Welcome to the new White Shark Book Reviews!

This is the relaunch of this website! I have finally gotten it ready and it is open for business. Everyday for the mighty month of June we will be posting a review a day. Each day of the week will have a theme that goes with it.

Schedule:

• Monday: Memoir Mondays. Books that are memoirs or biographies.
• Tuesday: Tome Tuesdays. Books that are fiction of any flavor.
• Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday. Anything goes in any genre.
• Thursday: Teenage Thursdays. Young adult books.
• Friday: Freaky Fridays. Books in the paranormal or horror genres.
• Saturday: Series Saturdays. I will be reading a series in order.
• Sunday: Sentimental Sunday. Books that are historical fiction.

I hope you enjoy and come back more often!

Now relaunching on June 1st!

This blog will be officially relaunching on June 1st. You will notice changes to it if you stop by before then, but it will be ready on June 1st.

New features or changes you will likely notice (unless I change my mind):

• Making new banner and buttons
• Changing the formatting of the reviews.
• Probably a new logo.
• New graphics for the ratings.
• New ratings explanation page.
• New about me page.
• Separate FAQ Page.
• Review pages list will separated into fiction, nonfiction and young adult.
• Updating the look of twitter and Facebook page.

There could be more, but that is the basic. Also I will begin posting reviews new reviews to the website starting the day of the relaunch. 

Pushing back the relaunch...

I am pushing back the relaunch of this site mainly so I can work on graphics and the like. I am working on queuing up book reviews that I have already written so they will post on a regular schedule. Just give me a week or so and I will update as I am closer to ready.

I will post when I have a better idea of when I will be done.

Relaunching May 15th!

I am going to be relaunching this blog to try and make it bigger and better. I will be changing the look and feel of the blog, as well as some of the content.

My aim here is to make it a nicer looking blog with easy to use features and integrate it with several other sites such as my personal and writing blogs and various social media pages.

My bigger goal is to make book reviews easier to follow, more informational and give you a better look into the books themselves and how I feel about them. I can't guarantee that you will like the new reviews, but I am trying to do my reviews more justice and help you more as a book reader.

Please follow me on my journey as I begin posting new book blogs in the middle of May and have everything updated by then.

I am also debating a name change, but we'll see about that one.

Oh My Goth

by Gena Showalter

This was a cute story and I loved it. It was sort of like freaky friday only with virtual reality instead of magic. I loved Jade and her friends and it must have been weird to see everyone in a town dressed as goths.

I think that as a young adult title this is pretty good. The end was predictable and should not surprise anyone. I would recommend it, especially if you need to try and get a message across to someone you know that needs to be nicer to people different from themselves.

My rating:

A Short Guide to a Long Life

by David B. Agus, MD

This is a short and concise guide to things you should bear in mind for your health. It is very simple and well worth reading. This is definitely a guide that you would want to have around and make it so you can grab it as your body changes.

My Rating:

Hitler's Furies

by Wendy Lower

This was a very good book. It was better in the beginning. For some reason I had trouble finishing it, but the information was good and well put together. Some of the atrocities in this book perpetrated by women are incredibly hard to believe, even if you consider the time and location. It is also pretty insane that they got away with it as much as they did because their crimes were generally overlooked. It makes me want to know more about this seemingly hidden part of history.

My Rating:

The Goddess Test

by Aimee Carter

I loved this book. It was an easy read and I think this is one of the first retellings of Mythology with Gods and Goddesses that I have read in ages. I liked Kate and how she just is in the general sense. I am not sure where this series is going in the next few books but I thought it was lovely and I would recommend it if you asked me about it.

My Rating:

What Does The Fox Say?

by Ylvis, Christian Løchstøer, Svein Nyhus (Illustrations) 

I am sorry but this is one of the cutest things ever. I love the illustrations and the fact that they made a book out of this is also more funny than it should be. I really loved it. If I have kids I would share this with them. I want to share this with all my family and friends because they all love this song in one capacity or another. Why does this make me laugh so hard?

My Rating:

A New Year, A Few Small Changes

So I have made a few small changes on the site. They are listed below.

First off I am making the book covers a little smaller in the reviews.
Secondly I am making a schedule for posting books because I would like to post on a regular basis.
Third I changed the background and am changing a little of the content.
Lastly I will be doing a few new things around here that you may enjoy like blog tours and interviews.

I would always love feedback from you and if you have any insight I have a new e-mail for this website that is for contacting me if you want to talk or have me read your book. It is whitesharkbookreviews@yahoo.com. Please feel free to contact me for any reason.

Enjoy my fellow readers and sharks!
-Amy

Etoile (Mannequin, #1)

by Olivia Best

*I was given a free a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.*

I will start this review by saying that this isn't a genre that I read very often, but I thought I would give it a chance. I really couldn't get into this book. The characters were flat to me and the story and sex scenes were just not that interesting to me.

I liked the opening with Etolie and her being found and whatnot but it just went downhill from there and the stereotypes grew to the point of being annoying. I finished reading it, but I had to put it down about 16 times just to get it done.

My Rating:

Judge Dredd: Year One

by Matt Smith, Simon Coleby

* I won a copy of this on netgalley.com in exchange for an unbiased review*

I don’t really know a lot about this comic series and I loved this. It was beautifully drawn and the story was amazing. It was a little hard to read on my computer in the format they provided it in, so it too several days to read it which made me sad. Overall I just loved it.

My Rating:

Theocracide

by James Wymore

*I was given a free copy of this book from netgalley.com for a fair and unbiased review*

I am not really sure what to say about this one. It was great, but I was rushed in reading it and feel that meant I did not get to enjoy it as much as I otherwise would have. It was fairly simple to read and I enjoyed it a lot, but I wish I didn’t have to read it in a rush. I would recommend it to those who love stories in this genre.

My Rating:

Fat Girl

by Carlos Batts

* I won a copy of this on netgalley.com in exchange for an unbiased review*

I will start by saying that this book was not what I expected it to be. I expected it to be a celebration of being a bigger woman. What I got was pornography and snippets into the life of one April Flores. Not that I am complaining, and some of the photos were nice, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. You’ve got to love the devotion of a man to his woman though.

My Rating:

The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story

by Vivek Tiwary & Others

* I won a copy of this on netgalley.com in exchange for an unbiased review*

I really love this graphic novel. It was beautifully done and the story was one that I am better for knowing. I knew about Brian Epstein, but didn’t know that much about his personal life and this made me feel like I could understand him and some of the life of the band members and the band a lot better. He was an amazing man and The Beatles were lucky to have him in their corner.

My Rating:

The Salinger Contract

by Adam Langer

*I was given a free copy of this book on Netgalley.com for an unbiased review*

I wasn't sure what to think of this book at first. It was told in an interesting way, but the story was actually really well thought out and I loved it. The concept of writing a story that only one or two people at the maximum would ever read and then what the client does with those stories and how the authors react is a unique and I loved reading it.

It makes me wonder as an aspiring writer if I was ever offered the chance that Connor is given, would I go for it? If I did would I be able to deal with the consequences? Would I have the same type of consequences? I just don't know.

It was an easy read and a fast one as well. I read it one evening while sitting on a couch watching after my mom who had just had surgery. I found it pretty easy to pick up and put down.

My rating:

Unexpected Hiatus...

I was on a short unexpected hiatus from my blog for personal reasons but I am back now. I have a ton of reviews to post and many more that I am working on. Life can throw the unexpected at you, but you have to pick yourself up and keep moving.

And to quote one of my favorite lines from a book: “Once again...welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring.” 
― Bram Stoker, Dracula

I Am Pusheen the Cat

By Claire Belton

*I was given a free copy of this book on Netgalley.com for an unbiased review*

I absolutely love this book. It is one of the cutest things ever. I have always loved Pusheen when I have encountered the adorable animated cat on the internet and this is as adorable as you would expect from this sassy cat.

I think this would be perfect for kids or people like me who never really grew up. I read this to my aunt and my mom. They both thought it was adorable. I am so glad I got this book and would love to share it with my kids someday.

My Rating:

Texts From Bennett

by Max Lethal

*I was given a free copy of this book on Netgalley.com for an unbiased review*

This book was entertaining, but not really what I was expecting. The texts made me laugh and it made me think of my high school days. At times it was cringe-worthy, as so many things are in life. To be honest I don't really know what to say about this book besides you should read it for yourself. I was not aware of the blog until after I began reading it, and I would have looked at the blog first would I have known. It was worth reading though.

My rating:

Follow the White Rabbit (Beautiful Madness, #1)

by Kellie Sheridan

*I was given a free copy of this book on Netgalley.com for an unbiased review*

I liked this book very much. I am a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and I do love books that play with or reference that story. I like this twist and I do love the modern sort of twist, but I am a little sad that it was so sort. I wanted so much more from this and felt so sad when it ended just when it seemed to be getting good. I hope the next one will be good and I hope it is as on par as this one. I can't wait.

My Rating:

I. T. Confidential

by C.D. Rahm

*I was given a free copy of this book on Netgalley.com for an unbiased review*

This was an entertaining book on the structure and real life of being in the I.T. department of a big or small business. I thought it was skillfully written and entertaining. I loved everything about it.

It was a little different than what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a tell all about a guy from tech support who answers phones and it would be a collection of war stories, but this proved to be about as funny as the other could have been. Either way it was enough to hold my attention and I am glad I read it.

My Rating:

Affliction (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #22)

by Laurell K.Hamilton

I liked this book. I like that while there is still sex in in, it seems like there is much more of a story here than some of her recent books in this series. That being said I also think this book was maybe 100-160 pages longer than it might have needed to be and seemed bogged down by conversations that seemed to go around in circles and never get where they needed to go and it seemed at times underwhelming because of that.

It was nice to meet Micha's family and I am happy about that aspect, but even that seemed to be at times more drawn out than it should have been. This book was incredibly long and I had to set it down several times and it seemed that every time I set it down it took it a while for me to figure out what was going on again. Even the actions scenes I had to reread several lines to make sure I got it right to figure them out, but to be honest, that could be more me than her writing. I am having more trouble concentrating lately.

I know many people have fallen out of love with this series and I don't think I will be that kind of person anytime soon, but I understand what they don't like about how things have changed and I don't think it's as bad as they all make it out to be. I still think this was a pretty good book compared to some. I will keep reading.

My rating:

Bones of the Lost (Temperance Brennan #16)

by Kathy Reichs

*I was given a free copy of this book on Netgalley.com for an unbiased review*

I love this series. I have always loved this series and I love the science involved in this series. I have always loved how they tie the unique and yet seemingly unrelated threads of a story together and make a great story.

I love how a simple case of an unknown undocumented girl that was almost discounted because they suspected that she was hispanic and illegally in the country when she died and bundles of Peruvian mummified dogs ended up a rich and engaging story and wonderful addition to this well weathered series.

Some series do not last very well and this one seems to be the exception to that rule. I hope that this trend continues. I will continue to read her books when they are available to me.

My Rating:

Earth Power

by Adam J. Black

*I was given a free copy of this book for an unbiased review*

In the beginning I wasn't sure what to think of this book and it was what I call a slow burner. It was very interesting, but took it's time getting going. The story was good, but the pacing was a little off.

The characters were alright, but they didn't seem to have the same amount of depth. I think you get a good feel for Raphael and Sam, but all the other characters seem almost 2D compared to their 3D level.

I like the ending and the twist that I did see coming, but I am good at predicting those sorts of things. I hope this story continues because it is a story I would continue to read.

My rating:

The Trench (MEG #2)

by Steve Alten

I am super happy that I read this book when I did. I love the uniqueness of this series and it is reminiscent of Jurassic Park. While the first one was arguable better, this one was a very logical step in the aftermath of the first book. I liked that about it.

What I didn't like about it was that there were less meaningful deaths and less chaos than the first one. That isn't to say that nobody died and there was no chaos, but when the first book is so full of chaos and death and the second one isn't it sometimes feels like you were cheated. That being said the actual plots and story made perfect sense.

I was not too sure about Benedict and Celeste in the first place and their storyline was a little too twisted in the end for me to appreciate and the involvement of the CIA and other government agencies was a little weird feeling to me.

The one thing that pulled me out of the book a little is that this book had a plot that involved terrorist organizations and Osama Bin Laden funding the operation and it does date this book a little. This was written before 9/11 so it would have made sense, but in the aftermath of that day it loses a little of its impact.

My Rating: