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#BookReview: Solar Island by Rick Chesler

In this one, Shores – scarred for life from an unfortunate trauma involving water in her childhood – yet again finds herself at sea investigating a possible crime. Once again, the mystery builds nicely and the action is well paced, but once again – as was the case in KiDNApped – the tale ends abruptly following the final battle sequence. But partial stars aren’t allowed in most rating systems, and this and the book’s one other flaw were not enough to ding it the .56 of a star that would round to a 4 star review. Maybe take a tenth of a point off for each, but that still leaves at a 4.8 which obviously rounds to 5.

The other flaw? The mocking of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and the seasteading initiatives being worked by at least a few people. It was unnecessary in showing how unhinged the primary antagonist had become.

This review of Solar Island by Rick Chesler was originally published on February 4, 2018.

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#BookReview: Fatal Pursuit by Elisabeth Naugton

In this one, the mortal peril isn’t anywhere near as major as it was in the first two books, though there is certainly at least some of that. But with this book, Naughton makes the emotional peril so much stronger than in the other two books, in part because the two leads are even more stubborn than any of the four preceding leads.

This review of Fatal Pursuit by Elisabeth Naughton was originally published on January 29, 2018.

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#BookReview: Thirty-Four Going on Bride by Becky Monson

This was a great conclusion to the Spinster trilogy, as hilarious and neurotic as ever.

But this is the first one I’ve had any reservations at all about, and while they are personal to me, they should be discussed in case they are relevant to others as well.

First, the most independent woman in the series gets baby fever and thinks she HAS to have a baby. I get that this is something many females go through, but it also felt like it would be better coming from the main character, who has always been one to crumble under societal expectations. It would have been nice to have the independent woman strike her own path with her man.

The second issue happens towards the end, and I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll just say that it too was of the type of “why does this feel necessary to have the happy ending”. This particular subplot could have been left out completely, and the story – both of this particular book and the trilogy as a whole – would have felt just as complete.

But again, overall the book was a great read, and I’m glad I finally had the chance to read it. Definitely worth reading, just be prepared for those two particular things if that is something you need to prepare yourself for.

This review of Thirty-Four Going on Bride by Becky Monson was originally published on January 17, 2018.

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#BookReview: Endurance by Scott Kelly

Simply phenomenal. Told in alternating chapters detailing his Year in Space and the rest of his life leading up to that mission, Kelly does an awesome job of telling his story in a way that makes it very nearly impossible to put down the book. I actually listened to the audiobook for most of this read, which was read by Kelly himself. Also fun was knowing I had followed him on social media during that year, so some of the things he talks about in the book, I actually saw when his team put them on his social media accounts as they happened. Overall an excellent book about the current realities of the International Space Station and at least one man’s tale of how he got there.

This review of Endurance by Scott Kelly was originally published on January 15, 2018.