Reviews

Altar of Bones by Philip Carter

marawii's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was a great page turner. Every time you think the main characters were safe, something happens out of the blue. I loved every minute of reading this action packed book!

beastreader's review against another edition

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5.0

This book starts out with an old homeless woman being pursued by a man. The woman knows that if she keeps running, she just might be able to live another day. Unfortunately, the woman is not fast enough. The last words out of the woman’s mouth is…”They didn’t have to kill him…he never drink from the Altar of Bones. I got it back.”

The next scene takes reads back in time to 1937 in a Norilsk prison camp on Siberia, USSR. It is here that readers start to learn more about what the Altar of Bones is really about and why so many people are willing to kill for the location and what the Altar has to offer.

Now to the present day. When Zoe Dmitroff receives a letter from her grandmother, she learns that she is now the “Keeper” of the Altar of Bones. Zoe meets up with Ry O’Malley, an ex-DEA agent. Together they all over the globe to find out if the Altar of Bones really exist. It will be a dangerous trek.

I started reading The Altar of Bones right before I went to bed…bad idea. Right from the beginning I was instantly hooked by this book. I had to force myself to put it down and turn off the lights. There was intrigue, mystery, and adventure at every turn and it did not let up until the very end. Which I also thought was great. Sometimes books can start out strong and the ending can be a let down or seemed rushed. It was neither in the case of this book. Both Zoe and Ry were strong characters. I like that the romance between these two did not take away from the story. Altar of Bones needs to come with a warning…Beware of adrenaline rush!

hldonavant's review against another edition

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5.0

Great read. JFK, Marilyn Monroe, fountain of youth. Russian mafia, Siberia, mothers and daughters. Guns, grenades, high speed chases, and a little romance.

gbdill's review against another edition

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2.0

I so wanted to finish this, but I couldn't. The story was intriguing. Plenty of mystery and action on the front end (escape from gulag, discovery of cave, murder in San Francisco, mystery photo, dying confession of killing, chase scene in DC, murder in church, etc), then it went completely downhill from there. Cookie-cutter characters, obligatory sex scenes, and fragmented/choppy storyline. I literally became bored with it. Not much else to say other than that. Moving on.

beelouise's review

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

goodcook07's review against another edition

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3.0

It was suspenseful I'll give it that. But the characters are not very believable. Beyond the fact that the heroine (?) is a descendant from "magical" people, she's a daughter of a Russian mobster who lived as a lawyer and then suddenly can run, jump, shoot and evade murder with superhuman strength? And she just magically meets her long lost stepbrother (?) . And her mom is also possessed of this superhuman shooting/murder skill? Well, maybe, I guess since they are descended from magical people, but still.

abbylawton's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

maggiedrouillard's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

davidlz1's review against another edition

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2.0

It gets a 2 only because the plot was somewhat interesting. The rest of the book was just such garbage. Book was written as ‘high action’ with ‘steamy sexy scenes’ and a sad attempt at depicting the essence of romance. Not to mention it is written at a very low reader level. It was a painful experience to be sure. Good thing it was written under a pseudonym. It would explain why the author never revealed himself.

birminghambooks's review against another edition

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3.0

Would of been better if it was shorter.nit seemed to go on forever with not a lot happening at times. Ended up skim reading it due to getting bored at 400 pages.