Tag: Book Review

In Search of the Next Book

By: Adam Pelletier and Addison Thornton

In Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual there is a short story named “The Man In The Black Suit.” This story is about an older man who describes his story as a boy when he interacted with the devil. For some backstory, his brother passed away from a bee sting relatively recently, and all except his father were allergic to bees. He went out fishing one day after saying bye to his parents, and was able to catch a few fish before the devil showed up. He describes him as a taller man with burning red eyes, wearing a black suit. The devil walks up to him and makes conversation, all while the boy is trying to figure out a way to escape or generally defy him. The devil then intimidates the boy by making him believe that his mother was dying of a bee sting, just like his brother. 

This short story was slightly confusing through the first page or two but quickly became a good and involved story. King touches on more of a religious side of things as well, which isn’t the most common thing in his books. I found this story to be pretty enjoyable, definitely including King’s common unusual themes and descriptions throughout, along with more references to past tv shows, music, etc. Personally there are definitely stories better than this one, however I do still recommend it along with many others.

Other books I would recommend by Stephen King:

  • Fairy Tale
  • Insomnia
  • Doctor Sleep
  • Bag of Bones

Psyche and Eros is a mythological fiction novel written by Luna McNamara about one of the greatest love stories in Greek mythology. Psyche, who is a mortal girl destined to conquer a monster even the gods feared, is a skilled warrior taught by Atalanta and a princess of Mycenae. Eros, the primordial god of love and desire and commonly known by his roman name Cupid, lives out his immortal existence slowly and leisurely. One day Eros is tasked by Aphrodite to curse Psyche with an arrow that will make her fall in love with the first person she sees but the moment she lays eyes on the person she will never be able to look at them again. However, as Eros readies the arrow, he pricks himself and gazes upon Psyche and falls hopelessly in love. He eventually gets her to his manor by the seaside and marries her but is unable to truly look upon her and her look upon him. Because of this they meet in darkness or Eros shapeshifts into an animal. Psyche, however, gets curious and uses a lamp to look upon him as he sleeps. The hot oil from the lamp spills on him and the curse takes effect. Eros is immediately ripped from the house and taken by Aphrodite and the house crumbles around Psyche. Aphrodite, who is angry at Eros’s failure and treachery, traps him in a room below Olympus and goes after Psyche. She tasks Psyche with several impossible tasks that she would have to complete if she wanted to ever see Eros again. Psyche secretly has help from multiple gods in completing the array of impossible tasks. Eventually, she is reunited with Eros and granted godhood so she could be with Eros forever. 

I love this novel because it is a wonderful retelling of one of my absolute favorite love stories. It is told beautifully and shows the hardship of love but that you would do anything for the person you love. It touches on several other myths and legendary stories like Atalanta and the Trojan War. I would highly recommend this novel to individuals who are fans of romance and Greek mythology. 

Other books I would recommend:

  • The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller’
  • Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
  • Ithaca by Claire North
  • Atlanta by Jennifer Saint
  • A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

For more review by Adam and Addison, visit their website at https://addisonthornton.wixsite.com/digital-media-book-b/post/baron-media-network-book-review-week-8

In Search of the Next Book

By: Adam Pelletier and Addison Thornton

In Stephen King’s “Everything’s Eventual” there are fourteen short stories throughout the book. The first of which includes “Autopsy Room Four” which tells about a middle aged man who goes through the autopsy room while still being alive. In a golfing accident, he goes into a bush to search for his lost ball, and gets bitten by a certain kind of snake that gives him full body paralysis. He wakes up in the autopsy room, unable to move any part of his body, dilate his eyes, or make barely any sounds. The doctors of course don’t recognize any signs of life in him, and proceed with the autopsy process, until they find something on his body.

When I read through this, I found myself wanting to keep reading it. The details of the story are well written, and I could clearly imagine what the situation would’ve been like if I was the one in that story. The references to music, movies, and other media are abundant but not overly done. I found it very unique that the story was written from a (supposed) deceased man’s perspective, as King is able to use that to add emotions of fear into the story as well. Overall, I would rate it around an eight or nine out of ten for his short stories, and one that will stand out to me for a while when it comes to reading.

Other books I would recommend:

  • The Gunslinger
  • The Dark Tower Series
  • If It Bleeds
  • Mr. Mercedes
  • Holly

Medusa’s Sisters by Lauren J. A. Bear is a wonderful story about sisterhood and the story of Medusa from the perspective of her sisters, Semele and Euryale. It is a coming of age and a tragedy as it goes through the lives of the triplets from birth to death. Semele and Euryale are immoral but Medusa is mortal, which is strange from being born from Keto and Phorkys. They were beautiful nymphs with bright colorful eyes even though they were born from monsters. The three sisters stuck with each other for their entire lives and took on different roles as centuries passed by. Semele, who was the oldest, took on a protective role including over Medusa. Euryale, the middle sister, was rebellious and independent; she wanted to do stuff on her own and get exactly what he wanted in life. Medusa, the youngest sister, was optimistic, joyful, and curious; she had a constant interest in almost everything. However, the relationship between the sisters began to strain as they traveled to Athens and all had different interests. 

This book was beautiful to me as someone who is a sister. However, several moments were hard to believe and left me speechless. It was incredibly written and I loved to see the perspective of the two forgotten sisters in Greek mythology. You feel like you are growing up with them as you read and learn their personalities and interests change as they grow. It had new perspectives and ideas about the original myth that were implemented into the story which I found very interesting. Overall, I would rate this book an 8 out of 10 and definitely recommend this book to any fans of Medusa and Greek Mythology. 

Other books I would recommend: 

  • Stone Blind by Natalie Hayes 
  • Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
  • Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara 
  • Circe by Madeline Miller
  • The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood

For more reviews, visit Adam and Addison’s website at https://addisonthornton.wixsite.com/digital-media-book-b/post/baron-media-network-book-review-week-7

In Search of the Next Book

By: Adam Pelletier and Addison Thornton

“If it Bleeds” by Stephen King is a collection of four short stories all in one book. Each story has its own unique twist, and they all have the same yet intriguing amount of mystery. This selection of stories includes “Mr Harringan’s Phone” which has its own Netflix adaptation. Also included are “The Life of Chuck,” “If it Bleeds,” and “Rat.” Between dystopian societies and changing identities, King’s attention to detail and word usage remains as good of quality as it almost always is. His consistency through these stories is good, as each of them has an entirely different yet very well thought out narrative. 

Other books I would recommend by Stephen King:

  • The Institute
  • Joyland
  • 1922
  • Billy Summers

From the world of Percy Jackson, The Sun and the Star is an amazing story focusing on two major characters from the series. Will Solace and Nico di Angelo embark on a journey to Tartarus in order to save a friend. 

Dreams and visions plague Nico of someone known to him crying out for help. They worsen until the Oracle issues a quest. However, Tartarus is no place for any mortal and few make it out alive. Nico, who survived it once, is less worried about the journey, but Will, who is a son of Apollo, will have a harder time in the depths of the underworld since it is against his very nature. The pair go to save their friend and encounter many others along the way. 

The Sun and the Star is an amazing action packed tale with some cute and sad moments as well. It gives a wonderful insight into the thoughts, lives, and relationships of these beloved characters from Rick Riordan’s world of Percy Jackson. 

Series and Books also by Rick Riordan:

  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians
  • Heroes of Olympus
  • The Kane Chronicles
  • Magnus Chase
  • The Trials of Apollo
  • Daughter of the Deep

In Search of the Next Best Book

by Adam Pelletier and Addison Thornton

Stephen King’s “Billy Summers” is a personal favorite of mine. This book is full of suspenseful, thrilling, and graphic scenes, and is very entertaining to read. It goes through many different emotions and King somehow still fits plenty of humor throughout the entire book as well. 

This book describes the life of a man named Billy Summers, who works as a hired assassin/killer, and is on his last job before he plans to retire. The job seemed awfully shady to him, but he decided to accept it anyways. The job, of course, does not go exactly as planned, leading to Billy’s mission getting more and more complicated. 

“Billy Summers” is one of King’s more recent novels, being released in 2021, and is personally one of his best novels that I have read. It was very easy for me to get into this book, as it’s more appealing to me than others. I would heavily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in crime, thrillers, suspense, or all of them combined.

Other books I would recommend by Stephen King:

  • The Institute
  • Joyland
  • Later
  • The Colorado Kid
    • The Langoliers
    • Thinner

Daughter of Sparta is an incredible novel by Claire Heywood. The novel is full of turmoil, war, love, and sorrow. The story switches point of views from the two daughters of Tyndareus, Helen and Clytemnestra. The famous tale of the Trojan War reimagined through the eyes of the two most important women of the war. 

The story begins with the sisters as kids and goes through their lives as princesses in ancient Greece. Eventually they are married off to King Agamemnon, ruler of Mycenae, and King Menelaus, ruler of Sparta. The marriages soon go sour, which leads Helen to make a world changing decision. 

Daughters of Sparta is a beautiful retelling of this timeless tale and takes a more feminist side of the story. The novel will definitely cause tears and a range of emotion, so fair warning to those who don’t want to read an emotional novel. I would highly recommend this novel to fans of mythological fiction and war.

Other books about or involving the Trojan War: 

  • A Thousand Ships- Natalie Haynes
  • Clytemnestra- Costanza Casati
  • The Song of Achilles- Madeline Miller
  • The Silence of the Girls- Pat Barker
  • Elektra- Jennifer Saint

For more book reviews, visit their website link below

https://addisonthornton.wixsite.com/digital-media-book-b

In Search of the Next Book

By: Adam Pelletier and Addison Thornton

Visit Adam and Addison’s website link below to read their latest book reviews based on what they have been reading.

This week they review The Langoliers by Stephen King and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

https://addisonthornton.wixsite.com/my-site-1