Book review: MOMO by Kevin Kraft

MOMO is a novel based on what is known as the Missouri Monster, which is similar to Big Foot. If either exist to even compare them. As it is advertised as a Christian novel, I wasn't sure how the idea of the monster would go with faith. I have to say the faith aspect didn't seem to be too important. It was more a book about people with faith, which is fine, but definitely changes the tone of the book and subsequently my review.

As a thriller, its length perhaps makes it more of a startling novel, rather than actually thrilling. I may be immune to certain things, but I didn't find this making my heart race as I read it. There are some books that, when I read it, I find to likely work better as a movie than a novel. This is one of those novels. Perhaps that's a good thing. With the author's background in screenplays, this only makes more sense.

I didn't find the characters realistic, unfortunately, especially in the way they spoke to each other. There was very little that made me think they were father and son. It was only perhaps the last few pages where I could see it. Another issue was the flipping back and forth between calling one of the main characters Mark, and then Dad, all in the same narrative. If it's from Evan's perspective, fine call him Dad. But make sure there's a distinct flip between perspectives. If it's omniscient (and there's nothing wrong with that) then he would be called Mark the entire time.

If I had to say anything about the faith aspect of the novel, I did enjoy what could be interpreted from it. Evan questions why God would make a monster like MOMO. I think that's a question many people ask, but worded slightly different: "Why are people bad? Why do bad things happen? Why does God make bad things?" I will say that the novel answers this well, but I can't say their faith in God is what got them through, nor did it have much to do with their relationship with each other. But I do like the implications in having faith in a God who would create this kind of monster.

If you're looking for a quick read, and are easily pulled into thrillers, MOMO fits the bill.

Book review: Hopebreaker by Dean F. Wilson

This is the first steampunk novel I've read, and it was everything I thought it would be. There's this strange sense of an old Western, but with a little something extra. The descriptions truly pulled me into this strange world, but left enough to my imagination that I could focus on the story rather than minute details.

I was drawn into the book from the first paragraph...and then it faltered. It seemed every sentence had a clichéd metaphor, or two, and it began to grate on me. Thankfully, the world and the story-telling was enough for me to continue on.

I'll admit it was a bit of a struggle to get through the first half, and even by the end I still am not sure if the main character Jacob is likeable, but by the end I felt compelled to read the second book of the series. There's so much to know about the world Wilson has created. I'd like to know more back story, and how the world came to be the way it was depicted in the novel, but I'm glad I didn't get it all in one go. It gives me something to imagine, and wonder for the following books. Of course, at the same time I understand that what the reader isn't told doesn't need to be known yet. I get that. I use it in my own novel. The saving grace is that there is the promise of more information to come.

Lovers of steampunk and vague lines between good and evil will really enjoy this novel. I say vague only because something tells me that there's more to the demon situation than what Wilson has portrayed thus far.

Book Review: Slippers in the Oven by Roberta Aarons

I'm not quite sure how to describe this novel. The writing is fair, nothing wonderful. It's normal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sure that's a bad thing. As I read it, it was as though I was overhearing someone's conversation. To that end, it felt real, unpretentious. I perhaps would have liked to have read something a bit more compelling or challenging, mentally and emotionally. But that was my flavour of the day. This book was a nice fluff read.

I ended up not quite caring about either sister. Sure, both were hurt by the other and their ex husband, but I didn't really feel for either. Perhaps it was because we weren't exposed to either sister's true feelings, pain, or intentions. With Emma stealing her sister's husband, all she can give as a reason was that she wanted what Ann had and that Henry was bored. If Emma had wanted a marriage and family, she could have tried finding someone else. And Henry being bored? Seriously, that's the first excuse men make. Ann was too much of a push-over to find appealing. Even with her bit of independence and strength at the end, it was a too little too late.

But for some reason, I don't dislike this novel. It made me want to see if they would just blow up at each other, get everything out in the open and then decide if they want to mend fences. I never truly saw that. And the end was quite disappointing. None of that stopped me from reading on, so something in there must have caught my attention.

Overall, this is a great fluff read. It will probably appeal to an older crowd, but still a nice and easy read.