The Last Orphans

I was lucky enough to be offered an advanced copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

I'd like to take a second to say that I am very impressed by the publisher of this book.  It is the first time that I have ever heard of Clean Teen Publishing, and I appreciate what they are doing.  They are offering disclosure about the content of their books, similar to the disclosure ratings you will see on TV or video games.  They do not censor the work, but tell you honestly what you are getting into before you get into it (such as this book contains drugs, violence, sex, foul language, etc), that way you can decide if a book is appropriate for yourself or your children before you read it.  Kudos to them for that.

The Last Orphans by N.W. Harris is an apocalyptic story in which all of the adults in the world have died sudden and violent deaths, leaving only children and teenagers alive. The survivors struggle to find safety, the older ones taking charge of the younger. Many parts of this story were very graphic and violent, describing in detail the deaths of the adults and bloodied corpses.  

The premise for this story is intriguing, making me wonder what would happen in such a world. Parts of it were very sad, as an adult with young children I couldn't help but think what would happen if my kids were in this scenario and it did pull on my heartstrings.  I couldn't help but think throughout the book, what is happening to the babies.  The young ones who are too young to walk or open doors, left to starve to death in the homes.  It was only alluded to briefly, closer to the end of the book, but it was a thought on my mind throughout the story. 

My favorite character in the book was Tracy.  This girl is tough as nails, doesn't take crap from anyone and is a hero.  I love reading books that have strong female characters who think for themselves.  Tracy is definitely one of these women.

This book had me gripped right to the very end.  It was fast paced, full of action and very descriptive.

I will definitely be reading the next part of this series to see what happens to these orphans.

A Silent Prayer

I was given a free ebook copy of 'A Silent Prayer' by Samreen Ahsan in exchange for an honest review.

Adam Gibson is Toronto's most eligible bachelor. He is rich, young, sexy, and a notorious womanizer. He sees Rania walking outside his office building, and is absolutely smitten. But Rania is different from all of the other women he has been with. She is not interested in any type of relationship, and her strong beliefs forbid her to have relations with any man other than her husband. She is modest and very spiritual. As she and Adam develop a friendship based on trust, they fall in love. There is a darkness to Rania however, that she is afraid to reveal to Adam. The story ends in a cliffhanger, to be continued in book 2.

It is so refreshing to read a love story where people remain true to their personal boundaries. There is still magnetism and attraction, the story is still steamy even though there is no sex. This is an amazing love story about two people from different spiritual and cultural backgrounds growing together. There are many spiritual/paranormal events that are left unexplained at the end of the story, presumably to be explained in book 2. Once I started reading this book, I truly had a hard time putting it down. I will definitely be reading book 2.

My only criticism is that the story ended in a cliffhanger. I enjoy books that are able to stand on their own and am not a huge fan of the 'to be continued' endings that seem popular right now. I understand why authors do it, it is just frustrating as a reader to have to wait to get your hands on book 2 to see what happens, especially if you are as engrossed in Book 1 as I was with this story.

I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book so that you can see for yourself.  I can see why the author has won so many awards for this book series.  Book 1 is only .99 cents on amazon.com right now, I hope you love it as much as I did!

The Cheese Stealer's Handbook

***I was offered a free ebook copy of The Cheese Stealer's Handbook by Shoshaku Jushaku by the author in exchange for my honest review***

I have no idea what I just read. Was it autobiographical? I can't tell if this book is one long drug induced ramble or if the author is just brilliant. Did these things really happen? Right from the start I wanted to wring the main character's neck. He is such an irresponsible jerk! The entire time I was reading this book I was thinking to myself, how can anyone tolerate this person. Why can't he just get something right. Why can't he just make one good decision? Apparently 'Shoshaku Jushaku' means 'one continuous mistake', so I get it. Very clever.

There are some parts of this story that are quite funny, and the story itself is very well written. Any book that is capable of invoking such strong feelings of like or dislike towards the characters in my view is a win. 

The Supermarket Guy 3: Supermarket Dominium

I received a free copy of The Supermarket Guy 3: Supermarket Dominium by Daren Doucet as part of the Goodreads first-reads giveaways.  Here is my honest review.

Acadou is a former supermarket giant serving a prison term for some crime or other that I assume he committed in either Supermarket Guy 1 or 2.  He's a large, muscular man running a crime empire from behind bars.  His foster son, Edmund, is running their supermarket empire and also secretly developping a mind control drug that is to be distributed en masse via the delicious Edmundo cola.  Anyone who drinks the cola will love Edmund and set our to destroy and throw rocks at Harold, who is owner of their rival supermarket chain.  Acadou has a religious conversion right before Edmund breaks him out of prison, and with his newfound faith cannot go along with Edmund's devious plans.  Acadou must team up with Harold, who is also a large, muscular idiot, in order to stop Edmund from controlling the world and causing a nuclear war.

The author prefaces this book to give warning that it is very tongue in cheek and humorous.  Which it certainly is.  It is amusing, but not funny.  The story reads much like an outrageous cartoon where improbable things are constantly happening and the scene is changing so frequently that you feel like it is giving you ADD.  The plot was OK, not spectacular, but not bad either.  Some things about the characters may have been easier for me to understand if I had also read the first two books in the series, but I don't feel as though I missed much.

My one major criticism for this book was the editing.  There are quite a few mistakes that were missed.  Also,  when the scene changes, there is no separation on the page.  You end up reading another few paragraphs before you realize that it is talking about a different group of people in a different place!  Overall this book delivered on the promise of humour and entertainment.

Edge of End

I received an ebook copy of Edge of End by Suren Fant from the author after I entered the giveaway for a physical copy of the book and did not win.  At first I had received an unedited copy, but a few days later the author emailed me to provide the final edited copy of the novel, which is what I am reviewing here.

Edge of End is a story about a man named Jonarhan who wakes up in the desert with no memory.  He stumbles into a town that seems completely abandoned.  He has some weird visions which lead him to a certain house in the town where he finds a woman named Elizabeth.  They realize that they are trapped in the town surrounded by supernatural beings, and if they want to survive they must escape as soon as possible.  The town is crawling with demons who will do anything to stop them from leaving.  Jonathan and Elizabeth fall in love, and will not leave the town unless they go together.

The story here is interesting.  It isn't amazing, it is just interesting.  If I were to review the story itself and nothing else, I would give it a 3 star rating.  Good, not great, not bad.  Worth a read if this is your kind of thing.  The love aspect between Elizabeth and Jonathan was a bit ridiculous, they would have passionate kisses seconds after brutally maiming a disgusting demon.  Also I felt the character of Elizabeth could use some work, she seemed dull and stupid at times, running off to get killed and having Jonathan come and save her.  I prefer stronger female characters who have a brain and use it.

The reason I am giving this book 2 stars instead of 3 is because of the writing+grammar (yes, even the edited final copy had many mistakes).  If a really good editor were to get a hold of this book it would be much improved.  So many times when reading a sentence, I would think to myself 'no one actually uses that word!' or find the same adjective used to describe something 3 sentences in a row.  It is so distracting when you are trying to read something, I kept trying to correct what I saw to be mistakes, thinking 'it would work much better if the author had phrased it like this'.  I shouldn't have to do that when reading a book.

Medicine Walk

I was lucky enough to win a copy of Richard Wagamese' novel Medicine Walk from the Goodreads First Reads giveaway. 

When Frank receives a letter of summons from his father, he expects only more disappointment.  He has learned not to expect much from his alcoholic father, but when he goes to visit Eldon this time, he learns that his father is dying.  After a lifetime of drinking, Eldon knows the end is near, and would like Frank to accompany him on a journey to his final resting place.

As they make their way through the rugged landscape of beautiful British Columbia, Eldon finally shares some of his long kept secrets with Frank.  He reveals what led him to start drinking, what became of Frank's mother, and finally how Frank came to live with the old man who has raised him as a son all these years.  

Medicine walk is a story about love, courage, pain, regret and forgiveness.  It made my heart ache.  At times I hated Frank's father, then at others I felt compassion for him.  It is a great story and very beautifully written.