One Way Back by Christine Blasey Ford
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Friday, April 12, 2024
Thursday, April 11, 2024
REVIEW - Cut & Thirst ebook
Cut & Thirst by Margaret Atwood (ebook)
OVERVIEW
This was a VERY short novelette or short story about four female friends! It was just plain weird!
It was the second short story by Margaret Atwood that I have read and both short stories received "LUKEWARM recommends".
OVERALL REVIEW: 3.0 stars
Writing: 3.0 stars
Margaret writes beautifully, but this was just weird, weird, weird writing.
Character development: 3.0 stars
There were four friends - Chrissy, Leonie, Myrna, and Fern. Fern is the friend the other three are avenging for a slander campaign. There was no real character development.
The other characters are only important to the story to maintain the flow.
Storyline: 3.0 stars
This is just a weird storyline. Fern was slandered by an influential writer and many years later, her friends want to avenge her. The methods suggested range from different forms of murder to torture. It just seems a little much.
The main location was Toronto.
Memorable/Informative: 3.5 stars
Thinking of the results of the brownies is wild!
Book cover: 3.0 stars
Another weird aspect.
Book title: 3.0 stars
Weird.
LUKEWARM recommend
BOOK INFORMATION
Amazon First Reads Kindle ebook
Cut & Thirst by Margaret Atwood
34 pages
Amazon Original Stories
Release date of 05/01/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Amazon First Reads - April 2024
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
P.S. There is no next book post and then a review due to my computer issues!
REVIEW - The Atlas Maneuver ebook
The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry (ebook)
OVERVIEW
This is the eighteenth book in the Cotton Malone series with some novellas and a spin-off. I'm worried that Steve Berry will become like James Patterson and farm out his writing to secondary authors.
This book is basically about missing Axis treasure hidden since the end of WWII along with a current timeline about Bitcoin. I still don't understand the appeal of Bitcoin even after reading this book. As always, Steve does a lot of research about historical events that I knew nothing about which is fun to learn about.
This book has short chapters that make it easy to take a reading break and return to read later.
OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars
Writing: 3.5 stars
Steve can write really well. But as this series has continued, the writing isn't as strong as the earlier novels in this series.
This is a published novel (not an ARC), but there were numerous spelling errors and typos. It was as if this book wasn't proofed or edited properly. These errors do ruin the joy of reading this book.
Character development: 3.5 stars
The two main characters, Cotton (retired Justice) and Cassiopeia (Cotton's girlfriend) are on interconnected covert missions for a friend.
The secondary character, Koger (CIA), is the friend with the favor.
There are a few tertiary characters who are integral to the story including a bank head and a programmer.
Storyline: 3.0 stars
Steve makes so much about history fascinating! However, this topic of Axis hidden treasure and the contemporary Bitcoin storyline wasn't my favorite.
The storyline about finding the missing treasure was great, but the Bitcoin storyline just didn't work for me. Also, there was an irritating cliffhanger!
The main locations were Switzerland, Morocco, and Luxembourg with the beginning of the book taking place in the Philippines.
Memorable/Informative: 3.5 stars
It was okay, but just not my favorite.
Book cover: 4.0 stars
Very pretty.
Book title: 5.0 stars
A strong choice.
Recommend
BOOK INFORMATION
The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry
405 pages
Grand Central Publishing
Release date of 02/20/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library)
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
P.S. I was just starting to review this book when my desktop crashed!!
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES
Hi, everyone!!
I have been silent since Saturday, April 6th because my desktop died. But, I cannot complain as it lasted over NINE years!!
My new desktop arrived late yesterday afternoon (and hubby set it up last night)! It is way smaller, faster, and powerful! Actually, it is the size of a small wristlet!
So here is my first official post on my NEW desktop!!
Happy reading 📚
Dorothea 💜
Monday, April 1, 2024
March 2024 - Monthly Wrap-up
Hi, everyone!
Well, this has been a
strange month with few books read. But, no biggie! I did
not find a good biography or memoir to listen to for the last few weeks of the
month (listened to the Harry Potter audiobooks AGAIN). Additionally, I tried to ration my favorite book of March which was
silly.
March is the weakest ratings
month for 2024 ratings so far with a total rating of 3.88 stars. I had two books that
received the HIGHEST recommendation (5.0 stars) and the majority remaining were
RECOMMEND (3.5 stars). There is always something interesting about books!!
2nd ANNUAL “booksbydorothea”
BEST BOOKS OF 2024:
All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore
(January) 5 stars
Miss Morgan's Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles
(February) 5 stars
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
(March) 5 stars
GOODREADS READING GOAL:
As of 03/31/2024, I have read 33 books, or 33% of my
goal.
MARCH 2024 STATISTICS:
8 total books
5 e-books; 3 audiobooks; 0
physical books
3 books were an ARC
(Advance Reader Copy)
4 books were library books
0 books were purchased
1 book was an Amazon First
Reads
0 books were a Book Club
Girl
Audio listening time in March: 36 hours, 56 minutes
Pages read in March:
2, 16 pages
Average review rating: 3.88
stars
MARCH BOOK RATINGS with BOOK COVERS:
5.0-star books (2)
Still Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton LINK
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer LINK
4.5-star books (0)
4.0-star books (1)
Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende LINK
3.5-star book (4)
Middletide by Sarah Crouch LINK
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner LINK
The House of Hidden
Meanings by RuPaul LINK
The 24th Hour by James Patterson; Maxine Paetro LINK
3.0-star books (1)
Here's The Story by Maureen McCormick LINK
If you want to read my full review of
any of these books, there are individual review posts for each ebook or
audiobook next to the title and author.
Happy reading 📚
Dorothea 💜
P.S. For more information
about my book ratings, you can find out more HERE.
Friday, March 29, 2024
REVIEW - The Lost Story ebook
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer (ebook)
OVERVIEW
This is the second book written by Meg Shaffer. Her first book, The Wishing Game, was one of my favorite books of 2023. So I was very excited to read her next book! This book, The Lost Story, is definitely my favorite book of March 2024.
This book is hard to describe without giving too much away. This amazing book is like a fascinating combination of The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan, but isn't those books. Of course, my favorite Music Goddess, Stevie Nicks, is liberally spread throughout!! What's not to love???
This book took a few chapters to set up which is what I expect in a great book! But, once it got to the meat of the story, I could not put this book down. It was that good.
OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars
Writing: 5.0 stars
Meg is an amazing writer. It is shocking how good her writing is as this is only her second book. I predict a long writing career in front of her and hope to enjoy her beautiful books for years to come.
My favorite part was all the clues, bits of beauty, and interesting pieces that Meg spreads like fairy dust throughout the book!
This book would make an amazing series or movie! Fingers crossed!
Character development: 5.0 stars
The four main characters - Rafe (friend), Jeremy (friend), Emilie (younger sister), and Shannon (older sister) are the primary focus of the entire story.
Rafe's mom, Jeremy's mom and dad, and "The Storyteller" are the secondary characters.
There are also a few tertiary characters who help move the story along.
*Please note that I am not sharing much detail to avoid spoilers.*
Storyline: 5.0 stars
Rafe and Jeremy, best friends, disappeared for about six months in Red Creek Park. Unfortunately, they have no contact after their return.
In the ensuing fifteen years, Rafe becomes an artist and Jeremy finds missing persons. Emilie tracks down Jeremy and asks him to help her find her missing older sister. Then the story takes off.
My favorite part of the storyline was the diversity of the characters including LGBT+ folks.
The main location was "West, by God!, Virginia!". (inside joke from the book)
Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars
It was unique, fun, and full of fantasy.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
Gorgeous.
Book title: 5.0 stars
Very appropriate.
HIGHEST recommendation
BOOK INFORMATION
NetGalley ARC (ebook)
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
336 pages
Ballantine Books
Release date of 07/04/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
Thursday, March 21, 2024
DNF - Not Your China Doll ebook
Not Your China Doll by Katie Gee Salisbury (ebook)
I will not be finishing this book, unfortunately. I have been reading this book for over a week and only read 100 pages.
The book is dense, plodding, and just too full of details about other characters that Anna May meets as an actress. Yes, many of them were famous, but I wanted to know about Anna May.
This book just didn't work for me which doesn't mean it won't work for you!
Happy reading! 📚
Dorothea 💜
Monday, March 18, 2024
REVIEW - Here's The Story audiobook
Here's The Story by Maureen McCormick (audiobook)
OVERVIEW
Growing up, I loved The Brady Bunch and Friday night television on ABC. It was THE night!! I read this book hoping to learn some background information about The Brady Bunch cast and their interactions together, but I was disappointed. I knew little about them as individuals as this was all before the internet. Sadly, I learned very little about Maureen, Marcia, and her castmates, but much of the book was about her faith. It was almost too much religion for me.
OVERALL REVIEW: 3.0 stars
Writing: 2.0 stars
The writing could have been better. Maureen could have used help from a professional ghostwriter.
Narration: 3.0 stars
The narration was blah. There was no real feeling and this was Maureen's life, trauma, and experiences. It was as if she separated herself from what she was reading and was emotionless.
Character Arc: 3.5 stars
Maureen comes off as cold, lost, and scared before her mental health issues are diagnosed near the end of the book. Sadly, much of this is learned behavior from her family of origin.
She writes the book in a very chronological manner which flows very nicely for the reader. I wish there was more of Maureen's later life as this book was published in 2008.
Memorable: 3.0 stars
Maureen had a rough time growing up in a very dysfunctional home while being a childhood star. This would scar anyone as this is a huge issue with child actors and truly needs to be addressed.
One thing that seriously grated on me was Maureen's use of the word, "retarded" to describe her older brother. Since the book was written in 2008, I hope that she now uses more appropriate terminology.
Entertaining: 3.0 stars
It was not entertaining at all.
Book cover: 4.5 stars
A beautiful portrait.
Book title: 4.0 stars
On point!
LUKEWARM recommend
STATISTICS
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (audiobook)
Here's The Story by Maureen McCormick
HarperAudio
5 hours, 58 minutes
Release date of 01/01/2008
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading 📚,
Dorothea 💜
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