Featured review site: J. C. Allen Books
Well, this is not a review site. But the site of a very good writer, who happens to review books in his blog. J. C. Allen is the author of the trilogy Chronicles of Time
, and the stand alone books M.O.D.
and Novel Ideas
. Chronicles of time is a YA series. I have my copy waiting for a lil time to read it. I can´t wait. M. O. D. is a gripping thriller with sorta good guys and sorta bad guys; it is really unclear who is who while they fight and chase each other with the nation as hostage. I haven´t seen Novel Ideas, so I can´t tell.
J. C. is in a peculiar situation. He writes from jail. He claims to be innocent, and I happen to believe him. I knew about him through his mother, who is an amazing woman. Shirley is strong, yet sweet and loving, with a lot of common sense. He wrote Chronicles of time to have a way to be in contact with his children. It gives me goosebumps.
He only reviews physical books, so he was the first one to have a look at the paperback version of The Pearl
. I have to admit I was nervous. He has this system that takes chips out when he finds things he doesn´t like. :)
My review of the reviewer:
Communication: 5 stars. All the communication was through Shirley, and let me tell you: she is efficient. She made it all possible, even when there were bureaucratic issues that got in the middle. Just unbelievable. If, in another lifetime, I ever manage a big business, I would certainly call her in.
Integrity: 5 stars. The system he developed for reviewing is almost "scientific". It is his opinion of course, but he takes the job of separating his personal expectations. You can see it looking at the whole lot of reviews. But particularly in Pearl. You see, I am sissy, and I don´t like blood, so even when there are fights in the books, I fast forward the bloody parts, and pay more attention to the relationships parts. I never realized it was a very feminine book, but it does make sense. I am a girl after all, not a pink underwear type of girl, but a girl. He went crazy with this, because he had his sword in hand and nobody to really fight with. But he separated his expectations from the analysis of the book. Just amazing, and very revealing for me. I learned a lot reading the review.
Quality of reviews: 5 stars. Well, I said a lot under integrity. He analyzes the cover, the formatting and grammar, and the story, taking chips out when he finds things he doesn´t like. A neat system.
Overall, a great writer writing great reviews. Highly recommended.
