jbronderbookreviews

My Review

Well I have some bad news today. This hasn’t happened in a while but I could not get into or even finish this book. I don’t like to knocks books or authors because I understand the heart and effort that goes into these stories.

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The Automation (Circo del Herrero Series – 1) by G.B. Gabbler

The capital-A Automatons of Greco-Roman myth aren’t clockwork. Their design is much more divine. They’re more intricate than robots or androids or anything else mortal humans could invent. Their windup keys are their human Masters. They aren’t mindless; they have infinite storage space. And, because they have more than one form, they’re more versatile and portable than, say, your cell phone—and much more useful too. The only thing these god-forged beings share in common with those lowercase-A automatons is their pre-programmed existence. They have a function—a function their creator put into place—a function that was questionable from the start…

Odys (no, not short for Odysseus, thank you) finds his hermetic lifestyle falling apart after a stranger commits suicide to free his soul-attached Automaton slave. The humanoid Automaton uses Odys’s soul to “reactivate” herself. Odys must learn to accept that the female Automaton is an extension of his body—that they are the same person—and that her creator-god is forging a new purpose for all with Automatons…

The novel calls itself a “Prose Epic,” but is otherwise a purposeful implosion of literary clichés and gimmicks: A Narrator and an Editor (named Gabbler) frame the novel. Gabbler’s pompous commentary (as footnotes) on the nameless Narrator’s story grounds the novel in reality. Gabbler is a stereotypical academic who likes the story only for its so-called “literary” qualities, but otherwise contradicts the Narrator’s claim that the story is true.

THE AUTOMATION is a this-world fantasy that reboots mythical characters and alchemical concepts. Its ideal place would be on the same bookshelf as Wilson’s ALIF THE UNSEEN and Gaiman’s AMERICAN GODS—though it wouldn’t mind bookending Homer, Virgil, and Milton, to be specific.

And, yes, “B.L.A. and G.B. Gabbler” are really just a pen name.

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 Author’s Bio

Editor of THE AUTOMATION, Vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. Spouse/partner/babysitter to The Narrator of said series (B.L.A.).

[Gabbler is the second half (maybe the better half, who knows?) of the pen name for The Author – singular – of the CIRCO series.]

This is technically a joint account for B.L.A and G.B. Gabbler because B.L.A doesn’t really do the whole on-the-grid thing and would rather make Gabbler DO ALL THE WORK.

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My Review

DNF

Ody and his twin sister are hermits. While Ody is out an old man gives him a coin then promptly commits suicide. Although odd, Ody doesn’t think much of this until a strange, naked, gold woman said that she is an Automation created for a specific purpose. We learn that Ody is now the youngest person to be in control of an Automation and he is now getting a crash course in the power struggle between the other owners, one of which is his own father. Ody is now part of this insane world whether he is ready or not.

I have tried and tried to read this book. I’m sorry but it has sat on my headboard for months and it’s time I post some kind of review. I am sorry but I had a hard time with this book. There were some parts of the story that I liked, I found it humorous the other people that had the Automations. There were some quips added in but overall I was bored and irritated at the footnotes. It was ridiculous and pointless and I was about done with everyone. I had to call it quits at the middle of the book.

I have seen that several people just loved this book. By all means I would say to check it out. Just because I couldn’t get into doesn’t mean that it won’t be someone else’s favorite book.

I received The Automation from SOB Publishing for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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All Her Father’s Guns

By James Warner

3 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) Cal Lyte, a gun-loving venture capitalist, is tired of paying alimony to his ex-wife Tabytha. Plotting to blackmail her and derail her campaign for Congress, he enlists the help of their daughter’s boyfriend, British academic Reid Seyton, to unearth some Lyte family secrets. But the results turn out to be more than anyone bargained for, in an escalating cycle of revelations that will leave nobody’s life the same.

Simply put, Cal can’t stand to pay alimony to his ex-wife Tabytha. Neither of them can’ let go of the other even though they have been divorced for a while. Cal comes up with the brilliant idea to get his daughters boyfriend to dig up some dirt to mess with Tabytha’s political career.

I’m sorry to say this, but this book was not for me. Although I can agree with some of Cal’s opinions, he was just too over the top. The rest, I guess I have to admit that I don’t follow politics and who stands where and who is radical over what enough to really get into this book. It lost me at the beginning with the grumbling over lunch and how much it cost.

I guess I’m just not on the same page, even though there are a ton of reviews that say this is the best book ever. Give it a try, you may find it more suited to you than me.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review

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A Slot Machine Ate My Midlife Crisis by Irene Woodbury

Didn’t Finish

(Excerpt from Goodreads) Quirky jobs, wacky friends, hot crushes, and an unraveling marriage are all part of this darkly funny novel describing 45 year-old newlywed Wendy Sinclair’s life in Las Vegas after she impulsively decides to stay following a bizarre girls’ weekend in 2005.

Wendy was working for a big store when she decided to move to Texas to be closer to her fiancé. After they have been married for four months, she is starting to feel the pressure. First, the store decided to sell out to a cheap retail chain and she looses the possibility of her job. Then they are having numerous house troubles. And it doesn’t help that her husband, Roger, is more wrapped up in his houses then with Wendy. The final straw is when Roger’s bosses Stepford wives try to make Wendy just like them.

Both Wendy and Paula are very into fashion and have worked in the high end retail clothing for quite a while. After loosing her job and other troubles at home, Wendy decides she is going with Paula for a change of scenery. Both Wendy and Paula are clearly used to the good things in life and have no problem obtaining them, whether that means spending money or other means. This book is a humorous approach to women’s midlife crisis’ and what they do to get past them.

I will be honest. I could not finish reading this book for two reasons. I could not relate to the characters and I felt that the story started to get too involved in the weekend antics than what happens after.

Having said that, I do feel that there is good potential with this story and I honestly feel others may relate better than me. This book has good writing and a steady plot. I do see it being very popular for those women that are in the same situation. There is a lot of potential and I think that it could be a book that many would like.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

**Note: I revised this review from it’s original version. Although I did not finish reading the book, I felt that I could have giving a more descriptive review than I previously posted.

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Probability Angels (Matthew and Epp – 1) By Joseph Devon

Didn’t Finish

(Excerpt from Goodreads) Matthew Huntington’s problems seem to keep growing. Not only is he seeing things in garbage cans but his mentor doesn’t think he’s working up to his full potential, his best friend can’t offer any solace but drunken confusion, and his wife is dying in Central Park. Of course, the fact that Matthew himself died over two decades ago isn’t helping things. And then things start to really go wrong. Come explore the world of Matthew and Epp and see what a samurai from Feudal Japan has to do with the course of modern physics, what a two-thousand year old Roman slave has to do with the summit of Mount Everest, and what a dead man from Brooklyn has to do with the fate of the world.

Matthew is a spirit that tries to negatively influence people. The bigger the negative influence, the more money he gets. But his current existence is going to change. Matthew gave his life so his wife could live. Now she is going to die so he has to make a decision about if he wants to become a probability angel or just keep going at his current job.

Epp is going to train Matthew to be a probability angel. The idea is that at a given time, a person is presented with several different options and how they react is going to lead them on different paths. The idea is to present the path that has the most probability for happening. But there is a lot more to it than that. There is the strife that Epp continually brings to the group. Then there is the training that Matthew seems to have trouble getting down.

I understand most of the concept of the probability angels and how Matthew has to learn his new role. But I admit that I had a hard time staying with this story. I put the book down a couple times and came back several weeks later and still couldn’t get into the story. I feel for Matthew, he made a tough decision to save his wife. But I just couldn’t get into the probability angle.

I do think this was a good story. It was just tough for me to follow. I honestly can’t way one was or another if anyone would like it. Give the book a try and you may fall in love with it. If so, check out the second book in the series Persistent Illusions.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

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Demonic and Other Tales by Garon Cockrell

Did Not Finish

(Excerpt from Amazon) Don’t miss this terrific collection of horrifying tales by Garon Cockrell, founder of popculturebeast.com. Included in this edition are “Demonic,” “Eggs,” “Home Alone,” “What’s Your Pleasure?,” “The Strange Tale of Griffin Shard,” “Looking Glass,” “Interrogation,” “Manny,” “Prelude,” and “Haven.”

I managed to get through four stories. Demonic, Eggs, Home Alone, and What’s Your Pleasure.

Demonic: Casey is obsessed with singer Bella. When he goes to show her how much he loves her, things take a dark turn.

Eggs: Felicia hears the eggs talking to her in the grocery store. When she gets home they have a surprise for her, which leads her to rescue the rest of the eggs in the grocery store.

Home Alone: Julia is going on her first date in five years but she is leaving her 12-year-old, Kevin, at home alone. Everything is going well, until a scary movie and a newscast about an escaped prisoner get to Kevin.

What’s Your Pleasure: Jeff got on the wrong bus and gets propositioned by an old lady. After escaping her and getting back home, Jeff just can’t get the old lady off of his mind and soon finds himself sleepwalking to her.

I know these don’t sound that bad but I can’t finish reading this book. There is just something about it. Even though I enjoy thriller/horror stories, this book is not for me. If you like horror stories, try it you might find you like it.

I received this book for free from Book Rooster in exchange for an honest review.

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Smoke & Mirrors by Rue Volley

Did Not Finish

(Excerpt from Goodreads) Book two in the Blood & Light Vampire series takes Rue, our teenage vampire, even deeper into the rabbit hole that has become her life. This book introduces a deeper look into the vampire city of “Valon” that all vampires derive from…taking a darker turn as you are invited into their world and their lack of compassion for the human race, and even in some cases, a total disregard for their own kind. As the story twists and turns you are also introduced to two new vampires, that of a sister/brother team by the names of “Jonah & Lily” who run a traveling carnival, luring unsuspecting humans into their lair, not only to seduce….but to feed upon. Rue faces many dangers in this addition, not only from her own kind…but this new vampire breed…that of the rogues, who serve no one but themselves and their own desires. Rue also struggles with her want to be “normal” as she comes to terms with the fact that she is indeed a vampire of great importance, and as she navigates her way through this she is also coming to realize that Joshua Barrington has seduced her and perhaps stolen her heart. Please join us as you find yourself sucked deeper into an epic story in the life of one girl, who although she has good intention, may indeed be her own worst enemy. Book two is more graphic in nature…with language, sexual situations and violence. Sure to make you laugh, cry…and realize that sometimes you find yourself standing at the corner of WTF and OMG.

We start with Rue not knowing anything about herself, except what she has been told by Jonathan. But she has flashes of memory that cause blinding pain. In one moment she overcomes the binding placed on her and escapes back to her friends and brother just to learn that Jonathan was actually Caine in disguise.

When Rue gets home, she learns that Jonathan has been trapped in a memory and goes to rescue him. Through difference circumstances, she finally admits that she has feelings for Joshua. Rue then has a break down and doesn’t want to be the thing of legend and runs away. Joshua goes with to keep her safe and they run into rogue vampires Jonah and Lily. They travel with a circus and prey upon humans at will caring only for themselves.

I admit that I could not finish this book. I got about 140 pages in and had to stop. The story does have potential and I did want to find out what happens next after I read Blood and Light. I could not continue because I lost my patience with Rue. I was getting tired of reading how she wanted to jump Joshua but hated him. I also was irritated with her running away and temper tantrums.

I see a lot of people really liked this book and I’m sorry to be the one grumpy person. I will gave it a neutral rating (3 stars) for those sites that need a ranking because I can’t say it is horrible when I couldn’t finish it. If you like a lot of teenage angst with some vampires thrown in you will probably like this book.

I received this book for free from Roxanne at Bewitching Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

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