Book Review: Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard

I was originally really excited to review Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 by L. Ron Hubbard. However, my excitement began to wane around halfway through the book.

Summary

Battlefield Earth started out strong for me. The year is 3000 and aliens called Psychlos are in control of Earth after they wiped out the vast majority of the population. Terl, one of the Psychlos, believes that there may be a use for the humans: mining Earth's resources.

Jonnie Goodboy Tyler seeks to better the lives of the people in his village. Their population is dwindling, children are born with birth defects, and no one else seems to care. He rides out with the hope of finding a new location for them to settle.

Man has seemingly reverted to a primitive state. There are few left and most cities are merely ruins, even something as common as glass is mysterious to Jonnie. Unfortunately for Jonnie, he is spotted by Terl who uses his species' advanced technology to capture him.

Jonnie begins to learn Psychlo while he is Terl's prisoner, he learns to read and write, fly airships, and gather information on the Psychlos.

There are several events that take during and after Jonnie's struggle to escape, however I do not want to spoil this aspect for future readers.

Review

Battlefield Earth is just over 1000 pages and includes some of L. Ron Hubbard's notes, expanded content, lyrics, an interview with Hubbard, and an introduction. 

L. Ron Hubbard comes across as arrogant in the introduction, especially after I went back to reread it after finishing the book for this review. 

As someone who loves vivid descriptions, I found that this book came across as too wordy. Hubbard repeats himself several times. This became tedious when reading. 

Several characters are introduced but never really developed, different aliens are introduced but their motives are never really clear, and Jonnie never really became a likable hero for me. 

It was frustrating that gender roles and stereotypes are tossed about so frequently in Battlefield Earth where I became bored attempting to read certain sections. I found that you knew nothing exciting was going to happen when female characters were around.

L. Ron Hubbard's interview at the end gave some insight to his writing style; this interview once again painted him as arrogant in my eyes.

Overall, I really liked the first half of the book, but I started to lose interest after the halfway point. Battlefield Earth could have ended several times before it actually ended.

Find it here: Battlefield Earth

I received the book for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: If You Were Me and Lived in... Middle Ages by Carole P. Roman

I have loved reading previous books by Carole P. Roman to Madison, but If You Were Me and Lived in... [the] Middle Ages falls short, in my opinion.

I would like to note that errors in the pronunciation guides, title, and other locations in the book have been fixed according to the author. These will not be taken into consideration in my review as a result.

Summary

The If You Were Me and Lived in... series by Carole P. Roman utilizes facts from the time periods that are entwined with the life a child might have lived as they tell their stories. This book is no exception to this formula.

This book discusses how different people would live based off of their family status, for example peasants versus the daughter or son of a knight. The food, homes, and more are discussed in the book.

Review

I enjoy all of the information that is provided in this book, but the majority of said facts feel as if they are just listed instead of being truly incorporated into the story.

Additionally, while I enjoyed most of the images from illustrator Mateya Arkova, some of them come across as very murky. I wish that I could have clearly seen what was being described by Roman in a few cases. 

I would recommend Carole P. Roman's other books in the series over this one in particular because they were better overall.

Find it here: If You Were Me and Lived in... [the] Middle Ages

I received the book for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Product Review: The Battle for Darracia: Books I - II - III

Michael Phillip Cash has a knack for creating unique stories. This book is actually three books in one: Schism, Collision, and Risen, which make up The Battle for Darracia series.

Summary

Book I opens with Prince V'sair receiving a lesson from his tutor, he is only interested in wielding a Fireblade, which is a rite of passage in a way. 

His mother sends him on a mission with the intention of playing matchmaker for the 19-year-old, this may have saved his life because V'sairs uncle lusts for the throne and is prepared to have everyone in his way killed.

V'sairs only option is to wield the Fireblade and, hopefully, prevent the deaths of those closest to him.

Review

I enjoyed The Battle for Darracia, at first it was a little hard to get into because of the point of view changes, but I eventually grew used to it after learning the names. It has a young adult book feel to it, but it does not seem overly cheesy; nor does the book have too many coincidences that benefit the characters.

My main critique for this novel is that the characters were not developed enough for my tastes, the books were divided up in such a way that they were too short to really allow this. I liked Michael Phillip Cash's descriptions but this book could have benefited from more detail still.

Find it here: The Battle for Darracia

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Rising Tide: Dark Innocence by Claudette Melanson

I am a big fan of horror movies and cannot get enough of a good vampire story.

Summary

Rising Tide: Dark Innocence is centered on Maura "Mink" DeLuca a teenage girl who is admittedly a bit of an outcast. She finds herself the victim of a cruel prank orchestrated by some of her classmates early in the book. Thankfully, her new friend Ron was close by to save her. 

They fall for each other quickly, much to her dismay as her mother is relocating them to Canada. Caelyn gives little explanation for her decision and the deadline for their move is set. 

Maura spends all of her spare time with Ron, going so far as to skip school to spend more time with him. This almost gets her hurt by a man at a party that she goes to with Ron. He encounters Maura drinking the blood of the boy and Caelyn swoops in to clean up the mess. 

Ron and Caelyn discover Maura exhibiting strange behaviors a few times and they just decide not to talk about it. Maura brings up several concerns about her health: her teeth have changed, she is craving blood, and other bizarre symptoms that scream "vampire!" to the reader. Caelyn, however, continues to brush off Maura's concerns.

Eventually, they complete the move and Maura's new Canadian friend helps her decipher her mother's strange behavior leading to a highly predictable ending for this reader.

Review

Over the course of the book I found myself smiling a couple times because certain parts struck me as funny and other times I wanted to scream at Maura for being an idiot. 

She spends what time she is not with Ron trying to go to her doctor trying to figure out what is causing her strange symptoms. She finally gets an explanation and refuses to acknowledge it. 

Over the entire course of the book I found Caelyn to be an inept mother. Instead of ignoring Maura she could have offered several explanations. She only becomes a halfway decent parent after Maura begins noticing a transformation in herself. Her being "heartbroken" by Maura's father does not cut it as an explanation for me.

Additionally, everyone avoiding talking about Maura's quickly developing "condition" just seemed like a cop-out. There were several instances where it just seemed like it was there to make the story longer.

There were a couple parts of the story that did not feel complete, I would be interested in seeing if these were resolved in the next book.

Find it here: Rising Tide: Dark Innocence

I received the book for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own. 

Battlefield Earth Giveaway

Enter to win a free copy of Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard!

"SCIENCE FICTION NYT BEST SELLER: WILL HUMANKIND SURVIVE THIS ALIEN INVASION? 

Battlefield Earth is a science fiction saga of adventure, daring and courage, when man is an endangered species and the future survival of what's left of the human race is at stake.

In the year 3000 AD, man has been savagely ruled for a thousand years by evil aliens:nine-foot high, gas-breathing monters from the planet Psychlo.

One of the Psychlos, the villainous Terl, enslaves a man-creature and forces him to mine Earth gold. Terl’s plan: to teleport the gold to Psychlo, where he can then return wealthy and powerful. 

From this dystopian landscape, a slave emerges —Jonnie Goodboy Tyler. As a member of the dwindling community of only 35,000 human survivors, Jonnie has plans to free mankind from alien tyranny—and cause the ultimate destruction of the Psychlo empire. 

Is Jonnie’s fight to save humanity from these gigantic and technologically superior monsters a losing battle? Or will humans regain the Earth once more?

This 21st Century Edition features: 
• 50 page of the author’s never-before-published handwritten notes. 
• An exclusive author interview, Hubbard's last media interview. 
• Cover art by legendary Frank Frazetta. 

Experience the epic adventure that changed the shape of science fiction forever." *

This book has received 1,894 reviews earning Battlefield Earth a 4.4 star rating. I will be reviewing it within the next couple weeks and a giveaway will be active during this time.

Interact with this post or my future Facebook and Twitter posts to be entered to win and a winner will be chosen at random.

Cannot wait? It is available for Kindle app users for only $0.99 for a short time.

I will update with the winner of the paperback copy here, on Twitter, and on Facebook. It is important to note that my family members are not eligible to win, sorry!

I hope to see many entries.

Jessica

* Battlefield Earth summary courtesy of the Amazon book listing 

Book Review: Pokergeist by Michael Phillip Cash

I have read a handful of Michael Phillip Cash's books and this is my favorite so far.

Summary

Oliver "Clutch" Henderson has a couple relatives who were legendary poker players and is not too bad himself, he managed to make it to the final game in The International Series of Poker. He finds himself facing a rookie, Adam "The Ant" Antonowski. 

The Ant manages to thwart Clutch right before Clutch bites the dust, making this his last chance to prove his grandfather Buster was wrong about him and win the tournament... or is it?

Telly and Gretchen are struggling to make ends meet and she encourages him to follow his dreams with his only real experience being from reading Henderson's books.

Telly's luck keeps getting worse and inadvertently ties fates with Clutch. Clutch is determined to bracelet that is awarded to the victor of the tournament through Telly who is reluctant from the start.

Review

Cash did a really good job of creating unlikable characters: The Ant, Buster, Jenny (Clutch's wife), and Rob Couts were terrible but they came across as slightly stereotypical. I liked most of the book but the interactions between Clutch and Telly killed the vibe for me.

Additionally, the ending became beyond cheesy approximately halfway through. After the main plot twist I started to lose some interest.

It is a decent read even if you do not know much about poker. It is clear from the game descriptions that Cash has a love for the game; I just wish an equal amount of effort would have gone into the ending.

In addition to the book I also received a poker chip on a key chain and a deck of cards with the book's title on them which I thought was a nice touch.



Find it here: Pokergeist by Michael Phillip Cash

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Product Review: If You Were Me and Lived in... Colonial America by Carole P. Roman

If You Were Me and Lived in... Colonial America teaches children about the first settlers while being fun and educational.

Roman's interest in history and different cultures makes this children's book that much more interesting. It covers names, religion from an educational perspective, their clothing, Thanksgiving, chores, games, school, and the hardships the settlers faced.

The end of the book has a list of people who were vital influences on Colonial America and some background information on them, including William Penn, Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, and Myles Standish.

The glossary is reasonably well done; it covers different terms while having a pronunciation guide so children are using terms correctly. Some of the definitions could be a little bit better though.

This book would tie in with history lessons for elementary school students.

Carole P. Roman's If You Were Me and Lived in... series has covered Ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, and Elizabethan England. This is the first of the series that Madison and I have read and I would read the others based off of our experience.

Madison loves the pictures, they are pretty simple but very colorful. There were a couple illustrations that seemed pixelated and at least one typo in the book itself. Normally Roman's books do not have any issues so it is notable in this instance.

Find it here: If You Were Me and Lived in... Colonial America

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: The After House by Michael Phillip Cash

I have currently read a few of Michael Phillip Cash's books: The After House, The History Major, The Flip, and Monsterland. 

Each boasts enough merit to warrant its own review despite my receiving a couple of them as bonus books. I have not finished Pokergeist yet but that will be posted within the next couple weeks also.

In order to adequately review The After House some details pertinent to the plot are revealed, potential spoilers are ahead. If you wish to avoid this skip ahead until the summary ends.

Summary

Remy Galway moved into the house formerly belonging to Eli Gaspar after a failed marriage. Eli was a whaler before his death. He causes some trouble for Remy and her daughter Olivia initially. This results in guilt on his end. 

He ultimately decides to help her when her yoga studio is vandalized and she is nearly killed driving home. Strangely, she never lists anyone as the potential culprit, which was quite obvious in my opinion.

Along the way, she meets Hugh after her mom pesters him into asking her on a date- with good intentions.

Review

Instead of being a ghost story like I expected from the book's summary it essentially becomes a romance with a little danger thrown in when it starts to get dull.

I enjoy Michael Phillip Cash's descriptions throughout the book. I know little about ships and whaling but you do not need to know much to follow the flashback styled sequences.

I am a big fan of the occasional terrible yet funny joke, but using the same joke several times just became annoying.

This was not Cash's best work in my opinion.

Find it here: The After House

I received the book for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Monsterland by Michael Phillip Cash

Michael Phillip Cash has written a slew of young adult novels. 

Monsterland follows a pack of wolves, a coven of vampires, a zombie, and a few awkward teenagers who get tickets to the theme park that allows them to interact with the monsters.

Wyatt, Melvin, and Howard are the awkward teens who find themselves lucky- or unlucky- enough to procure tickets. Wyatt likes this girl named Jade who is with Nolan, the stereotypical jock and jerk, who drags Jade around.

The Monsterland opening boasts several celebrities and world leaders all in the same place, which just spells potential disaster.

Naturally, things go wrong and chaos ensues.

As with any other young adult novel there are parts that I found cheesy and predictable. However, Michael Phillip Cash's descriptions are normally enticing and beneficial to the book as a whole. I wish that the main characters would have developed a little more.

#Monsterland is a young adult novel about a theme park that allows Wyatt, Melvin, and Howard- and thousands of others- to interact with real monsters. What could go wrong?

A photo posted by Jessica Scheetz (@ispelledjssicawrong) on Jun 23, 2016 at 1:53pm PDT

Find it here: Monsterland

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Being a Captain is Hard Work by Carole P. Roman

Captain No Beard is at it again in Being a Captain is Hard Work by Carole P. Roman.

This book features illustrations by Bonnie Lemaire, a freelance illustrator, which are full of bright colors and dynamic characters.

Captain No Beard is enjoying ordering around the Flying Dragon's crew and he thinks that he is always right so he refuses to listen to the crew. Polly, Fribbet, Mongo, Hallie, Cayla, and Zachary are going with Captain No Beard to Dew Rite Volcano but can they make it under his instruction?

Captain No Beard's stubborn ways almost lead to a crew member getting injured and the ship getting wrecked in a storm before he finally realizes that the crew is trying to help him and learns an important lesson. Even the wisest leader has to listen.

I really liked the message and that this can be incorporated into school science lessons. In the book, they are arguing about different kinds of clouds: cumulus which are "puffy" and stratocumulus which mean there is a chance of precipitation.

I also received Carole P. Roman's Captain No Beard as a bonus book and I will be reviewing it separately (please see the image for the book covers).

There is a reason that Roman's Captain No Beard series is award-winning, the messages are relatable for children and her writing is exceptional.

Find it here: Being a Captain is Hard Work

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Product Review: Samut Note's Set of 3 Handmade Notebooks

I love having my Samut Note Notebooks for when I need to write a reminder to myself or for making lists.

I really wanted to test out these notebooks because they are the perfect size to keep in a purse, glove box, or on a bedside table. They are small enough to go anywhere but big enough to be functional at 4 inches by 6 inches.

There are a few things that I really like about this product. First, the notebooks are handmade. Second, they have a lay flat binding. Third, the cover is made with a soft fabric.

The notebooks come in a set of three so you can use one at a time or have all of them serve different purposes.

The paper seems to be pretty high quality and the 200 pages are all lined.

I like having my three #SamutNote notebooks stashed in convenient locations for when I need to write something down or make a list. I like the soft cover and lay flat binding.

A photo posted by Jessica Scheetz (@ispelledjssicawrong) on Jun 10, 2016 at 6:52pm PDT

Find it here: Samut Note Notebooks

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Can a Princess Be a Firefighter? and Rocket-Bye by Carole P. Roman

There can never be enough books that inspire children to be whatever they aspire to be.

Can a Princess Be a Firefighter? by Carole P. Roman features young girls asking their parents if they can be a firefighter, doctor, and more. Their parents encourage them and there is nothing better than that.

I really like the style of the illustrations but at some points they seem a little muddy because of all the light colors so close together.

There are a few other papers that came with the book that list the authors and other books that children could be interested in.

The book as a whole is engaging and we also received Rocket-Bye which is my favorite out of the two.

Rocket-Bye features a parent and child going on a space adventures; they observe constellations and different planets before ending up tucked into bed.

I like the pictures better than those in Can a Princess Be a Firefighter? The main reason is that Mateya Arkova's illustration style shines as a result of the darker background; the wavy lines and bright pastels shine in combination with the lighthearted story.

Carole P. Roman has several different books available on Amazon: Carole P. Roman's Amazon Author Page


Find it here: Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Riding by Cassia Cassitas

Riding is the inspiring tale of an aspiring paralympian named Andre. 

I love the message that this novel is trying to show its audience: a message of triumph. Why is it that we do not fully appreciate para-lympians?

Andre has many obstacles which are not fully revealed until about halfway through the book. I found the philosophical sections to be a little too much at times and I, respectfully, feel as if Riding would have benefited from a skilled editor. Cassia Cassitas is a great author but I feel as if certain aspects were lost in translation.

In addition, I found the formatting at the beginning of the novel to be distracting from the message because it just looked like a giant "blob" of text.

 

Find it here: Riding

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Simple Story of the 3 Pigs and the Scientific Wolf by Mary Fetzner

This is a new take on the familiar Three Little Pigs: The original characters have grown up and their offspring have taken over their roles.

The wolf uses simple machines in an attempt to have pig as his table's centerpiece. The pigs use science to thwart his attempts.

There is a teaching and student guide at the end of the book. This book is great for its intended audience. The pages are in black and white and can be colored by the child. The worksheets can also be written on.

The Pieces of Learning also has many other options for parents and teachers.

I intended to give this product to someone else's child, but elementary level students would get the most out of this product.

Find it here: Pieces of Learning

        Or here: The Simple Story of the 3 Pigs and the Scientific Wolf on Amazon

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Adam Solomon's The Alphabet Book

Adam Solomon's The Alphabet Book makes a great addition to Madison's bookshelf.

This book is beyond cute. Adam Solomon is a 10 year old living in Los Angeles who enjoys taking pictures, this includes everyday objects he finds that look like letters. 

The overall design is simple, but it looks classy. Each page has a letter in the corner and the pictures Adam Solomon took take up the rest of the page. Each image is clear and it is fun to try to figure out what object the close-up includes.

I would not change a thing about this book.

Find it here: The Alphabet Book

Dr. Solomon's LinkedIn Profile

Dr. Solomon's Website

The Alphabet Book Website

I received the product for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth

If I had to summarize Cogling as briefly as possible, I would say "steampunk changeling."

Edna Mather hears a strange noise in the room she shares with her younger brother. The next morning he acts strangely, when she confronts him and pulls of a strange pocket watch, he collapses into a pile of machinery. This leads her on a quest to find and save her brother from the dreaded hags, she meets a few helpful characters along the way and there is just a hint of romance.

I have never read a book in the steampunk genre before Cogling so I had no idea what to expect. It was an interesting story, but I felt like one part in particular seemed out of place and it was never mentioned again or resolved. Despite this, I still enjoyed the story and would read it again.

Find it here: Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Lakhoni by Jared Garrett

Lakhoni is left for dead when his village is attacked and is naturally upset about it. 

He is discovered by one of the assassins of legend who help him hone important skills. While on his journey to rescue his sister, and hopefully get revenge, Lakhoni meets a young woman and quickly falls in love. Fortunately, he does not lose sight of his mission.

I felt as if the ending was rather abrupt but I would gladly read a second book. Garrett's descriptions are engaging, and there is no shortage of plot twists. The book is engaging and I would recommend it for young adults.

Find it here: Lakhoni- Jared Garrett

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Forest Secrets: A Magical Mystery Novel by Laurie Woodward

I have been a fan of mystery novels for as long as I can remember so I could not pass up the opportunity to read and review Forest Secrets.

Daisy Castillo is an 11 year old who ventures into the forest and discovers a young tree-human hybrid and endeavors to help her find her family. During this journey, Daisy and her new friends uncover a villainous plan to annihilate the forest. She channels her inner sleuth to brave the danger resulting from greed and save the forest's magical creatures.

I like the message of the book, Laurie Woodward's background in education shines through in this novel. Daisy Castillo develops well as a character and, through her, children can learn the importance of protecting the environment.

This book also faces an adult issue that children are unfortunately forced to face: separation of parents. I believe Woodward makes a sensitive subject easy to understand for the intended age group.

Find it here: Forest Secrets: A Magical Mystery Novel

I received the book for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Caretaker (Book 1) and Guardians (Book 2) by Josi Russell

I was approved to read Guardians, but wanted to read Caretaker as well so I could give the book the best review possible.

Please consider this your possible spoiler alert if you would like to read the books, I will not give away any major plot points, but will be including a summary.

Caretaker

Floating through space, Ethan Bryant is the Caretaker of humans who are in a sleep state on their way to a planet called Minea. His future with his wife was stolen when the original Caretaker died tragically and the computer locked him out of his stasis chamber. He has 50 years until they reach their destination with no one else awake on the Ship 12-22.

When Ethan is settled into his routine for five years, he is surprised when the computer wakes up one of the passengers, an engineer who discovers they are far off course and the ship's 4000 passengers are in danger.


Overall, I liked Caretaker; Russell's take on the language she created was refreshing, her descriptions were fantastic, and the characters were well-developed. Her take on how isolation changes a person was interesting and I liked how she portrayed their coping with loneliness.

Guardians

Minea is portrayed as "the place to be" on Earth but the passengers of Ship 12-22 arrived to find that it did not live up to the infomercials. Most of those who arrived work in the dangerous Yyinum mines, but they are barely surviving.

Thanks to Ethan stepping up as Caretaker in Book 1, he is appointed the role of Governor when he arrives at Minea so his family is relatively comfortable. Unfortunately, he is not in a position to help the poor as much as he and his wife Aria would like. 

There is an accident when Ethan goes on a trip to survey Minea's mountains and Aria has to decide if she will save him or focus on finding a cure for the strange illness that is sweeping across the planet.

Guardians could be read as a standalone book if desired, but I actually liked Caretaker more than the second installment. This book is still fast-paced, well-written, and interesting but it did not hold my interest quite as well as the first because I felt as if there were far too many coincidences throughout Guardians.

Find Book 1 here: Caretaker
Find Book 2 here: Guardians

I received the books for free in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Nurtured and Nuzzled/Criados y Acariciados

I took four years of Spanish in high school, but I want to be able to expose Madison to Spanish early.

Nurtured and Nuzzled/Criados y Acariciados is perfect for English speaking parents to learn with their children as well as Spanish speaking parents who already know both or are trying to learn English.

The phrases are short and the pictures are bright and colorful with a variety of animals. All the animals are loving the babies and it is great for the intended age group.

Find it here: Nurtured and Nuzzled/Criados y Acariciados

I received the book in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own.