Tag: reviews

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Books

Review: Embrace

Embrace (The Gryphon Series, book 2) by Stacey Rourke

I give this book a 5.

LoveIt

This second installment of the Gryphon Series was so good; I’m still kicking myself for taking so long to finish it and even longer to review it. I had to go back and refresh myself on the story because so much time had passed, but life happens and things don’t always work out the way you want, something the heroine of this story knows all too well.

Celeste is busy going to school, working a job, training and fighting demons, and being a loving family member. So why would romance even be on her mind? Maybe because she purred at a guy, yea. The underworld has a new leader and a new battle is starting. In the midst of this, apparently, romance is in the air and not just with her…Oh and she has a whole new set of powers that are driving her crazy as well as new “friends” to help or hurt her cause.

I like that this book started right where the other ended and didn’t waste a lot of time trying to catch the reader up on what happened in the first book. I get the feeling, however, that even if I hadn’t read the first book, I would still have been entertained by this one.  I like the Garret family more and more. Even with all their powers, they are still just an average family doing the best they can, but the battle with evil is beginning to take its toll in this tight-knit group. The punches, the laughs, and the tears keep on rolling in this series. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

See my review of book 1 in this series: The Conduit.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

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
EC: Giovanni's Angel

ECS Blog Update Week: 8/24/13

ecsupdate
In case you’re interested, here are some highlights from my other blog, the Eternal Curse Series. This is where I talk about that book series, all my inspirations for it, and my geekness ;).
 
 
samplesunday2 Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, chapter 3
 
Blogdom August 2013
 
listography 02: Friends
 

This lovely little blog will be going through a bit of a transition over the next few months, but there shouldn’t be any interruptions in my posts. If anything, there will be more content added. I will be merging this blog with my Eternal Curse Series blog by moving everything over here in one nice manageable location. I understand that with the addition of the content from my other blog that the dynamic of this blog will shift a bit, but I hope those who have been following me will not be turned off by these changes. Thank you to all those who have consistently supported me and I hope you will like the changes that develop. 

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
Guest Posts

Book Review Etiquette by Paula Hrbacek

Authors can’t sell books without reviews.  Especially now that a lot of authors are going the self-published route, book reviews are crucial elements that authors seek and crave.  Well, good reviews are craved.

Recently, there has been a trend for readers to post reviews before they have even read the book.

“A fellow author recently received the following ONE star review: I did not read it I just downloaded it,” says Raebeth Buda, author of ‘Silenced’ and host of the Writing World web site.  “Last year I also got a ONE star review that said, “I haven’t read it yet, I will leave a review when I do” They have yet to review it. That star has been sitting there hurting my rating ever since. And with only 10 ratings on that particular site, it hurts LOT.”

It hurts the author because most book review sites give an average star rating, figuring all the reviews into one score.  It’s like getting straight A’s all semester, and then getting one F that pulls your grade average down to a C.

“It seems like common sense, but I think more people need to be aware of how much needless one star reviews can hurt. It’s great you bought the book, it’s great you intend to review it. But leaving a one star “placeholder” hurts the author much more than leaving no review at all.” Buda says.

Stars on a book review are pretty much equal to the five point grading system used in schools.  A five star rating is the same as an A on an essay.  It means you thoroughly enjoyed the book.  Four stars means the book was enjoyable, but had a few faults.  A three star rating means the book barely passed.  Anything below three stars warns other readers to pass the book by and buy something else.  A one star rating means the author should not have published the book in the first place.

When writing a review for a book, the reader should give a summary of the story to let the next reader know what the subject of the book is about.  It also lets the reader know that the reviewer did in fact read the book.  It should then point out the book’s virtues and weaknesses.  Is it well paced?  Does the plot make sense?  Are the clues foreshadowed, or does the answer appear out of nowhere?  Are the characters believable and likeable?  Is it well researched?

The conclusion of the review then gives an overall reaction to the book: it was a pleasant read, it was a page turner, I couldn’t put it down, I highly recommend the book, I can’t wait for the next one.  The conclusion of the review should not be what is called a “spoiler”: the butler did it.  It’s acceptable to say that the ending was surprising, but not to say what the surprise actually was.

So, please, write your reviews, but follow the rules and format of a good review.  Even if your opinion is bad, every review posted should be good in quality, helpful to other readers, and a true reflection of the reader’s opinions.

****

Paula Hrbacek is the author of five books including: Stars Shine After Dark, a sweet Christian romance, available in paperback, Kindle and Nook, and Day Camp in Hawaii, a complete program guide for summer camp or summer school, available in paperback, Nook and Kindle.  For more information see http://paulahrbacek.weebly.com or her author page at https://www.amazon.com/author/paulahrbacek. She also writes two columns for The Examiner, a free online newspaper; Children’s Arts and Crafts, and Book Reviews.

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