Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Audrey D. (sunshine82) - - Reviews

1 to 16 of 16
Acheron (Dark-Hunter, Bk 12)
Acheron (Dark-Hunter, Bk 12)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.6/5 Stars.
 487
Review Date: 1/10/2010
Helpful Score: 1


This is the best of the Dark-Hunter series by far. I have read most of the other books, more or less in order. But there were so many questions raised and not answered, until now. This is really two books - the first half is Acheron's birth, childhood, and young manhood. Not for the faint of heart and very sad at times. The second half fastforwards several thousand years to modern day to tell the story of how Acheron finally found love and pried himself away from Artemis.

Don't be intimidated by the length of the book. Although, you may feel the need for a bit of a break by reading something else between the two distint halves.


The Carpet Makers
The Carpet Makers
Author: Andreas Eschbach
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 7
Review Date: 1/13/2010


I was very impressed, shall I say even stunned, by this book. So much sci-fi these days is formulaic that I am almost surprised to find a story that is truly unique. "The Carpet Makers" is such a book. It starts with the tale of just one family and keeps expanding outward, until the big picture on a galactic scale finally unfolds. And no, it was not predictible. You also cannot tell that it was translated from the original German. Highly recommended.


Cast In Shadow (Chronicles of Elantra, Bk 1)
Cast In Shadow (Chronicles of Elantra, Bk 1)
Author: Michelle Sagara
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 148
Review Date: 3/22/2011
Helpful Score: 3


At first I was lost, had NO idea what was going on. But then I realized that Kaylin, our main character, was also clueless. She is a strong heroine, but also a young, somewhat naive woman. As Kaylin learns, so does the reader. The world in which she lives is fascinating and dangerous, and if she wants to stay alive, she has to start learning at a much faster pace than she really wants to. The journey takes the reader on quite a wild ride. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.


The Chocolate Lovers' Club (Chocolate Lovers' Club, Bk 1)
The Chocolate Lovers' Club (Chocolate Lovers' Club, Bk 1)
Author: Carole Matthews
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 27
Review Date: 5/28/2011


Beware! You may discover an insatible urge to eat chocolate while reading this book - I know I did!

In this book, four women deal with their various trials and tribulations by getting together at a cafe' called Chocolate Heaven, hashing out the issue (usually dealing with the opposite sex), and eating lots of chocolate. It's a fun read, very appropriate for lazy beach days.


Death by Darjeeling (Tea Shop, Bk 1)
Death by Darjeeling (Tea Shop, Bk 1)
Author: Laura Childs
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 308
Review Date: 1/10/2010


I started this book but just couldn't finish it. The factual errors just started getting too annoying. For example, you can't go into anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction, by drinking tea brewed too strong. And if someone is unconscious from being hit on the head and is still breathing, a doctor (or anyone with minimal medical or first aid training) should know that CPR is the wrong thing to do. A mystery writer should have a clue; or at least do some research before writing about things she has no knowledge of. If she doesn't, her editor should have picked up on these types of blatant mistakes. Really.


Dragongirl: Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern
Dragongirl: Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern
Author: Todd J. McCaffrey
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 25
Review Date: 9/28/2010
Helpful Score: 2


I am so very glad I got my copy from the library and didn't pay for it. "Dragongirl" seems to have been written with no specific plot goals in mind. The story just rambles on, with a strong assumption that you have read the previous books in the series and can remember minor details and characters from a couple of books before. And which dragon goes with which rider????? With this many characters, some type of key or index should be provided.

The editing is also poor. Something happens, which is not explained except in passing; it is not mentioned again for 50 pages, then all of a sudden it is said to be a major event, which of course everyone knew everything about. But still not explained!! Arghh!

I did not finish the book but gave up in disgust - a rare occurrence for me.


Fire Raiser (Spellbinder, Bk 2)
Fire Raiser (Spellbinder, Bk 2)
Author: Melanie Rawn
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 2.4/5 Stars.
 8
Review Date: 8/1/2009
Helpful Score: 2


This book is a sequel to Spellbinder. Unlike Spellbinder, however, it just pretends to be a fantasy novel. It is primarily a rant of the author's political opinions on the subjects of abortion, homosexuality, sexual slavery, prostitution, civic duty/participation, prejudice, and religion - the fantasy storyline appears at irregular intervals. If that is what you are looking for, go for it. Otherwise, be warned.


The Girl in the Garden
The Girl in the Garden
Author: Kamala Nair
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.4/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 10/28/2011
Helpful Score: 2


This book is part a story about how a series of events that occurred during the summer when a woman was 11 years old affected her life and part fairy tale. It also comments on how badly family can treat their own and the lengths to which they will go to hide a secret that they consider shameful.

Another reviewer has given a very good synopsis of this book, so I will not do it again. I will just say that this story is worth reading and then taking the time to think about.


Harvest Moon: A Tangled Web / Cast in Moonlight / Retribution
Review Date: 2/11/2011


I liked the first two stories, by Mercedes Lackey and Michelle Sagara. I have read just about everything available from Lackey, but I never read Sagara before. I am encourged enough by this story to go look for more by her. The third story by Cameron Haley did not interest me at all.


Longeye
Longeye
Author: Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 7
Review Date: 7/10/2011


Longeye is the sequel to Duainfey; make sure you read Duainfey first otherwise Longeye will make little or no sense. Duainfey has some very unpleasant scenes (definitely dark fantasy), which are not repeated (but are referred to) in this sequel. Longeye contains the resoluation to the issues raised for our heroes in Duainfey. It is worth reading, even if only to get the bad taste of Duainfey out of your head.


Mind Games (Disillusionists, Bk 1)
Mind Games (Disillusionists, Bk 1)
Author: Carolyn Crane
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 68
Review Date: 2/18/2011


This was a really strange book with really strange characters. It was definitely "different." I gave it three stars because I can't decide if I liked it or not.

The main character, Justine, is a hypochondriac, and is also very gullible. She seems inclined to believe just about anything anyone tells her. She sees someone's photo in the paper, gets a warm fuzzy feeling, and decides he is wonderful. This opens her up to being manipulated by two different men, who are at war with each other. They both appear to be using her for their own ends - I can't see how this will turn out well for her.

I bought the next book in the trilogy "Double Cross" at the same time as I got this one, and I am not sure if I want to read it. I noticed that "Double Cross" is listed by the Club as "horror", not sci fi, which makes me even more uncertain about it.


My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park
My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park
Author: Cindy Jones
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 2.5/5 Stars.
 15
Review Date: 7/31/2011
Helpful Score: 3


"My Jane Austen Summer" is about a number of dysfunctional people trying to run away from their troubles who all manage to get together at a manor house in England for a Jane Austen festival. However, their existing emotional problems travel along with them. Now there is a festival full of people with unresolved issues, including a number of men acting very badly, thereby compounding everyones problems. Don't let the front cover fool you - This is not a happy book.


Paloma (Retrieval Artist, Bk 5)
Paloma (Retrieval Artist, Bk 5)
Author: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 30
Review Date: 6/20/2010


I accidentally stumbled upon this book, read it, then learned that it was book 5 of a series. I have to go back and find the first 4 now. This was a very well written and quite enjoyable science fiction/mystery.


Shadow Touch (Dirk & Steele, Bk 2)
Shadow Touch (Dirk & Steele, Bk 2)
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 317
Review Date: 4/21/2013


I liked the first book, Tiger Eye, better. Shadow Touch was very off-putting to me due to scenes of horror and tortue throughout the first half or so. The bad guys were a high degree of nasty. I wasn't expecting it to that extent.


Stardoc (Stardoc, Bk 1)
Stardoc (Stardoc, Bk 1)
Author: S. L. Viehl
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 115
Review Date: 3/22/2015


This is a rather hard to describe science fiction book. Some parts are lighthearted. Others are rather grim (plague with threat of planetary extinction, for example).

Cherijo is an experienced surgeon from Earth who goes to another planet to practice medicine on non-Humans in an attempt to escape from her controlling father. She falls in love with an alien at first sight, performs surgery on species of which she has no knowledge, is emotionally very immature (result of controlling father?), and has little impulse control. Meanwhile, her father is willing to start an interplanetary war to get her to come home again.


With the Lightnings (RCN, Bk 1)
With the Lightnings (RCN, Bk 1)
Author: David Drake
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 49
Review Date: 2/16/2022


The book started out slow. It seemed that the first 100 pages or so were more focused on worldbuilding and introducing the characters, and not so much on plot. Once the author decided to start writing plot, it got much more interesting.


1 to 16 of 16