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Book Review: Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
eve-&-adam-book-cover After being hit by the car, Eve goes flying through the air. The next thing she’s vaguely aware of what’s happening – her mother arguing with the doctor and then being transferred to her rich mother’s pharmaceutical headquarters.

It’s like a private hospital where Eve is the only patient. As she recovers, she’s got sexy Solo pushing her around in a wheelchair. Then she comes to an agreement with her mother to trial software to create the perfect man for herself, who she names Adam.

But there are secrets everywhere. Eve is about to uncover these secrets and then will have to make some difficult choices about what to do with the truth.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. Especially after loving Michael Grant’s Gone Series and knowing that Katherine Applegate is his wife. I hate to give a bad review, but I was disappointed with Eve & Adam.

I just didn’t care about any of the characters. At the beginning of the book as Eve is flying through the air thinking that her life is about to end. Rather than thinking of loved ones, she thinks about an Apple. I felt that the authors had done this conceitedly to make links to Adam & Eve for the purpose of marketing the book. It felt unnatural and therefore Eve felt unreal.

Solo marginally more real, but was a great source of conflict for me. He’s this techno whizz-kid who is described as looking like a surfer, yet doesn’t know some of the fundamental details of his own history. Details that would have been in the computer systems that he so expertly knows after living at the pharmaceutical headquarters for so long.

Aislin, Eve’s best friend did have some believability and depth but was a minor character. It’s always worrying when authors make a minor character more interesting than a main character.

A problem I had with all of the characters is that they conveniently had all of the knowledge, skills, equipment and resources as they needed them. The authors did this by slotting a sentence of backstory in that the reader didn’t know up until the point the characters needed something. It felt like very convenient and lazy storytelling.

The plot was tediously predictable at times verged on being boring. The only reason I carried on reading when I felt bored was because I was half way through the book. I hoped it would get better, have some interesting plot twists, but it didn’t.

Eve & Adam isn’t badly written. The description, dialogue, grammar, punctuation and spelling are all good. It was just the characters and plot that I didn’t enjoy.

Eve & Adam is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: Spin by Catherine McKenzie

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
spin-catherine-mckenzie The night before her interview at The Line magazine for her dream job, struggling Writer Katie Sanford goes out and gets really drunk. She wakes up the next day late and attends the interview still drunk.

Katie doesn’t get the job, but instead is offered an assignment for sister magazine Gossip Central. The assignment seems simple. Katie is to go into rehab, get close to ‘It’ Girl Amber Sheppard – dubbed The Girl Next Door (TGND) and write a tell-all scoop. If Katie can pull this assignment off, they’ll reconsider her for the job at The Line.

So off Katie goes to rehab, her goal clear in her mind. But what will happen when she develops a friendship with TGND, meets Connor Parker TGND’s on-off boyfriend and his attractive manager?

Spin is chick-lit and has the perfect balance of lightheartedness versus depth. This is achieved through loveable, flawed characters, particularly the main character Katie. All of the characters felt real and were well developed.

The description is clear and concise. The storyline is paced well and was occasionally reminiscent of one of my all time favourite films 28 Days. The romantic sub-plots were interwoven into the main body of the story and felt natural.

Spin is written in Katie’s first person perspective and is an enjoyable read. It compels the reader to read on. I finished it in a few sittings.

Afterwards I logged on to Catherine McKenzie’s website and found that since she’s wrote Spun. Here’s what Amazon says it’s about:

In this funny and touching novella, bestselling author Catherine McKenzie returns to the story of Amber Sheppard, It Girl and celebrity train wreck from McKenzie’s reader-favourite novel, Spin. Life has been rough for starlet Amber since leaving rehab. She’s been two years sober, but no one seems to believe her — not the gossip media, not casting agents, and most certainly not her spotlight-loving parents. With her friendships ruined by betrayal and her career at a standstill, Amber’s just trying to get her life back on track. It doesn’t help that her former love, movie star Connor Parks, keeps trying to draw Amber back in, not just to their relationship but to his hard-partying ways. One fateful night, Amber breaks down and agrees to join him on board his private jet as it readies for take-off — a decision that will change her life forever and expose her to a whole new level of scrutiny and heartbreak.

(From Amazon, Last Accessed: Sunday 7th September 2014.)

I’d love to read Spun.

Catherine McKenzie is a talented writer that deserves to do well. Catherine needs to reach her audience through good marketing. There’s a vast number of readers out there that will love her books. And I should know, I am one.

Spin by Catherine McKenzie is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: World War Z – An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
world-war-z-book-cover I bought World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War after watching the World War Z film. I loved the film and was looking forward to the book. But it’s taken me over a year to read it.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is written in an interview style, interviewing people from across the world, their memories unfolding what happened in the fictional zombie war. I had a huge problem with this style for two reasons.

Firstly, the reviews were set post World War Z. This meant that the reader knows from the outset that the characters being interviewed would survive, even if they be damaged physically or emotionally (which was usually apparent at the outset of the interview).

Secondly, there were so many different characters interviewed that I simply didn’t care for any of them. When the reader finds it difficult to connect with an ever-changing cast of characters it makes it difficult for you to care about their loss of family members, friends, colleagues, etc.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is well researched. Brooks has considered the politics, culture, society and economic operations of each country his interviewer visits. He demonstrates his exceptional knowledge of traditional warfare. The plot starts with the initial actions countries would likely take to a Zombie War. When these inital reactions don’t work Brooks moves the plot on to more extreme actions.

Brooks explores the entire globe (and beyond) through the interviews showing how the human race overcome the threat of extinction by coming together and working together. Humanity working together differently and creatively. The ending of the book is satisfactory; filled with hope for humanity, but is a little over sentimental for the genre.

Some people will love World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks; others will hate it. I neither loved or hated it. If anything it was mediocre and unexceptional.

We’ve all imagined what we’d do in a zombie apocalypse and for this reason alone I still want to read The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: Light by Michael Grant

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
light-michael-grant-book-cover Light is the sixth book in the Gone Series. The first book was Gone, which I have reviewed here. The second book was Hunger, which I reviewed here. The third book was Lies, which I have reviewed here. The fourth book was Plague, which I have reviewed here. The fifth book was Fear, which I have reviewed here.

In Light the barrier has become transparent and the outside world peer into the strange world of the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone). A world without adults and where some kids have powers. The darkness has taken a body, the child of Caine & Diana, calling herself Gaia.

Gaia is bent on bringing death and destruction; for no other reason than the fact that she’s evil. It’s the EndGame and what an awesome one it is. Some characters will live and others will die. The characters are prey being hunted by Gaia, an enemy who aims to hunt them to extinction.

Light is anything but predictable and so much happens. The plot is as we’ve come to expect from Grant, fast-paced.

Light is thrilling, captivating and a book that was so good I didn’t want it to end. A brilliant finale in the Gone Series.

The ending includes the aftermath, what happens once the barrier comes down. I’m not ashamed to say that some of the final scenes brought a tear to my eye including: Sam & Quinn getting their friendship back to how it was, the ending for the two gay characters – Edilio & Roger, what happened to Brianna (Breeze) & Dahra and Orc’s redemption.

Overall Light is the best in the Gone Series, closely followed by Lies. The Gone Series is worth reading from start to finish. Here are the books in order: Gone, Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear and Light.

Review soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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