Ricky Pine's Blog, page 83
October 20, 2017
Review: Turtles All the Way Down
Turtles All the Way Down by John GreenMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
I promised myself I wouldn't read another John Green book after reading and not enjoying The Fault in Our Stars. I broke that promise for this book, yielding to the temptation of one of several extra copies sitting on my library's Lucky Day shelf. Turtles All the Way Down, I couldn't even finish it. I mean, not unlike TFIOS, it had its moments of fun and funny - I especially liked Harold because I've got a very similar car, thou...
October 19, 2017
Review: The Ship of the Dead
The Ship of the Dead by Rick RiordanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
More of a 4.5 than a pure 5 like most other Riordan books have been for me, but I'm gonna round up for a few good reasons. While I really, really wish this wouldn't be the end of Magnus Chase's series, at least I can rest easy knowing that Uncle Rick isn't done with this universe yet, not as long as we still have what's looking like three more Trials of Apollo novels to go. Hopefully Magnus will be an integral part of those books,...
Review: All the Crooked Saints
All the Crooked Saints by Maggie StiefvaterMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I'm neither a Maggie Stiefvater super-stan nor an anti-fan, so when this latest book of hers erupted in a storm of controversy almost from the moment it was announced, I largely stayed out of it, hoping to reserve judgment till after I'd read the book. Well, I've read it - or, at least, I tried to. Because as much as I found myself relating to some of Stiefvater's heroes of this day, I also found this book grossly impenetra...
October 18, 2017
Review: The Flash: Hocus Pocus
The Flash: Hocus Pocus by Barry LygaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
If I'm not mistaken, this is to be the first of a potential series of Flash adventures from Barry Lyga, based on the CW TV series - and while I know Lyga best for his often very dark YA books, this more MG-oriented book marks a much-needed return to his geeky roots.
Hocus Pocus could be a lost episode of the third season of the TV series, but with a few small changes courtesy of Lyga that make the story even better. Sadly for me,...
October 17, 2017
Review: Origin
Origin by Dan BrownMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've always been a fan of Dan Brown's books, even though by now I know full well they're actually pretty poorly researched in addition to just plain poorly written sometimes. But therein lies the fun, because as inaccurate as a lot of Brown's stories are (even though he'll insist otherwise), it's still as engrossing as ever because he makes you believe it, even for a moment. This fifth Robert Langdon book is no exception, and is certainly somethin...
October 16, 2017
Review: Framed!
Framed! by Malcolm RoseMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
As my first read for my book group at work, I have to say this one was a fun one, if a little difficult to figure out what exactly it wanted to be. The murder-mystery part was there, sure, and it had a nice little sci-fi twist with Malc the robot sidekickj, as well as our teen-prodigy YA protagonist. (I might also want to recommend this book to middle-grade readers, though the violence level is just high enough that perhaps not.) But then there...
October 15, 2017
Review: Murder of Crows
Murder of Crows by Anne BishopMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Book 2 of Anne Bishop's The Others series doesn't really bring too much new to the table, but it does continue in the first book's strangely addictive style blending paranormal romance with urban and contemporary fantasy. Though the world-building underpinnings are still a bit uncomfortable because of the parallels between human-terra indigene relations and ongoing real-world colonialism issues (even if the indigenous-coded shifters are...
October 13, 2017
Review: Into the Black
Into the Black by Ava JaeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was lucky enough to win a signed ARC in a Twitter giveaway from Ava Jae themself, and holy Christ I'm so in love with this book! Though I loved Beyond the Red when I first read it, about a year or so ago, Into the Black, the continuation of Jae's trilogious masterpiece of Star Thrones-slash-Game of Star Wars blows its predecessor out of the water, one of the most six-star-worthy books I've read this year - and bear in mind this has been a ba...
October 9, 2017
Review: They Both Die at the End
They Both Die at the End by Adam SilveraMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
MY OFFICIAL MATEO TORREZ THEME SONG:
"Alone and scared
I sit here and I stare into the emptiness
Feeling emptiness
I am waiting for my eyes to open wide
I am waiting for my heart to feel alive
'Cause I've been dead..."
-ChronoWulf
MY OFFICIAL RUFUS EMETERIO THEME SONG:
"I said I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war
If you can tell me something worth fighting for
Oh, and I'm gonna buy this place, that's what I said
Blame it upon a rush of...
October 8, 2017
Review: Every Deadly Kiss
Every Deadly Kiss by Steven JamesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another story with Patrick Bowers, though this one, the tenth overall, challenges expectations with its unusual blend of two major story arcs - one involving a former child star turned FBI agent (and her horrifying backstory - you'll probably never look at any child star the same way again after reading this book!), the other, a fairly reluctant jihadist, one who doesn't 100% subscribe to the same warped ideology as do his comrades,...
