Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II

Title: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II
Author: Sir Author Conan Doyle
Publisher: Naxos
ISBN: 9789626341704
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: The four stories included in this were good ones, but the audio recording was just terrible (narrator was good; volume was not).

Rating: 2 stars

Return to Me

Title: Return to Me
Author:  Melissa MacKinnon
Publisher: esKape
ISBN: 9781940695402
Why Read?: Early Review

Thoughts: Fans of historical romance will enjoy this (even if it not really historical), but fans of paranormal romance will find it lacking.

Rating: 3 stars

Sunday, October 25, 2015

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline

Title: The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline
Author: Nancy Springer
Publisher: Recorded Books
ISBN: 978-0-525-95422-4
Why Read?: Book Club

Thoughts: Very fun mystery in the style of Sherlock Holmes (but with more action) that will appeal to both younger readers and adults alike.

Rating: 4 stars

Monday, October 19, 2015

The Barter

Title: The Barter
Author: Siobhan Adcock
Publisher: Dutton
ISBN: 978-0-525-95422-4
Why Read?: Book Club

Thoughts: Very, very character driven, so it would make a great book club read.  Really did need more ghost story, though.

Rating: 2 stars

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Stacking the Shelves: 10/11/-10/17

Bought from Humble Bundle:
Night of the Living Dummy by R. L. Stein
The Haunted Mask by R. L. Stein
One Day at Horrorland by R. L. Stein
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb by R. L. Stein
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp by R. L. Stein
The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight by R. L. Stein
Return of the Mummy by R. L. Stein
Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes by R. L. Stein
Vampire Breath by R. L. Stein
Stay Out of the Basement by R. L. Stein
Night of the Living Dummy 2 by R. L. Stein
The Ghost Next Door by R. L. Stein
Creep from the Deep by R. L. Stein
Monster Blood for Breakfast! by R. L. Stein
Revenge of the Living Dummy by R. L. Stein 

Friday, October 16, 2015

In the Box: September 2015 Awesome Pack Big Kid Pack

I will admit that I thought the September Awesome Pack Big Kid Pack was not as awesome as past awesome packs.  I know this was most likely due to some shipping issues from their suppliers. However, they still tried to customize it as much as possible without delaying it any further, and it was a still a great pack. The subscription is $44.99 a month and you can choose the Big Kid option (for those without kids - like me), or the Family option.  Their site does not have referral links set up yet, nor can you log into your account yet, but they do have a referral program, so if you do decide after reading my review to try it, I would very much appreciate if you told them you heard about it from me, rickimc [at] aol [dot] com.

For September, the main game was Walking Dead: Don't Look Back ($20.00 value) from Cryptozoic Entertainment. Cryptozoic makes some fun games based off of TV shows.  At first, I was like, okay, I do not watch Walking Dead.  Then I saw it was for 1-4 players which means I can play it solo, so score!
The first of the smaller games was also based on an entertainment licence, Mars Attacks: The Martian Takedown (a $9.99 value) from Steve Jackson Games.  Now, Mars Attacks is more my speed, so that interested me, but reading the back of the box did not excite me at all.  Now the second game, Trixo (a $14.95 value) from YNGI sounds exactly like how it is described on my info card - "seemingly simple awesome game!"

My collectibles this time included an Assassin's Creed III Connor Collectible Bust (a $19.99 value) from Imports Dragon.  do not play Assassin's Creed, so this is totally not me.  Now this Disney Tinkerbell Jakz (a $2.75 value) from Tomy was really cute.  For Awesome Pack goodies, I received two magnets (which I forgot to picture).

While not the most awesome, still a great Awesome Pack !  The items actually added up to an amazing $67.68 value, and I got it all for $44.95, which included shipping.  Not the highest value one I have received, but I really love the games this time around.  If you would like to subscribe, once again, I ask that you say you heard it from me, rickimc [at] aol [dot] com.  (Please note: as games and collectibles can vary in price based on demand, I tried to take the price from the manufacturers site whenever possible.).

Through My Window

Title: Through My Window
Author: Jayne Rylon
Publisher: Happy Endings
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: Fresh Fiction

Thoughts: Very poetic prose, especially when not in bed, but the dialogue needs word.

Rating: 3 stars

Thursday, October 15, 2015

While the World Watched

Title: While the World Watched
Author: Carolyn Maull McKinstry
Publisher: Oasis
ISBN: 9781621882862
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Compelling look at the life of a girl growing up in Birmingham during the Civil Rights Movement.  Full of insight, this book really takes today's readers back in time.

Rating: 5 stars

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Stacking the Shelves: 9/27-10/10

For review (on Bookloons):
Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage

First Reads from Goodreads:
Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes

LibraryThing Early Review:
Conquistador of the Night Lands by Robin Wyatt Dunn
Love and Terror on the Fourth of July by J.R. Wirth

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Skeletons

Title: Skeletons
Author: Al Sarrantonio
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 9780553297546
Why Read?: Book Club

Thoughts: Very cool premise and very interesting story.  Pacing, though, was not the fastest, and I found it slowed my reading down.

Rating: 4 stars.