Książka "Bóg nigdy nie mruga" Reginy Brett to przewodnik po pułapkach ludzkiej egzystencji. Brett przedstawia nam swoje rady i przemyślenia, do których doszła po ciężkich doświadczeniach, jakie zgotował jej los. Czasem daje delikatne wskazówki, czasem po prostu zwraca uwagę na drobne sprawy, które w natłoku codziennych obowiązków gdzieś nam umykają.
Książkę czyta się bardzo szybko. Poszczególne rozdziały mają zaledwie kilka stron, więc jest to idealna lektura do poczytania równolegle z innymi książkami w międzyczasie. Mimo, że niektóre felietony zawarte w książce traktują o poważnych chorobach czy trudnych chwilach w życiu, każdy z nich zawiera jakąś optymistyczną nutę. Jeśli zagłębić się w biografii autorki, trudnych chwil w jej życiu nie brakowało. Jak sama przyznaje dopiero choroba nowotworowa, na którą zapadła okazała się momentem przełomowym, kiedy zaczęła żyć pełnią życia.
Dzieło autorki napisane jest prostym językiem i zrozumiałym dla zwykłego czytelnika. Książkę poleciłabym każdemu, kto narzeka, marudzi, jest chory, ma ambicje, ale brak sił do realizacji marzeń. Młodemu człowiekowi, człowiekowi w kwiecie wieku, staremu człowiekowi, bo nigdy nie jest za późno na spełnianie się w każdej roli.

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

This was an interesting concept for a book, however the way it was carried out was frustrated for me.

The plot is set out as if the reader is meant to be able to help solve it, but for me, the solution came out of nowhere and I couldn't engage with the clues. This style was mirrored in A Challenge to the Reader. I was very excited by this idea of finding a hidden message in the illustrations, however I didn't even come close to solving it. I had no idea what I was doing. It was only until I looked at the answer that I figured out the pattern and then was able to solve it. (Also, I struggled to find the supposed answer on the provided website in the book, but was finally able to locate it on Scholastic's Teacher's Activity Guide under Downloads near the bottom.)

The concept was clever and cool, but a lot of the clues were horribly hard to find. There were three that I could not find for the life of me until I looked up what I was supposed to be searching for. Only then was I able to see them. I do think finding the clues gets easier as you go, because you learn where Helquist is likely to hide them (space on walls, panes in windows). I'd recommend looking for all of the clues once you finish the book rather than as you read. It really pulls you out of the story and was just frustrating to me until I figured out what I was supposed to do. It may have been more successful if the prompt had been clearer. For instance, I understood the prompt for odd versus even but interpreted it in a different way than was meant and therefore was very frustrated.

Besides that frustration, I thought the book was good. It was written in an interesting way, had an unique premise, and was a cool way to raise interest in controversies in the art world. I didn't necessarily relate to either of the main characters and they felt pretty flat, but I think you can get away with that in a book meant for younger audiences. The plot itself was okay, a bit slow at times. There were times of suspense, but usually it didn't really pull me in because I couldn't engage with the mystery. It was written as though the reader was supposed to solve the crime with the characters, but there was too much hidden behind the scenes that I couldn't catch on to. Maybe I'm just not great at mysteries, but I mostly felt along for the ride on this one.

Interesting ideas about coincidences and such, but it did feel pretty random once the mystery was solved. I don't really put much faith in coincidences so maybe that just didn't resonate with me, but the final reveal was a bit of a let down and I felt there should have been more to it.

Good attempt with the puzzles and clues, but for me, it was too difficult. The pattern felt nearly impossible to solve until I looked up what I was supposed to be doing. I really enjoy books that allow the reader to solve puzzles such as Emily Rodda's Deltora books, which is geared toward a younger audience, but these ones felt a bit too difficult. You really had to be in the author and illustrator's heads to know what to do, which was frustrating. Fun once I knew what to do, but at the start, I had no hope.

Overall, an okay read. Had good potential, but was a bit flat at the end for me. I'm kind of intrigued that it is a series. May or may not continue if my library has the rest of the books.

This has some beautiful artwork.

Operation Hail Storm by Brett Arquette is an intriguing book.

It's about Marshall Hail who seemed to have it all until his family was killed in a terrorist attack. That changed his purpose. He became devoted to revenge and designed a devastating arsenal of attack drones. I gave it four stars.

I received a complimentary copy from the author. That did not change my opinion for this review.

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Hail-Storm-Brett-Arquette-ebook/dp/B07H8K7NXX

DNF at 20% and no rating because I do not rate DNF's.

I suppose I need to be better about researching books before I agree to review them. I prefer going in blind and reading reviews after I've read the book so as not to get my opinion tainted, or accidentally snatch a phrase and sometimes avoiding blurbs and reviews bites me in the butt. This is one of those times. I have to call this one quits. I can stomach almost anything but too much animal abuse is something that haunts me and this book is filled to the brim with it.

TW: Rape, Animal Cruelty & I don't know what else because I'm calling it quits at 20%.

The book moves and is decently written and it is expertly narrated by Joe Hempel but the content was simply too much for me. Call me a wuss, if you will, I can take it. I've read Ketchum's THE GIRL NEXT DOOR & Brite's EXQUISITE CORPSE & even J.F. Gonzalez's SURVIVOR (which I instantly regretted) but those books, as bleak and terrible as the acts were, weren't squishing the heads of puppies nor were they explicitly detailing a dog fighting ring. That is a level of bleak blackheartedness that I choose to avoid in my reading life at this point in time. 

So what is it about? A young woman decides to purchase a yorkie so she can dress it up and stick it in her purse and love it to pieces. She doesn't want to wait months to get a pup from a legit breeder and instead heads out to a remote address to purchase a pup from a backyard breeder. Things do not go well and the family of backwoods weirdos throw her in a cage. Horrible things begin to happen and I will let you use your imagination here because I made it to about 20% before I had to shut it off.

Your mileage may vary. As I said, I can't abide dog abuse and death very well having lived with so many sweet innocent souls in my lifetime and it's something I choose to avoid in my reading time.