Helen Power

Scribbler & Scholar

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Tag: review

July 15, 2019 Helen

Futuristic Canada reviewed by Amazing Stories!

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For book reviews, visit: PowerLibrarian

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This #SockSunday I'm finally getting around to rereading what I wrote during NaNoWriMo. It's rough in parts, but overall, not terrible! I've made a checklist for what to look out for during the reread, including some things that I added later in the plot that I need to allude to earlier on in the book. . I'm going to put all my Christmas cards up on the wall above my desk later today (maybe), and I'll take a picture to share later this week! I bought a Nanowrimo poster to go above my desk, and it was shipped later than expected, so I really really hope I get it before I fly home for Christmas 🤞 . QOTD: How are you spending this frigid Sunday? . . #amwriting #sunday #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2019 #productivity #goals #motivation #socks #cozy #workspace #office #writingcommunity #writersofinstagram #wip #writingupdate #writing #update #writewritewrite #writenow #view #authorsofinstagram #author #amwritingfantasy
Editing a Book Review on a lazy Saturday morning. I need to get some of these written up so I can get back to work on my novel! . "Lock Every Door" by Riley Sager. Thanks #NetGalley for the book to review! This read gets 5 whopping stars from me... . Synopsis Jules Larson is broke. She found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her the same day she lost her job, and now she is also homeless. So, she seeks out a new job as an apartment sitter so she’ll have a place to live while she job hunts. Little does she know that the apartment is in the Bartholomew, one of New York City’s oldest and most historical buildings, and the setting of her favourite novel. When she accepts the job, the rules she is required to follow seem a little strange, but they’re paying her so much money that she doesn’t ask any questions. That is, until she starts to wonder what has happened to the other apartment sitters… . Plot This novel has an intriguing premise. The plot is steady throughout, and as is very common in psychological thrillers these days, we’re introduced to two timelines. The present day, where Jules has awoken after a car accident in which she got into after “escaping” the Bartholomew. And one to a week or two earlier, when she first accepts the job as an apartment sitter, all bright eyed and filled with hope. While I understand that this type of storytelling is necessary for the lazy reader these days–I guess we don’t like reading something unless there’s action right away–I rarely enjoy this in novels. For Lock Every Door, most of the story is written about the events leading up to whatever frightened her so much that she didn’t obey the cardinal rule of looking both ways before crossing the street. While Sager may have been forced into this dual narrative, he does a fabulous job of not revealing too much in the present day timeline. He does this by keeping these chapters short and punchy, and they actually left me wanting more. The twist at the end of the novel wasn’t quite as good as I was expecting. There’s a development previous to this twist, introduced as a red herring to distract from the truth, and to be honest, I would have preferred if that were the t
I was overly ambitious when I made my plans for book reviews and editing my novel this week. I made a couple of online orders over Black Friday weekend, and I've been dealing with the hassle of deliveries (or lack thereof) and swamped with work, so when I finally have time to relax I just wanna lie on the couch! That said, this weekend I will be getting back into my novel! Who knows, maybe the last week of not even touching it will give me the distance I need to make it amazing! . Anyway, this Throwback Thursday is of me last year, reading at the beach, not a care in the world! I'm hoping to have some time/energy to read The Dead Girl's Club tonight! Here's to hoping! . . . . . #amreading #tbt #throwbackthursday #goodreads #bookstagram #canadianbookstagram #windsor #booklover #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #writersofsinstagram #wip #booknerd #bookdragon #booknerdigans #bookworm #december #christmas #busy #blackfriday #bookphotography
My aunt sent me birthday money in the mail, and I've already spent it, even though my bday isn't until next Thursday. These socks are insanely soft, and I can't wait to crack open this travel journal! It has colour pages. And the pens glide so smoothly across paper! #love . Thanks Auntie! . . . . #bookworm #bookstagram #notebook #travel #bibliophile #booknerdigans #bookdragon #booksbooksbooks #socks #wanderlust #canadianbookstagram #bookishcanadians #booklove #booklover #birthday #treatyourself #thankful #outofprint #writersofinstagram #writing #amwriting #writer #author #authorsofinstagram
"A Madness of Sunshine" by Nalini Singh is released today! Check out the full book review at: https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/2019/12/03/a-madness-of-sunshine/ Thanks to @netgalley and @berkleypub for the arc to review! . ☀️Synopsis☀️ When Anahera’s husband dies, she decides to return home to Golden Cove, a little town in New Zealand where she grew up. But soon after her arrival, a popular young woman goes missing, and it’s up to Anahera and the town’s sole cop to figure out what happened to her. Nothing is as it seems, and this little town has more than its fair share of suspects… . ☀️🌸☀️ My Thoughts ☀️🌸☀️ A Madness of Sunshine is an engaging read from its very first line. While engaging, it is a slower read, and Singh puts an emphasis on building the town and its characters prior to introducing the overall mystery. The plot takes on the characteristics of an Agatha Christie mystery. Whatever happened to Miriama, it’s clear from the beginning that someone in town knows what happened to her. It becomes evident that we already know the character responsible for her disappearance, and it’s up to Anahera and Tom to find out who. While reading the book, I wrote the note “these people are all assholes”, and that’s true. There are so many potential murderers/psychopaths, that it seems like *anyone* could be responsible for Miriama’s disappearance. . I recommend this book to anyone looking for a thrilling mystery with beautiful prose, captivating characters, and a hint of romance. . ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ . . . . . #amreading #booklover #thriller #bookreview #bookstagram #netgalley #nalinisingh #canadianbookstagram #bookphotography #advancedreadercopy #arc #reading #readersofinstagram #read #whattoread #goodreads #booknerdigans #bookdragon #booklove #coverlove #newzealand #mystery #bibliophile #fiction #bookaholic #booksbooksbooks
If you’re like me, you love Christmas, but you find a lot of the books and movies and TV specials are just a little too wholesome. You need some darkness mixed in with the Christmas lights and some blood spattered across your candy canes. When I saw the call for stories for a Christmas horror anthology, I jumped at the opportunity. I had a lot of fun writing my short story “It’s that Time of Year”, and hopefully the readers will have a lot of fun reading it! (And by “fun”, I mean that they’ll bite their nails all the way to the quick and curse at me when they read that final, gut-wrenching twist.) "Eerie Christmas" is now available on sale! I can't wait to get my greedy little hands on my contributor paperback copy. Link to the amazon page in bio! . . . . . . #amwriting #christmas #horror #bookstagram #blackharepress #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #ampublished #amwritinghorror #horrorlover #horrorfan #holidayseason #christmastime #booklover #canadianbookstagram #whattoread #anthology #shortstories #goodreads #tbr #scary #author #writer #keepwriting #goals #achievements #bibliophile #bookphotography
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