Book Review: A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena

I applaud Lapena for her writing style. The use of short, easy sentences, all in the present tense. really help suck you into the world and dangers of the story. The book was written to pull you in and keep you engaged. Make you feel part of the events taking place.

And I gotta say, it worked.

Lapena had me believing Karen was innocent right until the end. I honestly didn't see it coming. Between Karen and Bridgit's story and everything that happened up to the end, I really couldn't tell who killed Robert but I thought I knew for sure it wasn't Karen. What a twist the ending was!

A Stranger in the House

by Shari Lapena

I will admit, though, that I wasn't expecting a "whodunnit" kind of story. I thought the whole book would be trying to figure out what happened as Karen recalled her memory after the car crash. And yes, it technically is that way, but she recalled most of her memory pretty early in the book and I was wondering what could possibly happen for the rest of the 50%.

I also was expecting more of a stalker-type story, you know, with the title being A Stranger in the House and all. And it sort of is. Just not in the way I was expecting.

I guess everything I was expecting, didn't happen, and this is a good thing! It shows skills on Lapena's part.

I was also impressed with Lapena's knowledge of the police force and lawyers and such. She other has some first-hand experience (like knowing someone) or she did her homework. It all helped make the crimes of the aftermath of said crimes more believable. I really felt like I was Karen going through this hard investigation and I felt like I was in jail alongside her.

Overall, a good, quick and easy read.

Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert

Well, first off, I applaud Herbert for his fantastic worldbuilding. He set the course for all the fantasy/sci-fi works we know and love today. NOt to mention he has a great way with words. A lot of people love Dune and the series as a whole, and they should. However, as of now, I'm not 100% a fan.

First off, it's a huge novel. Nothing wrong with that. It's just that literally the entire first part of the book is a giant exposition dump that helps world-build. I get that it's a massive world to build, being extremely far into the future and on other planets and all, but there had to have been a better way to go about it. A lot of the world-building was also very political, and thus in my opinion, very boring. The book only got interesting at about 48ish% and even then it was a bit iffy. Basically later in part two when Paul and Jessica found themselves with the Fremen did the book finally pick up the pace and become interesting to me. (And I was mostly interested in the Fremen and their culture as they were actually hella fun to read and learn about).

Speaking of Paul and Jessica, (our MCs), out of everyone named in this book, they are the only two with "normal" names and that struck me as odd. Like, everyone has a cool fantasy name, like Chani, or Leto, but the MCs get boring non-fantasy names. Unclear why Herbert did that. (I mean they do get Fremen names later but still).

Dune by Frank Herbert

I didn't care for Paul as a character. He felt too much of an overpowered God character and was kind of a jerk to people because of it. At least, that's how I read him. I also wasn't a fan of his inta-love for Chani. There was zero chemistry. They met and were like "We're supposed to be together" and so it was. Then they had a kid we never saw, and the kid died and I felt nothing because we spent like no time with him. Heck, we barely spent time with Paul and Chani. Not that this book needs a romance, I'm just saying if you're gonna include one, make me care a little about it.

As for the writing in the book itself, it was confusing. The first half of the book took forever for things to happen. Then mid-way through part two, we get very confusing time skips. A lot of plot points started rushing, especially near the end and that made for a confusing read, especially as we spent so long on other story points (like with Leto's character, only to have him die).

Speaking of Leto, I'm sure the Harkonnen would have killed him regardless, but like, why did he follow along with the plan to kill himself in order to kill the Duke? Like, he didn't have to. I dunno, a false poison tooth sounds like a stupid plan to me. There had to have been another way.

You can also definitely tell this book is a series. There was too much information in this book not to. especially the ending. Nothing wrong with that. Just wanted to point that out.

All in all, it's not a bad book. It has a lot of potential. (As can be seen by being the inspiration for things we love today like Star Wars or Ender's Game). While I absolutely love all the work that Herbert put into this book (and most likely the sequels), it was too boring for me to get into for most of it. Maybe because it did pick up and became kinda interesting in the latter half of the book, I'll check out the rest of the series at some point. But for now, I'll wait.

I'd probably still recommend this for any sci-fi lover, though.

Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

For years I kept hearing about 1984. The more I heard about it, the more my curiosity piqued. Finally, when one of my friends read the book herself this year and praised it, I knew it was time I hunt down a copy to read myself. Lemme just say it did not disappoint.

1984, though written decades ago, is still prevalent in the world today. In fact, I dare say it goes as far as to almost predicting some of the future, or rather most of the world as we know it today. Sure, the whole world isn't exactly like it is in 1984, however, it's pretty close in some countries.

I recently read a book, Surviving Chinese Communist Detention by Steven Schaerer, which told the very true story of how he, Schaerer, well, survived Chinese communist detention. He was working 100% legally, abided by all the laws, and yet was arrested under the pretense that he was working illegally when he wasn't and put in a Chinese prison. He was mentally tortured the entire time there and when he was finally released, he was a changed man.

1984

George Orwell

In reading Winston's story in 1984, I saw so many similarities between his story and Schaerer's real-life experience. Not to mention with all that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has been doing lately to its citizens, it almost feels like 1984 is more of a reality than not. (Note, I'm not saying Chinese people are bad. I'm saying the government, the CCP, is a lot like Big Brother in 1984. Please don't attract any Chinese person for any reason. Or like, don't attract anyone for that matter).

As for the story itself, I was thoroughly impressed by Orwell's writing and storytelling. He built the world so well, and even technically invented a whole new language called Newspeak. (Although never used very much, he did write a mini-essay on the usage of the language in the Appendix of the book which was really fascinating).

There was only one time, or rather a chapter, that I wasn't fully invested in the book and even got a little bored. When Winston reads literal chapters from a book, the info dump that I thought would be interesting, turned out to be very political and boring. It wasn't technically from Winston's POV as it was the words he himself was reading and thus lacked his character.

Aside from that, it was a hella enjoyable read. I feel as though to prevent our future from ever ending up like the one in 1984, this book is a must-read. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I was recommended to read this book by one of my best friends, who was also recommended to read it by another friend of ours. I'm glad they did.

I went into this book blind. I bought it solely because it was highly praised by my friends and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. So when I started reading the book, though very interesting (at the start and throughout), I was hella confused. I didn't understand the writing style, such as why almost everything was capitalized. (We later can learn it's things that are viewed as important to "Piranesi" and part of his character, and in sorts, character development). Not to mention that an entire world was literally inside what must be the world's largest house with the best foundation ever to withstand hard weather.

I knew that reading on would help answer these questions. And it did.

Piranesi

by Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke

Author of wondrous worlds

The World in which "Piranesi" lives is so interesting and love learning about it from him. For a while, I believed it was essentially the one true world in which this character exists. But make no mistake, it is not. The World in which "Piranesi" resides is a true mystery and we learn more about it as time goes on.

In fact, the whole book is an excellent mystery. It also deals with mental health in an interesting way.

I love the writing style and how it was all told in the way of journal entries. Easily one of the best books I've read this year. Such a unique style and story. Not to mention the formatting and cover are absolutely gorgeous. It's one I highly recommend checking out.

Book Review: The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee

Another great addition to the Avatar universe.

I am once again saddened to finish such a great read. At least after finishing the first book, I had the second one to look forward to. It's possible due to the content of the epilogue there could be a third book in the works, but I think that's just wishful thinking on my part. After all, I expected there to be a lot more Kyoshi x Rangi, considering the cover of the book. (And the fact that I assumed Rangi was the titular "Shadow of Kyoshi.")

I'm a sucker for LGBT+ and seeing Kyoshi and Rangi together always warmed my heart. I know that this book (and even series) isn't a romance series, so not focusing entirely on their romantic relationship is fine, but I wouldn't object to more. That being said, their relationship, apart from the romantic side, is a pleasure to read. They work so well together. A true bending duo.

The Shadow of Kyoshi

by F.C. Yee

I also want to point out that the formatting (of both this one and the first book) is on point. Absolutely loved it. Helped with the experience of the read.

That all being said, I did feel like the writing was slightly different than the first book, despite knowing it was written by the same person. Maybe it's because it's been a few months since I read the first book and I'm just not recalling it, but it feels different. I mean, not so different as to feel like a different person is writing book two, just, different. I'm unsure how to explain it.

Also, there were a few times where the POV would switch slightly and that was a bit distracting. Like a small line or two stating stuff Kyoshi (or whoever had the POV) shouldn't know. I mean, she could totally guess judging by the context, but it wasn't worded like a guess.

Overall, a fantastic read and a great action story. A worthy addition to the Avatar universe. If you love Avatar, you for sure have to check this out. And even if you don't know anything about the universe, reading both books should help you in that regard. No need to have seen the show. (Though I recommend that, too).

F.C. Yee

SOUTH l Special Announcement/ PRE-ORDERS ARE NOW LIVE l + Giveaway

The title says it all! SOUTH the Novel is now LIVE for PRE-ORDER!!! I'm so excited to share my novel with you. You can find the buy links below. ALSO! There is a pre-sale giveaway! Check out the link below to enter and have a chance at some dope-ass prizes. ^^

PRE-ORDER SOUTH BELOW:

AMAZON
B&N
The Book Depository (paperback)
The Book Depository (hardback)
Target
Other stores
Kobo
Apple Books
Vivlio

Book Review: Surviving Chinese Communist Detention by Steven Schaerer

This is a must-read for anyone interested in China.

Despite the fact that it's obvious at some points the book was self-published (a few spelling mistakes and repeated sentences) and reads a bit like an essay at times (I think the footnotes should have been placed at the end of the book), it was still a helluva interesting read.

The first few chapters did read very much like a university essay, which isn't a bad thing, just different. It was still information worth knowing. But when Schaerer stars really going into detail about his arrest and time in detention, I couldn't put the book down. I couldn't imagine what it felt like to go through this, even though he did his best to make you feel like you were there with him. It was hard to believe this wasn't some well-planned piece of fiction, but an actual retelling of this poor man's experience.

I'm glad to have read his story, for that means he really did escape the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).

I'm also impressed at how fast he seemed to put this book together. judging by the information and footnotes, he was still writing/researching stuff for this book as early as February of this year. The work he put into making this not only a great yet informative book really shows. Well written and a great (yet depressing) read.

I do think he could have spelled out the swear words, though, instead of censoring them. Maybe that's just the bit of CCP propaganda leftover from his time in detention.

All in all, I highly recommend this book. It's a great educational experience.

Surviving Chinese Communist Detention

By Steven Schaerer

Steven Schaerer

SOUTH by A.M. Molloy | Official Book Trailer + Cover Reveal + Giveaway!

Hey fellow humans!! Mina here.

The OFFICIAL book trailer and a cover reveal for my NA LGBT+ drama/romance novel, SOUTH is finally here! Check it out below.

With this trailer comes a cover reveal giveaway! Share this cover on whatever social media platform you wish and you can win cool prizes AND a signed copy of SOUTH! Also, everyone who enters will receive the first three chapters of SOUTH in their email. ^^ Contest is open worldwide. Good luck! (Contest ends November 8th)

Fill out this form to enter the giveaway. ^^

Quick synopsis:

Minami Kyuki is ready to start a new life at McMillan’s School of Arts. Her dark past lurks in the background, threatening to unravel her dreams. Will Minami lose the battle with her demons as the burden to keep her family’s memory alive overwhelms her?

AJ White, an impressive songwriter, is ready for anything, even a little bit of romance. While she soon finds herself involved with Derek, a talented singer with a killer smile, AJ develops feelings for her roommate and struggles at the implication. She’s never fallen for a girl before—does this mean she is gay? Bi? Add in a celebrity attempting to blackmail her and a family who’ll disown her if she reveals her true self, and AJ can’t help but wonder if attending McMillan’s was a huge mistake.

Throughout the chaos, Minami and AJ fight to keep together the best thing that has ever happened to them—each other.

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Follow me for more updates coming soon, like hearing about SOUTH and some writing advice and such! Exciting things are coming.

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