... because this was another great episode of the "Gone" series. Maybe a shade less than a few of the other books I gave five stars to, but five stars nonetheless. Big things happened (one character died for the second time!) and I really want to quote a comical line from the end of the book, but that would give away a huge plot from the story.

Sam et al - see you in "Light"!

It must have been a "Lost"ish fluke that I rediscovered this book and its counterparts while browsing Kobo. Reading "Endangered Species" was a five-star party! The book brought me back to the beginning of "Lost", far from the disappointing ending, and I got to re-encounter most of the crash-strewn islanders. Faith's story was interesting and presented in the structure of a "Lost" episode; I hope she appears in the next book, which I am eager to put fangs into.

Why did I wait so long to read a book starring one of my favourite "Star Wars" characters? A thrashing prequel to "Phantom Menace" and "Coruscant Nights", Darth Maul committed Force-assisted mayhem in "Shadow Hunter" and many didn't live to tell!

P.S. The short story, "Saboteur", followed and it wasn't as good as the preceding novel. Probably a 3.

Most of "The Vision" was underwhelming. But with about a third of the story left and the characters involved in a ludicrous Ouija board scene, my reading brain snagged the plot and ran with it to the end where the killer I had guessed waited in a resolution that was the same as another of Koontz's 70s-80s books.

As I started reading "Sentimentalists," I peeked at some of the reader reviews (which I don't usually do) and was surprised at the low scores. How could a prestigious book revile the masses? Well, having just completed "Sentimentalists," I understand. Most of the book, I accepted Skibsrud's irregular approach to Napoleon's story - there were some decent scenes involving the lake and the town beneath it was cool to stare down to - but the epilogue was terrible. Why didn't the editor tell her that it was boring in its coming out of nowhere? It left me feeling not very sentimental!

I preferred the characters over the story of the fourth "Mortal Instruments" book; after a long interval, it was good seeing everybody again. I was surprised Simon was pretty much the main character, in front of Clary and Jace, whom Clare needlessly kept in couples turmoil for most of the story.

Know when you're reading a book and you're about to go back to it and you try to remember what was happening when you left off? I didn't have that problem with "Beautiful Bastard" because it was ninety percent shagging. "Fifty Shades" and "Bared to You" were convent literature compared to this. The writers who authored the book should work on increasing the percentage of substance for their next novel.

An edgy YA novel (I suspect libraries might label it older), I liked "Jenny Pox" when it focused on the sympathetic title character. When the chapters starred Ashleigh, Jenny's sociopathic archenemy, the book was sandpaper. Anyway, the ending, after a climatic tribute to a famous scorned high school student, seemed to bring back the plot that I thought was flying away. Not enough redemption, though, to get me to read the next Paranormals book.

At the end of the book, Stephen King gave the length of time for the writing of "Under the Dome"; over a thousand pages, it felt like it took me that long to read it! So was it worth it? I gave it four stars and that was mostly for the last part of the book. Earlier, I thought there was footage/chapters that could have been omitted - I didn't want to experience the thought process of a dog. Also, King's prose delivery was way different and, unfortunately, way weaker than usual. But, goshdarnit, still four stars!

P.S. I'm going to watch the television adaptation in June. Are you?

By now, I've read plenty of romance novels. They don't usually have staying power, memory-wise, but they are usually much better than their reputation. "Slow Hands", which I got free from Kobo and let sit in my Kobo library a long time, is an example of a book that deserves better than to be ignored because of its genre. The premise is smart (and serves to create a sister book, which I might read) and the writing is very competent. The only thing I didn't like in the book was the lame scene with Jake's sister and I almost deducted a star from my rating for it. But "Slow Hands" still receives a four!