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Book Review: Anne’s House of Dreams

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Anne’s House of Dreams
Book #5
by L.M. Montgomery

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s/YA classic

See my review for book #1, Anne of Green Gables.

After the first book in the series, I have liked each one just a little less than the one before it. It didn’t seem quite the same anymore and also began to feel repetitive. Fortunately, this book brought me back to the love I had for the first book.

It’s not as if there are no more characters or situations that in some way mirror those from earlier books. But there was a lot less of that, and overall, everything felt new and fresh again. I’d say the characters introduced in this book, as well as getting to see Marilla and some of the others a bit more, really made the book for me. Not to mention Gilbert and Anne starting their lives together. I loved Captain Jim and got a kick out of Miss Cornelia, especially the way she and Captain Jim bantered.

Then there’s Leslie Moore. Of all the ways her story could have gone–and I had a few different predictions, believe me–I never imagined that twist.

Overall, I loved this book about as much as I loved the first book in the series. Unfortunately, it only highlighted the slower, drier books in between. I have no idea what to expect of the rest of the books in the series, but I can’t wait to find out.

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Book Review: Redshirts

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Redshirts
by Ernest Cline

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Sci-fi comedy

As one of the new transfers to the Universal Union flagship Intrepid, Andy Dahl has a lot to learn. Including how to avoid being sent on an away mission at all costs, because the low-ranking members of the crew have a high mortality rate on away missions. There’s a pattern surrounding five particular high-ranking officers, though, who seem to be able to defy the laws of physics and biology. But while other crew members simply do their best to stay alive, Andy is determined to find the cause for this phenomenon and put a stop to it. And he can’t do it alone.

For a character writer/reader reading a book with not much in the way of character development, I really enjoyed this book. The humor that comes from seeing it all as characters in a scripted TV show being real people, especially for a fan of the Star Trek franchise, is what drives this ship. And it’s great! This book takes meta to a whole new level and had me laughing several times, especially during the first third.

It probably helps a lot, too, that I don’t mind the shallowness of the scenes. When I read my first Scalzi novel, Lock In, I noted that his writing style suited me–no frivolity, not much description. This is the case in this book as well, which I think turned a lot of people off. I didn’t mind.

My biggest complaint is two-fold: Too many characters had too similar of names (Dahl & Duvall, Hanson & Hester), which, combined with the lack of character development meant that I usually didn’t fully retain which character was talking at any given time. So basically, they were mostly interchangeable. Add to that terribly repetitive dialog tags, and conversations were difficult to get into.

The three codas were a little strange to me. I didn’t understand the need for the 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person–the 2nd person one especially was awkward from that POV, and would probably have been better as 3rd person. I did appreciate getting some of this information, but only the 3rd coda really meant much to me.

This book seems to be a hit-or-miss kind of thing, even for fans of sci-fi/Trek shows. For me, it was a hit. I enjoyed it for what it was meant to be, and really liked the way it all turned out. I do recommend that any fans of formulaic sci-fi in the ilk of Star Trek give this book a try.

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Book Review: The Fellowship of the Ring

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The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings #1
by J.R.R. Tolkien
read by Rob Inglis

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Classic fantasy

Like with my “review” of The Hobbit, this is going to be my less of a real review and more just my thoughts on my experience with this book. After reading The Hobbit, I knew I had to go on to read the LoTR series. However, I also knew that I would never make it through if I read the text. My sister once suggested listening to the audiobook instead, so though it’s not normally my preferred method of reading a book, I gave it a try. For something like this, it turned out to be great.

As someone who has seen these movies many times, it’s interesting to read the source material. I can also see now how other authors and books I’ve read are very influenced by this series of books. It was again, and even moreso in this book, interesting to get more depth on the story, on the world, and on some of the characters that are in the movies I’ve so enjoyed.

The main downside to me is that it just feels like the adventure takes way too long to get going. The events in the Shire before Frodo even leaves weren’t so bad, but I was astounded by how far into the book I was by the time the Hobbits got to Bree. After that, everything else felt super fast by comparison.

I know my reading of these books will be tainted in many ways by having seen the movies first, but there’s nothing I can do about that. But while I knew some things were made up or expanded in The Hobbit movie, and of course I knew that several events and characters were left out of the LoTR movies, I was surprised by some of it. Frodo selling Bag End was a sad shock. Arwen is barely mentioned in the book, and both Legolas and Gimli feel much less important than the movie makes them to be. And again, the amount of time that passes between plot points just amazed me (Frodo is 50 when he begins the journey!).

I am so glad I read The Hobbit first, too, because it adds a connection and even some emotion to know who Gimli’s father is, to know who Balin is, and to understand a bit more about who the dwarves that died in the Mines of Moria were. It’s also interesting to me that the elves know of Frodo, through Bilbo, and that Frodo even knows some of the elvish language! That’s completely lacking in the movies, but makes total sense, given the events of Bilbo’s adventure.

I’ve already started on The Two Towers, and look forward to finishing the series.

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Book Review: P.S. Goodbye

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P.S. Goodbye
by Tari Faris

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Christian romance

When Caroline Williams, expecting a proposal, is dumped instead, the last person she wants to see is Grant Quinn, on whom she had a huge crush when she was thirteen. But he’s moved to town, and comes to the store she runs with her sister, looking for work. Caroline offers a trade–he can work for them if he lets her help him find a more permanent situation…somewhere else. But Grant is a harder nut to crack than she thought he’d be, and she can’t afford to let her ordered, list-driven life fall apart by letting him in.

This is a short book, only about 170 pages. Grant’s character has some depth, but I think Caroline stayed in the shallow end. The most interesting thing about her was related to love letters she wrote to Grant when she was thirteen, and then letters she wrote him after the two had a short-lived connection when Caroline was 18. But that part of the story wasn’t fleshed out nearly enough for me (especially considering that the title of the book is related to it). Caroline also had a tendency to impose ground rules, only to break them herself. She was said to live her life by lists, but in the end, her actions did not prove that about her.

There were also some romance tropes in this book that aren’t my favorite, like one pretending to be the other’s girlfriend/boyfriend to get family off the one’s back. And then the pretend girlfriend/boyfriend initiating a steamy kiss just to make it seem more real. And this leads to one of the other things I didn’t like about it–it was more about the physical than I prefer, especially in a Christian story. There was nothing graphic at all, but definitely more emphasis was put on physical attraction and touching than I like.

I did enjoy this book more often than not, which was mostly due to Grant, because Caroline was a flat heroine/romantic lead. This is a prequel to a short series of full-length romances, and I would be interested in seeing how the author does with a novel-length story.

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Book Review: The Truth about Us

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The Truth about Us
by Brant Hansen
read by the author

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian living

The truth about us is that we are not all “basically good, deep down inside.” We are flawed, sinful humans. Yet we tend to believe at some level that we are better than average. We are biased towards ourselves, whether we consciously recognize it or not. Starting with this and going on to other cognitive biases, radio show host Brant Hansen challenges us to examine the way we view ourselves and the world around us and to maybe, just possibly, admit that we’re not “good” and that we need help from the only One who is.

This book intrigued me, entertained me, and challenged me. He has a way of getting to the heart of the matter, and he infuses insight and humor into the points he makes along the way. Early in the book Brant describes various studies that show how our brains work. I was fascinated, and at times astounded, by these studies. It’s surprising, really, to learn how little we actually observe and retain, and how we can fool ourselves. And yet, when someone who isn’t me forgets something important, how often do I give them grace?

Though I have more of an inferiority complex in some of the areas he talked about, there were some that were right on point for me. One easy example is about driving speed. I am one who tends to think that if I come up on you on the road, you’re driving too slowly (and sometimes you’re also ruining my day). But if you come up behind me, or pass me on the road, you’re driving entirely too fast. Clearly my chosen speed is the perfect speed (and no, it’s not usually exactly the speed limit), and while I don’t usually think about it more than in the moment (and no, I don’t get road rage), I can easily recognize this bias in myself. This book changed my viewpoint in a lot of areas, hopefully for the better.

One of the biggest take-aways from this book is the need for humility. We’re truly not as amazing or good as we think we are, but that’s okay! It’s good news, and understanding how it’s good news can be very freeing. I think everyone can benefit from this book, even those who hear about it and think they don’t need it, or think about others they know who need it. In fact, maybe the ones who are thinking those things are the people who need to read it the most. No matter who you are or what you’re thinking about this book, though, I suggest you check out The Brant & Sherri Oddcast.

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Book Review: The Scorch Trials

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The Scorch Trials
The Maze Runner #2
by James Dashner

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: YA dystopian

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the first book in the series, The Maze Runner.

I liked The Maze Runner. It had its issues, sure, but I enjoyed it and was looking forward to seeing what came next. This book almost killed my interest in the series. I was happy to see more of certain characters from the previous book, but the plot was convoluted and Teresa was a bad caricature of an angsty teenager.

So much of this book seemed completely unnecessary. The things that were designed by WICKED felt like such obvious contrivances, especially by the end, that I can’t help but wonder what Dashner was doing. Did he have the entire trilogy figured out in advance? It seemed more like he wrote himself into a corner with the first book and just decided to go with it. I’m trying to have faith that it will make actual sense in the end, but I don’t see how head-eating liquid metal is something that will help anyone save the world.

And as for the relationship between Thomas and Teresa…I just couldn’t care less anymore. I was good with it in the first book, even liked the uniqueness of their bond. But now, they’re just a vehicle for angst. And a pointless love triangle. And angst. Seriously, the teen drama in this book… Maybe it wouldn’t have bothered me if the plot had advanced really at all, if any real questions had been answered.

I’m invested now, though, so I’ll read the third one and soon, so I can put to rest the questions and The Question of whether or not it delivers on the interest I had after reading the first book.

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Book Review: This Little Dark Place

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This Little Dark Place
by A.S. Hatch

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Psychological thriller

In the wake of the death of his mother, while his long-term relationship seems to be going nowhere good, Daniel writes a short, drunken letter to an unknown convict through a prison pen-pal organization. This is the beginning of his deep connection with Ruby, the inmate who he’s paired with. But when Ruby comes to find Daniel, things become too real…or maybe unreal.

If you’re looking for a dark, psychological read that will leave you feeling a little unsettled, this is it. If you’re looking for a thriller with twisty goodness…maybe not so much.

The book is fully in epistolary format, with the main character Daniel writing letters to someone named Lucy. From early in the book, I had some theories about how the story might unfold. Though things happened along the way that led me to other theories and the anticipation of one or more surprise twists near the end, it turned out that only my first ideas were correct. And there were no real twists. As I read the final pages, I felt let down.

The writing style is easy to follow, and I did at times feel invested in the story. Overall, though, there is no happiness in this book. Nothing uplifting whatsoever, not that I necessarily expect that from a psychological thriller. But it just all felt so hollow and empty. I was depressed for everyone in the book. And Daniel made such stupid decisions all throughout the book, it made it hard for me to care what happened to him in the end.

What this book really made me feel is happy to be a Christian. Grateful to have the hope that comes from knowing that God is real and that He loves me. That He is in control. It’s not that Christians are all perfect, always-happy people–far from it. But there is something nice in knowing that tragedy doesn’t have to destroy me and that I don’t have to try to fill the void in my life by myself.

A note about the story format–it’s broken into 3 long chapters, which did not bother me as it did others. There are scene breaks if you need a more definite spot to step away for a while. And at times, Daniel’s re-telling of events from years past are broken up by observations of what’s going on around him as he’s writing. This also bothered other readers, due to not being formatted well enough to be able to follow the jumping back and forth. I fear this was an issue with the ARC digital copy, which is a shame, because that shouldn’t come into play in a review. But it can, if it makes the book hard to read (I’ve been there). I read a physical release copy, and I had no issues with scene breaks or the jumping around.

Thank you to Netgalley and Serpent’s Tail for providing me a copy of this book to review.  

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Book Review: The Hobbit

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The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Classic fantasy

This is not going to be a structured review with a recommendation or warning to stay away. It’s really just going to be my musings on my first foray into written Tolkien. First, let me give a reference point–as I said, I’ve never read any Tolkien before this. I have seen all of the movies, though. I love the LoTR movies, though have only watched the Hobbit movies once. Going into each of these 6 movies as they came out, I knew absolutely nothing about the stories. I know that having seen the movies, though, and fallen in love with some of the characters will taint the reading of the books for the first time. I’m okay with that.

So now, about this book. I decided some time last year to start with The Hobbit, because it’s written for a younger audience. I figured it’d give me an idea of what the LoTR books were like and of whether I even thought I’d be able to read them. Besides, The Hobbit precedes the other books, even if the movies came out in the opposite order. I am so very glad I did it this way. I enjoyed reading The Hobbit, even as I felt that the story meandered more than I would normally prefer. It was really interesting to get more depth on the story, on the world, on some of the characters.

I knew about some of the things that had been made up for the movie, like the female elf and her romance with one of the dwarves (Kili, I think?) or the fact that Legolas was there at all. But I had thought that the Necromancer was created by the movie makers as well, and it was interesting to see that Sauron was, in fact, a background menace in the book after all. No, we don’t follow Gandalf to see him, but he does speak of ousting him from Mirkwood.

I was surprised by how long the party tended to stay places. Days or even weeks on end, before they moved on. And I’ll tell you, Elrond does not seem to be portrayed well in the movies. I like Hugo Weaving, but I remember his Elrond as aloof, even haughty. He’s so much warmer in The Hobbit. But to be fair, I haven’t watched any of the movies for a few years now, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find out I’m remembering many things wrong. For all I know, I’m mashing Elrond together with Agent Smith.

So now that I’ve read this book, I have decided that I must move on to the LoTR books. I know they’ll be longer and probably harder to read, which is why I’m listening to audiobooks instead of reading physical copies (as I did with The Hobbit). I won’t become a lifelong Tolkien fan, I’m sure, but I’m already glad I’ve embarked on this quest.

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Book Review: Imagine… The Great Flood

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Imagine… The Great Flood
Imagine series book #1
by Matt Koceich
read by Tim Gregory

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Children’s Biblical fiction

While lamenting an imminent move to another state, ten-year-old Corey is suddenly transported to Old Testament times–right before the flood of Noah’s day!

I read this book (audiobook) in an attempt to make some sense of the most recent book in this series to come out (

As mentioned above, this series is up to 6 books, each focusing on a different Biblical account. After reading 2 of them, I don’t believe I’ll continue with this series, or recommend it to my 10-year-old daughter.

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Book Review: Imagine… The Tower Rising

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Imagine… The Tower Rising
Imagine series book #6
by Matt Koceich

My rating: ? / 5
Genre: Children’s Biblical fantasy-ish?

While on the observation deck of the Willis Tower in Chicago with her family, Bella is suddenly transported to Shinar in 2300 B.C. There she sees the Tower of Babel mid-construction and becomes caught up in a dark plot to lead the people astray.

I am not completely sure what I just read. I expected an adventure similar to Superbook or Adventures in Odyssey, but there is definitely something else going on here. The tower being built, the reasons behind it, and Bella’s attempt to stop the people and explain why what they’re doing is wrong is a small part of the book (which is quite short anyway). But then there are some strange and unexpected fantasy elements going on, with a boy and a woman who are sort of like her guides through this experience, while also at times seeming to not know anything outside of what they should know if they were just regular people from that time period.

Then there are a couple of chapters that are “outside” of the adventure, involving people who are never properly introduced, and it’s never explained who they are or why they’re involved. One of them can communicate with the “bad guy” involved in the tower building, and gives him instructions. It’s clear from this that there is a whole over-arcing plot going on throughout this series, and I jumped in at book 6. My mistake, but there was nothing in the synopsis at all that would give any indication that these stories are so very connected. Out of curiosity, I have now read the first book in the series, and it was nothing like this book; no over-arcing plot line was set up either, so I can only guess it came up later in the series.

So…I don’t know how to rate this book. It was like reading someone’s account of a dream. I don’t want to down-rate it due to being so completely lost about the series-long story, but it would have been a lot better if I’d known I was being thrust into this ongoing, apparently supernatural battle between good and evil (for as much as I could tell from those sections).

Thank you to Netgalley and Barbour Publishing, Inc. for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Find out more about Imagine… The Tower Rising
Publication date: November 1, 2020

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