Showing posts with label netgalley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label netgalley. Show all posts

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Heart of Evil - Review

Title:  Heart of Evil
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher:  Mira
Reviewed for netGalley

Goodreads Summary:

Emerging from the bayou like an apparition, Donegal Plantation is known for its unsurpassed dining, captivating atmosphere, haunting legends…and now a corpse swinging from the marble angel that marks its cemetery’s most majestic vault. A corpse discovered in nearly the same situation as that of Marshall Donegal, the patriarch killed in a skirmish just before the Civil War. Desperate for help traditional criminologists could never provide, plantation heiress Ashley Donegal turns to an elite team of paranormal investigators who blend hard forensics with rare – often inexplicable – intuition. Among them is Jake Mallory, a gifted New Orleans musician with talent that stretches beyond the realm of the physical, and a few dark ghosts of his own. The evil the team unveils has the power to shake the plantation to its very core. Jake and Ashley are forced to risk everything to unravel secrets that will not stay buried – even in death….


My thoughts:


I recently read Phantom Evil, and I was not overly impressed.  This is the sequel, and second in the Krewe of Hunters series.  I liked this one so much better!!!  The characters and the relationships did not seem as forced, there was not the sense of fake camaraderie that I felt in the first book.  The mystery itself was more interesting, and had me guessing until the end, and I usually figure mysteries out early on.  I loved the ghosts in this book too - poor Marshall! His story was just as intriguing as the central mystery in the novel, and really, I wouldn't mind reading a book about him and his poor wife.


This is the first book I have ever read digitally, and I am not sure how I liked it.  I used my husband's Nook and there were things I liked and disliked.  I liked:  the portability - it was alot easier to read in bed and on the couch than some of my books. I think that is all I liked.  I disliked:  It running out of power at inconvenient times, the sensory factors of a book like the rustling of pages or the crispness and smell of a new book, and the fact that I physically could not see how much I had read and how much I had left - for some reason this really bothered me!! I never would have guessed that would even come up.  It was a very odd feeling for me, I felt slightly adrift.  I also had a hard time actually reading it in this format - I am used to reading blogs and emails online, but nothing really long.  I found myself skimming, and having to go back and reread.    So, I am still not convinced about electronic reading devices.  Maybe it is just something I have to get used to.

Monday, June 20, 2011

The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies - Review

Book: The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies
Author: Ammi-Joan Paquette
Illustrator: Christa Unzner
Publisher: Tanglewood
Reviewed for netGalley


Goodreads Summary:

What better way to celebrate the wonderful world of nature all around us than a hunt for local fairies? Children learn to spot the tell-tale signs of fairies in residence in this delightful mix of photos and illustrations. Then children can take their tracking skills outside to discover the magic in their own backyard.


My thoughts:

I really, really wanted to like this book. I love the concept of looking for fairies with children, how fun and magical! I was one of those kids who believed in fairies, and would spend time looking for them in my garden as a child. So, I was excited when I saw this book. Unfortunately, none of it worked for me. I absolutely did not like the mixture of drawn illustrations with photos, it turned me off, and I couldn't see the point of it. It made it seem more fake than real. The story had some cute moments, such as the fairies drying their wings by moonlight. But the rest of the book was creepy- I think if the illustrations had been handled differently, with drawings only, no photos, I would have like it better.