Chaotic Ninja

The second book in the series usually re-introduces characters only briefly so there’s always a chance of not understanding certain aspects of the character dynamics.  With that said, The Night Stalker by Robert Bryndza brilliantly presented the characters in such a way that I didn’t feel like I’ve missed out on important background details. On to the review… A serial killer is on the loose and it’s up to DCI Erika Foster to find the violent, heartless, totally deranged person who’s killing male victims. The killer operates by stalking the victims first with ninja-like precision then killing them mercilessly. The weapon of choice: Suicide bag . The victims never see the killer coming. I like that the killer is revealed a bit earlier than usual. Some would say it’s easy to guess who the killer is. But one has to realize that it’s the thrill of the chase that makes this book a wicked page-turner. Erika and her team have to outsmart the seemingly untracea...

  Welcome to TWO REVIEWERS, ONE BOOK.  Once in a while, I invite a reviewer, a blogger, an author, or a random character to sit with me in this very comfortable couch and share our views (opposing or otherwise) on a chosen book that caught our fancy. My review partner for today is   Leisl Kaberry .  She’s the author of the Titanian Chronicles Series . The book that intrigued us is   ' The Winged Turban '  by  J oshua Grasso . Synopsis Beatrice is the victim of an arranged match to the Duke of Saffredento, who hastily abandons her to an estate full of forgotten traditions and curses. When the portrait of a strange woman begins turning up in the house, she summons the great sorcerer, Hildigrim Blackbeard, to investigate. The portrait, it seems, has traveled through time to find her—and bring her back by any means necessary. For she can no longer be Beatrice of Saffredento, but a young woman who died two-hundred yea...

So I was in a reading funk. It was so bad that according to Goodreads, I'm 28   books behind schedule  of my 80-book target for 2015.  Amazon is largely to blame. Because when your 60+ reviews are unceremoniously and unfairly pulled, you are gutted and you lose your street cred (if I ever had one, to begin with).  And you lose your review mojo . Then beta reading happened.  A few days ago, a brilliant author asked me "When are you gonna beta read for me?" Just so you know, I'm not a beta reader * . I've been invited by wonderful authors in the past, but I respectfully declined because I feel that I lack the necessary skills to beta read. Besides, w hen you read deliberately to find errors, it just sucks all the fun in reading.  But this author isn't strict. All she wanted was a male perspective.  Easy peasy. The reading part, that is. The critiquing, not so much. I found myself asking these questions before writing...

  I wrote the first part of this 2-part Chick Lit review three months ago for International Women's Day .  I didn't provide an explanation on what brought this on, so, let me just do that now. Chick Lit is a much-derided literary genre and yet it's embraced by millions of readers, largely the female kind. I don't pretend to know how the genre came into existence, but I vaguely remember the genre gaining prominence at the time of the publication of Helen Fielding's "Bridget Jones Diary" . Since then, there were a multitude of writers who went the chick lit route; some were successful, while others disappeared into obscurity. The genre continues to be criticized for the perceived superficiality of the topics and themes.   After reading these books (7 of them), I can safely say that, yes, there are recurring themes and situations that are common in these books. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's what makes chick lit book a chi...

The Girl Who Wouldn't Die by Marnie Riches ★★★ ★ ★ 5/5     The book puts you through a series of events that didn’t make sense at first. They were just pieces of a complex puzzle bolstered by misdirections, red herrings, shifty characters, and a frantic storytelling that will drive you insane. I wanted the story to end fast to make sense of it all. But when it ended, I didn’t know what to do with myself (I call this the Amsterdam Syndrome). It’s a searing slow burn of a book. And it’s brilliant.  There's a heavy Stieg Larsson influence but I still wasn't prepared when the author drops the bomb. And George McKenzie? We didn't hit it off, not immediately. But when she reveals bits and pieces about herself in every chapter, I knew I found a badass character that I want to get to know more. This is a crime book junkie’s fix. It takes a while to kick in, but when it finally does, you’re in for one explosive ride.   ** I'd ...