary school readers as well as adults.  It's about self-awareness, awkwardness, puberty and simply put, life.  When you finish, you'll look back to your past experiences, wondering what pivotal moment had you in "Zu's" shoes.  Go enjoy a happy day and a great book!  

Persephone RISING by Carol S. Pearson

      In one sentence, I'm going to explain this book:

"Persephone Rising was is a pretentious, loquacious instructional book that vilified any form of previous faith by taking a precarious situation and masking it as a meliebrous, heroic accomplishment!"

See what I did there?  

     I love Greek Mythology; it's amazing and the basis for many tales we've enjoyed for years.  But the story of Demeter, Persephone, Dionysus and Zeus is in no way, according to me and my upbringing, a schooling for womanly heroism!  It's about a girl being sent away, intended to Hades; a mother who was lost, angry and threw a tantrum because her husband- a God with the propensity for provocation, again acted in character.  

     Pearson gave the original story, and  I was enthralled.  Did I mention, I love mythology?  But afterwards, she divided the book into Parts, expounding on the character's roles and how they can Awaken the Heroine within.

     I read up on Pearson, PH.D and I see this book as a reflection of her.  Her background reads like this book: clinical and overly intelligent- and this is no way an insult.  But nothing about this book correlated to my poor layman's thought process.  I could not relate and pretty much felt insulted.  Then she expected me to follow the Capstone Exercises, carrying on dialogue and thanking Zeus for being such an immature diety.  I wanted to laugh but I felt stupid for not understanding it all!



     So in my own special way, I'm afraid I'm going to have to say the representation of this edification was a strangulation of my education- or simply put, "No sir, I didn't like it."
Have a great day and an even better book! 

The Waiting Room by Alysha Kaye

*A Special Inclusion!      Alysha Kaye's first novel, The Waiting Room is the first, so also the best romantic story I've read in 2015!  This book had to have been written with the greatest of care, ceding an interest into the belief of reincarnation and ever-lasting love. 

     Jude and Nina are husband and wife.  They're in love and planning to have their first child when Jude is killed in an auto accident.  Instead of reaching the Pearly Gates for fiery depths of Hell, he finds himself in a crowded, Waiting Room.  Periodically names are called and people are lead through a door, but Jude refuses.  He won't step through the door unless his beloved Nina is with him, and so begins the story.

     This book is amazing!  I decided to add it as an extra book review for this week, since I couldn't find the email when the author had originally sent it to me- big mistake!  Out of obligation and my slip in organization, I bumped the book for an early review.  I read it in about 12 hours, including bedtime and all.  I couldn't stop reading it!

     I enjoyed every life, every achievement and failure they endured- I wanted to share in it all!  Even with some of their severely brief lives (Deb & Blair), Kaye managed to make me care for them with delicate development.  I got to now them all and found myself eager to know when Jude and Nina got back together... or not.  I won't give any spoilers, because that's not what I'm about, but you have to read this beautiful story.  It'll incite hope, appreciation for life and a new way of looking at reincarnation!
Have a romantic day and find a romantic book to match! 

Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse by A. L. Kennedy

     This was my first time ever reading a Doctor Who novel and this book did not disappoint.  I'd braced myself for a difficult read, full of techy explanations and UK references and such.  Well, my jargon must be on point and as for my tech-skills... meh.  Regardless, this was a brilliant and uncomplicated read.

     The short story (The Death Pit) turned novel took place on the Fetch Brothers Golf Spa Hotel.  Something vicious lurked about the grounds, swallowing golfers, creating telepathic fields (breaking up marriages through mind reading) and the loss of memory and information, practically people daft.  The Doctor and his two companions, Putta Pattershaun 5, a fearful alien and wanna-be bounty hunter and Bryony Mailer, a bored stuck-in-limbo Junior Day Receptionist, set out to solve the monstrous mystery.

     Their foe, a complex creature who's been around long since the beginning of our sense of time, is serpentine and ghastly and bewildering, the Doctor actually admits to being afraid.  That's a major deal.

     The quirkiness and comedy of this 70's setting keeps you turning page after page.  It's fun, funny and oddly written- befitting of a Doctor Who story.  You'll enjoy this book; go out and grab yourself a copy of Doctor Who's The Drosten's Curse.
     Have a great day and an even better book! 

Grey Fox by J. L. Bourne

                                                                           

     J. L. Bourne, the creator of the Day by Day Armageddon series, has never failed to entertain.  With over twenty-three years of active duty/intelligence and his first person narratives, readers everywhere were privileged with amazing apocalyptic reading.  Sadly, with no book four in the near future, we were given this short story.

     In Grey Fox, Kil, the teller of the tale, is a Runner.  He fetches, for a price, items no longer created after the scrimmage between men and dead men.  The first two books were fascinating, giving weapon details that no other author provided and actually had Kil teachother characters to work them.  I loved that, since other books had every day Joe Shmoe shooting like a pro within seconds of picking up an automatic/semi-sutomatic weapon.  Intricacies like this made Bourne's tale realistic.

     Book three left us lingering with rudimentary ideas on how the undead returned, making it a let down of a ending, unless book 4 was on a nearby horizon.  There was nothing definitive and the worse possible scenario seemed to take root.  Fans, myself included were left upset, so I'm thinking that's where Bourne just quit.  Instead of coming up with something plausible (in our apocalyptic worlds), he gave us Grey Fox.  The story stitched nothing together for those who've read the previous books. It was just a 25-year jump into Kil's journal.  *No Spoilers  I felt this story was a huge let down and since I don't just rate high due to author names, I gave it 3/5 specs.

     Bourne's incredible style remained.  The guy's an amazing storyteller, but his offering of futuristic tidbits and no solution made for an unhappy read; too much is missing.  So in the immortal words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I've got to say about that."   

Hunters and the Hunted by Frank Scozzari

     There aren't many authors who can get me so caught up in a character's situation, I either sit with my fingers laced in concern or walk the floors, pacing with anticipation.  They are few on my list, but now I have a new name: Frank Scozzari.

     I came across Frank via a request for an ARC listing.  I befriended him on Twitter, then found a book he was promoting for free.  Naturally, with it being free  I jumped all over it!  Don't get me wrong, I buy books all the time, but free is the gravy to my steak and mashed potatoes!  I finished this story quickly and felt I needed to  have more! Hunters and the Hunted is a short story- and man is it good!  VERY Good!      It's about a guy who drops  thirty-five hundred dollars for a license to kill his first lion, in the hots sands of Africa.  Naturally, he wants a trophy and bragging rights.

     Scozzari didn't throw any pizzaz or go for shock value.  He just told a story from two perspectives:  Garret, the hunter and a lion, the hunted... or so you think.  

     I gave Hunters and the Hunted a