A Musing Reviews

IMM (3/11/12)

2012-03-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am slowly coming back from vacation and starting to read again.

This week for review:

New giveaways to be posted this week! Yay!

What did you get to read?

The Book Club Cook Book by Gelman and Krupp

2012-03-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

My take: I'm mixing things up here and giving my opinion first because I enjoyed this book so much! I haven't read it through because that's not what you do with cookbooks but it isn't just a cookbook. Recipes you can find on the internet. These are whole experiences that are concisely provided in a book. As fun as it is to have everything at our fingertips via internet, a good cookbook can not be duplicated.

But this can also be a bathroom book. Don't get all grossed out or anything but the reason is that each recipe or featured recipes is preceded by a summary of the book for the club. Not the short little blurb that says nothing in particular but a well written summary that might even go through the book, giving more information than you'd find on a publicity site. They might be viewed as spoilers by some people. I find the more information given, the more interest is sparked.

Then there is the recipe; something that might have been mentioned in the book or appropriate for the time period and geographical location. Actually, when the publicist offered this book for review, I looked at the list of recipes and books (as seen below) and stopped at Chocolate Pie from The Help and laughed very hard. I still haven't seen the movie and might not ever but both the movie and the book do this recipe justice - minus one critical ingredient, I feel compelled to reveal.

Novel Thoughts is a little section at the end of the recipe where different book clubs have tried different strategies for either serving the dish or discussing aspects of the book. Interesting perspectives and helpful for book clubs. Also, in some sections, additional information is provided under "More Food for Thought."

As a general cookbook, it's good. I have better recipes for some of the dishes or easier and quicker, anyway but I don't have the most authentic which this provides. If I used the book for a book club, I might or might not use the exact recipe but I would definitely use the descriptions and thoughts. They are excellent starting points for conversation and discussion.

Summary of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition

“Part cookbook, part celebration of the written word, [The Book Club Cookbook] illustrates how books and ideas can bring people together.”
—Publishers Weekly

“The Book Club Cookbook excels at offering book groups new title ideas and a culinary way to spice up their discussions.”
—Library Journal

“If you’re in a book club, you’ll savor the stories of the many culturally and ethnically diverse book groups the authors interviewed as much as the recipes."
—USA Today

Whether it's Roman Punch for The Age of Innocence, or Sabzi Challow (spinach and rice) with Lamb for The Kite Runner, or Swedish Meatballs and Glögg forThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, nothing spices up a book club meeting like great eats. Featuring recipes and discussion ideas from bestselling authors and book clubs across the country, this fully revised and updated edition of the classic book guides readers in selecting and preparing culinary masterpieces that blend perfectly with the literary masterpieces their club is reading. This edition features new contributions from a host of today's bestselling authors including:

Kathryn Stockett, The Help (Demetrie's Chocolate Pie and Caramel Cake)
Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants (Oyster Brie Soup)
Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper (Brian Fitzgerald's Firehouse Marinara Sauce)
Abraham Verghese, Cutting for Stone (Almaz's Ethiopian Doro Wot and Sister Mary Joseph Praise's Cari de Dal)
Annie Barrows, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society(Annie Barrows's Potato Peel Pie and Non-Occupied Potato Peel Pie)
Lisa See, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See's Deep-Fried Sugared Taro)
The Book Club Cookbook will add real flavor to your book club meetings!

Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers

2012-03-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

My take: I love a good historical novel and this one qualifies as just that. It's a time period I'm not familiar with and a historical character I didn't know, Anne of Brittany. I found Wikipedia to be helpful for understanding the geography and political pulse, although the book does an excellent job of doing just that. Brittany occupied the Western portion of Europe at this time. France desperately wanted the land and Anne was a political pawn in securing power at the time. She was promised to many men to marry in exchange for their armies. Intriguingly, the main character and point of view is not told by Anne of Brittany but the daughter of a beet farmer, Ismae.

Aside from politics, religion was undergoing much change. Ismae is part of a convent under the demi-god or god (depending on who you ask), Death. The interpretation of being a nun of Death is to be trained to be an assassin then when Mortaine, Death makes his will known, someone is assassinated. The girls are trained in flirtation, court politics, and the many hundreds of ways to kill a person. Ismae is sent as a spy to the court of the Duchess and kill whoever bore the marque or she was ordered to kill. Yet it is clear there is a traitor among the Duchess' closest advisers. That was the mystery. I truly did not know who the traitor was until Ismae figured it out.

Then there is a very nice romance. Gavriel is the perfect love interest and their relationship is perfectly paced for a first book. Also, historically speaking, the story gives a fair snapshot of the treatment of women in this time period. They were not people but instruments. They had no rights and were treated as property. Even the very powerful Duchess was not so very powerful after all. Her options were greatly limited.

I look forward to the next book!

Skin Rules by Debra Jaliman

2012-03-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

Skin Rules by Debra Jaliman

Description: The only skin book you'll ever need -- whether you're 16 or 60 -- from New York City's top dermatologist to the stars

Skin Rules is a short, concise, and practical instruction manual from a renowned Fifth Avenue dermatologist on how to attain beautiful skin, a taut and sculpted body, and a much younger appearance. Actors, models, and newscasters go to Dr. Jaliman for her cutting-edge technology and the latest in skin care, as well as for her reputation for being the "last stop" doctor, the one who fixes what others can't.

Skin Rules has something for everyone, no matter where they live or how much money they have to spend. This small, invaluable guide supplies the same advice Dr. Jaliman gives to her celebrity patients, from lasers to remove sun damage and tum back the clock to suggestions for simple products and habits anyone can adopt for a small outlay of time and money. In Skin Rules readers will learn:

about the one ingredient that should NEVER be in sunscreens, but often is
how to use inexpensive Aquaphor to heal wounds and prevent scarring
which drugstore products really work for acne and wrinkles

My take: This book is really easy to read and provides good information. My only complaint is that the timing of my reading it was all wrong. One very important rule is to stay out of the sun. This book arrived the week before I was going to Maui. Rather than take it all to heart, I did my own little paradigm shift and accepted that rule as a suggestion. I liked the "always use sunscreen" rule much better.

The best part about the book was how Jaliman listed ingredients that are good or bad for the skin. She launched her own cosmetic line but does not tell the reader what her products are. I appreciate that because I am a normal woman with normal income. I'm not Hollywood glitz but I would like to know some ingredients to watch for. She also includes suggestions of products that are relatively affordable.

Botox is used for more than just wrinkle prevention. Fake eyelashes are pretty but murderous on your real ones. There are real products that will increase your own eyelash growth. Laser therapy can remove sightly spots and it is not completely out of the ballpark for cost. That said, she encourages the reader to instead invest in a $20 bottle of sunscreen.

The book is full of excellent nuggets that the author personally uses in her practice. Some are way too expensive. Most are completely do-able or any combination might help with a healthy skin. I really liked it and highly recommend it to any woman. I wish I had it twenty years ago. Ah, well. I still would have gone to Maui.

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--a Love Story by Ree Drummond

2012-03-07T06:00:00.001-07:00

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--a Love Story by Ree Drummond

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: "That's when I saw him--the cowboy--across the smoky room."

I'll never forget that night. It was like a romance novel, an old Broadway musical, and a John Wayne western rolled into one. Out for a quick drink with friends, I wasn't looking to meet anyone, let alone a tall, rugged cowboy who lived on a cattle ranch miles away from my cultured, corporate hometown. But before I knew it, I'd been struck with a lightning bolt . . . and I was completely powerless to stop it.

Read along as I recount the rip-roaring details of my unlikely romance with a chaps-wearing cowboy, from the early days of our courtship (complete with cows, horses, prairie fire, and passion) all the way through the first year of our marriage, which would be filled with more challenge and strife--and manure--than I ever could have expected.

This isn't just my love story; it's a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet.

It's the story of a cowboy.

And Wranglers.

And chaps.

And the girl who fell in love with them.

My take: Ree writes her book in the same voice she uses on her blog. She talks to the reader like a friend. This is simply her history according to her. This is striking to me because I respected the way she did not air others dirty laundry or assign feelings or interpretations to others they did not specifically share. Her parents' marriage falls apart and she is angry at her mother for leaving it at the same time, she doesn't share the story that isn't hers to tell. I respected that.

Ree is a gifted writer. She objectively articulates her experiences then jumps into her head in that time period and shares the internal struggles she had. She doesn't justify those struggles, they just are. I found that courageous.

Although Ree's experience of becoming a ranch wife is unique, her need to redefine herself in a very short amount of time is universal. I related very well to Ree's experiences. From leaving a place so comfortable to a place of limbo before launching off to the next Big Thing then making a choice to stick around and find out what this little romance might turn into. The moment when Ree realizes that rest of her life can't be wrapped up in roses and romance and that she has to stick it out, even through the hard things was revelatory. They honeymoon period of the courtship ends quickly after a beautiful wedding.

What I uncomfortably enjoyed was the way Ree had to reinvent herself over and over again like any other woman but she provided so much honesty that I remembered my own struggles in painful detail.

From independent, beautiful, sexy woman to wife.

From abstaining to a sexual woman.

And then there's the dignity. Why do we delude ourselves as women, believing we can keep our dignity? That we will be the sexiest woman that our husbands will always find appealing while we puke our guts out with morning sickness, can barely get up to take a shower, grow big and pregnant, losing all semblance of womanly curves as our belly swells. The ultimate indignity is birth itself. She discusses the strong possibility that, while bearing down, a woman might poop. There is no dignity.

That is the reason I found the book so appealing. Ree honestly and openly, without being crass, addresses all of the transitions, both external and internal. In a short amount of time "I" becomes "we" and independence becomes interdependence and "I need you." Marlboro Man saw his wife in all of her skins. He loves her anyway. And she loves him. And somehow, throughout all their differences and shedding of superficial, they make a life together.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

2012-03-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn't love Delirium. I was a little hesitant about Pandemonium. I'll ruin the suspense right now. I loved it. I really did.

Let's start at the beginning. Which is the end of Delirium. Lena has escaped the controlled and emotionally dead world of Portland, Maine. But Lena is not emotionally dead. She is devastated. She and Alex made the escape attempt together. Alex ended up bloody and still. After a few days, Lena ends up alone and mostly dead. Then she is found and joins a commune of Invalids - others who do not believe in the cure. They live illegally and try to stay under the radar.

The old Lena is erased from Society. Lena allows this person that existed as herself die, too. Her life "before" is irrelevant. There is only now and survival.

Speaking of time periods, this is where I believe Oliver is brilliant. The chapters alternate between then and now. Then begins as Lena's life in the wild begins. "Now" begins as she is sitting in an all-girls school in Manhatten. The genius of this is linking the two time periods with some element that seamlessly drives the story; an idea, a location, a person, a movement, an experience. It is so very well executed. In both "then" and "now," the characters and relationships evolve and develop naturally and endearingly. New players are introduced the way a new person enters life. You know little about them, spend time with them, learn to love them or hate them.

Without giving too much of a spoiler, evidently there are many who do not agree with the cure. There are those who live in the Wild. There are also those in the Resistance who are actively working against the government. There are also people that wreak anarchy - mostly people the cure did not cure but imbalanced.

So the story of "then" is Lena's integration into the commune under a very young, experienced, and emotionally tired Raven. She learns the rules of the commune and the wild. She sees the reality of life without modern medicine or availability of food. She develops ties to the commune. She laughs and she grieves.

"Now" is Lena returned to a city with a new identity, pretending to be cured, complete with a scar. It is a carefully calculated part of the Resistance Movement which she and Raven are now a part of. Again, a gift by Oliver is that she keeps both time periods equally interesting and action packed, equally sprinkling cliff hangers at the end of chapters to keep the reader from skipping ahead. Both stories are compelling. Both stories are packed with action, grief, attachments, blood, and character depth. Then and Now is threaded together by location when Then ends and there is only Now.

I can tell you that I honestly did not know how it would end. I can also tell you that the last few chapters presented some nail biting moments and unexpected developments. The ending was satisfying in many ways but an absolute cliff hanger.

You will love it.

I can't wait for the next book.

The Beautiful Wife by Sandy Ralya Blog Tour

2012-03-06T06:44:00.018-07:00

The Beautiful Wife uses these inspiring stories along with biblical principles to guide and encourage any wife looking for God's best in her marriage. The Beautiful Wife answers serious questions women have about their roles as wives. Discussing everything from romance and money to beauty, communication, and sex, Sandy challenges women to open up and share their journeys so that together they can see God's plan for their marriages. "It is my passion to help women discover God's heart for their marriage, just as the other women helped me," writes Sandy. "When women share with each other the details of their journeys with God as wives, it's a beautiful thing indeed." The Beautiful Wife has two companion resources - Prayer Journal and Mentor's Guide.

Celebrate with Sandy by entering her Kindle Touch Giveaway and coming to her "Beautiful Womanhood" Facebook Party {3/8}!

One beautiful winner will receive:

A Brand new Kindle Touch with Wi-Fi
The Beautiful Wife By Sandy Ralya
The Beautiful Wife Prayer Journal and Mentor's Guide

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends 3/7/12. Winner will be announced at Sandy's "Beautiful Womanhood" Facebook Party on 3/8. Sandy will be hosting an evening of chat, laughter and encouragement - bring your friends! She'll also be giving away some GREAT prizes: gift certificates, books, prayer journals and a live chat with Sandy for your Bible study or small group!

So grab your copy of The Beautiful Wife and join Sandy and friends on the evening of March 8th for an evening of fun.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on March 8th!

Other blogs on this book tour can be found HERE.

The Scoop

2012-03-05T06:00:00.002-07:00

So if you are watching my blog with bated breath, you know it just isn't up to date. My contest sidebar is incomplete and outdated. I haven't been posting reviews and giveaways with the ferocity I usually do. In fact, I haven't read an entire book in over a week. I've read bits and pieces of a few books but sustained reading time has been interrupted as has my schedule. I have a personal blog where I will write a whole lot more about the past week or so (it's the square in the right margin, {a} musing mother). I won't bore you with my life but I believe a brief introduction might be in order in case you don't know who I am.

I am a mother of four children, ranging from 7 to 17, each unique, challenging and wonderful in their own ways. They are not the reason I have neglected my books.

I am an educator. I have been working as a high school counselor and work half time. This has not been why I have not been reading.

I am Neurotic with a capital N. I embrace this and use my battered DSM-IIIR from graduate school days to diagnose my neighbors that I love and not. If you are my neighbor, please don't ask me. Most of you haven't earned a diagnosis. If you have and it's under the category of "Anxiety Disorder" making you a certified neurotic, I love you and reserve a special part of my heart for you. This is why I read.

The reason I have not been reading or writing on my blogs is my short attention span has been sorely tested. Something actually forced itself into my life with so much bang! I could not force my own mind into a character from a wonderful book, although I did finally get my husband to read one of my very favorite books. He's still working on it and is completely engrossed. I am so proud.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand words of my life the past week and half minus the amazing amount of laundry, planning, and farming out the aforementioned children because they were not invited. My dear husband only invited me. And my two Kindles which I kept packed most of the time.

Go ahead. Feel the awe. Be inspired. Be jealous. My own life was far more fun and different than its scheduled programming that I could not disengage. I barely read the latest People magazine but only because Elizabeth Smart married on Oahu.

My own life looked a lot like this only better:

Yes, it has been a rough week plus, having to live in paradise, have hours pass before I look at my husband and muse, "We have children, right?" because I forgot. No counting heads. No checking backpacks. No laundry. That felt so good I will say it again. No laundry. Swimming suits and snorkel gear, looking for sea turtles and listening to the humpback whale songs under the water. Luau with the most amazing fire dancer right on the beach.

And that's why I have been M.I.A.

I'm inspired. Aren't you?

IMM (3/4/12) and It's Monday! What Are You Reading!

2012-03-05T01:10:00.001-07:00

This post is way overdue so forgive me for posting like two weeks plus.

Bought:

For Review

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert Review

2012-03-02T00:42:00.000-07:00

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I actually read this a few years ago when I borrowed it from a neighbor who was reading it for a book club. I absolutely loved it. I am writing a mini review now because I can see the island from my hotel room and I can not stop myself from telling my husband the history of the island and how leprosy was introduced, how the person that contracted leprosy was treated, and the slow bit sure rise of a civilization and actual town of the leprosy colony.

The protagonist is a six year old girl, having found a red spot on her skin right at the end of the century when the U.S. annexed the islands. Heartbreakingly, she is taken from her home and devoted father (we later find put what happened to the rest of the family once the stigma reached the neighbors) and relocated to the boarding school on the island. It is here she grows up, passes through the stages of life, and the reader gets a taste of life in a leprosy colony. It is not always death and sadness, although those realities hang heavy in their existences. They marry. They have children. They have to choose what they want for their children - leprosy or life. They bury their loved ones. They build lives. It is also during the main character's life that leprosy is renamed as Hansen's Disease, the offending culprit within the carrier identified, and a cure is administered.

I loved the ending. I will not provide any spoilers but to say that the entire book is realistically written, history is beautifully depicted, snd the journey is both messy and blissful. Highly recommend.

View all my reviews

The Possibility of You by Pamela Redmond

2012-02-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Possibility of You by Pamela Redmond

Goodreads: 1916. It was the one thing Bridget was supposed to never let happen. But no matter how many times she replayed the steps in her head, she couldn’t reanimate the small pale boy who lay limp in her arms.

1976. Billie felt as if she’d been wrenched in half more surely than when the baby had been cut from her body. But she felt something else too: happy to think only of her own needs, her own tears. So light she could float away, somewhere no one would ever find her.

The present. Even if Cait never found her birth mother, even if she decided not to have this baby, to leave her lover and kiss her parents good-bye, she was surrounded by so much emotion, so many questions, that she felt as if she might never be free again.

Can we ever atone for the sins of the past? Or does each generation of women invent itself anew? In a complex and beautifully told masterpiece set against key moments for women in the last century, New York Timesbestselling author Pamela Redmond intertwines the heartrending stories of Bridget, Billie, and Cait, and explores the ways in which one woman’s choices can affect her loved ones forever. As these three women search for identity and belonging, each faces a very personal decision that will reverberate across generations, tearing apart families, real and imaginary, perfect and flawed, but ultimately bringing them together again.

My take: This was an intriguing book! I very much enjoyed the three storylines, beginning completely differently and with different characters. Each woman is very well developed and distinct. Each story is completely unlike the other in the beginning then share some important commonalities, and finally they weave together for the reader. There is a big reveal as they join together but it's not as big as it is made out to be. Clearly, one of the protagonists did not know the secret but the reader could basically guess it fairly early on.

Today we have Cait, a single, mid-thirty year old woman establishing her career and doing quite well. She is an only child of aging parents and she's adopted. She's also pregnant. Oops. This begins her search for her birth mother as she struggles with the doubts of her own capability to love a child of her loins. Why was she placed? Didn't her birth mother love her? Cait's voice is one I found easy to follow. She's today's woman, grappling with the ghosts of her past and the societal pressures based on the women's movement in the past century. Both the positive and negative impacts are explored.

In 1916, we had Bridget. Fresh from Ireland and working as a nanny for Maude, a rich New York woman who enjoyed her social life but not her husband or young son. This story was mesmerizing because of the historical nature of the women's movement in its infancy, and attitudes towards ethnic groups and nationalities and the divide between rich and poor. This story evolves very quickly as life was unpredictable, as best.

Then we have Billie in 1976. She begins in San Francisco where she is cleaning out her father's home since he recently died, leaving her an orphan, although she's 19 years old. She discovers she is not alone as she believed and drives cross - country with her good friend, Jupe, to meet her paternal grandmother. Again, fascinating description of the time period. A different ethnic group and still a divide between the rich and poor, and the vocabulary is also different than what we use today.

Eventually, the stories tie together beautifully and it's a nice, interesting yet easy read.

Sex: Heavy
Dialogue: Laden with sex talk and occasional swearing, offensive descriptors but appropriate for time period (Negro, queer)
Violence: None

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

2012-02-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

My take: I loved Anna and the French Kiss so very much. I love the way Perkins writes. She tells a story without the unnecessary keeping of crucial information. Lola has an uncoventional family. Her father is really her uncle who adopted her when he drunk mother got pregnant and her. Her other father is her father's husband. They are strict fathers and like to keep Lola on a short leash but approve of her self-expression through fashion and color. They do NOT approve of Max, Lola's 22 year old boyfriend.

Cricket (the boy next door) moves back to his house with his famous sister, Caliope, and the old feelings return. The real story is Lola figuring out who she really is and who she wants to be. Will she allow her birth and genetics to define her, her boyfriend, her clothes, or is she someone else altogether? Obviously, each character plays a part in this self-discovery and Cricket is a perfect love interest as he is defining himself apart from being his twin sister's sidekick.

Very sweet story, well told without the unwanted details. There is sex but it is not spelled out. There is drug use but it is necessary for Lola to define herself apart from her mother. Lola's parents are gay dads; again no sexual details and I loved the way they were portrayed as fathers. Lots of sexual tension. I'd suggest it for an older teenager and up.

Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler

2012-02-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Sometimes the end is just the beginning.

Gabby lived under the radar until her makeover. Way under. but when she started her senior year as a blonder, better-dressed version of herself, she struck gold: Billy Nash believed she was a the flawless girl she was pretending to be. The next eight months with Billy were bliss...Until the night Gabby woke up on the ground next to the remains of his BMW without a single memory of how she got there.

And Billy's nowhere to be found.

All Gabby wants is to make everything perfect again. But getting her life back isn't difficult, it's impossible. Because nothing is the same, and Gabby's beginning to realize she's missed more than a few danger signs along the way.

It's time for Gabby to face the truth, even if it means everything changes.

Especially if it means everything changes.

My take: The book starts out really strong. Gabby wakes up in a hospital with a closed brain injury. First of all, she doesn't know who she is, second of all, she has absolutely no clue what happened. All she knows is that she wants Billy. Billy is her boyfriend. His car was decimated around a tree with Gabby lying on the road nearby, holding the keys. She spends the first part of the book regaining memories and having Mommy run interference with the police. But the honest to goodness truth is that she doesn't remember what happened.

The rest of the book is Gabby trying to regain her life. What she had was this; after being a regular girl with regular looks, her shallow mother spends mega bucks on Gabs' hair, nails, body, and face. No plastic surgery but Gabby blossoms. She starts the beginning of her junior year as a completely new woman. She turns heads, including playboy, Billy Nash. She gets to sit with the cool crowd at lunch. There is her meteoric rise in social status, a drunken party and then the hospital. This part dragged for me. Gabby has all kinds of dialogue inside her head, applying metaphors that leave me scratching my head and wondering about the segue.

If I cared more about Gabby, I'd want to slap her silly because she's not putting the obvious pieces of the puzzle together. However, I give her a break since she has a TBI. The book is about shared culpability and complete stupidity and a societal peer pressure to save the Golden Boy. The truth about the accident eventually leaks out onto the pages but the reader pretty much guesses as much early on. In the meantime, Gabby takes us through the journeys of her guesses of what happened and I was bored. I never really felt like I connected to any of the characters. They're all shallow. Even Gabby.

The underlying message is about self discovery and being true to yourself even when all the pressure around you says to be someone you are not. Good message.

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau Review and Giveaway

2012-02-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am often fascinated by England history, particularly from Henry VIII forward, although I rather tire of Anne Boleyn interpretations. This book takes place after Anne Boleyn and gives a rather well written snapshot of the political tensions of the time. Henry has moved onto wife #3 (I think) and she's expecting his son. The country is reeling from the effects of the New Reformed Church. Catholicism is beginning to be practiced more quietly and, above all, Cromwell is liquidating the abbeys to cushion ~~his coffer~~ increase the king's riches.

Joanna beloved cousin is about to be burned at the stake for treason (vocally objecting to the new church) and Joanna goes to be supportive but things go awry. Joanna is imprisoned in The Tower and blackmailed to return to her abbey to find a particular sacred relic. Obviously, a crown. She is accompanied by two friars, Edmund and Richard and uses the time at the abbey to find out more about it while looking for it.

The book is an excellent historical fiction with the added bonus of being a mystery. The intentions of many are questionable and the more Joanna researches, the more mystery is given to the story. With just a hint of paranormal, the book offers a big bang for the buck.

Well written and researched. Nicely wrapped up at the end without being too pretty.

And you can own a copy by filling out the form below.
Saweet!
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The Blood Sugar Solution by Mark Hyman

2012-02-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

The Blood Sugar Solution: The UltraHealthy Program for Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Feeling Great Now! by Mark Hyman

Goodreads: In THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION, Dr. Mark Hyman reveals that the secret solution to losing weight and preventing not just diabetes but also heart disease, stroke, dementia, and cancer is balanced insulin levels. Dr. Hyman describes the seven keys to achieving wellness-nutrition, hormones, inflammation, digestion, detoxification, energy metabolism, and a calm mind-and explains his revolutionary six-week healthy-living program. With advice on diet, green living, supplements and medication, exercise, and personalizing the plan for optimal results, the book also teaches readers how to maintain lifelong health. Groundbreaking and timely, THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION is the fastest way to lose weight, prevent disease, and feel better than ever.

My take: I'm not a health food nut. In fact, I love my diet cola more than the average American. I ordered this book simply because I'm going to Hawaii in a minute and I thought I might make some changes and look fantastic in a bathing suit.

Chances are slim, but there was a possibility.

Maybe because I'm new to the understanding-the-power-of-foods movement but I found the information a great launching pad for me. I accepted very early on that there was no chance I'd get my 23 year old body back but I did find that a condition that has been plaguing me for a few years can be greatly improved by controlling inflammation through monitoring foods that cause it. Certainly, I'll continue taking prescription anti-inflammatories but I thought Hyman clearly explained the process of inflammation and made a couple of supplemental changes to my diet. It's not huge but it's something.

Dr. Hyman breaks down certain herbal supplements and their health benefits so I knew what I should be looking for. I'm not going gung-ho because I realize herbal supplements are not monitored by the FDA, but I have found a reputable health food store that sells supplements with the ingredients he indicated. I'm also replacing at least one can of Diet Coke with a bottle of flavored green tea extracts. For me, that is huge.

I liked it and found it helpful.

For your chance to win a copy, fill out form below!
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Partials by Dan Wells

2012-02-22T06:00:00.002-07:00

Partials by Dan Wells

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question--one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.

My take: This is a high three star book that could change when the final copy is released.

First of all, Dan Wells is a complete rock star in my neck of the woods. The high school where I work keeps his other books constantly checked out. Also, he was kind enough to grace us with his presence to inspire the students to write.

I loved the concept of the book even though it is very depressing. Bottom line is that some years ago 99.9% of all humans died from a deadly virus. Before that, they had created a genetically enhanced being to fight a war. Then they offered them oppression and the Partials rebelled by having a war with humankind. Then the virus, RM killed almost everybody so the war became a moot point. Like any good dystopia, there is government control because humans are becoming extinct. Apparently, the virus lives within the survivors but does not provide immunity to babies born. All babies die within a couple of days. The government philosophy is have more babies. By law, women 18 years and older must always be pregnant. Eventually one must survive. That was where I raised my eyebrows. The reasoning seemed weak. It is a great conflict but I needed a stronger argument.

Kira is a great protagonist. With her medical training, she enters research when she proposes something to study, a captured Partial who looks very human. After that, there is nonstop action. The world is a war zone. Details of street crossing and New York towns are described in topicological detail. I understood the need to do so in some instances but I would have preferred a greater concentration on character and relationship development. Don't misinterpret that the book is boring because it definitely is not. There is nearly nonstop action. Violence is abundant. Like I mentioned, the world is a very dangerous place and war is brewing, damage control is the government goal, and then there are those pesky Partials who have been quiet far too long.

Good book but shy on relationship development.

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

2012-02-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Finding your eternal soulmate - easy.

Stopping a true-love-hungry evil - not so much…

After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain-especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close....

But something dark and hungry is using Emma and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in über-spells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

My take: Emma and Brendon are still fighting for their love. Kristin still wants him and will do anything to get him. The couple are still fated to be together forever. I found the book rather repetitive and monotonous. In case the reader missed the first book, the story is recalled over and over again throughout the book. Anthony tried to kill Emma, Emma lost her unicorn medallion, Emma's dead twin brother, Ethan came to her in her dreams and helped her save Brendon and they should just get right on with their junior year.

Angelique is helping Emma develop her magical skills but Emma is hopeless unless she has a strong emotional response and needs to cast a spell. Then she can. This time around, another magical person from someone's past (cryptic, I know) wants to become more powerful and cause grief and calamity to the lovers. She is dangerous and causes some havoc and it is up to Emma to end her wickedness.

It's a fine book. Emma is still unremarkable. Brendon is still lustworthy of all the junior class girls but he's still committed to Emma. Angelique is, by far, the more interesting and entertaining character.

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

2012-02-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: As she sits in her Bloomsbury home, with her two birds for company, elderly Harriet Baxter sets out to relate the story of her acquaintance, nearly four decades previously, with Ned Gillespie, a talented artist who never achieved the fame that she maintains he deserved.

It would appear that I am to be the first to write a book on Gillespie. Who, if not me, was dealt that hand?

Back in 1888, the young, art-loving Harriet arrives in Glasgow at the time of the International Exhibition. After a chance encounter, she befriends the Gillespie family and soon becomes a fixture in all of their lives. But when tragedy strikes - leading to a notorious criminal trial - the promise and certainties of this world all too rapidly disintegrate into mystery and deception.

Featuring a memorable cast of characters, infused with atmosphere and period detail, and shot through with wicked humour, Gillespie and I is a powerful and haunting second novel from one of today’s most striking new voices.

My take: Even as I type, I don't know how to write this review. I think I will approach it as a book club book. I would strongly suggest that, if you are a book cheater (like myself), don't look ahead with this one. Don't look for spoilers. You know that moment in A Beautiful Mind when Russell Crow is challenged about his mental stability while his roommate sits in the corner and cries? I needed about 30 more seconds to process the scene before I came to the conclusion myself that his roommate wasn't real before my husband announced that tidbit to me.

I felt robbed of a moment.

Similarly, the twists in this book are unexpected and not crystallized. It is only after adding all of the pieces together that the reader will come to a different conclusion than s/he did two thirds of the way through the book. And it is only with some reservation at first. Then the cloudy clarifies and a disturbing picture emerges. The book is much more disturbing with the real life backdrop of Josh Powell and the horrific events of this week.

Book review ideas for discussion:

Note the times when the protagonist makes reference to pregnancy or breast feeding or any kind of incubation. Note the part of the wooden horse that is scorched. What attitude might Harriet have regarding motherhood or having children?
How would the reader describe the protagonist's relationship with her father? Are the feelings reciprocal? Any Freudian ideas?
Once the kidnapping occurred, which character(s) were suspicious both in the current time and in hindsight?
When was the AHA moment for you? Did it occur after or before the end of the book. Are you still waiting for it?
What was the significance of the birds? What of the cage?
I have typed the next question five times. Each time, it was a different question but I thought it gave too much away. I am trying my art of subtlety. I am not very good at it.

It is a very well written book that will leave the reader feeling unsettled and looking for earlier clues. They are there but very subtle. In hindsight, the explanations provided from the particular POV sort of made sense but became more and more frantic.

IMM (2/18/12)

2012-02-18T19:00:00.003-07:00

What I bought:

For Review:

What I Read in the past two weeks (and if you can't wait for reviews on blog, click the image and it will take you to my reviews on Goodreads):

Little Girl Gone by Drusilla Campbell

2012-02-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

Little Girl Gone by Drusilla Campbell

My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Madora was seventeen, headed for trouble with drugs and men, when Willis rescued her. Fearful of the world and alienated from family and friends, she ran away with him and for five years they have lived alone, in near isolation. But after Willis kidnaps a pregnant teenager and imprisons her in a trailer behind the house, Madora is torn between her love for him and her sense of right and wrong. When a pit bull puppy named Foo brings into Madora's world another unexpected person--Django Jones, a brilliant but troubled twelve-year-old boy--she's forced to face the truth of what her life has become.

An intensely emotional and provocative story, Little Girl Gone explores the secret hopes and fears that drive good people to do dangerous things . . . and the courage it takes to make things right.

My take: Drusilla Campbell's best asset in writing books is the way she tells the story then wrapping loosely related story lines to one another. All of the characters intertwine and each is unique with different thoughts, pasts, and experiences. What ties all of the characters together, however, is their prisons, both physical and metaphorical. Also, each character believes a story told to them by one parent or another. Some of those stories empower the characters. Others sink into their cracks and weaken them.

Very well written, giving a voice to all characters, including those who might be considered perpetrators (btw, sexual abuse is NOT a story line, which I found interesting and appealing).

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

2012-02-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I have to admit that I had no idea what this book was about. The cover indicated that Juliette would be a strong protagonist ready to conquer the world. Embarrassingly, I didn't realize this was a dystopia and a really good one.

Juliette's touch is lethal. She's shunned, teased, and bullied. Her own parents didn't like her and gave her up very easily to an insane asylum. She's been studied and tested and the answers are inconclusive. She's in solitary confinement when Adam presents himself as a fellow psychotic.

But Juliette is not crazy. She is simply lonely and not very confident of anything except her will to never hurt another human being with her touch. She is good hearted and wants only to help.

Being a dystopia and Juliette having this gift of touch, naturally there is a bad side. One man wants to control her for his purposes. He wants to use her to torture who he chooses. He is cruel beyond comparison. And brutal.

On the opposite end we have a love interest who is good and kind but also trying to play the part of a good soldier. I'm not going to lie to you. This is one of the most sensual teen books I've read. I did not say sexual. Sensual in that the author carefully describes how Juliette feels when someone is finally able to touch her. She is touch sensory starved and Mafi artistically describes sensations while dodging being blatantly sexual. I loved it. On the other hand, I might not hand it immediately to my teenage daughters. Or I might. It might have enough layers of careful wording that it could be construed on mostly innocent. Because it is mostly innocent. But I don't expect it to remain that way. For my sake, I hope not. For my daughters' sakes, I hope so.

Sex: Mild innuendo

Sensualness: delicious moderate

Violence: Severe

Swearing: Mild to moderate

Gravity by Melissa West Cover Reveal!

2012-02-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

In the future, only one rule will matter: Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed--arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know--especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

Coming August 2012.
Preordering now available.

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

2012-02-16T00:35:00.002-07:00

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cute play on different fairy tales. The protagonist is a 17 year old boy in a thankless family owned business going under when he discovers magic exists and agrees to help a princess. Once the magic is unleashed, it's all around and he and his best friend, Meg, go around making deals with magical beings, breaking spells, and meeting unsavory characters. Fun, clean read. Feel-good book.

What Happened to Hannah by Mary Kay McCornas

2012-02-15T06:00:00.001-07:00

What Happened to Hannah: A Novel by Mary Kay McComas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: As a teenager, Hannah Benson ran away from home in order to save herself. Now, twenty years later, the past comes calling and delivers life-changing news: her mother and sister have passed away, leaving Hannah the guardian of her fifteen-year-old niece.

Returning home to bitter memories and devastating secrets, Hannah must overcome her painful past to pave a future with her niece, the last best chance at a family for both of them. She begins to create a new, happier life with her niece and rekindles a relationship with Grady Steadman, one of the few people she's ever called a friend.

But she can't forget what she cannot forgive, or lay to rest those ghosts that will not die. Will love and trust--and the truth--give her the strength to stand her ground and fight for what she deserves?

My take: Hannah disappeared when she was 16. The people of the small town assumed she'd probably been murdered by her abusive father. Little rumors had been circling for a bit about him being alcoholic, the broken bones, unexplained bruises, etc. But there is a collective agreement to turn the other way in order to not be responsible for Hannah or their family.

It's 20 years later when the book opens. Grady, the new sheriff, and Hannah's one teenage love, knows she is alive and well in Baltimore. He finally makes the call to reconnect but also to drop the bomb that her mother has just died. Her beloved sister, Ruth, has been gone for a few years and, surprise! Ruthie had a daughter who is now 15 and needs a home. Hannah protests but finally agrees to meet Anna, her niece. So Hannah returns to her loathsome home town where her heinous childhood took place and still haunts her.

The story of Hannah's childhood and the blossoming of the romance between Hannah and Grady during their teenage years is slowly and sweetly revealed in flashbacks. Also remembered and voiced are the horrendous memories of abuse suffered by both her father, in an effort to control, and her mother, in fear. The time spent in Clearfield, getting to know Anna and her friends (coincidentally, they are Grady's children), getting reacquainted with Grady and his mother and Grady is a single father, by the way, is also punctuated by Hannah's cleaning out the old Benson home, haunted by the memories of her childhood yet symbolically, Hannah is cleaning out the anger and resentment she has clung to through the years.

Peripherally, Hannah speaks often to Joe, her mentor, former business partner, and dear friend in Baltimore. Joe, a religious and God-loving man, plays the part of reason and learning to trust and have faith. With the help of all of these supporting characters, Hannah finds who she really is, faces her past, and releases her demons. She has secrets. Many secrets that she is afraid to allow to see the light. How does one heal from such terrible experiences? How does a self-sufficient woman like Hannah forgive those who wronged her? Can she make room in her life for Anna? Will Anna accept her? What if the secrets she holds are shared? Might it jeopardize her taking guardianship of Anna? Can there be a romance for Hannah?

Good, solid chick lit with spiritual overtones of faith and forgiveness. Clean enough for an older teenager (teenage sex implied and one "f" word).

Agorafabulous! by Sara Benincasa Review and Giveaway

2012-02-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Agorafabulous!: Dispatches from My Bedroom by Sara Benincasa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: “I subscribe to the notion that if you can laugh at the shittiest moments in your life, you can transcend them. And if other people can laugh at your awful shit as well, then I guess you can officially call yourself a comedian.”

In Boston, a college student fears leaving her own room—even to use the toilet. In Pennsylvania, a meek personal assistant finally confronts a perpetually enraged gay spiritual guru. In Texas, a rookie high school teacher deals with her male student’s unusually, er, hard personal problem. Sara Benincasa has been that terrified student, that embattled employee, that confused teacher—and so much more. Her hilarious memoir chronicles her attempts to forge a wonderfully weird adulthood in the midst of her lifelong struggle with agoraphobia, depression, and unruly hair.

Relatable, unpretentious, and unsentimental, Agorafabulous! celebrates eccentricity, resilience, and the power of humor to light up even the darkest corners of our lives. (There are also some sexy parts, but they’re really awkward. Like really, really awkward.)

My take: Wow. This is one of the most well written and courageous memoirs I have ever read. It is not a woman wallowing in self-pity or exacting revenge against all of her enemies by publishing a book and point out THEIR short-comings. It is simply an honest and detailed look at Sara Benincasa's journey through adulthood neurosis.

The book begins with the author's high school years - one year in particular. A beloved boy she loved from afar, perfect in every possible way, including kind, handsome, and selfless, commits a heinous Catholic sin of suicide. This is the beginning of further unhinging her carefully constructed power and control of her debilitating fears and panic attacks.

At the age of 18, the author takes an 8 day tour of Europe with other high school students where she has a full-blow panic attack and details it in excruciating detail. Not excruciating for a person who does not suffer from any Axis II diagnosis (DSM-IV talk) but oh-so-familiar to a self-proclaimed neurotic who spent her own first two and half decades pretending to be normal but knowing she had all the secret and special powers to know from vibes that danger lurked and could only be avoided by litanies and unexplainable compensating behaviors.

A blessing of being neurotic is that we are magical. It's a gift. And a curse. Just as Monk.

Just a little warning that I was unprepared for - the author provides a brief and humorous summary of her own phobias in the first few pages. That is not the shocking part, in fact, it is very endearing. But it is peppered with sexual innuendo and swear words indicating such innuendo. In other words, the "f" bomb is abundant. That's when I nearly put the book down but I didn't. I was hypnotically entranced. There were moments she was telling my story except that I have expertly shoved those unpleasant detailed memories into compartments and duct taped them well. Not Sara. She owns her behavior and all disturbing thought processes in all its glory.

Chronologically ordered, Sara begins at age 18 and works forward. She tells about all the unspeakable habits she began in order to avoid The Thing that sat on her shoulder, her head, or her chest. She is heroic to me for freeing all of those thoughts and behaviors for the rest of us neurotics.

Clearly comedy is her forte and her timing is impeccable. Just as I was getting so sucked up into her life, thoughts, and relating all-to-well, she drops humor that made me chuckle, laugh out loud, or at least smile. Again, the timing is a thing of art. She does not belabor any part of her story, including the humor which could prove to be distracting and an attempt to over compensate. Instead, it is just enough to break up the seriousness of the illness. She does not minimize the part anxiety and depression played on her life but fully owns it. She lays it all out in spite of the fact that people she knows are going to read this book. She clearly states that there are two kinds of freaks; the kind who seek to be freaks like Lee Redmond from Salt Lake City who grew her fingernails to be like dragon claws and freaks who are purposely hiding their freakishness and wondering why ANYBODY would seek to be a freak. The latter is the club of neurotics.

This is not a simple and clean little story of how the author suffers from phobias and depression then gets better. The author instead provides brief snapshots of pivotal moments during her journey, hitting the lows (peppered with appropriate amount of humor) and her slow and not complete recovery. How can there be a recovery when "normal" was never a part of her original self? Like my children and I joke about our own neuroses, "Normal is a setting on the dryer."

This is an honest, frank, yet humorous journey through the eyes of a wise, courageous woman who seeks a place of peace and accepts the woman she is.

If you want to read a little of the beginning, click HERE.

If you want your own copy, click HERE or fill out form below.

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Bewitching by Alex Flinn

2012-02-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

Bewitching by Alex Flinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: "It is the story of Kendra and her first 300 or so years of life. In Bewitching, Kendra ponders whether to help out a modern day plain-looking stepsister, while also reflecting on her experiences in the 1666 British plague, the court of Louis XV, and on the Titanic."

My take: What a delightful book! I did not read Flinn's Beastly but my daughter informed me that Kendra is the starring witch in that one, as well.

Fairy tale retelling, when done well, is an art. Kendra is born a witch. She discovers it by accident and then, with the unsuspecting help of her captor, a witch who captures children with her gingerbread house, she learns a lot of tricks. Kendra is old. She's a misunderstood witch from a lot of the fairy tales from days of yore. She'll drop a couple in for you. And they are fun. But they can backfire and it's not pretty.

Which is why Kendra is reluctant to step in to help Emma. It's a retelling of Cinderella but the fairy tales definitely have it wrong. There are some misunderstandings all around. It's a well developed story with strong characters and a satisfying twist at the end.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is not an easy book to read. In the ideal world, date rape is prosecuted by the legal system. But in the ideal world, there are not so many shades of gray.

The story begins with the protagonist waking up in an unfamiliar room without clothes next to a boy she barely recognizes. She quickly dresses and leaves, realizing she lost her virginity and doesn't remember it. Throughout the book, memories return to her. She was drinking and blacked out. Was she a participant to the encounter? If she participated at all, does that make her culpable? Does the fact that she was drunk play a part to her culpability? These questions are explored and answered throughout the story and a trusted adult figure plainly explains to her that if she did not grant permission, it is rape.

I liked that the rape is not cut and dried. Date rape is far too common yet far too overlooked. I had at least two roommates during college who were date raped. My best friend escaped a date rape when the guy's roommates walked in, seeing her shirt unbuttoned and her arms pinned. With the years and experience since she told me, I now understand why she wanted to throw up every time we saw him on campus. I also understand why I wanted to throw up when I was paired with my roommates rapist for a first aid final. No matter how compromising the circumstances (getting drunk or making out), sex without permission is rape.

The story does not preach. In fact, one of the characters does not agree with the student-created Mockingbirds (Student Justice System). However, I love that students at a college created this system to deal with offenses against other students.

The story is well written. The characters well developed. The subject is difficult yet well addressed.

The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

2012-02-13T06:34:00.001-07:00

The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: When Alex Patrick was assaulted by another student last year, her elite boarding school wouldn't do anything about it. This year Alex is head of the Mockingbirds, a secret society of students who police and protect the student body. While she desperately wants to live up to the legacy that's been given to her, she's now dealing with a case unlike any the Mockingbirds have seen before.

It isn't rape. It isn't bullying. It isn't hate speech. A far-reaching prescription drug ring has sprung up, and students are using the drugs to cheat. But how do you try a case with no obvious victim? Especially when the facts don't add up, and each new clue drives a wedge between Alex and the people she loves most: her friends, her boyfriend, and her fellow Mockingbirds.

As Alex unravels the layers of deceit within the school, the administration, and even the student body the Mockingbirds protect, her struggle to navigate the murky waters of vigilante justice may reveal more about herself than she ever expected.

My Take: The book picks up right where Mockingbirds leaves off. There is enough back story to jump into this book without reading the first one but I liked the first one because of the originality. This one lacked a clear conflict. There would be a beginning of a conflict and then it would fizzle. Eventually, I saw the pattern of the real conflict which was two-fold 1)Students are using ADHD medicine to improve academic performance and 2) Alex, the new leader, is imperfect, not knowing what she can ethically do or not do.

The first conflict was not as substantial as I would like. It was like trying to grab water. On the other hand, this aspect is addressed. The "victim" is not clearly identified like the other cases of the Mockingbirds. So Alex puts her figurative arms out with her eyes closed and starts walking in the dark. It seemed contrived and anti-climactic.

Meanwhile, Alex is struggling with leading an underground vigilante group without clear cut guidelines. More than anything, this storyline showed the flaws of a vigilante student group. It's a great idea but the checks and balances are weak and human nature can be manipulated in so many different ways.

Even though I found the story slow in the beginning, Whitney does an exemplary job with character development, placing main characters in multiple environments and testing their ethical strength. Sometimes they screw up. Other times, they don't. Yet other times, they exhibit humility by admitting wrong doing. And then there are the true culprits/bullies who, through excellent character development, I hated quite a bit.

I can see a third installment to round out Alex's senior year. One that balances the power of bad behavior, administration accountability and vigilante accountability. Ultimately, I think it will come down to power corrupts; Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

That's just my guess.

Mercy of the Queen Guest Post

2012-02-10T06:00:00.001-07:00

Mercy of the Queen

By Anne Clinard Barnhill

Release Date: January 3, 2012

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

464p

SYNOPSIS

A sweeping tale of sexual seduction and intrigue at the court of Henry VIII, At the Mercy of the Queen is a rich and dramatic debut historical about Madge Shelton, cousin and lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn.

At the innocent age of fifteen, Lady Margaret Shelton arrives at the court of Henry VIII and quickly becomes the confidante of her cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn. But she soon finds herself drawn into the perilous web of Anne’s ambition.

Desperate to hold onto the king’s waning affection, Anne schemes to have him take her guileless young cousin as mistress, ensuring her husband’s new paramour will owe her loyalty to the queen. But Margaret has fallen deeply in love with a handsome young courtier. She is faced with a terrible dilemma: give herself to the king and betray the love of her life or refuse to become his mistress and jeopardize the life of the her cousin, Queen Anne.

Speaking of Anne, Anne, the author (not the queen. In case you missed it, she died. Sorry to give a spoiler but it's kind of a well known beheading) is here today as my guest:

Anne Clinard Barnhill

Arthur Brandon strode onto the pages of AT THE MERCY OF THE QUEEN without so much as a 'beg your pardon' and once he was there, he refused to leave. He appeared as Madge Shelton and her nurse were making their way to London and, as if by magic, he became the romantic lead in the novel. It wasn't until I was halfway through the book that I realized he was a great deal like my husband, Frank.

He has the same features as my hubby--dark hair and brown eyes--and he also has that same confidence, the cocky walk and I-dare-you stance. As the novel progressed, I even dressed Arthur in colors that looked good on Frank. Interestingly, my husband's nickname is 'Chur,' a name earned when our family (three sons, two parents) took Kung Fu together when the boys were young. We would all practice our forms and the boys would soon begin chopping at each other with their hands, just like Bruce Lee. They provided noises to improve the effects. Ching-chang-chur!! Of course, my husband joined in and soon, they began referring to him as simply 'Chur.' Now, our grandchildren call him Chur, too. So, when Madge dubbed Arthur Brandon 'Sir Churlish', it seemed just right.

I would never have consciously modeled a leading man on MY leading man--as I said, I didn't realize I was writing about him until mid-way through the novel. I have found including caricatures of friends and family a dangerous ploy--often, they take offense and it's just not worth the hassle. But, I figure if a character shows up as adamantly as Arthur Brandon did, a writer has no choice by to let him have his way--even if he does act a lot like your husband.

Funny how the mind works and how we often put elements of our own lives into creating stories, even though those fictitious stories may have taken place 500 years ago. It's a little scary though. I'd hate to think what some psychiatrist might discover about my psyche by reading my work!

For more blog posts regarding Anne's Freudian insights (subconscious, I mean. Not her dad), visit more sites on the tour by clicking HERE.

More tidbits? Okay. Stalking Anne is not an inappropriate past time. Do so in the following ways:

Link to Anne Barnhill's Website: http://www.anneclinardbarnhill.com/
Anne Barnhill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/acbarnhill
Anne Barnhill on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/acbarnhill
Twitter Event Hashtag: #MercyOfTheQueenVirtualTour

The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter

2012-02-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads: When a wedding reenactment turns real, this cowgirl suddenly finds she's an accidental bride.

Shay Brandenberger is raising her daughter in Moose Creek, Montana on her childhood ranch, nestled against the Yellowstone River. Despite her hard work, she can't seem to keep her head above water-and now the bank is threatening to foreclose. She prays for a miracle, but the answer she receives is anything but.

Having agreed to play the bride in the Founders Day wedding reenactment, Shay is mortified to be greeted at the end of the aisle by none other than Travis McCoy, her high school sweetheart-the man who left her high and dry for fame and fortune on the Texas rodeo circuit.

Then the unthinkable happens. Thanks to a well-meaning busy body and an absent minded preacher, the wedding reenactment results in a legal marriage. But before Shay can say "annulment," Travis comes up with a crazy proposal. If she refuses his offer, she'll lose her home. But if she accepts, she may lose her heart.

Shay isn't sure if the recent events are God's will or just a preacher's blunder. Will trusting her heart to the man who once shattered it be the worst mistake of her life? Or could their marriage be the best accident that ever happened?

My take: I've already met Shay when I read (and loved) a previous book by Denise Hunter, featuring Abigail and Wade. Wade's and Shay's daughters are friends. It was fun to peek into Abigail's and Wade's life after the last book ended. But this story is Shay's.

Shay was stood up at the altar by Travis, her high school boyfriend, who left for the rodeo. By the time he figured he goofed, Shay had remarried. Now, 14 years later, Shay is divorced and her ex-husband has died. She's single parenting and running a ranch on fumes. It's about to go under when a Founder's Day re-enactment of a pioneering couple somehow becomes real as Shay and Travis are the proxies.

It's a fun concept, if a little unbelievable. I didn't mind the pretending it could happen. The problem I had was with the cantankerous Shay. The idea is that she's been through a lot of tough times and has learned by many experiences to not trust or count on a man but I found very little redeeming qualities about her. I liked Travis just fine but I did also have a small problem with keeping up with the quick shift of point of view.

The underlying message is one I loved; Galations 1:10 - who are we trying to please, man or God? Shay struggles with what other people think of her. This translates to her own daughter and Travis and Abigail are instrumental in helping her with this issue of pride.

It's a fun, quick read. I like Hunter's writing but I am much more drawn to Abigail's and Wade's story.

Spin by Catherine McKenzie Review

2012-02-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

Spin by Catherine McKenzie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Katie Sandford has just gotten an interview at her favourite music magazine, The Line. It's the chance of a lifetime. So what does she do? Goes out to celebrate - and shows up still drunk at the interview. No surprise, she doesn't get the job, but the folks at The Line think she might be perfect for another assignment for their sister gossip rag. All Katie has to do is follow It Girl Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop (and complete the 30-day program without getting kicked out), they'll reconsider her for the job at The Line.

Katie takes the job. But things get complicated when real friendships develop, a cute celebrity handler named Henry gets involved, and Katie begins to realize she may be in rehab for a reason. Katie has to make a decision -- is publishing the article worth everything she has to lose?

My take: I didn't really expect to like this book. Too many books about wannabe writers who want to show off their Hollywood connections and lifestyles of the rich and famous behaving badly have turned my stomach. The authors are often self absorbed. Now I can honestly say this book kept me reading far past the hour that a woman with four children and a professional job should be reading because I was so intrigued and really cared about the protagonist. She was funny, snarky, and not very self aware but you just could not help yourself. I loved her "voice" and her ability to write a new and compelling story that made me crave a martini or a shot of whiskey. Just to clarify my drinking history - I have none. No, truly. Never even sipped champagne. That's how convincing the protagonist is. But I digress.

Katie does not have a drinking problem. She is not an alcoholic. She simply drinks too much and tends to be irresponsible. At least that's her story and she's sticking to it. Due to her presentation at a job interview, she is the lucky winner to enter a pricey rehab for celebs and rich and famous. Think Cirque Lodge via Robert Redford's influence. It's Utah's best kept secret where stars go to detox. Okay, whatever. We all about it.

So Katie's assignmement is to go to rehab and play the therapy game so she can report on the IT girl who is in the same rehab. But Katie does not have an addiction problem. Of course the reader knows Katie might have a little problem. The story is told first person in Katie's head. She justifies herself, talks to herself and is all too relateable and funny. There is nothing forced about the story as Katie starts out pretending to go through the twelve step program with a lot of deflection and lack of responsibility. She makes friends with a couple of the women in rehab including Amber but it is almost incidental. The meat of the story is the every day in rehab and her slow acceptance that she might choose to stay sober and she decides she has issues.

Somehow a little romance is introduced and new patients show up that shake up the chemistry. I don't think it is a spoiler to mention that she becomes friends with a couple of vacationers, including Amber which causes a moral dilemma for writing the story since she suddenly finds she has a conscience sans alcohol. This is about the time that I become convinced my choice to never partake are still sound. I simply loved Katie. In fact character development for all of Katie's best friends are well done. I just really liked them.

Be aware that swearing is heavy. Sex is implied but mostly in past tense. Drug and alcohol use and abuse is heavy with the caveat of the sweet friendships that develop in rehab, a more clear understanding of addiction, and real struggles to survive and successfully complete a rehab program.

Definitely worth the read but does not pass my Mom-o-Meter. You will laugh. You might cry. You will enjoy.

DJ Rising by Love Maia

2012-02-08T05:53:00.001-07:00

DJ Rising by Love Maia

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: The first thing I hear is music. The first thing I've always heard is music.

Meet Marley, an unassuming high school junior who breathes in music like oxygen. In between caring for his heroin-addicted mother, and keeping his scholarship at a fancy prep school, he dreams of becoming a professional DJ.

When chance lands Marley his first real DJ job, his career as "DJ Ice" suddenly skyrockets. But when heart-rending disaster at home brings Marley crashing back down to earth, he is torn between obligation and following his dreams.

My take: The book tells the story about Marley, a boy who has seen a lot of sorrow. Yet for all the times he's down, he finds his way back up and keeps swimming. He sets his goals high and works for his dreams. It all sounds quite After-School-Special but I assure you it is not. Although Marley is a hard working student on scholarship in an expensive prep school, finding jobs as a DJ, he is still dealing with a mother who shoots the rent through her veins then does nothing but sit in a heroin induced stupor. Marley gets tired. He wants a childhood but the responsibilities lay heavy on his shoulders.

The characters Marley meets along the way represent different aspects of hope, redemption, common sense, love, and belonging. The message is one of forgiveness and acceptance but the journey there involves a lot of grit. Marley sees a lot of drug and alcohol use/abuse, dialogue and swearing is strong and the tragedies Marley endures takes him to a new low. Marley is not perfect but he is definitely a good role model.

I also had no idea what an art being a DJ is! The author describes it in many different ways and paints beautiful pictures with her words. The end result is that I understood how out of blue, comes green. When all of life is layered together, balanced just right, even the tragedies can add depth to a human soul, depending on the person's willingness to accept and forgive.

Outside the Lines by Amy Hatvany

2012-02-07T06:00:00.001-07:00

Outside the Lines by Amy Hatvany

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: When Eden was ten years old she found her father, David, bleeding out on the bathroom floor. The suicide attempt led to her parents’ divorce, and David all but vanished from Eden’s life. Since childhood, she has heard from him only rarely, just enough to know he’s been living on the streets and struggling with mental illness. But lately, there has been no word at all.

Now in her thirties, Eden decides to go look for her father, so she can forgive him at last, and finally move forward. When her search uncovers other painful truths—not only the secrets her mother has kept from her, but also the agonizing question of whether David, after all these years, even wants to be found—Eden is forced to decide just how far she’ll go in the name of love.

My take: Eden's father is mentally ill. The book toggles between time lines and voices. This is a very tricky endeavor which the author does very well. Eden and David have distinct voices and I am never confused with POV. Also, time period is clear as Eden sees things as a little girl and changes perspective as she gets older. David grows more mentally unstable as time continues on. Although David is never given a clear diagnosis, it appears he begins with Bi-polar which progresses to "with psychotic features." David struggles with calming the mania and slowing his mind which quiets his creativity. This is too hard for the artist in him and continually ceases his medication.

So Eden is now 31 years old. She is successful chef and her best companion is her dog, Jasper. For some reason, Eden suddenly wants to locate her father. The last she saw of him was during his suicide attempt. When he was hospitalized, her mother served him with divorce papers. She remarried a fireman who was at the scene of the tragedy and they gave Eden a baby brother shortly after that. Eden shares a close relationship with her brother who has some demons of his own with pleasing his father. This is hinted at but never fully explored. Same with the romance the develops that was interesting. I would have liked to know a little more about that one.

Eden begins the arduous task of trying to find David. She starts at a homeless shelter and meets love interest. Loved him. Wonderful love story. Very sweet and healing. Eden has issues of trust and allowing herself to love and be loved by another person. This is all part of her journey to find David.

Another relationship that is explored and well developed is between mother and daughter. Eden has held her mother somewhat responsible for her father's mental demise. If she'd only tried harder to help him, he wouldn't be missing or living on the streets. Slowly, Eden discovers the difficult decisions her mother had to make and why she made them.

The story is very well developed except for the two side notes previously mentioned but they are pertinent to the story of Eden and David. The main characters are VERY well developed. There is emotional and psychological exploration and metamorphoses as the years go by. It is a well written exploration of mental illness and respecting yourself and the mentally ill person and their choices. I really enjoyed this one.

Follower Love Giveaway Hop

2012-02-06T16:18:00.001-07:00

Blog hop sponsored by Kathy and Racheal.

The book for contest is May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

Product Description: An engrossing, epic American drama told from four distinct perspectives, spanning the first major wave of Irish immigration to New York through the end of the Civil War.

Four unique voices; two parallel love stories; one sweeping novel rich in the history of nineteenth-century America. This remarkable debut draws from the great themes of literature—famine, war, love, and family—as it introduces four unforgettable characters. Ethan McOwen is an Irish immigrant whose endurance is tested in Brooklyn and the Five Points at the height of its urban destitution; he is among the first to join the famed Irish Brigade and becomes a celebrated war photographer. Marcella, a society girl from Spain, defies her father to become a passionate abolitionist. Mary and Micah are slaves of varying circumstances, who form an instant connection and embark on a tumultuous path to freedom.

All four lives unfold in two beautiful love stories, which eventually collide. Written in gorgeous language that subtly captures the diverse backgrounds of the characters, and interspersed with letters, journals, and dreams, this unforgettable story, rendered in cinematic detail, is about having faith in life's great meaning amidst its various tangles.

2 copies available.
It's a historical fiction.
Would it be AN historical fiction?
I always get confused with those "H" words.
Unless it's a swear word, I don't struggle quite so much. Flows far too easily.
Click HERE or fill out form below.

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For more great sites with books and book giveaways, see below.

Then I wouldn't mind some comment love. Validate me even though I don't know how to qualify historical fiction. And sometimes slip out a *heck* or something. Or is it "an" heck?

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: A life hanging in the balance…a family torn apart. The #1 internationally bestselling author Jodi Picoult tells an unforgettable story about family, love, and letting go.

Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Lone Wolf explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason.

My take: I'm going to admit a shocking fact and I might be judged here. Love me, anyway. I have already read two Jodi Picoult books and I did not love them. In fact, I marginally tolerated them, although the subject matter had merit. Maybe it was the state of mind I was in at the time but whenever someone mentions a book by Picoult, I am underwhelmed.

Now I feel bad. The five stars is not overcompensating. It's a story that is complex and provides much introspection. And it kind of hurt my heart but not in a bad way. I sound a little oxi-moronic, don't I.

The story begins with Cara at the scene of an accident. She's hurt and she's just pulled her father from the wreckage of his truck. The ambulance arrives and she is aware of the severity of his injuries. They are both hospitalized and Cara's mother, Georgie, is called.

Georgie is living with her new husband, Joe, and their twins. She immediately calls her son, Cara's brother who is in Thailand, to come home. He jumps on the first plane and rushes to the hospital. Luke, Cara's and Edward's father, has suffered a severe brain injury and is on a ventilator and feeding tube. Georgie is no longer married to Luke. Edward is over the age of 18 but estranged from his father for reasons later explained while Cara is closest to her father but a minor and physically and emotionally a wreck. Who will be the spokesperson for Luke? That's one story line.

I think I want to make it clear right now that the ethical dilemma is not what strikes me as brilliance of the author. Euthanasia and the right to pull the plug or live in a vegetative state has been argued for decades. It is argued in a courtroom in the book. The real brilliance is the way Picoult tells the story through the different points of view. One moment and font it is Cara, then a different moment and font it is through Edward, then Georgie and so it goes. Each character offering a perspective that is equally compelling given the characters age and experience. Meanwhile, interspersed is Luke's story which foreshadows the next event.

Luke offers no commentary or perspective to the current battle. Luke is a fascinating creature in that he is a wolf biologist. He is so committed to the species that he insinuates himself into a captive pack of wolves and makes observations. To carry himself to the next level, he leaves his family for two years to live in the wild, insinuating himself into a wild pack of wolves or die trying. Obviously, he didn't die trying but he was gone for two years. I'll end the suspense. He enters a pack of wolves.

Wolves live by the rules of the pack. Each wolf holds a job within the pack. There is also protocol that must be followed down to the social strata of eating their prey. It is fascinating to read the behaviors and pack creed as Picoult researched this subject then simplified it for the reader to digest it. What I realized, about halfway through the book, was that Luke's diatribes and fascinating facts about the wolves were not random but mirroring his own family. It is subtle and can have many different interpretations but definitely present.

It's a book that leaves the reader digesting it for days afterward.

IMM (2/5/12)

2012-02-05T12:03:00.001-07:00

This week in my mailbox I am reading:

Alienation by Jon S. Lewis

2012-02-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

Alienation by Jon S. Lewis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads: The invasion was only the beginning . . .

After his parents were killed in a car accident, Colt McAllister was drawn into a world he thought only existed in comic books-one where mind control, jet packs, and flying motorcycles don't even scratch the surface.

Along with his best friends Oz and Danielle, Colt is now training at the secret Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural academy. But strange accidents seem to follow him. . . even with the security of the school grounds. What first seems random soon turns deadly. But who is targeting Colt?

As the alien invasions increase in frequency and force, C.H.A.O.S resources are taxed to the limit and they're forced to utilize the new recruits. In the midst of battle, Colt will discover some startling revelations . . . about himself, his friendship with Oz, and why he has been chosen to defeat this alien attack against earth.

My take: This is book 2 in the series and very easy to jump into without a lot of work. Colt, the protagonist, is ready to enter the C.H.A.O.S. training with his best friends. The problem is that Colt doesn't know who he can trust. It becomes clear, early on, that someone wants Colt dead and he is being followed. An alien who can shape shift is provided as a hired assassin which gives the thriller more interest. Also, Colt unknowingly (although he discovers) carries a secret within him that could be very dangerous depending on the political party or planetary race. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

The book is well paced, a quick read and provides the reader with a dose of higher power and God. Colt's grandfather is religious and Colt shares his beliefs and struggles with ethical dilemmas. The book is well suited for a teenager who enjoys a little bit of action mixed in with some alien domination threat along with some social strife common for teens.

At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Anne Clinard Barnhill

2012-02-03T00:06:00.000-07:00

At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Anne Clinard Barnhill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: A sweeping tale of sexual seduction and intrigue at the court of Henry VIII, At the Mercy of the Queen is a rich and dramatic debut historical about Madge Shelton, cousin and lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn.

At the innocent age of fifteen, Lady Margaret Shelton arrives at the court of Henry VIII and quickly becomes the confidante of her cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn. But she soon finds herself drawn into the perilous web of Anne’s ambition.

Desperate to hold onto the king’s waning affection, Anne schemes to have him take her guileless young cousin as mistress, ensuring her husband’s new paramour will owe her loyalty to the queen. But Margaret has fallen deeply in love with a handsome young courtier. She is faced with a terrible dilemma: give herself to the king and betray the love of her life or refuse to become his mistress and jeopardize the life of her cousin, Queen Anne.

My take: The story begins after Anne Boleyn has succeeded in wedding King Henry VIII. The protagonist is the author's ancestor, Margaret Shelton or Madge. I didn't love the protagonist because she was not a strong character. On the other hand, she provided a point of view that is different from other books I've read on Henry's second wife; she is Anne's first cousin.

Other books on Anne Boleyn have either painted her as a victim or an antagonist. In this book, she is neither. She is a strong woman in a time period where women held very little power. Brief history that is not often mentioned - Henry married Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, because his older brother was supposed to. His older brother was to be king but he died. Henry inherited his bride. They had Mary (Bloody Mary). In the preceding decades, Protestantism (I made that word up) was born. The history of protestant faiths is not covered but both Martin Luther and John Calvin were actively opposing the pope in the early 1500's. The common people, tired of hell and damnation and driven to poverty by constant taxes and church offerings, were quickly split between Catholicism and Reformation.

Meanwhile, there were court politics. Henry had his part to play as did every courtier at the palace. Henry had many mistresses, including Anne's sister, Mary. When Henry approached Anne for some sexual dalliances, she refused. Her reasons are suspect but ultimately she claimed she would not offer her body unless he married her. And then we know the rest.

Madge is a beautiful cousin who arrives at court at the age of 16, shortly before Anne's coronation. She becomes a close confidante to the queen and through her eyes we get to know more about the palace politics and Anne's nature. Rather than being a scheming social climber, Anne is presented as an imperfect woman who is also a champion for the Reformation. As queen, she holds sway over promoting the Reformed church. At the same time, however, she did not support Henry's dissolution of monasteries which filled his coffers, much to Cromwell's chagrin. Cromwell enjoyed the bounty he skimmed from the to coffers of Henry and didn't like Anne's complaints.

Overall, the book provided a fresh view on Anne Boleyn. She is neither innocent nor guilty, victimized nor seductress. She was a woman trying to survive in a time and place where her options were unsavory.

Dialog and swearing - mild
Sex - Moderate to heavy
Violence - Moderate

All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps by Dave Isay

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps by Dave Isay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: A celebration of love from StoryCorps.

In All There Is, founder Dave Isay shares stories of love and marriage from the revolutionary oral history project, revealing the many and remarkable paths that relationships can take.

From the excitement and anticipation of courtship to the deep connection of lifelong commitment, we discover that love is found in the most unexpected of places-a New York toll booth, a military base in Iraq, an airport lounge. As the storytellers in this book start careers, build homes, and raise families, we witness the life-affirming joy of partnership, the comfort of shared sorrows, and profound gratitude in the face of loss.

These stories are also testament to love's remarkable endurance. Love survives discrimination, illness, poverty, time-even death. In the courage of people's passion we are reminded of the strength and resilience of the human spirit and its enduring capacity to begin anew. This powerful collection bears witness to real love, in its many varied forms, enriching our understanding of that most magical feeling.

My take: I love the concept of this book! It's a company that sets up shop and ordinary people go into a booth where with another person and a moderator. They interview one another or just tell their story. A prompt might be: If you have only 45 minutes to live, what legacy would you leave? They tell their stories of love, loss, heartbreak, and happiness. The stories run the gamut of love; from young marriages, to people in their 90's, those who survived WWII, gay couples, those who lost loved ones during the 9/11 attacks, lost then found loves.

The most moving were the stories of 9/11 and those that have lasted through decades of ups and downs. The book is organized in three parts. Nearly every story brought an emotional response. Mostly, I felt the hope.

Vampirates - Immortal War GIVEAWAY and Author Guest Post

2012-02-01T13:19:00.001-07:00

Author Justin Somper:

It certainly feels strange bringing my six-book sequence VAMPIRATES to a close. Some ten years ago, I had a flash of inspiration when the word “Vampirate” arrived, Eureka-like, in my head. It took me a while to get the idea for the books together and then to sit down and write the first one. DEMONS OF THE OCEAN was published in the UK, where I’m based, in 2005 and in the US in 2006. It’s been quite a voyage as I’ve combined writing a book a year with touring, blogging and a parallel career in public relations. Working on the VAMPIRATES books has proved enormously rewarding in ways I could never have anticipated. When I had that first flash of inspiration, little did I know that the books would be published in 35 countries and 25 languages, or that I’d have a wonderfully vocal online audience airing their views on characters and plotlines at vampirates.co.uk and via twitter and facebook, or that there would be a stage version of the books touring around theatres and schools.

I have learned a LOT as I’ve worked on these books and it’s clear to me that the latter three books in the sequence are more sharply plotted than the first three. It was gratifying to see a recent online review at bittenbybooks.com comment that “this sixth and final book in the Vampirates series is by far the best. Filled with non-stop action and edge-of-your-seat excitement, Justin Somper does not disappoint.” All thanks to the chapter grid system – involving large sheets of graph paper and a truck-load of coloured post-it notes - I evolved as I moved along! I think the latter books are probably a bit nastier but also somewhat funnier – I have discovered, like others before me, that horror and comedy are rather good companions, though I still primarily see these books as adventure stories.

I’m often asked who is my favourite amongst my many characters. It’s tempting to nominate my arch villains, Sidorio and Lady Lola. The bad guys do indeed get the best lines and it’s been deliciously fun to live in their crazy heads for a time. But, over the sequence as a whole, I’d pick Jez Stukeley as my favourite character – not least because he has grown so far from my initial concept of him. I brought him into Book 2 – TIDE OF TERROR – to make a quick impact, to be loved by the characters in the story (and hopefully readers too) and then be killed in a pirate duel early on. So far, so good. But, after Jez’s rather moving funeral and his coffin being slung in the ocean, he floats away to a beach where he lands at the feet of Sidorio, who brings the mariner “back from the dead” and appoints him his second in command. So Stukeley moves from the pirate world to the Vampirate realm but it’s clear that he has attachments to both. I think the fact that he is torn between his two lives, gives Stukeley more depth and pathos than the other characters. One of my favourite scenes in the sequence as a whole is in Book 3 – BLOOD CAPTAIN – when he returns to the pirate haunt, Ma Kettle’s Tavern, but can’t connect with his old friends now he is a Vampirate. I won’t spoil the scene, in case you haven’t read it, but suffice to say it doesn’t end well.

The hardest book for me to write was definitely Book 6 - IMMORTAL WAR – perhaps because a big part of me didn’t want to let go of these characters or the world of this story, which I have inhabited for eight years or more. At the end of the book, you’ll find that I have left a few threads hanging. This gives me the opportunity to go back in, at some point in the future, and pick up my business with the Vampirates. But, even if I don’t ever return, I wanted to give the sense that the characters will be going about their business, whether I’m there or not. They have their own destinies and it’s time for me embark on a new journey with a whole new cast of characters. I’m excited to see where my next idea will take me.

Nancy here: I am glad to know that authors feel attached to their characters, too. I like a tidy ending but with the idea that life goes on. In my mind, Sam Malone is still serving drinks at Cheers in Boston with daily Cliff Clavin little known facts, a bar yelling, "Norm!" and Carla is still popping out babies and getting more cantankerous.

Meanwhile, Vampirates is waiting for you! It's a great escape, easy and fun read, action packed with characters you will LOVE! As much as Norm, Cliff, and Sam? I don't know. But the world is just a better place with great characters (even imaginary) occupying space.

If you are ready to launch into this great book (and I know you are), you can buy the book at a local bookstore, or go to Amazon or enter to win a copy right HERE, thanks to awesome publicist at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

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Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr

2012-02-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr

I hated the short story units during high school. They were weird. I think the fact that I enjoy well written short stories so much today is a testament that I have, indeed, grown up as a reader. Reiteration - well written short stories.

Marr accomplishes well written short stories. She lost me on the first one that was only a couple of pages long but the rest were entirely enjoyable, if not slightly disturbing. I think that was part of the allure for me. I really did love the selchie story best, although I'd known them as silkies.

The stories were about mythical creatures and included not only their draw but their dangers. The stories were short, clear, concise and provided just enough at the end to wonder what would happen. I kind of hoped there would be a part II of the stories.

The second half of the book befuddled me. This is not the fault of the author. It is a continuation of the world Marr created in her Wicked Lovely series which I am not caught up with. Okay, I read the first one then jumped into the next big thing. My apologies. End result is that I didn't finish this part. But I can recommend the short stories. Marr is gifted in writing shorts.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey GIVEAWAY

2012-01-31T00:17:00.000-07:00

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

Do you know what I love? I mean besides German Chocolate Cupcakes with cream cheese/whipped topping filling. Great books. I'm not finished with this one but the writing style is addicting. Also, if you click on the book's image up there, you can see what other readers say about it. It is getting an average of 4.16 stars.

Do you know what else I love? Giveaways. It makes me feel benevolent even though Little, Brown Company is the benevolent ones. Humor me in my make-believe benevolence. Love the book. Enter the contest.
Fill out form below. If you can't see it, click HERE.
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Darkness Falls Author Interview and GIVEAWAY

2012-01-30T16:53:00.001-07:00

Remember when I reviewed Cate Tiernan's books, Immortal Beloved and Darkness Falls? Here's what I said: {Don't be shy. Go ahead and click me.}

So I got to interview Cate. If you didn't read my review, you won't know how very funny Cate is. She is nearly as funny as me. And I find myself absolutely HILARIOUS.

It's my head. I get to choose how funny I am inside of it.

So here is Cate on her sense of humor and other Need-To-Know info:

Q: Do you know you are hilarious?

No--I didn't know I was hilarious! I think I can be pretty funny sometimes, and it's fun to put that into my books.

Where did you buy that wicked sense of humor?

Online. I had a gift card.

Q: I love the flashbacks of years of past. How did you do your research for those?

I do a ton of research, mostly on the interwebz. But I also have many reference books with pictures--about clothes, weapons, ancient maps, etc. The research is so fascinating--I always get sucked into another topic.

Q: If the books were made into a movie, who would you have play Nastasya? Viking God?

Gosh, I'm just not really familiar enough with young actors/actresses these days to really say. It would have to be someone who looked young, but seemed old, if that makes sense. It's fun when readers send in their own ideas for casts.

So here's your chance to not only win a copy of the hardback edition of Darkness Falls (Book 2 but not absolutely crucial to read Book 1 - I just suggest it because it's so fun). If you are feeling saucy, you can name your favorite snarky Hollywood starlet and serious man eye-candy (Justin Beiber does not count).

But only if you are feeling snarky and saucy. I want to give my ideas but my brain is completely fried from working all day then parent teacher conferences at the grade school.

Fill out the FORM:
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No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel

2012-01-30T06:00:00.003-07:00

No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel

Goodreads: In 1939, the families in a remote Jewish village in Romania feel the war close in on them. Their tribe has moved and escaped for thousands of years- across oceans, deserts, and mountains-but now, it seems, there is nowhere else to go. Danger is imminent in every direction, yet the territory of imagination and belief is limitless. At the suggestion of an eleven-year-old girl and a mysterious stranger who has washed up on the riverbank, the villagers decide to reinvent the world: deny any relationship with the known and start over from scratch. Destiny is unwritten. Time and history are forgotten. Jobs, husbands, a child, are reassigned. And for years, there is boundless hope. But the real world continues to unfold alongside the imagined one, eventually overtaking it, and soon our narrator-the girl, grown into a young mother-must flee her village, move from one world to the next, to find her husband and save her children, and propel them toward a real and hopeful future. A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, No One Is Here Except All Of Us explores how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths. It marks the arrival of a major new literary talent.

My take: This is the most unique WWII book I have ever read. I don't even know how to review this book. I know I won't forget it.

The book opens in a remote Romanian village after a storm. The villagers collect what was brought down the river as the water recedes and finds a woman. She's alive. She doesn't remember much except that all of her people are gone. The reader assumes her village was destroyed by the Nazis and she is the lone survivor. It is through this experience that the villagers decide to start anew. There is no God but the one they invent. There is no world outside their village. They make their own rules and time becomes irrelevant.

At times the book is beautifully poetic and philosophical. At other times the ridiculousness of the people is glaring. The conclusions are not logical to a person who lives in the bigger society but could be plausible if the group-think were the way the author creates it.

World War II rages around the village but they know nothing of it. Time passes but, since time is irrelevant, the reader has no idea how long until Lena is compelled to leave the village to protect her sons, finding herself safely on the Russian side of the war. She believes she is not safe, she is hunted but being Jewish is not what makes her feel unsafe. Jewishness is no longer part of her world. She is ill-prepared for the bigger society, although her experiences in the village help through some difficult situations.

Lena misses the war. In fact, most of the villagers miss the war. They may not escape the violence at some point in the book, but they wouldn't know why there was violence against them if it were to occur.

I don't know what the point of the book was except to somehow recount a few of the experiences of the author's own ancestors. That said, I would not dismiss this book. It was unique and at times weird, but extremely compelling. I believe there is a lot of symbolism that can be gleaned and transferred to societal pressures. I found the different ways of dealing with difficulty intriguing. One village pretended to be alone in the world, discounting all the rest of civilization and history. One or two couples rewrite their own history to include and justify stealing a child. In fact, rewriting history and the rules of society are justification for a lot of questionable behavior. What one person calls a crime is another person's attempt to make things equal and right.

Do you see how this might be an interesting sociological study?

There is also a character who, because of the war (a very bad thing) decides to accept that something very good came out of it and recreates his life because it is far easier than doing the right thing. Lena herself recreates herself throughout the book and constantly asks, "Who am I?" She is a testament of human resilience.

It's an interesting book. I won't forget it.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows Review

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads:
NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

My take: There are one million souls in this world that recycle over 5,000 years. Then one day one soul died and another was born. A new soul. Sometimes referred to as "no soul." Ana makes her debut to this world and few, if any are pleased. Her father abandons the family and her mother hates her. Anna reaches age 18 and goes in search of her identity. Ill-prepared (thank you, Mommy Dearest), she is attacked by the Sylph and saved by Sam, an old soul returning to Heart, the main city whose walls have a heartbeat, the city center has a temple. The temple is supposed to house Janaan, the God who created then abandoned the souls to fend for themselves against the Sylph, centaurs, trolls, dragons and the elements.

In heart, Ana is shunned, attacked, rejected, ignored and, in some cases, accepted. Theology is addressed and purpose of life questions asked. Where is Janaan since creating their world and souls? Is Ana a mistake or does she matter? Are all souls precious?

Sexual tension - high but no sex. Souls love one another and lack gender. Physical body manifests gender and is not consistent. Tastefully written.

Violence - abundant in dragon scenes

Swearing - None

Dialogue - Clean

Resolution of the first book in this trilogy was not clean. There are a lot of hanging threads that I hope will be addressed in the next books. I'm invested enough to read on.

IMM (1/29/12)

2012-01-28T02:49:00.001-07:00

From RJ at Book Soulmates R.A.K.

Thank you, RJ!

Just to warn you of upcoming contests that you are going to LOVE:

And a little further in the month:

I'll keep trying to get copies for contests. We love books! If we didn't have to eat, we'd probably have more books!

Have a great week!

Young Adult Giveaway Hop

2012-01-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's a short hop so get on your hopping shoes!

Do you remember when I reviewed The Queen of Kentucky? I loved it so much I asked the publisher for review copies. She's sending me some ARCs. I expect them any day.

Did you miss my review? Bummer.

Because I love you, I've included a link.
I know, I know. I am simply too kind. Go ahead and tell me so in the comments. Or witty, beautiful, snarky, awesome, odd, graceful... Your pick.

Oh, and enter to win! 2 copies available. Ends January 31st.
Fill out the form below or click HERE.

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More great blogs included in hop are right here:

Faith: A Novel by Jennifer Haigh

2012-01-26T01:29:00.010-07:00

Faith: A Novel by Jennifer Haigh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Set in Boston during the 2002 priest sexual abuse scandals, Faith challenges us to look beyond the crimes to examine how human interactions change after the accusations. Sheila McGann, the novel's main character and narrator, is the half-sister of Arthur Breen, a once-popular cleric now ensnared in charges of abusing a young boy. Returning to her family, with whom she has difficult relations, Sheila attempts to support her embattled sibling, but everyone, including Art himself, seems unwilling or emotionally unable to cooperate. Ultimately, this powerful novel is about how one family responds to a devastating crisis. A provocative choice for book clubs.

My take: This is the kind of book you put down and feel viscerally moved and thinking, feeling, and mulling over the book. At first blush, it appears to be a simple story. Art, part of the Boston Diocese, has been accused of sexually molesting a child. Yet the book begins with Arthur's mother, shortly after Arthur was born. She's alone in the house, waiting for her long overdue husband. Her mother-in-law, who never accepted her, is dead and her marriage is not looking much better. She shamelessly chased the man who is her husband, found herself pregnant, quickly married by an uncle priest, and now shady characters are looking for her husband.

The story is revealed by Arthur's half sister, Sheila, told through her investigations and first person. It is not simply a quest for innocence or guilt, but a quest for understanding of the family dynamics, how each person plays a part in the saga, and the historical drive. Each character is flawed but not broken. Each character is complicated and not easily summarized. Aiden, the alleged victim plays a surprisingly small part.

It is feast for a book club. So many issues are addressed. Although not Catholic, I believe one theme that could be explored is the requirement of celibacy. Also, a discussion of severity of sins. Then the purpose of love, family dynamics, societal need to demonize the accused, and, of course, a discussion on the true victim(s) of the book.

A couple of nuggets:

"The adult who preys on children is, to the rest of us, a frightening enigma. Of their inner lives we know little, and a little knowledge is more dangerous than none. While it is true that most pedophiles were themselves victims, it turns out that the correlation is weaker in the other direction. Not all victims grow up to be predators." p. 316

"...each new love is built from the wreckage of the loves that came before... We love those who fit the peculiar voids within us, our hollow wounds. We love to fill the spaces the old loves left behind." p. 314

A deeply moving and articulate book.

And here's your chance to win a copy! Fill out form HERE. Contest ends 2/9/12

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Home Front by Kristin Hannah Review

2012-01-25T06:00:00.002-07:00

Home Front by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.

All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life---children, careers, bills, chores---even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own---for everything that matters to his family.

At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope.

My take: Jolene had a tragic childhood which ended far too soon. Because of the tragedy at the end of her childhood, she takes control of her life and enlists in the army where she becomes a Black Hawk pilot. It is in the army that she meets her best friend, Tami, her rock and the one who calls her on her crap.

Now she's 41 years old and the past is put behind her. She lives in the now and she chooses happiness with all of its platitudes. She's switched over to the Guard and is a full-time mother to 4 year old Lucy and 12 year old Betsy. She is married to Michael, a criminal defense lawyer and shares a close relationship with her mother-in-law. All is going well until one day, Michael announces that he doesn't love her anymore and wants to separate.

Before this can be addressed, she is deployed. Michael seethes in resentment. He's always hated the military and her career. He's a rather selfish man, actually. Jolene prepares her daughters and her husband by saying all the right things like she'll be in safe places, yada, yada and then she flies away.

From the book description, the reader knows that something happens to Jolene in Iraq. Her helicopter is shot down, some of her crew die and/or are seriously injured. Jolene is seriously injured and loses some of her physical capabilities. Hannah details how Michael is told about the accident and how the Army, media, and Tami's husband, Carl, respond. Michael is still carrying resentment for Jolene's choices, although he has changed a great deal in the past few months. He flies to Jolene's side.

In Hannah style, there is not a happy little reunion where all is forgotten like a Disney channel movie. In fact, we're only halfway through the book. Hannah juxtaposes Jolene's recovery and all of the losses she has experienced, along with her guilt, anxiety and depression, to Michael and Jolene's resolution. It's not neat or pretty.

With raw honesty, Jolene's injuries are described as is Michael's reaction to it, Michael's coping mechanism, and Jolene's fury and resentment to both her injuries and her perceived death of the marriage.

Speaking of honesty, Hannah's description of the middle age marriage hit far too close to home. I kept having to put the book down to have a good cry. It was painful yet liberating to not feel alone. I wish I had this book a few years ago, although it is better late than never.

This book is for anybody who loves Kristin Hannah's books. It's for the middle age woman (35-55). It's for every mother and wife. It's for anybody who has ever heard the words, "I don't love you, anymore." If you haven't heard them, you're too young or your spouse isn't being completely open with you. It's for anybody who needs a good dose of hope.

Best line might be a spoiler, but here it is: People change.

5 + stars

Forbidden by Syrie James Review

2012-01-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

Forbidden by Syrie James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Syrie joined forces with her talented son Ryan to co-write her next novel, Forbidden. The book is about a 16-year-old girl who comes into unusual powers, only to discover that she's half-angel... and her entire existence is forbidden.

Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson Academy as the ideal hiding place where he could escape and be normal for once. He hadn't factored Claire Brennan into his plans...

Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the threat to Claire's life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?

My take: Syrie James and her son team up on this book. Perhaps they take turns telling the story from the point of views of Claire and Alec. Alec is a Grigori tasked with hunting down the dangerous half bloods or Nephil. But Alec is tired of his job so he squirrels away savings and goes to hide out in a prestigious academy where, lo and behold, there is an emerging half-blood and he's falling in love with her.

Of course, Alec needs to hide her so she isn't discovered but it might already be too late.

I have no complaints about the story, book or writing. I simply didn't connect with the characters and the story has been hashed and rehashed by different authors for the past few years. The angel or Fallen Angel falling in love with the regular girl or girl who happens to be part angel is told and retold. I didn't find anything about this story to differentiate with the other books except that I didn't care about the protagonists which actually makes them less likely to be remembered.

It's a good story. If you like angels and part angels engaging in a forbidden love story, this is it. I'm already invested in a few other series and trilogies.

IMM (1/22/12)

2012-01-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and just try to copy, paste and post IMM on a tablet computer without saying a few swear words. Ummkay~ I'm off to church now.

Tempest Giveaway

2012-01-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has agirlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Want it? Thought so. You know the drill.
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American Sniper by Chris Kyle GIVEAWAY and review

2012-01-19T12:20:00.001-07:00

Goodreads: From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. Iraqi insurgents feared him so much they called him al-Shaitan ("the devil") and placed a $20,000 bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, fighting alongside them in the streets, as well as protecting them from rooftops and stealth positions. Through four combat deployments, he was awarded seven medals for bravery, including two Silver Stars. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle's masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.

My take: I read Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and really enjoyed it, albeit the detailed blood and gore. He told a good story, remained objective while including some of his own thoughts and ideas. It was engrossing and the story itself sung of the heroism of him and his SEAL team. This book wasn't as cohesive or objective. I had a difficult time following Kyle's line of thinking. He included a lot of interpretation, little emotional insight, and random situations. One of the random situations is that he met Marcus Luttrell and counts him as a friend. That's it. He doesn't reference Luttrell's experience in Afghanistan. If a reader did not know the background to Luttrell's story, it wouldn't be extraordinary. I also didn't like the arrogant manner Kyle referenced himself or the short answers he gave. Basically, if you don't know how hard it is to be a SEAL, join the Navy SEALS. If you don't know what kind of guy Chris Kyle is, ask one of the SEALS. The writing was somewhat defensive and style pedantic.

I did not finish the book, therefore, I can only report on my first impression of the first 100 pages or so. The book is not without merit. Kyle is a great soldier and admirable in his service. My problems are with the writing style, not the subject or the author. He has interesting stories to tell. The telling however, lacks clarity and cohesiveness.

Subject is interesting and mindset of the military makes the book worth reading. Here is a sneak peak.

If you want to read this book -

Fill out the form HERE or below:

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The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren

2012-01-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

The Shadow of Your Smile
By Susan May Warren
Published by Tyndale House
December 16th, 2011

About the book: A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can’t quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston’s marriage.

After twenty-five years, they’re contemplating divorce... just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases part of Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn’t remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What’s more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly steps into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can’t remember?

Will their secrets destroy them . . . or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future? Read the story behind the story here: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/books/the-shadow-of-your-smile.

About Susan: Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder ofwww.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

Susan is celebrating the release of The Shadow of Your Smile by giving away a prize pack worth over $200 from 1/9-1/28.

One grand prize winner will receive:

A $200 Visa Gift Card (Use that to rekindle a little romance, treat yourself to a spa day, snap up those shoes you’ve been eyeing, or purchase a few great books!)

The entire set of Deep Haven Books

The winner will be announced on 1/30/12 on Susan’s blog, Scribbles! Just click one of the icons below to enter and tell your friends about Susan's giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Click HERE for more information.

Blog tour stops can be found HERE.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This book is a refreshing break from the serious books I've been reading. Tied loosely to Cinderella, Cinder is a foster daughter/slave in the Eastern Commonwealth on a planet plagued with a new sickness that strikes quickly and is always deadly. Complicating matters is the planet (earth) is always on the cusp of war with the Lunars, a fearsome race living on the moon who tend to have magical powers and the ability to control thought.

So Cinder is the slave laborer, the unwanted child that is merely tolerated but always excluded. So she ends up meeting the Emperor's only son and develops feelings for him. It appears he is somewhat smitten as well. The problem is that, although Cinder doesn't seem to have the plague, she is part mechanical, due to an injury suffered in the childhood she can't remember. Meaning that, like Cinderella's glass slipper, she might lose a body part at any time.

It is not a mere retelling of the classic fairy tale, thank goodness, but an original idea including the politics of the Lunar ruler and the handsome prince. Add in the cyborg components, the deadly plague, spies, and the mysterious programmer introduced at the end of the book, and you've got a fun and original read. It also doesn't hurt that Cinder is a strong protagonist that (slight spoiler here) doesn't wait for Prince Charming to save her.

I'm looking forward to the next book.

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

2012-01-17T06:38:00.001-07:00

Title: Hallowed

Author: Cynthia Hand

Publish Date: January 17, 2012

Pages: 416

Publisher: Harper Collins

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Described by Richelle Mead as “utterly captivating,” Unearthly received outstanding reviews, garnered accolades from New York Times bestselling authors, and was named an Indie Next Pick. In this heart-wrenching sequel, Cynthia Hand expertly captures the all-consuming joy of first love—and the agony of loss. This beautifully woven tale will appeal to fans of Lauren Kate, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Aprilynne Pike.

My take: Once again, Cynthia Hand has written an excellent book for this trilogy. At the end of the last book (without giving any spoilers), Clara exited from a forest fire, but there were actually two. One started by the Dark Wing, the other a big question mark. Clara is struggling with her purpose and free agency. She's living in Jackson, Wyoming and ready to start her senior year. Her mother has secrets. Oh, lots of secrets and I have a feeling they have not been appropriately addressed. I have a guess about one of them and I think she sort of lied in Hallowed. Clara's brother is sullen and disappears mysteriously. Tucker is her boyfriend. Christian is finally paying attention to her but she is Tucker's girlfriend.

Open scene: Clara begins her senior year. Her glowing blonde locks will no longer take hair color so her hair causes a stir when she starts school. She spends a lot of time arguing with herself over Christian vs. Tucker which annoyed me. I know there's the purpose and all but gee, two really great guys vying for her attention.

I almost called this book a filler book for the series but then stuff happened. Revelations were made, although nothing earth shattering. Clara is being pursued by the Dark Wing which adds some interest to the story. Clara's mother admits that he is part of her 120 year history but I don't think she told the whole truth. Angela continues to be quirky and curious and uncovers disconcerting information. More angels are revealed but Clara's purpose does not become any more clearer. What is revealed happens more to the end of the book and it's pretty important. Clara is much more valuable to the scales than she imagined.

It's a quiet book. The action is more internal, although I believe the third and possibly fourth book is being clearly set up with the information. Angela went to Italy last summer and she's going this year, too. Clara will be accompanying her. My guess is that Angela's father will be revealed. Then I'd guess a fourth book is forthcoming for Clara's first year of college.

It's going to get really interesting.

4.5 Stars

First You Try Everything: A Novel by Jane McCafferty

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

First You Try Everything: A Novel by Jane McCafferty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Prize-winning author Jane McCafferty delivers a wry, engrossing, and provocative tale of the radical chances an anguished woman will take to try to save her crumbling marriage. As love’s loss and the death of dreams push Evie to the edge of obsession and to a spectacularly outlandish scheme, one which will have unexpected consequences for all involved. Following her acclaimed debut novel One Heart, which Elizabeth Strout, author of Amy and Isabelle, calls "a lovely book, full of surprises, with characters that stay in your heart long after the book has been put down," McCafferty’s First You Try Everything is a piercing, surprising, and sympathetic look at the emotional fallout of divorce and the unforeseeable changing tides of love.

My take: I don't even know how to describe this book. The story is told from two different viewpoints. Actually, three because Apu gets a small part, as well. Ben and Evvie have been married for 16 years. Their history is quietly revealed but, essentially, Evvie is a quirky character very much in touch with her Freudian Id. She is endearing and at times frustrating. Yet she is very easy to relate to. She is insecure and feels her husband slipping away. She buries herself in animal rights activism while fighting the societal norms.

Ben was drawn to Evvie for her free spirit and easy way of relating to anybody. She listens to Ben and allows him his feelings. Together they were street vendors in order to stay free from the constraints of middle class. Eventually he found a middle class job and started wearing a suit. His eyes wander and he meets another woman who is completely different from his wife. He enjoys the conversation, the organized way of her life and emotions and allows himself to wander down that path.

The real meat of the story is the exploration by both parties of their emotional journey. Ben feels guilty and torn. He struggles with systematically painting his years with Evvie using the emotions of today then remembering how happy he felt in a certain situation with her. He also feels protective of Evvie from his new lover because he understands Evvie so well. At the same time, he doesn't want Evvie to know about the other woman in order to protect the current relationship, believing it has nothing to do with his cheating on his wife. He was unhappy before. His rationalizations are fascinating, infuriating, and sad. He makes valid points and the reader feels empathy for him to some degree.

Evvie, not knowing what unraveled the marriage, continues being her quirky self. Inside her head we see her wrestling with her feelings, her past, and possible reasons for the marriage problems. Again, the reader empathizes as the author articulates the confusion and the sudden interpretations from past events, coloring the previous 16 years. It is heart breaking and turns into a train wreck where I simply could not look away. Evvie's quirkiness, endearing at first, begins to slowly spiral into areas of insanity. It progresses logically (insanity and logically can be used in the same sentence) and it is evident why she desperately will do anything to get Ben to return to her.

There is an ultimate conflict and it is just the train wreck reaching maximum velocity and the situation gets out of control. Maybe a little on the ridiculous side and I was left wondering what happened to the other players but ultimately the real conflict was whether Evvie's pure soul could live with her manipulations. I wasn't crazy about the ultimate conflict or resolution. I found the story, itself, to be compelling. The author artistically articulates the feelings and thought processes of both parties of a middle-aged marriage.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

2012-01-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What Ashton accomplished with the writing of this book was a seamless integration of Greek mythology with an Egyptian mythology twist. She also created a love triangle of questionable equal parts. In other words, how much can Cole really feel?

Above all, Ashton integrates my alma mater, Utah State University. It's a mere page or two but I she is endeared to my heart for that alone.

The story's organization is well thought out as Nikki is introduced as a recent Return. She is one of the lucky (?) ones who actually survive the Feed. It's not necessarily heaven and hell but simply an Everneath, a plane beneath the earth's crust, near the Rivery Styx where a shell of a person spends a century feeding off one person's emotions, getting recharged and leaving the mortal being a shell of her former self, thrown to the Everneath's Tunnels to act as an Energizer Bunny until she fades into oblivion.

Quite painful.

But the story is based on mythology and differing interpretations. Like Orpheus, another possible hero from mythology. Between Nikki and Jack, they are bound to find a resolution where Nikki is not sucked back down to the Everneath. At least that is the hope.

The ending is a cliff hanger although like Pandora's box, hope is still remaining. Sets up the next book well.

Tempest by Julie Cross

2012-01-12T12:55:00.001-07:00

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Read the first 4 chapters of TEMPEST by Julie Cross now HERE.

Girl Land by Caitlin Flanagan GIVEAWAY

2012-01-12T07:00:00.004-07:00

Title: Girl Land
Release Date: January 12, 2012
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books (Hatchette Book Group)
Hardcover
Pages: 224

Caitlin Flanagan's essays about marriage, sex, and families have sparked national debates. Now she turns her attention to girls: the biological and cultural milestones for girls today, and how they shape a girl's sense of herself.

The transition from girl to woman is an experience that has changed radically over the generations: everything from how a girl learns about her period to how she expects to be treated by boys and men. Girls today observe these passages very differently, and yet the landmarks themselves have remained remarkably constant-proof, Flanagan believes, of their significance. In a world where protections of girls' privacy and personal freedom seem to disappear every day, the ultimate challenge modern parents face is finding a way to defend both.

Caitlin Flanagan's GIRL LANDis perfect for moms revisiting their childhoods and moms whose daughters have or will experience the same life stages, recounted in Flanagan’s frank, provocative, and undeniably womanist voice.

Caitlin Flanagan is a former high school teacher who became a writer; she has been on staff at The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal. A winner of the National Magazine Award, she has also written for Time, O, The Oprah Magazine, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. Her work has been widely anthologized in, among other publications, The Best American Essays and The Best American Magazine Writingseries. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

I have three copies up for grabs! Fill out the form below and smile!

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The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker

2012-01-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Fourteen-year-old Kentucky girl Ricki Jo Winstead, who would prefer to be called Ericka, thank you very much, is eager to shed her farmer's daughter roots and become part of the popular crowd at her small town high school. She trades her Bible for Seventeen magazine, buys new "sophisticated" clothes and somehow manages to secure a tenuous spot at the cool kids table. She's on top of the world, even though her best friend and the boy next door Luke says he misses "plain old Ricki Jo."

Caught between being a country girl and wannabe country club girl, Ricki Jo begins to forget who she truly is: someone who doesn't care what people think and who wouldn't let a good-looking guy walk all over her. It takes a serious incident out on Luke's farm for Ricki Jo to realize that being a true friend is more important than being popular.

While I was reading: I thought this was a cute book that had all of the elements for a great after school special. Plain country girl, wants to be popular, meets hot new guy, gets in with popular friends, best friend is a guy, makes cheer squad and everybody knows that in the end she'll get burned and go back to her roots, right? Maybe not exactly like that but something similar. The truth is that it was extremely painful for an author to relive my freshman year for me in detail, hitting my own popularity quest spot on sans Wolf and alcohol. I didn't do the drinking thing.

When I was finished: I realized the book was a carefully disguised book about bullying and societal tolerance. I was totally swept up in the Ericka story and the painful reminders that I only put the pieces together at the end and recognized the brilliance of it. The book carefully addresses different kinds of bullying, the way society tolerates it, and the way one person can make a difference. Just to clarify, Ericka/Ricky Jo does not do the stand-up-at-a-school-assembly and give a shame-on-you speech. It's not cheesy like that.

Traditional domestic bullying involves Luke's father. He's an alcoholic and it is established early on that he beats Luke's mother. The children are all uncomfortable with this arrangement but, in the past, they've all been too powerless and small to make a difference. It is ignored. Ricky Jo recognizes what it is and takes her cues from Luke.

Symbolic bullying that mirrors a couple of the situations is the Gumbel's dogs. They are wild and ferocious. When they are not chained up, they attack random people. Ricky Jo is instructed to never show fear. They can smell fear and, as a pack, might attack. There is foreshadowing as Ricky Jo rides her bike to Luke's and finds herself pinned under the bike as the dogs circle. She is saved by Luke who hears the ruckus and beats them away. Again, many people know about the dogs but hesitate to rock the boat because the Gumbels are so mean, themselves. Without giving away the story, this situation escalates and damage is done before it is resolved. More foreshadowing, by the way.

On the first day of school, Ricky Jo/Ericka finds herself with a group of pretty and popular girls who are all cheerleaders. She's just a redneck but they take her on as a project. Note the pack-like behavior. Then Wolf saunters in. He's beautiful, athletic, rich and a royal pain in the butt. He has his good qualities but these are hidden in his obnoxious attempts to look cool (and fit in, like the rest of the grade). Wolf's antics embarrass and humiliate. It is interesting to watch how he bullies and manipulates through his many antics and how he is so quickly forgiven by many because he's "cool." At the same time, the reader sees through Ricky Jo's eyes how insecure he really is and how he does see areas not having to do with himself with incredible clarity.

The best examples of intimidation, manipulation and bullying are within the Fab Frenemies. There is feigning of a BFF club, guilt, giving special treatment to the "project," hiding cruel comments in back-handed compliments, ganging up on one, engaging in peer pressure to invoke behavior against her better judgment and beliefs, playing the best friend to someone's face while stabbing them in the back.

The story also redefines courage and friendship for Ricky Jo. The hero of the book is Luke. He recognizes the underdog and does whatever it takes to take a stand or step into the middle of the dogfight. I can't say more than that without explaining how he did this in different situations. He stands up for what is right both metaphorically and physically (he's the one who steps into the real dog attacks). He stays true to himself, never wavering, regardless of the cost.

As for Ricky Jo (one small spoiler), she saves herself.

Best nugget - In order to be a best friend, one has to first be a good friend.

This could be used in a high school literature class to demonstrate different masks of bullying.

Swearing - mild/moderate
Violence - moderate
Alcohol use - moderate
Sex - mild implied

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? GIVEAWAY

2012-01-10T13:02:00.002-07:00

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?: Trick Questions, Zen-like Riddles, Insanely Difficult Puzzles, and Other Devious Interviewing Techniques You ... Know to Get a Job Anywhere in the New Economy by William Poundstone

Format: Hardover
Publish Date 1/4/12
Price: $19.99/$21.99
Pages: 304

You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and thrown in a blender. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do? If you want to work at Google, or any of America's best companies, you need to have an answer to this and other puzzling questions.

ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH TO WORK AT GOOGLE? guides readers through the surprising solutions to dozens of the most challenging interview questions. The book covers the importance of creative thinking, ways to get a leg up on the competition, what your Facebook page says about you, and much more. ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH TO WORK AT GOOGLE? is a must read for anyone who wants to succeed in today's job market.

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Fill out the form below or click HERE.
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2012-01-10T01:46:00.000-07:00

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened. Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

The book is interesting in that it combines images with the story. Min is writing an explanation to her ex-boyfriend. She is dropping a box off at his house that includes the sacred relics of their short relationship. Each picture represents something significant to Min about the relationship she had with Ed.

The book is written the way a teenage girl talks. She rambles, repeats herself, she doesn't finish sentences and she makes connections where no connections can be understood. She is obsessed with old theater which few people are. In other words, the reader is always on the outskirts of an inside joke. So I felt perpetually lost in the run-on sentences of a teenage girl, trapped in her angst and not understanding the segues she had with specific old movies and actresses. My guess is that it is symbolic but I just felt lost.

Language: Strong
Dialogue: Strong
Sex: Strong
Violence: None

Immortal Beloved and Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

2012-01-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.

Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.

Cate Tiernan, author of the popular Sweep series, returns with an engaging story of a timeless struggle and inescapable romance, the first book in a stunning new fantasy trilogy.

My take: I think that Immortals are the new Vampires and, frankly, few people can do them well. I've already read a number of Immortal books and I just can't see them ever ending. They're immortal. Their story will go on forever. Unless someone cuts off their head or something.

That said, I think it's obvious that I had some preconceived prejudices (redundant, I know) when I started this book. I read #1 and #2. I read the book description and gave a little yawn then started in. Then I stopped yawning and started laughing. Cate Tiernan is well versed in how a girl talks to herself inside her head. By "girl," I mean, a really funny one who is not an angsty teenager even though she looks like one.

The premise is that Nastasya is 459 years old. Her parents were Immortals and they had 5 children. They are all dead. They were killed by very bad people 450 years ago. Nastasya wandered around for a few centuries then finds her group of friends where they live a thoughtless, self-centered existence until one night (at the beginning of the book), her best friend, Innocencio performs dark magick and scares Nastasya to begin a change.

The thing about Immortals is that they all possess at least a little bit of Magick. Nastasya doesn't practice it and those around her rarely do, either. It's just some old black Magick that she doesn't want to tap. Then one night in the 1920's, she meets River, another Immortal that seems different and tells Nastasya that when she's ready to change her ways, find her in a podunk town in Massachusetts. And so she does.

Now I can go on and tell about the conflict and stuff about the book, but that's not really the best part. It's the protagonist. She's hilarious. She grows in ways she didn't know she would or could, she taps into her power without getting into the dark stuff, and she loves/hates this Viking like god named Reyn who looks familiar and just might have a connection to her past somewhere. But he's offish and socially awkward, serious, and seriously hot. And there is sexual tension. Lots of that.

Nastasya is not innocent. The author doesn't write her as innocent or perfect. She is flawed with a lot of mistakes in her past. Although she looks to be in her late teens, Nastasya has the experiences that would curl anybody's hair and toes. Although she is experienced in chemically induced highs, sexual prowess, etc., the story doesn't go there. It's indicated but not dwelt upon.

Above all, Tiernan writes a strong protagonist who is steeped in her own habits and crud and has been for centuries. She can't change, can she? She doesn't get all philosophical but she's pretty sure that Immortals are dark beings and are incapable of being anything else. River, the woman who runs the rehab, tells her something else.

The book is full of nuggets of hope. Not cheesy by any stretch, a little racy but not dirty, Tiernan's characters have strong personalities that can be used for good instead of evil.

Sex - mild/moderate
Violence - moderate
swearing/dialogue - "f" words used in one scene.

Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite some drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her?

My take: I can't imagine reading this book without having read the first book. Not that the reader can't catch up because the story of the first book is reiterated in this one. I just so enjoyed the development of the relationships and revealing of Nastasya's past and connection with other characters (Reyn) which sets the stage so very well.

Once again, Nastasya's strong personality is the selling point. Her internal dialogue makes me laugh out loud. If you've read it, shout out if you remember 'Rock and a hard place' or the metaphor about the Titanic and blowing a whistle in the dark. I just laughed. That's all there is to it.

This book is darker than the first. It picks up where the first left off where Nastasya is still hiding from Innocencio and being snarky with Reyn when she really is drawn to him and me to him, too. I mean, and him to her.

This flawed, funny, snarky girl, against her better judgment, does return to her old ways so Innocencio can show the reader and the protagonist what his intents are and who he really is. Again, the overall theme is the power to choose and to choose over and over again.

Sex - mild
Swearing and dialogue - mild/moderate
Violence - Severe

IMM 1/8/12

2012-01-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's 10:30 at night and I am posting In My Mailbox!

Did you hear a faint drum roll?

Sunday, dinner, church, 4 kids, sick husband, dear parents, I love them all.

But I want to read.

I know. I'm selfish.

American Dervish GIVEAWAY

2012-01-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes.

Mina is Hayat’s mother’s oldest friend from Pakistan. She is independent, beautiful and intelligent, and arrives on the Shah’s doorstep when her disastrous marriage in Pakistan disintegrates. Even Hayat’s skeptical father can’t deny the liveliness and happiness that accompanies Mina into their home. Her deep spirituality brings the family’s Muslim faith to life in a way that resonates with Hayat as nothing has before. Studying the Quran by Mina’s side and basking in the glow of her attention, he feels an entirely new purpose mingled with a growing infatuation for his teacher.

When Mina meets and begins dating a man, Hayat is confused by his feelings of betrayal. His growing passions, both spiritual and romantic, force him to question all that he has come to believe is true. Just as Mina finds happiness, Hayat is compelled to act — with devastating consequences for all those he loves most.

American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life. Ayad Akhtar was raised in the Midwest himself, and through Hayat Shah he shows readers vividly the powerful forces at work on young men and women growing up Muslim in America. This is an intimate, personal first novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.

About Ayad Akhtar

Ayad Akhtar is an American-born, first generation Pakistani-American from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He holds degrees in Theater from Brown University and in Directing from the Graduate Film Program at Columbia University, where he won multiple awards for his work. He is the author of numerous screenplays and was star and co-writer of The War Within, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and an International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Picture – Drama. American Dervish is his first novel.

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Little Princes by Conor Grennen Review and GIVEAWAY

2012-01-05T06:52:00.005-07:00

From Publisher: In need of some fun and adventure, 30-year-old Conor Grennan traded in his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Orphanage in war-torn Nepal. But what began as a lark became a passionate commitment that would transform the young American and the lives of countless others.

Within minutes of his arrival, Grennan was surrounded by a horde of gleeful boys and girls showering him with warm welcomes. Yet as he soon learned, the children’s cheery smiles belied years of pain and abuse, for many of the boys and girls at Little Princes were not orphans at all, but victims rescued from human traffickers. Moved by their plight, Grennan vowed that when his trip was over he would return to the children of Little Princes and eventually reunite them with their families—a promise he would risk his life to keep.

Little Princes is the powerful story of a soul’s awakening and a reflection of the noblest and darkest of human intent. It is a heartwrenching true tale of the power of optimism, love, and dedication to overcome greed, violence, and hate. And it is an unforgettable account of children, families, and one man whose decision to take a stand makes the world a better place for all of us.

My take: I simply can not rant and rave enough about this book. I was immediately drawn to this story because of one of the children in this picture. No, not the alarmingly handsome and strapping boy eating the neon green sugar ball the size of his own head(although, he is one of my favorite people in the world), but his darker skinned counter-part, who happens to be his half Nepalese cousin.

Don't worry. He's not an orphan. He belongs to my brother and his American wife. In fact, she became a full citizen one year ago this week. 5 years ago she stepped onto her first airplane and said goodbye to the only culture she had ever known. She said hello to a crazy family who were loud, couldn't understand her English and looked at her blankly, and ate something green (lettuce) at every meal on vacation.

She cried a lot that first year.

I am often stunned by the beauty of this family. I'm in there. I'm the pretty one.

Please also note that within all those blonds and reds, there is another darker skinned teenager. He is my 100% American nephew. Two years ago he was an orphan in Katmandu. The only child of Sita's sister, he fell into her care when his mother and grandfather died in a tragic bus accident when he was a small boy. Fortunately, he had a loving aunt who quickly took him in as she had been taken in years ago by a distant relative when her mother died. At the time, she lived as a slave. Another distant relative came to visit and found a skinny 10 year old girl doing all the cooking, cleaning, and shopping. He was enraged and took her home with him.

Nepal is such a small country and has little to boast besides an entrance to the world's tallest mountain. When my brother informed us he had married a woman while in Katmandu, we had to scramble to even find it on the map.

Nepal has also been in the throes of civil war for about a decade. Between the Nationalists and the Maoists, Nepal has been in constant upheaval. The terrain of Nepal is often difficult and isolated. Villages dot the mountainsides where simple people live simple lives. But then the Maoists arrived in those villages and began recruiting the children. In an effort to preserve their children, parents gave their children to men who promised a good education and safe childhood for a price - often resulting in all they had. Child trafficking was born.

The author is a fantastic story teller. His humor never wanes. He recalls interactions and conversations in great detail and describes the first children with so much fondness, I fell in love with them, too. Being an overgrown child, Conor quickly fit right in. Three months is all he planned to give and then he was off to travel the world, return to the states, and be a grown up in the corporate world. Instead, he is drawn again to the orphans where he discovers that at least two of them are not really orphans. At the same time, he meets 7 more who are dangerously housed and exposed. He secures a safe orphanage for them and is assured of their placement. With rising political tensions, Conor leaves the country again. Once home, he discovers that the 7 children had disappeared and didn't make it to the orphanage.

Naturally, Conor returns to Nepal where he is introduced to a political climate that is dangerous and unsteady. A culture that is starkly contrasted to one where bureaucracies are in place to protect children. Child slavery, human trafficking, illegal orphanages, and complete poverty and starvation are not uncommon. At the same time, a warm, brotherly relationship develops between the author and the boys from the original orphanage. Their interactions elicited loud laughter from this reader.

I loved this book. It was touching, hilarious, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and life changing.

You can read more about Conor Grennan's work at http://www.nextgenerationnepal.com/What_We_Do
and Conor Grennen

The paperback version of this book includes a lot of photos!

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2012-01-05T00:16:00.000-07:00

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Goodreads: A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

My take: The story, from what I understood, is that Diana, a witch, is doing research in Oxford and pulls up a heavily bewitched text called ASHMOLE 782 which has been enchanted for a century and a half. She touches it and it opens. She takes her notes then puts it back. She then realizes she is being watched and followed by other witches, vampires and daemons. The point is that Ashmole is important but the actual content is never revealed. She is threatened and protected by Matthew, a very old vampire.

I am yawning through this. Diana is also a brilliant historian, like the author. I love reading history but the historical tidbits are so random and out of context, my head was spinning. Add to this the art of alchemy without knowing the projected outcome of the change and not knowing what the ASHMOLE text contained that is so important, I was just frustrated.

Turns out that Diana is a very powerful witch who has been fighting her true nature since the death of her parents. But then Matthew, her fated lover enters her realm and her powers are unleashed. However, those powers are so random and unpredictable, I wondered if they were part of the story or an impulsive additive. I didn't see connections.

Speaking of random and unpredictable, situations would arise that were unclear to both the reader and the MC. For instance, Marcus called Matthew to tell him he would come to tell Diana something but didn't tell Matthew what it was. Matthew met Marcus with undue fury way out of proportion for not knowing his news. When the news is revealed, again, the import is not understood, Diana faints. Actually, she does that a lot.

So I finished the book not knowing why Ashmole text was so important that creatures would kill Diana for it but knowing that even the creatures did not know what was in it. I still do not know the significance of Diana's parents being brutally murdered except they were protecting Diana because she is powerful and whatever is in Ashmole. I totally did not understand why the couple did not consummate their marriage - I read the words of Matthew saying it is about intimacy and they still had time yet they did everything else and it surely seemed like they shared intimacy there. It seemed a flimsy ruse to put off the possibility that she might get pregnant, although it is commonly believed that vampires can not procreate that way.

Fortunately, I am in the minority about the book. It has received rave reviews by many readers. For me, it was too random and disconnected.

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The Yoga Club by Cooper Lawrence Review

2012-01-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Yoga Club by Cooper Lawrence

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Goodreads: In the bestselling tradition of Paula Froelich and Candace Bushnell comes a dishy novel about the secrets of the rich and privileged, featuring four yoga friends who stumble upon a murder at a tony Greenwich, Connecticut party—and have to solve the crime or be implicated themselves.

When Coco Guthrie and three other Greenwich locals appear at THE Halloween party of the season, they’re chagrined to discover that they’ve all come in the same costume—Sarah Palin. But that’s hardly the worst thing to happen that evening. While exploring the grounds of their hostess’s estate, they stumble upon two people engaged in a struggle. Before they know it, the fight has turned deadly—and the attacker is revealed to be a local politician! The four Palins return to the party, swearing each other to secrecy, but when each of them receives a mysterious warning the next day, it becomes clear that they were spotted—and are in serious trouble.Now the unlikely foursome must work together to uncover the truth behind the murder—and where can four people from different social circles mingle unnoticed? At an early morning yoga class, of course! Each member of the 8:30 Yoga Club is hiding secrets of her own, but they soon discover that good friends can protect you from even the nastiest of scandals.

Breezy, witty, and filled with juicy straight-from-the-society-page gossip,The Yoga Club makes for a delicious read.

My take: Wow. I hate writing a negative review. Fortunately, Cooper Lawrence already has a lucrative career as a celebrity reporter and radio show host.

Although the title indicates Yoga is a big part of the story, it is not. The story and conflict is weak and doesn't drive the story. Character development is shallow and stereotypical. The basis of the story is that Coco Guthrie, a successful marketer of her slimming cream, Butt B Gone, finds herself at a costume party dressed as Sarah Palin. Then she finds herself standing with three other Sarah Palins and they suddenly decide to go check out the mayor's monstrosity. While peeking in the windows, they see the mayor, Mayor Quilty (looks like Guilty) in an S & M garb dragging around what appears to be a dead woman dressed in similar garb. He gets a look at the Palins, sees their pictures in the paper and they each get an anonymous government issue stationery blackmail. The other thing they have in common is that they are in the 8:30 yoga class.

Here are the players:

Bailey: Stereotypical rich girl growing up with old money. She's a gossip reporter and dishes on celebrities. She's also a bit of a slut. She has slept with just about all of Hollywood. Her character gives secrets about stars, interviews, and the ins and outs of the rich and famous.

Olivia: Stereotypical scientist and single mother. She is absent minded yet highly intelligent but poor social skills. She is estranged from her mother and raised by her father with her brother. She has no fashion sense, she's shy and likeable.

CJ: Stereotypical gay guy. He knows all about fashion and critiques everybody's choices. He is not completely "out" yet he engages in A LOT of sexual activity while claiming to be secretive since his father is running for governor. He makes the most disgusting, lurid, and sexually explicit comments and jokes. He is a man's man whore.

Coco: Like Chanel? Really? From New York, poor girl makes it big.

The bulk of the book is sexual dialogue, occasionally discussing the case. They seem to be sexually experimental Scooby Doo gang, working a case between sexual conquests. In detail.

Who would like this book: A quick, easy read, providing light insight to the rich and famous and then those from Greenwich who are ultra so. Also written for the sexually curious. I didn't find it tintillating but I guess someone else might. Anything goes and all taboo subjects are fair game.

I found it highly disappointing. Not my kind of book.