The Stellow Project: Review

It was suppose to be a fun weekend at the cabin with her sister and best friend, but on the drive up Lilah realizes something is wrong. The wind is getting worse, hail the size of soccer balls begins to fall, and cell service is out. The three girls continue to drive up the mountain to the cabin, knowing that there is a landline and that Lilah’s father is on his way. Only he isn’t.

Calls home are spotty at best, and the girls discover that not only has New York City practically been leveled (along with much of the country), but Lilah’s dad is being blamed.

Mr. Swellows is a well know environmentalist, but the past years have turned him from scientific authority into a crazed end on times environmental terrorist. He is the one who disabled weather satellites, making sure that no one knew of the catastrophic events heading for the cities. It’s is fault that thousands of people are dead, and as it turns out it is his fault that Lilah is sick.

Ever since Lilah can remember, she has trouble breathing. Pills and surgeries have plagued her life, at seventeen she has never been allowed to stay home alone in case she stops breathing and has to be resuscitated and taken to the hospital. Her father has kept her inside their houses, in climate controlled and pressurized rooms. He made her sick, she was his control group for medicines, theories and environmental tests.

After Lilah’s best friend deserts her and informs on her to the FBI, Lilah and her sister are taken in by a group of scientists who know more about her and her family then Lilah knows about herself. Befriending the lead scientists son, Lilah begins to investigate. Files on her and her mother are found behind locked cabinets. Pills in different dosages and animal testing are being done behind doors. Experiments are running rampant and Lilah doesn’t know what to do, or what any of it means. Lilah has to decide if some mistakes and experiments are worth it in the search for the greater good of humanity and the planet. But how much can she tolerate? And what are her father and the secretive scientists going to allow her to see before the Lilah experiment is killed off for the greater good of the research?

The book was okay. I think that the premise is good, but I didn’t like the main character. She was whiney and I felt no real connection to her. It also felt like it ended rather abruptly, almost like the author wrote 300 pages and then decided that was enough so she quickly finished the novel. At the moment there doesn’t appear to be a sequel, but the way the book ended leaves it open to have one in the future.

Gilded by Christina L Farley REVIEW

This was one of the options a few months ago from Amazon Prime to try out for free. It took me a while to actually read it, one because there are so many books that I know I want to read and two because it was a little boring.

The story takes place in modern day Korea, and follows the journey of Sixteen year old Jae Hwa Lee who recently transferred from America after her mother’s death. Things is Korea are not easy for Jae, the school she attends is filled with the best and brightest, her crush isn’t Korean, and therefore off limits according to her father, her grandfather is dismissive and cruel, and a mythical immortal is trying to steal her soul.

Korean demi-god Haemosu has been terrorizing the women in her family for hundreds of years, ever since her ancestor refused his marriage proposal and escaped from his murderous clutches. Now Jae is the one he’s after, only this time he has more immortals and weapons at his disposal. He can travel whenever he wants, transform any place into one of his choosing, not to mention his obsession with taking Jae has caused her family and friends to be kidnapped, hurt and entombed in his other worldly fortress.

Jae knows that she has to stop Haemosu from taking any more of the people that she loves, enlisting the help of Marc (a fellow classmate who has mystic family secrets of his own) to save her family and break the curse.

*****SPOILER: Of course, they eventually beat back the demi-God, and because Jae proved how strong and willing to die for her loved ones the Gods save her life. They manage to save her family, and free the spirits of her ancestors.*****

I felt that the book was entirely predictable, and while I understand it takes place in Korea and with a Korean girl, I felt like the author spent more time proving how much Korean history she knew that it took me out of the story and into a textbook. I personally gave this book two stars, the story was a good one but so much emphasis was placed on the culture that I was bored.

Chuck Palahnuik's Tell All: Not Really Worth Telling

The problem with having an author that I admire, is that I tend to hold their novels to a higher standard than might be fair. Chuck Palahnuik is one such author. He is definitely in my top five, and both Fight Club and Survivor make my top ten list. This is probably why I thought that Tell-All was only okay. Had I not been comparing it to his other novels, I would have enjoyed it more, but alas it does not hold up to the majority of books Palahnuik has written.

Tell All is written in the form of a movie script and chronicles the final days of famous actress Katherine Kenton and her doting assistant Hazel Coogan. Hazel has spent her life trying to keep Katherine’s reputation perfect and preserve her legacy, often lying and keeping would-be suitors away by any means possible. Everything begins to unravel for both women when a man named Webster Carlton Westward III appears in Katherine’s life. In her own words Hazel says, "My purpose is to impose order on Miss Kathie's chaos … to instill discipline in her legendary artistic caprice. I am the person Lolly Parsons once referred to as a 'surrogate spine.' "

Appearing to love and care for Katherine, she ignores all of Hazel’s warnings, even making accusations that Hazel is working against her. That is, until the two women discover that Webster has written a tell all book to be published after Katherine’s death. It details intimate moments of their time together, and downright lies about things they did together. In fact, the end of the book even details how Katherine is going to die!

But more is going on behind the scenes of Katherine’s life, and Hazel might not just be looking out for her mistress, but for herself. With echoes of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca and Hollywood life in the 1950s, the potential of a novel of worth and merit was there, especially with a writer like Palahnuik creating the world, but it fell short. Very Short. 

Harken by Kelab Nation (Review)

It took me over three months to finish Harken by Kaleb Nation. It wasn’t the worst book I have ever read, but it didn’t hold my attention and I kept being distracted by other books and reruns of television shows. I think part of the reason that this book was such a letdown was it was really hyped up in the BookTube community and on book blogs. The writing was only mediocre, it sounded like someone who was used to just writing blogs and reviews online, the language wasn’t fluid enough for me. One of the things I hate most about many new and young authors is how pretentious they try to sound in their writings. That was something that unfortunately happened with Mr. Nation’s first novel.

The plot is a great one that was full of potential. Its one of those stories where a teenager finds out he has a great destiny foretold in prophesy or unknown family lineage. It’s set up like a Percy Jackson novel or one of the Heir Chronicles. Unknown origins, that leads to epic battles and growth. I feel like I should have loved this novel, but again the writing was just a little to difficult to get through.

Michael Asher has the ability to see people’s true emotions. When he looks into their eyes he knows what they are thinking and hiding. He made his money from spying on couples that suspect their significant other of cheating and lying. One night while investigating a possible affair, a man attempts to assassinate him. Turns out, Michael is the reincarnation of a warrior who is tasked with riding the world of evil beings.

His adventures lead him to finding his two protectors, also reincarnations, who have tried to protect him throughout all of his lives. Those who are trying to kill him feed stories to the news about Michael being a terrorist, not hard to fake since Michael keeps being in places he shouldn’t be. Plane crashes, burning houses, and killed law enforcement agents are only a few of the things that are being pinned on Michael.

The end of the book was a decent one. Enough open ending plots to make the second book a smooth transition of story, but not enough of a cliffhanger that I will buy the book. I really wanted to like this book, but again it was only a mediocre read. Three months to finish a novel? That usually isn’t a very good sign, but at least I finished it. It wasn’t bad enough for me to give up on. I can understand why people liked it, there are some great battle and fight scenes, but the writing was a little to pretentious for me, and Michael was a little to whiney for my taste.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and light conspiracy theory novels. Books with heroes who have special abilities, novels similar to the Heir Chronicles, books by Cat Patrick or The Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard.

Breaking Point (Article 5) Book Review

Breaking Point, the second novel in Kristen Simmon’s “Article 5” series, continues the story of Ember and Chase after their escape from the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Picking up where Article 5 left off, the Resistance who wants to use Chase’s military skills and Ember’s knowledge to help them take down the government takes in Ember and Chase. The Resistance has an entire underground movement, helping feed people who are being discriminated against, getting people into safe zones, transporting people to safe houses, and keeping tabs on the government at large. But Ember starts to realize that there is a very dark side to the resistance, a Sniper being killing off soldiers, and innocent people are being killed in retribution. Soon, wanted posters featuring Ember are being plastered all over the country, and new Articles are being added, and soldiers are given permission to shoot first, ask questions later. Ember doesn’t really want to be a part of it, all she wants is to find a safe haven for her and Chase, and reunite their friends Sean and Rebecca, but the way both the Resistance and FBR are trying to use her, she may never get the chance.  

I didn’t like the first book very much, and probably shouldn’t have picked up the second, as it wasn’t much better. The book seems to have so many plot holes, and thinks that are never explained. Characters do things without real reason, and go against logic constantly. Often times rather than have character’s work through problems, the answer will suddenly just come to them, for no apparent reason. I give this book 2/5 stars, and only because the idea behind the book is a good one.