Author Archives: Jo Ann Schneider

  • 05
    Nov 25
  • 0

Books I Read in October

Wahoo! I read or listened to five books in October.

That’s 40 down and 10 to go!

That actually feels like a lot to do between now and the end of the year.

Gulp

Contemporary Romance/Adventure
What I liked:
Great writing. Fantastic twists throughout the book. Good tension.
What could have been improved:
I had a difficult time cheering for Jane, even though I understood what she was going through. She wasn’t as likable as I prefer my main characters.

Falling Like Leaves
Contemporary YA Romance
What I liked:
Great side characters. Good chemistry throughout the entire cast. Fun writing style. LOL moments. Solid romance. Fantastic book to read during autumn.
What could have been improved:
The main character carried the idiot ball about her parents for far too long.
I listened to this one

Shadow Captain
Sci-Fi (Maybe YA)
What I liked:
The world building in this series is so interesting! The main characters bothered me less than in the first book, which was awesome. Good progression of the story.
What could have been improved:
The middle is a little slow.
Note: While the writing is excellent, I don’t love the style. Just a personal preference.
I listened to this one.

From the Shadows
YA Fantasy
What I liked:
Fun premise staring Little Jon. Solid world building. Found family, which I’m a huge fan of.
What could have been improved:
The writing style was too sparse. A little more detail and depth would have better pulled me into the story.

Born to Run
Contemporary Adventure
What I liked:
Interesting premise on a horse ranch where they breed racing horses. Great side characters, including the horses! The author isn’t afraid to shy away from heavy topics.
What could have been improved:
Too much of the book felt rushed. I would have liked a little more immersion in each scene.
  • 10
    Oct 25
  • 0

Books I Read in September

Okay. Okay. I did it. I read or listened to five books in September!

That’s 35 down and 15 to go!

It seems doable, right?

Right?

Historical Fiction
What I liked:
The writing is fantastic, the story is well-told, the mood of the novel is so well described that you can practically taste what it’s like to walk down the streets of London after the blitz. Good characters, but it took me a minute to like one of them. Together, the three main characters have a great story.
What could have been improved:
So. Depressing. So. So. Depressing. Probably realistic, which is…depressing.

Fantasy (Maybe YA?)
What I liked:
An almost by-the-numbers Mulan retelling. Darker than I was expecting, but it worked. Very cool world building. I really liked the prince.
What could have been improved:
The reason I love Disney’s Mulan so much is because the main character is likable. This main character was driven by power more than honor or even kindness.

Fantasy (Starts out YA)
What I liked:
I’ve been eyeing this series for a while. The world is fascinating, although the real story doesn’t get started until about 1/3 of the way through the book. Most of the characters were well written.
What could have been improved:
Once again, I didn’t like the main character. She was wishy-washy, selfish, and all too often an idiot. So much happened that this should have been at least two books. It gets incredibly dark near the end.
*Note: I didn’t mean to listen to two Mulan retellings in the same month, but here we are. The stories were different enough that I didn’t get them mixed up, which was nice. The best part of both was the world building.*

Urban Fantasy (Midlife Fantasy)
What I liked:
This is an easy read with a huge helping of snark from the main character and great support from the side characters. The world building was nothing but fun and I really liked how they wound Susan’s past into who she really is.
What could have been improved:
This is a pretty short book (the first of the series) and could have benefitted from another 5k – 10k words to avoid some rushing and add some clarity.

Non-Fiction
What I liked:
This is a collection of gems of wisdom from an indie published author who is wildly successful. Easy to read. Good reminders about how I, as an author, can overcome challenges and push forward.
What could have been improved:
I wanted a little bit of a narrative to tie it all together.
  • 10
    Oct 25
  • 0

Books I Read in August

I was reading my fourth book this month on the very last day! But I made it. Yay!

That’s 30 down and 20 to go.

Can I read 20 more books before the end of the year??

Only time will tell.

Fairy Tale Retelling
What I liked:
Cute Chicken Little retelling told from the point of view of a chicken. Funny, and heartwarming but also a little darker than I expected. Very interesting premise.
What could have been improved:
The whole thing felt a little rushed.

Alien Sci-Fi
What I liked:
An extremely out there, but fun, premise for this one. Decent cast of characters. Much science. Solid narrator. (I listened to it.)
What could have been improved:
There were a few threads that didn’t really tie back to the main characters. They were distracting.
*Note: I didn’t mean to listen to this and read Project Hail Mary at the same time, but it happened, and there were enough similar tropes that I got the stories, particularly in the first third, mixed up more than once.*

Fantasy
What I liked:
I do love my characters, and the two leads in this were spot on. The author chose to write a disabled character and made her strong within the confines of her abilities. Unlike Hail Mary, I didn’t like this ending. It was powerful, and the right thing to do, but I didn’t like it.
What could have been improved:
The pacing through the first half of the book was a little slow.

Alien Sci-Fi
What I liked:
The two main characters in this book are awesome. Cool apocalypse premise. I actually liked the ending.
What could have been improved:
I was prepared for all the science, but there was even more than I wanted to read.
  • 10
    Oct 25
  • 0

Books I Read in July

Whew, barely got four books read this month.

That’s 26 down and 24 to go.

I’m behind!!

Fantasy
What I liked:
I listened to this one and the narrator brought tons of depth to this already well-written book. The maze/house world was very intriguing. The main character was someone I wanted to help, but at times I wasn’t sure who to trust. Great ending.
What could have been improved:
This is a short book, and could have been a little longer to make a few things not feel rushed.

YA Fantasy
What I liked:
 Intriguing premise as a man tries to mold one of a group of boys into a lost prince. The side characters were compelling and fun. I guessed the “reveal” in the first chapter.
What could have been improved:
I never really liked the main character. His attitude is explained, but I wasn’t always cheering for him.

Military Sci-Fi
What I liked:
This is book 9 of the series. Familiar characters facing saving-humanity-from-evil-aliens problems with a few twists, which was nice. This installment had a little more heart than some of the others. The ending was a very mean cliff hanger.
What could have been improved:
I love these books, but the line editing sucks. Repeated words in sentences are words that are repeated near each other and they make me twitchy. (Repeated, words. See what I did there?…Nevermind)
 
Middle Grade Urban Fantasy
What I liked:
The voice of this book was spot on. The main character is young, but I loved her and her perspective. The author really made you feel for this girl on about six different levels. The Korean fairy tales woven in were amazing and the side characters were very enjoyable.
What could have been improved:
A few characters carried the dreaded idiot ball for too long.
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