What Makes a Good Book Review?

It's a tricky question, that of reviews. The thoughts swishing around my brain suggest that if you have a books blog, reviews are like the foundation stones. A lot of people may disagree with me. And that's fine. I'm an open-minded kind of gal, and one of these days I may change my mind on a whole host of things.

But what makes a good review?

I actually really like reading reviews which are well-written, sometimes humorous, and/or thought-provoking.

A good review is readable, as far as I'm concerned, for its own sake, whether or not you have any real interest in the book that's being reviewed. That, in itself, means that I might consider a book, after reading a review, that I wouldn't have considered previously. And that's pretty awesome.

I also like reviews to do a little more than just give me a synopsis, a blurb, a plot-line, whatever. I can flip the book over and read the back for that. I can get hold of it on any number of websites - Goodreads, Amazon, whatever - what I want is a review.

If I'm going to read 250+ words about a book, then you need to write well.

You need to mention the good points, the bad points, and the points up for discussion.

In short, I need to feel like I'm getting your honest opinions about what's going on between front and back covers. I don't want you to just repeat what everyone else has said, or provide extracts that take up more than half the post. If you want to provide an extract, that's fine - but one or two paragraphs is plenty.

But, as with everything in this world, this is just one opinion (in this instance, mine.)

Just like there's no one-size-fits-all book, there's no one-size-fits-all book review. I just hope that some of the reviews you enjoy reading are mine ;)

Nerd Church - A Little Bit of Hope

The world can be a dark place. We've been reminded of that over the past few days with world events being what they are.

This post is not about the dark. This post is about the light within it. Remember that where there are demons, there are Shadowhunters. Where there is the Dark Lord, there is Harry Potter. Where there are super-villains, there are superheroes.

That's what we need, more than anything. We need to make sure that the things in the dark aren't in control of the light. The way to keep the light going? Believe in the good. Believe in the heroes. Believe in people who care about others. As any Avengers fangirl will tell you, Steve Rogers didn't need to be Captain America to be a hero, just to be acknowledged as one. Find the light, dear nerds, til the end of the line!

The Writer Diaries (or NaBloPoMo Week 2, Re-Cap)

The second week of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month - hosted by BlogHer,) was, I have to admit, a bit more of a challenge than the first. But I made it goddammit!!! With a good slosh of coffee, a fair pinch of luck, and a f**k load of typing, I made it! :) Yay.

Hopefully (she said, doubting her words before they're even spoken,) I won't have such trouble in the next two weeks - I'm half-way through after all! Posting every day for a month! I can do this! ...Probably. No. I can do this. Wish me luck!

Week 2 Re-Cap:

*A reminder that I write dates in the British/European format of dd/mm/yy*

Sunday 08/11/15

Nerd Church - A Reader Lives a Thousand Lives...

Monday 09/11/15

Books Everyone Else Seems to Have Read (But I Haven't)

Tuesday 10/11/15

Reviewing the Evidence Time - Exposure by Kathy and Brendan Reichs

Wednesday 11/11/15

The Bookish Rebel

Thursday 12/11/15

Comics Wrap Up - A World in Trouble 

Friday 13/11/15

Friday Fics Fix! (In Which There is Nothing but Smut)

Friday Fics Fix! (In Which There is Nothing but Smut)

Warning: Much adult humour and a smutty piece of fanfiction ahead

This week, I haven't been able to find anything that isn't truly filthy to recommend for this Friday's Fics Fix. So I gave up and just picked something that's so smutty my eyeballs might fall out - yet not as smutty or depraved as many of the things I've read online. Obviously, this fic is 18+ only I mean it - save yourselves.

A few things to mention before I give you the link. Firstly, a quick reminder that pretty much everyone in fanfiction has gay sex. Like, a lot of gay sex. Right, now I should explain a facet of the Avengers fandom that is the Thorki ship. As I've told you before, shipping is fantasised romantic relationships, usually between male characters, that is then usually given a shipping name of some sort. Thorki is... well, it's Thor and Loki having sex. I'm going to be honest. Luckily, they aren't biologically related - which dials down the creepy factor considerably; but they were raised as brothers, which is still weird. In no way is this the creepiest relationship in fanfiction (off the top of my head I'd have to say, excluding ships that involve real people, the creepiest is probably twincest. Twincest is from the Harry Potter fandom. And that is the most explaining I'm going to do about that.) Some people however will find Thorki too weird to handle - and that's ok. To those people I say: run, fast, and don't look back.

Thorki In Furs by BlackMorgan is a fairly tender Thorki fic - but not so much so that it pulls them out of character. It's also considerably less dodgy than the title suggests. The furs are blankets. It's nice, straight-forward, plot-lacking, erotic gay fanfiction - and doesn't involve the more extreme stuff that many fanfictions are rife with. It's also quite well written - again, assuming that fanfiction hasn't warped my perceptions to too great a degree.

There's also a fab line in this fic, that made me laugh (although, I'm not entirely sure it was meant to, it probably was though):

'Loki rolled onto his side, long legs tangling in the silver furs, skin aglow as he held out his hand in invitation. "Come Brother, the furs are warm but I am cold. I need to feel the sun." He lowered his gaze towards his brother's groin and smiled. "And I see that it has already risen."'

I'll try to come up with something more respectable next week. I promise.

Comics Wrap Up - A World in Trouble

I haven't really read much comics/graphic novel-wise this week. But then, after the binge I had last week, I'm not surprised.

What I have read this week, in terms of comics, is Avengers World #1; a Marvel title from 2014. This was pretty damned awesome to be honest - and has the best during-earthquake artwork I've ever seen. The world is, essentially, going to hell in a hand-basket, and The Avengers (who, luckily, seem to be working with swelled numbers at this point,) are trying to patch over the cracks. It's pretty cool, and the artwork is swish.

All in all then, this is a great series-starter; and it feels relevant - what with the riots and the climate change issues and the sense of everything spiralling slowly out of control. Not that I'm a cynical millennial or anything, honestly (shifty glances, reassuring smile.) :)

The Bookish Rebel

 

 

Hey, I can be a rebel* too, y'know? Let me show you:

 

*Well... depends on your definition of rebel

 

I am a clutz. As such the likelihood that I'll accidentally bend or tear pages, spill coffee, or otherwise damage books is high. And I don't care. That's right, check me out! Told'ya I was dangerous ;)

 

I lend my books out to others... and I don't  mind if they come back in less than perfect condition. Although, I draw the line at marbles embedded in the pages (actually happened to my copy of HP:OotP,) then I will have to verbally kick your a**. Because c'mon, a freaking marble?

Sometimes I start a book series in the middle or just, y'know, dart around them from like, book 5 to book 7, and then back to book 3. I just roll with it - come on people, live a little! Read dangerously!

I'm a book polygamist; I read like 5 or 6 books at once. Because I clearly have a problem. On the plus side, I'm usually in the middle of reading a book that matches my mood perfectly... if I can remember where the hell I put it down... coffee table? Under my bed? Sofa?

I wanna jailbreak reading. Graphic novels are books. Comics are books. Fan-fiction still counts as reading (and will definitely change your views on a few things... ah, my lost innocence...) Magazines and newspapers count as reading. And reading is awesome. I'm going to get an e-reader! I know! Me! The anti-technology chick! It won't, however, be an Amazon k-device. Because I still can't even bring myself to say/type the word. I just don't like them, so will be going with a different manufacturer - but if you do like them, then good for you; I got nothing against you.

I read random assortments of cr*p. This year, I've read things that are as far apart as Quick Reads and James Joyce. And I'm f**king lovin' it! I will not be a slave to genre! I will not be a slave to length! I will try to cut down on the coffee!

So maybe rebel is stretching it... but I had an excuse to use that song... and I regret nothing!

Reviewing the Evidence Time - Exposure by Kathy and Brendan Reichs

Title: Exposure (US Link)
Author: Kathy and Brendan Reichs
Genre: crime, sci-fi, thriller, YA
Series: Virals (#4)

A few starting notes:

Exposure is the fourth book of the Virals series - as such, my golden rule for reviewing sequels applies. The level of spoilerage will not go beyond what's revealed in the blurb of this book.

I'm a big fan of Kathy Reichs, and I picked this up in the library because I love the Virals series.

Premise:

Tory Brennan and her friends, known collectively (to themselves at least,) as 'the Virals,' are searching for classmates. Peter and Lucy, the twins, have been missing for days - and the police seem at a loss. But, it's not going to be easy to find them, particularly not with their Viral powers becoming increasingly unreliable...

Best bits:

This is kind of like The Famous Five or Mystery Inc meets CSI. Translation: awesome. This is teens solving crime with forensic knowledge and sci-fi hijinks going on. It rocks.

Tory Brennan is a fantastic heroine - smart, with a fabulous sense of humour, and a hell of a lot of determination. She's also likeable - which is refreshing, as often YA heroines are more than slightly irritating.

The plot twists and turns with pin-point precision, with few weak links to go around. The entire thing is handled with control, and the sparse prose is done incredibly well (people who have read this blog before may or may not be aware of my love affair with well-executed, sparse, prose.) The level of detail, as always with Reichs' books, is interesting and accurate - Reichs knows her stuff, to the extent that she can compress that knowledge into relatable facts with seeming ease.

Not so great bits:

Some fans of Reichs' adult books won't approve of the sci-fi elements of the Virals series - but many, (like me,) will be totally happy to just accept it and move on.

It's not so much as a love triangle but a love rectangle here - don't get me wrong, Tory rocks, but why are there so many dudes following her round in a state of puppy love? Argh! At least it largely stays out the way of the plot.

Whitney - Tory's father's girlfriend - is intensely irritating. Granted, she's supposed to be, but unless someone slaps her... and soon... I think I may have to scream. Loudly. :)

While theoretically you could read this as a stand-alone, I do recommend giving the Virals series the full treatment - you'll just understand everything so much better that way.

Verdict:

A fantastic and hugely enjoyable continuation of the series, this has peril, crime, forensics, teen kick-asses, and a whole lot of readable-ness! Enjoy.