Review: The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics

1 star for The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics.

It is never my intention to rate books poorly in a row. But as fate would have it, bad things come in twos, and so this book ends up with a 1-star rating.

The Women in the Walls. The title alone gives me the creeps and sends chills down my spine. After reading the first chapter, I decide to continue with it as the initial horror has captured my full attention. Time ticks away and before I know it, I have covered three-quarters of the book in a single day.

Unfortunately, three-quarters of the book is also where the stars start to wave goodbye one by one and fly away of its own volition. This story will have impressed me all the way from beginning to the end if I am still in my teens and ready for a good scare. As it is, I am not, and the more I read on, the more far-fetched the story becomes. The plot degenerates to such a fluff at one point that I wonder why I am still reading it.

Some people awake to escape their nightmares. I awake into one; the horrors of reading a horror story gone awry. I have never been more glad to reach the end of such a tale. To this end, I shall happily put it all behind me now.

Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (The Hollows #2) by Kim Harrison

1 star for The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (The Hollows book 2) by Kim Harrison.

While I take pride in writing book reviews, and understand that 1-star ratings are part and parcel of the whole reviewing process, I still cringe each time I decide to do one such write-up. Here goes.

The Good, the Bad and the Undead. The way I see it, there is nothing good at all. It is all bad. Maybe bad is an understatement as the story is so far removed from what I have come to expect that I doubt it can even call up the undead to come into play. Perhaps a more suitable title will have been Nothing's Good, All's Bad and Can the Undead.

Seriously, the downfall of this book is Repetition with a capital R. It comes across much like listening in to a radio station that has gone out of control and keeps looping the same songs over and over again. In fact, the story does not move along much, yet gets old pretty fast what with the repeated deal on Ivy going all vampy on witch Rachel.

At the halfway mark, I have had enough of repeated scenes to last me for the entire book and I find myself skimming the pages. And then, before I know it, I have reached the end of the book and not like it one single bit.

The thing is, at the end of the day, when all is said and done, I am unwilling to put the entire series behind me. All because The Hollows is a series of thirteen novels and a completed one at that, I still hold out hope and find myself waiting for the silver lining. But.. this cloud will have to wait as I shall leave the reading for another day.

Review: Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows #1) by Kim Harrison

3.5 stars for Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows book 1) by Kim Harrison.

It is by no calculated means that I choose to read a witch witchy novel this time round. But as it is officially October which points to one thing: Halloween, Dead Witch Walking kind of fits in really well.

This book is packed full of otherworldly beings. You name it. They have it. Witches. Warlocks. The undead. Living vamps. Trolls. Pixies. Fairies. Weres. Demons. Leprechauns. Elves. Naturally, the protagonist in this book is a witch, and strictly speaking, an earth witch, one who deals solely with amulets, potions, and charms.

The world building is not too bad, plot is okay and the writing agreeable. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the conclusion which leaves a lot to be desired. However, the way I see it, there is much potential in this series for the author to exploit upon with plenty of room for improvement. So, YES! I am definitely going to continue my otherworldly existence as one such Rachel Mariana Morgan.

Published over 10 years ago by Harper Voyager, Dead Witch Walking marks the debut of a series that is destined to grow from cult favorite to a major New York Times bestseller. Yea, I think I can understand the reason for it.

Coming up next.. The Good, the Bad, and the Undead.

Review: The Godfather by Mario Puzo

4 stars for The Godfather by Mario Puzo.

I dare say with certainty that I will not have considered nor persisted beyond chapter one of this book if not for the good words put forth by two highly reliable sources. Friends who know me well are aware that I am no big fan of books written in third person narratives. So, I am seriously doing Bro Sly and Buddyson Sean a favor by reading and reviewing this book.

Jokes aside, before I plunge headlong into The Godfather, I actually worry about it being outdated. This book is, after all, first published in 1969, which makes it a what? 48-year old novel! Suffice to say, though it may belong to an era, at heart, the story is timeless.

In my opinion, a good book leaves you with many experiences, slightly exhausted at the end, and you live several lives while reading it. As it is, at halfway mark, already I feel like having lived several lives, that of Don Vito Corleone, his three sons, Sonny, Fred, Mike, his Consigliere, Tom Hagen, and his godson, Johnny Fontane, to name a few.

The beauty of this storytelling is that the characters are rich, not in the literal sense of considerable wealth, but the notion of going beyond skin deep, painted with details so rich that it brings even the worst of the characters to a different level of vibrancy. The author leaves no stone unturned in his research of the mafia families and style. With so many characters running amok, it is equally amazing that there are no loose ends; everyone and everything is accounted for right to the end. And without a doubt, my favourite character is the Godfather, Don Corleone, a man to whom everyone goes to for help and never gets turned down nor disappointed. He certainly lives up to his name.

Having finished the book, I can now understand why it hovers on the New York Times bestseller list for sixty-seven weeks and proceeds to become the number one book all over the world, transforming author Puzo from a penniless writer to an international celebrity.

..And yes! This is the first of a book that I manage to entice my significant other to buddy read with me. His take on the book? Let's just say great minds think alike.

Review: Grave Ransom (Alex Craft #5) by Kalayna Price

4 stars for Grave Ransom (Alex Craft book 5) by Kalayna Price.

After having spent weeks and weeks on historical fiction, I realise I miss the urban fantasy settings. Going through my long list of to-be-read, I finally decide to settle on Grave Ransom as this is one of the series that I am rather confident of granting me the fix I need.

Mortal reality. Faerie magic. Planeweaver. Grave essence. Welcome to the world of Alex Craft where shades are just memories animated with magic and where one sees with mind more than with eyes.

Then, there is this Death or Grim Reaper or soul collector; whatever name he goes by does not matter as he just reminds me of sorrow and secrets and duty. So far, I have not yet come across another author who can turn the Grim Reaper into such an alluring character that I look forward to every scene where he makes his appearance. Death certainly melts my heart. Goodness me.. what a paradoxical statement! But in Alex Craft series, it is so real and so true.

Tongues for the dead where the grave holds no secrets, where there is suspense and mystery, horror and humour, fantasy and romance; I certainly look forward to the next instalment.