Library
Recent books I’ve read, most with at least a short review.
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Beautiful Lies by Lisa Ungar This is, so far, the best book I’ve read this summer. I picked it up on July 3rd, and devoured it in about 2 days. That’s basically me at the pool ignoring my family so I could get through this. Really, really entertaining, and hard to put down. I also loved that I felt like I was near the end, and I was only halfway through the book. In other words, the climactic action kept me turning for a good 200 pages. Really satisfying. 4.5 stars out of 5. I’d buy it right away. I’ve only left the .5 stars for something else incredible. |
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Whiskey Sourby J. A. KonrathI thought this was OK. Not great, but a decent read. It was only about 220 pages, and I’m afraid that if it had been much longer, I wouldn’t have liked it as much. The female character seemed a little too formulaic for me, but it’s also the first in the series. I suspect that she (Jack Daniels) becomes better-defined and lifelike as you go on. I did think the parts that were funny were really funny. And the villain was quite a bad guy. There was a sort of twist at the end that I thought wasn’t overly shocking. Overall, I’d say it’s a “give it a try” book. I think lots of people will like the snappy repartee, and it’s an easy summer read. Then, if you like it, you can pick up the later books in the series. The author is a great guy, as well, and I couldn’t recommend him more highly.
3 stars out of 5, let’s call it. Worth the paperback and a good try. |
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Comes a Horsemanby Robert LiparuloI thought that this book was quite good. What’s almost frustrating is that there are moments where it wanted to be great. I wish — and this is more a sign of my taste than anything — it had been condensed from its 619 pages to about 550. There was too much description in awkward places for me, and it made the pace drag. Again, keep in mind that I like the James Patterson sort of feel, where you’re racing along from beginning to end. The action in this book raced, but it was broken up by some long expository passages and a lot of description.But the idea was great, and the cast and setting was huge. It felt very epic. I’d recommend it to anyone, with the caveat that you want to block out some real time to read it. It didn’t keep me up late, but it did keep me reading. I’m very curious to see his next work. If the description gets throttled back just a bit, I think it could be great.
3.5 out of 5 stars for me. Read it if you’re into suspense and thrillers, and don’t mind verbosity. |
