The 14th Annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale has begun, running now through July 31! My books will be 50% off for that time so feel free to grab this deal!
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Lenni Reviews: “Gunpowder Moon” by David Pedreira
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Set in the year 2072, in Veteran Caden Dechert is in charge of a US mining operation on the moon. When a bomb goes off and kills a crew member, already strained international relations may turn the moon into a warzone unless Dechart can find the culprit first.
While I like Dechert and his crew and I wanted to find out what happened, this felt like a dry read. Not unenjoyable because Dechert is a relatable guy thrust into a crazy situation and has to figure out what’s really going on but I get the feeling you need to heavily be into space scifi to get into this. The conclusion delivers on some action though to make it all worth it. 3.9 out of 5.
Lenni Reviews: “The Scarlet Gospels”(Hellraiser #2) by Clive Barker
After reading Hellbound Heart, I made sure to get my hands on the sequel. This stars Detective Harry D’Amour, who has devoted himself to the supernatural after an encounter that killed his partner. As Pinhead makes some major moves leaving a trail of death, Harry and other mystically inclined friends move to stop him.
Okay… I kinda liked this book. It functions really well on it’s own. My problem with it is that it’s a sequel to a book that barely featured Pinhead. I’m left with a feeling that the movie’s popularity impacted this story; because the main Cenobite in the first was female and there’s hardly a mention of her here.
In viewing this book as a better sequel to the movies (anything after Hellraiser 2 is not worth watching, in my opinion), it’s a worthy addition to the universe. It’s really dark, the stakes are high, and it’s just brutal – as to be expected of anything Hellraiser. It was just strange reading these back to back and not feeling the connection from one to the next. I liked it but this is clearly riding on Pinhead’s popularity. 3.4 out of 5.
Lenni Reviews: “The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood
In this sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, we continue our journey through Gilead through a protester of the totalitarian regime in Canada, the daughter of a Commander, and Aunt Lydia, a Gilead enforcer.
I have to say, this is a lot less subtle than the first book and perhaps that’s a good thing. Some parts ramble a bit but it’s overall very harrowing and sad. One quote stuck out to me:
“Stupid, stupid, stupid: I’d believed alll that claptrap about life, liberty, democracy, and the rights of the individual I’d soaked up in law school. Those were eternal verities and we would always defend them. I’d depended on that, as if a magic charm.”
I read this months ago and this is sadly relevant still. It’s absolutely a pageturner and the writing is of course amazing. 4.5 out of 5.
Lenni Reviews: “How To Save The World” by Lexie Dunne
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Gail Goodwin is known as ‘Hostage Girl’ due to her propensity for being captured. All she wants is a normal life with her boyfriend, her job, and to be done with superheroes and all the drama. But fate of course has other plans, she ends up with powers of her own and stumbles into a conspiracy to depower anyone with abilities with an invention by a scientist known to be dead.
While it got off to a slow start, it ramped up real quick! It was jarring but once the book got going, it was very entertaining. If you like different takes on superheroes that’s not as dark as something like “The Boys” it’s worth checking out! 4 out of 5.
Lenni Reviews: “Sleeping Beauties” by Stephen King and Owen King
When women fall asleep, they are covered in a cocoon like a catapillar. If anyone tries to wake them, they lash out with terrible violence. At the same time, a mysterious woman calling her self Evie appears, cryptically knowing what happened to all the women and how to cure them.
I read this right after I re-read The Stand and I found it funny the people start forming these committees. It just made me laugh.
Also, co-reading Drifting Classroom at the same time is a mistake I will not repeat…
But back to the point, Eveie’s plan confuses me. If the point was to make men value women more, she let a LOT of women get killed in the process (this isn’t spoilers if you are familiar with King’s work at all). And while I totally understand how it all relates to women having unique trauma and a critique of “traditional” male and female gender roles bit – and this is a bit of a spoiler – it really, REALLY bothered me that Lila in particular just sort of dismissed her husband’s unique trauma; which if you read the book he’s had a rough life. But she doesn’t even fake lip service to it. What a bitch…
Anyway, I liked this book. It was harrowing and really sad but if you like King, you will like this book. 4 out of 5.
Lenni Reviews: “The Farm” by Joanne Ramos
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Told through different perspectives, this book takes you to Golden Oaks, where women carry surrogate babies for wealthy clients. Every aspect of their lives are controlled to produce the most viable offspring. In desperation, one of the hosts, Jane, as volunteered as a surrogate in order to make the money she needs to give her daughter a better life.
I like how each chapter comes from a different woman’s perspective. You get to hear their exact story and learn about their lives. There is still a disturbing edge to the very idea of the wealthy taking advantage of desperate poor women; particularly immigrants. Despite the inevitable dystopian leanings of such a practice, I did find myself immersed in these stories. Very well done. 4 out of 5.
Lenni Reviews: “The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition” by Stephen King
In what appears to be a short term history of poor reading decisions, I started off this year deciding I should catch up on some Stephen King; spurred on by the fact this book is due for a remake. When I was a teenager, I tried to read the expanded edition. I even had a bet going with a camp friend at the time that I could finish the book in 1 week.
I lost that bet but she never cashed in so ah well…
Now, having finished the book and rewatched the tv mini-series that for all its camp, holds a special place in my heart (but Storm of the Century is my favorite); I have to say I can see why the original may have been cut down – likely not very much – since to get the gist of the story, not all those words are necessary. You may have noticed in some of my reviews where I have said that a book could have benefitted from a ruthless editor to cut it down. And although my eyes may have glazed over for some pages, I still enjoyed this book.
I finished this back in February (the 11th if you want to get specific and follow me on Goodreads) and I hesitated for a long time whether or not I should bother to post a review.
Then I started Sleeping Beauties right after that to continue my habit of poor reading decisions. A review of that will be coming.
I am a fan of King but like Gaiman, I’m not going to say every single work is perfect. It’s really, REALLY long; the kind of book an e-reader is made for since it’s cumbersome to read in print form and again, I will freely tell you a flipped through some points to get back to the main thread. I think seeing the show before reading the book was to my detriment because I already knew the major plot points and knew what to skim. However, I have to say some of the changes they made from book to ’90’s show are interesting but I do hope they stick closer to the book in the new one. There’s some great character conflict and development that’s VERY simplified in the show. There is more moral ambiguity in the book. But I gotta say, if I had to WATCH all this stuff, it’d be boring as fuck. It’s easier to read and good fucking luck to the stalwart souls adapting this again. 4 out of 5.
Lenni Reviews: “The Last Ballad” by Wiley Cash
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is recommended for mature readers.
Set in North Carolina in 1929, Ella works in a textile mill trying desperately to work enough hours to feed her children. Suffering with terrible hours and even worse pay, Ella is curious about the current rise in unions for textile workers but afraid of losing her job or worse.
This is a very poignant and powerful book. Sitting in my privileged 2020 mindset, it still shocks me to know there was a time where you risked your life for even associating with someone thinking about a union. My grandmother was a garment worker union member who frequently attended rallies like in the book; and she was African American working with Jewish colleagues at this time (a man even came to interview her for this book). It’s part of why I was so excited to read this.
This book jumps around in time and I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had a more linear narrative. But it’s still amazing regardless. 4.7 out of 5.
Lenni Reviews: “In the Midnight Room” by Laura McBride
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
*This review has been cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.
Book-ended with the life of June Stein, this novel dives into Las Vegas in the 1950’s and a casino called ‘The Midnight Room.’
This book feels a lot like the times where I went into a real casino in Vegas and Atlantic City; glitz, glamour, sadness, and desperation. Including June, the lives of four very different women collide together over the course of a lifetime in this book and we follow some hauntingly poetic stories. I’m not really one for historical fiction and this book managed to suck me in and I had trouble putting the book down.
I do have to say some of the point of view changes had me confused but the story managed to sort itself out in a few paragraphs; particularly in the end when it’s suddenly all from June’s perspective but as it’s her life that frames the entire narrative, it’s forgivable. An excellent period piece and I recommend. 3.9 out of 5.