Book Review: Playing the Part

Playing the Part. Jen Turano. A Class of Their Own Book 3. 2016. Bethany House Publishers. Pages: 352. [Source: Netgalley/ebook from Bethany House Publisher's book review program]

Lucetta Plum is an actress on the rise in New York City, but is forced to abandon her starring role when a fan's interest turns threatening. Lucetta's widowed friend, Abigail Hart, is delighted at the opportunity to meddle in Lucetta's life and promptly whisks her away to her grandson's estate to hide out.

Bram Haverstein may appear to simply be a somewhat eccentric gentleman of means, but a mysterious career and a secret fascination with a certain actress mean there's much more to him than society knows.

Lucetta, who has no interest in Abigail's matchmaking machinations, has the best intentions of remaining cordial but coolly distant to Bram. But when she can't ignore the strange and mysterious things going on in his house, it'll take more than good intentions to keep her from trying to discover who Bram is behind the part he plays.

~~~

When I requested Playing the Part, I was wondering if I would get the same satisfaction I would get from reading a novel such as Julie Klassen's. Jen Turano's Playing the Part did not disappoint, even though her writing style took me a bit to get used to.

Right away I fell in love with all the characters, though I did become a little annoyed at Abigail for trying to hook Lucetta up with someone. I speak from experience when I say that I understand why she wanted to run from Abigail's matchmaking attempts, since my mom and grandmother used to tease me about any cute boy I came across when I was younger.

Bram Haverstein was such a realistic character that I could almost see him standing on the pages. I enjoyed his character, his personality, and found that if I knew him in real life I would assuredly have considered him a good friend of mine.

It's so refreshing to come across a historical fiction novel by an author who isn't one that you're used to. It's also refreshing to find an interesting story that takes place post-Civil War that doesn't take place in the Wild West (no offense, those can be good too if they pique my interest).

Playing the Part was sprinkled with just the right amount of humor, mystery, and suspense that was where it was supposed to be. I would be extremely interested in looking into more of Jen Turano's books once I've worked through my To Be Read pile.

Congratulations, Jen Turano, I think you just gained a new fan!

The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion. J.R.R. Tolkien. Published posthumously by Tolkien's son, Christopher, in 1977. George Allen & Unwin Publishers Ltd. Pages: 365. [Source: Borrowed from the Library].

"There was Eru, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad."

"Then those of the Ainur who desired it arose and entered into the World at the beginning of Time; and it was their task to achieve it, and by their labours to fulfill the vision which they had seen. Long they laboured in the regions of Eä, which are vast beyond the thought of Elves and Men, until in the time appointed was made Arda, the Kingdom of Earth. Then they put on the raiment of Earth and descended into it, and dwelt therein."

~~~

When I borrowed The Silmarillion from the library, I knew that I would probably struggle through it since Tolkien wrote it like a history textbook more than a story.

And rightfully so - The Silmarillion is basically the history textbook for Middle-Earth, so it doesn't flow like normal fiction at all. There are three more tomes out there that delve even more into the world that's Middle-Earth - but this is a book review for The Silmarillion, so I'm not going to talk about them.

Now, there's a lot about this book that I liked. The only parts I found that I didn't like was the fact that there was bad guys and evil and that it seemed like, whenever something beautiful was made it was destroyed by the evil. But there's always evil where there's good, unfortunately.

Eru Ilúvatar (air-u ill-oo-va-tar) is basically Middle-Earth's/Arda's Aslan/Emperor across the sea (if you compared Arda to Narnia). He's the one who was behind the creation of Middle Earth, though he didn't create it directly. Instead, he bid a group of angelic beings, the Ainur, to sing it into existence. I compare the Ainur to angels because Melkor, an Ainur, eventually turned against Eru, thus becoming Arda's Satan. I compared the events of the story while I was reading it to those of the Bible because Tolkien took a lot of inspiration from and made sure that there was a Christian message woven into his stories.

Reading The Silmarillion was very informative, and I found that it helped me to piece together a lot of events that occurred in The Lord of the Rings. In my opinion, it's a book I would like to own so I could go back and read over the stories when I want to - and I would get a newer edition where the letters were bigger so I didn't end up reading the same sentence more than once. And I'm definitely not reading it all in one go, ever again, lol.

I would give this book a rating of 4/5, since I felt like I was in Middle-Earth, watching from the sidelines, but it's not something I would want to read again for a very long time.

Book Review: Cold Shot

Cold Shot. Dani Pettrey. Chesapeake Valor Book 1. 2016. Bethany House Publishers. Pages: 336. [Source: Netgalley/ebook from Bethany House Publishers' review program]

In college, Griffin McCray and his four best friends had their lives planned out. Griffin and Luke Gallagher would join the Baltimore PD. Declan Gray would head to the FBI and Parker Mitchell would go on to graduate school as a crime scene analyst. But then Luke vanished before graduation and their world - and friendship - crumbled.

Now Griffin is a park ranger at Gettysburg, having left life as a SWAT-team sniper when a case went bad. The job is mostly quiet - until the day he captures two relic hunters uncovering skeletal remains near Little Round Top. Griffin just wants the case to go away, but charming forensic anthropologist Finley Scott determines that the body is modern - a young social justice lawyer missing since spring - and all evidence points to the work of an expert sniper. When FBI agent Declan Gray takes over the case, past and present collide. Griffin soon realizes he'll need to confront some of the darkest days of his life if he - and those he cares about - are going to escape a downward spiral of murder that crosses continents. - Synopsis

~~~

Cold Shot is the first novel I've reviewed for a publisher in many years. Did I love it? Unfortunately, no. It was an interesting story, but I found many faults that impeded on my ability to enjoy it.

The characterization was pretty good, and I was able to picture the characters as living beings. The relationships were real between Griffin, Declan, and Parker, but I found the relationship between Griffin and Finley to be a little bit strange.

Once they realized that someone was after them, the moments of suspense were impeccable - my chest tightened whenever Griffin and Finley stepped out into the open with the prospect that a sniper might be watching them through a scope from a thousand or more yards/meters off. That's one of my greatest fears - the fact that someone could be watching you, but you don't know where they are or if you're even being watched at all.  It doesn't allow you to relax.

But I'm afraid I'm going to have to be a bit of a grouch now.

There were several aspects of the story where I felt a little bit irked at how it was put together. For one, Finley seemed a little too perfect for me. At one point Griffin and her go out to a shooting range and every man turns to look at her and gawk over her beauty as if she was God's gift to men. Then, when she shoots at a target, she hits the bullseye with her first shot, even though she's never picked up a gun or shot one before. And Griffin seems to stop and think: "Wow, she's hot" (in general terms) as soon as he lays eyes on her. I honestly have to say that it almost feels like the author forgot that "love at first sight" is more like "infatuation at first sight" - which is really how Griffin felt about her and how it was described. In my opinion, it wasn't all that realistic with how Griffin seemed to like every aspect about her almost right away.

In my opinion, she teeters too close to point of being able to achieve the label of "Mary-Sue". I'm sad to say that I didn't seem to read about enough of her faults to help balance out all of her attributes.

I found Griffin's desire to resist temptation revolving around Finley's beauty to be rather admirable, and the Christian message contained between the lines was powerful. It screamed to me: this is a story about trusting in God to protect you and guide your paths. God protected Griffin, Finley, Declan, and Parker in this novel.

There were some plotholes in the story, but I'll leave it to you to find them for yourselves, lol ;)

One more thing bothered me - in a scene where Finley is running an autopsy of sorts on the body found on Little Round Top, I found the examination to be a little plain and rushed. But that could be just me and the fact that I took Forensic Science in high school. 

As a note, I would like those who read this review to know that you, yes, can find the gender of the skeleton through the shape of the skull and the pelvic bone, but you cannot simply find out the race of the individual through the shape of the face of the skull (though it is possible). According to my FS textbook, there are three types of skull characteristics: Negroid, Mongoloid, and Caucasoid. 

The victim in Cold Shot was most likely Caucasoid, as it was described in the book, but there is a chance for Mongoloid to be mixed in since Native Americans are descended from those who came over from Mongolia and the Asian continent. All I am saying is that the author should have been a little more specific since Finley is a forensic anthropologist. It could have been a little more specific without being gory or gritty.

All in all, Cold Shot was okay (in my opinion), but wasn't what I was looking for when I wanted to read a mystery/suspense novel.

Back to the Classics 2016 Reading Challenge

Back to the Classics 2016 Reading Challenge

Books and Chocolate (sign up)

January - December 2016

I hope to read at least six books.

What I want to read for the challenge:

1) A volume of classic short stories: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. First published 1892. The copy I have was published by Penguin Random House in 2014.  [Source: Bought]

2) A 19th Century classic: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. First published 1894. The copy I have was published by Penguin Random House in 2014. [Source: Bought]

3) A classic by a woman author: Murder On the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. First published 1934. The copy I have was published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperColllins Publishers in 2011. [Source: Bought]

4) A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. Published posthumously by Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien, in 1977. The copy I have was published by George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd in 1977. [Source: Borrowed from the Library] Was considered both Tolkien's first work and his last, meaning, he could have written it before he died, but Christopher had to pick up the pieces.

5) Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college): The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. First Published 1939. The copy I have was published by the Houghton Mifflin Company in 1989. [Source: School Book Review book].

6) A classic in translation: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. First published in serialization in La Gaulois from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910. Published in English in 1911. Originally published in French and titled Le Fantôme de l'Opéra. [Source: Borrowed from the Library]

7) An adventure classic: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. First published by The Bodley Head publishing company in 1955. [Source: Childhood Gift]

8) A classic detective novel: A Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.

9)

10)

11)

12)

The Catagories:

1. A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.

2. A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1966.

Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The only exception is books written at least 50 years ago, but published later.

3. A classic by a woman author.

4. A classic in translation. Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language. Feel free to read the book in your language or the original language.

5. A classic by a non-white author.  Can be African-American, Asian, Latino, Native American, etc.

6. An adventure classic can be fiction or non-fiction. Children's classics like Treasure Island are acceptable in this catagory.

7. A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic. Dystopian could include classics like 1984, and children's classics like The Hobbit are acceptable in this category also.

8. A classic detective novel. It must include a detective, amateur or professional. This list of books from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction is a great starting point if you're looking for ideas.

9. A classic which includes the name of a place in the title. It can be the name of a house, a town, a street, etc. Examples include Bleak House, Main Street, The Belly of Paris, or The Vicar of Wakefield.

10. A classic which has been banned or censored. If possible, please mention why this book was banned or censored in your review.

11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college). If it's a book you loved, does it stand the test of time? If it's a book you disliked, is it any better a second time around?

12. A volume of classic short stories. This must be one complete volume, at least 8 short stories. It can be an anthology of stories by different authors, or all the stories can be by a single author. Children's stories are acceptable in this category also.

Doctor Who: Apollo 23

Apollo 23. (Doctor Who). Justin Richards. Based on the TV series created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, and Donald Wilson. 2010. BBC Books. Pages: 248. [Source: Bought]

"Houston - we have a problem."

An astronaut in full spacesuit appears out of thin air in a busy shopping center. Maybe it's a publicity stunt.

A photo shows a well-dressed woman in a red coat lying dead at the edge of a crater on the dark side of the moon - beside her beloved dog 'Poochie'. Maybe it's a hoax.

But as the Doctor and Amy find out, these are just minor events in a sinister plan to take over every being on Earth. The plot centers on a secret military base on the moon - that's where Amy and the TARDIS are. - back cover.

Did I love Apollo 23? Not really, but I did like it. The characterization was beautifully done, whenever the Doctor spoke I could practically hear his voice speaking the words in my mind's ear. It was enjoyable and well thought out.

But there's a problem. I found the story to be quite slow at first. It wasn't until Chapter 10 that the action really began to pick up, while the first 9 chapters were focused on setting the scene. I've been studying how to set up the first few chapters of a novel when you are writing it, and I've found that the best way to catch a reader's attention is to ask questions, make them feel as if there's something not right with the situation, which would make them want to read more so that they can have their questions answered.

Yes, I had questions - but not enough questions. I often felt that the only reason why I kept reading was because I knew the characters and I wanted to read/see the 11th Doctor again (he's since regenerated into the 12th Doctor). I guess Doctor Who novels are not to my taste.

But the science-fiction-y, suspense, and boarder-line jump-scare was!

[This novel counts towards what I've read/watched for the 2016 Sci-Fi Experience that runs until the end of the month :) ] Geronimo! 

Winter Shinanigans - Slip'n'Slide

So, this afternoon, I decided to walk down to the dollar store while I waited for my mother’s hair to be done at the hairdresser. My mother needed a few things from the dollar store, and I knew that it was going to take a while, because Mom needed her hair cut, coloured, and styled.

It’s only a couple of blocks between the hairdresser and our local Dollarama, so I set out, glad that I had decided to wear my sneakers even though snow was sticking to the balls of my shoes. There’s a street, a parkinglot, an alley, and another parkinglot I have to walk across before I can reach the store.
I set out, confidant I would get there gracefully and compitantly and within a reasonable amount of time. But I hit trouble once I reached the boundaries between the alley and the last parkinglot.

This parkinglot runs up beside the Dollarama and serves to be the dollar store’s parkinglot. There is only one way to get into this parkinglot on foot if you don’t want to risk walking on the side of the road and go the long way around because there’s a metal pole fence that runs the parimeter of the parkinglot. The entrance to this parkinglot is barely wide enough to drive a super-duty pick-up truck through.

When I reach this entrance with its empty sign holder (it was probably a grocery store in the past), a pick-up truck backs out of its parking space within the parklinglot. And to my right a jeep pulls off the road and onto the alley Im standing in. Now I’m holding up two vehicles, which are waiting for me to get out of the way.

I look down at the entrance way, remembering that this parkinglot is notorious for having pool-sized potholes in the summer (though I don’t know why, but it being unpaved and covered in gravel may have something to do with it). I note that there are two potholes sitting side-by-side.

I realize I have to make a decision, and fast. The pothole on the left is a massive crater, and coated with black ice, giving it the appearance of a pit that leads to oblivion. Or death. And I can’t go around it because the little bit of snow between it and the fence is too narrow for my feet, and its the same before the little bit of ground between the potholes.

Now, the pothole on the right was just as wide as the one on the left but not as deep and was covered in snow, not ice. And the ledge between it and the fence on its right was big enough for my feet, so I decided to pass through there.

But as soon as I stepped on that ledge, it was like I was standing on a finely polished skating rink, and I began to slip. I’m pretty sure that the show I gave the passengers and drivers of the two vehicles turned out to be something like this:

I was so embarressed! But then I started to smile after I walked into the store. Yay, for winter shinanigans! lol!
(Didn't go down, though. Never slipped like that in my life.)

The Time of the Doctor

The Time of the Doctor. Christmas Special 2013. Original Airdate: December 25 2015.

I guess this could count as a movie for the Christmas Spirit Challenge I'm participating in this Christmas. Note to self: add "The Time of the Doctor" to 'Films I've Watched So Far' on my Christmas Spirit Challenge post.

Anyway, I have mixed feelings with this episode - not because it wasn't good. It was great, even! But "The Time of the Doctor" is the episode where we say goodbye to the 11th Doctor and say hello to the 12th (though we only see Peter Capaldi's Doctor for less than a minute before the episode cuts to credits).

Now, as a reminder, if you haven't watched "The Time of the Doctor" yet, I suggest you read no further. I don't want to spoil it for you!

This is a curious episode/movie/thing, whatever you want to call it. It opens with Clara Oswald (my favourite companion to date) ringing the doctor on his phone (which is located outside the TARDIS, in space) Apparently, her mother, father, and grandmother are coming over for Christmas dinner - and somehow, some way, Clara let it slip that she had a boyfriend (which she doesn't).

So in her panic, she calls up the Doctor, who's in space hovering above a strange planet surrounded by almost every alien the Doctor has had to face. (Okay, this makes this the second 2016 Sci-Fi Experiance appreciation post about a ton of aliens over a planet involving the Doctor in some way, lol).

The Doctor abandons his spot amongst all the alien ships and his TARDIS appears in the field next to Clara's apartment building.

And guess what? Clara's apartment building doesn't posess an elevator, meaning that whoever wants to visit her, or if she wants to go anywhere, they have to climb an almost never-ending staircase. And Clara's apartment is halfway up the building! I can just imagine the dread she must feel after every long school-day. Her feet may be sore and she is faced with having to climb all those stairs before she can have a chance to relax! I makes me grateful that I only have eight stairs to climb before I get to the back door of the house I'm in now.

This episode induced a lot of bittersweet feelings inside of me. There was humor and there was war. We learned that the planet he had been hovering over before Clara called him was, in fact, Trenzalore, the planet where Clara jumped into the Doctor's time stream and scattered herself all over time and space in order to protect him from the Inteligence, but way back in time before it was converted into a planet-sized graveyard.

And because the Doctor was there, defending the town called Christmas, Trenzalore probably never became that graveyard.

Points I liked about this episode:
- We got to see an almost fatherly-side of the Doctor because all the children in Christmas looked up to him.
- I got a chuckle out of the wooden cyberman with the flame-thrower strapped it its forearm. Well, that was smart - not. lol
- It tied up a lot of mysteries - we found out why the TARDIS suddenly exploded in "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang", where the Silence came from, and why Trenzalore was so important.
- I liked Handles, the cyberman head. Handles was the Doctor's closest "friend" for three hundred of the years he was on Trenzalore. He got to see one last sunrise and reminded the Doctor to patch the phone through the TARDIS' console before he finally died.

Points I didn't like about this episode:
- Seeing the 11th Doctor so close to death from old age. He was the first Doctor I was introduced to, so he was my favourite. Props to the makeup department for making the character's age look so real on the actor!
- The fact that the "Church of the Papal Mainframe" considered itself a church when all it seemed to be was a nudist colony ship that was militaristic in nature and used religious-themed codewords. They are also the Silence, and I never really liked the Silence anyway (since they were trying to kill the Doctor, caused Time to explode, and terrorised practically everyone since no one could see them and remember them once they looked away).

Other than that, is was a pretty good episode/movie. Now I can finally watch the escapades of the 12th Doctor!