January 2025 Book Reviews by Sahara, Julie, & Karen

I was a fan of the original Twilight, so favored this rewrite. There were elements I preferred over the female-driven tale, such as this story did a better job showing the protagonist as an old spirit who cared for their parents more than just being awkward for lacking social skills. I felt it did a better job showing the disconnect was from a difference in responsibility and maturity than introversion. Inversely, there were things I felt came across better in the original.
I found it difficult at times to switch the genders on all the main characters. I’m not sure it fit for all of them or was necessary. It was a good concept, and well executed (sometimes better than the original story in organization), but I think different choices could have strengthened the story. For example, I don’t think Alice and Jasper needed to be Archie and Jessamine. For me, it took some of the power of their back stories from them, especially given the historical timeframe.
I think this version did justice for ending. It felt more genuine to me, especially for the role swaps. Also, it brought out more nuances and the couple seemed to have a better line of communication than the original. I appreciated that greatly.
Overall, this was a great title. I was better engaged than when I read the original and saw the author’s growth. I recommend it, and I feel the reimagined version makes it more accessible for those who probably didn’t connect with the story the first time.

I ran across this book on a friend’s blog with a review she wrote. It sounded different, it was horror, on Kindle Unlimited, and a very short read at only 21 pages. So, I thought I’d give it a go.
For being a short story, there’s a lot that goes on. The author is very descriptive and there’s definitely a creep factor to the story. To me, the tale was more creepy then scary. I kinda figured out what was going to happen, so no surprises there. But Dixon set the ambiance of the bookstore, and the guardian, very well.
This is a period piece, in that it takes place in the past. So, I understand some of the writing has to reflect that time. Yet, the first paragraph was one long run on sentence. And the further I got into the story, the more blatant the editing errors became. I’d say it was elf-edited, and it shows. It did take me out of the story, but I also enjoyed the tale.
If you love a creepy short story with a different spin, you might enjoy the book. I give it 4 stars.

I came across I, Robot, Soldier in a selection of books posted by someone on Facebook. Immediately I found myself drawn to the cover. I hadn’t read about robots before and it appealed to me, I fell in love with the one in Lost in Space, and this book reminded me of it.
Well, every once a while a novel comes along that is totally different from anything else. This was it. It’s full of long words that fitted with the world of the robot. What I also loved, and have never seen some before, is how each chapter starts with an alluring photo. Mostly of OS, the robot, and Amy the girl.
The story is told from the perspective of the OS, and his observations of the world. The way he learns from his young charge really had me hooked.
I delayed starting this because I’m not keen on books with over three hundred pages. They always lag in the middle and I’m always keen to get it finished before the end.
This one didn’t lag and I was actually sorry to reach the last page. It was the easiest of reads. What also kept me going was that it was a two book series, and I was eager to continue the story.
However, much to my dismay, although it said it was a series, book two was the paperback version.
If you want something different, I recommend this fabulously entertaining book.