Fiction

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower I) by Stephen King

 in Adult / Adventure / Book Reviews / Books / Books-to-Movie / Creative / Fantasy / Fiction / Interesting / Series / Young Adult by

gunslingerSummary

““An impressive work of mythic magnitude that may turn out to be Stephen King’s greatest literary achievement” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), The Gunslinger is the first volume in the epic Dark Tower Series.

A #1 national bestseller, The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which mirrors our own in frightening ways, Roland tracks The Man in Black, encounters an enticing woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the boy from New York named Jake.

Inspired in part by the Robert Browning narrative poem, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” The Gunslinger is “a compelling whirlpool of a story that draws one irretrievable to its center” (Milwaukee Sentinel). It is “brilliant and fresh…and will leave you panting for more” (Booklist).”

-From Amazon.com

Review

Well this was certainly an interesting Stephen King book and nothing like I expected. At all. His writing was quite unique in it and unlike any of his others book which I wasn’t prepared for. It has moments that the dialogue and the writing style is definitely quite difficult to follow because it’s set, I guess you could call it, in a post-apocalyptic world and there aren’t many people around and such. I got the feeling, when reading this book, of the old wild west movies were there is sand everywhere and the few buildings which are around are just made of wood and are dilapidated. Then you have the people and they’re either alive or like these demon kind of things. I would go so far to say that they are zombies because some of the people had died but they somehow came back to life again.

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I will state blatantly that after finishing this book, I am still confused on many aspects on it. Such as the man in black. I wasn’t sure if he had magical powers or if he was just a normal man but just knew more than others and was good at messing with people. But then there was this other side character in the beginning who supposedly was dead but then was alive again. So I was not sure if there was a sickness which brought people back from the dead or if someone brought people back from the dead. I mean, I was totally lost in that aspect, but I’m sure that it will be all cleared up as the series continues. And I will be reading the others because The Gunslinger movie will be coming out soon and I want it to all make sense. After reading this book, I can understand why everyone is excited for the movie to come out because if it is done well (which I pray to God that it is), it will be really good!

Now, for the characters, it was quite interesting in how it was all done. I usually get attached to characters or am able to connect to them and understand where their decisions come from, but in this book you aren’t able to do that. You just don’t have enough time to connect with the characters or have enough information to do such a thing as well. It’s interesting. It keeps you on the fringes. Which is kind of useful as well because then you don’t get too attached to the characters, but it also is frustrating because you never know what a character will do. Their decisions and their attitude keep changing depending on the situation, and also how they are in that particular instance, and so you can never predict how someone will react in a particular moment. An example was I thought when the Gunslinger met the Man in Black, he was going to kill him or something was going to go down. But what happened definitely wasn’t expected.

Then there is the whole mission which the Gunslinger has of finding The Tower which was kind of like what? I can’t reveal anything but what the Tower is explained to be towards the end of the book had me sitting there like “mind-blown”. There was a whole life conversation and it hurt my brain but was so accurate and incredibly well written, so kudos to Mr. King for his writing and logic process.

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Overall, I honestly can’t say that I enjoyed it because it took a lot of effort to even understand what the purpose of the story was. But I am definitely intrigued and had more of a like of the book in the last section of it. Even though I didn’t love the book I will be reading on because I want to know what happens and I want to find out more. Which is a good job on King because it’s rare that you can have someone not love the book but still want to read more of the series just because of the story line and such.

I do recommend reading it as this is one of those books that I cannot say to avoid or not because the writing style is so different, and so is the story, that I can’t predict how anyone will react to it. So I do suggest checking it out and letting me know what you think about the story and such.

And I will be seeing the movie because I love books to movies. I just hope that it will be good!!!

But the cast looks fantastic. I mean come on! Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey?! What’s better! But Idris will be the Gunsligner which wasn’t expected because I see McConaughey more as the Gunslinger now after reading the book, but I think the actor choice will grow on me!

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Happy Reading!!!

The Research Project (The Research Project Trilogy Book 1) by Sarah Fawcett

 in Adult / Book Reviews / Books / Fiction / Series by

The Research Project coverSummary

“It seems like a good idea. Psychologist Colleen Couisneau is organized and logical. She even schedules date nights with her husband Steve once a week. Unfortunately, Steve leaves Colleen, stating that her robotic and methodical behaviour is the cause of his unhappiness.

Colleen believes that her lack of experience in the bedroom is the root cause of their split and recognizes that she needs to improve her repertoire to reconcile with Steve. She decides to begin a research study about casual sex.

New environments and testing her limits are all key to the research. The samples and data she collects open her eyes and lead her to form new hypotheses about what makes a marriage work.

As Colleen learns about her own wants and needs, she starts to reevaluate her own life. Will she be able to put the new theories to the test?”

–From Sarah Fawcett’s website

Review

Ms. Fawcett contacted me asking to review this book for her and I am sooooo glad she did as I loved it. It does fall into the erotic romance genre, but it did have a lot more going on as well with the whole relationship aspect.

It follows Colleen who has a horrible husband and he leaves her because she is supposedly mechanical in sex, though you find out more is happening later, and she decides to go and explore her sexuality and figure out what she’s doing. I really did like the protagonist because I was able to connect with her because she was so real. She didn’t seem to be this extraordinary woman and she was easy to connect to.

One key thing I also did like in the writing was there was a lot of verbal communication and the use of protection. A lot of romance stories assume that the woman says yes and, I’m guessing, assume that protection is used. But if it’s not there, then I usually assume it didn’t happen. So I was really happy that it stated that protection was used and there was verbal consent as it also made it more realistic as well.

There was a lot going on in the book too. Colleen was searching for her sexuality and finding her way which was nice but she was also doing it for an interesting reason. She wanted her husband back, after everything which happened. I did want to sometimes shake Colleen and make her see what her husband was truly like, but of course I can’t do that. I did like that the story evoked many emotions in me. As a reader I don’t want to be reading it and just reading it for that purpose. I like to feel something or many different something. And when I can dislike a character I really like the story more because I can easily like character, but disliking them is sometimes hard, so I did like that aspect.

But my main love for this book was the whole consent aspect. With sexual assault being a massive issue and some of the new sayings being ‘If she doesn’t say yes, assume it’s no’, I liked how with all of the guys she had relations with they always were asking about consent and that really was comforting. While it isn’t completely realistic in every case, it was nice to ready a story where the consent was obvious.

Overall I really did enjoy the book and do recommend it. I really want to read the other two books in the series to see where it all goes as I’m extremely curious. Enjoy and happy reading!

A Lady’s Submission (The Warriors of Ar’mora Book 1) by Frank Carlyle

 in Adult / Adventure / Book Reviews / Books / Fantasy / Fiction / Older Readers by

Book CoverSummary

“Last of a clan that once ruled over a vast trade network and determined the fate of empires, Mahlon Arn, has the task of reclaiming a place once lost and now hidden within the jungled corridors of a tributary river that feeds into the mighty Amazon River. It’s a past that almost no one remembers except for the few who dare to return and once more reclaim all that once was and begin to build what is to become.

Journey deep into the jungle and follow the story of a warrior who reclaims a kingdom, only to ache for the completion of a prophecy spoken over him by a dying father. A prophecy that comes in the form of a red haired fantasy lady, who is born up the river by chance and circumstance or perhaps by Divine will, and that must be claimed and utterly brought into submission by the man, who has been tasked to not only reclaim a past but to build a future based on righteousness.

A Lady’s Submission is the beginning of a five book journey into the exotic realms of a place that has never been spoken of and is now just beginning to be realized through the lives of the five remaining blood heirs of the House of Arn, of the kindred of people known to the ancient world as the Ar’morians. This is a tale of overcoming faith and erotic conquest. A reality of an ancient place comes alive in this tale of Christian Erotic Themed Fantasy Fiction.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I was lucky enough to have Mr. Carlyle contact me over this book and ask me to read it and I’m so glad that he did because I really did enjoy this book. I will start off by saying that this is adult literature, as it is erotic themed. And while I don’t usually read blatant erotic literature (while Nalini Singh’s books (as well as others) do count but it’s much more than that), this one definitely needs to be reviewed.

First off, it’s written by a guy. I mean how rare is that?! All the erotic literature that I know is written by women, usually older women as the younger ones don’t want to write it, and so this book automatically caught my interest when I received the email as I was intrigued as to what a male author would be able to do with such a feminine topic. I have to say, I was definitely impressed. Instead of a lot of it being from the females perspective, it was mostly from the main male protagonist of the story which was quite interesting. I thought that reading about sexy thoughts from a guy would be strange, but it didn’t change how I read the story at all. It was just as enjoyable and an interesting touch. I wouldn’t have known that it was written by a guy at all and the different perspective was awesome. So kudos to Mr. Carlyle.

Next, this book falls into a new-ish category (one I’m not terribly familiar with) called Christian Erotic Themed Fantasy Fiction. Now, this is kind of interesting. It’s erotic literature with a christian twist which is different. This means that in the story the main female protagonist spent time praying to God and there were references to Jesus. Now I don’t have an opinion for or against something like this, but I know that some people may view strongly against this, due to the fact that sex and the bible don’t necessarily go hand in hand perfectly. No I’m not trying to start a war here, so please don’t bite my head off. I’m merely stating that when the bible and sex get mixed together, sometimes things can get messy which I respect and understand, but I don’t feel, that in this book, such a problem came up, so if that is a worry for a reader, I don’t believe that they need to feel that way. The writing was respectful and the incorporation of the religion and belief was interesting and added to the story in a very unique way. I was confused when God and Jesus references appeared, but once I realized the genre, then I understood instantly. So another bonus point for the author because he broke two barriers so far: being a male author and adding religious aspects.

Now, more about the story. It was a very decent story. It fit perfectly into the traditional erotic romance category. Think of a basic Harlequin novel, with the two aspects above mixed in, with a little historical kind of feel to it. For some reason, when reading it, I kept having this image of like Conan the Barbarian mixed with Game of Thrones going on. Maybe I’m just loosing my head but that’s what I was picturing the entire time.

The story was interesting and it was nice to see a real commitment between the male and the female. A lot of times the sex scenes which happen is more superfluous sex. I guess you could call it a hook-up a lot of the time and then the love develops through the novel. This one the love was there and it was an interesting story and development.

As a reader, I would have liked more of a story line, a little more something in the story, but that’s just a personal thing as I always like lots going on. But for erotic literature, this fit the bill perfectly in my opinion.

Overall, I thought it was fantastic and I would recommend it. It was only about 135 pages or so and I was able to read it in just over an hour or so (I read fast so maybe more like 2-3 for some readers) so it wasn’t a difficult read. I would say to check it out if you have some spare time and are looking for something. It is unique in my opinion and is different from other erotic literature stories, but not so different that it’s bad. A job well done in my opinion.

Happy Reading!

Raining Embers (Order and Chaos Book 1) by Jessica Dall

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fantasy / Fiction / Fun / Hot Off The Press / Interesting / Young Adult by

Raining Embers (Order and Chaos Book 1) by Jessica Dall Cover Summary

“Palmer Tash always follows the path of least resistance. He has an unusual disability involving his hearing. But in theocratic Latysia, being different isn’t a good thing, so he conceals his problem.

Brier Chastain’s malady is even more debilitating, and she often must take to her bed for long periods. Her days are spent in meaningless pursuits as she awaits an arranged marriage.

When Palmer and Brier are kidnapped on the same night, they meet and discover that their so-called disabilities are actually budding powers. They are the incarnations of Order and Chaos. With their country on the brink of war, the two must step into their predestined roles and learn to take control of their own destinies.”

–From Jessica Dall’s Website

Review

So Jessica Dall contacted me asking me to read her book for her and get a review done as her book is brand-spanking-new and I’m really glad that she did. It was a fantastic book and I am curious as to how the other books in the Order and Chaos series are going to be now. I will start off by saying that it is an e-book which can be purchased from here for $2.99 and was quite worth it in my opinion.

So the story followed two teens and how their abilities were essentially that of order and chaos. My one confusion was ages as I kept viewing the two protagonists more as like 15 year old kids but then they would mention that they were closer to 19 or 20 years old and I kept getting so confused at moments, but that was probably more of a personal thing. I always felt, during the story, that how they reacted to certain situations, was that more of a younger child than of an adult, but that’s not a complaint. More of just a personal feeling while reading.

There was nice character development as well. You got quite attached to the two protagonists, Brier and Palmer and it was nice to see how they developed as characters as well as they developed with each other. This book definitely did have a romance aspect to it, though it was definitely not the main theme. It was just a nice way to make the story interesting and engaging and adding a new dynamic to the story.

My only one complaint about the book was the aspect of Palmer’s hearing. It was stated that he had a hearing issue, only being able to hear one thing at a time if he concentrated on it, but as the story continued to progress, I got the feeling that that issue went away, and I think that was due to the expanding of his abilities which was kind of interesting, but that was my only one complaint/confusion. Where the hearing issue went and why it was significant in the first place. But, once again, that is more of a me complaint as I’m sometimes extremely picky with stories.

The ending of the book was quite good as well. It was fast paced although a lot was crammed into the last 100 pages. It was about 200 pages of set up and then the last 100 pages was a lot of stuff happening in a very short period of time. Now this is a writing style, and a lot of YA books do it, and it’s extremely common, so I’m once again not saying it is bad, but I’ve always been into books where the action scenes are a little more dragged out, or the build up to the action scene doesn’t take place in only about a chapter or so. Although I do know a lot of people who like the fast build ups because instant-gratification is a thing now a days. The quick ending was nice though because you did have quite a few questions towards the end and you got a lot of them answered really fast which is always nice because you can breathe and go ‘Ohhhhhh! I get it now!”.

I also really do love the cover. The mixture of the light blue/teal with the yellow and fire design is a really nice combination, it really caught my attention. It was the first thing that I noticed before I started to read the book and I love that quality about it.

It wasn’t a difficult read at all, only about 280 pages or so and didn’t take me that long to read. Only reason it took me a ‘while’ was because I was busy and had to keep stopping but I was easily able to get through the last 100 page or so in an hour or two, so it wasn’t difficult. It was typical YA writing so it fits perfectly into the genre.

Overall I really did enjoy the book. It was unique, giving Order and Chaos bodies and abilities and making them become part of the world. I’m certainly intrigued as to how this series is going to be taken and would definitely be interested in reading the follow up book(s).

Check out this book and let me know what you think of it as well.

Happy reading!