Review: Cloud Atlas By: Davis Mitchell

Cloud Atlas (Movie Tie-in Edition): A Novel by David Mitchell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Maybe I was hoping for more, maybe I have been influenced by the trailers for the movie, maybe I was looking for something within these pages.

A comet birthmark throughout time has found the people it marks and brings their stories through time. Could it be symbolic or reincarnation? Could it be that these lives are the same soul brought forth throughout time to interconnect? Whatever it may be, the reader will travel from the Pacific explorations into the future with clones. Stories within stories the interconnection of reading a journal to an intrumental song - these people can find a link throughout centuries bringing them together.

I liked some of these stories and found others quite tedious to get through all the nuances. At one point I questioned the reasoning behind all the tales and the minute details that were constantly thrown about (almost like filling up paper or making a word count).

If the movie is anything like the book, I will be waiting for it to come out on video -- why spend $10.00 to find myself disappointed.

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Review: The Christmas List By: Richard Paul Evans

The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There is nothing quite as uplifting as a book by Richard Paul Evans.
James Kier is a man driven by money, he never cared about who he had to step on to get it, never cared about people, and over the years lost himself int the business world neglecting his own family. What more could this man want when he could buy anything he ever wanted? James has also never had to look at himself and his deeds, never had a moment of self reflection, that is until he reads his own obituary (do to mistaken identity) and finds himself looking hard.
He read the comments people made about him, he read his soon to be ex defending him, he saw the empty man he had become. No time like now to change. He has his secretary make a list of the people that he has wronged. Every person brings to light something inside of him - from a gentle former friend wanting nothing from him to a man he stole an idea from becoming a "predator" in the business world owing his view and wealth to him.
James' growth unfolds with each meeting, and he learns the true meaning of a life lived.
A wonderful told tale with with a great spiritual message that is bound to melt even the hardest of hearts.

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Review: The Snow Angel By: Glenn Beck

The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think that it should be maybe 3 1/2 stars.
I great story about finding yourself in a situation that you don't remember entering. This is told by two main characters - Mitch and Rachael, a father and his daughter. I once was told that regret and loneliness is the cruel life and what better than to see the blossom of love, forgiveness, and compassion to cure it.
Mitch has lived his life, although he can't recall most of it because of Alzheimers, but daily he knows his regret, he knows he is waiting, he just isn't sure of what. He is able to push through moments to bring memories back to the surface, memories of his daughter, of his wife, both good and bad. And so his day that we are introduced to is Christmas Eve.
Rachael has been isolated and abused, first by her mother now by her husband. The excuses are wearing thin "falling" is working with her anymore. You can lie to others but can you really lie to yourself. She starts to reconnect with people that once loved her and through honest talks with her daughter, Lily, she takes a look at her life - how it was, how it is, and even the possibility of the future. Within those talks (her story starts on October 1st) a new perspective takes place, I new self love begins to develop.
This is a story of giving, recieving, grace, and love. I really enjoyed it, although as a former abuse victim I found some things too farfetched. But in the end the result was really good.

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Review: Michief and Mistletoe By: Putney, Beverley, Bourne, Rice, Cornick, Elliot, Gracie, and King

Mischief and Mistletoe by Jo Beverley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Get into the spirit of Christmas, Yule, and Mistletoe - The holiday season is a blink away and what better to get you in the mood than this wonderful anthology.
From Beverly to Putney - a total of eight quick (about 40-50 pages long) romances that truly bring the spirit of love, romance, and Christmas into your heart.
I loved that so many writers gathered to make these stories. It was also very convenient to be able to do a chore, sit to lunch and complete a full story.


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Review: The Night Eternal By: Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Night Eternal by Guillermo del Toro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Two years have passed since that fateful flight, two years since the Master made his way into the United States, two years since the explosions that went across the world - the ones that brought the night sky into the day, two years since Eph saw his son.
With the Ancients out of the way, with people farms created for him and his kind to feed, there is a few that continue to stand in his way, a few that hold the key - which at this moment they don't know how to unlock.
There is only one way to destroy the Master and one book that holds the key, but until it can be translated with all the secrets that lie underneath (watermarks, secret writing within the writing) humanity might not be spared in time before the end of all humans.
Fear gripping and an amazing end to the Strain Trilogy, this was the battle, the revolt, the chance for hope and the release of me holding my breath until the end.

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Review: The Fall By: Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the 2nd part of The Strain Trilogy, the horror continues.
Humanity is changing, the world has not mercifully come to an end. It has taken a week for the disease to hit large populations and many countries.
The sacred book, the Lumen, within it contains the answer for destruction of the Master. The book has also lead to a strange alliance with the Ancients. But there is the Master's plan and he plans to rule the world and it's inhabitants like a man does cattle and to destory anything that might attempt to be a problem or get in his way.
I was sucked in. I couldn't put it down. The story continued and my heart kept pounding away. The writing style pulls you into this horror and locks you in.

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Review: The Strain By: Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Want an intense thriller that you just can't put down? This is it!
Forget about Angel and all the friendly vamps that have entered into movies and books, this one takes you back to the orginal - to the fear, the hunger, the hunting, and the disease that marks them.
An airline goes down at JFK, everything is normal, until it shuts down completely. Blinds are drawn, no power, no air, no 911 calls from inside. Unlikely heroes enter into the book and a strange sense of doom is awaiting. Once the bodies are removed and put into morgues stranger things occur, like them rising.
I could not put this down. I was enthralled, horrified, and devoured the book (and the series) in no time. I am a big fan of del Toro and the deeper meaning within the characters, the images, and the story. With Halloween around the corner, I recommend this series to fill you with the spirit.

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