Showing posts with label Janelle. Show all posts

Title: The Shadow Zone: Winning Madeleine

Author: Isabella Jordan

Publisher: Changeling Press

Buy Link: Buy The Shadow Zone: Winning Madeleine Here! Rating: You Want to Read

Reviewed By: Janelle

Blurb:

While tailing a Lycan soldier through the Shadow Zone, the dying world of the humans, the vampire Maddox finds himself falling for the frail, beautiful prostitute his subject visits. When Madeline is caught in the crossfire, Maddox takes her under his protection, and offers her a life with him as her exclusive client.

The Lycan, his plans foiled, wants revenge, putting everyone Maddox knows in danger. Maddox has only one recourse -- hunt the hunter, before he becomes the prey.

Maddox can deal with cold-blooded killers and the deep and seedy underworld of the Shadow Zone. But he has no clue how to win Madeline's heart. What will happen to him if she can't see past the monster to the man who wants her, body and soul?

Review:

This story is good, but nothing exceptional. The plot is well tread and the pace is smooth, but it takes no chances and nothing is a real surprise.

The characters are pretty stereotypical, but are used to their fullest extent so don't come off as stiff. The hero is sweet and the heroine is innocent and the bad guy is slightly off. The supporting cast is fairly bland, but they don't interfere.

The sexy is good and has plenty of spice. It also becomes an interesting point of interaction between the characters.

Overall, nothing special, but a good bedtime story.

Title: The Parent's Guide to Facebook

Author: Kathryn Rose

Publisher: CreateSpace

Buy Link: Buy The Parent's Guide to Facebook Here!

Rating: You Want to Read

Reviewed By: Janelle

Blurb:

The Parent's Guide to Facebook is a step-by-step guide focusing on using Facebook as another window into your children's life, friends, attitudes and online actions. Facebook is the world's largest social network. To make sure people enjoy connecting with their friends and loved ones while protecting their privacy online, just follow this simple guide. Let the author walk you through the steps from the start of the sign up process all the way through setting up a group, uploading pictures, writing status updates, and do's and don'ts of privacy on Facebook.

Review:

I'll start with a confession: I'm not a parent. I was a Sophomore in college when Facebook first started to get big, and I've had a page since then. So I can see this issue from both sides.

I have to give this book credit for not giving into the fear mongering that inevitably surrounds sites like Facebook. It is easy to blame these site for all the ills of the world, while forgetting that those ills have been around long before even computers were invented. This book instead focuses on using Facebook as safely as possible, while acknowledging that nothing is perfect.

On the down side, there are a lot of places that boarder on paranoid; saying that such things as relationship status should be hidden to prevent bullying by other children. There are also places where the books seems to suggest a parent should change their child's page. This is a major violation of privacy, and is not going to make your child open up to you.

Title: Road Mage

Author: Robert Roman

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Buy Link: Buy Road Mage Here!

Rating: You Could Read

Reviewed By: Janelle

Blurb:

Jason Rodriguez is a CSI with a checkered past, struggling to live an honest life on the side of the angels. Literally. Jason is more than just a CSI, he's also a Mage. His magical powers are put to the test when he discovers that Paul Dunn, the city's most decorated officer, is actually a psychopathic Death Mage, 'solving' crimes by framing others for the murders he commits. Jason can't let Paul keep getting away with it. Paul can't let Jason keep breathing knowing what he knows.

Review:

This doesn't feel like a story. It feels like an excerpt from something larger. There are a lot of words used as if the reader should know what they mean, even though they are never explained. Magic of some kind is used, but how it works and why some have it and some do not is wholly unclear.

The characters are rather bland, and without understanding of the magical forces at work, the action is rather confusing. While the blurb above does make the plot a bit more clear, it shouldn't. The blurb is not for explaining or a replacement for characterization, it is there to entice prospective readers. These things should be explained in the story itself.

Overall, this story could use some refinement.

Title: The Parent's Guide to Facebook

Author: Kathryn Rose

Publisher: CreateSpace

Buy Link: Buy The Parent's Guide to Facebook Here!

Rating: You Want to Read

Reviewed By: Janelle

Blurb:

The Parent's Guide to Facebook is a step-by-step guide focusing on using Facebook as another window into your children's life, friends, attitudes and online actions. Facebook is the world's largest social network. To make sure people enjoy connecting with their friends and loved ones while protecting their privacy online, just follow this simple guide. Let the author walk you through the steps from the start of the sign up process all the way through setting up a group, uploading pictures, writing status updates, and do's and don'ts of privacy on Facebook.

Review:

I'll start with a confession: I'm not a parent. I was a Sophomore in college when Facebook first started to get big, and I've had a page since then. So I can see this issue from both sides.

I have to give this book credit for not giving into the fear mongering that inevitably surrounds sites like Facebook. It is easy to blame these site for all the ills of the world, while forgetting that those ills have been around long before even computers were invented. This book instead focuses on using Facebook as safely as possible, while acknowledging that nothing is perfect.

On the down side, there are a lot of places that boarder on paranoid; saying that such things as relationship status should be hidden to prevent bullying by other children. There are also places where the books seems to suggest a parent should change their child's page. This is a major violation of privacy, and is not going to make your child open up to you.

Technically, this book is dry. It is an instruction manual, after all, and unless you are interested in what it has to say, it will probably put you to sleep. Also, there are some rather obvious grammatical and syntax errors. There aren't many, but in a book like this they are quite jarring.

Overall, I have my doubts about the long term viability of this book. Technology changes at incredible speed, and in a year or two, this book will be obsolete.