Reviews and Comments

The year is 1932, and Georgie lives in a drafty Scottish castle with her brother's family. As soon as she turns twenty-one, she is cut off from her allowance and forced to marry a ghastly prince that she does not like. To support herself and living a freedom-filled life, she flees her ancestral home to London and takes up nontraditional jobs. The queen hampers her fresh start, asking Georgie to spy on Prince William and Wallis Simpson. To make matters worse, a dead body appears in Georgie's bathtub. Not just any dead body, but the body of someone who wanted to take her family's estate. Georgie must investigate and find the killer to clear her family's name.

I had a hard time getting through this book. Despite the author's intention to create some background for Georgie, it took over 100 pages to begin the mystery. My perception of Georgie is that she's a Mary Sue. In order not to be recognized by others, Georgie delegated too many investigative tasks to friends and relatives. It is not interesting to hear her friends and family update her on their findings. It was more important to me that Georgie was out there investigating than she was! Currently, she is not an active amateur detective. Despite its mystery, I found it too predictable. The clues felt glaringly obvious, and I guessed the killer right away.

I would recommend skipping this book if you're looking for a mystery.

Meredith Fenner, a third victim, doesn't fit that profile and has also escaped from her captors. Investigators discovered that Alex Mason, a prominent defense attorney, owned the cabin where she was held captive. Even though Alex hopes Regina will save him, his wife unveils vivid details of their sex life that match Meredith's description of her captor.

The investigation is not limited to Alex. There is also a rogue cop on the list, but Regina is adamant that they avoid exploring that avenue too closely. Aside from that, Robin notices her boss is struggling with glaring gaps in her memory, which could affect their case.

Despite its average plot, The Third Victim is a good thriller. This book presents an interesting storyline with an intriguing premise regarding a subject that many of us deal with in our elderly lives. I was a little disappointed with the storyline, but there was enough keeping me from reading. Though the pace was consistent, it could improve the writing in some places. I think he could have improved his introduction, perhaps by using more descriptive language, or by using less abrupt language.

An unlikely group of teenagers is invited to a secluded ski lodge for a weekend. During a Truth or Dare game, April reveals how much she knows about Ken's summer affair. The game becomes too hostile when other strange fellows act up during the game. Next morning, they found Dara dead in the snow with an axe in her back. About 50 pages follow, with the teens accusing each other of murder, but no other attempts to kill anyone and no suspense.
My opinion of the book is mixed. I did not absolutely love it, but I did not hate it either.

Compared to Stine's other works, it wasn't as interesting. The dialogue was tacky and fake; the whole situation was completely unrealistic, leaving for an awful read. My favorite part of it was the ending. There was not much interaction between the characters, but it could have been improved.
If you are looking for something light and slightly creepy, this book is for you. You should skip it if you want absolute horror.


You can also find this review on my blog

True rating: 1.5 stars.

As the Doctor travels through Galaxy Seven, he finds himself on a distant planet. He arrives at the abandoned city of Acropolis. Approximately fifteen years ago, a mysterious fortress wiped out the entire population. As a result, only ghosts remain.

The plot starts with intriguing settings, great world building, interesting characters, a mystery, a problem, and a mission. As a result, the author has to cut out the exploration, so the Doctor can attack the bad guys... before bringing it to a close with the big finale.

‘The Eyeless’ occurs in a destroyed world, where the few survivors are trying to re-establish a society far from the once-high-tech cities. As they are constantly having babies, the older kids left on their own, and sometimes they get killed by ghosts in the ruins of their old city.

I find it weird that the Doctor is okay with women being forced into procreation. Honestly, I could have done without them in this one.

Then there’s character motivation. Teenagers are unstable maniacs, which is already a boring (and insulting) trope. What kind of plot device is that, with no explanation? I found that to be lazy storytelling.

This is not a novel I would recommend to anyone.

You can also find this review on my blog

A young reporter escapes being mauled by a man wolf and changes into a man wolf by the moon. His own actions soon result in a horde of police and scientists seeking him out, along with others like him...

I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't. My first problem was that I didn’t care about the main character at all. Reuben is 23 years old and works as a reporter. He talks like a 45-year-old philosophy major and having sex with women who aren’t his girlfriend; he is a bland character with no real traits. The rest of the characters are thin. That Reuben’s girlfriend is a lawyer or his mother is a doctor may seem interesting, but their careers define them a lot. All the rest are pretty interchangeable.

As for the writing, it is not stellar either. Besides being clunky, it’s replete with info dumps.

One positive is the mythology she has created for her werewolves, the Chrism, and so on. That Reuben accepted the change and became the werewolf version of Batman also impressed me. My interest in the rest of the book did piqued, but it did not captivate me. The Wolf Gift intended the first in a series to be the climax of the story.

It just wasn't my kind of book.

You can also find this review on my blog: Click here

From a universe where necromancy abounds, comes Gideon the Ninth.Her home planet, the Ninth Planet, holds trials to determine who will inherit unimaginable power.

As the heir of the Ninth and the strongest necromancer on the planet, Harrow needs... a sword. Luckily, Gideon knows the sword.

Since they can remember, Gideon and Harrow have hated each other.

The moment Harrow dangles freedom in front of Gideon, Gideon knows she will have to follow through with the plan... even to the very end.

There’s just something about this book that doesn’t work for me. The first time I tried it, I wasn’t able to get into it. My second attempt was more challenging, but I got through it.

It is because of Gideon herself and the style of the book that I did not enjoy it. She sounded like she was trying way too complicated to be edgy and cool. I found the other characters to be one-dimensional - even Harrow doesn’t get much development until the end of the book. Oh, and if you are seeking a good lesbian romance, you will be disappointed. There’s nothing romantic about it.

The second problem was that it felt aimless. The start of the series seemed promising, and for a while it did. However, once it became apparent, it was going to be a pointless tournament arc with murder; I lost interest. There are no rules, only vague objectives, and it is impossible to follow the person solving the puzzle, so things just sort of... happen. The characters and style didn’t appeal to me, which would have been fine if I enjoyed it.

The third problem, I also found the world building to be vague. There was a lot of aesthetic detail on, with skeletons and bones and locked doors everywhere. Beyond that, it was hollow. Despite the brief spaceship journey at the beginning, it is not science fiction, rather fantasy.

What is the purpose of the Emperor? Are there any reasons becoming his servant is so desirable? Where do the other planets stand? What is the purpose of necromancy?

I’m not sure whether I’m going to continue.

You can also find this review on my blog: Click here

Reading this brought back so many memories.

As a kid, watching Sailor Moon on TV, I was obsessed with Serena’s (Usagi) and Darien’s (Mamoru) relationship.

Unfortunately, the manga is a mess. There is poor character development, cluttered panels, and a lack of focus on the overall story.

In terms of pace, it is incredibly fast. The story took days, not weeks. Although it may seem unfair to compare the manga with the anime, this read disappointed me, since I am a huge Sailor Moon fan. The filler episodes improved the plot greatly. The villains got a chance of being evil and to discover who they are.

The anime was full of suspense and drama. In fact, there were a few battle scenes where I wasn’t sure about the Sailor Warriors’ victory, and they even lost some battles, like normal heroines do sometimes. The manga rushed through all of that quickly. Soon after, they were going to fight a new foe.

Based on the writer’s confirmation, the author ran out of ideas and threw random things into the story.

As I mentioned, Sailor Moon’s character development is lacking. Having hardly any character characteristics or emotions beyond the surface level prevented me from becoming invested in the characters. As for the romance, it was chaotic as well. The two love interests start out hating and despising each other. Their hatred for each other suddenly disappears when they kiss. In a previous life, they were lovers.

The blandness and flatness of every character annoys me? All the girls discuss friendship and love, but I’ve never seen them casually hang out and discuss feelings like normal people. Every time a character died, it did not bother me at all. My goal was to write this review and move on to my life as quickly as possible. There is one prop I give Sailor Moon, which is that it has so much open lesbian representation for a story written at the time it was written.

You can also find this review on my blog: Click Here

There is a slight improvement in the storyline from the previous volume, so this volume gets a star more than the previous volume. Sailor Moon: Pretty Guardian, Volume 2. The story becomes a little more detailed, and we get a sense of the plot as well. It’s much more enjoyable now!

Although I love the art style, something still bothers me. There is literally a ZERO development for the side characters outside of Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask, Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon, and a glimpse of Queen Beryl’s past.

Usagi is the focus of this book, and the world obsesses so much about her it’s impossible to ignore her. If you are not an Usagi fan, you are most likely to be VERY disappointed. Is there any point to including them at all? I don’t get it.

There was Sailor Venus pretending to be a princess when she was not one. In the pre-canon Silver Millennium, Princess Serenity/Usagi killed herself after Prince Endymion is murdered. Usagi is sad and has no idea what to do. A cliffhanger ends this volume.

My memory recalls that Naoko Takeuchi wanted to kill the Sailor permanently, but her editors talked her out of it. Therefore, her motivations are much more tragic than her publishers’.

Nevertheless, I had a great time with this one, and I can’t wait to read the next volume.

You can also find this review on my blog: Click Here

I love Sailor Moon.


I watched all the anime (the original one, that is).

Anyhow. There was nothing worthwhile about this third volume. I found it to be very confusing and messy. I can't even begin to describe how the translation has been done - it's like it's been done by a child.

The anime handled the plot better as well. In my opinion, the original manga is too self-destructive. So far, Usagi has killed herself twice because she didn't want Mamoru to live without her. I'm not interested in that kind of life.

I think the anime's creators realized that romanticizing suicide for loved ones was unwise, so they changed it. Likewise, I love it this way.


That's just my opinion. Perhaps that's why I've never really liked Romeo and Juliet. The final battle was messy, with lots of drama, twists, and tears. There was nothing there. I find it too gimmicky.

The epic, world-shattering battle full of dramatic self-sacrifice, and then reincarnation, that ends the first story arc concludes, and then we immediately move on to the beginning of this new story.

Chibi-Usa's introduction is odd and half-stupid, and her setting herself up as a cuckoo in Usagi's home by hypnotizing Usagi's parents doesn't sit well with me. It's obvious to me who Chibi-Usa is, and there are plenty of clues that make it clear why she's drawn to Usagi and Mamoru, but still. Both as a character and as a plot device, she does not appeal to me. So it's just as well that the story quickly shifts the emphasis to the new enemy, the Black Moon Kingdom, which is kidnapping one by one the guardians.

Takeuchi's art improved in this volume, but I cannot say exactly how.

As for this series, I don't see myself continuing it.

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This is a review of a rework.

As far as fan fiction is concerned, 50 Shades of Grey and Master of the Universe (based on the Twilight Saga) are essentially the same. A major difference is that Edward and Bella’s names have been changed to Christian and Anastasia, respectively. My knowledge of this comes from the fact that I have both and that I switch between them occasionally while reading with no difficulty.

To me, it seems obvious. There is no difference in the mannerisms of the characters. There are even similarities between the things they say and what the original characters said. Especially Edward’s “dazzle” line and asking Bella to trust him. Besides being incompetent in the romantic dependency, her mother remarried. Edward’s troubled past still motivates Bella to save him from himself. The only difference now is that Edward can hit Bella when she strays too far.

Christian Grey is condescending, controlling, possessive, and cruel. It is impossible for Ana to behave as she normally would. Therefore, she puts up with it. She believes that by giving him what he wants, when he wants, and as often as he wants, she will eventually be able to win him over. What are the chances of it working? Most likely in the books. How does it work in reality? In most cases, no. How various women will waste their lives on some jerk because they have read shit like this and think it will come true for them? I have known women like this. There’s a sad, lonely side to him, and if I could only understand what’s wrong, I could change him!

There seems to be a theme of rape. Christian tells Ana he enjoys having complete and total control over another person. Not just in the bedroom, but in Ana’s entire life. He cannot yield when Ana rejects, plunging on regardless, confident she will enjoy whatever he does, so why bother ceasing?

There are women out there who think this is romantic.

As the book finishes, Ana flees in emotional turmoil because Christian cannot provide what she needs.

Now I’m wondering why this book is so popular. What is it about this book that appeals to so sufficient women?