Location: United States
Member Since: April 25, 2011
Maria
Books
This member has not published any books.Smashwords book reviews by Maria
- Be Careful What You Wish For
on May 10, 2011
Be Careful What You Wish For by Sibel Hodge is the second book in the Amber Fox Mystery Series. I have not read the first book, The Fashion Police, but this book stood well on its own. Amber Fox is an ex-cop, now an insurance investigator with her ex-fiancee Brad for a boss. He has called her in to investigate a boxing match accident. Her current boyfriend, Romeo has asked for a break so she can make sure she wants to be with him, not Brad. The investigation gets complicated immediately with connections to a previous bank heist, a bad guy boxing promoter who Amber has tangled with before, and a few murders to keep things interesting. Be Careful What You Wish For is a sharp, fast-paced story with intrigue, evil, romance, and humor. Amber Fox is the kind of strong lead female character with a great sarcastic wit that I love to read. She's not perfect, and that's ok with her and me! She reminds me a lot of Stephanie Plum in Janet Evanovich's series - one of my favorites of all time. Amber's investigative trail leads from person to person and you're never sure exactly who all are the bad guys and who is just caught up in the fallout. It's the kind of tale that keeps you turning the pages to find out! I recommend you give it a try. *Disclaimer: I received this ebook free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review.
- The Converted
on May 23, 2011
The Converted is definitely one of the most unique books I've ever read. A fantasy set in a wild west-like world with technology beyond what we have today. It's a story about a man fleeing his past where, through his work, he committed many crimes against humanity. He's fleeing the law and his own conscience. When he finds people in his new home town who need help, he volunteers, knowing it could cost him his life. If he can help them, perhaps he can appease his feelings of guilt. I enjoyed the western setting combined with futuristic technology. It made for some very interesting mental pictures. The story starts out well, getting into action quickly to keep interest. I felt it started dragging in the middle and found myself wishing for the end to come more quickly. Things did pick up and the ending was as action-packed as I could hope for, yet not quite the typical western ending of the hero riding off into the sunset. It's definitely worth a read if you enjoy fantasy. *Disclaimer: I received this book from the author for free. I was not required to write a positive review.
- Rise of the Raven
on May 30, 2011
I love fantasies, but this one was kind of rough for me. This is a debut novel for the author, and I think he shows promise. The ideas in the book were good, yet I think not quite as fully realized as they could have been. First off, the book is 300 pages long and it was tedious reading for at least the first 100. I found myself confused as to who was evil, who was good, and I had trouble figuring out what was going on. The book would have been more enjoyable if the characters had been fleshed out more. I needed someone to root for and, though I knew who the good guys were supposed to be - the King and the Khand, I didn't feel anything for them. They seemed flat and one-dimensional. I thought I finally found someone in the young boy Khand, he seemed sweet and I wanted to care about him, but he wasn't taken far enough. Not even his romance with the princess helped, that didn't feel real either. Perhaps the best character development was for the Demon Gaerath. We saw his supreme ego at the beginning move to frustration while fighting for Evindale, to even fear as he took on the Khand. The author does have a talent for the battle scenes. He made it easy to visualize the castle walls being bombarded, the sagging stones that had been relentlessly battered. I loved the trick used to defend against the wall falling, but I won't tell so you'll be surprised, too. In total, this being a first novel, I thought the book was okay. I'm sure those who are into lots of battle scenes than I will enjoy it more than I did. I think the author is worth looking into and see where his talent leads him in subsequent novels. *Disclaimer: I received this book from the author to review for free. I was not required to write a positive review.
- The Eyes that See - A Prelude to the Balancer Chronicles
on June 22, 2011
The Eyes That See is a prequel to Legacy - The Balancer Chronicles. It's a short story that introduces the readers to the idea of Balancers, nearly immortal beings who keep the balance between supernatural beings and humans in the world. It does a good job of explaining how the world works and introducing characters. There isn't really much action in the story, but it's helpful for reading before Legacy, which I will be reviewing next!
- Legacy - Book One of the Balancer Chronicles
on June 23, 2011
After reading The Eyes That See, a prequel to this novel, I was expecting a great book. The ideas for this story are very unique and exciting. I was hoping for a lot of action where Balancers were running off to battle vampires and werewolves and new creatures. This story didn't quite fulfill my expectations. The story is told through Katrina reading a book written by her ancestor James. He tells her about the Balancers and what their place is in the world. Then he goes on to tell her about his life. Most of the stories were about him dealing with becoming a Balancer and then the few relationships he was able to have as a near-immortal. The action scenes that were in there were dulled for me in that they were being read through a book instead of actually happening. You always knew James would be okay because he had lived to write the book. The parts where the author (through James) wrote about how the earth, humans, balancers, and supernatural beings came into being were pretty dull for me and way too long. The explanations went on and on, then later in the book there would be more explanations of it. I think taking some of it out would have helped the book tremendously. I think the best character out of either of the books was Wolfgang. He was tough and strong on the outside, but showed softness inside. He was handsome and funny, a very magnetic character. If only there were more of him in this book - in person, not in the story by James. This story idea has a lot of potential. I'm hoping the author will bring it out more in the sequels. Maybe having Kat learning about being a Balancer and showing some real action. The book may be worth reading for the unique ideas in it.
- Gray
on Sep. 13, 2011
Gray, by Rachel Karns, is an interesting story about a girl trying to find her place in the world. She makes a lot of mistakes, but keeps going. The novel is aptly named, not just because of the wolves in the book, but also because of the gray areas in Maggie Whitaker's life that she is struggling with. I must admit, when I first started reading, I was immediately reminded of While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. I cringed a bit, but it didn't turn out to be a rehash of the movie. Some of the things that happen seem a bit implausible, but if you suspend belief, the story is enjoyable. The characters are believable. I liked Maggie, even though she seemed foolish at times. It was obvious she was a young woman learning about life and growing from her mistakes. It was interesting learning a little about jewelry making and gray wolves. I like it when an author sneaks some learnin' in on my pleasure reading without me realizing it! All in all, this was an enjoyable story for young adults. Give it a try!
- Heart of Glass
on Sep. 23, 2011
I don't read regular romance novels much anymore. Maybe I'm jaded, maybe I'm jealous of the happy endings. But the author, Christy Hayes contacted me and asked me to review Heart of Glass and she was so nice, I agreed. I'm glad I did. Yes, you could say this is a fairly typical romance story. There's a troubled past, they split, find each other again years later and each fight the same feelings. The difference with this story is in the writing. Christy Hayes writes beautifully, I could feel the salty beach air on my cheeks, my heart ached for Kat and Danny. Sometimes, I even wanted to smack them to get them to wake up and smell the love! If you're a romance reader, don't hesitate to grab this one and give it a read!