Review: The Last Orchard: Book 0

The Last Orchard: Book 0 by James Hunt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven’t read anything by this author. I saw it and based upon the description and price, (free at the time), I decided to try it, not expecting much. I was surprised by it. The author picked a subject we should all think about. I’m not going to pick a political side. War can happen and it can happen, and throughout history has happened, regardless of which side is in the White House. I can imagine it coming to our shores, particularly in a time when the population is divided over everything. I am not opposed to progress. I’m writing this on an iPad I would miss like a lover. I am also a believer in the past being as important to our future as the present is. If you forget history, you will possibly repeat it. If you forget the inventions of yesterday, you may find yourself needing to invent them again. We rely greatly on all our gadgets that make life comfortable. What will happen if it was all suddenly gone? Would you know what to do? If you are thinking, I bought a book on survival awhile back, tell me, please, was it an ebook or print? Exactly. We are so use to everything being easy, we don’t even think about a long term disaster and how it could affect us. The lights go out? We expect them back in a few hours. But what if they weren’t coming back for months? How would deployed troops get back to defend us if nothing is in the sky? I like to think all that is worked out but I’d rather not rely on it. This book brings that concept home. Do I think it would fall apart so quickly? No but the author threw in a probable cause to suggest it could. I like books that make me think what if it could really happen? This one did that for me.
This is a very fast read. The action drives it forward but it is a short introductory type of book. Don’t be fooled though. The author, in that short length, took a moment to develop his characters. It made a nice surprise for me. Yes it does end with no ending. This is why I called an introductory book. I suspect the ending won’t happen for awhile. This is a series that relies on the book before as well as the next book. If you don’t want to invest in a series, this might not be the best fit. You could though put it away until the series has a few books and then read them together. As for me, I’m anxious to see what happens next, how does this affect the main characters and how it resolves. I’m probably not going to wait. I think there are three more as of this writing. That’s enough to get me started.

View all my reviews

Review: Leap, Laugh, Love

Leap, Laugh, Love by Rachelle Ayala
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun summer read. I really enjoyed all the beach and surfing puns the author used. Having read Blush of Love, I was happy to see some friends though I wish I had read this first. I appreciated how the author kept the continuity between the stories.
This story has a bit of spice to it. If you are not looking for a hot, sexy story you might want to skip this. The author has other clean romances that would fit you better. If, however, you are looking for something to make you sweat and ready for love, this is your book!

View all my reviews

Review: Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this book! This is one of the books I missed from The Great American Read list. My librarian got me a copy and I also have it on my Audible. I read this with family members. We listened and I read along, (or ahead because I could stay up all night without being yelled at- haha). We held off watching the movie to finish the book.
We absolutely loved this book! I play games a lot, as a child it was all board games then with progress video games were added. Now it is a mix that I enjoy with my children and grandchildren. I loved all the references throughout the book. I guess we have talked about them enough that most didn’t even need to be explained to the grandkids. This made a fun book to do as a family. We were in three states but with the use of video calling we had a blast! If you are looking for something fun and engaging to share with a child in your family, this is a good choice, (though be aware the middle might find the child wanting to get on with it. Romance apparently is not enjoyed as much by young boys). We are now excited to watch the movie over the Fourth of July holiday. I am expecting it to be different and am anxiously waiting to see the kids reactions. This is going to be an experience for them. It’s my hope they will see enough differences to decide the book is always worth reading.
I highly recommend this book.

*edited because I forgot to mention that Wil Wheaton does a great job with the Audible version. The kids especially enjoyed him. I had one who loved closing his eyes so he could watch in his head as Wil read the book. High praise in my eyes. Not every narrator can bring the visual to your mind.

View all my reviews