Reviewing The Canonical Order by T.R. Kurtz

I've been reading books, although, not at the rate I was in past years. Life is extremely busy for me, and I've been devoting my morning coffee time to writing rather than reading. I haven't been posting much about the books I've read, including the books that I've gotten from Booktasters or any of the ARCs I've gotten from publishers. I haven't even been blogging about books that I truly loved that we read in my book club. It's time to catch up! I'll start with the book I most recently received from Booktasters in exchange for an honest review: The Canonical Order by T.R. Kurtz.

For me, this book took a while to get through - the pacing just felt off and bogged down and/or the main character would annoy me and I would put the book down and go read something else for a while. The overall plot of the book is good. It's the writing style that killed me. See my full review below.


The Canonical Order by T.R. Kurtz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

In this novel, a group of radical Islamic terrorists are determined to fulfill an ancient prophecy to draw the West into an apocalyptic holy war. In the process, the Pope becomes a target, and after a bullet leaves him incapacitated, Chad Stryker, sets out on a solo counteroffensive to stop the terrorists and preserve the Catholic Church.

The overall plot of the book was good, but the pacing-particularly the inudation of details-bogged the story line down. The twists and turns were predictable which didn't make for a very thrilling read. I also had an issue with the main character, Chad Stryker.

Chad Stryker is an ex-CIA agent that joined The Canonical Order. He is supposed to be a likeable character, but he is a flat character who is all too appealing to the ladies. I think the author tried too hard to make him suave like Bond in a way that came across as rather irritating. I didn't notice any real development of the character arc either. He is a rather flat protaganist.

The idea is there, but the writing misses the mark for me.

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Reviewing Two JTK Belle Children’s Books

I have 4 kids. Two of them like reading. I guess that means I got it half-right? Anyway, my youngest and I sit down and read books together all the time. Over the course of two nights we sat and read two books I won through a goodreads giveaway. This is the first time we ever read electronic copies of books together. The format worked just fine. See my detailed review of J.T.K. Belle’s books Breakfast in the Barnyard and I Dont’t Like to Eat Ants below.

Breakfast in the Barnyard by J.T.K. Belle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cute Story

My 2nd header and I just read this book. It was fun to read. The alliteration, rhythm, pacing and vibrant illustrations were great.

I Don't Like to Eat Ants by J.T.K. Belle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Good Book for Reluctant Eaters

My second grader and I sat down and read this book. It was cute, but my son didn’t like the the anteaters didn’t have names. I felt calling the anteaters Anteater One and Anteater Two slowed the pace of the book a little. Overall, the story was cute. The story is about an anteater that decides he doesn’t like ants and tries to convince his friend to eat other foods with him. The reluctant anteater eventually tries peanut butter and jelly and realizes he too likes other foods. This is a good book for the reluctant eater.

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