Member Since:
Feb. 17, 2009
Richard Adin
Richard Adin's favorite authors on Smashwords
Saffina Desforges
Latest book:
London's Burning (Rose Red Rhymes #3) A crime thriller short story.
Published November 23, 2015.
Published November 23, 2015.
Smashwords book reviews by Richard Adin
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Sentence of Marriage (Promises to Keep: Book 1)
on May 23, 2010
The Promises to Keep quartet (the 3 primary books and the sequel) are outstanding books. For an indepth review, see the review by An American Editor at http://tinyurl.com/2afznkg.
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Mud and Gold (Promises to Keep: Book 2)
on May 23, 2010
The Promises to Keep quartet (the 3 primary books and the sequel) are outstanding books. For an indepth review, see the review by An American Editor at http://tinyurl.com/2afznkg.
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Settling the Account (Promises to Keep: Book 3)
on May 23, 2010
The Promises to Keep quartet (the 3 primary books and the sequel) are outstanding books. For an indepth review, see the review by An American Editor at http://tinyurl.com/2afznkg.
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A Second Chance
on May 23, 2010
The Promises to Keep quartet (the 3 primary books and the sequel) are outstanding books. For an indepth review, see the review by An American Editor at http://tinyurl.com/2afznkg.
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Brittle Shadows
on March 02, 2011
Yet another excellent book by Tyley. Clearly of the class of PD James. Highly recommend all of her books.
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Thin Blood
on March 02, 2011
Yet another excellent book by Tyley. Clearly of the class of PD James. Highly recommend all of her books.
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Sleight Malice
on March 02, 2011
Yet another excellent book by Tyley. Clearly of the class of PD James. Highly recommend all of her books.
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The Eagle Society
on March 26, 2011
This book was unreadable as a result of the formatting and grammar/spelling errors. I would not recommend this particular book by Boone.
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All I Want
on April 02, 2011
I absolutely hate reading short stories. I never buy or read them because they always have left me feeling short-changed. But Shayne Parkinson's All I Want is the exception. Just like her Promises to Keep quartet, this is an outstanding story that complements the world of Amy Lieth. Now, all I want is the next novel in the life of Amy Lieth.
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Empire (In Her Name, Book 4)
on June 22, 2011
An excellent beginning to an excellent series. I read this first book and before I finished this first volume, I was buying the other 4 books that are currently available. Every book has been a pleasure and hard to put down. Well-formed characters, and nearly no grammar/spelling mistakes to distract the reader.
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Confederation (In Her Name, Book 5)
on June 22, 2011
An excellent followup to Empire. Well-written and definitely captivating. One of the best fantasy series I have read in a long time. Well-worth the price.
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Final Battle (In Her Name, Book 6)
on June 22, 2011
An excellent followup to Confederation. Well-written and definitely captivating. I not only did not want the story to end, but I wanted a promise of more to come. One of the best fantasy series I have read in a long time. Well-worth the price.
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First Contact (In Her Name, Book 1)
on June 22, 2011
Although written as if the United States' political system morphed into the dominant political system of the future, the characterizations of the politicians seems universal. An excellent prequel to the Empire-Confederation-Last Battle trilogy. Well-written and definitely one of the best fantasy series I have read in a long time. Well-worth the price.
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The Light Horseman's Daughter
on Sep. 15, 2011
Another excellent story. This is the third book written by Crookes that I have read and every one was a fantastic read. There are some errors in the books, but overall they are well written and produced.
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Redcoat
on Sep. 15, 2011
Another excellent story. This is the second book written by Crookes that I have read -- the first was Blackbird, which is also outstanding -- and every one was a fantastic read. There are some errors in the books, but overall they are well written and produced. After reading this book, I bought all of his books that I hadn't yet read and I'm reading them one after the other.
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Someday Soon
on Sep. 19, 2011
Another well-written historical novel. My only complaint with all of Crookes' books that I have read to date is that he really needs a proofreader for the ebooks. It becomes tiresome, for example, to read "your" when what is meant is "you're" or "you are". The homonym errors are annoying but not such as to detract from Crookes' natural story-telling abilities.
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The Academy
on Oct. 28, 2011
One of the most difficult things to do is to write in the first person when the first-person character keeps changing. Yet Trigili pulls this off without a problem. In this case, use of the first person narrative enhances the story. The characters are well-developed and the story interesting. There are a few very minor grammar errors, but they are so insignificant as almost to be not worth mentioning. I look forward to the next volume in the series.
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The Enemy of an Enemy
on Oct. 28, 2011
I prefer to "buy" a free book, especially if it is the first book in a series, from an unknown author. That is how I discovered this book and author. Volume 1 is well-written and Vydor, the lead character, is multidimensional. Because the story is intriguing and the book so well-written, I purchased (yes, for $$$) the second volume before finishing the first -- I wanted no lag between finishing the first volume and starting the second volume. My only disappointment is that the third and fourth volumes are forthcoming. I'd like to read them NOW. It is worth noting that there are only a few very minor grammatcial and spelling errors -- almost too few to mention. Unlike many of the free ebooks I have tried to read, this one is eminently readable and enjoyable.
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The Finding: An Epic Fantasy Dragon Adventure
on April 08, 2012
A basically well-written story that with intriguing characters. It would be a 5-star book except for some glaring misuse of language. For example. Jahrra is expecting Raax to bring the "anecdote" (read: "antidote") to a plague that has infected her foster father. There were a couple of gaffes like this. The problem with this type of gaffe is that it is not easy to quickly know what is meant, as is the case with gaffes like "you're" instead of "your". I give the book 4.5 stars and have purchased the second volume.
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Daisy's War
on May 19, 2012
I have read the entire series and now Daisy's War. The book is exceptionally well-written, just as were the previous 4 books in the series. Even with the noted "problems" below and in other comments, this is a 5-star book, especially if you look at the series as a whole rather than the book as a standalone book. The description does not do justice to the book. The book is a reflection on World War I and its impact on New Zealand, a far-flung outpost of the British Empire, as seen through the eyes of a child who almost understands the whats and whys of war but can’t quite grasp them. Daisy’s dreams take a back seat to the impact of World War I on her extended family and how the need for soldiers ultimately leads to conscription, beginning with single young men but rapidly moving to include married men with children, including Daisy’s father. The story seems incomplete. We tangentially are given glimpses into the war’s effect on the adults. Because of how the prior books were written, I think Daisy’s War should have run with both major and minor story lines, the major being the tale we are given and the minor a more in-depth look at the effect on the adults. For example, Daisy’s Uncle Alf returns from the battlefields a changed man. We are briefly given a glimpse into why and we know that the children want to avoid him, but we are not given more insight into the change in family dynamics. Perhaps this broader look at intra- and interfamily dynamics is a tale that will be picked up in the next book. However, I think there are 2 failings. First, there was no synopsis of the prior books and of the relationships among the characters. I read the fourth book in the series nearly 2 years ago and have read undreds of books since. I needed a refresher. In this case, the lack of the information poses another problem: The book doesn’t work well as a standalone book. You need to have read the previous books in the series to understand the importance of what is happening. Although that is good from a series sense, it is bad from the reader sense. A reader who picks up this book first, not having read the previous entries in the series, will not walk away singing the high praises the books deserve. Instead, they will be disappointed because much of the impact of book relies on knowing the relationships. Regardless, as with the first four books in the series, Daisy’s War is exceptionally well-written. If you have read and enjoyed the first books in the series, then this is a must read for you. The book is reasonably priced and is clearly a 5-star read. If you haven’t read Shayne Parkinson’s books, begin with Sentence of Marriage, the first in the series, which is free. If you like historical fiction and/or family sagas, you are likely to find this a captivating series.
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Cry For Justice
on July 17, 2012
One of the best thrillers/suspense stories I have read in a long time. Well-written and pretty much free of errors (the most prominent error being the switch between Robertson and Roberson), this was a can't-put-down book.
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The Sixth Discipline
on Nov. 13, 2012
Although the premise of the book is far from unique, the writing is excellent and the story is well told. The characters are interesting and well-developed, and the growth from tolerance to love is well done. The planet is divided into 3 civilizations, each vastly different from the other even though they have a common origin. The story centers on the "arranged" marriage involving 2 of the civilizations; the third civiliation is only passingly mentioned. The story requires you to accept that 3 such unique civilizations can coexist yet know so little about the others. However, the story is written well-enough that this is a very minor irritant. Unlike many books, this one had very few errors. When I finally got around to reading it, finished the book in 1 day. I plan to next read the sequel, No Safe Haven.
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No Safe Haven
on Nov. 13, 2012
Excellent followup to The Sixth Discipline. Well written although predictable. I found that I enjoyed the story enough that I read it in 1 day. I like the interaction between Ran-Del and Francesca, the main characters in both books, enough that I wish additional books revolving around them were available.
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Forged In Flame (In Her Name, Book 8)
on March 13, 2013
The story and the writing are great, just as was true of the other novels in the Empire and In Her Name series. But there is one problem. Multiple chapters are in italics. I find it difficult to read so much text in italics -- especially when there appears to be no reason for using italics. I don't know if this was a deliberate decision or something went wrong in the creation of the ePub file, but at least this reader is unhappy -- not with the writing or the story, but with the extensive use of italics, nearly every other chapter. If you find reading italic print is difficult, then this book should be avoided even though it is exceptionally well-written. I rate the book 5 stars for the writing and the story development. I think it unfair to rate a book based on formatting problems that are easily corrected. However, as much as I looked forward to buying and reading this book, had I known of the italics problem in advance, I would not have bought the book. At my age, it is simply too difficult and tiring to read so many chapters in italic.
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When Women Were Warriors Book I: The Warrior's Path
on April 21, 2013
I think this book deserves 5+ stars. Unlike many indie-authored books, this is well written, virtually error-free, and provides a coherent story about a naïve girl who grows up among strong women. I downloaded this book many months ago and finally got around to reading it. I am very sorry I took so long to get to it. I found the characters so-well formed that I spent the day reading the book from beginning to end. The different personalities and the insights each brings to shaping naïve Tamra's world, especially her warrior Maara and the Lady Merin, make this a compelling read. The problem is that the tale continues in volumes 2 and 3 in very expensive ebooks ($9.99 each). As good as this first volume is, I personally find it difficult to spend $9.99 on each of the subsequent volumes; I would not have hesitated at $4.99 each. I think that if you are unfazed by such pricing, then you should definitely read this volume and be prepared to continue the adventure. If you are unwilling to spend $9.99 for each subsequent volume, then you might want to think about whether it is worth your while to read this first volume knowing you will not get the whole story. But, again, this volume is excellent, and worthy of 5+ stars. I just do not know if the subsequent volumes are equally as good and thus justify the price asked.