Silence In The . . . Zzzzzzzz

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book review, Bookie Monster, Christian book review, Christian fiction, faith, Silence in the Dark

Hold onto your hats and fasten your seatbelts for another gripping review from your beloved, faithful, and everlastingly snarky Bookie Monster!

Le Blurb:

When Bailey Adams left Logan Point two years ago for Mexico, she thought she was getting away from her problems. Running into her ex-fiancé Danny Maxwell was not part of the plan—neither was being chased through the city by the local drug cartel, the Calatrava. Now despite her best efforts, Danny is her only chance of escaping the people chasing her and getting back to Logan Point safely. Can Bailey find the strength to face what’s coming? And in the midst of the chaos, can she keep herself from falling in love with her rescuer all over again?

Le Review:

I was super interested to see how the author dramatized the subject of drugs and drug cartels. But it ended up feeling like a Hollywood movie. Of COURSE the mysterious, silent, enigmatic character no one knows anything about turns out to be the mastermind. I guessed that the minute said character walked on screen—er, page. (No spoilers – you’ll have to read for yourself to find out who it is.)

The characters felt flat. They all fit in their little boxes with sexist overtones that rubbed me the wrong way.

– Unbelievably gorgeous heroine who thinks she can take care of herself, but at the first sign of trouble completely understands that she just totally NEEDS a man to SAVE HER;

– Hot, formerly rejected hunky lover who remains faithful even while the stoopid wimminz run around like frantic chickens;

– “Angelic waif” trope (sadly, this is a real thing, which your favorite Monster may or may not have been guilty of in past writing projects);

– Parents who enter the scene just on cue to say perfect one-liners.

Joel’s character was the most compelling because he was the most human—neither entirely good nor entirely bad. He had something to lose, stakes in the drama, and things didn’t get wrapped up in a nice Hollywood bow for him like they did for the other characters. His personal journey rang truer than any of the others.

The writing was passive and clunky. Too heavy on the info-dump. The story itself was confusing. I kept having to flip back several pages and go “wait…what just happened and how does it relate to what’s happening now?” It felt like a first draft that needed to be tightened, tweaked, and polished. I’m a writer. The first rule of writing is: first drafts suck. That is why we do not publish first drafts.

Overall, the story’s concept was great. I really wanted to like it, but it didn’t grip me. 😦 I was super excited to read the story, and I thought it had great potential, even though it didn’t deliver in the end. I live just north of Mexico, and seeing the effects of the drug trade is a normal part of life. I enjoy seeing it depicted in stories.

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So This Cowboy Walks Into A Bar…

Tags

A Sweet Misfortune, book review, Bookie Monster, Christian book review, faith, historical fiction, humor, Maggie Brendan, Revell publishing, Western romance book review

With heavy sighs I turn the pages,

Reading this is taking ages;

Romance in a cowboy hat

Has kinda fallen sorta flat.

This dance hall gal gets kidnapped by

A handsome stranger with dark eyes;

Who totes her off with carte blanche,

Right to the steps of his own ranch.

But Creepy Dude is no abductor,

From an awful fate he’s plucked her;

So now they fight like cats and dogs,

While page by page begins to slog.

Now I lay me down to finish,

My sanity has been diminished;

If I should end up going bonkers—

Well, at least this book I conquered!

What do a rabid fox, a dance hall, and a letter from a dead person have in common? Well, nothing really. But they are all part of the plot in Maggie Brendan’s new western romance, A Sweet Misfortune.

Beautiful bombshell Rachel Matthews is a favorite dancer at the local saloon. Forced to support herself by any means while she awaits her brother’s return from the gold fields, she instead finds herself “rescued” by a handsome stranger who carries her off to his ranch. As in, literally carries her, right off the stage, during the middle of the can-can. Turns out her brother wrote to Mr. Hot Stuff and begged him to get her out of there.

Independent is Rachel’s middle name. She and Hot Stuff (aka John, the richest rancher in Montana) argue daily about his rude interruption of her life, try to make themselves fall in love with other people so they won’t fall in love with each other (fat chance), and search for answers as they struggle in faith and life.

Pros

– Western!

– Sort of. A romance in boots, at least.

– It’s cool to have an independent female lead who can actually think for herself. Although I hoped to see more of that rather than the weird control John assumed over Rachel’s life.

Cons

– Odd historical anachronisms. John would not have said “let’s get off the wagon and stretch our legs” to a girl he was courting. In that era, in America, the word “leg” was considered profanity especially in mixed company (don’t ask me why).

– The story felt slow-moving.

– The dialogue was not very engaging, and somewhat repetitive. Too much “What was that noise, Bob?” “I don’t know what that noise was, Joe. Harry, did you hear that noise?” “Yep, Bob, it was a noise, all right.”

– The matchmaking was too predictable. I was hoping for a more interesting twist.

– It spent too much time on the heroine’s wheat-colored hair, oval fingernails, alabaster skin, naturally arching eyebrows, and full ruby lips. Plus, of COURSE the heroine is a total bombshell, while all the other female characters are homely and/or spiteful. PLEASE SPARE ME. Couldn’t we have a normal-looking heroine?

– I was hoping for better in the writing department overall. There is too much telling (“he looked sick”, “she was rude”), without showing (“he staggered in the door and collapsed”, “she shoved aside an old lady and stomped out, kicking a baby kitten as she went past”). Plus in places it felt kinda clunky. And the he said/she said speech tags . . . dear Lord, deliver me from speech tags. (Sorry . . . can’t turn off my inner editor.)

I was so excited to read this book, as it sounded like a lot of fun. There were enjoyable parts, but it kinda fell flat.

It Was The Maid, In The Ballroom, With The Lead Pipe!

Tags

book review, Bookie Monster, Christian book review, Christian faith, crime thriller

Hey again, blogworld! Time for another review from your ever-studious and fiendishly literary Bookie Monster!

Crime thriller Vendetta kicks off Lisa Harris’ new series, the Nikki Boyd Files. While dealing with long-buried pain from failing to find her sister Sarah, abducted ten years prior, Special Agent Nikki Boyd stumbles into an eerily similar case. As she works to rescue young Bridget before it’s too late, she uncovers a trail of clues that suggest a far more insidious criminal has returned to link her past and present.

The plot is snappy and fast-paced. It doesn’t drag, but keeps on lobbing another sharp curve at you scene by scene. It did a good job of introducing a number of characters and making you think “oh, this one’s GOT to be the killer!” but nope, guess again. 🙂

The actual writing was a bit soft for my taste. It might be a genre difference, because I’m used to tightly honed Western prose. Right now I’m hard at work on a manuscript of my own, and I’m stuck in Hyper Editor Mode, but some places in this book read awkwardly to me. Characters shift their gazes, clench chair arms with their fingers, nod, and nudge one another with a shoulder over and over again. The repetition got really… repetitious. (Not that I’ve never been known to repeat myself. One of my first drafts saw the hero pushing his hat back and putting his hands in his pockets in every other paragraph.)

A great many passive voice sentences appear that could so easily have been turned into active voice. “The view from the road WAS stunning, which meant traffic WAS heavy with tourists enjoying an afternoon drive. . . . Along the road WERE overlooks, trailheads, picnic areas, and paved hikes.” Why couldn’t it be “Heavy traffic clogged the road as tourists gawked out at stunning mountain views. Overlooks, trailheads, picnic areas, and paved hiking spots dotted the roadside.” Why settle for a vague, wimpy word like “looked” when you could use “peered, squinted, blinked, gaped”, etc? Luscious verbs lurk just out of sight, as fascinating as the mysterious serial abductor we keep guessing at, but never used.

On a similar technical level, I found the writing too heavy on the telling. Again and again, we get told things we already know or can guess. Things like this got annoying:

“(Character Who Shall Not Be Named Because Spoilers) lay half a dozen feet into the bush, motionless. Nikki felt a wave of nausea sweep over her as she bent down beside him. Blood ran down the side of his head. Eyes stared up at her. She felt for his pulse. Nothing.

He was dead.”

… No kidding, Sherlock.

Another issue I had is that throughout the plot, Nikki is shown struggling with a particular problem from her past that is implied to be linked to her sister’s abductor. But when the “big reveal” comes, it turns out to be linked to a completely and inexplicably random, unrelated problem that was never set up anywhere in the plot. It really yanked me out of the story.

However, Nikki’s main personal journey ended up unresolved at the conclusion, which makes me wonder if her missing sister will still turn up alive in another book. Cool beans.

Overall, it made an okay read for a convenient rainy afternoon, but there were many elements I found aggravating.

Go West, Young Bookie Monster, Go West

Tags

book review, Bookie Monster, Christian book review, historical fiction, Maggie Brendan, The Trouble With Patience, Western book review, Western romance book review

Howdy there, Fellow Bookies! Time to dust off yer six-shooters, shine those boots, and saddle up for a wild and woolly romp through the Old West!

This week’s wanted poster: The Trouble With Patience, by Maggie Brendan

I picked this one up hoping for a clean Christian Western, but it’s more of a romance in cowboy boots. Romances aren’t quite my cup of tea, but I’m so hungry for a good Western-themed read that it worked.

The Pros:

– With only a couple of kissy parts, the book is squeaky clean. Finally! Old West + (a few) cowboys + no trashy content! That alone made it worth reading.

– This is just personal preference, but I liked some of the “salsa words” in the prose. Cerulean, reverberated, etc. Bookie Monster is a WordOPhiliac.

The Cons:

– I found it just a teensy bit preachy in some parts. For instance, Patience’s devotional-writing project, and the way she constantly brings it up to whomever is around. Not that that shouldn’t have been included, because it was a recurring plot point, but a little subtler might have been nice.

– I found the characters and storyline a little predictable. *sad Bookie Monster* Although that is a besetting sin of the Western genre. I found Cody, with his dark past, to be the most interesting character in the book. I must confess I was rooting for Patience to end up marrying him and not marrying Jed. So sue me! Cody’s personal journey was the most compelling one in the story. Without giving anything away, Monty was the other candidate for Most Interesting Character. Bookie Monster wants motives and ACTION ACTION ACTION! Monty + Cody = People Who Do Things! *happy Bookie Monster*

– The writing was not as razor-sharp as I am used to. 

– The ending seemed a little anticlimactic and drawn-out. But then the Bookie Monster is weird about happy endings.

Overall, it was satisfactory – Westerny, not distasteful at all, and a fun lighthearted romp. If your taste is Christian romance, heavy on the historical, then I recommend this book. If it’s more like the Bookie Monster’s – in short, “GIVE ME ACTION OR GIVE ME . . . Um . . . Chocolate?” – it might be good for a rainy afternoon with an afghan and mug of tea. I’ll keep an eye peeled for any more Western-themed titles by Maggie Brendan.

Thumbs Up From The Bookie Monster!

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Biblical fiction, book review, Bookie Monster, Christian fiction, Jill Eileen Smith, Rahab, The Crimson Cord: Rahab's Story

Here we go again, fellow Bookies! The latest installment from your very favorite Monster gets a happy thumbs up! (And one of these days when winter releases its vice grip on the desert, and the present chaos abounding settles down, your well-known and much-missed Bandit Queen will return with her favorite homesteady topics. Promise.)

Le book:

(I don’t own this image, of course)

Le Author: Jill Eileen Smith

Le Review:

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book and would recommend it. It is a unique treatment of the Biblical account of Rahab the harlot, found in the book of Joshua, chapters 2-6. (NOTE: this is not a discussion of whether or not the correct translations indicate that she actually was a prostitute, or merely an innkeeper.)

Pros:

– The author fleshed out Rahab’s story, with the aid of some artistic license, in a very compelling way. Her depiction of “what could have happened” (how Rahab ended up in prostitution, and how she found redemption) is very original while still staying true to the Biblical account (which does leave much to conjecture).

– The plot kept twisting and turning in interesting ways, and kept me reading.

– The ending was . . . maybe a little bit squackish . . . but really pretty cool.

– The personal journey of Rahab’s character as she began to understand faith and love and God was really uplifting.

– I liked how the author slipped in the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35) as part of the story. Very cool.

Cons:

– It took me a few chapters to really get into the characters. They seemed a little static at first, although they did pick up speed.

– There were a few places where I wish the author would have used fewer and more punchy words, rather than the softer ones that she did. But that could have been a certain tone that she was going for.

Altogether, I thought it was a strong story with a good plot. I enjoyed it, would recommend it, and will be up for reading more of Jill Eileen Smith’s books.

In Which The Bookie Monster Goes “Meh”

Tags

book review, Bookie Monster

Your sociable little Bookie Monster has been let out to run free once again, wreaking havoc in her wake as usual. This week’s victim hapless quarry . . . er, subject: At Home in Last Chance, by Cathleen Armstrong.

The Cast: Kaitlyn Reed, model-gorgeous grown-up teen mom with some bunch-quitting issues (for those unlucky few who didn’t grow up around cowboys: a bunch-quitter is a horse or cow that always tries to run away from the main herd); Steven Braden, face-palm handsome and groaningly vain jerky kind of guy who hasn’t decided what to do with his life; Kaitlyn’s “all-right-already-every-character-is-physically-perfect” hunky big brother who has taken care of her daughter after Kaitlyn ran off and left her; and a host of other family members, good and bad. As Kaitlyn tries to earn her daughter’s trust again, and Steven keeps trying to hit on her (Kaitlyn, not the daughter…that would be just weird), they struggle with lots of family issues and constantly deny the fact that (of course) they are a match made in heaven.

The Pros:

– The writing was overall strong and lively. The slightly humorous opening scene drew me in (not humorous in a “teehee” way; more of an “well, we gotta laugh or cry” – I thought the author pulled that off well).

– The descriptiveness is vivid. Bookie Monster likes descriptions.

The Cons:

– In a few places, the prose seemed to, as they say, “remind me that I’m reading”. I found some spots a bit telly. Don’t just tell me “Steven felt great as he got back in his truck after seeing Kaitlyn and Olivia to their front door” (page 105). Show me how he drums his fingers happily on the steering wheel, gives a big wave to a complete stranger passing by (trust me . . . it’s a thing here in Texas), whistles a lively tune, etc. But that’s just the Bookie Monster’s preference.

– Only a few chapters in, I got extremely fed up with this Uncle Joe Jr. character. You can be safely assured that after the eighty-ninth time of Uncle Joe Jr. being referred to as “Uncle Joe Jr.”, I really do understand that Uncle Joe Jr.’s name just might be “Uncle Joe Jr.” Plus, the guy is a complete asshat. As is Kaitlyn’s mom. Bleh.

– Unfortunately, I didn’t find the story very compelling. After the first few chapters, I had to work to keep reading as it didn’t seem to be going anywhere special, besides family squabbles. About 2/3 of the way through, it lost me. The characters were all learning their lessons too fast. The Bookie Monster must confess that she skimmed to the end just to see if maybe Steven’s dog Speed Bump (yes, that really is her name) would get run over, or if the elderly matriarch of the family would die, or if Kaitlyn might struggle with her emotions and run away again. But no such luck.

Maybe the Bookie Monster just isn’t a romance fiend, which means that this book might be perfect for other readers. But she gave it the old college try. There were parts of it she enjoyed, but the rest just didn’t do it for her. She shall pass this one on to a home that will love it, and return to the land of her Westerns. Adios!

Book Review: What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days, by Holley Gerth

Tags

book review, Christian book review, devotional, Revell publishing

Hello again blogworld! This post will be more of a straight-up book review. I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading this summer, and figured it was time to share some of it with you.

The latest: What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days: 52 Encouraging Truths To Hold On To, by Holley Gerth.

This devotional really spoke to me. It is laid out in 52 short chapters with a theme of encouragement from the Psalms. Each chapter begins with a Scripture verse, followed by an application and a bit of explanation about what the verse can mean for us, in our own personal situations. Finally, each chapter ends with a short starting-point prayer. Then there is a blank space for you to write in your own prayer.

I really appreciated the format, because it wasn’t just a simple read-through-and-be-done type of devotional; it was interactive and encouraged me to actually delve into my heart and ponder what I have really been hearing from God and what I want to talk to Him about. I found it uplifting, comforting, and inspiring. I would highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a devotional.

Not everyone may find this book as wonderful as I did, but neither this book review nor this blog are about debating. I don’t find in the Bible anywhere God says to go around and ram our beliefs down other people’s throats, or beat them over the head with it if they happen to not agree with us on every point. Sharing something that someone, somewhere, someway, might be heartened by in any way is just that – sharing.

Happy reading!