Tag Archives: WhatImReading

Broken Harbor and Broken Hearts

Leave a reply

Just finished listening to Broken Harbor by Tana French and just like every Tana French book I’ve read so far I loved it. Absolutely loved it. She has a gift for breaking your heart but drawing you back in. Her storytelling abilities are through the roof.

Seriously though: her work is always filled with strong mysteries, believable characters, stories that draw you in, and depth. Such depth.

Tana French stands atop all of the mystery writers I’ve ever read. Her stories don’t just examine the mystery at hand. Her stories also delve deep within the characters themselves and in so doing the stories dig deep within the hearts of the readers.

If you like audio books at all I highly recommend her audiobooks because they always feature the best readers ever! Did I mention the Irish accents? Because: Irish Accents.

Time Enough For Classic SciFi

2 Replies

Robert Heinlein is an incredible author. His work still communicates now years after his passing. Often controversial but never boring. Somehow I neglected to read The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. I don’t know how this happened, but I decided to correct that mistake this past week. I’m now a third of the way through it (courtesy of my local library! Support your local libraries!) and I’m loving it. The speech patterns of his characters draw you right into the story and hold you tight. Looking forward to seeing where this goes from here!

Charleston’s Ghosts Come Out To Play In Deadly Curiosities

2 Replies

Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z Martin Published by Solaris Books
Release Date: 06/25/2014

Let me start by saying this book was awesome! Very engrossing right from the start! I’ve enjoyed every Gail Z Martin book I’ve read and Deadly Curiosities is no exception to this!

Cassidy (the protagonist) owns a very interesting antique shop in historic Charleston, South Carolina. I couldn’t be happier with the respect the author handle one of my favorite cities here in the South. Charleston is beautiful and she brings the city and its ghosts to life!

The antique store Cassidy runs is actually a front for her true business: that of identifying and eliminating dangerous supernatural objects with the help of her business partner Sorren: an ancient vampire.

The author peoples the book with interesting characters that she breathes life into. The care Gail Z Martin puts into even bringing animals to life (Cassidy’s dog Baxter is a show stealer!) causes this story to leap off the page and pull you in. She sets the perfect emotional stage for this Urban Fantasy with ghosts and shadows that appear just beyond your range of vision, and heroes that you want to be friends with.

RedStarReviews highly recommends this and all books by Gail Z Martin! There’s magic within her writing to bring stories to life and cause you to be pulled into those stories so deeply that you don’t notice time passing you by. Deadly Curiosities is well worth your time and I can’t wait for another chapter in this new series!

20140512-154953.jpg

Free Comic Book Day And Valiant Comics

Leave a reply

Supporting my local Comic Book Shop on Free Comic Book Day and finally getting my hands on RAI by Valiant Comics! Valiant Comics were some of my favorite comic books back in the 90’s and they were relaunched two years ago. This relaunch has been more enjoyable than the original run and now that they’re bringing RAI back to life I’m expecting big things! Shadowman is starting a new story arc with Shadowman End Times and this comic book has yet to disappoint! Valiant Comics focus first on amazing stories, characters with depth, and then they provide jaw dropping artwork. If you haven’t tried out Valiant Comics yet then get out to your local Comic Book Shop today and pick up a copy of RAI!

20140503-154706.jpg

Shooting At Myths: Fiefdom by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent

2 Replies

“Me, I was just shooting at myths.”

With these words near the opening of the book the story magically takes shape within your mind and you are hooked. The characters immediately bring you into their brutal kill or be killed world, and make you desire to belong to their singsong speaking pack.

The Aux, a bioengineered fighting force, are humanity’s last answer against THEM: a ruthless alien force attacking the Earth. The war was brought to a standstill due to the new Ice Age brought on by the devastation. During this Ice Age the Aux have allowed their enemies to become myths to laugh at.

But a few Aux know the myths are true….

I truly enjoyed this book! The singsong language of the Aux causes you to truly see the world through their eyes and engages you directly into the story. The pacing keeps you breathlessly turning the pages to see what happens next. This is a book I happily recommend and look forward to more by the authors! As the Aux would say:
This tale is a good tale truer and true.

20140428-094909.jpg

RedStarReviews: Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z Martin

7 Replies

As I posted my first ever advanced book review I discovered I was approved for another one, and this book has me really excited!

Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z Martin (Scheduled for publication 06/25/2014) is an Urban Fantasy set in one of my favorite of cities: Charleston, South Carolina.

Gail Z Martin has already established herself as an incredible fantasy author and is well known for the realistic worlds and systems of magic she creates. Now she brings that talent to play in one of the most historic cities in my country.

Charleston has seen its share of history (both good and bad) in its time and it is the sort of city that attracts all kinds of interesting souls: living, dead, and undead. Deadly Curiosities follows Cassidy Kincaide and her 500 year old business partner Soren, who happens to be a Vampire, as they try to protect the city against forces dark, unknown, and ancient.

I’m truly looking forward to reading this story and sharing my thoughts on it! Honored to have been selected to review this before it is released. Gail Z Martin is an enjoyable writer so I know I’m in for a great read!

20140428-165410.jpg

Approved For Our First Advanced Review: Fiefdom by Dan Abnett

5 Replies

RedStarReviews was just approved for our first ever ARC book to review! Very excited about this opportunity and excited to see this grow from a love for sharing books with other book lovers! Thank you for being a part of this dream!

The book is Fiefdom by Dan Abnett of Warhammer fame! It’s off to a engaging start and looks to be a very enjoyable read! It is a SciFi book set during a future Ice Age on Earth after years of war between alien invaders and the mutated warriors humanity created for our protection.
Looking forward to diving into this and reviewing it for everyone as soon as possible!

20140427-123653.jpg

A Compelling Voice: Prince Of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Leave a reply

Prince Of Thorns is Mark Lawrence’s first book of the Broken Empire Series.

Prince Jorg is a vicious man in a vicious world. He ceased being a boy when he survived a brutal attack on those himself & on those he loved. Twisted by those dark events he pursues his vengeance upon the whole world.

What is left of his humanity is a tortured and scarred thing, but that grants him such a compelling and powerful voice with which to tell his tale.

A well written an enjoyable story that leaves me looking forward to the next in the series.

20140426-073032.jpg

Consider Phelbas by Iain M Banks

2 Replies

How have I neglected this author’s work for so long! Great start to The Culture Series. Well written SciFi from the 80’s that translates well through the decades. This book will be a good read a hundred years from now. The characters are well thought out and very human and the story has a realistic “anything can happen” feel to it.

The author manages to capture something very true to the human spirit within this work. Something many authors try to do and fail. This story will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book.

Well worth your time to read!

20140425-131636.jpg

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Leave a reply

Easter Morning Reading: Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

Imagine slaving away on a colony on Mars, living and dying underground in an attempt to colonize the planet for future generations. Now imagine you find out it is all a lie and Mars was terraformed generations ago. Imagine your whole existence as a colonist is actually a lie to keep you as a slave for the ruling class who live above ground enjoying the spoils of your labor…

Just started the book and the writing grabs your attention and pulls you right into the protagonist’s life. Off to a promising start! Hoping for a good read!

20140420-100441.jpg