J.R. Wagner's Author Blog: book reviews

Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts

Monday, March 25, 2013

Book Reviewer? Get Tristis Manor on NetGalley now

by J.R. Wagner

Are you a book reviewer?

Please consider reading and reviewing Tristis Manor.

I am very proud to announce that all proceeds from now until July 20th will be donated to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). Your review can help spread the word and help benefit this wonderful organization.

Below is a widget if you'd like to spread the word on your own blog or website as well as the link to the NetGalley version of Tristis Manor.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/netgalley-covers/cover28988-small.png

Tristis Manor

Don't want to use an image or hyperlink for your widget? Here is the direct URL for this widget:

link to Tristis Manor on NetGalley

Quick Synopsis: Margaret lives in a constant state of fear. Fear of her mother, whose constant state of anger and unwillingness to speak of Margaret's past have long since pushed Margaret away. Fear of disappointing her father should he ever discover the events of that day. Most of all, Margaret lives in fear of her abuser's return. Margaret turns to self-harm to cope with her pain and fear. Only when her self-inflicted injuries bring her near death does she realize she has the power and the support from an unlikely place to stand up to her fears and believe in herself again. Tristis Manor is a novella from The Never Chronicles, an epic fantasy series.

Thank you for your honest reviews.

~In the book world, word of mouth is king~

New from J.R. Wagner...

A tale of perseverance, strength and redemption.

Available Now!

www.TheNeverChronicles.com

In bookstores

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Book Thoughts: Son by Lois Lowry part 2

by J.R. Wagner

This is part 2 of this post. Click below for part 1.
Part 1

Warning: Spoiler Alert!!!! As always, I like to think of this as a collection of thoughts rather than a review.

As I was saying (in part 1) Son is broken into three parts. Of all three, I found the second most enjoyable.

After escaping on board a supply boat, Claire finds herself in a small village by the sea having shipwrecked and lost all memory of how she got there. She recovers and regains some of her memories -most importantly that she has a son for whom she is is bent upon finding.

The village is situated at the base of sheer cliffs. There are two ways to leave the village. First is by sea, which Claire has no desire to attempt due to her fear of the water. Second is up the cliffs. Only one villager has ever made it to the top of the cliffs. (only to be tossed back down and crippled in the process)

Claire decides to try for the top of the cliffs under the guidance of Einar (the guy who made it up...then tossed off). Her training begins. When she is finally ready to make the climb. Six years have passed. I really enjoyed her training, which was far from boring or monotonous.

It had been six years now since the day she had been carried from the sea, and five since the morning that Elen's birth had returned the memory of her son to her. Somewhere he would be a half-grown boy; running, shouting, playing.

The Climb

The climb out spans four chapters and is covered in meticulous detail. You feel as though you are there with Claire with every hand-hold, every step up, every slip.

It took Claire longer than she had expected to make her way through the narrow shadowed tunnel that the crevice had formed. It was not life-threatening, as the rope-assisted passage across the cliff face had been.There was no sheer drop here.

Does she make it up? Yes. What I will not divulge is what waits for her at the top. I had envisioned all sorts of men and monsters yet none were quite so terrible as what Claire eventually faced. But face it she does.

Part three of the book is less about Claire (which I found disappointing because she is such a compelling character) and more about her son, Gabe. Because I have not read Gathering Blue or Messenger, I was not aware that Jonas and Gabe had survived their trek over the mountain (and was somewhat disappointed to find out that they had, mostly because in the back of my mind I wonder whether keeping them alive was best for the story) but it was immediately apparent in part three of this book that both are alive and well.

The story seems to slow at this point. I suppose if I had more invested into these characters (by reading books 2 and 3) I would have enjoyed spending more time with them but my only focus was on Claire, who was a peripheral character for much of this part of the story.

I will not ruin the details of the ending. I'll say I wasn't thrilled with the wrap-up -but I'm one of those readers who like endings that make you think (like The Giver) more often than endings that leave you feeling satiated.

-----------------------------

~In the book world, word of mouth is king~

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

To purchase Exiled, option the movie rights, hire me as a writer for the next Blade Runner film, the next Star Wars film...any film! For updates on the soon-to-be-released novella(pictured below), book 2 updates, for videos, fan art, contests and more awesomeness, visit my website (click on the website tab)

New from J.R. Wagner...

A tale of perseverance, strength and redemption.

Coming soon.

www.TheNeverChronicles.com

In bookstores now

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Book Thoughts: Son by Lois Lowry part 1

by J.R. Wagner

Warning: Spoiler Alert!!!! As always, I like to think of this as a collection of thoughts rather than a review.

I recently started and finished reading Son, by Lois Lowry. I read and thoroughly enjoyed The Giver and for some reason, I decided to skip over the second (Gathering Blue) and third book (Messenger) in the series and go right to the last. Don't ask me why. I have books 2 and 3 sitting on my shelf waiting to be read...anyway

Book Thoughts: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

By J.R. Wagner

The 10 Worst blog posts

by J.R. Wagner

The year is nearly through and everyone is coming up with lists so, in the spirit of end-of-year lists, I have created my own.

Because I enjoy giving myself a hard time just as much as anyone else, I've decided to list my ten worst blog posts. The only factor in determining their order is the number of page views. Here we go!

10: On Book Reviews

Apparently my diatribe about the unimportance of book reviews when it comes to deciding which book one should read did not go over well -that is, only 33 people decided to click on the link (no idea if any of them actually read the post). I honestly thought I would have ruffled more feathers with that one but...statistics speak louder than words.

10: Speaking Engagement

(yes a tie) With such a captivating title, I can't imagine why only 33 people bothered to view the post. Really it was simply an announcement of a place I would be speaking and therefore should grab the interest of only a local audience...but still, what a crappy title!

9: Desire for the Apocalypse: a Psychological Analysis

Granted this was simply an announcement stating that a series of posts would be forthcoming but still...it is a cool topic! Apparently only 32 people agreed.

8: Happy Birthday to...me

Nothing like a morale booster when only 32 readers bother to even click on my birthday post. And in my defense, it was pretty GD funny. Sheesh.

7: My first book review EVER -Legend by Marie Lu

I find it hard to believe that only 31 people cared enough to check out my first review -EVER! Or simply the fact that so few people cared to find out more about Marie Lu's new book. Sure, the review was short (but you wouldn't know until you actually looked at it) and I supposed throwing out the fact that I am an inexperienced book reviewer in the title probably isn't the wisest marketing tool.

6: What are you entitled to?

I'd at least be curious about what I'm entitled to...me and 26 other folks. Apparently everyone else on the planet already knows what they're entitled to.

5: Time to Celebrate!

Only 25 people were in a partying mood on that day, it seems. Who wouldn't want to celebrate? I don't get it. Everybody loves a party!

4: How to cope with Death...in writing

Who doesn't want to read about death? Everyone loves death? If you're a writer, you probably write about death all the time! So why only 25 people found the energy to press the little button on their mouse while hovering over that title escapes me completely.

Now we are down in the dregs of the bottom three.

3: Front Row Lit Exiled and the value of a good publicist

I understand the title is confusing. I get it...BUT if you're a writer, a wanna be writer or somewhere in between, wouldn't you be slightly curious about what value a good publicist can provide? Well, only 22 of you thought it was worth the energy expenditure to find out.

2: Mr. Lee

I truly wish more people would have set eyes on this true story (only 17 did). Heart warming. Inspiring. Motivating. Grounding. The world needs more men like Mr Lee!

1: Book 2 Updates

Okay...thousands of people have purchased my first book, which must mean at least SOME of you have read it. I'm asked all the time about book 2. Here I have posted something addressing just that topic and ONLY 16 PEOPLE thought it was worth their time to see what was new with book 2. Logical? No.

And there you have it. My first end of year list. Hopefully I won't run off and fall into an irrecoverable state of depression.