Category Archives: Reason: LitHub Bingo

I finished LitHub BINGO… 2020

Yes, it’s 2023, but I finally finished my 101 book giant LitHub 2020 BINGO board! Here’s what I read for each prompt (for the TBR Folder prompts I had a kid give me a random number to match the page number of the Kindle screen and then another random number to match the book on that screen):

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Filed under Reason: LitHub Bingo

Aries by Gemma James

Aries by Gemma James

Aries cannot truly be called a novella. It’s a serial, the first installment of what should’ve just been a longer book. It’s interesting and reasonably well written and the premise is good, too. The problem is the direction the story went with the queen falling in love with her captor, the man abusing her and keeping her as a sex slave. That’s not a love story, that’s Stockholm Syndrome. Not cool at all. I don’t recommend this book.

2 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 24
Pages Read in 2023: 7455

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Filed under Realistic Fiction, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: LitHub Bingo

An American Princess by Annejet van der Zijl and translated by Michele Hutchison

An American Princess by Annejet van der Zijl and translated by Michele Hutchison

Allene Tew was a fascinating woman who lived back in the early 1900s. She was wealthy, but met with lots of tragedy in her life. She was married five times, once to a prince making her one of the first Americans to become an actual princess. This book tells the story of her live in an engaging way. Many biographies are dry and often boring, but this one was interesting right from the start. I recommend this book to people who enjoy biographies.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 14
Pages Read in 2023: 4891

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Filed under Biography, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: LitHub Bingo

Happy Doomsday by David Sosnowski

Happy Doomsday by David Sosnowski

Happy Doomsday started out so great. Rotating between three people who would ultimately end up together with crazy stuff happening in between, the writing is very good and the story sucks you right in. But then it just kind of lost itself. It’s like the author just didn’t know where to go or what to do. The last quarter wasn’t great which was a disappointment after the first three-quarters being excellent. It’s not a bad book, especially if you enjoy young adult dystopian, but it’s not at all a must read.

3 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 10
Pages Read in 2023: 3554

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Filed under Dystopian, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: LitHub Bingo, Young Adult

The Bitter Taste of Betrayal by CeeCee James

The Bitter Taste of Betrayal by CeeCee James

The Bitter Taste of Betrayal is a pleasant cozy mystery. The story is engaging. I’m not sure how she figured out where the (not) dead guy was being held. That was kind of sudden, but if you just go with it and don’t think too hard it’s fine. There are a lot of characters, some who are important but not mentioned for long periods of time so you have to try to remember who is meant when they pop back up. Overall, it’s a nice bit of brain candy. I recommend The Bitter Taste of Betrayal to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 6
Pages Read in 2023: 1988

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Filed under Cozy Mystery, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: LitHub Bingo

Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy

Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy

Based on the Pandora’s Box myth, young Pandora accidentally opens the box with all the ills of the world and she (along with her two friends and her dog) must go and collect them and put them back in the box. Pandora Gets Jealous is the first in the series. It’s a very cute book, and often quite funny. The main characters are well rounded and have distinct voices and personalities. I found it to be quite enjoyable, and a quick read. It’s one that can be used as a family read aloud or given to kids to read on their own with no concerns. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Greek mythology.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 3
Pages Read in 2023: 1063

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Filed under Middle Grades, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: LitHub Bingo, Reason: We Be Book'N

Marriage Can Be Murder by Susan Santangelo

Marriage Can Be Murder by Susan Santangelo

Carol is back at trying to solve yet another too-close-to-home murder. There is a lot in this book that is ridiculous (such as the reasons for having basically no one at the wedding) and those things often took me out of the story while I rolled my eyes. The writing is mediocre. The formatting on the Kindle makes it very hard to enjoy reading. The big reveal pretty much came out of left field. Marriage Can Be Murder is not a book to go out of your way to read.

3 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 115
Pages Read in 2022: 39,843
Graphic Novels: 4

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Filed under Cozy Mystery, Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: LitHub Bingo

Banana Peels on the Tracks by Jason Lockwood

Banana Peels on the Tracks by Jason Lockwood

The author of Banana Peels on the Tracks spent a year (1992-93) teaching English in Slovakia. I’d hardly say he “came of age” in post-communist Slovakia as his book cover says (he was already an adult with college and some years of work under his belt). He spent the year looking down on his students, judging them hard, and traveling, always looking for whatever he could find that was most similar to what’s found in the US (because it is, obviously, far superior to anything local). His attitude toward Slovakians and pretty much anything in Slovakia started out mildly annoying and got downright infuriating by the end. He was just kind of rude (and then spent the last chapter talking about how open minded and accepting he is, particularly compared to his friends who only think they are, which just made me laugh because of the incredible lack of self-awareness). He described most of his younger, high school age, female students as “pretty” which was a bit creepy given the age difference. Some of his reasons for disliking Slovakians included things that happen in the US as well (a woman being dragged by her husband/boyfriend, a man being assaulted in a subway tunnel). As with many memoirs, he did not seem to know how to end it and went on for about two chapters too long. Some things in the book are interesting enough, but I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way to read it.

2 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 113
Pages Read in 2022: 39,266
Graphic Novels: 4

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Filed under Memoir, Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: LitHub Bingo

Lost and Found by Amy Shojai

Lost and Found by Amy Shojai

The attitude toward those with autism in this book is a bit alarming, clearly a “they are damaged and so we must fix them” sort of thing. Also, the medical people refer to the medication they are giving as a cure. A medication that must be given daily at precise intervals for life in order to prevent violent side effects and keep the person taking it free of signs of autism is not a cure. The premise is kind of over the top unbelievable. Refusing to involve the police makes no sense. That they just wanted a flash drive and were willing to kill and kidnap multiple people in order to get it also makes no sense. It’s a quick and easy read and, while totally unbelievable, the writing itself is excellent. It’s not a must read, but it’s not one that should definitely be skipped either.

3 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 111
Pages Read in 2022: 38,989
Graphic Novels: 3

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Filed under Realistic Fiction, Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: LitHub Bingo, Thriller

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton had a way with writing that made me actually enjoy sci-fi. He was able to explain scientific sounding things in a way that made them easy to understand. The Andromeda Strain progresses at a steady pace making you feel like you are in the lab with the scientists. Often it’ll say things like “he wouldn’t realize his mistake for two days” letting the reader know that something was missed or done wrong and there will be repercussions that you are just waiting to watch unfold. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sci-fi thrillers or is a fan of Michael Crichton’s writing.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 106
Pages Read in 2022: 37,190
Graphic Novels: 3

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Filed under Reason: I Like the Author, Reason: LitHub Bingo, Science Fiction, Thriller