Tag: review

Categories
Books

#Review : Chinese Take-out #spy #book

Goodreads

Title:  Chinese Take-out

Series: NA

Author: Ian Mathie

Genre: Historical fiction, Spy Thriller

Pages: 287

Reading Level: Adult

Content: PG-13 (war and mature themes, some sexual content/references)

I’m kicking myself for taking so long to read this book. I mean I have it in both ebook and paperback form, but hey, sometimes life gets in the way. The first thing that drew me to this book was the fact that it’s a work of fiction from an author who’s known for writing memoirs. The second thing that caught my eye was the amazing cover.

Chinese Take-out starts out seeming to be two stories running in parallel until it’s revealed later that there is more than one thing linking these two “cases” together. Yes, cases is important. Green, aka the Nose, is a “company man” who has been pulled away from his preferred assignment in China to deal with a domestic matter involving arms dealing. This is essentially an espionage thriller and if you still don’t know what “The Company” is, this may not be the book for you.

I could go into more detail about the plot to give you a big build up and still leave out the details, but I don’t want to. I want anyone who decides to pick this up to be just as surprised as I was. I will throw you a few bones just so you can see if you are truly interested. The story has: a cover-up, a rebel, a huge misunderstanding, a mentor/buddy theme, and of course spying. Also, the story takes place during the formation of The Peoples Republic of China, so seeing the characters use and try to understand technology that we’d find archaic was actually, kind of, amusing.

I loved the characters in this book. The story itself was told in such a matter-of-fact way, that the characters were the one thing you could form an emotional bond with. When these guys bounced from one mini-mission to the other, you were with them and rooting for them, not wanting to leave anyone behind. I won’t pretend this was an action packed story, but the weaving of clues and messages and secrets was riveting.

I’d say this book was written for an adult audience, but a teen with a thirst for espionage could totally get into this. This is probably a read mainly for the fellas, but hey- I loved it.

I give this book a 5.

LoveIt

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like a Kindle copy of this book, try this link: Amazon.

Get a print copy with free international shipping at this link: Book Depository.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Books FlashbackFriday

#FlashbackFriday: #Fantasy #Book Review: Night Circus


Brought to you by, Michael G D’Agostino at A Life Examined, this is a time of the month (the last Friday) where you can republish an old post of yours that maybe didn’t get enough attention, you’re really proud of, or you think is still relevant, etc. I’ve chosen to share old book and movie reviews because those are always relevant.

Originally posted Friday, October 12, 2012.

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I give this story a solid 5.

LoveIt

This is the story of an unconventional game played to the death, only the participants don’t really understand that they are just pawns in a rivalry that has gone on far too long. It is the Night Circus that is their playing field and the weapon of choice is magic, though there won’t be any waving of wands or chanting of spells here. In many ways, that aren’t so oblivious, mystery and intrigue are the catalysts to changes in the player’s favor whether they are actively playing or not.

When posting my typical To the Point review of the audio book I said, “Think Cirque du Soleil meets Harry Potter with youthful imagination and mature sophistication. Listening to this story is like hearing a secret that no one else can handle, except you.”

Maybe I was being a bit deep, but that’s how the story made me feel. This is not a story for children, but only because I don’t think they’d get most of it. Teens with a fever for magic would probably eat this up, but still, the story is mature. I like that the story is for and about adults, but it’s clear the that Erin was definitely in touch with her inner child when she imagined this quirky Circus and all the people in it.

The story is filled with youthful imagination and has a mature appeal, but most of all, it has that ‘love conquers all’ or that ‘good triumphs over evil’ feel to it. The best thing about the story to me is the fact that the reader never really gets to pick sides in the game. Every time you think you’re going to pick one player over the other, something happens and the story takes you in a whole new direction. Like every story that inspired and shaped my imagination as a child, Night Circus left me wanting to leave the world of reality and take a trip through the lines of the story. I can just see myself now staring into the white flames of the bonfire just as the festivities are about to begin. I wish there was more of it to read.

Get a copy of this Kindle book here.

Get a print copy with free international shipping here.

Please visit the other participants in this hop and even join in if you’d like.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Books

#Review : Code Name Verity #YA #spy #book

Goodreads

Title:  Code Name Verity

Series: Code Name Verity #1

Author: Elizabeth Wein

Genre: Historical Fiction (WWII)

Pages: 441

Reading Level: YA

Content: PG-13 (war action and violence, intense emotion, mature themes)

This book was part of a new audio promotion, so I received it free from the distributor. I had no idea what it was about and was thoroughly pleased with what I discovered.

The story is about two female friends trying to make a place for themselves in a world dominated by men during WWII. Maddie is a pilot and the other girl has too many names for me to stick with just one, so we’ll call her Verity. Most of the story is told from Verity’s perspective as she writes to save, or at least prolong, her life once captured by the enemy. I want to say more, but I don’t want to give too much away. I’ve read a lot of books, and watched even more movies; this book, with all its twists and turns, caught me off guard and totally surprised me.

Not to give the wrong impression about this book, but it almost made me cry and not because the two main characters are female. This story feels so real that the sense of loss, which multiple characters experience throughout the story, feels all too real. To be a prisoner of war and have the choice of standing strong and die or give in and live one more day isn’t as easy as you might hope, but Verity is tougher than you ever imagine she’ll be at the beginning. In the end, though, it’s Maddie you’ll feel for the most.

Anyone, even men, who appreciate gritty stories of WWII will appreciate this book, but I think it’ll also be a crowd pleaser with women’s groups and historical clubs. I don’t know if it was written for adults, but I don’t think it really matters. These characters are so young, as are many who go off to fight wars. I would totally recommend this to my teenage nieces and nephews. After all the flying, fighting, lying, and surviving there is a strong gut-wrenching message about true friendship which should appeal to anyone.

I give this book a 5.

LoveIt

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link: Amazon

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords