M.R. Pritchard's Blog, page 28

Review of Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee

I came across Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee via email from Amazon. In this email it was promised that I could read this book for free. A few clicks later the book arrived in my Kindle. I’m not sure what I owe Amazon for this, maybe a kneecap or my first born? Or can I simply pay them in gratitude?
So, let’s start from the cover. Can I just say, holy hell, have you seen anything so beautiful as this? Whoever did the cover work has talent and I would consider doing certain things to get a cover like that for one of my books. 

Before reading Gates of Thread and Stone, I perused a few reviews and saw some people liken this book to the Clockwork Princess series by Cassandra Claire. Well folks, you can’t judge this book on its cover, this is not your mother’s Cassandra Claire. Actually if Cassandra Claire’s books were an apple and you picked up Gates of Thread and Stone, you’d be holding a carrot in your hand. Ergo, they are on opposite sides of the spectrum.

It took me until about 12% before I started really getting into this book. At first there seemed to be a lot of information that wasn’t necessary or that I felt should have been reworked to fit into the story better. And I got a little uncomfortable with all the mackin’ Kai was doing on her brother. I mean, I have four brothers and not once did I gaze at them as they slept. Anywho, we find out why later in the book why this is acceptable. At 37%, the book really picked up, the story got really interesting and things started to come together a tiny bit, although there was still plenty of mystery. 

I see in my reading progress I noted that at 67%, this book got really good. And then I couldn’t put it down. Still, while reading I felt like there was something missing. It seemed to be plagued by vagueness and gloss and a bit dreamlike. But I kept thinking to myself, this is fantasy, let’s just go with it. So I’m still on the fence with some aspects of this book. I had a hard time connecting with Kai, I feel like her character needed more development. And I guess I’m a selfish reader because I yearned for more uses of Kai’s ability to dapple with the threads of time. I really enjoyed Avan and Reev’s characters, and truly, those two are what kept me reading. 

Overall, the setup is a Young Adult Dystopia with magical/fantasy elements. When I step back, I see elements of Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising, with the cadets and the training, etc. The author did a great job of mixing the dystopia with the mythology but I wanted more. There was so much more that could have been said or delved into with relationships and events instead of glossing over them. So while I enjoyed the last half of this book very much, I still have that nagging feeling that something was missing. Also, this is the only book I’ve ever read and kept asking myself, where is the rest of the world? Are we on a flat plane where there is only Ninurta, a forest, the void, and Etu Gahl. Humans are mentioned, a Rebirth, the one week of sun but… where is the rest of the world?

After all is said and done, I find that Amazon knows me a little too well. It's creepy really.
Bonuses: the ending brought everything together; when I was done I was satisfied and even consider reading this again.

I recommend this, 3/5 stars.

Sparrow Man Kindle Version Now Available

But it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MLUIIV0

Happiness is....

Review Lux Series by Jennifer Armentrout

My first introduction into the alien/human world created by JLA was by reading Obsession, and I loved it! Over a year later (because I'm cheap and have been stalking this series yet never reading), Obsidian goes on sale for free and I finally swoop down and dig my claws into that mother, and I couldn't put it down.
So here I am, having read the entire series in 7 days (so lucky that the last book was just released), and I loved it all! 
This series starts out as YA romance, but I feel by book five all of our favorite characters have definitely become adults, matured & changed, and the romance is very strong, especially in the last 2 books, but it's not overwhelming as in some YA books, there's a whole lotta plot and twists and turns and ups and downs that kept me on my toes and kept me reading. Plenty of humor and awesome one-liners. The ending had me scared for a bit, but it turned out to be perfect. 

Now I'm sad that it's over :(
Enter ensuing book hangover... 

I'm just going to go ahead and rate all the books in the series 5/5 stars

Review of HORNS by Joe Hill

 
Overall, this was a thrilling read! A great mix of love, heartache, godliness, and the supernatural. I enjoyed the ups and downs of the story and many times I felt like I was hanging around my brothers as a kid, the dialog was real.

The only negative I have about this book is the ending, which seemed to drag on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. People were supposed to leave but then showed up again, other characters showed up and the interactions that followed didn't seem to add anything to the story, just drew it out. And how many times to we need to read about Lee beating the crap out of Ig in the bowels of that building? It was a repeated scene that got old.
 
For my last rant about the ending, I would like to make a point about doing your research. If you're going to choose a gun to write into your book, that's being used as a weapon, pick one that fits. I highly doubt a man would be carrying around a .410 shotgun. This weapon is one of the smallest shotguns, if you'd like an idea of the size of a .410 shotgun, my 7 year old daughter has been shooting .410 for years. The slug that is used in a .410 is also one of the smallest slugs. Being shot in the shoulder with a .410 would not feel like being hit in the shoulder by a speeding bus, as described by the author. It would feel more like being shot with a pistol, yes you have a wound, but you can still function for a bit. Also, one does not simply shoot a shotgun and then grab it by the barrel to bludgeon a person with it. The barrel will be hot as hell. A .410 barrel, since the gun is so small, has a small diameter, it would be like beating someone with the handle of a fish tank net.
But, and I write this respectfully since I am a King fan, this is the kind of error I would expect from the son of a man who wrote and released GUNS. If you're going to include guns in your work, make sure you do some research and chose the weapon that fits what you're writing. With Big Publishing ranting about the quality of work that they put out, this is unacceptable. 
End-ofmy-Rant.

Overall, a good read. The ending could have been a bit better, and less drawn out. I'm excited for the movie!

4/5 stars

A movie I'm kinda excited about!

I'm reading HORNS by Joe Hill right now (finally)! I was a bit nervous, since Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, I was afraid of never sleeping again. But it's good. I'm about 1/2 way through.
Oh, and the trailer = pretty awesome!



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Sparrow Man Goodreads Giveaway!

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Goodreads Book Giveaway Sparrow Man by M.R. Pritchard Giveaway ends September 22, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

Spring 2015 Release!

Follow Meredith's board Let Her Go on Pinterest.

July Newsletter includes 26pg sneak preview of SPARROW MAN

Here's the link: http://eepurl.com/WlKgD   This book was a round-two contestant in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards 2014 and I received some excellent feedback from the VINE reviewers. So excited!

Blurb:
Meg Clark has turned out to be everything her father and the people of her little North Country town of Gouvernour, NY, have been saying her whole life: nothin’ but a piece of white trash. And that’s how she lives; she’s even got the tattoos to prove it. Well that’s how she was living, until she got knocked up and engaged. In an effort to hide her past and turn herself around, she spent her inheritance from her dead mother on the perfect little house with a white picket fence. Then something terrible happened and Meg got sent to county lockup so her fiancé, Jim, wouldn’t have to. And then everyone started waking up…dead. Good thing escaping from County wasn’t hard. Jim told her exactly how to get free. Now Meg is running and the walking dead are following. In a last ditch effort to find weapons to protect herself, Meg finds Sparrow instead. A tall, strange man with a quirk, Sparrow has an obsession with feathers and the only goal that’s on his mind is finding an old barn on Route 37 with a snowy owl in its rafters. Meg’s headed to Kingston, where she and Jim agreed to meet if they ever got separated. But sometimes, crossing the border brings more than just freedom and protection and safety. Sometimes it brings questions that someone like Meg would prefer not to answer. And everyone keeps asking questions, including Sparrow. He thinks she’s hiding something and he’s not impressed by her stories of the sins she’s been committing all her life. While Sparrow’s the one who’s a bit cracked in the head, it never occurs to Meg that she could be the one who’s not remembering something. Like what really happened that day she killed those seven men.

Movie Review: Wolf of Wall Street

Since I'm cheap, I rarely ever go to the theater anymore. Instead, I stand awkwardly at the RedBox Kiosk outside of Price Chopper and rent movies. The process is easy, my husband even gave me specific instructions on what to do. I just find the waiting 5 minutes while the machine searches for the movie uncomfortable, because you know people are watching you and if there's a line behind you, it's even worse. So I get my movies, then I pop my own popcorn, drink a beer, and watch them in the comfort of my own home.

So we just rented,

The Wolf of Wall StreetThis movie was really great. I was not prepared for the inappropriateness, the copious amounts of drugs, alcohol, and fornication that would be displayed across the screen. But there was a story behind it, and it was entertaining. 
I wish this were actually someone's creative thinking, but instead it's based on the true life of Jordan Belfort. If you drop whatever morals you have and can separate yourself from the fact that Mr. Belfort actually lived this life, deceived these people, wasted this money, and snorted coke out of some strippers butt-crack, then you might find this enjoyable.
I feel like Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill (kinda almost stole the show), and Matthew McConaughey did a great job with their characters. And when did Matthew McConaughey become such a creeper? He used to be a hot dude, now... I barely have words.
When this movie was over, I was entertained. And then I felt weird.
Note to parents. Get all children out of the room before this movie starts or they will forever be damaged.
Rating (with basic human morals ignored)  9/10