Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Pabkin’s One Liner: Peculiar is exactly what this is!

peregrine

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.

As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here – one of whom was his own grandfather – were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason.

And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

​​I listened to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children on audio book instead of reading it. The voice acting was really well done. There was only one character voice the narrator did that I wasn’t happy with​, I forget her name at this point – but she was the little girl his grandpa was sweet on.

Am I the only one that finds it’s hard to remember names after listening to an audio book rather than reading it? When I read it – I can see the name swim in front of my eyes when I mentally picture the character – but when all I have is a voice I always lose the name.  Maybe I’m peculiar.

There was quite a bit of mystery and menace in this book.  Though I definitely think I could have used much more menace to match the peculiar. The premise was so interesting and I loved the idea that all of the children used to be in a circus.  Though I can imagine that must have been a difficult life.

It made me wander though – would they still act as children if they were close to a hundred or older? I tried not to let this tickle my mind too much because then I would have gone “ICK” in a few parts.  It was a sweet read and I’m interested to know what happens to all of the children and the villainous “whites” that are after them!

My one regret is that I didn’t get to see the photos that I had heard about from a friend who read the print edition. I think this took away from the overall experience and for that reason I would recommend anyone invested in this title definitely read it in print.

 

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

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• This audio book was borrowed from the Library. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Review: Asunder (Newsoul #2) by Jodi Meadows

Review: Asunder (Newsoul #2) by Jodi Meadows

Pabkin’s One Liner: Filled with love and romance that didn’t make me gag

asunder

DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

In this second book in the Newsoul trilogy, Ana discovers the truth about reincarnation and will have to find a way to embrace love and make her young life meaningful. Once again, Jodi Meadows explores the extraordinary beauty and shadowed depths of the soul in a story equal parts epic romance and captivating fantasy.

In Asunder, Ana’s story continues with life inside the city of Heart, a journey to her father’s research lab, and many revelations.

It was a good follow up to Incarnate but I felt there was something missing. The action was good and there were plenty of events that built tension throughout the book. Still, I was left wanting some indefinable something “more”. And not in the “I can’t wait for the next one” kind of way. But of course I do definitely want to read the next book. Meadows has created a fascinating story and memorable characters. Twisted and cruel but beautiful and full of hope.

The relationship between Ana and Sam is wonderful. Meadows planted these seeds of doubt in me. Making me wonder things about Sam…is he a stereotype? An artist full of passion, with women falling in love with him and him never really falling in love with anyone? Or is his love the real deal? The kind that…check you would do anything for?

I love the twists and turns. There were some completely unexpected things and then some not so unexpected. Some things were obvious but I’m sure they were meant to be but others, zowwy, let’s just say I liked that I couldn’t figure everything or everyone out.

I do have one major bone to pick and that is the title “Asunder.” The word is used so frequently in Ana’s thoughts as a description of herself, usually coming at the end of a thought, as if it were its own sentence. The use of it was overdone and by the third time damn annoying. I don’t know how many times it was used, but enough that I wish I had supreme edit power to take them all out. I didn’t even feel like it fit most of the time. On a much smaller whiney note..I thought this cover completely didn’t hold up next top the first one. On the Incarnate cover the model looked young and beautiful…but the same model on the second cover with slightly different set to her mouth just looked old and ugly.

It makes me super curious to see the next cover. I’m really interested to know what will happen next but not clamoring for it like I was after reading Incarnate.

 

Tabitha the Pabkins

Asunder

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• This book was personally purchased. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Short Story Review: Suspect Zero by Richard Kadrey

Short Story Review: Suspect Zero by Richard Kadrey

Pabkin’s One Liner: A night of dark deeds and murderous work

suspect

In this terrifying tale by New York Times bestselling author Richard Kadrey, a young aspiring serial killer goes in search of a mentor—the supreme, the ultimate killer. What he finds is much greater and much worse than he ever could have imagined.

 

Suspect Zero is a short macabre story of the extremely creepy kind. A young man hitching a ride – On the hunt for a murderous legend. Who he finds isn’t exactly who he expected. From one old murderer to a young one. They feel each other out and we spend a night following them around while they perform their twisted ‘work’.

I didn’t go into this one with any expectations because I didn’t even read the description.  I just saw the name Richard Kadrey and was all ‘Yes, I should so read this!’ I wasn’t let down!  It was a super short enjoyable read and you might have a few moments of “WTF?” but if you enjoy your fiction on the darker side its worth the read.

Tabitha the Pabkins

Suspect Zero

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• This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Review: Renegade (Ripper #2) by Amy Carol Reeves

Review: Renegade (Ripper #2) by Amy Carol Reeves

Pabkin’s One Liner: A sure fire way to get a headache heart ache on.

renegade

Brimming with romance and danger, the suspenseful Ripper series continues

The Conclave—a secret group with twisted ideals and freakish practices—has been wiped out, thanks to Arabella Sharp. Now there’s a new malevolence afoot. Fishermen are getting killed, their partially devoured bodies washing up on the shores of Scotland. Is the Ripper responsible? Or have the Conclave’s sinister experiments left behind something more monstrous? Abbie fears the worst when her beloved Dr. William Siddal vanishes. To save the man she loves, Abbie must comply with the Ripper’s dreadful orders—and put her own life in grave danger.

In Renegade, it’s some months after the events that transpired in Ripper and again we follow Abby in her misadventures.  She is in love with William but she has feelings for Simon. What the heck?! You can’t go double dipping girly!  I’ve never been too keen on love triangles, this one isn’t bad but I admit I really wasn’t expecting it in Renegade because I thought all of that was taken care of in Ripper.  Expect some teeth gnashing in this regards folks.

I was so frustrated with Abbie and her fickle feelings. I won’t go into details with spoilers but suffice to say there are MAJOR tensions in the relationship department.  I think this was the intention though – to make me so frustrated with Abbie that I just wanted to slap some sense into her.  I have serious issue with someone blaming people for things they have done in their past.  However, in my mind the way Abbie reacted was realistic given the time period and quite frankly I think it’s a pretty normal reaction.  I would have been pretty appalled myself learning that (no spoilers hehe you have to read to know) about someone that I loved. In a way I don’t blame her because I would have a hard time between William and Simon also.

My favorite part of Renegade was definitely the new character, Seraphina or “Effie”.  She was a lamia, she had both a human form and her lamia form that she could transform into at will as well as against her will.  Her body being half human and half reptilian and quite venomous she enjoys feeding on the flesh of humans.  I absolutely adored reading from her perspective and couldn’t wait when it would jump back to her.  She is a ruthless killer, but she is also a victim.   My heart ached for her and the rotten position she was in.

I feel like we haven’t seen the end of the romantic uncertainties that Abbie suffers from which depending on how you like your romance could either make you love Renegade or hate it.  Either way if you read Ripper it is worth a read.

Tabitha the Pabkins

COME BACK TOMORROW FOR A GIVEAWAY OF A SIGNED COPY OF RENEGADE with a special guest post from Amy Carol Reeves! 

Renegade

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• This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Review: The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Review: The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Pabkin’s One Liner: A slow but enjoyable simmer of a start.

gathering

Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn’t know much about her background – the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip – but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town – from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend’s hidden talent for “feeling” out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya’s biological parents and it’s easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet.

The Gathering starts this trilogy out rather slow. I think that is just Kelley Armstrong’s style. I have to admit I am a long time fan having read about 14 of her books. Her adult Women of the Otherworld series is one of my favorite urban fantasy series.

So she does take awhile to rev things up. I thought The Gathering was going to be different. It starts with an action packed opening scene where you are holding your breath to see how that turns out. But things promptly settle down with a short jump forward in time. From then on anything dealing with Maya and any special traits she has are mostly hinted at. It remains this way almost completely to the end of the book.

Maya has a snarky, without being mean, personality. Dialogue like below had me chuckling and totally loving her.

“something’s wrong with her.” “Um, yeah. She climbed a tree to escape a cat. She’s suffering from a serious case of stupid.” Page 14

“Have you met the tattoo artist? Is he hot?” “He’s a she,” Mom said. “Is she hot? Cause I’m still young, you know. My sexual identity isn’t fully formed.” Page 37

“Or,” I said, turning to Rafe, “if you want to skip the whole awkward meet-the-family social event, you could just submit your life story, including your views on politics, religion, and every social issue imaginable, along with anything else you think they might need to conduct a thorough background check.” Mom sighed. “I really don’t know why we even bother trying to be subtle around you.” Page 202

What I really enjoyed was the portrayal of the awesome relationship she has with her adoptive parents. The love and interaction there is so endearing. Then you have her best friend Daniel who seems like the perfect dream boat who does so much for Maya, that you can’t help but adore him. I could sense there is tension there and once Rafe comes into the picture I saw the setup for a possible love triangle. I am disappointed if that is indeed the case since there was already a love triangle in her first young adult trilogy Darkest Powers. I guess I will have to wait and see.

My biggest pet peeve is that I am a big believer that even if a book is part of a trilogy or a series that it should still be able to stand on its own two feet. I like there to be a major goal or obstacle that must be overcome and for something considerable to be achieved. With The Gathering it was very much just the setup for the next two books. I’ve already started book two so obviously I still enjoyed The Gathering.

Tabitha the Pabkins

The Gathering

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• This book was personally purchased. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.