The Boy Sherlock Holmes #1 : Eye of The Crow

Sinopsis 

London, 1867

Seorang perempuan terbunuh dengan keji di Whitechapel, London. Seorang tersangka pembunuhan telah ditangkap. Tidak ada saksi mata di tempat kejadian kecuali...

BURUNG GAGAK

Ya, burung-burung gagak menyaksikan peristiwa itu. Dan seorang anak lelaki pecinta misteri, yang selalu mengikuti para gagak akhirnya terlibat dalam kasus itu. Anak lelaki itu telah menemukan potongan-potongan puzzle kasus tersebut. Dia hanya perlu menyusunnya.

Dan ini akan menjadi kasus pertama yang dipecahkan oleh si anak lelaki, yang suatu hari nanti akan dikenal dunia sebagai SHERLOCK HOLMES.

Softcover, 368 hlm, Penerbit Noura 

☆☆☆ ½ dari 5

Dibaca okt-des 2022

Review

Secara keseluruhan ceritanya menarik, walau saya agak tersendat di awal karena tidak terbiasa dengan gaya penulisan pengarang.

Ceritanya juga kocak di bagian Malefactor yang selalu terpesona setiap ada Irene haha.

Pengarang pintar menyelipkan nama Doyle sebagai nama keluarga Irene, menghormati Arthur Conan Doyle, pengarang Sherlock Holmes yang asli.

Untuk cover, dibanding versi luar, lebih bagus yang versi Indonesia. Versi luar terlalu suram dan serius  dan kurang menarik untuk remaja, yang menurut saya adalah target pembacanya.

Oh ya buku yang saya punya cetakan Penerbit Noura , jadi ada sedikit perbedaan di warna tulisan Eye of the Crow (yang saya emas kuning mencrang kearah oranye, yg edisi lain emas pucat), lalu ada beda lambang di kanan atas, tergantung terbitan mana (Noura atau Qanita).

The Candy Makers by Wendy Mass

Empat orang anak berusia 12 tahun terpilih dari Region Tiga untuk mengikuti kompetisi membuat cokelat terbaik di dunia. Selama dua hari mereka akan menemukan rahasia cara membuat permen di pabrik Life Is Sweet.

Persaingan mereka dipenuhi oleh berbagai kecurangan demi memenangi kontes tersebut. Hingga akhirnya, mereka mengetahui ada orang yang ingin menghancurkan pabrik kesayangan mereka tersebut.

Keempat anak yang disatukan dalam kontes ini kemudian berupaya untuk melindungi resep rahasia dari orang yang ingin menghancurkan Life Is Sweet.

Namun, bagaimana dengan dendam Philip dan phobia Milles? Atau rahasia luka Logan dan Daisy yang misterius saat terungkap?

Softcover (Paperback)

Dibaca Juni-Juli 2022

☆☆☆☆ dari 5

Kesan awal-awal, ini seperti Charlie and Chocolate Factory(C&CF) nya Roald Dahl, tapi ternyata berbeda.

Kesamaannya hanyalah ada empat anak bersaing di pabrik coklat.

Disini cerita ditulis dari empat sudut pandang, yaitu Logan si anak pemilik pabrik coklat, Miles yang suka sekali dengan kehidupan setelah kematian, Daisy yang bersemangat dan galak, serta Philip yang arogan.

Setiap pergantian sudut pandang membuka sedikit demi sedikit rahasia dan masa lalu mereka yang membuat mereka tidak seperti kesan yang ditampilkan. 

Tidak seperti karya Roald Dahl, masing-masing anak di sini dibuat lebih berkepribadian. Bahkan anak yang kelihatan jahat pun berada di daerah abu-abu, tidak 100% bertabiat jelek ala saingan Charlie di C&CF.

Saya juga suka bagian mereka melihat pembuatan berbagai permen yang menarik dan berbeda-beda per jenis permennya. <i>Permen Taffy kayaknya enak deh haha</i>

Ceritanya oke, tentu ada bagian yang kurang seperti pembuatan permen mereka untuk lomba yang hanya diceritakan tapi tidak didetilkan. 

Tapi keseluruhan cerita oke dan jumlah halaman yg tebal tidak berasa juga karena ceritanya menarik.

The Ghost's Call (Afterlife Calls #1) by K.C. Adams

Blurb

Single parent Niamh desperately doesn’t want her daughter Edie to go into the ghost hunting business like she did. But when Edie receives an important message from a ghost, she may not have a choice.

Their hometown is haunted. With the town’s rich history, it could be anyone. And they could be anywhere.

When a ghost arrives on the doorstep of family friends, Niamh and Edie must race against time to protect the people love.

Meet ghost hunter Niamh, her teenage daughter Edie, and a whole new cast of characters in Afterlife Calls, Kristina Adams's new fantasy series (writing as K.C.Adams). If you're looking for a story of family, romance, and ghosts, this is the series for you.

Ebook, 204 pages

☆☆☆ ½ of 5

Overall nice reads, it has a cliffhanger ending for the case and some backstory.

There are some things that i don't like such as: 

- I wish Edie show her mom the video result of the spy camera, it seems she do that for nothing.

- Niamh is too strict and overprotective about Edie which understandable but i was exhausted with their constant bickering.

- Niamh change of heart was such a big leap, from prohibiting to urging Edie to doing the exorcism by herself. It's too sudden and feel baseless.

For side character, i love Mr. Brightman character and his interaction with Niamh :) 

Chasing the Wind (The Cloud Warrior Saga #2.8) by D.K. Holmberg

Blurb

Before Zephra became one of the greatest wind shapers of the kingdoms, and before she had bonded the wind elemental ara, she first had to catch the wind.

As Zephra sets out across Incendin on a task assigned by her mentor, she must decide whether to help a young girl or continue to chase her wind so that she can rejoin the university.

A short story in the world of the Cloud Warrior Saga.

Ebook, 32 pages

☆☆☆ of 5

First, the cover is gorgeous! 

I think the story is decent and i'm quite like the characters and the magic concept.

But since this is just a prequel, some things left hanging and to understand further i have to read the series (like the magic flower thing, yes the one in the cover and who is Lia and the rest of their journey), and this is so short. I feel unsatisfied.

However, i prefer Zephra's story more than the first book, at least based on the sneak peek. I found Tan character as dull and lack of passion, unlike Zephra.

Shade of Evil: a short story by Jacinthe Dessureault

Blurb

A map drawn in blood found under the floor of an old house...

A derelict cabin deep in the forest...

A gruesome local tale...

Will four intrepid teenagers come out of the woods unscathed?

Shade of Evil tells the story of detective Pierre Deveraux’s first brush with the paranormal as a young teen. He will appear in A Sinister Gift, the first novel in the upcoming Nora Bello Paranormal Mysteries series.

Ebook, 52 pages

☆☆☆☆ of 5

I like the writing and the main character. The dread, the fear and the details is good.

Pierre was a very mature character, wise beyond his thirteen years old, even wiser at twenty three years old.

The conclusion regarding the mystery a little too light for my taste. It was a whole but not quite enough.

Maybe because i have this scenario where the ghost is not gone yet and subconsciously arise on occasion with new case where that possessed one become Pierre's arch-enemy.

I got the ebook free HERE or click on the image below 

Past Mistakes (Emily Voss - Episode 1) by Nick Lavitz

Blurb

Emily Voss scrapes a living performing exorcisms in New York city. Despite occasional encounters with actual demons, most of her work is little more than fakery. She takes the money anyway and drowns her guilt in a glass of whisky at the end of the day.

Called to investigate strange occurrences in an ageing hotel, Emily comes face to face with something that's going to take more than a kilo of salt and a few latin phrases to deal with.

Ebook, 26 pages

☆☆☆☆☆ of 5

This is supposedly the first book from paranormal story of Emily Voss, the demon exorcist. 

I like the story, but it's so short! And seeing how short it is, it feels more like a prequel/episode/chapters than a supposedly first book.

I like that Emily is kickass and her partner here not a perfect guy with hinting of a romance in the future blah blah (like many YA urban paranormal books 😏) but rather a sarcastic and grumpy one. 

The story is intense and engaging but again, i wish it was longer. 

I got the ebook free HERE, click on the image below for the ebook

Lust (Lust, Money & Murder #1) by Mike Wells

Blurb: 

Born in the worst suburb in Pittsburgh, Elaine Brogan is bright, beautiful and bold. When her father is falsely arrested for passing counterfeit $100 bills, Elaine vows to become a Secret Service agent and track down the man responsible. 

After barely surviving the arduous Secret Service Training Academy in Laurel, Maryland, she is transferred to bleak and blustery Great Falls, Montana. 

But things do not go as planned, and Elaine soon finds herself betrayed and thrown into an adventure that takes her halfway around the world, from dark and mysterious Sofia, Bulgaria, to Moscow Russia, and finally, to Milan, Italy. 

In the end, will Elaine find the love and happiness she truly seeks…or will she turn to a life of obscene wealth, power and corruption?

Ebook, 107 pages

Finished on December 2018

☆☆☆ of 5

The prologue and some of Elaine childhood story eerily similar to Morning, Noon & Night by Sidney Sheldon.

That's way i feel vaguely familiar when i reading on the prologue (wealthy old man with young mistress on exotic location, although on Mr Sheldon's the old man died instead the girl) and Elaine modelling part (similar with Kendal Stanford short-lived modeling.)

The author writing style also seems heavily inspired by Mr Sheldon (which is not my favourite).

But fortunately, the rest of the story branch to different way and i like the description on Secret Service's job tests and the job's politics part.

As for the character, Elaine, a graduate from SS school, sometimes still act like a teenager or fragile young woman instead of a dependable agent.

I like Nick, although i have my suspicion on him. Too bad they end up involving. I rather have them pure as co-workers.

But set aside this factor, overall this books enjoyable. 

I got this ebook free on Smashwords

The Dark Veil Opens (Shadowless #0) by Christopher Schmitz

Blurb

Stay in the Light... stay alive.

The beginning of the end! Two researchers and their assistant discover a scientific link between the supernatural and the natural and unwittingly unleash something evil upon a college campus.

Dealing with a murderer accidentally implanted with a being of sheer evil is one thing--but what would the general public do if they knew the secrets uncovered which are better left in the dark?

This is prequel to The Shadowless series and also contain a sneak peek of the first book in the series.

Kindle, 90 pages

☆☆☆☆ of 5

This is a science fiction short story about scientists that experimenting on unknown entity with unexpected catastrophe result.

Most of it dwell on physics, with some humor and horror. The entity have a familiar behaviour similar to the Ridley Scott's Alien.

Overall a nice read although i was quite confuse on the scientific parts (not a fan of physics) lol.

I got the ebook free HERE

It was part of giveaway on storyorigins (click on the link below)

The Plague Walker (Plague Walker #0.5) by Michael Angel

Blurb

Epidemiologist Leigh Austen stumbles into a nightmare as the medical relief mission she's been sent on goes horribly awry. The African country of Malindi is in turmoil, there's been an outbreak of Black Nile virus, and Austen is put into a position where she may be the only person who can turn the tide!

Kindle Edition, 34 pages

☆☆☆☆ of 5

This is a prequel of Plague Walker series, set before the events of the thriller novel, The Devil's Noose.

Solid writing, i kind of anxious of Leigh's fate and i thought the ending would be much different that the actual ending. But if the ending is like what i think it would be, there would be no next book with her in it 😄.

Oh, and jacaranda trees apparently are gorgeous! 

I got this ebook HERE, it is part of a thriller giveaway, click the picture below if you want to check the rest of free ebooks (some are prequel, preview or full novel).

Roll the Bones by Kristin Jacques

 Blurb

Annoyed to be missing the biggest party of the year on baby-sitting duty, Josh convinces his younger sister to join him in Mardi Gras celebration. But when she is abducted by a spirit, Josh must brave the malevolent entities of another realm to bring his sister home, if he can convince her to come back at all.

Kindle, 56 pages

Only fifty six pages, this short story quite engaging. I feel this could expanded to a full book instead a novella.

The ending quite a cliffhanger though, with Delphine's fate and identity remains a mystery.

Overall a nice read

☆☆☆ ½  of 5

I got this free HERE (in case you want to download it, you just need to subscribe to the author mailing list).

This e-book is part of a Fantasy and Sci-Fi short stories giveaway, you could click below for the rest of  them.

Thrillers To Take Your Breath Away…

I got this link to multiple thriller ebooks. It's free, you just need to subscribe to the author mailing list to get the book.

If you don't like subscribing, you could easily unscribe after get the book. But try to give review in platform like goodreads (that's what i usually do).

Here's the link

 

The Remains of the Dead (A Ghost Dusters Mystery #1) by Wendy Roberts

Blurb

The first book in a new paranormal mystery series featuring Sadie Novak, a professional crime scene cleaner and amateur medium.

Sadie Novak's got the kind of job that kills cocktail chatter dead: she owns Scene-2-Clean a crime scene cleanup company. And if wiping up after murders weren't spooky enough, she can also see and talk to the ghosts of the victims...

When grieving relatives hire Sadie and her employee, ex-cop Zack Bowman, to clean up after the murder-suicide of Trudy and Grant Toth, Sadie figures she's bound to meet at least one chatty ghost. But Kent, the man Sadie first encounters at the scene, is very much alive--so much so, that Sadie soon finds herself agreeing to a date with him.

Then a real ghost shows up--the oddly silent spirit of Trudy, who seems determined to prove her husband's innocence, and inspires Sadie to track down the real killer. But as she scours the crime scene, Sadie quickly realizes she's in way over her head, that Kent has a strange connection to the dead couple, and that someone wants her to give up the ghost...for good.

Kindle Edition, 288 pages

Finished on 1 October 2013

☆☆☆ ½ of 5

Three and half stars

the good:

- the surprising ending deserve a star for itself!

- i keep interested in reading it (i dont finish it in a day, mainly because no time. but i don't lose interest though it took days before i get the chance to read again)

- the gruesome murder and the ghosts give me chill

the bad:

- i already know the killer within the half of the book because the writer gives subtle clues here and there, yet the main character remain clueless until the very clear fact shove in front of her. Sadie too focus on one thing, she forget to look around, even the obvious one.

Also her persistent almost irritate me, fortunately she stop.

True Colors (The Masks #1) by Melissa Pearl

Blurb

Caitlyn Davis always cruised through life, not being the type to ruffle feathers or involve herself in high school drama. That is, until a chance encounter with a strange, homeless man changes everything.

Suddenly, Caitlyn has the ability to see behind people's masks. She discovers that her life isn’t as simple as she imagined and high school is filled with secrets...some very sinister ones.

Unable to ignore her new gift, Caitlyn embarks on a mission to learn why one of her friends suddenly appears terrified, but masks her fear with a bright, smiling veneer. Will Caitlyn's new ability lead her into hot water? Or is her new found vision a blessing that will expose her friends' true colors?

Her quest will lead Caitlyn to lose friends, stand up for those in need, and even find love.

At Palisades High School every face tells a story...

Kindle Edition, 370 pages

Finished on 24 June 2014

☆☆☆☆ of 5

I like Caitlyn unusual gift's which in similar vein with people who could see auras, but instead auras, she see the people's real intent through their genuine face expressions, which quite a scary experience when she meet real malicious people.

I enjoy the writing and although there is a romance, it doesn't take a huge portion (unlike typical young adult novel, which i kind of.. err hate lol.). So the mystery keep being the main focus.

State of the Onion (A White House Chef Mystery #1) by Julie Hyzy

Blurb:

Introducing White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras, who is rising-and sleuthing-to the top. 

Includes recipes for a complete presidential menu.

Never let them see you sweat-that's White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras's motto, which is pretty hard to honor in the most important kitchen in the world. She's hell-bent on earning her dream job, Executive Chef. 

There's just one thing: her nemesis is vying for it, too. Well, that and the fact that an elusive assassin wants to see her fry.

Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Finished on 24 February 2017

☆☆☆☆ of 5

Reading this book makes me hungry! Lol. The cuisine describe there drool worthy and more like an art, especially Marcel's dessert (wish for actual photos of the food). I love the balance between the mystery and Ollie's job. Ollie's job description and dynamic fun to read and felt real.

One confusing detail though, the princess allergies, wasn't it Sargeant's fault? He changed the princess' food notes at last minute. (Jeez, i could strangled that guy for being a pain in the ass. It's impressive how the kitchen staffs, especially Ollie maintain calm interaction with him.)

The writing is good, i really enjoy and recommend it.

Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe

Blurb:

Cass McKenna much prefers ghosts to "breathers." Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable. They know the dirt on everybody... and Cass loves dirt. She's on a mission to expose the lies and backstabbing between her fellow students.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass's whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim's life, she's surprised to realize he's not so bad--and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it's time to give the living another chance...

Kindle Edition, 253 pages

Finished on 26 May 2017

☆☆☆☆ of 5 

This is slightly Veronica Mars, with ghost twist. 

Cass is Veronica who can see and speak to the dead (both used to be have close circle of friends, now losing it and became the outcast), Tim is Logan (both are popular guys who lost someone they love and got depressed. Tim losing his mother, Logan losing his girlfriend and mother. Damn, poor Logan..). Not that the similarity is bad.

I love the relationship dynamic here. She's the outcast who used to avoid and rude to everyone to protect her heart. So when she acknowledge and befriend Tim slowly, well this is what should happen, there's a process, not insta-friend, insta-love thing.

I also like the lack of love thing here, there is no swooning, just one time fluttering and some vapid observations on her side. Thank God. They both have more important problem so falling in love doesn't happen here. It's realistic.

Overall i enjoy the writing and the story.

Mischief in Miami (Great Exploitations #1) by by Nicole Williams

Blurb 

Seduction. Infidelity. Blackmail. Scandal. It can all be bought for the right price and for Sienna Stevens, business is good.

Because she’s in the business of Great Exploitations.

She’s an Eve, a member of a secret society of women contracted by the wives of wealthy, powerful men for one reason and one reason only: to seduce their husbands. To ensure their pre-nuptial agreement will be null and void thanks to a little loophole known as the Infidelity Clause. To ensure that those wives don’t find themselves on the other side of a divorce without a penny to their name.

When it comes to the Eves, Sienna’s one of the best because she follows the number one rule of the Eves to the letter: don’t let it get personal.

When the job file of her wealthiest client yet falls into her lap, Sienna realizes that this case could be the one that’s impossible to detach herself from. The payout would lead to her independence, but will the cost be too high in the end? 

Kindle Edition, 90 pages

Finished on September 2016

☆☆☆☆ of 5

First, the cover is gorgeous! An accurate representation on 'Eves', husband seductresses for hire. 

I love the story, this novella basically the introduction to the world of Eves through Sienna, one of the Eves. Since the basic of Eves are seduction and some bedroom actions, i categorize the story under erotica. But an erotica with solid story.