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The Amazon blurb and preview of the best selling book, "Find Layla"
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A first three chapter review of the YA book, "A Girl from Nowhere"
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A first three chapter review of the YA book, "The Selection"
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First Chapter Review of the book, "Turtles All The Way Down" written by John Green
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Information about the book and the first two chapters read. My opinions about why I think it is a good book to read.
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The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas 4.8 on 1242 reviews Published Feb 27, 2017 675 in the paid Kindle store Voted #1 for Young Adult Fiction in the Goodreads Readers Choice awards for 2017 (Next week I'm going to review number 2. The the following week #1 in Young Adult Fantasy.) Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer....
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To the Falls Book one of the falls trilogy Heather Renee 4.6 stars on 120 reviews Published April 29, 2017 Book 2 From The Falls, Published on August 4th and has 4.7 stars on 94 reviews Book 3 Embracing the Falls, Published on on December 29th, just a few days ago. It has a 4.9 star average on 56 reviews. This author has her street team in place to get that many reviews up so quickly. Good for her. She appears to be a self published author and making smart moves. She has published her entire trilogy in one year and all three books are in the top 55K for the paid kindle store. That means she...
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Inception: A Dark Paranormal Romance (The Marked Book 1) by Bianca Scardoni Published in September of 2015 it has 4.5 Stars on 727 Amazon reviews. I chose this book because I wanted one that was doing really well on the top 100 Young Adult book index. This was number 11, behind a bunch of Harry Potters and Hunger Game titles, on the day I bought it. It's now at 31 on that list, though #1 on three indices and #205 on the paid kindle store. Book 2 was published in June of 2016 and Book 3 in April of this year, 2017. I don't know from looking at them if they will end with the third book, or if...
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Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin Mckinley First published in 1978 by HarperTeen So, that is the first chapter of Beauty. About sixteen pages. I love the author's use of language. Even though the story is told in first person, I hardly notice it. The story continues with the family selling off their mansion in the city, traveling to the country and setting up shop on the edge of an enchanted forest. It takes a few twists but eventually Beauty ends up in the magical castle, alone with the fright some beast. When Disney's Beauty and the Beast was announced, I...
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Erasmus T. Muddiman by Kathrine Pym In retrospect, I think this is more of a middle grade story. At least it starts that way. And since I already recorded the first two chapters I'm going with it for this weeks episode anyway. Mostly because I like the author's voice. She has found a convincing way of portraying the time period in her choice of language. The characters are interesting and realistic. Also, the other book I started had two violent rapes in the first five pages and the writing was mediocre. If you're interested in reading a violent, mediocre book, email me at...
info_outlineKeeper of dragons, the prince returns, keeper of dragons book 1
By J.A. Culican
4.4 stars on 113 reviews
https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Dragons-Prince-Returns-Book-ebook/dp/B01FYL5BD0/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QK5WX8ZDQT98PHMQDAG2
Amazon blurb:
A mystical calling.
On his 18th birthday, Cole learns that he is a dragon fated to save all that was deemed true.
Destiny.
Cole's life spirals into an uncontrollable battle for life or death. First, he learns that his family isn't really his own and his birth parents are dragons. With that legacy comes a special calling; devoting an eternity to protecting all true beings from creatures bent on controlling the Earth and bringing an end to dragons.
Danger.
As the newly-minted Prince of Ochana, Cole is also the Keeper of Dragons and his first task is to keep the nefarious farro-fallen fairies-at bay. With no formal training, no control of his mahier-dragon magic, and fear like he's never experienced before, will Cole be able to reach outside of his human side and embrace his destiny in time to defeat the farros?
The Amazon preview has the Prolog, chapter 1 and most of chapter 2.
(READ the Chapters)
You've heard the blurb, so you know more about what is going than Cole does, even after the first chapter. Though I bought the ebook, I've read as much of the second chapter as is included in the preview, and Cole still doesn't know what he's in for.
I don't think the prolog gave us enough background to be considered a prolog and should have been called Chapter 1. A prolog should tell us information about the story or its characters that will enlighten us in subsequent chapters as to why they act as they do, or what has set up the plot. In my humble opinion, if there had to be a preview for this book, it should have shown us Cole's birth parents handing him off and giving us clues about their true nature and why they wouldn't be able to raise him safely in their kingdom. That's not the way this author works. They would rather hide information, perhaps for some great reveal, than give us clues about what is happening.
Between what we learn in the prolog and the first chapter, I think they could have been combined into one.
Dragging information out of a character annoys me. Characters should stop interupting others and let them speak. And I expect them to spill the beans and not feed me any of this, "You'll understand when we get where we're going."
"Cole, we're dragons. You're a dragon and we need to get going."
Are there still questions in the reader's mind? Of course. Cole now knows what we know from the blurb, but none of us know how this works and what will happen when he gets to dragon land.
So, what am I saying about this book's first chapters? I'm giving it 4 stars. It got a lot of good reviews. It's sitting at #6 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teen & Young Adult > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Interactive Adventures, so I feel there is potential for a good book. I would read on for a few more chapters to find out if the author creates any real conflict other than only refusing to tell us what's going on.