Review Date: 4/17/2023

I was very excited to read this book; I saw the title on several apocalyptic book recommendation lists after The Last Of Us TV show ended. I thought it was okay but it felt more like a rushed first draft than a finished book.

I loved the chemistry between Jamie and Andrew; they're both very likable, their relationship has a good build to it, especially tangling their growing protectiveness of each other and their hatred of violence and murder. The humor was very well done, had me laugh out loud in several places.

Where the book lets me down is in pacing. Everything felt rushed. When the first jump of months of Andrew recovering at Jamie's cabin happened, I was disappointed. I wanted to see more of their early relationship. That rushed feeling happened multiple times, months of time or miles of travel skipped between chapters. And things happen so quickly, like meeting Henri was so fast that, when they later decide to go looking for her daughter, I had no idea who they were talking about; or escaping from the lions which happened off-screen. I also have to agree with people who are frustrated that the boys are hunted down because of homophobia. Everything about the people at the Fort was way more heavy-handed with the message than it needed to be. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mind set to have this message thrown in my face when all I wanted was an apocalyptic road-trip book, but I found myself really annoyed with the inclusion of this group and how they linger over every part of the second half of the story.

All in all, the book has a pair of great lead characters who I love but rushed through the story to a frustrating antagonist group who fades off with no resolution and an ending that felt very abrupt. A promising premise that was disappointing by the end.

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Review Date: 9/1/2019

This book is a huge disappointment. It has nothing of value to offer devoted fans of the webseries or new readers looking to engage in the Carmilla story. I'm a long-time fan of the series and was eager to read the novelization but it was a terrible book on all levels. PLEASE if you're at all interested in this story, go watch the three seasons of the show!

The writing was awful; every sentence was poorly written. I could overlook the bad writing if it still pulled me into the story but it couldn't even do that; impressive since I already know and love the story from the webseries and wanted to be pulled in. It felt like a poorly written school report where the author went to Wikipedia for the plot rather than watch the YouTube show.

I'd hoped the book would give a viewpoint outside of the webcam the show uses, but it did that rarely and, the times it did go outside of Laura and Carmilla's dormroom, it made no sense. Laura and Carmilla go on a date within hours of their friend Laf going missing? Seriously? And why even have the date in there when the entire point of season one is the building up of 'will they, won't they'? There's no tension that deliciously resolves with a kiss in the final scene if you have them dating right away.

I have read a lot of bad novelizations based on my favorite films and shows, but this one takes the cake with how terrible it is. I read it on my eReader so I didn't even have the pleasure of chucking it against the wall when I finished it. I settled for a frantic pressing of the delete button from my library.

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Review Date: 9/7/2011

Helpful Score: 2

This novel parallels the stories of two men: Daniel Burnham, the architect who brought the dream of the World Fair to life in Chicago, and H.H. Holmes, the charming serial killer who uses the Fair to reel in a number of victims to rival nearly any other murderer in history. The chapters alternate so naturally between Holmes and Burnham that I never felt myself growing bored with one character and yearning to move on to the other, as often happens with a book that has multiple narrators or points of view. Burnhams passion for his buildings and his dreams of the Fair are just as gripping and fascinating as reading about Holmes desire to manipulate and dominate the people around him until he has no further need of them. The balance between the architect and the serial killer is horrifyingly perfect; the two men are matched in their passions and their drives to see their dreams accomplished.

The real talent of this book is that it keeps you enthralled even when you already know what is going to happen. It is stated at the beginning that the Chicago World's Fair pulls through in the end and Holmes is a killer who gets away with countless murders for years. Even with this knowledge known from the start, you still can't help but cringe with each new blow to the development of the Fair and wonder how they can possibly overcome this new impossible obstacle; you can't stop yourself from gasping at each new horrific act Holmes carries out on his victims and pray for someone to catch him in the act.

The detail of the writing is incredible, especially for the scenes of Holmes and his victims. When he is described in his normal charming way, it is hard to imagine that he could possibly be a serial killer. But the horrifying details Larson commits to the pages of his novel about the various victims find new ways to make the reader cringe and call Jack the Ripper tame by comparison.

A fantastic book. I can't recommend it enough!

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Review Date: 1/2/2012

Helpful Score: 1

Contains the following Disney stories:
- Tarzan
- Pooh's Grand Adventure
- Robin Hood
- Dinosaur
- The Tigger Movie
- Peter Pan
- The Jungle Book
- Alice in Wonderland
- Toy Story 2
- Mulan
- The Rescuers Down Under
- The Emperor's New Groove
- A Bug's Life
- The Great Mouse Detective
- Aladdin and the King of Thieves
- The Black Cauldron
- Hercules

A great anthology of a variety of Disney tales, with illustrations to go along with each story. Perfect for those wanting to encourage their children to read through a love of Disney movies. This book contains several stories that aren't found in the other Disney Storybook Collections, such as the Princess and the Classic books.

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Review Date: 5/30/2009

Helpful Score: 1

Contains:
- Cinderella
- Sleeping Beauty
- The Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast
- Mulan
- Dumbo
- The Fox and the Hound
- A Bug's Life
- Lady and the Tramp
- The Rescuers
- Bambi
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Aladdin
- Pocahontas
- The Lion King
- Robin Hood
- The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
- Oliver & Company
- Tarzan

A great anthology of a variety of Disney tales, with illustrations to go along with each story. Perfect for those wanting to encourage their children to read through a love of Disney movies.

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Review Date: 1/2/2012

Helpful Score: 1

Contains the following Disney stories:
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Pinocchio
- Bambi
- Cinderella
- Alice in Wonderland
- Peter Pan
- Lady and the Tramp
- Sleeping Beauty
- 101 Dalmatians
- The Jungle Book
- The Aristocats
- Mickey's Christmas Carol
- Oliver & Company
- The Prince and the Pauper
- The Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast
- Aladdin
- The Lion King
- Pocahontas
- The Hunchback of Notra Dame
- Hercules
- Mickey and the Beanstalk
- Three Little Pigs

A great anthology of a variety of Disney tales, with illustrations to go along with each story. Perfect for those wanting to encourage their children to read through a love of Disney movies.

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Review Date: 1/2/2012

A very disappointing ending to a fantastic series.

The three dragon siblings join forces to save the world they helped to shape that is slowly decaying from corruption and abuse. And that's all. Sounds almost exciting, doesn't it? Well, don't get your hopes up...

Very little of anything happens in the book; it feels like a small bit of plot was stretched to fill a full-length novel. The little that does happen is not terribly exciting. The 'big reveal' of the big bad is not surprising, makes little sense, and comes so close to the end of the story that you are only given a chapter or two to accept the information before all is resolved in a very lackluster way. For a lot of build up to what could have been a promising and exciting climax, all problems are solved very easily and quickly.

The epilogue was slapped on last minute, I'll bet, because even that is very unsatisfying, with little more than a very brief summary of what became of the characters who survived the fight.

The book must not have spent very long with an editor because it is filled with conttinuity errors and typos.

I loved this book series. The first three books are some of my favorite books on my shelves and I reread them all the time. But the second half of the series slid downhill very quickly. Books four and five were at least a bit exciting and kept my attention; this last one felt like a chore to get through. I can't properly express my disappointment that such a wonderful series ended on such a dismal note.

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Review Date: 9/21/2011

Pern like you've never seen it before...

While many scenes, characters, and bits of story are cut from this adaptation of the first novel of the Dragonriders of Pern series, the beautiful illustrations make this book absolutely worth it for a diehard fan of the series. The pictures are beautiful, the dragons amazingly done.

People interested in this comic collection should definitely read the novel first, just so you know the whole story, before picking up this up and enjoying the eye-candy.

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Review Date: 10/2/2011

One of my favorite books as a child. With gorgeous illustrations and fun characters and wonderful writing, it remains a favorite of mine that I share with my young relatives and my campers at summer camp. Never had a child turn down a tale from this book.

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Review Date: 6/28/2012

A fun and heartfelt retelling of a little known fairy tale. Though similar in several ways to Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun and West of the Moon is very much its own story and Edith Pattou brings it to life very well in her novel.

The characters are fleshed out well. Rose stands out as the main protagonist, even though she is not the only narrator. The white bear is given a great deal of character, despite the fact that he does not get that much time on the page. Even the Troll Queen, who is wonderfully sympathetic, is a fun character to read. The minor characters dont get as much development but still show enough variety and personality to keep them interesting.

The story is engaging. Even the parts that could potentially be very dull, such as the long stretches of silence in the castle where Rose has little to do but explore and work on her needlepoint, still hold the readers attention.

My only complaints are the ending and the frame story. For the entire long and difficult journey that Rose faces to get to the land of the trolls, the Troll Queens defeat is a little too easy. Of course, its following the original tale but for all the liberties to book took, I wish the ending had been a little more exciting. And the frame story gives away the ending! Despite there being a prophecy that says Rose will die, it is completely spoiled when the frame story of Rose writing down her journey at the end of it all is revealed on the very first page.

Despite these minor issues, its still a wonderful story that hooked me. Ive read it twice now, once when I was in high school and now again years later. Oddly enough, I enjoyed more during the second read than I did the first, even though this is a YA book. But whatever my age, I still find this to be a great read, especially for those eager to read a fairy tale they might not be familiar with from their childhood.

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Review Date: 6/28/2012

A fun and heartfelt retelling of a little known fairy tale. Though similar in several ways to Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun and West of the Moon is very much its own story and Edith Pattou brings it to life very well in her novel.

The characters are fleshed out well. Rose stands out as the main protagonist, even though she is not the only narrator. The white bear is given a great deal of character, despite the fact that he does not get that much time on the page. Even the Troll Queen, who is wonderfully sympathetic, is a fun character to read. The minor characters dont get as much development but still show enough variety and personality to keep them interesting.

The story is engaging. Even the parts that could potentially be very dull, such as the long stretches of silence in the castle where Rose has little to do but explore and work on her needlepoint, still hold the readers attention.

My only complaints are the ending and the frame story. For the entire long and difficult journey that Rose faces to get to the land of the trolls, the Troll Queens defeat is a little too easy. Of course, its following the original tale but for all the liberties to book took, I wish the ending had been a little more exciting. And the frame story gives away the ending! Despite there being a prophecy that says Rose will die, it is completely spoiled when the frame story of Rose writing down her journey at the end of it all is revealed on the very first page.

Despite these minor issues, its still a wonderful story that hooked me. Ive read it twice now, once when I was in high school and now again years later. Oddly enough, I enjoyed more during the second read than I did the first, even though this is a YA book. But whatever my age, I still find this to be a great read, especially for those eager to read a fairy tale they might not be familiar with from their childhood.

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Review Date: 6/28/2012

Helpful Score: 2

I was able to read this book before it was published through the publisher's FirstLook program. Good thing I did because I would have been furious to have wasted money on it.

I had high hopes for 'Ever'. The story sounded great and I was even more excited when I realized it was written by the author of 'Ella Enchanted', one of my favorite stories ever. For all my high hopes, I was let down very hard. I could still enjoy the story but the way it was written felt like a rough draft or an outline. I wanted to return it to the author and say, "This is a good start. Now let's give it some depth and character". Truly, it felt like bare bones. I wanted to see some muscles and flesh. A promising story and characters but both needed more life and details.

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Review Date: 3/15/2009

Helpful Score: 4

I was able to read this book before it was published through the publisher's FirstLook program. Good thing I did because I would have been furious to have wasted money on it.

I had high hopes for 'Ever'. The story sounded great and I was even more excited when I realized it was written by the author of 'Ella Enchanted', one of my favorite stories ever. For all my high hopes, I was let down very hard. I could still enjoy the story but the way it was written felt like a rough draft or an outline. I wanted to return it to the author and say, "This is a good start. Now let's give it some depth and character". Truly, it felt like bare bones. I wanted to see some muscles and flesh. A promising story and characters but both needed more life and details.

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Review Date: 8/17/2011

Tbe story of Carrie and Kusac continue...

This book is a big step down from the first book in the series that had me hooked from the start. 'Fortune's Wheel' is broken down into two halves: the first taking place on the Sholan spaceship in orbit above Carrie's planet and the last taking place on the planet of Shola, Kusac's homeworld. The first part is incredibly boring. A lot seems to be happening onboard the space ship but, in reality, not much happens. The author was trying to juggle too many plots and characters at once and ended up going nowhere.

Thankfully, their time on Shola is far more interesting and is definitely worth wading through the first half of the book. The second half of the book is very fun, fast-paced, dangerous, and full of twists and turns. I wish the two halves could have been broken off into two books so that I could have given the first half one star and the second half of the book four and a half stars.

Carrie, who was a very interesting and active character in the first book, spends most of this second volume being a damsel in distress. She gets kidnapped, she gets sick, she gets attacked, she gets injured, she even has to be rescued from her own nightmares! Most of this rescuing comes from Kusac, which would be tolerable except for the fact that he is constantly reminding the readers that he is turned on by her weakness. He likes protecting her because a female of his own species would be able to protect herself while Carrie depends on him for nearly everything. Even another character points out that Carrie has him very well 'trained' to rescue her whenever she needs it. She finally begins to come into her own in the second half of the book but she still has a long way to go.

Also the cast explodes with a ton of new characters, most of them Sholans who all have very similar names. I could barely keep any of the characters beyond the main cast straight.

These points aside, 'Fortune's Wheel' is still a good book and the second half of the story (especially the wonderful ending) is well worth fighting through the dullness of the opening half of the book. I've heard the books to follow are a major step up from this one; I hope that is true.

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Review Date: 4/7/2009

Forget the Goliath Chronicles. This is the REAL season three of Gargoyles!

Picking up right where season two left off on television, Goliath, his Clan, and the secret of Gargoyles has been revealed to Manhattan and the entire world. Though some humans accept them, far too many have joined with the Quarrymen group, who smash statues by day in hopes of destroying a real gargoyle. But Goliath and the rest of his Clan want only to live and protect the city as they have done for years. So, come Halloween night, they decide to hide in plain sight. But what trouble has coming knocking on the castle doors?

Support Gargoyles! Get this trade and Clan-Building volume two when it's release July 2009! And get the spinoff trade, Bad Guys, to be released August 2009! Support Gargoyles now so that there will be more to enjoy in the future!

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Review Date: 8/20/2009

Forget the Goliath Chronicles. This is the REAL season three of Gargoyles!

There's trouble in Scotland - both past and present!

In 1996, the Stone of Destiny is on the move back to its home country. MacBeth asks the Clan to guard the stone during its dangerous trip. When enemies threaten the Stone, can Hudson and Lex protect it, even with allies both new and old?

In 997, Brooklyn has been transported back in time thanks to the Phoenix Gate. He finds a battle brewing and the guardians of the Grimorum in danger. Can he protect them? And will he ever find a way home?

Long awaited since the cancelation, this is a must have for all Gargoyles fans. Support Gargoyles! Get this trade and Clan-Building volume two when it's release July 2009! And get the spinoff trade, Bad Guys, to be released August 2009! Support Gargoyles now so that there will be more to enjoy in the future!

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Review Date: 5/1/2013

Most anthologies I've read are a series of hits and misses. You read one story and think Wow, that was really great; I very much enjoyed that one, then you turn the page to the next tale which leaves you thinking That was incredibly disappointing, not like the last one, and you hope the next one is better. Usually it balances out to about half and half, where half the stories are really good and make me glad I got the book, while the other half are really bad and make me feel like I was cheated out of half my money.

I've never read an anthology as overburdened with bad stories as Here Be Dragons. The majority of these short stories are terrible. They start from just plain boring and dull, and go all the way to downright insulting to the fans of DragonCon. The best of the worst get by on just being confusing and littered with unlikeable characters while the bottom of the pile feels the need to comment of the weight and unattractive looks of a con-attendee stereotype. Why would any of these writers think it okay for several of their stories to talk about DragonCon badge-holders being fat and ugly? And its not just one tale that does that; several of the authors wrote that in there!

The only one thats actually interesting is the last story, Pat the Magic Dragon by Jody Lynn Nye. Well written, interesting characters, wonderful set up, engaging story; I loved it enough that I wish a whole novel had been devoted to it, not just a short story. The one star Im giving this book belongs completely and totally to this story. None of these other stories are worthy to touch that star!

For the last story alone, I want to recommend the book because the tale was that good. But it is the only good thing this anthology brought about because the others are downright insulting. This 259 page book of short stories took me weeks to get through because I had to throw the book away in disgust after each story I read. I've never had such trouble with an anthology before but, when all but one of the DragonCon tales is awful, it makes this one a real chore to get through.

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Review Date: 6/26/2023

The writing in this book is beautiful and eye-catching. It is very hard to make me laugh out loud with a book but this one got me with its clever writing quite a few times. The kids are fun and memorable; I really enjoyed their crazy antics. Unfortunately I was letdown by Linus and Arthur. I didn't feel the chemistry between them. Their interactions that weren't focused on the kids were dull, such as talking about philosophy by only saying names of philosophers without actually elaborating on their idea. I was very excited for the queer romance between them, it was the reason I first picked up the book, so I was disappointed that they didn't catch my attention like I'd hoped.

All in all, a cozy read, even if the two main leads didn't strike home for me.

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Review Date: 6/26/2023

The writing in this book is beautiful and eye-catching. It is very hard to make me laugh out loud with a book but this one got me with its clever writing quite a few times. The kids are fun and memorable; I really enjoyed their crazy antics. Unfortunately I was letdown by Linus and Arthur. I didn't feel the chemistry between them. Their interactions that weren't focused on the kids were dull, such as talking about philosophy by only saying names of philosophers without actually elaborating on their idea. I was very excited for the queer romance between them, it was the reason I first picked up the book, so I was disappointed that they didn't catch my attention like I'd hoped.

All in all, a cozy read, even if the two main leads didn't strike home for me.

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Review Date: 6/28/2012

Its been a long while since Ive picked up a book that has been so dreadfully dull and unexciting that each chapter was a struggle to get through. I am a huge fan of fairy tale retellings and stories that transport the fairy tale characters to the modern world. But this book utterly failed its plot and characters.

The conflict of the story gets underway after very little introduction to the characters. When the situation started getting heated and serious, I didnt feel connected to the characters at all and I knew little about them beyond hearing their names and instantly being able to call their respective fairy tales to mind. No one is given any character development or personality. We have no idea why Puss in Boots is so focused only on finding his true love when the world is falling to pieces around him or why Goldilocks is a self-centered annoyance.

Worst of all in the main character, Julie. She is one of the most whiny, annoying, easily driven to tears narrators Ive ever had the misfortune to read and shes the one were supposed to be cheering for and identifying with? No thanks! I feel no sympathy with her, no desire to see her overcome her obstacles, I just kept getting frustrated with how dumb she kept acting. Every time she cried, I hoped some giant animal would pop up and eat her. Id read a book recently that featured another girl about Julies age in a much more difficult situation who was not even half as whiny and annoying as Julie. Its not a good comparison to be making in the middle of the story.

Speaking of story, the plot has potential. I really like the idea of The Wild being this living creature that is trying to escape and reclaim the fairy tale characters. It sounded really interesting. But the story is rushed and just feels incomplete. I cant even put my finger on why but I feel like pieces are missing from it. It could have been fleshed out to a really detailed and fascinating world and plot but was instead hurried to completion with an ending that left me unsatisfied. Even the sequel bait at the end was confusing and uninteresting.

This book was a major disappointment for me. The story sounded really promising but everything was handled so poorly. I have no desire whatsoever to pick up the sequel and see how the story continues because this was such an unsatisfying experience. Its rare a book makes me feel like I wasted my time but the few days I spent rushing through this, hoping things might turn around and make for a better book, definitely feel wasted.

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