#AugustReviews Hall of Fame: Part 2

The next 43 reviews, posted from August 6th - 1oth

I can't believe how far-reaching #AugustReviews has become!  Again, thanks so much to everyone who has joined in, spread the word, re-posted, blogged, retweeted, put on Facebook, etc etc.... now, we just need everyone who reads it to write a review!  Huge thanks to everyone who has contributed so far.

If you don't know what it's about, my original post is HERE.  The first batch of reviews is HERE.

Sorry, got to do the boring bit too...

#AugustReviews hashtag: links to Amazon reviews written by you only, not promotion for your own books.  Please respect this.

and..please do not tweet blog links to the hashtag.   

Why not?

• The purpose of this initiative is to get more readers posting reviews on Amazon.  If you post blog links, it might put off new reviewers and lead them to think you need a blog to review.
• It causes more work for me, as I have to go and seek out your review on Amazon!  

Do keep them coming!  If you'd like to join in but are not sure what to write, there's advice in my original post, or you can click on any of the reviews below for inspiration, or read a terrific post on With Love for Books with some great one liners: it's HERE.

Okay, here's Round Two ~ click the title of the book for the review :)
Some good examples of very short ones from Jenny, Gerry and Tom.


Jenny Worstall reviewed:
Murder at the Lighthouse by Frances Evesham (cosy mystery) 
Everybody Lies by Julia Hughes (mystery thriller)
Jam for Tea by Cathy Murray (nostalgia)

 

Gerry Book Lover reviewed Mistaken Kiss by Kathleen Baldwin (Regency romance)

Tom Williams reviewed:
The Litigators by John Grisham (thriller)
The Cuckoo's Calling by J K Rowling as Robert Galbraith (whodunnit)
Sharpe's Company by Bernard Cornwell (military adventure)

Val Poore reviewed The Lost Crown of Apollo by Suzanne Cordatos (YA Adventure)

Adrienne Vaughan reviewed: 
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (psych thriller)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (classic drama)
 
Judith Barrow reviewed: 
Hog In The Fog by Julia Copus (children's book)
Sandlands by Rosy Thornton (Sussex short stories)

Dan Jones reviewed:
The Naughtiest Boy In School by Julian Kirkman Page (Humour/education)
The Way Knight by Alexander Wallis (YA fantasy)

Georgia Rose reviewed Betwixt by Evie Gaughan (short story)

Olga reviewed The Other Side of Philip K Dick by Maer Wilson (biography)

Carol Hedges reviewed Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light by Matt Wingett (biography)

Marjorie Mallon reviewed Dead Flies and Sherry Trifle by Geoff Le Pard (coming of age)

Judith Webster reviewed Fire Blessed by Crystin Goodwin (fantasy)

Ella Noel reviewed The Suburban Judgment by Marion Kille (crime thriller)

Rosie Amber reviewed Stargate Atlantis: The Wild Blue by Melissa Scott (SciFi)

Liz Lloyd reviewed What Tim Knows by Wendy Janes (short stories)

Elle (Capes and Corsets) reviewed The Girls' Ghostbusting Agency by Kitty French (humour/mystery)

Stacey Whispering Stories reviewed
Bees in Loretta's Bonnet by Lois Wickstrom (children's book)
The Last Kiss Goodbye by Tasmina Parry (romance/drama)

Cathy Ryan reviewed:
The Perdition Score by Richard Kadrey (fantasy)
Wake-Robin Ridge by Marcia Meara(drama)

I reviewed Trust Me I Lie by Louise Marley (Mystery)

Emma Gray reviewed Faith and Beauty by Jane Thynne (spy)

Lizzie Lamb reviewed:
Go Steal A Bridegroom by Denise Lawrence (chick lit)
Jenna's Journey by Julie Ryan (drama)

The Happy Meerkat reviewed
Berg's Book of Shapes by Berg Norcross (children's book)
The Two Week Wait Challenge by Lindsay Fischer (pregnancy)
The Silver Portal by David J Normoyle (fantasy)

Suzanne Rogerson reviewed The Wedding Proposal by Sue Moorcroft (romance)

Crystin Goodwin reviewed:
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (Sci Fi)
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand (fantasy)
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (fantasy)
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (humour)
Winter by Marissa Meyer (fantasy)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (fantasy)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (fantasy)
Starflight by Melissa Landers (fantasy)

Recently I've been watching..... Game of Thrones, #AloneShow, Eye Candy and others....

My occasional Netflix etc series recommendations/comments.... click the title of the show for more details about it.

Kicking off with Season 6 of Game of Thrones.  I watched this all in one day (there are worse ways of spending your birthday when you have a bad back!!!).  Interesting for me to watch, as I've read the first five books so I knew what was coming in previous seasons, whereas I didn't with this one.  I thought it dragged a bit for the first few episodes, nowhere near as good as S5 which was the best yet, but it built up gradually to some terrific later episodes, the high point being the battle for Winterfell in the penultimate one!  Fabulous, loved it.   Some tragic deaths and highly satisfying comeuppances.  Great end, a thrilling taste of what is to come.... but it's also kind of sad that, finally, just when almost everyone is where they should be (Theon back on his island, some Starks in Winterfell, etc), with some great tying off of ends, someone and some things are going to stir it all back up again.....

*****Five Stars*****
 (Would have been 4.5 or even just 4 if not for last few eps)


 

Unusual for me, a bit of paranormal, but Stranger Things is very good indeed.  It's set in the early 1980s and is made in the atmosphere of that time, too; it's very clever.  "When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl."  Stars Winona Ryder and some excellent child actors.

****Four and a half stars**** 

Enjoyed the second series of Tyrant very much.  About a fictional middle eastern country and two warring brothers, one of whom is the tyrant named, and the other who has lived in America for much of his adult life, and arrives back home along with his wife and two children.  Lots of suspense and edge-of-seat action, good plot.   Not a total wow, but it's very good and I look forward to the next series.  Written by Gideon Raff, who wrote Prisoner of War, on which Homeland was based.

****Four Stars****

I watched the first series of survival reality show Alone and liked it alot ~ recently watched Series 2 (click for more details) and thought the contestants were all as interesting as Lucas and Alan in Series 1: the hilarious (Desmond and Larry, for different reasons), the smug and self-satisfied (Randy and Mike), the humble, natural wilderness inhabitants (Nicole and Jose) and the just nice (David and Tracy).  I was really glad about who won, but will say no more!  A couple of them seemed, despite all their boasts about their survival prowess, to be still living in a world of privilege in their heads, where they expected to actively feel good, not just get on with living in their new environment; as soon as they weren't enjoying themselves, they bolted (or 'tapped out').  The behind the scenes episodes, Making the Cut and The Reunion, were worth watching, too. 

*****Five Stars*****

 

Started watching Eye Candy by accident and got a little bit hooked!  Very silly teens/YA type serial killer thriller set in NY with lots of hugely irritating young people and cops who look as if they're in boy bands, but it's pretty good; if you're under 25 and like easy entertainment you'll probably love it!

***Three Stars*** 

Now, I don't know if I'm retreating into childhood, but I'm liking the TV series Scream, based on the cult slasher films.  It's actually very well acted and thought out, and I'm enjoying trying to work out who the slasher is this series :)  It's something for late night viewing when you feel like something a bit daft and easy to watch, I suppose.  Some of the teenagers are really annoying, but that's teenagers for you, after all; it's good, not tooo silly!

***Three stars*** 


My previous TV post is HERE, featuring The Living and the Dead, Versailles and more, with links to all other posts at the end.

#AugustReviews Hall of Fame ~ the first five days!

#AugustReviews is an initiative to get genuine readers into the habit of leaving book reviews on Amazon.  My original post about it is HERE

Another huge thank you to everyone who has shared, RT or re-posted the blog, and especially to those who have written versions of it on their own blog.  There has been so much sharing activity that to thank and comment on all individually would take me hours and hours of each day that I don't have, so please take this as an official thank you, and you're on my RT list. :)  If I don't RT you, give me a nudge!

  
*Please note: #AugustReviews is NOT about own book promotion.  
All hashtags suffer 'hashtag abuse', but I don't want this idea to get lost under yet another mountain of 'buy my book' tweets, which can only be counterproductive, as it will put off any genuine readers who might join in.

Many have already reviewed, so a big thank you to all who have joined in, and please see the list below.  

Please do not tweet blog review links to the hashtag.   

Why not?

• The purpose of this initiative is to get more readers posting reviews on Amazon.  If you post blog links, it might put new reviewers off and lead them to think you need a blog to review.
• It causes more work for me, as I have to go and seek out your review on Amazon! 

I would LOVE to see some reviews from readers who haven't written one before ~ so if any of you are reading this, please don't be shy!  If you're not sure what to put, just have a look at the ones below, which should give you a few pointers, or read this terrific post on With Love for Books with some great one liners: it's HERE.

Huge thanks to Barb Taub for her fab graphics, 
and welcome to the first...
  
...#AugustReviews Hall of Fame!

Click the title of the book to see the review :)
 

Sharon Booth reviewed Summer at Skylark Farm by Heidi Swain

I reviewed Out of Love by Diana Appleyard

Mags Cullingford reviewed Scotch on the Rocks by Lizzie Lamb 
 
Barb Taub reviewed Abe Lincoln on Acid by Brian Anthony and Bill Walker

Carol Thomas reviewed To Squeak and Hattie by JJ Morval 

Stacey from Whispering Stories reviewed:
Recipient by Dean Mayes
Becoming Phoebe by J Michael Neal
The Tudors  by Marcia Williams
Franny The Fearless Firefly by Christina Murphey

E L Lindley reviewed The Family Line by Laura Wilkinson 

Elizabeth Ducie reviewed: 
The Broken Road by Lindsay Stanberry-Flynn
A Killing Tree by Paul Toolan
Blood Hits The Wall by Judith Cranswick 
What Happens in the Alps by TA Williams
Perditas by Alison Morton

Wendy Janes reviewed Marielle by Peter Davey

The Happy Meerkat reviewed The Demon Within by Byron Nadgie

Luccia Gray reviewed:
Escape Plan by Elizabeth Hein 
I let you go by Clare Mackintosh
Under a Cornish Sky by Liz Fenwick

Liz Lloyd reviewed Trust Me I Lie by Louise Marley

Elle (Capes and Corsets) reviewed Fudge Berries and Frogs Knickers by Lynda Renham

Adrienne Vaughan reviewed Escape to the Riviera by Jules Wake

Cathy Ryan reviewed Banshee by Sarah Cradit

Catherine Hokin reviewed:
The Girl In The Glass Tower by Liz Fremantle
and my book Kings and Queens

Ella Noel reviewed:
Horizontal Living by Ray Green
M'TK Sewer Rat by Delinda MCann

 
Rosie Amber reviewed:
Harbinger by Marcia Meara 
Her Enemy At The Altar by Virginia Heath 
Dante's Key by G L Baron

Rachel Poli reviewed:
The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse 
A Spark of Justice by JD Hawkins
Walking Over Eggshells by Lucinda E Clarke

Shelley Wilson reviewed The Last Necromancer by C J Archer

 
Sarah Houldcroft reviewed my book Best Seller 

Jenny Worstall and Anniek Snowroses reviewed my book Round and Round 

Thanks more than I can say for everyone's support in this, and keep them coming!  I may not be as active on social media as I would like at the moment because of some bloody annoying back problems, so I'm sorry if I don't thank you personally, but am giving #AugustReviews top priority.