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Lillah Lawson

Teoksen Dead Rockstar tekijä

4+ teosta 16 jäsentä 3 arvostelua

Tekijän teokset

Dead Rockstar (2020) 8 kappaletta
Aroha (2015) 5 kappaletta
The Wolfden (2022) 1 kappale

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Jäseniä

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Tämä arvostelu kirjoitettiin LibraryThingin Varhaisia arvostelijoita varten.
This book has a really intriguing premise: long-dead rockstar, accidently brought back to life by his biggest fan? What's not to like? I anticipated lots of mystical and mystery and maybe some metaphysical, with some romance thrown in, to boot. I did get some of that in this story, but unfortunately, this book was also kind of haphazardly constructed, with a lot of subplots that, while interesting, also left me scratching my head.

My main likes were the descriptions of the Hero (he was obviously based on Peter Steele, and I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that) and some of the descriptions of the relationships between the rockstar and his band, and the descriptions of premises where some of the action took place. My main dislikes were a lot of the swearing, and the traveling here and there for what seemed like no reason, or for very flimsy reasons. I'm no prude, and swear, myself, when the situation calls for it. But I've never been a fan of dropping the f-bomb just because, or using it as an adjective and adverb, all rolled up into one. There is a time and a place for it, and every time and every place is not it, IMHO. And the fact that we had to travel someplace to find one answer, and were warned away but went anyway, and then promised to go home but stayed, and then went back, and then promised to stay but left, and so on. I started to get the feeling that the traveling was filler to "fluff out" the number of pages or something!

There was a nice little underlying mystery going on in addition to the romance, which I appreciated. But I didn't feel good about the heroine's choices, I guess. And no one could live for as long as she did on nothing but candy and coffee! That just didn't sound realistic to me, unless she has an eating disorder, too? I guess I just didn't find her very likable - not nearly as likable as the Hero.

I feel like this book has all the makings of something really good, but is just lacking something in the execution. Another reviewer wrote that it seems like it's perhaps the author's first book, and just needs tighter editing and polishing to make something special out of it. I would agree with that assessment of it 100%. Bottom line I give it 3 out of 5 for plot, 4 out of 5 for world building, 3 out of 5 for character development, 2 out of 5 for editing, 2 out of 5 for language, 3 out of 5 for romance, 3 out of 5 for mystery, 3 out of 5 for the ending, and 3 out of 5 for sexy times, for an average of 3 out of 5 stars. Not great, but not horrible, either.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for providing me with a copy to read in exchange for this, my honest review.
… (lisätietoja)
 
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Poopy | 2 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Feb 26, 2021 |
Tämä arvostelu kirjoitettiin LibraryThingin Varhaisia arvostelijoita varten.
I really wanted to like this book, because the premise is quite fun. But unfortunately the execution just wasn't up to par. The writing is mediocre, plot meanders all over the place, and if someone actually got paid to edit this thing, the author should probably demand her money back.

I counted a number of typos - not a hugely egregious number, but some glaring ones that popped out. Like the name of a secondary character being spelled several different ways. Also a number of continuity problems that really jumped out at me - characters' injuries conveniently disappear when they aren't needed any more; the same with damage to vehicles; the moon is just a sliver on one page and then a full moon on the very next page (in the same scene); and similar. An editor who let those things go by should be ashamed of themselves.

But aside from all of that, the plot just never really comes together in any kind of coherent way. The primary problem is that after the protagonist does the magic spell that sets the whole plot in motion, she spends the rest of the story in "react" mode, almost never taking agency, just letting events happen to her. Even toward the end when she tries to sacrifice herself (sort of), there's no true sense of purpose; there's no suspense; the reader knows that someone, or some plot device, is going to intervene.

Overall this reads very much like an author's first attempt at writing a full-length novel. She has some good ideas; she just needs to put in some more work on making those ideas really come out onto the page.
… (lisätietoja)
½
1 ääni
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mamajoan | 2 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Jan 25, 2021 |
Tämä arvostelu kirjoitettiin LibraryThingin Varhaisia arvostelijoita varten.
Overall this was a very enjoyable book!
My Likes:
* The mystery aspect of this story. I wasn't expecting to have a mystery/thriller sub plot to this book, but was super pleasantly surprised when it started to develop. It took a direction that I didn't expect and I was 100% there for it!
* Phillip. I thought Phillip was a super intriguing character. His backstory was unexpected and I love that he was such a giving and caring individual. He was a highlight for sure!
* The overall writing style. I really enjoyed Mrs (Ms.?) Lawkson's writing style. It was descriptive and really set the scene. She has great pacing and knew just when and how to move the story along. That is a big plus in my book, because sometimes a book can drag when an author doesn't know how to move the story to the next event and how to use language to its best effect to set the stage.
* Stormy. Stormy started out as a character I didn't really like, if you can believe it, but the reason she is in my likes is because of her growth through out the novel. The more I got to know Stormy the more I liked her. She was a complex character and I enjoyed going on the journey with her.
My Dislikes:
* The portrayal of female friendships. The relationship between Stormy and Sloan was a huge no for me. Not only were they constantly name calling and putting each other down, but they really didn't take care of one another like true friends would. I understand why the author went this direction but I don't even know why Stormy would have wanted to save Sloan by the end of the book, they were not good for one another. I wish there had been other female friendships that balanced it out and weren't so toxic.
* Under developed plot points. While we did get answers to most of our main questions there were a few things that were under developed. I would have liked to have delved further into Phillip's backstory. Had more history about his death and the lead up to it. Explored his thoughts around being back and what that meant and when his lack of enjoyment started to set in etc. I would also have liked further development into the magic aspect of this book. How does this work? How did Guthrie know about Stormy? What was his real motive for wanting her magic? Those things are glossed over and I really wish they hadn't been. I was really starting to get into that half of the book and then it was just over.
* Guthrie. This ties in mostly with the above bullet point because I felt that Guthrie didn't live up to his maximum potential. He was definitely a driving character in this book and seemed to have wide-reaching powers. But we never really got to see those powers. Nor did we get to learn what he wanted. We know he wanted Stormy, but why? What was he going to do with her powers and her once he got her? I want to know more about him and what lead him down this path. How did he find magic etc. For such a central character I just didn't feel he was as fleshed out as I wanted him to be. I want to know my villains' motivation!
I would very much recommend this book! And I look forward to reading more from Lillah Lawson. Perhaps Kim is going to make a comeback? Or maybe Jason? Either way I hope that we get more along the lines of Dead Rockstar!
… (lisätietoja)
 
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Fireformed | 2 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Nov 8, 2020 |

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