Book Reviews

Book Review: When You Lunch With the Emperor by Ludwig Bemelmans

 in Book Reviews / Books / Travel by

Book Review: When you Lunch With the EmperorSummary

“Ludwig Bemelmans–legendary bon vivant and raconteur, and author of the Madeline stories as well as the surprise success of last year, Hotel Bemelmans–lived life like a character in a novel. Wherever Ludwig went and whatever he did–letting Parisian criminals baby-sit his daughter, getting caught with his toenails painted red by the Gestapo, or discovering the only restaurant with toilets in the Amazon Jungle–his escapades are guaranteed entertainment.

When You Lunch with the Emperor collects Bemelman’s work under the headings of Childhood, Work, and Play. Readers will enjoy their lunch with the Bemelmans!”

-From Amazon.com

 

Review

This was my traveling book that I took to Japan with me (so it got a nice bunch of miles) and I’m so glad that I brought it. It kept me company during the long flight there and during a long train ride in Japan on the way to visit the Great Buddha. It was so much fun to read a book about someone who traveled all over and had this incredible life, while being abroad.

First off, the story was fantastic. There was just so much going on and I had to keep reading to find out what disastrous thing happened next. Ludwig went through so much in his life and seeing it all recounted was just such an amazing story.

There was food talked about, different locations, traveling, high and low times in his life, and success and failure. It was so impressive to read because Ludwig just struggled and struggled, doing well and then failing but he never gave up. It was amazing to see his resilience.

I think the other thing that I loved was the fact that there were pictures now and then, drawn in the famous style that you see in Madeline. It was a surprise to be reading and reading and then suddenly get a page with pictures. It’s extremely rare in adult books and just added a little surprise to the book, which I loved.

This wasn’t exactly a difficult read. In total, I read it in a few days (it just seems longer because there was traveling in between).

When You Lunch With the Emperor is one of those books that is hard to review by talking about the story, because it’s technically nonfiction (as far as I’m aware there was nothing fantasy in the story). It’s an experience book, but it reads like an epic tale. I highly recommend reading it if you’re looking for something unique and different. This 100% fits the bill.

I’d give this book a 5 out of 5 teacups because I absolutely loved it!

Have you read it? What do you think?

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Book Review: No Safety In Numbers by Dayna Lorentz

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fiction by
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Book Review: No Safety In Numbers by Dayna LorentzRating: 4/5 teacups

Summary

“A biological bomb has just been discovered in the air ducts of a busy suburban mall. At first nobody knows if it’s even life threatening, but then the entire complex is quarantined, people start getting sick, supplies start running low, and there’s no way out. Among the hundreds of trapped shoppers are four teens.

These four different narrators, each with their own stories, must cope in unique, surprising manners, changing in ways they wouldn’t have predicted, trying to find solace, safety, and escape at a time when the adults are behaving badly. This is a gripping look at people and how they can—and must—change under the most dire of circumstances.

And not always for the better.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I had come across this book in my library and it caught my eye because it was BRIGHT yellow and also had a bio warning symbol on the front. Naturally I went, ‘oh, what is this’ and just had to check it out. I only grabbed it because of that and also because it looked to be a quick read.

An exciting thrill ride from beginning to end.
It was definitely an exciting read and you never really knew what was going to happen next. You sometimes thought you knew what was going to happen and then something else would occur.

Pretty realistic with all of the bureaucratic bull…I mean,uh, drama.
There was lots of mess with the whole political scene. People didn’t like the politician who was making the choices. The main character was the daughter of said politician and seemed to hate her mother and blamed her for everything. So it was pretty close to how it would happen in real life. Information wasn’t being allowed out to the media as they didn’t want public panic and all of that good stuff. So it was realistically written.

There are 3 books and the book doesn’t conclude the situation.
It’s one of those series…yeah. Book one is not a stand alone. You have to read the entire series, all 3 books, to find out what happens. I really hate when they do that because I don’t have all the time in the world to read and entire series (even though I read the entire book in an afternoon outside in the nice weather). Will I read the rest of the series? Probably not in all honesty. I don’t have that much time currently to do so, so I’ll never know what happens. But I’m sure most of them will get out but people will die and all of that stuff. It had a predictable overall story feel, just not the small situations within the book.

It dragged…a lot.
I mean come on! This one book was only happening over a few days. And there are 3 more books! Like what else could possibly happen in the next?! I am slightly curious as to what will happen but I’m not sure if I’m curious enough to read the entire series currently.

Strong female lead.
You know me, I’m a sucker for a strong female lead! And this one was one. She was pretty smart and quick on her feet which I really did like. So that boosted the book up in my opinion.

Overall it was a good book and if you have time to commit to the small series I would recommend it. It was exciting, kept the pages turning and kept you questioning as to what was going to happen next. For that I do give it 4/5 teacups!

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Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fantasy by

Book Review: The Bone Witch by Rin ChupecoRating: 3/5 teacups

Summary

“Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there’s anything I’ve learned from him in the years since, it’s that the dead hide truths as well as the living.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha―one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind in this brilliant new fantasy series by Rin Chupeco!”

-From Amazon.com

Review

So this is actually a book in my DNF list. I am about to go away (actually I’m away now) and I just didn’t have time to finish it unfortunately. I really did want to and I sat down a few days before I was going to leave to try and grind through the rest of it but I just couldn’t.

First impressions were good.
My first impressions of the book was that it was going to be good. I was seeing it all over the place and people seemed to love it and as I was getting into it, I was seeing that it was good and I was curious about what was going to happen. But as the book went on I started to lose interest in the book. I’m not sure what it was but I just wasn’t feeling the book though the story was intriguing and I was certainly curious as to what was going to occur within the book. However, I just didn’t finish it.

The cover caught my attention.
The first thing that  I loved about the book was the cover. It was a deep and rich purple which isn’t a common book cover color. Also it had the accents of shiny gold on the front and then this little skull protruding out of the darkness. So it really caught my eye and I thought it was going to be a great read.

Tea seems a little bit obnoxious.
In my opinion, Tea seemed a little obnoxious. I’m not sure what it was about her, but there was this slight obnoxious attitude about her. I really can’t place my finger on it but I just felt that she got on my nerves.

The dead weren’t…well..dead.
Fox was supposedly dead as that’s what the entire story was about. But I never got this feeling that he was truly dead or that there was something wrong enough with him. You were supposed to have this creeped out vibe coming from him and people were supposed to be afraid, or confused, by him and I didn’t get that feeling most of the time.

Bone Witches are bad! And good?
I was confused through the reading because in the beginning it was saying that Bone Witches are bad and everyone hates them and fears them. But then they were loved by certain people. I was just a little unclear as to if they were truly bad or if they were good and I was just missing something.

Honestly, I may not have been in the mind frame to read this book as I’ve been running around and preparing to travel. I had heard good things about it, or so I remember, and so I had high hopes for the book. These expectations were not met at all unfortunately.

I would recommend checking it out if you have some time and can find it in your local library. It was a good read, for the beginning. As the book went on, I went off of it. But I’m pretty sure it’s all just my opinion considering the average rating for the book is 4 stars.

However, I personally give this book only 3/5 teacups.

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Happy Reading!

Book Review: 7 Billion Needles (Volume 1) by Nobuaki Tadano

 in Book Reviews / Books by

Rating: 4/5 teacups

Summary

“Always sporting her headphones to try to close out the world around her, Hikaru is clearly a reclusive teen aged girl.  And within her body resides another life-form known as Ciel, a hunter in search of an intergalactic murderer intent on wiping out humanity. In 7 Billion Needles, two lives share one heart as they race to protect each other and what they most cherish.

Modern day Japan is the stage for a new form of hard science-fiction, as author Nobuaki Tadano revisits one of the  genre’s Grand Masters, Hal Clement, in his debut work 7 Billion Needles.  Loosely inspired by Clement’s golden age title Needle, 7 Billion Needles follows the life of a teenage girl whose quiet boring days are dramatically changed when her body is possessed by an alien life form caught up in an intergalactic manhunt.

On a clear calm night, while on a class trip to the beach, Hikaru Takabe decides to go for a walk to escape the shackles of school and peer pressure.  While observing the stars above a calm dark sea in an instant she is disintegrated when  struck by a meteor.

Flash forward one page, and Hikaru awakes, from what seems like a horrible daydream of sorts, sitting amongst classmates in school without a scratch on her.  The meteor dream seemed so real she cannot believe she’s alive, but given her relative aloof nature, she soon shrugs off the events and moves on with life.  However, one thing she cannot shake off is the strange buzzing she hears coming from her new pair of headphones…”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I’m not generally one to read Manga. I’m not sure why, but I really prefer making my own images in my head instead of reading a story that is made of images. But a change can be good sometimes. So when I was in the library I decided to find a Manga, but I didn’t want to read a really famous one because I wanted something a little different. And I also wanted something shorter. Then I found this one. Only 4 volumes (and they are really small) so I only have 3 more to go!

Unique story.
It was quite unique this story. So unlike anything else. The first thing that caught my attention was the name. It just made me curious. Then the cover. It has a girl and a skeleton on it that seems to be like….loosing…flesh. I was slightly curious as to what happened in the story for this to happen. I can’t tell you as it’s early in the Manga.

However, I can tell you that the story was really good! The 4 volumes make up the entire story. So this one was just the first part!

Book Review: 7 Billion Needles (Volume 1) by Nobuaki Tadano

Traditional manga drawings.
As you can see the actual drawings are gorgeous! It’s all done in traditional Manga style with various frames per page. It took me a while to figure out which way to read it because, while I knew that you start at the back (read opposite direction) I’m never really sure which way to read a page because it wasn’t always the Japanese reading direction. I kind of just made it up as I went!

Book Review: 7 Billion Needles (Volume 1) by Nobuaki Tadano

Overall it was an interesting read. Not something that I generally read but it’s nice for a change. It only took me an hour or so to get through and I’m definitely curious as to what the rest of the series holds. I will have to get to it when I can as I have so many other books on my TBR but it is certainly worth checking out if you are looking for something different.

For that I give it 4/5 teacups!

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Happy Reading!

Book Review: Citizen Kill by Stephen Clark

 in Adult / Book Reviews / Books / Older Readers / Young Adult by

Book Review: Citizen Kill by Stephen ClarkRating: 4/5 teacups

Summary

“When a devastating explosion kills the new President’s young son, her administration seeks to finally end the war on terror. CIA black-ops agent Justin Raines is among the recruits in a new program that targets for assassination U.S. citizens suspected of radicalizing Muslims.

Haunted by a botched assignment overseas, Justin is determined to redeem himself through the program. But when he is assigned to kill a mysterious Muslim educator that he believes is innocent, he grows disillusioned. Now he must find a way to prove her innocence and derail the program before they both are assassinated.

This explosive political thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat as Washington stops at nothing to protect the nation from terrorists, while Justin Raines risks everything to protect the nation from Washington.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I was contacted by Stephen to read his book and at the title, I was hooked. It grabbed my attention immediately. And then I read the summary and I was just so curious as to what the story was about. It was clear that it was going to hit close to home with terrorism and all of these events currently going on in the U.S., but it was definitely worth the read.

Based in reality.
The book is based in reality and has no fantastical aspects. It is completely realistic in how it portrays the government, how it works, and how they operate and the kind of secrets they hold. Of course, it’s not based on fact, but it was interesting to see how this idea was mixed into reality and used the fears that people have in the book.

The topic of conversation was Islamophobia.
The main purpose of the book was the cover the idea of Islamophobia and how just because someone is a Muslim, people seem to assume that they are a terrorist. That was one of the points of the book which I thought was interesting to cover. Of course it is covered in non-fiction books but I haven’t come across it in a fiction book before and it was nice that that kind of issue was addressed.

Action packed.
The story kept you on your toes and kept changes and so you weren’t really sure what to expect next, up until the last pages. It was kind of like real life. You expect something to go one way but it actually ended up going the other, especially with politics and it being an ever-changing ground and you can’t predict what will happen next.

I also really liked the idea that everyone thought that they were the good guy. The bad guy thinks that he is the good guy and the good guy thinks that he is the good guy. Everyone thinks that they are doing what is best for everyone. I liked that that was addressed but it is a true fact of life. Wrong or right, everyone thinks that what they do is to better everyone else, no matter what they are doing.

Overall I really liked the book and will give it 4/5 teacups!

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I would suggest reading it, especially if you like politically fueled reads and ones that keep you turning pages. The chapters were nice and short so you were able to bite through it quickly so it wasn’t a long read.

Happy Reading and let me know what you think!