jbronderbookreviews

Perfect on Paper (Waverly Byrson – 1) by Maria Murnane

Waverly Bryson is a late-20s successful businesswoman who almost has it all: dream job in Sports PR, two best friends, and a bar where everybody knows her name. What she doesn’t have is a ring on her finger, and after being left at the altar, she’s in no hurry. Besides, she has plenty of other issues to tackle, including her wayward father, a new rival at work, and an ever-shrinking amount of personal time. To keep sane, Waverly makes a habit of jotting down “Honey Notes,” her own brand of self-deprecating wisdom and pipe-dream for a line of greeting cards.
As Waverly stumbles back into the dating scene (no stalkers or jean shorts, please), her personal and professional lives threaten to collide. Perfect on Paper reminds readers that everyone has a bad date (or twelve), and that everyone needs a best friend to tell them, “Honey, you are not alone.”

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Author’s Bio

Maria’s road to becoming an author is a little crazy. She used to work in high-tech PR but hated it, so she quit and ended up playing semi-pro soccer in Argentina for a year. While she was down there she decided to write a novel, which was something she’d always dreamed of doing. Fast forward a few years and a LOT of perseverance, and she’s now the best-selling author of Perfect on Paper, It’s a Waverly Life, Honey on Your Mind, Chocolate for Two, Cassidy Lane, and Katwalk. Her next book, Wait for the Rain, will be released in Feb 2015. And yes, she still plays a lot of soccer!

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My Review

3 stars

Waverly Bryson is a Sports PR and a loving boyfriend that she is about to marry. But a couple days before the wedding her boyfriend dumps her. Of course she is just shattered but she is determined to find the right guy with several bad dates in the meantime. But that is not all, a new person is hired at work and she believes that she is out to get Waverly’s job. Is Waverly going to find her place?

I am torn on how to review this book. I Waverly thinks she has everything planned until she gets dumped just before her wedding. Then follows a string of dating adventures that lighten the mood, especially when her friends share their dating disasters. I felt for her and at the same time was laughing about the different people they’ve dated.

But I had a hard time with part of this book. Waverly is so immature and obnoxious that I had a hard time dealing with some of the stuff that came out of her mouth and the stupid stuff she did. For example, the whole get stupid drunk, act like a fool, then worry what everyone thought of her, wash, rise, and repeat.

Overall, Perfect on Paper is a cute contemporary romance. There are some funny places and I can’t help but feel for Waverly with some of the things she gets into. I am curious to see what she gets herself into next.

I received Perfect on Paper from the author for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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When the Sky Falls by Joseph Bendoski

An in-depth look at fake news, yellow journalism, fictional broadcasts and the psychology behind them, wrapped in a twisted thriller.

In 1938 the War of the Worlds hoax panicked millions of Americans, then in 1988 another fictional media broadcast convinced nearly half of Portugal that sea monsters had risen from the ocean to destroy their cities. A team of CIA agents was sent to study the aftermath of this 6th Skyfall Event in the hope that they could turn it into a weapon of war. When the team consultant turns up dead, everyone scrambles to be the last man standing: the one who will decide if or when the sky falls.

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Author’s Bio

Joe Bendoski study psychology in college and was fascinated by all the insights it provided into human behavior, only to realize most the information never reach people, and when it did, rarely was it in a form that allowed for practical application. He started writing non-fiction, but soon came to understand how few people read that genre and began the difficult transition into fiction writing. His non-fiction works include; the Chemistry of Attraction and the Language of Emotion.

He worked as the head writer for the television show ‘Saved by Grace.’ After being frustrated with comments like “make this scene cheaper,” “What’s my motivation?”, and “Do we need this scene?” he deiced to go in to literature.

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My Review

4 stars

The human mind is very easy to manipulate. It has been shown throughout history with events like the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds. These events are called Sky Falls and Jay Nichols has been researching them for quite a while. He is asked to join the CIA and then to find out what William Stephenson, a CIA consultant knows about these incidents. What is the cause to these events? How can they be used?

There is so much information about people in this story and you can easily see how mass panic from fake news and fictional broadcasts can cause mass panic. The human brain is really fascinating but at the same time scary when you think about how it can be used against us.

There is a lot of action that kept me up late reading and a lot of possibilities for the harnessing of the Sky Falls. This is a great thriller and I can’t wait to read other books by Joseph Bendoski.

I received When the Sky Falls from Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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Dragonhunters by Garon Whited

You don’t become a hero for the money. The money’s nice, sure, but you become a hero because something inside compels you, drives you to it. Defending people from monsters simply doesn’t pay well enough to make it a good career move.

As for hunting dragons… well, the money is usually good, but the job really bites.

A group of five professional heroes goes into the lair of the dragon. Who will win?

Spoiler: The dragon.

But it turns out killing a hero sometimes does nothing more than make him even more determined.

Sometimes, heroes are never more dangerous than when they’re dead!

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Author’s Bio

Garon Whited was supposedly born in 1970, but the original birth certificate is suspiciously unavailable and other records do not agree. After spending some years in college playing role-playing games, he finally settled down into a steady job working with computers—and still plays role-playing games. He finally joined a radicalized group of jellyfish-herding nomads. Having fought zombie dolphins, quasi-corporeal wine and spirits, as well as brain-sucking mole rats, he is uniquely qualified to write fantastic fiction. His subsequent attempts at professional salsa repairman and ley line salesman met with similar success. An affinity for science fiction and fantasy has condemned him to write whenever he has a chance, despite therapy involving shocks and rubber hoses. He claims he lives on this planet, but impartial observers have expressed some doubt. He currently lives in Texarkana.

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My Review

4 stars

Five heroes are sent on a quest to kill a dragon in typical role playing fashion. We don’t really learn much about then and they find themselves in trouble from the start. But they keep going intent on reaching their goal.

This story reads just like following along with a role playing game. Someone dies, they are resurrected, and they all keep going. There is not a lot of character development and the dialog is rough. Overall I admit that I didn’t expect the direction that it went but it was a decent read.

I received Dragonhunters from Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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