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

Meg Shaffer

My Goodreads review

Ballantine Books

NetGalley

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next ebook is...

 The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Happy reading! 📚

Dorothea 💜

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 💜

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

Maureen McCormick

My Goodreads review

HarperAudio

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading 📚, 

Dorothea 💜

My next audiobook is...

 Here's The Story by Maureen McCormick

For some reason, I forgot to post this to my blog. I started this book a couple of days ago.

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next ebook is...

 Not Your China Doll by Katie Gee Salisbury

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - Lovers at The Museum ebook

Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende (ebook)

OVERVIEW

This was a VERY short novelette or even short story about the discovery of two lovers in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. It is a weird, supernatural story that only the incredible Isabel Allende could or should write. It reminds me of the La Mariée painting by Chagall which is so crazy that it is beautiful!

It was funny, at times, and extremely quirky, but an easy read. This short story has an opportunity to be a full-length novel and I hope this happens. To be fair, I have loved everything that I have read by Isabel Allende. She is one of the greatest Hispanic and female authors of our age. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 4.0 stars

Writing: 5.0 stars

Isabel writes so incredibly with such passion and description. Yet, her stories and books read so easily that you can imagine the book in your mind. Isabel's writing is pure poetry for all of the senses.  It is a perfect style for this type of story. 

Character development: 4.0 stars

There were three characters - Bibiña (female lover),  Indar (male lover), and Aitor (investigating detective).

Of course, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was a secondary character.

A lot was missing from the story including the couple's relationship afterward and the detective's future discoveries in the museum. 

Storyline:  4.5 stars

Bibiña was discovered in a wedding dress and Indar was in his birthday suit in the locked and secure museum by a cleaning woman. Then the incident was investigated by a detective. There are secrets in the museum almost as if it is sentient. 

The above storyline is a complete novel just waiting to be written by Isabel Allende.  

The main location was the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain.  

Memorable/Informative:  4.0 stars

It was just a unique and escapist short story! 

Book cover: 5.0 stars

Gorgeous.

Book title: 5.0 stars 

Very appropriate. 

DEFINITE recommend

BOOK INFORMATION

Amazon First Reads Kindle ebook

Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende

25 pages 

Amazon Original Stories

Release date of 04/01/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Isabel Allende

My Goodreads review

Amazon Original Stories

Amazon First Reads - December 2023

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - The House of Hidden Meanings audiobook

The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul (audiobook)

OVERVIEW

I knew very little about RuPaul, but I loved the idea of spotlighting drag performers like him in his television shows even though it is a reality competition. After I had started this audiobook, I saw and heard some disturbing commentary about the transgender community by RuPaul which concerned me. 

I liked this audiobook, but I didn't love it! It could have been so much more including RuPaul's addiction recovery and journey and his healing from his traumatic childhood with his siblings. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars

Writing: 4.0 stars

The writing was good and much stronger than in a lot of memoirs. It was raw, real, and very intense. RuPaul's young childhood was so horrible that I am shocked that he and his siblings made it out successfully.

Narration: 3.0 stars

The narration, at times, was very upbeat and exciting, and at other times was somewhat bland and boring. It was as if RuPaul changed his reading style to match his feelings while reading the narration. The narration could have been more consistent for my taste. 

Character Arc: 3.5 stars

RuPaul comes off as a warm, thoughtful, and focused individual. My only complaint is that he is a diva with a superstar complex, but that is the only way one makes it in the entertainment business. 

He writes the book in a very chronological manner which flows very nicely for the reader. I only wish there was more of RuPaul's later life including addressing some of his controversies and his breakthrough in television. 

Memorable:  3.5 stars

The disco/punk/new wave club scene in New York sounds like a crazy time in 80's New York City. RuPaul and I are very close in age so I could understand his frame of reference. 

Entertaining:   3.5 stars

I only wish I knew the backstory of the people, places, and bands that RuPaul talks about. Being a West Coast kid was a disadvantage concerning Atlanta and New York City. 

Book cover: 4.5 stars

A beautiful portrait.

Book title: 4.5 stars 

Very appropriate! 

Recommend

STATISTICS

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (audiobook)

The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul

HarperAudio

7 hours, 7 minutes

Release date of 03/05/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

RuPaul

My Goodreads review

HarperAudio

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading 📚, 

Dorothea 💜

My next ebook is...

Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende (ebook)

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

 

REVIEW - The 24th Hour ebook

The 24th Hour (Women's Murder Club series) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

OVERVIEW

This is the 24th+ book in the Women's Murder Club series. I have read all of the novels/novellas in this long series. 

The story is about the police, district attorney, and medical examiner's triumvirate of law enforcement in San Francisco with three good friends. Plus, the added drama with another friend who is a reporter.  

You should read the previous novels in the Women's Murder Club series to get the full backstory and understand the characters. Or not.

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.0 stars

Writing: 3.0 stars

The writing is just blah to me now. It has been a long series with more than 24 books and novellas. The writing feels very formulatic and it appears that James Patterson doesn't even write these books anymore. Instead, he has an "assistant" writer, such as Maxine Paetro, write the books in each series. 

Character development: 3.0 stars

The main characters are Lindsay (SFPD detective), Yuki (assistant district attorney), Claire (chief medical examiner), and Cindy (newspaper reporter). These gals have been personal and professional friends for a very long time.

The secondary characters are the personal partners, work partners, and assorted friends and family.  

There has not been any character development with any of the main or secondary characters for a long time. The only real changes are the different "guest" characters. 

Storyline:  3.0 stars

There were no big spoilers in this book, but there is a little one at the end. There was no setup to end the series so there are more novels to come. 

All of the main locations were in the San Francisco Bay area. 

Memorable/Informative: 2.5 stars

This series is getting tired. I would like it to come to a conclusion so I know how all of the characters end up.

Book cover: 3.0 stars

Descriptive, but doesn't go with the book itself.  

Book title: 3.0 stars 

Typical for this series with no real meaning.

LUKEWARM recommend 

BOOK INFORMATION

NetGalley ARC (ebook) 

The 24th Hour (Women's Murder Club series) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

400 pages 

Little, Brown and Company

Release date of 05/06/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

James Patterson

Maxine Paetro

My Goodreads review

Little, Brown and Company

NetGalley

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next ebook is...

 The 24th Hour (A Women's Murder Club series) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Happy reading 📚! 

Dorothea 💜