Tag: 3 Star Reviews

All 3 Stars Reviews In One Place

“An Effective Life: Inspirational Philosophy from Dr. Covey’s Life” By Stephen R. Covey Review

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Covey wisdom ─ A key to satisfaction and success Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has inspired millions. Today’s generation will be newly inspired by Covey’s An Effective Life, a new approach to practicing the motivating principles taught by one of the greatest teachers of all time. An Effective Life shares original new perspectives on life and self-evaluation, striking infographics, and inspirational quotes in a fresh new package designed for the generation early in their careers and for those long-time Covey admirers who seek to improve their work and personal lives based on principles. You’ll also find a Personal Journal to help you process the insights you’ve gleaned from the book. This book is more than an inspiration, it is an introduction to important principles needed to live An Effective Life.

I gotta admit that this book feels like a very generic self-help book rather than a self-help book which is worth reading amongst all those millions of self-help books. 

This book is more like a series of quotes and musings, rather than a “normal” book in the self-help genre. This book has more of a note-form style to it rather than being a regular self help book. This aspect of this book didn’t work for me personally for the most part but I think that this book makes some very good points throughout the entire book. 

As someone who has read multiple self-help books by now, I gotta admit that this book feels more like a summary of all the self-help books and all the topics which the self-help book talking about rather than brining something new to the genre and the topic of meaningful self help book.

Even thou this book feels like it is a summary of other self-help books I gotta admit that the points which this book talks about, makes those points seem easier and simpler than the other self-help books which talk about the topics in more detail. 

The points this book makes, are made very easy and simple to actully do them in real life. Which made me give this book some extra points for doing, because a lot of the self-help books I’ve read so far makes their points seem very hard and challenging to actually do. But this book takes the same points as the other generic self-help books have, and this book makes those points seem very simple and easy to follow through with.

The writing style in this book is very simple and easy going. Which makes this book to a very quick and easy read but also it makes this book suitable to read for everyone no matter the education level, age, nationality or daily life challenges.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Jack and the Zombie Box: Preview” By Bruce Brown & Mike Barentine Review

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10-Page Preview! Jack is your typical 3 year old boy who has an imaginary friend named Uncle Bug. After messing up the kitchen, Jack’s dad is given the task of distracting his son while his mom cleans up the mess. To occupy Jack, he plays a DVD of his childhood favorite cartoon. Jack becomes obsessed with the show and his obsession begins to drive his entire family crazy.

Let me start this review by saying that this one is just a preview for the entire comic book. And I read it because I wanted to see if the full comic book was worth the money and time I would spend on it. And im gonna give you the answer for that at the end of this review.

This preview gives us a fun and imaginative story where Jack encounters a mysterious box with unexpected consequences. Which I personally find to be interesting and fun. 

The concept of this preview is for the most part creative and it is blending humor with a touch of the supernatural. But there are parts of this preview where I think that this preview could have been better than it was.

The storyline in this preview feels very basic and shallow a lot of times, which left me feeling like he creators of this preview didn’t give a shit to get us as readers interested in reading the full version of this comic book.

The main character in this preview which is Jack is introduced to us as a relatable and lively protagonist. His interactions and reactions to the unfolding events are entertaining, though the preview left me feeling that he didn’t have a lot of personality or something which would make him unique because of the fact of how much this preview was holding out on us.

When it comes to the side characters in this book, I need to admit that the side characters add charm to the plot and setting of this preview. But they have the same problem as the main character has when it comes to their personalities and something which would make them stand out on their own in this preview.

The artwork in this preview is pretty vibrant and playful, and it is effectively capturing the whimsical tone of the story

At the same time the illustrations in this preview enhance the narrative, bringing the quirky elements to life and adding visual appeal.

This preview tries to give us the themes of curiosity, adventure, and the unexpected. Which feel very lacking and not fully explored and thought out in this preview.

So will I buy and read the full version of this comic book ? I don’t think I will. The main reason behind this is how poorly this preview was very uninteresting for me personally.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Sword of the White Horse” By Elsa Sjunneson Review

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Mercia, 878. Witch-warrior Niamh discovers a new order called the Hidden Ones is seeking to establish a foothold in Lunden. Her land is already scarred by Viking raiders, bloody wars, and clashing cultures. Determined to protect what remains of her homeland, she infiltrates this new group to discover whether they stand with her… or against her. Yet when Niamh learns the Hidden Ones have stolen an artifact sacred to her people, her own loyalties are challenged. Casting aside newfound alliances and friendships, Niamh soon discovers that betrayal comes with a heavy price and it will take everything in her power – her gods willing – to survive.

I gotta admit that the only reason why I bought and read this book is because I wanted to get back to the Assassin’s creed book series which I started 5 years ago and put it on hold. But lets not make this intro longer than it already is and lets jump into the review.

I need to say that this book isn’t exactly bad, but its still a very long way from being good. 

The plot in this book is pretty fun. Because it is interesting and enjoyable. But I would say that the plot in this book is meant more for young adults and teenagers who are only getting into Assassin’s creed franchised and not for people like me who grow up playing assassin’s creed.

The plot is very simple and easy going in this book. And it doesn’t involve brain power on the reader’s side to actually enjoy this book. 

The action in this book keeps building towards the big ending in this book which doesn’t happen. Which really annoyed me because the author uses 90% of this book to build towards the huge ending which in reality is very lacking and it seems like the author didn’t really think the ending through because of how weak it is.

The characters in this book are pretty okay for the most part. But they lack any distinct form for personalities. The characters in this book have some kind of personalities to them, but those personalities are very weak and shallow.

At the same time there aren’t a lot of characters in this book, which makes it easy to remember the shallow characters we actually do get in this book. 

I personally felt like there was something missing when it comes to the characters in this book. It could be the fact that the characters miss something that would make them unique and standout for themselves which of course didn’t happen in this book.

The writing style in this book felt like its was aiming towards the YA readers and the teenager as I’ve said above. 

The writing style is pretty simple and easygoing just like the plot in this book, which really makes this book lacking of something which would make this book unique and stand out in the Assassin’s creed franchise.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Demonslayer: Preview” By Robert Lugibihl & Jaime Mendoza Review

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Special 20-page Preview! The entire pre-Avatar Demonslayer saga, including the ultra-rare #0 issue, available in one volume! Relive the Demonslayer’s early defining moments, including her origin, her boyfriend Michael’s transformation into a demon, and the breach into Hell!

Let me start this review by saying that this one is just a preview for the entire comic book. And I read it because I wanted to see if the full comic book was worth the money and time I would spend on it. And I’m gonna give you the answer for that at the end of this review.

This preview sets the stage for an action-packed narrative centered around the battle between good and evil. Which I personally found to be very interesting and fun, which made me give this preview some extra points for.

The concept of this preview is intriguing because it is blending elements of fantasy and horror, which I personally am a huge fan of. 

The storyline is good for the most part, but at times it feels very basic because to leaves out some of the key plot points, which makes the storyline in this preview feel pretty unexplored and undeveloped.

The protagonist in this preview is introduced to is with hints of depth and complexity, but at the same time it feels like the protagonist doesn’t have a lot of personality or something that makes him unique because of how much this preview leaves out of this preview.

The character’s motivations are touched upon in this preview, but those motivates aren’t that deep because this preview leaves a lot of context out of this preview saving it for the full version of this comic book. 

The side characters in this preview add intrigue but they also feel pretty unexplored and pretty shallow.

The artwork in this preview effectively captures the dark and intense tone of the story, which made me give this preview some extra points for doing. 

The illustrations in this preview are detailed and dynamic which is enhancing the narrative and immersing us as readers in the supernatural setting.

This preview gives us the themes of heroism, inner demons, and redemption. Those themes are adding layers of depth to the narrative. While these themes are compelling, their exploration remains surface-level, suggesting more to come in the full version of this comic book. 

So will I buy and read the full version of this comic book ? I don’t think I will. The main reason behind this is how poorly this preview was very uninteresting for me personally.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science” By William M. Bass Review

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There is no scientist in the world like Dr. Bill Bass. A pioneer in forensic anthropology, Bass created the world’s first laboratory dedicated to the study of human decomposition—three acres of land on a hillside in Tennessee where human bodies are left to the elements. His research at “the Body Farm” has revolutionized forensic science, helping police crack cold cases and pinpoint time of death. But during a forensics career that spans half a century, Bass and his work have ranged far beyond the gates of the Body Farm. In this riveting book, the bone sleuth explores the rise of modern forensic science, using fascinating cases from his career to take readers into the real world of C.S.I.

I need to admit that I wanted to read this book for a while now, because I was always interested in how forensic stuff is used to catch killers and how the forensic team can tell how long ago the person died. But in way this book didn’t live up to the hype I had for it. But I’m gonna discuss everything about this book in this review, so if you are interested then keep reading. 

First of all, this book talks a lot about the career of Bill Bass, which I found myself to not be interested in so much. Especially those parts which didn’t involve the creation and running of the body farm. Since I never was a fan of Bill Bass personally, I only was interested in his work at the body farm. 

At times this book feels like reading a medical textbook because of all the medical terms this book uses and those medical terms used in this book made me feel like an idiot because I had absolutely no idea what they meant so I needed to google them to get an idea of what those fancy medical words meant.

The writing style in this book feels very much like a textbook at times because of all the difficult medical terms this book uses. In my opinion this book would have been much better if it used like a simple everyday language for readers as myself who have absolutely no understanding of medical terminology and practices besides going to the GP every 2 or 3 years.

But I really liked the fact that this book talks about the rise of modern forensic science which I found to be very interesting and fun to read about. 

I also liked a lot the fact that this book talks about how the forensic teams are able to say the time of dead and what the person died from solely based from the dead body. I found it to be very interesting and it solved a lot of the questions I had about how the forensic science now on days work and how much we as humans have learned about bodies and death.

This book also talks about some cases which Bill Bass have worked on, where he needed to work on dead bodies to find out the cause of death. Which really helps us understand how the modern day forensic science works in practices and not only in theory. 

We get a lot of details and fun facts in this book about the forensic science, which at times feels like reading a medical textbook because of how this book tells us the details and those “fun facts”.

But if you are interested in true crime and how the forensic science works like I am, then I think you will learn a lot from reading this book even thou it tends to be pretty heavy at times. 

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Chaotic Soldiers: Preview” By Daniel Moser & Pablo Peppino Review

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Special 21-page preview! Safe Haven, city of thieves and brigands, where those who wish to escape their past go to disappear. The woods surrounding it share its reputation. It was here Storm O’Dowd wished to raise his family. When a band of mercenaries came in search of Storm they found his wife and son, Mikal, instead. Defending his family, Storm is cut down in front of his son’s eyes. But, like all Celts, Mikal was born with the gift of magic, and though untrained, he unleashes it all against the mercenaries! Now he must deal with the consequences.

Let me start this review by saying that this one is just a preview for the entire comic book. And I read it because I wanted to see if the full comic book was worth the money and time I would spend on it. And I’m gonna give you the answer for that at the end of this review.

This preview introduces to us a pretty dynamic narrative set in a chaotic, war-torn universe which I found to have a lot of potential to very good and interesting.

The concept of this preview is intriguing because it is blending elements of military strategy and personal drama which I found to be very engaging and enjoyable.

While the storyline was engaging in this preview it felt like it was holding out on us in this preview to get us to buy and read in the full version of this comic book. Which in a way left me curious for more but at the same time annoyed because I couldn’t really get the bigger picture if buy and reading the full version of this comic book was worth it or not.

The characters in this preview are introduced to us with their distinct personalities and potential for growth. Which really made me give this preview some extra points for doing. 

The character’s motivations is hinted at in this preview, but at the same time this preview avoids going fully into the character’s backgrounds and motivations. 

The artwork in this preview is pretty vivid and action-packed which effectively capturing the intensity of the storyline in this preview. Which really made me like this preview more. 

The illustrations in this preview enhance the narrative in a way, because they are bringing the chaotic world to life with dynamic visuals that draw me into this preview. 

This preview talks about the themes of conflict, loyalty, and survival which are woven throughout the storyline in this preview. And those themes add layers of intrigue to the narrative which really got me interested in reading the full version of this comic book. 

But at the same time the themes remain pretty surface-level in the preview and not fully explored. Which also annoyed me a lot because this preview was really holding out the things I found to be most intriguing about this preview.

So will buy and read the full version of this comic book ? Yes I will. It might take some time for me to actually read the full version of this comic book because I have been way too optimistic when creating my TBR list for this year and I don’t know if I get the time to read the full version of this comic book this year. But I will read the full version of this comic book at some point in time.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Red, White & Royal Blue” By Casey McQuiston Review

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First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince.

The reason why I bought and read this book is because I watched the movie adaptions of this book and I liked the movie. And this book is very hyped up on the internet and I wanted to see if this book was worth the hype. And I gotta admit that this book doesn’t deserve the hype it but of course I’m gonna explain everything in this review so if you are interested then keep reading the review.

This book has a sweet and uplifting story in it, which I really enjoyed reading because when I read this book this year I was in a reading slump and this book helped to get out of it.

As I have seen above the story in this book is pretty good but it does have some moments which I found to be boring or uninteresting. Which means that I cant give this book a perfect rating. And I know that my opinion about this book might be very unpopular.

The first 40% of this book was really interesting for me personally but the deeper I got in this book the more and more I began to be very bored because for me personally the deeper I got into this book the more the story in this book started rolling down the hill faster and faster.

The romance part of this book is not that great in my opinion because it is the haters-to-lovers romance which I personally don’t like the most of all the romance sub topics because I find it to be very unrealistic and cheesy. And this book wasn’t as cheesy and cringe as I expected it to be but still there are quiet a few cheesy moments which got me rolling my eyes at. 

However I really enjoyed the political aspect of this book because I’m a political drama junky and “House of cards” is my all time favorite series. So because of the political aspect of this book, I gave this book some extra points for because the political aspect in this book was really good and enjoyable.

This book talks about self-discovery because Alex is confused about his sexuality and if he is straight, bi or gay. And I really like this aspect of this story because I really like the self-discovery aspect in books.

The writing style in this book complements the storyline of this book very well. Because the writing style is very simple and easy to read which really works well with he simple storyline of this book. 

The writing style is simple and easy yes, but it isn’t too simple like in some other YA books I’ve read in my time. The best way to describe the writing style in this book is that its like on the everyday conversion level. 

The characters in this book are very good, they are very relatable and likable. Both of the main characters are in their early 20s if I remember correctly. Both Henry and Alex are very good main characters because they feel like real human beings and thats what makes me like time a lot.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future” By Vaclav Smil Review

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We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don’t know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check – because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts.

I need to admit here that the only reason why I read this book is because I’ve heard a lot of good things about the author, and this book was the first book from the author which I found in the bookstore I usually buy my books at. But without making the intro longer than it already is, lets get into this review. 

First of all I need to admit here that this book makes some very good points through out this book. Which really made like this book a fair share. And the author does give us some good fun facts through out this book

But at the same time this book is more of a statistics book rather than a normal nonfiction book. Because of how many numbers and constructs this book talks about and how much the author tries to connect those numbers into what the author is talking about in this book.

This book talks about climate change and that we cant decarbonize as fast as we imagine we can. Which is a very good point because most of the climate change books and articles I’ve read are always too optimistic about how fast we can decarbonize the planet and our lives.

The thing which I didn’t like the most about this book, was the fact that the author is very skeptical about humanity becoming multi-planetary species because the author claims it is far-fetched and too much like a Sci-Fi movie. 

The writing style in this book is very like a high school textbook, which really didn’t help me to be interested in it or find the book to be enjoyable. 

If you want to read a book about climate change and what we can do about it, then this book isnt a good choice because this book bombards us as readers with a lot of numbers, statics which really makes this book hard to understand. A better choice would be the climate change book Bill Gates have written rather than this one.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Snaponomi” By Lene Drange & Tore Løchstøer Hauge Review

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Hva gjør du når du står med din første lønnsslipp i hånden og lurer på hvorfor staten skal ha flere tusen kroner? Hva skjer hvis du lar være å betale regningene dine? Og hvordan kan du spare til det du virkelig ønsker deg når du alltid ender opp med minus på konto?

At the time of writing this review, this book is only available in Norwegian. So if you are Norwegian or understand Norwegian then this review will be just for you. 

I gotta admit that this book is sort of a Norwegian version of “Personal Finance for Dummies”. Because of how easy and simple this book is. 

I gotta admit here that this book is very fun to read because it has a lot of illustrations which makes it even easier to understand what the book is talking about. But at the same time the book offers us very good tricks and tips at how to improve our wealth and finances. Like one of the tips this book gives us is when you are renting an apartment / house or buying an apartment/ house with a friend, sibling or your boyfriend / girlfriend. No many how good your the other person relationship is, its always better to write a simple contract between the two of you. The contract should be about everything, who pays what, who paid more in deposit, who has a bigger apartment/ house loan etc. the contract really makes everything simple because if you and your friend or boyfriend / girlfriend if you two stop being friend or you or the other person wants to move out. 

This book has other very good tips which it talks about, but I’m not gonna reveal more of them, because this book is really worth reading if you are interested in improving your personal finances and become better at using your money. 

The thing which kept me from giving this book the perfect score of 5 out of 5, is the thing that this book is very narrow and specific. At the same time it keeps the topics it talks about very brief and avoid going into the details of those topics. Which for me personally wasn’t enough to give this book a higher rating than 3 stars which I gave this book.

At the same time this book feels like a very quick summary of much better personal finance and wealth books which I have read and talked about in the past. Because this book touches on the subjects most other personal finance and wealth books talks about, but this book makes it much more shallow and brief because it doesn’t go into the details of anything it talks about.

But if you are getting started with the personal finance and wealth books then this book is a good choice. Because as I’ve said above this book is very simple and easy which makes it very easy to understand and get the hang of. And a lot of the better personal finance and wealth books aren’t as easy and simple to understand as this one is. Which makes this book a good start if you are interested in books about how to improve your personal finance and how to get smarter using the money you earn from your job.

At the same time this book has a very good structure, because each chapter has its own theme. Like one chapter is about loans, the other is about what loans you should avoid, the next chapter is about how to save money and so on. Which really makes it easy for you to pick where you want to start reading the book. 

The writing style of this book is very good, because it really uses the day to day language most people use. And in a way this writing style makes this book to be a quick read, since the writing style makes it feel like you are having a coffee shop conversation with the author rather than reading a book.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Raise Kane: Preview” By Hans Rodinof Review

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10-Page Preview! Dutch intends to remake Citizen Kane with “all the blood, sex, and death that Orson Welles originally intended”. In other words, a snuff film. Billy has just signed on to play what may be the last role of his life. The time has come to Raise Kane!

Let me start this review by saying that this one is just a preview for the entire comic book. And I read it because I wanted to see if the full comic book was worth the money and time I would spend on it. And I’m gonna give you the answer for that at the end of this review.

This preview sets up a compelling narrative centered around a gritty, action-packed environment which I found to be fun and enjoyable to read because you don’t need any brain power to read it if you are looking for something you can turn your brain off while reading.

The concept of this preview is pretty engaging but it also hints at deeper layers of intrigue and suspense in the full version of this comic book.

The storylines in this comic book is pretty interesting. But it also feels very basic like it is holding out then details and action for the full version of this comic book. 

The main character in this comic book, is introduced to us with hints of complexity and a strong presence without revealing all of his personality to get us interested and curious to read the full version of this comic book. 

This preview touches on the main character’s motivations, personality and further development which I guess we would see in the full version of this comic book. 

When it comes to the side characters in this book they are somehow good even thou I wasn’t a big fan of them. The side characters add some depth to the narrative and storyline of this preview. But for the most part, they feel pretty weak and their personalities are very limited in this preview which didn’t help me liking them. 

The artwork in this preview does effectively captures the intense and moody atmosphere of this preview which I really liked and which made me give this preview some extra points for doing. 

The illustrations in this preview contribute to the overall tone of the story in this preview, which in return enhances the narrative’s sense of urgency and suspense which this preview tries to give us. 

This preview tries to give us the themes of justice, moral ambiguity, and action which are noticeable. But for the most part they felt pretty shallow like the creators of this preview didn’t develop them fully and only left them at the basic and shallow versions of the themes. 

So will buy and read the full version of this comic book ? Yes I will. It might take some time for me to actually read the full version of this comic book because I have been way too optimistic when creating my TBR list for this year and I don’t know if I get the time to read the full version of this comic book this year. But I will read the full version of this comic book at some point in time.

I Give This Book 3 / 5