Apocalypse

Apocalypse by Kyle West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm a huge fan of 'end of the world' type of movies, love dystopia, yet I don't really read 'end of the world' books. So I was thrilled to snag this book for free from amazon and began reading it immediately.

It's a fast, quick read - fairly short - and took me about 90 minutes to read.

There's some grammatical errors and the book is in need of a better editor. Large portions of the book just seemed written by an amateur, and the premise is lacking. The author, West, does a lot of "telling" in the book instead of "showing", and leaves a lot open to the imagination instead of really setting the scene for us.

There's a fair mix of genres in the book - end of the world, zombies, meteors, bad guys, action, etc. There's not really any new ideas or themes, but all in all, it's not a bad read (especially for free).

I won't be buying the rest of the series, but would probably read the next one if I could pick it up for free again.

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Motion to Suppress by Perri O'Shaughnessy

Motion to Suppress by Perri O'Shaughnessy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first read this book many years ago - before I joined goodreads, I believe - and read the first few in the series. Back then I was really into mysteries, legal thrillers, crime dramas, etc. I read so many of them I got sick of the genre and haven't read a single similar book in probably close to 15 years.

Recently I've been kind of "stuck" - can't get into any books - so I've been rereading the Wagons West series and decided maybe what I needed was to try a different genre again, so I requested this one from the library.

I did enjoy it - but I'm still burnt out on the genre. I was bored throughout most of the book. Of course the book is dated, too, with outdated technology especially, and I remembered who the murderer was the mystery part of the book wasn't a mystery to me.

I do recommend the book to those who do enjoy the crime / legal dramas

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soap craft

Soap Craft: 31 Recipes for Creating Amazing Handmade Soaps by Anne-Marie Faiola
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Years ago - before I knitted, before I designed, before I taught fiber arts, before weaving and spinning and dying, back when I did other crafts that didn't involve yarn, crafts like scrapbooking and latch hook and embroidery and cross stitching, I made homemade soap. I didn't make a ton of it, but I made soap, and it was fun.

When this book popped up on netgalley, I remembered how much fun it was to make soap. I didn't make anything fancy or honestly anything that even looked pretty, but it was fun. And reading this book made me remember how much fun it was to make soap and why I enjoyed making soap in the first place, and makes me long to make soap again (even though honestly, it won't happen because I'm a little too busy with the knitting, crocheting, hopeful weaving, sometimes spinning, always dying yarn and fiber, and oh yeah the designing and the occasional knitting class, too. Not to mention the reviews. And oh, seeing your husband every other Sunday).

Anyone's who's thought of trying a new craft or is looking for a new hobby or perhaps something different to sell at a craft show, should try this book. There's great details and lots of photos, besides amazing end products that you can actually make.

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Innocent Traitor

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Alison Weir, though I haven't read nearly as many of her books as I would have liked to.

I actually started reading this book last year, and didn't finish it before I had to return it to the library. This time, I started again from the beginning & finished in just a few days.

This is the story of Lady Jane Grey, the very young, naive queen of just 9 days. Forced to live her entire life under the rule of manulative, even abusive, parents, she ended up marrying a man she didn't love (or even like) and worse yet, convinced to become Queen of England.

The book is told in multiple voices (a story telling device I do not like). Most of the book, this is fine, but I had issues in the beginning, with Jane's voice being very adult, even when she was only a few years old. Yes, she was supposedly very mature as a child, but it was hard to like her as a child when she spoke with such an adult voice.

The book is pretty factual - there are a few interesting speculations in the book that Weir concludes, but for the most part, this is pretty true historical fiction & Weir takes on a new genre well (this is her first historical fiction novel).

Jane's story is especially compelling at the end - even though I know how her tragic tale will end, you still hope that Queen Mary will pardon her on the same.

(library)
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The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have a love / hate relationship with Gregory's books.

I have always been fascinated with history - especially British history - and her books made me obsessed. Because of her books, I've spent hundreds of hours doing research, basically fact finding every book I've read of hers, and loving every minute of it. And boring my husband to pieces as I babble to him about the descrepances.

But that's exactly the fun of her books - you know the history is crap, and sometimes downright completely made up, but I've accepted that and can enjoy her books for what they are - a light, enjoyable, romp

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