Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Debra F. (DebraSFleming) - , - Reviews

1 to 14 of 14
Bad Blood (Latter-Day Olympians)
Bad Blood (Latter-Day Olympians)
Author: Lucienne Diver
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 4/14/2019


Percy Jackson meets Veronica Mars. If you are a fan of the Percy Jackson novels or Veronica Mars, you will love Tori Karacis and her misadventures investigating the murder of the gods ie:murder and mayhem. I especially recommend this on Audible where it lends itself well to the format. I really enjoyed this engaging and fun plot. It was witty and snarky and fast paced. Completely engaging. You will love it.


Breaking Dawn (Twilight, Bk 4)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight, Bk 4)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 3539
Review Date: 5/9/2009


Enrapturing us with her world of moral vampires, Meyer takes us to a place of moral ambiguity and you can't help but go with her and wonder what you would do in this situation. With the character development for the main characters sound and the plot hopping towards an inevitable altercation with doom, she introduces a multitude of new characters which is confusing and very hard to develop in the short time she has to get there.....( the book is 755 pages). Although she does give you a list on page 756 of the covens and their names. I suggest consulting that list frequently as you read so that you can follow the new characters and can understand their relationships with each other and the Cullens. I also thought the end a bit anticlimactic. But that should not stop you from reading what is truly a pretty good novel!


City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan
City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan
Author: Beverly Swerling
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 57
Review Date: 9/2/2009
Helpful Score: 3


This has got to be one of my favorite books ever. Incredible writing, plot development, research, can't say enough about this book! I have not enjoyed a book this much since Slammerkin!

The story is about a brother and sister who arrive in New Amsterdam (later called New York) in the 1600's. The story is about how they made a life for themselves with her as an herbalist and he as a surgeon. Something happens between the two of them that is unable to be resolved and ends up affecting generations of their children. The book contains several books within a book and each one is a different generation's story. It is fascinating! For any family tree enthusiast or lover of historical fiction. This is a must read.


Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9)
Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 959
Review Date: 5/11/2009
Helpful Score: 1


In this the 9th book of the Southern Vampire Series, Charlaine Harris crafts a marvelous story of Sookie's experience with a fairy war. Her association with her great grandfather the fairy prince has put her in danger again. This novel is darker than the others in the series but it was very well written. One complaint is that she no longer refers to Trey Dawson, the Were, as Dawson, but starts referring to him as Trey in the beginning of this novel and I found that confusing and not consistent with her previous mentions of him as a character. Bill takes a stronger role in this novel than in the previous few novels and we see the level of his attachment to Sookie and Sookie's relationship with Eric becomes more complicated than ever. I loved this book and grieve that we have to wait a whole year for the next installment of this guilty pleasure!


Dying Bites (Bloodhound Files, Bk 1)
Dying Bites (Bloodhound Files, Bk 1)
Author: D. D. Barant
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 112
Review Date: 12/21/2011


I thought this book was really well written. In a world where vampire and werewolf books are a dime a dozen, this author did something really different with a tired genre. I thought it was witty and well done. Looking forward to reading the next several in line.


Eclipse (Twilight, Bk 3)
Eclipse (Twilight, Bk 3)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 2893
Review Date: 5/9/2009


Eclipse was not my favorite book of the Twilight series but it does some essential stage setting for Breaking Dawn. I do recommend the book. I find the moral teachings in the book front and center when it comes to sex and who doesn't want their teen reading that in hopes that it will influence them in some way?


Evermore (Immortals, Bk 1)
Evermore (Immortals, Bk 1)
Author: Alyson Noel
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 494
Review Date: 8/6/2009


I thought this book got off to a good start with a lot of build up and foreshadowing. However, close to the end, it went from showing and describing to using dialog to tell the reader what was really going on. I found myself irritated, being told how things ended up where they were in the book. It was almost like the author was in a rush to wrap things up and forgot the writers first rule of SHOW do not TELL.

I am not sure I would recommend this book.


Honor Among Thieves (Honors, Bk 1)
Honor Among Thieves (Honors, Bk 1)
Author: Rachel Caine, Ann Aguirre
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 12
Review Date: 2/6/2018


When I started this boob zI wasn't sure I was going to like it, but it quickly became something I could not put down. Zara grew up disappointed by everyone around her and one day finds herself selected for the prestigious HONORS program. The HONORS are humans selected to tour with a living alien ship for a year or for a lifetime. Zara quickly sees that she has a unique connection with her ship. Through their bond, she also learns that things are not what they seem in the Universe.

An unexpected journey. Loved this book. Hope there are more to come.


Insurgent (Divergent, Bk 2)
Insurgent (Divergent, Bk 2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 37
Review Date: 6/5/2012


This was without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read. I was unable to put it down. Bravo Veronica Roth!


The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 6)
The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 6)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 71
Review Date: 1/7/2009


I started reading the Anita Blake novels because two of my girlfriends said they were wonderful. One said to read the first three and stop there....the other said to read up to Narcissus in Chains. I read the first three and wondered what they saw in these books. The descriptions and plot are good but the character development was weak. I didn't know a thing about Anita's family until book 4. The Killing Dance is the first time I laughed and felt compelled to keep reading even though I had other things to do. Hamilton gets her groove on in this book in a major way. The relationship with the vampire is compelling. The character development in this book is very good. The plot is incredible. If you can get through the gore to get to this 6th novel, it is worth it. Keep reading.


New Moon (Twilight, Bk 2)
New Moon (Twilight, Bk 2)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 4087
Review Date: 5/9/2009
Helpful Score: 2


I am not one of the Twilight junkies you see everywhere these days so that is my disclaimer for this review. I read the first Twilight book after I saw the movie in the theater so as not to ruin the movie. I found the character development a bit weak in the book and in the film but the plot was pretty good. But true to life, Meyer's second book gets her groove. This novel finds Bella at her lowest point in the series and you learn more about her character which makes the events in the two following novels much more plausible. I loved this book and if you are having a hard time with the first novel. Hang in there. A new moon is coming.


The Paris Apartment
The Paris Apartment
Author: Lucy Foley
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 42
Review Date: 8/8/2022


This was so much better than the Guest List. This was a complicated story line and interesting set of characters and how they were interwoven together was very well done. I would recommend this book over the Guest List, which was easy to figure out and I despised most of the characters in that book.


Vamped
Vamped
Author: Lucienne Diver
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.1/5 Stars.
 14
Review Date: 8/8/2009
Helpful Score: 1


In this Young Adult novel, Literary Agent, Lucianne Diver makes her debut as a YA author. Her character Gina, is a seventeen year old high school diva made vampire who laments about her lack of reflection and finds herself caught up in a Vampire Coup gone bad. Her maker and would be boyfriend, Bobby, former chess club geek gone sheik just happens to be some super vamp and the "powers that be" want to use him for all kinds of evil. Finding herself, in the midst of this chaos, the vapid Gina finds her soul, so to speak. A series in the making, I look forward to getting to know the main characters more as the second book has been approved by the Publisher.

As this book was written for teens, and I am not one...I found it hard to identify or even care about the main character. However, I feel that was the author's plan all along and I am looking forward to the growth of Gina as she morphs from your stereotypical self obsessed teen to someone who cares and in turn makes me care about what happens to her.

This series has definite promise and I recommend this book to all vamp enthusiasts of all ages.


Wildwood Whispers
Wildwood Whispers
Author: Willa Reece
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 11/7/2021


This book wrote all over my heart. It made me want to move to the mountains, plant bee balm and make apple butter. It made me appreciate and savor my female friendships and connections. In other words, it demonstrates that small actions can bring big results. This is the story of Mel and her experience after losing her best friend when she takes Sara's ashes to her home of Morgan's gap to lay her to rest. She encounters Granny and the other women of Morgan's gap and their magical connection to the land around them. Through small steps, Mel moves through her grief in losing Sara while discovering just who she is and what she is capable of. I loved it and recommend it to any woman.


1 to 14 of 14