I have been reading but not reviewing, and realize it is high time I wrote something.
Recently I have been browsing free eBooks, finding the titles via Amazon and a source I came across on Facebook.
Many of the descriptions haven't been alluring, but a few have tempted me. Unfortunately the majority have been pretty dismal.
Titles I am not recommending include:
Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink. The main character makes random choices in life that make utterly no sense. She gives up a law practice to run a winery left to her by someone she met once. She has no interest in wine, and she leaves her clients and employees in a lurch, essentially telling one employee, "oh, yeah I am not coming back..sorry you no longer have a job..good luck feeding your kids" There is a secret she has been suppressing but anyone with half a brain knows what the secret is early on (and figuring out the perp is pretty easy as well). Even if this title is still free, avoid it.
The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont...potentially good, but I gave up since it won't be appropriate for my students, and it truly didn't interest me as an adult. If you went to a prep school in the 80's and are very, very wealthy you might relate to this book...this is a title from the group I write reviews for, and this is the first I am not terribly impressed with. I might give it a try later on, recognizing it could just be my mood. The writing quality is certainly decent.
A Tale of Two Proms by Cara Lockwood. Another title from the publishing group. This is the 4th in the excellent Wuthering High series. I read the first three in 2008, and anxiously awaited the 4th concluding novel. 3 years is a long time to wait, and it shows in the writing. Perhaps Ms. Lockwood had a baby, or was dealing with other family matters that took away from her focus, but this book is a lackluster ending to a truly delightful series. Read Wuthering High, The Scarlett Letterman, and Moby Clique; they are excellent. A Tale of Two Proms does a decent job of ending the series, but the first half irritated me, primarily because it seemed to be a first effort in writing, versus Ms. Lockwood's genuine ability to produce entertaining, well-written novels.
One free novel that I will recommend, despite a few quibbles with plausibility, is Irreparable Harm by Melissa Miller. The main character, Sasha, ends up being someone I cared about, and I am glad this is the beginning of a series. For a debut novel it is decent, and the author certainly has strengths to build upon.
Sasha is skilled in defending herself, to the point of implausibility, though she is trained it still stretched reality.
It is a thriller based on the premise that there is a device that can control planes from a cell phone. Planes crash, bad guys are in abundance, and Sasha finds a romantic ally in her pursuit of the truth.
An Act of Self Defense by Erne Lewis was thought provoking. He is a true libertarian who wrote this book after the Patriot Act was written. It is set slightly in the future, but could easily be present day. A group is formed that wants term limits, and threatens to kill long serving members of congress if they don't resign, or bring about an amendment that creates term limits. Though I am not a libertarian nor would I ever advocate violence, the author's knowledge of the ramifications of the Patriot Act on our civil rights, and his political points regarding lobbyists, corporations, and congressmen being beholden to many corporate benefactors, proved to be very interesting.
Finally, young readers might enjoy, How to Create a Golem by Alette J Willis.
An interesting coming of age story, that details one girls fears and how she overcame them.
