Tag / alcohol

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Book Review: The Final Weekend

Book review! Read all about it! That’s right. I have another one for you. This one was called The Final Weekend: A Stoned Tale by Neal Cassidy.

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Synopsis: In the last days before the real world, six college friends prepare to take a bow in epic fashion.

After Sunday there’s just Harry, the future business owner; Justin, the medical intern; Trent, the hapless wanderer; and Clarence, soon to don the badge and blues. But now they have years of memories to honor, all packed into one weekend. Will they grow into their new adult roles? Will they go out in style with the girls? Will the four of them even survive the sheer level of debauchery?

Living in an apartment paid for by the Grandma, an ex-hooker turned millionaire, Courtney and Ling-Ling couldn’t be more opposite, yet are completely inseparable. Courtney and Harry have been hooking up for years, neither able to commit, but their imminent separation is about to test that arrangement, and Ling-Ling’s never-ending reciprocated crush on Justin just might become more than that.

Their lives intersect with that of Professor Goodkat, their idolized instructor who never quite “left” college himself. In Goodkat, we find the consequence of getting to live out a hedonist fantasy, and the possibility for change in anyone.

This book was a unique one. I say that because, for the most part, it was a pretty average read….until I got to the end. Then it took a shocking turn that I was never expecting in a million years. Which leaves me at a point where I don’t know what to rate it.

It had a lot of characters so there were a lot of perspectives to follow and they each had their own quirks to them which was fun. It centered a lot on the use of marijuana which is something I have only dabbled in a bit and am not that familiar with so I couldn’t really relate to a lot of what the book was about in that aspect.

I could, however, relate to the ending of school and moving on into your adult life after graduation. So that was alright. I remember being scared for so much change to happen at once and wondering how my bonds with my friends would either flourish or diminish and a lot of the characters shared those same struggles.

I found that I was a bit bored during parts of the book because they just went over the basic day to day things that they did without any real plot devices in there. I will say that it makes sense now that I have completed the book because all this “non build-up” was just the reason why I was caught so off guard by that ending. I turned to my significant other and was speechless when I finished the book because I was trying to process what had just happened.

Overall, I am rating this book right in the middle. The ending is what gave it that rating  (otherwise it probably would have been lower) and you will rethink the whole book once you have finished it. I would suggest trying it out just for that factor alone!

Book Rating: 3/5

You can buy this book on Amazon and find it on Goodreads.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me in physical format by the author to read and give my honest review.


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by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Book Review: Songs from Richmond Avenue

Book reviews, for the win! We have another here at Breakeven Books for a book called Songs from Richmond Avenue by Michael Reed. This book is summed up as a Houston love story with beer and a couple of dead folks thrown in.

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Pages: 181

Synopsis: If the adage “nothing civilized ever resulted from the drinking of beer” requires further proof, one needs to look no farther than down Houston’s pothole-infested Richmond Avenue. There, the blurry-eyed denizens of the Relix Club while away the hours engaged in their two favorite activities – drinking and betting.

Until recently that was good enough for our storyteller, a journalist of questionable work ethic, who undergoes an epiphany following a bus stop meeting with pretty Michelle, a woman he declares has “skin so perfect I doubted she even had pores.”

Could she be his redemption? Maybe, but first, he’d better contend with her baseball bat-wielding former beau, her nihilistic stripper roommate and the suspicious death of a friend, who fancies himself the father of Brute Generation poetry.

Mostly satire, often wildly unpredictable, the only real long shot in Songs From Richmond Avenue would be for its protagonist to put down his beer long enough to learn anything of true value.

This book was interesting. The writing style itself feels like the story is told through the blurred vision of the main character. It’s a blurred vision because the main character is drinking pretty much the entire book. And boy can he drink.

I didn’t find that there was much of a story to the book; it just felt like we were taking a peek into the main characters life for a day or two. None the less, it was entertaining to read and I enjoyed the new writing style that I am not used to.

My favorite character was probably Honey because she didn’t give a shit and just said whatever she wanted to whomever she wanted. I also really liked Strummer, the very chill dog that just wanted to have a home.

That being said, I did get a little bored reading this book. It wasn’t one that I couldn’t put down. I did put it down many times to go do other things but I am glad I finished it because I liked the ending to it.

If you are looking for a book that is a nice break from a long series or just an in-between book, then this is a good one. It’s not that long and will give you a laugh.

You can find the book on Amazon!

Book rating: 3/5

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me in physical format to read and give an honest review. 


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