My Book Reviews

The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first book I read from Mitch Albom had been For One More Day, and since then, I have been a fan. The only reason why I took this long to finish it was because as it so happens, I had been a bit occupied. I had also been meaning to get this book when it launched, but unfortunately My purse was tight. So at the given opportunity (a book fair), I jumped in and immediately bought it.

I think that anyone who reads this will no doubt think of a deceased that they'd have liked to receive a call from. It was very interesting, the way he put the two perspectives together (the believers & non-believers) and make them go well with the story without making one sound more 'worthy' than the other. I dunno. There's just a way that Mitch writes to make things work.

I understand Sully's take on the fiasco, yet I sympathized and understood the 'chosen ones' position as well.

As it is with Mitch's books, it either teaches you a lesson or leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy with renewed resolution.
I really liked how this story closed, as it gave room for contemplation. Also, I thought that the last line of the book was a brilliant closure.

Cujo by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The way I'd rate thriller/horror books are on the scale of how much it creeps me out and how easily it makes me jump at the slightest sound (because I'm twisted that way, yet am a complete wimp with horror movies).
This is, ashamedly, my first Stephen King novel, and what better way to start off than to pick a book involving a cute, cuddly Saint Benard that goes on a rabies & gore-filled rampage? Perfect.
It took almost half of the book for the 'action' to start, and when it did, boy could you literally 'see' what was going on in the scenes. Very descriptive.
I felt anxious and a bit impatient, I admit, as the story switched between the different characters' perspective/stories, especially when one of them is currently in deep shit.
The last 20-or-so pages were tough to read, as you can't help but feel for them. It had also been a bit sad to read some situations in Cujo's perspective, especially when he had been bitten and was confused about the changes in him; how he would've died for his family, yet he seemed to be having these horrible thoughts about wanting to hurt the people he loved. My heart cried out to Cujo. =(
All in all, it was quite a good read, and it successfully made me almost jump out of my skin a couple of times; no thanks to how every time I was reading a particular intense scene, sounds would just pop out outta nowhere and added to the intensity of the read, hah.

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sooo I finally finished the book. And ladies and gentlemen, please, PLEASE excuse the next sentence.
Because WHAT IN THE FUCKITY FUCK JUST HAPPENED IN THE ENDING??! Holy shit, this book is full of surprises! I'm not ashamed to say that the scene towards the end had me gasping, complete in dramatic hand-over-mouth fashion. There were just so many surprises all in that last chapter, that upon finishing the book, I immediately pre-ordered the next one. I had originally thought that if this second book ended in some closure like I thought it would, I wouldn't buy the third book and just leave it at that (not because I doubted that it'd be a good read; rather, because my purse had been rather sad lately).
But nooooooo. The book was amazing; way better than the first, although I had liked that one too. Can't wait for the third book to launch and continue to sink my teeth into peculiardom again.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been meaning to read this book for the longest time. -Okay, maybe not exactly as long as you'd think, but I'd wanted to read it since I first found out about it. Then, maybe after a while of not picking it up to read after having it, the excitement died down. I began to doubt if I was even interested in it anymore.
So when I picked it up to read last week, I had 2 expectations: either be sorely disappointed, or completely engrossed.
And I can happily say it was the latter. ;) Even I was shocked at the rate in which I was reading, hah. And for those who hadn't read it yet, let me just say that page 296 brought such an unexpected revelation to me that I actually gasped out loud as I read it.
I can't wait to read the next book, and I have high expectations for it too. I just hope it won't be focused majorly on the history of the peculiars or the loops, because I have a feeling then that it would be quite boring.
Anyhow.. I can't wait to see what happens next, so I think I'll probably start on the next book tonight itself. ;)

The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some time ago, I came across this post in the Elephant Journal. Judging from what Tammy Stone wrote, the book was apparently very good and 'woke her up'. I had been meaning to read Paulo Coelho's works for the longest time as well, but I didn't know which book to start on. And since I had been going through some stuff when I came across that article, I decided that that was the first Paulo Coelho book that I was going to read.
Ater asking opinions from friends about the book, they were a bit apprehensive. One of my friends suggested that it may not be everyone's cup of tea, and that I should consider buying a pre-loved version. I did, and then I came on Goodreads to read other people's review and found that the majority hadn't liked it. Good thing I bought a pre-loved one instead then.
I thought it was okay though. It's not exactly the most interesting of books I've read, but it did come with a few good lessons. It was quite an easy read; and I don't mean that as in it was interesting, rather, I couldn't seem to put it down when I read it. I was glad to finish it though.
The ending, I felt, was not too well closed. Also, it could probably be due to personal beliefs and experiences, but I really didn't like the idea that both the writer and Esther were married, but were okay with sleeping around with other people. But I guess, to each their own eh?
There were, I think, also some situations left unanswered. Or maybe Paulo intended it to be open-ended. But I can say this though: I don't think I'd pick up another book of Paulo's. I don't mean that in a bad way or an offense; just that perhaps his books aren't really my cup of tea after all.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book, in my entire reading experience, that I went so far into the chapters in one sitting. Yes, even more so than I did for the Harry Potter series. (Then again, HP had waaay more pages than this, so...)
Anyways, I can always tell the quality of a thriller/horror story by how easily other (regular) sounds in my room are able to make me jump while reading. In this case, my text message tone made me very literally jump out of my skin at one point of reading. At the back of the book, Hugh Howey says that the book 'demands to be read in a single sitting', and I couldn't agree more. Had I more hours when I first started the book, I'd have probably finished it in one sitting.
The only thing that I was a bit disappointed with about this book was that it was not revealed what the 'creature' was, or why people went mad and killed themselves when they saw it. I had been dying to know what it was, and why it had the reaction it had to people, and even animals. Other than that, this book has brilliant creep and suspense factor.
Now allow me to excuse myself as I search to find out if there were any Easter Eggs that I had failed to notice in the book, or if I had been that dumb to not catch on about what kind of 'creatures' these things are.

Emma by Jane Austen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can say that I'm very glad to have finished this book. Before reading it, I've heard praises of it being 'Jane's best work' and so I guess I should be forgiven if I began reading it with extremely high hopes, being a fan of Jane's work.
However, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. Sure, I sort of had a liking to Mr Knightley, (as probably was to be expected), but I felt that the storyline dragged on a bit. Though I must say I prefer Emma to Wuthering Heights due to the surprises towards the end.
On a more personal note, (*RANT ALERT*) I think I've finally found why I like classics so much. Other than the obvious of the men being gentlemen, I think it's the fact that courtship was so simple back then. When you fall in love with someone, you pursued them. If affections were returned, the next step would be to plan marriage; and cheating was an abomination. In a world and time where cheating (not just physically, but mentally and emotionally) is so common that it's considered 'normal' today, I find solace in classics. Or maybe I'm just a bitter bitch because I get cheated on so often for being too nice and too understanding. Ah well.

Quarantine by James Phelan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ok, so that's TWO zombie books I've read in between one, and I think it's taking a toll on my head now, haha. Quarantine is not what I would call a heavy read, but I think I was in too much of a hurry to get it finished so I could move on to another book, that I crammed in many chapters at a go.

There were no graphic descriptions of the attack; just of the wounds, and that wasn't too bad as it is. All in all, it was an okay read. Would I have read the other 2 books prior to this one to find out the back story? No. I think this book did a pretty good job with filling in whatever plotholes there were left from the previous books.

Me And Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first book by Potter that I read was 'Who's That Girl', and I liked her witty style of writing. When I came across this book, I was intrigued as was about a topic of my interest; Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice, and Mr Darcy. And who doesn't love Mr Darcy?
This book was interesting, with the little visitations by 'Mr Darcy' himself. However, what I wasn't too happy about was the ending. I had hoped for more 'closure' about the Mr Darcy visits, as well as the whole Mrs Steane thing.
And I dunno if Potter had intentionally done it so, but the eventual plot line for Spike, Ernie, and Emily had been a tad bit too obvious.
I really wish I could've given this book more stars, as it would have been a double whammy had the ending be a bit better.

Zom-B by Darren Shan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I admit I've never heard of Darren Shan before. And on the front cover, they did not forget to put 'The Master of Horror' to remind readers who he is. I'll also admit that the descriptions are graphic, but not too much so. Maybe because it was not really a book for adults; rather, I'm guessing, maybe teens.

However, it touches on the subject of racism and domestic abuse, which I think deserves applause. It would have been a great story and probably deserves another star had it not ended in a cliffhanger. I like books to properly end, regardless if they've got a continuition or not. Otherwise, it just doesn't feel complete to me because there was no close.

Other than that though, I thought this was a good book. Darren described the hoards of zombies well, and their creepy characteristics. I really wish he'd have 'closed' the story of B, though.

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is common for me to feel attached to a book after I've finished it. It is also rather common for a book to make me cry. It is a bit common for a book to make me rethink my choices and path of life, but it is very rare for a book to affect me so much that I change my thought process completely.

I relate to Sarah Lemon. I think quite a few of us would be able to. Perhaps some would relate to VIctor instead. I'm not sure if Victor's story affected you as much as Sarah's story did to me, but either way, it is a lesson to learn.

As is common with Mitch Albom's books, I was left in tears towards the end. I won't go so much into detail here, but I will explain in my blog later.

The bottom line is, if you're not already a fan of Mitch Albom, I suggest you pick up one of his books. Now. Mitch is a brilliant storyteller and his books always has some brilliant lesson layered in it. His books also have the ability to touch your heart in a special way.

So 5 stars for this. Definitely a brilliant read!