Author Archives: sadie

Aliens, Smith and Jones

Book Review of Aliens, Smith and Jones (The Primrose Files #1), by Blaine D. Arden

Leave a reply

I received a copy of Blaine D. Arden‘s Aliens, Smith and Jones through Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Working for a secret organisation specialising in alien cover-ups, Connor Smith is no stranger to the abnormal or dangerous. His love life on the other hand… not so exciting. Until he reluctantly agrees to a blind date and meets the perfect bloke, Jason.

Things are finally falling into place for Connor, so of course that’s when he attracts an alien stalker.

Noah Jones, ex-alien, has been stranded on Earth and forced to live as a human since 1648. Alone and detached from the world around him, Noah has spent centuries observing and recording humankind. In all that time, he’s only experienced a connection with a human once… until he finds Connor.

Even knowing Connor is in a relationship, Noah can’t ignore their potential bond, or stay away.

While dealing with missing alien artefacts, a dangerous and shadowy group of collectors, and the ever-present Noah, Connor finds his orderly life crumbling around him. At least he still has the perfect boyfriend…

When Noah goes missing, Connor is forced to face the feelings growing between them and the mounting evidence that Jason isn’t who he says he is…

Review:
I suppose this was ok. It was just painfully predictable, with basic, unexciting writing. The characters were cute, but one of the main characters spent half the book in a relationship with someone else and I barely felt any spark between him and the second main character. Further, there was just too much assuming and non-communicating going on. In fact, a lot of the book is predicated on it and it didn’t make any sense to me. All in all, I found the whole thing uninspiring, even if not quite bad.

Rogue Protocol

Book Book Review of Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3), by Martha Wells

Leave a reply

I borrowed a copy of Martha Wells’ Rogue Protocol from the library. I previously reviewed the previous books, All Systems Red and Artificial Condition.

Description:
SciFi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is again on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah’s SecUnit is.

And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.

Review:
I’m still loving Murderbot, the sarcasm and social anxiety works so very well. My complaint here is that the series is starting to feel like a serial, instead of stand-alone novellas. This book references past events and people a lot more than previous ones. Other reviewers complained about this series being broken up from the beginning. But, knowing Tor specializes in novella length works, I understood it and still considered each book a separate entity. This seems to be fading as the series goes on and that makes me sad because I really HATE serializations. That said, I want more and more of Murderbot please.

The Hazel Wood

Book Review of The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert

Leave a reply

I borrowed an audio copy of Melissa Albert‘s The Hazel Wood through Overdrive.

Description from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

Review:
I actually checked this out from the library thinking it was something else. Once I realized my mistake I was wary to start it; I’ve just been so jaded with YA books lately. But I’m happy to report this isn’t an angst-ridden, soppy mess. There’s no real romance and Alice moves through the story of her own volition. I did think it lagged a bit at times and she conveniently hooked up with the one person who knew everything she needed to learn and could/would fund her. But all in all I enjoyed it. There’s some appreciable diversity in the cast a happily ever after grounded in realistic struggles. I don’t regret listening to the story and I thought Rebecca Soler did a fine job with the narration.