Coleman Haynes: The Tale of Truckee Episode 1

 

“If you had ever wished Harry Potter had a huge set of balls, shaded his way through Hogwarts and was sent in 1860’s wild wet California, this then is the book for you.”

After reading this first line of the book description I was like, yes this must be the book for me because that sounds awesome…. But please do not be fool this book is nothing like Harry Potter, there is no magic, no wizards nothing truly that ties this book in any way to the Harry Potter series. After saying that was I disappointed with this book? Nope, not at all, well I guess since it didn’t have to do with Harry Potter, but really this is an awesome book. I will say this book is not for the faint at heart since it is a very raw book. The language is abrasive, and there is a lot of death, and I mean A LOT OF DEATH! The deaths and mutilations are very graphic so for those bother by this might want to avoid this book because its everywhere in this book, also women in this book are treated like second class citizens, which is true to this time period, but they are also beaten and raped so if this is a trigger for you too this also avoid. There are also some slivers of homophobia in the book too, but again it is appropriate for the time period the book is set in.

I know this review doesn’t sound like I am giving this book high marks or that it is even that good with all the death, gore, and raping and such, but really I enjoyed the read. It was fast paced, and it kept me on my toes guessing the whole freaking time, literally the whole book! Every time I felt that I had it figured out they would kill another character and bam I’m back wondering. Characters you would feel would never be killed or you felt were vital to the storyline ….. BAM DEAD.

Also have to commend the author, he did an amazing job at the descriptions, I felt like I was in Truckee California with all the characters, the scenery, the actions and even the deaths were all described so fantastically.

So in Conclusion, this book is not for everyone no, some will be bothered by the language, the treatment of women and foreigners, the deaths and/or mutilations, but if you keep an open mind that this is set in the 1860s when these people were actually treated like this and just read the story for the story itself you will find you really love it. So I personally give it 5 out of 5. Also this is book 1 so there will be more, meaning that not all questions are answered in this novel, and you are left with a small cliffhanger.

I Will Find Her by Thomas Apostle

 

 

I can not give this book enough praise, this is an amazing work of literature. This book will take you on an emotional rollercoaster. You will fall in love, you will laugh, you will have your heartbroken, and you will want revenge just like Thomas.

 

This is a story told by an 81 year old man, Thomas Benson, in what is suppose to be his last hours on earth, he is on death row for murder and is scheduled to be executed at 6 am the following morning. Thomas decides in his final hours to tell his story, since he states he is not even sure he committed the murder, but he wanted to and he wants to die in order to be reunited with the love of his life. This story may seem not the unique, but I feel it is, not I guess in the plotline but in how it is presented. Thomas tells his story to a mouse that he names Cecil, and I will tell you that by the end of the novel you will want a Cecil. As well as I feel the author did an amazing job at capturing the characters themselves, one prime example would be the fact that the story is told primarily from the point-of-view of an 81 year old man, people of this age many times when telling stories get sidetracked and this happens which to me gives the story even more realness.

 

Truthfully I have to criticism with this book, I feel it was very well written, organized, characters had dimension, and the author placed plot twists in the perfect places so that it made the book not so predictable, but there is a degree of predictability since it is a character retelling his story. Since I did state I had no real criticisms with the book, if I could change anything would I? Maybe, and that would be the ending when it dealt with Thomas' daughter and grandkids. Otherwise no I think all actions had reasons and were presented perfectly.

 

In conclusion, I give this a 5 out of 5! highly highly recommend! this is a book that will stick with you, it will have thinking about morality, death, and religion. I will make you think about what you would have done in his situation, and make you wonder was God present and talking to him, and will make you also question what lies after death.....

Escape to Death by Stephen Perkins

 

 

I will start off by say this is a very very long book that is not a quick easy read. There is so much that goes on in this story, from political corruption to zombies to witchcraft and voodoo.... pretty much everything is in this book. I will also say that the author is able to weave together multiple storylines with lots of shock and awe that will keep any reader on their toes and guessing how it all will end. this guessing goes all the way up to pretty much the very last page. the book is also written very well, but I will say that some of the storylines it did have me wondering what their point was in the full scheme of the novel, and now that I have finished it I still feel that some of the people and their stories were not needed and just took up space unnecessarily. I also feel like there was too much going on, like stated above you have so many things going on that some things were not explained and given proper spotlighting that it deserved, this felt like this one book should have been broken up into multiple ones, a series. Also, with having things like witches and warlocks and zombies and corrupt business men, corrupt politicians, and so much more as a reader you don't really know who is the bad guys and who are the good ones, and those that you think are good turn out be bad or die. Just so much of so many things.

 

In conclusion, I give this a 3 out of 5. If it had been condensed more, the unnecessary storylines and people removed so that there could be more suspense and more focus on the true storylines and people it would have been a fantastic book. One that would be hard to put down and could have sparked a new series and a new hero.