The Library of Casey K Cox (Author and Avid Reader)

4.5 stars

I loved this tale of a young American boy thrown into the hustling world of an Italian movie set. Poor Gil is so naive and innocent but life comes pounding on his back door (literally as well as metaphorically) in this great book.

The characters are well rounded and you can't help but love these young guys as they learn to get by in the big bad world.

A poignant and at times sad story as Gil wakes up to the realities of life as a movie gopher. He gets himself in some tight scrapes but always comes out with a smile on his face and some new experience under his belt. The graphics help to paint a vivid picture and bring the characters to life.

I love the growing friendships along the way and the last splash of action brough a nice conclusion.

I'm really looking forward to the sequel due this Spring.

4.5 - 5 stars
This was a great read for those that like a plot driven short. A difficult thing to achieve if you ask me with so little space for world building but this one pulls it off nicely with no world building at all.

The tech is full on and very believable for near future timelines. It weaves the relationship of the two MC's, one being heavy on the tech, the other being a tech-geek. Both characteres were easy to relate to and bond with and I was invested in the outcome.

Light on sex but when it's there it's hot and pushes the story forward. It was also a great ending. A sequel would be nice, but isn't really necessary.

All in all a good example of a well balanced, well written story that I would recommend to anyone liking high-tech with their reads. That's high-tech not sci-fi. The science in this story is not fiction but highly plausible and likely already under testing in labs around the world.

Full disclosure - I only read this book because it was offered as a free review read. I am so glad I did and will look out for more of this author's work.

It's a sweet, yet sad story that I really enjoyed. The writing style worked for me and I bonded with the characters.

When I say sweet, I don't mean gushy, sugary or lovey-dovey. It's set in a 1930's prison and has all the things you expect from such - violence, hatred, rape... But the underlying story is one of grudging respect that becomes much more over time.

The characters are rock solid and believable, the setting well painted. The harsh realities aren't papered over or blown out of proportion to make for more drama. It's well-paced too.

I guess I could be pedantic and say I'd have liked the story to be longer but in reality it was about right. I got to about 3/4 of the way through and thought - how much more of the boys story can there be? (in a positive wondering what's going-to-happen=to-these=guys way rather than oh-my-god-please-let-it-be-over-soon way).

All in all a good read, that had I bought it I would still have been very happy with.

This is just what I needed. Pure escapism and so goddam hot. Drooled whilst reading it, drooling now I'm thinking about it.

*sighs contentedly