https://www.dswatson.net/blog-montauk daily 0.75 2024-10-02 https://www.dswatson.net/blog-montauk/https/wwwdswatsonnet/blog-page-url/new-post-title-1 monthly 0.5 2024-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/29441a34-f4dc-441c-9fae-c8c0a523945a/Rio.jpg Blog - Book Review: There is a Rio Grande in Heaven "There is a Rio Grande in Heaven" is a short story compilation from the LatinX perspective. The plots cover everything from the Mayan fall to the conquistadors to dystopian science fiction to the life of a boy escaping violence in El Salvador. Some stories are poignant, some are funny, and some are just disturbing (but in a good way) Mr. Reyes has found a nice balance for his scene-setting. He gives enough details to pull you in but doesn't deposit any Tolkien-esque info-dumps of exposition. I would liken it to Steinbeck, who used scene description to inform the reader of the MC's mindset. My only criticisms, which aren't dire, are that 1) I felt one or two of the stories could have been tighter, and 2) the pagination was frustrating. The title pages and first text for each story were unnumbered, making keeping track of the pages somewhat challenging. Yes, I know that has nothing to do with the writing, but it irked me, okay? But seriously, this was, overall, a solid compilation. https://www.dswatson.net/blog-montauk/https/wwwdswatsonnet/blog-page-url/new-post-title monthly 0.5 2024-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/e7cd97c1-0e43-4dc4-b933-5c4c35b20a22/time+travel.jpg Blog - Book Review: Time Travel for Fun and Prophet If you are a fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you will enjoy this book tremendously. This story is a hilarious, mind-bending roller coaster ride. The plot centers around Dan, a guy who jumps through time without any way to control it. It's a great premise that Terry Willey works into a solid story arc. The characters are funny and weird enough to make them interesting. I quickly became invested in them and wanted to see them come out victorious. My main complaints are minor but still should be addressed. The narrator often breaks the fourth wall, which is fine, except that it is sometimes more distracting than it should be. Some points in the story could have used more showing and less telling, while some of the asides could have been cut down or negated. These are all style choices and a matter of opinion. I had a great time reading this book, and I highly recommend it to others. https://www.dswatson.net/blog-montauk/book-review-the-wormdance-malady-by-maneesh-keelanje monthly 0.5 2024-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/59333498-04ef-4554-9b6a-e5dbbf7d52d8/wormdance.jpg Blog - Book Review: The Wormdance Malady by Maneesh Keelanje The Wormdance Malady is a meandering story filled with metaphors that are almost impossible to decipher. It was an arduous read and boring from beginning to end. The two main characters, a mother and daughter, are vapid and self-centered. The mother complains constantly about the attention she is not receiving, and the daughter can't keep her eyes from locating a mirror. They are not likable in the least. The plot entails the two women getting ready and then attending a wedding. That's it. For three-quarters of the story, there isn't much setting. There is a minimal description of the world around them. Once they got to the wedding, there was a lot more scene setting, which was nice, but a little late. There is no actual conflict other than the mother's constant thought of being jilted out of something she deserves. Therefore, there is no resolution. The "climax" of the story is an info dump of far-out philosophy that is apropos of nothing. None of it makes sense or is related to the story or characters. I cannot recommend this story, as it is annoying at best, and the ending is unsatisfying. https://www.dswatson.net/blog-montauk/book-review-just-stab-me-now-by-jill-bearup monthly 0.5 2024-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/b0ba1711-a549-4407-902e-6aa0bcd4688b/JSMN.jpg Blog - Book Review: Just Stab Me Now, by Jill Bearup "Just Stab Me Now" by Jill Bearup is about an author and her recalcitrant heroine. I loved this story. I'm not a huge fan of fantasy stories, or romances for that matter, but this one was different from the usual formula. Caroline, the author, is trying to write a fantasy romance, but her characters keep wandering away from the outline. As a fiction writer myself, I can tell you that is an accurate assessment of the writing process. So, the romance tropes are often ignored, much to the author's (Caroline's) chagrin. Paralleling the fantasy story that Caroline is writing, we also follow Caroline on her own story with her stressful day job, her shitty boss, and her blooming crush on her editor and all the fears that come along with that. Another thing I loved is that Caroline often broke into a story to talk to her characters, which made for some hilarious moments. I honestly can't give enough compliments to Ms. Bearup and her debut novel. It was a fun read. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes funny books, whether or not you like romance or fantasy. https://www.dswatson.net/blog-montauk/5xpa6fp40jqkimsfxcrihknzllcltv monthly 0.5 2024-10-02 https://www.dswatson.net/blog-montauk/category/Real+Talk monthly 0.5 https://www.dswatson.net/hickworld daily 0.75 2024-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/c6b33eea-0137-471a-90ea-8065adaba2d9/coming-soon.gif https://www.dswatson.net/welcome daily 1.0 2024-10-02 https://www.dswatson.net/about-montauk daily 0.75 2024-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/e85ca0bf-a47c-4a53-9887-232d5330ce46/DS+Watson+Headshot+%281%29.jpg https://www.dswatson.net/books daily 0.75 2024-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/a86502b7-6ea9-4c31-a22e-77d5153b47ea/AB+Cover.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/f9e03f44-0c9a-4c5b-861c-489228adfa94/SWAG-MBMB.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/0da09f09-3325-4e64-bc14-1a5aebcd2732/Cover.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/d2865b27-3f65-4da2-b7d6-9eb58d4bd656/CS+Cover+1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/10653d9b-191d-4da9-ae43-81deffb1404a/LTM+Cover.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c406d90bf6ac2e92d1a5be/0de7e787-46a6-4ff1-b316-4391b79b6093/Wonderful+Cover+300dpi.jpg