Maye's Request by Clifford Henderson

Maye's Request by Clifford Henderson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I really have no clue what I just read. It wasn't a romance. It wasn't a new adult/young adult. It wasn't a mystery/action/suspense/thriller/etc.etc. A family drama.

Maye, of 'Maye's Request', is the mother of the man character known alternatively as Brianna or Bean. Bean has just graduated college, and headed down to spend some time in Mexico with a friend (just a friend). Right when 'just a friend' became 'fuck buddies', Bean's mother, Maye, ends up in the hospital with a serious condition and the next thing Bean knows, she's on a plane back to the States. And her Aunt Jen will be there (is already there) and her father will also be there. Which is strange since the father and Jen haven't had much in the way of contact, any?, for fifteen years. Oh, and they a) are twins; b) have alternated having a relationship with Bean's mother - Maye.

That request from the title? Offered fairly early on (after a fuck ton of flashbacks) - Maye wants Bean to talk her father (who she, she being Bean, doesn't really know) into telling the father's sister, Aunt Jen, the 'big secret'. And, oh, maybe repair the rift that has developed between them.

And so the book shows this dysfunctional family over about a week or two while one is in the hospital slowly getting worse then better.

Family drama. Slice of life.

Oh, since I mentioned it (and I'd thought of saying it before I even wrote anything) - even thought the main character is smack dab in young adult/new adult zone, I say this book isn't that because new adult implies certain things not applicable here (an adult breaking free, trying to wrestle with the fact that they are, in fact, now an adult and have to act like it, support themselves - granted some people are 'forced' into that position when they still should be children, and others never reach this realization - Bean, in this case, is still in the 'I'm going to go party now, fuck being an adult' zone).

Right. I've mentioned it in passing but - there's a fuck ton of flashbacks here. Flaskbacks on flashbacks. And it isn't always easy to tell when they end, when a new one begins (before the old one ended) and stuff.

I've now read everything by this author, at least in book form released under this name (covering my bases, I am). An odd mix of books, most of which I was vaguely reluctant to try, then loved when I read them. Except for this book here. Oh no - I was super reluctant to read this one, it's the part where I didn't actually love the book once I tried it.

Rating: fuck if I know. um. 3

June 21 2017



View all my reviews

Phantom Pains (The Arcadia Project, #2) by Mishell Baker

Phantom Pains by Mishell Baker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this entire two book series back to back – literally starting the second book seconds after ending the first, so my review might possibly combine the two books by accident. But I’ll try to keep things separate.

This book, the second one in the series, opens four months after the end of the first book. Millie now works as an assistant for a famous actress, though that actress is now retired and runs a brand new movie studio (Valiant Studios, or some name like that). Millie isn’t exactly the best at certain things, but she does have some positive traits that correspond to her job. Though even there she has off and on days based on her ‘issues’ (Borderline Personality Disorder).

Part of her task at the studio involves attempting to do ‘something’ about ‘Studio 13’ (last seen in the prior book). The writer/show runner of the brand-new and currently popular television series really wants that studio because her current one is super small. Problem though – there’s a ‘gate’ sitting in the middle of the studio. Caryl stops by to inspect the studio, but before much inspecting could occur, something that appears to be a ghost pops up.

Naturally this and for other reasons, Millie is pulled back into helping the Arcadia Project deal with ‘stuff’. Like, say, murders, kings, queens, soul mates, and talking cats.

Well written brilliant book. I want more. (there’s a good chance I’d would have written more but it is hard to do when a lot of what I’d have said I already slid into the prior books review)

Rating: 5.5

April 13 2017




View all my reviews

Borderline (The Arcadia Project, #1) by Mishell Baker

Borderline by Mishell Baker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this entire two book series back to back – literally starting the second book seconds after ending the first, so my review might possibly combine the two books by accident. But I’ll try to keep things separate.

The book, the first one, the one this review is attached to, opens with a young woman resting in a wheelchair in a mental institution (there might be a different name for the place, but that’s how I was thinking of it – mental institution, I mean, it is filled with ‘crazy’ people. Another woman has suddenly appeared before the one in the wheelchair (let’s help here by using names; the one in the wheelchair is Millie, the one not in the wheelchair is Caryl).

Caryl and Millie talk in Millie’s room. Apparently Caryl works for an organization, Arcadia Project, which helps people like Millie find creative work in Hollywood. Millie, you see, had been a rapidly rising young director before she found herself in the insane asylum (oops, mental institution), so she does have some connections to Hollywood (more specifically Millie had been attending UCLA and had directed several films, including one that ended up at a film festival (a film that Millie later learns apparently was seen by many many important people, including Caryl). Without elaborating more on the organization or the job, Caryl basically tells Millie to pack up all of her stuff and meet her in a specific park the next day.

I do not wish to recreate the entirety of the book, so let’s move on by saying ‘Millie kept her appointment with Caryl and then probationally joined the Arcadia Project, though was somewhat disappointed to find out that her first ‘job’ would be in a less creative role than she expected (something like first assistant . . . something or other, doesn’t matter, she never actually worked in that role).’ Millie’s first actual assignment, though, immediately lead to Millie learning that the organization is more than just a nice little place that helps mentally and physically challenged individuals find work – it actually acts as, well the book description itself says (see, now if Millie could have read that description . . . ) – the organization ‘oversees relations between Hollywood and Fairyland’ (not that I recall ‘Fairyland’ actually ever called ‘Fairyland’ (it’s the Arcadia of the ‘Arcadia Project’). Millie’s first assignment involves going with a partner to investigate why a specific individual, an actor (slash fae), hadn’t returned to Arcadia when his time was up. There is a lot of investigating going on in this book.

Now let’s cut to the chase, so to speak: basically everyone in the Arcadia Project organization is, in some way, mentally . . . hmms . . challenged? Though one of the rules is not asking questions of others so . . . how exactly everyone fits in is not always known. But still, yes, basically everyone has some mental illness. Millie herself has borderline personality disorder (also she lacks the bottom half of her legs and one knee). What does the organization do? As already noted – oversee relations between Hollywood and Arcadia. Why are there ‘relations’? Because, it appears, some, not all, but some fae have ‘echoes’, soul mates, among humans. And when they match up – they create great things (the human ends up becoming massively creatively productive through the connection while the fae gets things like the ability to think logically, pay attention to time and dates, and stuff like that (in their natural state, Fae kind of float along, less connected to rational thought, more connected to emotional, and with no sense of time)).

So, that’s what the first book is about – a Bilateral Amputee with Borderline Personality Disorder works as a newbie/probational agent of the Arcadia Project investigating strange things – like the missing actor/fae. There is also the bit about how Millie kind of lusts after any and everyone regardless of gender, but let’s leave it at that.

Of note: the book description calls Millie a ‘paraplegic screenwriter’. I really have no idea if someone who is a bilateral amputee is also considered ‘paraplegic’ but I have a suspicion that the word should not be used in this case (but, again, I’ve no idea if I’m wrong with that – ‘Paraplegia can occur after a spinal cord injury. It's caused by damage to the vertebrae, ligaments, or disks of the spinal column. Paraplegia is the loss of muscle function in the lower half of the body, including both legs.’ – well, yes, Millie has lost muscle function in the lower half of her body – specifically the area of her legs which no longer exist because they were amputated). Screenwriter? Well, that’s just wrong. I might not know if paraplegic is wrong or not, but I know screenwriter is wrong. Millie was a director not a screenwriter – there’s even a moment in the book when Millie tells someone that they knew that they couldn’t be a screenwriter and so knew she would need to get friendly with them (or some words that vaguely correspond to that idea).

Right so – I randomly added this book to my maybe pile at some point. Then again randomly glanced at a sample while going down my shelves looking for something to read. And the sample pulled me in, so I bought the book. Then devoured the book like it was a lamb and I was a lion (I assume a lion would eat a lamb). Great, fun, thrilling book.

Rating: 5.5

April 13 2017



View all my reviews

Head Trip by D.L. Line

Head Trip by D.L. Line

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


You know that scene in Total Recall when Arnold goes into a 'memory' place for a nice 'vacation' trip to Mars? And suddenly stuff is going wrong, and technicians are screaming that something's going wrong? Well, this story isn't that - since the woman who went to the memory place didn't have technicians screaming and running around - but otherwise it was damn near similar. Removing Mars and stuff like that. And hidden memories.

Replace Mars with Berlin. In 1985. And Arnold for some random woman who would make the worst spy ever (not because of the way they look and act, or anything like that, but because of their personality - weak-willed, stupidly arrogant (diving into a mission without allowing anyone to tell her what her mission actually is, etc.), quite 'wimpy', and talks to herself (a lot - and this is before, right, adding that part would be spoiler-y).

And so - woman goes to that memory place. For a vacation - she just loves shooting up 'commies' on her Playstation. And so she asks for a vacation like that to be implanted in her brain. But she refuses any information - she's going in by the seat of her pants . . . . quite stupid that. And . . . it was established early on that they have the ability to implant languages and the like into the brain. That's how she got French. Her trip puts in her in Berlin and assigns as her 'enemy' the KGB, but . . . she doesn't get either German or Russian implanted into her brain. Why did they even include that part about her getting French implanted if they weren't going to put languages into her, and other skills?

So, she's on this mission and completely bloody incompetent. Start to finish. Completely . . .. One of my worst experiences in my life was forcing myself to read that 'vacation' trip to 1985 Berlin. That was just incredibly . . . annoying/irritating/etc. And why the fuck (ack, I've been trying to keep from including fucks) did the super spy have a heavy thick Russian accent? Seriously? Yes, she's from Russia but . . . they have fucking heavy fucking accents in the movies, not in the real world scenario - they have fucking training, classes, etc. so they don't have really thick fucking accents ..... Fuck. My head hurts.

Yes, well, naturally the vacation trip goes to hell, she exits a little early, and suffers massive health issues. Then runs into someone who looks like the twin of someone she ‘meet’ on her ‘vacation.’ And so . . . they investigate and shit.

There is an interesting premise here. I hated, scratch that, loathed every character though. Andrew the smarmy technician, Jack the overly solicitous underling (to the lead female character), to Tasha the Russian spy with the thick accent but awesome ass; less so Trisha but I’m sure there’s something to loath about her (Trisha being the Tasha clone/twin/template).

This book makes me wish I could go soak my brain in acid.

Right, finally tracked down ‘head female woman’ name – Shelby Hutchinson. Which is stupid of me, since the bloody obvious Russian spy with the really thick accent kept calling her by her whole fucking name every fucking two fucking seconds. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF…acid bath for brain please.

One last note – it’s some far date in the future, but there were references dropped that didn’t really make a lot of since for it being the far future. Why would someone be described as being a ‘skinny Billy Idol wannabe’ in 2039? Also a) ‘skinny Billy Idol’ as opposed to what? Billy Idol is a super skinny dude; b) he was born in 1955 – he would be 84 in 2039, if still alive people born and living as adults in 2039 probably think of him the same way people born in my generation think of . . . oh, Betty White – old (though I’ve seen some early pictures of her – she was quite nice looking back in the day (good grief, I accidentally just saw a nude picture of her, Betty White had posed nude at some point? Huh; ironically I just saw a Snopes page for her saying that the hot young woman that gets returned as a 20 year old White isn’t her; but I had not been looking at those pictures when I mentioned she was quite nice looking back in the day – but actual pictures of her when she was 35; you can tell how bored I am of this book and review in that I first examined what people would think of Billy Idol in 2039, then started looking at pictures of Betty White)).

November 25 2016




View all my reviews

In Medias Res by Yolanda Wallace

In Medias Res
by Yolanda Wallace
Pages: 208
Date: March 1 2010
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Series: None

Review
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0
Read: March 9 to 10 2016
My third book that I’ve read by this author.

And I wish to immediately lead off with noting that I might, possibly, have ended up giving this book a higher rating if I had read this first instead of third. This is vaguely unfair to the author, since this book is the first one that got published. Still, after two books I gave 5 stars to, one of which I seriously considered making a six star shelf for, I kind of set myself up for failure. Sure, a counter to that might go, most of these books by this author appear to have relatively low ratings by other readers, – but that includes the two I gave 5 stars to.

Right, so. This is a book that stars Sydney Paulsen Stanton. And by star, I mean that everything and everyone is experienced by the reader through Sydney. Even the person who is . . . um, I guess I’ll go with ‘her other half’ gets short changed. It’s all about Sydney.

The book opens with Sydney running through an airport in Chicago. While running she realizes that she doesn’t know where she is, nor, for that matter, who she might be. Yes, I knew that she would end up having amnesia, I just expected something more than ‘poof – you have amnesia now; bump on the head? Why, no. Illness/disease? *shrugs* doesn’t appear to be the case. Just . . . ‘here, have some amnesia with your tea’.’

She does have, though, a ticket to Key West in her hand. And . . . . she boards the plane. Here’s a woman with the inability to figure out who she might possibly be, and she . . . leaves the city? Maybe everyone on earth who knows who she might be is located in Chicago. Maybe, I don’t know, try to get help in Chicago? Or, you know, ever try to get help? Oops, jumped ahead there. But then, so does the book.

See, we are in ‘present time’ while Sydney’s stumbling around with amnesia. But she does get some flashes of her past while she’s on the plane digging through her own stuff. That’s also how she learns that she happens to have a house in Key West and that happened to be where she had been rushing off to. Course she learned this on the plane. For all she knew she might have found the ticket on the ground and had been rushing after someone to give it to them. Wouldn’t she have been surprised if she found that out once she dug through her bags on the plane – or maybe once she arrived in Key West. She might have ended up in Key West without money, identification, and without that actually being her destination. Lucky then, eh? That she actually was the one that belonged to that ticket.

Even so, this part isn’t the part that felt like a let down from the prior books I’ve read. I actually found the mystery created by the lack of memories to be intriguing. And I liked where the story was going with that woman she bumped into in Key West. Seemed quite interesting. Then, of course, she started to get more memories, her husband turned up and . . . well; I didn’t particularly like how everything turned at that point. My biggest issue, though, was when there’s this massive chunk/scene/section wherein Sydney relives what had caused her to get the amnesia. I just . . . maybe it was the placement in the book? At that exact moment I didn’t want that, I wanted [insert what I can’t say without using spoiler tags]. Instead I got [again with the spoiler tags].

Bah. I’ve used spoiler tags before. At the moment the massively long, and I mean really really long, flashback occurred, Syd was rushing off to find the love of her life. We were at something like the 70% mark. At this point the romance in the book involved . . . .flirting with a random stranger (Marcy, who I actually liked more than anyone else in the book), and fucking between a man and a woman (I just recalled that aspect, no I didn’t forget the MF sex, I just recalled that I don’t remember FF sex. Was there FF sex? Crap, I can’t remember. I have amnesia! There probably was FF sex and it was either so good or so bad it gave me amnesia. . but only about it. *nods*).

Where was I? Oh, right. So, 70% mark. Syd rushing off to meet the love of her life to try to regain her life. And then . . . a really long flashback. That takes up to something like the 81% mark? Maybe not that long but I’ve a vague recollection that was the case. So, that means they’ll have at least 19% to be together, right? Well . . . not exactly.

Vaguely humorous, on one level, that I read MF paranormal romance book before this book here and got a woman who kept getting aggressively groped/kissed by another woman (and hating it I should add); then read a FF lesbian romance and get . . . MF sex. Well . . . yay?

Ah well. What the book might have been like if Marcy and Syd had been able to spend more time together. ….. (ETA: Marcy's the woman Syd meets in Key West, by the way - I kind of left that hanging there)

I feel like I should say more, write more, but . . . there isn’t really anything else I wish to note

---
crap. the last third of my review disappeared. No idea where it went. I just went on to note that the book takes place in Chicago, Key West, and Honduras. And . . . there were a few other things but can't recall what they are now. mmphs.

March 10 2016

Touch of Trouble AND Time for Trouble by Susan Sey

Touch of Trouble
by Susan Sey
Pages: 75
Date: April 13 2014
Publisher: Third Girl Publishing
Series: Blake Brothers Trilogy #2.5

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: December 22 2015

A quick short story by an author I've read two previous books in this series.

Book doesn't actually start immediately after the previous book, it actually starts in a police station with Drew and Meg sitting there. Telling a cop why they are there. Then book flashes back to near the end of the last book. With Hildy racing in her car to an unknown, to Drew, location, and Drew in his car chasing Hildy. Meg's sitting next to him dodging his questions, and flirtations.

As I believe I read in a review, this is less a romance and more a look at Meg's family. Sure Drew flirts with Meg and makes her feel things she didn't expect to feel from such a young guy, one who seems unable to be serious, but she 'friend-zone''s him hard.

Heh. I was just thinking to myself, while staring at the cover, about what to write next (I knew, but my mind wandered), and the thought crossed my mind about how the covers, all of them in this series, show legs. A series about brothers. Cover's show women's legs. Started to think why that might be when it hit me that I already knew why this one had that on the cover. Drew is very fascinated by Meg's legs. Her long long legs. So . . ..

Before I distracted myself - so, yeah, this is a book about family. Specifically Meg's family. And less about Drew and Meg. Interesting story. Hildy being the mother. And 'special' - as in she works as something of a . . . hmm, not sure correct word, I'll call her a ghost buster for the heck of it. Joe, Hildy's ex, is described as an alpha male. Hates the very idea that his wife, ex-wife, is a con artist (in his view). Meg - the 'sane' twin. Quite good with electronics. Doesn't believe anyone when they say she's 'pretty'. Believes anyone interested in her would instantly turn their affections towards her sister, Clara. Clara's the 'insane' twin. I'd say something like - at least when she doesn't take her medication, but no, she's 'insane' even on her meds. So, that's the Wise family.

It's a short story - it's a short review. Heck, I didn't even mean to read this here story, but I'd started on the third book in the series (this story being considered 2.5), and realized that the book was opening too far forward in Meg and Drew's 'relationship', so I needed to go back and read the short story. So I did. The short story was entertaining. Had a bit of humor. And stuff. Off to the third book I go.

Time for Trouble
by Susan Sey
Pages: 309
Date: April 13 2015
Publisher: Third Girl Publishing
Series: Blake Brothers Trilogy #3

Review
Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0
Read: December 22 to 23 2015

My third book by this author, fourth work when including the short story. Everything read falling within the Blake Brothers series.

This is a vaguely strange series in that it kept bouncing around genres/themes/etc. First one involved celebrities, athletes and sports agents. Well, more the reality tv angle I’m going for here. Second introduced ghosts, the paranormal and ghost busters. Third introduced spy or crime caper or thriller.

This story barely made it to 3 stars. I was quite certain it’d end up getting only 2. This is strange as there were some good interesting parts. And it began strong. I stopped shortly after beginning to go back and read the ‘prequel’ short story, since I felt like I was ‘missing’ stuff. And I liked the short story. And the characters in it. Despite involving the same characters, Meg and Drew, I didn’t really like the characters in this one. Oh, and yes, I do think reading the short story first greatly enhances this here book.

I mean, that whole ‘Meggy – don’t call me Meggy! – you know she doesn’t like to be called that right? – that’s why I do it! I know she hates it! *giggles insanely*’ thing was super annoying. It wasn’t cute it wasn’t fun(ny). It was just downright creepy. Personally, I preferred when Drew kept calling her Pretty Meg. Instead of, you know, Meggy.

It’s strange looking back on the series, but the brother I like best of all, at least by the end of it, was Will. I never really got a good handle on James – that or by the end, I’d forgotten what exactly made him tick. I assume I had a better handle on him earlier, and that it was more than ‘smart-alacky, smarmy, lazy, super-star’. Will was, and still is to a certain extent, mostly a mean bastard. But he’s up front about it. He kind of has a rage-y shell over a raging asshole. While Drew, well, I’ll be wordier as he’s the star of this here book.

Drew is a man-child. He lost his parents at really young age, ten, and was warped by it. Not desiring to ‘lose’ anyone ever again, he developed a shell. People in this situation tend to go in two directions. The one I normally see in popular entertainment is the other path/direction. The direction/path in which the person ‘hurt’ at a young age puts on an angry grimace and glares at the world around them. That’s their mask, their shell over whatever is beneath. Drew went the other direction. He put a happy go lucky smile on his face. Bounced around all cheery like. This is a mask/shell over a mixture of numbness and rage. The outside shell mostly included crap that is quite off-putting to me personally. Including the outward appearance of never being able to take anything seriously. His need to say ‘I love you’ to everyone around him at every opportunity. And not really meaning it. Mostly.

Will and Drew sure can’t read women. Will’s a strong dominant type who is kind of rough. And knows it. So he was freaked when he ‘let himself out’ and ‘hurt’ Audrey when they had their sex scenes in the second book. And completely misread Audrey’s reactions to it. For example, she was moaning in pleasure, and he thought she was crying in despair. Will kept trying to stop himself. The woman in his life kept having to, basically, beg him to continue. And Drew? The opposite, to a certain extent.

During a sex scene with Meg, he got really creepy. Verging on rape-y creepy. It’s a good thing Meg actually wanted him, eh? Because . . . otherwise his actions could have landed him in the hospital and possibly jail (what, Meg’s strong, able to knock someone out with one punch . . . or something like that). Why do I say all of this? Because of how everything broke down. Gah, every fucking time. More or less.

Meg’s freaking out about a situation; he can barely hear her for his need to pounce on her. So he does. Forcing himself onto her with a kiss. To which she replies in kind. So he continues. When she tries to push him away, when she indicates she wants him to stop, what does he do? He thrusts his hands into her, now open, shirt to grope her. To fondle her breasts. Why? What were the thoughts going on in his head? That he might never have another opportunity, and fuck the consequences, he just needs to touch her, fondle and grope her. That’s . . . you know, super creepy.

Luckily for him, she was trying to get him to stop not for the sake of stopping their amorous activity, but to rearrange them into a more fuckable position. So, yeah, Will couldn’t read that Audrey loved what was going on and was horrified by it, and Drew couldn’t read that Meg also loved what was going on, and was, basically, turned on by it. So you might see why Will ended up being my favorite brother. James was so memorable that I can’t remember what he was like. Drew was a perv-y creep, and Will was a strong dominant type who cared what others felt.

The other star of this show, Meg, is also something like ‘damaged goods’ because of her family background. She’s a twin. In that when her mother gave birth, two daughters came out. Not in that she has someone who looks like her like a clone. Meg got the legs. Clara got the looks. Meg thought she got the brains, but Clara, once she applied herself, proved that she was quite intelligent as well. So, Meg got the legs. And that kind of warped her. Because when the two were standing next to each other, men drooled over Clara and didn’t give Meg a second look. And her parents kind of thrust their attention towards Clara. Making Meg something of an outsider in her own family. Though more because Clara had a mental illness issue and would go on psychotic episodes. So, Meg was damaged by that. Shown in this book by her constant mentioning to herself how unattractive she is to others. (That whole no underwear thing was kind of weird, but I do not wish to express any additional thoughts on the matter).

So, the book itself. Or, less on the characters now. The book opens with Drew and Meg in a bar. About 8 years after the second book. Drew spots Meg talking to a ‘very handsome man’ and becomes enraged. Charges across the room, grabs the man and thrusts him into a table. For it is Ian, the guy who Drew had watched die 12 or so years ago. They then proceed to drink a lot then go on a crime caper. That whole crime caper thing was just plain stupid. Mostly in how easily Drew and Meg were talked into it. Into doing it right then and there. Granted that Meg didn’t really want to do it, but she did. For such a smart guy, Drew sure did a lot of dumb shit. And based on various comments/thoughts here and there, he knew it too.

It’s unfortunate, but this is how the series ends. With a book I’d probably rate 2.8 stars.

December 24 2015