Location: United States
Member Since: April 02, 2012

Marilyn Velez

Smashwords book reviews by Marilyn Velez

  • Times of Trouble: A Christian End Times Thriller (Book 2) on July 02, 2012

    I enjoyed the book, and I love end times novels. I like how the author tied in current events as precursors to the end times that happened to the characters in the not-too-distant future. The book was written in first-person narrative, which is a hard point-of-view to write in. The narrator tended to come-off as a little unemotional at times, which might have been prevented had the book been written in third-person narrative.I felt some of the sequences weren't developed enough, and it was hard to understand some of the thought processes and actions of the characters because of this. I did think the sequence of events of the plot were very interesting and I would like to read more books by this author.
  • The Man Who Crossed Worlds (Miles Franco #1) on July 14, 2012

    I received this book in Member Giveaway in exchange for a review. I am glad that I did. I really enjoyed the story. The characters were interesting to read about and the plot was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the genre, a mixture of science fiction and film noir and hard-boiled detectives. The seting was interesting, and I would love to know more about how the tunneling and movement through dimensions works and the history of this world. It was a great read, and I look forward to reading more by this author.
  • The Circle of Sorcerers: A Mages of Bloodmyr Novel: Book #1 on July 28, 2012

    I received the second book in this series through members giveaway, and the author generously gave me the first book in the series. I liked the culture that the author presented in this series. The differences leading to war between the mages and the heraldans, and how that happened seemed well developed. The main character, Laedron, was well-rounded, but some of the minor characters could have used some more development. Some of the dialogue between the characters felt a little awkward, and the pacing of the book seemd uneven. Some of the action sequences happened much to fast, while other section seemed paced too slow. Overall, though, I did enjoy this world and its people, and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
  • The Consuls of the Vicariate: A Mages of Bloodmyr Novel: Book #2 on Aug. 11, 2012

    A great sequel to the first novel. The characters are becoming more complex and developed, although the dialogue still sometimes seems a bit awkward. The world that as been created here is well thoughout and makes me want to continue reading to learn more about it. I particularly liked how the author handled the complexities of the issues about the war facing the characters. I would really like to see some maps to help the reader visualize the different lands, and an appendix to help explain the prior history preceding these books would also be very interesting. I am looking forward to reading the final installment of this book.
  • The Florida Chase: Collectors Edition on Jan. 09, 2013

    I received this book as a Member Giveaway in exchange for a review. This book is about two brothers and their quest to find their missing father, and the adventures they have along the way. It reminded me of a Hardy Boys novel as I read it. I liked to two brothers and thought the conclusion of the book was very attention-grabbing and full of action. However, I felt the book was flawed in several ways. The characters of the two brothers wasn't explored very well, as to their thoughts as emotions, so It was hard to make any real connection to them. There were some serious plot flaws which need to be worked out, ex. the reason why the father didn't call the police after he escaped. The language use in the book was not consistent with a family that lived in Pittsburgh. The story needed major proofreading, editing, revising. The spelling and sentence structure, grammar, and poor editing was very distracting and it was hard to focus on the story because of this. I feel though, that there is promise here though, the plot was very action-packed, locations were interesting, although more description would be helpful., and the characters have possibilities. This story may have been updated since I received my copy, I hope so, as the story definitely has a lot of potential.
  • Dragons of Wendal on March 03, 2013

    I loved this fantasy story by Maria Schneider. The plot is complex and very interesting, the characters are well-rounded and the world that has been created is fascinating. A must-read for fantasy buffs. I am definitely going to read more stories by this author. The first story in, I hope, a long series of imaginative books.
  • Vestige Series on March 22, 2013
    (no rating)
    I received this book as part of a LibraryThing Memeber Giveaway. I have always enjoyed reading novels about the end times, and I have also liked reading the young adult genre has there have been some really good fiction coming out of it. This book is young adult fiction about the end times, which I thought was an interesting take on the genre, since the rapture was seen through the eyes of teenagers. I thought the idea of one of the characters being a descendant of a fallen angel added an interesting perspective to the tale. The development of the characters I thought was a little slow. I almost quit reading the book because I couldn't relate to any of the characters as they all seemed very shallow and uninteresting. I did stick with it though, and the characters' personalities did develop over the story. I also felt the plot moved slowly. There is going to be a sequel, and at times I felt the plot was dragged out in order so there will be enough material to write a sequel. I felt that either the author should have added another subplot to the book to keep the action going a little bit stronger, or the story should have be told completely in one book. That being said, however, I did like the premise well enough that I do want to read the second book to see how the plot and characters develop.
  • Skin Games: A Crime Drama on March 31, 2013

    This is not my favorite genre, so I am not very well experienced in reading this type of novel. I thought it was well-written. and a good plot and interesting characters. I thought some of the action sequences were typical for the genre and some of the characterizations seemed stereotypical, but it was well thought-out.
  • Edge of Shadows (Shadows #1) on Aug. 07, 2013

    I received this book as a Member Giveaway from LibraryThing. I love this genre, which is paranormal suspense/horror, and I felt the author did a good job keeping the suspense going. I loved the settings, both in Ellie's coffee shop and the characters in that setting,especially Kevin, and the house. At times, the book reminded me of books by Barbara Michaels. There were some plot holes, and I did find Ellie's weak character due to her divorce a little annoying, but as the story goes along, you find out that her weakness is all part of the plot development. This is the first in a trilogy, and I am looking forward to reading the others in the series.
  • A Widow in Waiting on July 17, 2014

    I received this book as part of a LibraryThing Member Giveaway. I really enjoyed the setting, the time period seemed very well-researched. The world that the author creates within that time period is fascinating and very well described. It is very easy to picture the towns and households of this novel. The characters are very well-written. They are well-developed and described with both their physical attributes and their personalities. There are a lot of characters in the book, and it can be somewhat confusing to keep them straight, however, the author as provided information about the families at the end of the book to help keep them organized. I thought all of the characters were very well done. The only problem I really had was the plot somewhat. Although I did enjoy the story very much, the plot was very confusing. The book is a 400 page book, the first 200 pages of the book mostly talks about events that happened previous to the present time in the book, I thought at first that this book must be a sequel and I had missed the first book in the series, and not much else happened for the characters in their present time except constant references to the previous events. i almost gave up on the book, thinking that I would have to find the previous book and read it first so I would know what was happening in this book. This flashback style continued throughout the book, enough so that most of the previous events were understood and explained, however the plot for the characters in their present time didn't really pick up until halfway through the book. I would just suggest that maybe for the first half of the book that there might be a little less flashbacks and a little more storyline for the characters in present day. One other thing I felt was confusing was that the blurb for the book was who killed the husband? This was not the main theme of this book, really, although it was part of the plot, it was not the main driving theme of the book. The main them was the wonderful world the author created and the characters. It is about choosing love and peace and family over society's version of success and wealth, and how the characters learn and grow and decide what is important to them. The book also includes "magical" powers, gypsies, and much more. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.
  • The Affairs of Harriet Walters, Spinster on Nov. 18, 2014

    I enjoyed this book, although, as the other reviewers state, there are some plot holes, uncharacteristic reactions and events for the era. I liked the character of Harriet Walters and was interested in her growth as a woman of this time period and her deciding not to be conventional, even when she started out as very conventional. I found the plot predictable but entertaining and I look forward to reading some of this author's other novels.