In which I learn about Arcs and start to discover maybe stars aren’t for me.

I wrote another book review.  This was an interesting situation.  I received an email describing an opportunity to get an ARC of a book.  I learned that ARC stands for Advanced Review Copy.  Authors and publishers send out ARCs to get reviews before the book is released.

I answered the email and got a few choices of which book I wanted to read.  I went with “Discarded” by Michael J. Allen, an urban fantasy.

I wasn’t done yet.  I was asked for a link to previous reviews I have written.  I sent them a link to my Goodreads page.  They must have liked what they saw, because a couple of days later, I received my copy of the book.

My apologies to Mr. Allen.  I was able to get the review up in Goodreads and Amazon on August 2nd, but, the book released on July 26th.

More after the review.

Discarded by Michael J. Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A main character you won’t soon forget.
The series title, “Dumpstermancer,” alone was enough to make me want to read this e-book. I half expected a comedy, but wasn’t sure. I was intrigued, to say the least.
In a world where you can have a gourmet meal kit delivered, corporate magic seems like the next logical step. Mistakes happen, and the Glamour spell from Thoth is not exempt.
Eli is an engaging character. I’m not sure if I like him, but I definitely won’t forget him anytime soon. A homeless ex-con who was wrongly imprisoned, Eli is brave and has a good heart, but, he is so darn stubborn, I found myself often frustrated with him. And I wasn’t alone. Frustration with Eli’s stubbornness often extends to his allies. Sunny, who runs a homeless shelter, has a heart of gold and the patience of a saint, but, even she reaches her breaking point when it comes to Eli’s nature. I identified most with Kenrith and the Rhett’s, fey rodents and Eli’s would be protectors. On several occasions, the Rhett’s were ready to turn on Eli, and as the reader, I couldn’t say I blamed them.
Don’t get me wrong: Eli is a good character. He’s just so well written, parts of his personality that tick off other characters tend to overflow to the reader. I think that is quite an accomplishment.
Michael J. Allen wrote the book in first person, and I think he did an excellent job. I would have liked more details about the different magics. Too many details about the hows and whys, though, may have come off as an info dump and broke the immersion. I prefer a good story and being left with my own mysteries to solve. The use of magic is very smooth and drives the story.
In short, “Discarded” is a very good read, and I am keeping an eye out for the sequel.
Full disclosure, I received this book as an Advance Review Copy.

View all my reviews

I’m not sure if the star-system of rating books is working well for me.  You may have noticed I give everything I review 5 stars.  If I liked the book, why not give it 5 stars?

I can’t see a reason to give something one star.  If the books not for me, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. And how do you decide between a three-star and a four-star rating?  And what does a two-star rating mean?

I either like a book or I don’t.  If I don’t, I probably won’t finish the book, and that’s not fair to the author.

I can see a one-star if the book is just horribly written.  I even have one book in mind, that possibly had a good story hidden somewhere underneath all the crap writing.  I have to ask, though, is just giving it a one-star rating helping the author grow, or am I just getting revenge for wasting my time.

If I’m going to keep reviewing books, I’m going to have to discipline myself to finish a book, no matter how much I don’t like it, and then find something constructive to say, not destructive.

And I just re-read what I just wrote, and can’t help but think, “What an arrogant bastard.”

I need to put more thought into this.  Please comment if you have any tips.