Book Review: Bone Chase by Weston Ochse
Bone Chase
Author: Weston Ochse
Published: December 1, 2020
336 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
There were giants on the earth in those days—at least that’s what the Bible says. But, where are they? Did they ever really exist at all?
When out-of-work math teacher Ethan McCloud is sent a mysterious box, he and his ex-girlfriend begin to unravel a mystery 10,000 years in the making—and he is the last hope to discovering the world’s greatest conspiracy. Chased by both the Six-Fingered Man and the Council of David, Ethan must survive the chase—and find the truth.
Kim’s Review:
I love a good adventure story, especially the ones based in history. Biblical history is even better. But this adventure stories have to make sense, they have to be based on logic and evidence, even if that evidence doesn’t necessarily exist in real life. Nothing kills historical adventure like assumption and fallacy. Unfortunately, Bone Chase is rife with both. Maybe if religion had been left out of it, I’d feel differently. But the idea that the existence of giants would somehow bring religion to its knees; it did nothing but make the entire plot seem inconsequential and anticlimactic.
Thankfully, there was enough action and mystery to keep me going through the book, so it wasn’t a total loss. But throwing in complicated math concepts that have really nothing to do with the story and then not explain them clearly so laypeople can understand … This was just a disappointing read. Although it’s fiction, The DaVinci Code didn’t feel inconsequential because Langdon was dealing with things of true theological significance. The existence of giants, even talked about in the Bible is a big deal historically and even scientifically, but theologically? I was just disappointed.
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Book Review: The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni
The Ancestor
Author: Danielle Trussoni
Published: April 7, 2020
349 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
It feels like a fairy tale when Alberta ”Bert” Monte receives a letter addressed to “Countess Alberta Montebianco” at her Hudson Valley, New York, home that claims she’s inherited a noble title, money, and a castle in Italy. While Bert is more than a little skeptical, the mystery of her aristocratic family’s past, and the chance to escape her stressful life for a luxury holiday in Italy, is too good to pass up.
At first, her inheritance seems like a dream come true: a champagne-drenched trip on a private jet to Turin, Italy; lawyers with lists of artwork and jewels bequeathed to Bert; a helicopter ride to an ancestral castle nestled in the Italian Alps below Mont Blanc; a portrait gallery of ancestors Bert never knew existed; and a cellar of expensive vintage wine for Bert to drink.
But her ancestry has a dark side, and Bert soon learns that her family history is particularly complicated. As Bert begins to unravel the Montebianco secrets, she begins to realize her true inheritance lies not in a legacy of ancestral treasures, but in her very genes.
Kim’s Review:
This one was … odd. At first, I considered giving it 3 stars, but then I gave it 4; if nothing else, it kept my attention! I got this book for Christmas and I was so excited because it had everything I love! Italy, ancient families, an old castle in the mountains, family secrets … a gothic tale that I hoped would be filled with spirits, mystery, haunting a, murder, intrigue, fabulous style and architecture! And to be fair, it had almost all of that. But dang if I ended in a way different place that I ever expected to be!
I can’t say much about it because I don’t want to give anything away, but holy crap on a cracker. By the time I was finished reading, I was just shaking my head trying to make sense of what the fudge I just read! I mean, I’m still speechless. I’m actually sending my copy to a friend so she can read it and tell me what’s happening! It’s intriguing, it’s confusing, it’s fascinating, it’s frustrating, and I guess I can’t fault a book for being all those things! Just read it, you’ll see what I mean.
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Book Review: He Started It by Samantha Downing
He Started It
Author: Samantha Downing
Published: July 21, 2020
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 19-29, 2020
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan haven’t all been together in years. And for very good reasons—we’ll get to those later. But when their wealthy grandfather dies and leaves a cryptic final message in his wake, the siblings and their respective partners must come together for a cross-country road trip to fulfill his final wish and—more importantly—secure their inheritance.
But time with your family can be tough. It is for everyone.
It’s even harder when you’re all keeping secrets and trying to forget a memory—a missing person, an act of revenge, the man in the black truck who won’t stop following your car—and especially when at least one of you is a killer and there’s a body in the trunk. Just to name a few reasons.
But money is a powerful motivator. It is for everyone.
Jessica’s Review:
I recently listened to Downing’s debut novel My Lovely Wife and absolutely loved it, so much that right after finishing it I picked up the audiobook of He Started It. I also enjoyed this one.
This is the road trip that you don’t ever want to go on: Estranged siblings who have not seen each other in years must come back together to earn their inheritance by taking a return road trip that they took with their grandfather when they were younger, and also complete his final wish.
Everything is not as it seems as ALL the characters have many secrets, some deadly. And it appears they have a stalker that is following them across the country…. Or is it a stalker???
He Started It goes back and forth between the past and present: The past is the road trip taken when they were kids, and the present with the repeat road trip. None of the characters are likeable and this family was very dysfunctional in the past and even more so now. The novel did drag some for me but then when it got to the ending, I was blown away and totally not expecting things to happen in the way that they did. The ending did make the parts that dragged on worth it for me
This is one that I do recommend, but definitely read Downing’s debut!!!
Purchase Links:
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