Murder on the Orient Express |Audio Book Review

 

A lavish trip through Europe quickly unfolds into a race against time to solve a murder aboard a train. When an avalanche stops the Orient Express dead in its tracks, the world’s greatest detective — Hercule Poirot — arrives to interrogate all passengers and search for clues before the killer can strike again.

Plot ***
Writing ****
Cover ****
Characters *****
Enjoyment ****
Pacing ***
Total star rating = 4*

 

Plot

When it came to the plot of this book, I wasn’t entirely impressed. However, it was still a good read. I ended up rating it a 3* for the plot. It was well written, common for a mystery novel. They give lead you down a bunch of rabbit holes so your mind comes up with all the solutions, and in the end, none of them were right. So for that purpose, the plot was good, it was a mystery, and it was ‘solved’ in the end. The book is also mostly in the view of the main detective and his thought process on solving the murder mystery. So if hearing him conduct interrogations and such don’t sound interesting then I wouldn’t recommend this book to you.

Writing/Voice Acting

The Writing I gave a 4* it was well written,  and also well voiced. Since this is an audiobook version I rated this section based on the Voice Acting etc. I lovvveed the voice acting and the audio version of this book. I feel like if it wasn’t for the voice acting I wouldn’t have been able to get through this book. They picked excellent actors to fit the parts in this book. Not only that but they added sound effects and ambiance. I would definitely recommend the audiobook if you want to read this book!

Cover

Since I got the Audio Book I think the cover is a bit different but I loved the way it looked! I gave it a 4* as well. The text font was really cool, mysterious looking. The main color tones were blue which is my favorite color, and then the pop of yellow to contrast against the blue was well executed. It has the train, and the detective standing in front of it.  All in all, I think the Audiobook cover was well done!

Characters

The characters were my favorite thing about this book! The fact that you are introduced to each individual character from the perspective of the main character, the detective, is very interesting. You hear his first impressions of each one of them, as he breaks them down based on their body language and appearances. You learn a little bit about each one of their backstories through the detective’s interrogations. The characters are each unique and rounded enough for what the purpose of this book is. You know what you need to know to piece together the ending.

Enjoyment

My overall enjoyment of this audiobook is a 4*. I can say I really enjoyed the book. I listened to it everytime I was in the car instead of listening to music, as well as on a plane ride to and from Florida for vacation. It was a great way to pass the time, and it stayed fairly interesting. It had me drawing conclusions and trying to figure out who murdered who etc. Keeps you on your toes!

Pacing

I rated pacing a 3* simply because I think it dragged on a bit. If it wasn’t for the voice acting, and want to know who murdered who etc I wouldn’t have been able to get through this book. I would have lost interest, simply because of the pacing. It dragged on a bit too much, but I suppose that is a bit typical for murder mysteries to help build suspense. However, I think they could have executed the pacing a bit better, and sped up the pacing in certain parts.

 

 

 

 

NaNoWriMo 2017 | Day 3 & 4

So currently it is November 5th, Day 3 and 4 of NaNoWriMo are finished. Things have been going pretty good. I’m fairly happy with where I am in my story and the words that I have written.

I have gotten a good amount written, it hasn’t been too hard finding time in between working and taking care of my baby girl. Friday the 3rd I didn’t get as much written that I wanted to. My husband came home from a trip for work. My parent’s were babysitting the Munchkin, so we decided to on a date!

We ended up going to Ali Baba for dinner, it was delicious. There was also some hookah, white peach flavored to be exact. Then came a late night movie, Thor! which by the way was fantastic and if you haven’t seen it yet, you should! Didn’t get home till 1am, so no writing for that night.

Saturday the 4th was Double-up Donation Day! It was so much fun! There were a lot of giveaways, write-ins, and more! It was so much fun! I participated in the first write-in and actually got a lot written, they definitely help me to write more. I also ended up donating $25 to the non-profit organizations and sponsors. During Double-Up Donation Day when you donate $25 you get the $50 rewards. So I’m looking forward to getting my enamel pin, sticker, bookmark and some more.

In total at the end of Day 4 of NaNoWriMo, I have written 3852 words. I know I am still a tad behind on my word count, but not that much!

Where are you with your word count?

How is your stress levels?

Did you participate in Double-Up Donation Day?

Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear about your NaNoWriMo adventures so far!

 

Oh yeah almost forgot I have been doing some daily vlogs for NaNoWriMo. Nothing too crazy just short little blurp fill in’s. I’ll post the link to my Youtube Here. Feel free to check it out!

Shadow and Bone |Book Review

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

I have heard so much about The Grisha Trilogy, and I’m going to admit the cover art drew me in. So I finished reading the first book of the trilogy Bone And Shadow. Here is my review of the first book!

Plot ***
Writing ****
Cover *****
Characters *****
Enjoyment ****
Pacing *****
Total star rating = 4*

PLOT

The Plot I felt was alright, I could see where the plot was going a mile ahead. It was very predictable. I wanted to see more of the war that was going on, more battle scenes etc. However, I think the first book was mostly for character development, and the main character Alina growing into herself, and her new role as a Grisha. So that is the main reason I gave Plot a 3* rating.

WRITING

Writing I gave the author a 4* rating. I think it was well written, and the scene’s and characters were described in a way that I could picture it in my head. I love when an author writes in a way that I can let my imagination take over and really get lost in the imagery, but also allow some room for me to create. I didn’t find many grammatical errors or have trouble with wording. Anything you had a question about name wise you could look up at the front of the book as well as a map if you got lost. So all in all the writing was fantastic.

COVER

The cover was what drew me into this series, to begin with! I love the cover art, it is simple but striking. The color choices for me were perfect. Black and Red just scream war and violence and interest. The image wasn’t too busy it was simple but well thought out.  Hence why I gave the cover of this book a 5* Rating.

CHARACTERS

The characters also received a 5* rating. I loved the characters, even though you had many cliche characters. For example, the BFF your secretly in love with, The sexy bad guy the MC stupidly falls for, the stuck up chick who gets on your nerves etc. However, the author did a good job at giving them individual personalities and making you fall in love with them. They are also written in a way that is relatable you really can feel for the characters and what they are going through.

ENJOYMENT

Overall I enjoyed this book greatly. It was a nice read by the pool and get a tan kind of book. lol Which is exactly what I did! I rated enjoyment a 4* simply because although I did enjoy it tremendously I could put it down. It didn’t overwhelm me enough to binge read it and not be able to put it down. Sometimes I would get tired and just need to put it down for a bit and then pick it up the next day.

PACING

The Pacing for this book was right on point! 5*’s The book wasn’t too slow and dragged out, and it also wasn’t too fast paced to where you got confused as to how you got to the scene. I think it was a good pacing of character development for this book. The first to a trilogy and it was mostly about character development, less about the actual plot. Which is fine for the first book in a trilogy I think. That way when the author does get into the nitty gritty dirty stuff we are well versed on the characters and why they make decisions the way they do etc.

 

 

 

How Romance/Erotica Novels Get It Wrong

 Romance novels and Erotic have become such a popular hit in our society today. There is a lot of controversy and opinions roaming around out there.

So when reading this article please keep this in mind. THIS IS MY OPINION!  sigh.. now that I got that disclaimer put out there let us begin with the ranting.

Romance novels and Erotic are lies. I can understand wanting to get away into a world of fantasy. Heck! Fantasy and fiction novels are my favorite genres! However, I know that they are fiction and unrealistic. They are simply an amazing creation from a brilliant authors imagination.

When we jump into the world of Romance and Erotic we hit a bit more in the ‘realistic’ realm. At least most woman who read them wish that they could be their reality.  When woman read these books they search for a love they don’t have or a sex life they wish they had.

However, the truth is do you really want a fake love like that?

Personally, I have no interest in Romance novels or Erotica. They paint a very unrealistic and unattainable image of love and sex. Love and sex are not perfect, they have flaws, and many of these books portray them as some epic fantasy. Many women have become unsatisfied with their husbands due to the image these books portray. They plant seeds in young readers of what love and sex should be about.

I am 8 1/5 months pregnant with me and my husbands first baby, who happens to be a beautiful little girl. I know and my husband knows that we would never want Marie to read a Romance/Erotica. Now I’m not talking about stories like the notebook people. I’m talking about romance/erotica, just want to get that out there.

I don’t want my daughter to grow up and read these books and think oh so that is what I should expect about love and sex. No! The view of love and sex in society is so disoriented and distorted. Making them seem like an object like they are nothing. Come on people! We know very well that love and sex play a vital role in our lives, and can both be an amazing thing and also be the most damaging.

No matter how hard you may try to disconnect love and sex, or emotions and sex it’s impossible! There will always be a tiny piece of you that becomes attached to the person you have sex with. Sex and love are an intimate thing whether you want it to be or not.

Not only that but not everyone has this epic fantasy of being beaten up and a dirty fantasy. Some of us just want to be treated with respect and loved. It is about being connected to the other person in a way that words can’t describe. Love and sex are meant to draw two people (married..yes I said it..gasp!) closer together. It is a connection that binds them together and makes their relationship stronger.

So for me, romance/erotica get it wrong. That said this genre is just not for me. If you enjoy romance/erotica than go for it! Just realize it’s fiction, and don’t hold it against your partner if they don’t meet that expectation. Romance/Erotica love and sex is not the norm, it is fantasy.

P.S I do not judge anyone, nor do I look down on anyone who reads erotica books, or has different views or opinions than I do.