Debbie's Views - Mostly Books

Amy Plays the Violin

2011-10-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

Amy Plays the Violin

By Julie Labossiere

Amy has been preparing for her first violin recital. Even though she has practiced, she is still feeling nervous about it so she goes to her family to see if they can help her prepare better for the recital. Asking her brother Aaron, he offers her to play his drums, but the sound is just too loud and not quite right for Amy. Maybe her sister Stephanie has a good idea. Stephanie plays the piano so well, but when Amy sits down she discovers that she plays the violin better than she could play the keyboards. Realizing that she just needed the confidence that might come with practice, Amy gets back to it. Finally the night of the recital comes around and with her mom in the wings, the rest of the family in the audience, Amy takes the stage and finds her nerves go away after she starts to play the violin piece that she had been practicing.

An inspirational story about being able to overcome nerves and follow through with a task that might scare you. Spending the time to learn the violin then to explore other instruments only to realize that she was better off with the violin. To follow through with the whole process of learning it and then being part of the recital really showed her courage. Even as scary as that thought was, she knew she had prepared for this night. The since of pride in herself in the end seemed to be worth all the practice time and even the nerves helped her to push through the practices. Practice and patience are really great lessons for anyone, this story is geared for young readers or for reading aloud, with it’s plain wording, large print and great pictures. This would be a great addition to any youth library.

Book - Sophie & Carter

2011-10-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Sophie & Carter by Chelsea Fine

Having seen the worst of each others deep dark secrets, it was no wonder that Sophie Hartman and Carter Jax had become the best of friends. Living next door to each other for so long, they each had a perspective on the others lives that most never saw. After being beaten for so many years by his own father, watching his mother take the abuse also, Carter had finally become strong enough to stand up for them both but only after the scars had been left and his mother had paid a high price - her sanity. Raising her siblings while at young age herself, Sophie found the strength to confront her own mother in the uncomfortable atmosphere of a strip club but with the support of Carter she could find a way to ask for the money her and the kids needed. Through out high school, Sophie and Carter kept their acquaintance and their close friendship a secret, only talking to each other in the privacy of their homes and yards. With each acting the adult of the households, it was only a matter of time before they realized the feelings they held for the other was more than just plain admiration.

Short and sweet, this one took me by surprise how much I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this one far exceeded anything I was looking for. The book is set up with 2 different type fonts, one for Sophie and another for Carter, the format is set up somewhere between a journal entry and a “he said, she said”. I have read others that have been set up like this before and found that this one is really well done. The flow between the two points of view is good and you don’t seem to lose continuity like can sometimes happen in this format. What a wonderfully encouraging and inspirational story about young adults that have been able to take on so much and still came out of it as really good people, it is sad that this is probably not far from truth for some kids. I have never read Chelsea Fine before, but I will be sure to look for other books by her. I am giving this book a 4, but it does lean toward the 5 star category. Great book, I am so grateful that I was given the chance to receive this book as a free reviewers copy.

****

A Reel Cool Summer by Martha Rodriguez

2011-09-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

A Reel Cool Summer by Martha Rodriguez

Bored on a hot summer day, Joey, his brother Danny and sister Jacqui want something to do. They want a pool, but mom says it cost a lot of money. Finding a flyer on the mail box for a movie competition with the reward of money is what gives Joey a great idea. Getting right to works on props, costumes and filming because they have only a few hours till the deadline. After a couple false starts, things seem to come together till the kids are happy with what they have done. Seeing some of the other entries at the library was fun too, but they really wanted to win. Placing third might be alright after all though.

Just the creation of the movie was something fun for the kids to do. A Reel Cool Summer is full of imagination as well as inspiration of things to do. Play acting is entertaining for the kids and so time consuming that they didn’t even realize how quickly the day went by. A great idea for a short or even a long summer project. Quick and easy to read for it’s intended age group (6-9 year olds) although the lines of words would have been easier to follow if they would have been in a more traditional block arrangement instead of being staggered like it sometimes was. Fun ’paper cut-out dolls’ style of illustrations with muted colors that just seemed to pop out the right way with a story telling power of their own. ( )

flagSep 13, 2011

What Do You Use to Help Your Body? by Jewel Kats

2011-09-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

What Do You Use To Help Your Body?: Maggie Explores the World of Disabilities… by Jewel Kats

Exploring what makes some people different than others is a good way for kids to learn about disabilities and the way to adapt a lifestyle to accommodate those disabilities. Noticing a difference and learning how they deal with it is not the same thing. Lucky for Maggie that her momma has an idea about how to help her understand more. Walking down the street they encounter several individuals that have had something that makes them different. Something they have had to deal with, overcome or work around. Realizing that a hearing loss doesn’t mean they can’t hear anything, the loss of a leg, or the use of both legs does not keep them inside. Even finding ways to be understood if they can’t talk make Maggie understand that her own eye patch was helpful to her.

The concept of this book is one that needs to be explored more (in my opinion) with kids today. While the main point of “What do you use to help your body?” is to understand how things can help, it does briefly touch on the sensitivities of the disabled. Even for such a young age group as this one is targeted for, there could have been more. I have had to explain disabilities of a relative to my kids several times in past. The best part of books like this is that it opens up the topic to discussion and hopefully reduces discrimination while promoting acceptance. This was a good introduction to special needs of people around us. ( )

September 10, 2011

Amazing Grace by Danielle Steel

2011-09-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Review to come, hopefully before to much longer.

September 8, 2011

Fairy-Tale Detectives

2011-09-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Review to come - I hope I get the time to do this one soon.

August 25, 2011

Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe

2011-09-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Lord of Rage (Harlequin Nocturne) by Jill Monroe

Far from home and the strongest memory she has is of a warrior she had met in her dreams. Needing to find out what had happened in her home of Elden, Breena stumbled through the woods till she found a cottage. Hungary and tired she entered and found food and a bed. Waking up to a bear of a man standing over her with his two younger brothers, Breena was amazed to find that he was real. The girl in his bed was the same girl that he had been dreaming about, Osborn just didn’t know how to treat her in real life. The berserker in him seemed to want to keep her but he refused to stray from his own path of protecting his brothers, Bernt and Torben. A berserker was just the type of warrior Breena needed, somehow her parents had instilled in her the desire to avenge and survive, with the help of her dream sharing warrior Osborn, she might be able to do both. Teaching her to protect herself and then leaving her to fulfill her own destiny was the plan. As she learned to fence, gained more of her magical powers and the control over them, Osborn and his ber spirit were becoming less sure of his place in her life. If only Breena could convince him to help and find someone to trust.

Book 2 ….. Lord of Rage has just the right mix of Goldilocks and the three bears fairytale and supernatural romance. Osborn is so much gentler than expected as a berserker which gave the heroine Breena a shining spotlight to be the student and teacher of their relationship. The interaction with the brothers is great and the additional information about what had happened in the attack on Elden was really interesting. Totally enjoying this idea of 4 authors getting together to write a paranormal romance version of fairytales. Really eager to see what the fairytale is and how the next author (Jessica Anderson) handles the next sibling (Dayn) in the next book (Lord of Wolfyn) of the series.
I was extremely luck to have received this book as a reviews copy, Lord of Rage is due out September 20, 2011. ( )

September 7, 2011

Wayfinder by C.E. Murphy

2011-09-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Wayfinder by C.E. Murphy

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Finding the magical ivory staff in the mortal world may not be the toughest part of her quest to help fix the part of fairyland that the Truthseeker in Lara Jansen was coming to know as Annwn. Returning to the land of the fae only to find out Ioan ap Annwn truly believed that Dafydd ap Caerwyn may be dying from the wounds he sustained helping her. To find Hafgan, the Unseelie King, who was in the same place in the Drowned Lands that Ioan had left Dafydd to either heal or die. Facing all the trials to get to the memorial gardens with the help of only Aerin, the tall beautiful Seelie warrior that Lara had to trust and that had to trust Lara in return. If they expected to head off Emyr’s impending attack on his enemy, keep Hafgan from taking revenge, heal the Drowned Lands and the Barrowlands, they may have to ask for help from more places than they ever expected to.

Book 2 ….. Enjoyable from the fairytale beginning, middle to the end. I really enjoyed the progression of Lara’s powers, the interactions with Dafydd, Ioan, Aerin and Kelly was so much better in this one than the first one was. Going from the tailor’s apprentice to a magical truthseeker that learns to control her power as it grows into a wayfinder, a worldwalker, a worldbreaker, and a gatekeeper. In the first book I struggled with Dafydd as the prince of his people, but his redemption (in my mind) was easy, gentle and complete in this one. There are so many characters, but since it is the second book (and it seems to be the end), it is easy enough to follow the characters through their adventure, conflicts and triumphs. Really liked the interaction between the worlds, royalty, goddess and each other. I was lucky enough to receive this as a reviewers copy, but I am very interested in reading more of C.E. Murphy’s books after this great reading experience. ( )

September 5, 2011

Darkwoods by Marta Stahlfeld

2011-09-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Darkwoods by Marta Stahlfeld

The death of Oracle Scythe would be felt all across the land. Scythe was the one Oracle of the Darkwoods Foxes that was against warring with the other creatures in the surrounding area of the Darkwoods. With Scythe gone, the other Foxes had no more opposition to their plans of conquering all of the area, so they started their campaign to take control. Not knowing the resistance they would encounter along the way. Of all the creatures, the Wraith Mice with their magical abilities and their determined Princess Zuryzel would be the toughest to get past. Along with the other talents she possessed, Princess Zuryzel has the ability to stand as a leader for all of the animals that are put in danger by the Foxes.

Written by a seventeen year old, what a great accomplishment at such a young age. The use of the animals as the characters made visualizing each of them easy. Learning each of the tribes strengths and each person, or more to the point, characters special abilities made for an interesting adventure in itself. Learning their names and tribes and relations within the tribes was a bit laborious at first. Once the adventure started it was just as easy to forget who and what they were than it was to continue to struggle to remember it all. There was just so many characters, to many often unnecessary characters and sometimes to many details that seemed more of a tangent than important to the storyline. I had a difficult time getting into the story because of the amount of characters, but after I stopped trying to figure out how they all connected, it got a little better. The adventure and suspense of the story was interesting, the use of the animal tribes or clans made this one unique and the storytelling ability to put it all together was fairly well done. ( )

August 30, 2011

Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

2011-09-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Lord of the Vampires (Harlequin Nocturne) by Gena Showalter

Still in the process of recovering from a devastating and fatal car accident, Jane Parker lived a secluded life, by choice. Strange dreams of a male vampire in chains kept haunting her dreams and then she received a book. Knowing vampires were real after the research she used to do in her ‘before the accident’ life, she was curios about the desire she felt for the man in her dreams, then he wasn’t a dream anymore. Finding a way to get her to help him escape the prison he had been in, the Dark Seducer (Nicolai) had only to draw Jane to Delfina by casting a spell but even that he couldn’t remember doing. Having had his memory taken by the witches, all Nicolai had was the need to escape so that he could slay the King of Elden. Once freed, his memories started to slowly returned enough to make him question why Jane would willingly stay and help him find the people responsible for his families lose and separation.

Book 1 ….. So much happens in this, the first book oaf the Royal House of Shadows. As the dark and brooding character of Nicolai opens up, seeing the real him left no doubt about what a great family they are. Jane seemed a bit ADD at times with her over analyzing and flakey daydreaming, but the set up for this series is great. The magical scattering of all four of the siblings by the mother, while the father spelled them to seek revenge. I am excited about this series, the concept of these four wonderful authors coming together to bring the paranormal version of fairy tales ~ who came up with these great ideas?! Gena Showalter did fabulous (she is one of my favorite authors to begin with) starting this series with her vampire version of Alice in Wonderland, complete with the Queen of Hearts. I am eager to find out what Jill Monroe does with Princess Breena in ‘Lord of Rage.
(I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book) ( )

August 20, 2011

One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

2011-09-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2)… by Jeaniene Frost

Four years since they last saw each other, Cat had turned to Don and his group of demon hunters but, Bones finally found her. Now they knew where the other was whether for good or for bad, and it wasn’t like they could just pick up their relationship were they left it. There had to be some explaining done, some considerations to be made and protections in place, for Cat. Bones was just happy to know where she was and to be in her life again, no matter what else that included.

Book 2 ….. Once again, Bones was fabulous when it came to the fighting and to the loving. The childishness of Cat got to me though. Yes, Bones is quite a bit older and he does actually have a past. She seemed to take him to task for some of the most petty reasons I have ever heard. Her tantrums caused the majority of the conflicts and while the fight scenes were well written, they didn’t make her all that much more likeable (for me anyways). After the colossal mess she made with yet another of her idiotic actions, you can bet I am going to read the next of the series just to see if she ever grows up. Next up it is ‘At Grave’s End’ ( )

August 14, 2011

Love Slave by Michelle Houston

2011-09-12T10:43:00.001-07:00

Love Slave: A Valentine's Day Story by Michelle Houston

Way to short, almost like just a love scene cut out of a regular book (it is only 7 pages).
Not to bad for what it was, it could have had so much more - not just the number of pages but the scene itself seemed to be lacking something. ( )

August 18, 2011

Merciful by Casey Adolfsson

2011-09-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Merciful by Casey Adolfsson

As a librarian Acacia Moirgetes knew who she was, until she started disappearing into another world. Arriving to find a stranger who seems to know more about her life than she does. As her Pyroskia (protector), Blaise and her goat like mentor Amal explain her life as the daughter of gods, as the sister of fates. Acacia does slowly start to have flashes of memories o the life. The more she learns about her life on Mt. Olympus, the more she wants to understand just what happened to her and why. Having time travel abilities, empathic feelings and visions are the powers she uses as The Moirgetes (Bringer of Fate). Since there is really no one more powerful, everyone fears her and some even hate her enough to try and get rid of her for good. Learning all of the pieces of her life has just as much of a chance of destroying her as her enemies do.

Mt Olympus, Atlantis ~ Titans, Greek Gods, they are all here (ok, maybe not all of them but a lot), I should have taken a refresher in Mythology. No, the Mythology lessons aren’t really needed if you are interested in a good adventure with a romance. The questions to figure out who she is and why she can’t remember herself leads Acacia to learn of herself with the help of others, mainly Blaise. I liked Blaise a lot, I had a bit of trouble with Ash (her other Pyroskia) even after he went through the bond share. What a fun adventure and re-introduction to mythology. Had a rough start with this one, slow to get going, but after awhile, I got to a point where it just flew by and I didn’t want to put it down until I found out what the mystery memory was, what Blaise was hiding and then it was over. Didn’t like the ending, it made me sad but luckily I have found a post that claims Casey Addolfson is planning on making this into a trilogy ~ looking forward to the next installment and finding out what will happen next with Blaise. ( )

August 13, 2011

The Night Before Christmas by Lori Foster

2011-09-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

Partial Review

The Night Before Christmas by Lori Foster

- White Knight Christmas by Lori Foster (read 8/15/11) ****
Overworked Detective Parker Ross just wanted some down time and to forget about the Christmas season (bah hum bug). Neighbor, sweet little Lily Donaldson was just the cheerful, spirited sort of person he wanted most to avoid. But Lily was the type that is too difficult to ignore, especially since he had been admiring her for several months now.
**** Short, sweet, hot, cute ~ what a combination. It’s only 61 pages long so, as with most anthology stories, it felt rushed to reach a final conclusion quickly. Not the conclusion I was expecting either, more of a touching, inspirational, feel good story with a bit of play in the middle, and all of it rushed. ( )

Aug 15, 2011

More to come after the other stories have been read.

Split Second by Catherine Coulter

2011-09-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Split Second (An FBI Thriller) by Catherine Coulter

Tracking a serial killer that turns out to be Ted Bundy’s daughter (Kirsten) while still reeling from her fathers recent death bed confession, Agent Lucy Carlyle and Agent Cooper McKnight are the targets for kidnapping and murder. The few moments she has off, Lucy spends trying to decipher her fathers words, until one night she discovers the remains of what can only be her own grandfather in the attic. While Lucy is dealing with her family matters, Coop takes on Kirsten while Agent Dillon Savich looks into a series of attacks on a local grocer and Agent Lacy Sherlock helps out any way she can. The CAU (Criminal Apprehension Unit) is known for being the best, will the best be enough up against so many cases at one time.

This one is all about the suspense. While it is great to see Savich and Sherlock working cases more directly again, there was almost too much work. Three cases all vying for Agent time and talent - the attacks on the grocer almost seems to be more of a distraction for Savich and took time away from the good cases and any romance brewing between Lucy and Coop. It was almost like “love at first sight” except they had worked in the same office for a while but never as close as they have to for the Kirsten case. The romance just happened too quick, too easy, almost felt more unnatural than Lucy’s personal discovery. Liked the suspense of Bundy’s daughter, the whole father / grandmother / grandfather story was great but I was left wanting just a tad bit more of the romance that seemed to have all happened off page. I will still read any more of the FBI series that Catherine Coulter writes, I just hope that the romance comes back. ( )

August 4, 2011

Where Do We Go? by James F. Weinsier

2011-09-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Where Do We Go?: The Good Grief Book by James F. Weinsier

After the death of family, friend or even a pet, most kids have questions, they just might not know how to ask them. This book asks those questions about where they go, what it is like for them, the weather, smells, holidays, games, colors, magic or if those of us left on earth can feel or see what they are doing. There is no answer for each of these questions, but the overall, simple answer is “in the hearts of all those who love you”.

After a recent death in my own family, my kids started asking some of these questions again. While they are a bit older than the age group that this book is intended for (I would estimate as young as the 4-8 age group), the same concerns are there at all ages though. The words were in a sing song rhythm of poetry that can make it almost fun for children to explore the different options and questions they have. The curlicue font was not as easy to read as it is pretty to look at but the illustrations (by Cliff Beaman) are fabulous in a way that almost tells the story and asks the questions without the words. Since the book doesn’t give an answer (probably for the best since that allows people to input their own beliefs), this is the perfect book to help allow kids to open up and start that discussion that they might not even know they wanted to have. Simple ending with a simple concept and a great conversation with the kids that have experienced loss. ( )

August 11, 2011

Deeper by Megan Hart

2011-09-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Deeper by Megan Hart

So many summers Bess Walsh spent at her grandparents house at the beach, good memories for the most part. Now that her life seemed to be falling apart that is exactly where she wanted to be. Returning brought back memories and feeling of that last summer when she met and spent so much time with Nick. Not knowing what had happened, why he had never contacted her, he had never left her thoughts even though she had moved on. Being back, could the memories and desire to see him really bring him back to her.

There are twist and turns in this one, is he real or is he her memory or just her imagination. The way the story bounced back and forth to tell from “then” 20 years ago and “now” was a bit confusing at first but it didn’t take long to catch on. The real surprises happened more in the “then” while the “now” was all about consequences and missing that “what could have been.” I had tried to read this before and didn’t get too far so it is definitely one that you have to be in the right frame of mind to read. Not the HEA I usually read. Had to wait till the end to confirm what happened to Nick, but in the end, I enjoyed it with all the character interactions. ( )

flagJuly 26, 2011

Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts

2011-09-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts

Living her own life, her own way was really all Laine Tavish wanted. When a stranger was hit by a car in front of her store, she found it was the man she used to call Uncle Willy. After his death she was confused by seeing him as much as by as she was by his final words to her. Arriving in Angel Gap Maryland too late to talk to Willy, Max Gannon had to figure out why he was there as well as what he had done with this portion of the $28 million in diamonds that he, Big Jack and Alex Crew had stolen. Trusting an investigator (Max) was just as risky for her father (Jack) as talking with the police might be. She would tell Max about her father, her past and the words Uncle Willy had said, but only if he let her help find the diamonds and that he not turn Jack in, if he showed up.

Found out that this is a pre to a Eve Dallas (Big Jack (In Death 17.5) by JD Robb ) story. What an interesting crossover. I read this one as a stand alone, really fun. Enjoyed the character interaction with Laine and her friends in the town, they had a few really fun moments. While Max was enjoyable, he wasn’t always what you might expect of a Nora Roberts hero - still a good read. Now I just have to read a few more of the In Death series before I can read Big Jack. ( )

flagJuly 24, 2011

Wild About Harry by Linda Lael Miller

2011-09-12T10:26:00.001-07:00

Wild About Harry by Linda Lael Miller

Living after the death of her love, her husband Tyler, Amy Ryan had finally started to function on a normal level. A job she was good at, a routine with the kids she could endure, but after two years she was now dreaming so clearly of Tyler, she would never know why. Tyler was insistent that she meet one of his friends, Harry Griffith, and no matter how Amy tried she had no idea where the thought had come from. Missing the funeral of one of his oldest and best friends, Harry had to stop by and see Tyler’s widow. Never having met her before, the first look he got of her told him exactly how lucky his friend was. Instant connection and as Harry could see himself falling for her if he wasn’t careful, he knew that after his past experiences he had better be extra careful with her.

A quick, easy, basic contemporary romance, the whole ghost/vision story to added to it. As a ghost/vision, Tyler was kind of arrogant and mean at times. The widow, Amy was a little bit of a flake. She had survived two years without any real help and she can make a choices, but put this man in front of her and she is so unsure of herself. Harry is the adventuring, multi-millionaire - so suave but the occasional jerk too. Very basic, older romance. ( )

flagJuly 22, 2011

Truthseeker by C.E. Murphy

2011-09-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

Truthseeker by C.E. Murphy

Always being truthful is a good concept for most people, but Lara Jansen didn’t have a choice. Hearing lies when spoken was a bonus. Figuring out what the lie is was the tricky part. Knowing that David Kirwen was lying was one thing, then she finally knew the truth of who and what he was. Finding a truthseeker was what Dafydd ap Caerwyn (David) had wanted to do and now that he had one, convincing her to travel to his kingdom wasn’t going to be easy. As the Prince of Faerie, Dafydd needed to know who had killed his brother, to find the truly guilty person and to clear his own name.

Book 1 …. What a concept ~ to hear a lie (kind of wish I could sometimes). I have read other faerie stories and have to say the time loops in this one confused me a little bit. Really enjoyed the character interaction between Lara, her friends and the faeries. As a lead character David/Dafydd was a bit of a slacker, he seemed to just sit back and wait for things to happen instead of really trying, would have liked him more if he had been stronger with his conviction to clear his name and find the real threat. I am excited about the next book, Way finder ~ should be out soon (tentatively September 2011) ( )

flagJuly 14, 2011

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

2011-09-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

After a summer where Brittany Ellis had questions about her boyfriend, she was assigned to partner with Alex Fuentes in chemistry class. Their differences were many, the obvious was racial, being from different sides of town but more importantly, she was the preppy cheerleader while he was the toughest gang member at the school. Finding a way to work together for the year soon became a friendship that neither of them was comfortable with and all of their friends hated. Opening up opportunity for new friendships, even with others, was a surprise, but when things got messy, who could they really count on to have their back.

Book 1 ….. Typical bad boy and goody two shoes, and this all happens in High School. Tough enough as it is, got to wonder if real gang members have that sort of thoughts and feelings (high school or not). Fell hard and fast for Alex - yep apparently I’m a sucker for the bad boys. Not as fond of Brit, she is a little to naïve. Touching story with a wonderfully atypical epilogue. Have to see how close the brothers follow in Alex’s footsteps with the next of this series ….. Rules of Attraction. ( )

flagJuly 5, 2011

Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione

2011-09-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Passion Unleashed (Demonica, Book 3) by Larissa Ione

Special talents like finding artifacts had kept Wraith involved in his brothers live and their hospital, but when he discovered he was dying, he knew he could give it all up for them. The discovery of a cure though, led him to an archeologist (Serena Kelley) with a secret of her own. Oh yeah, she could cure him by giving him her special gift (which happened to be her virginity) but she was in danger of dying from it too.

Book 3 ….. Gotta love the tortured bad boy who sees his solution only to stop and think twice about it because for once in his life he is thinking about the consequences (a little cliché). Really enjoyed that E & Shade made the appearances in the story. Thought Serena was a little timid, less than she should have been after her history. Not sure if Serena “tamed” Wraith or his illness did. Still really good, liked the adventure quality that was added to this one. Think I’m addicted to the Underground General and all it’s inhabitants, I really want more of the whole group. I am looking forward to learning more about Lore in Ecstasy Unveiled (book 4 of the Demonica series) ( )

July 3, 2011

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine

2011-09-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ill Wind (Weather Warden, Book 1) by Rachel Caine

Accused of murder and running for her life, Joanne Baldwin tried to keep a low profile. When even a storm can spot her and chase her down, that’s a difficult thing to do. Of all her fellow Weather Wardens, Joanne wanted to get to the one she trusted most, one of the most powerful ones she knew of. Not knowing if Lewis would help her or turn her in was a risk she was willing to take. As Delilah (her trusty Mustang) went down the road with the storms chasing her down and only a few friends along the way, Joanne just might find a way to get her side of the story told.

Book 1 ….. What a wild ride (the book and Delilah) surprising in so many ways. The description of the weather makes it another character in the story. Wicked weather that can be controlled is a very intriguing concept for this Oklahoma resident. Wow, and then to have a fire warden and a Djinn mixed in. Have to admit that this is one of the most conceptually unique stories I have read in a long time. You can also bet that I will be tracking down “Heat Stroke” (the next in the series of Weather Wardens). ( )

flagJune 28, 2011

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

2011-09-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia… by Elizabeth Gilbert

Life came crashing down, finding a way to deal with so much change in her life left Elizabeth Gilbert in desperate need of self indulgence, spiritual enlightenment and a way to balance her life. A trip of a lifetime lasting a year would helpfully do it.

- Starting in Italy, Italian had always seemed a beautiful language so, she learned a little ad went - submersion lesions worked for her. Traveling around Italy, she gave great descriptions of what she saw, what she learned and what she ate, but was in no way a travel guide. Relaying in more of a journal - itinerary format than a “what to see while in Italy” story.
- India was the home of the ashram of her guru, staying in this spiritual housing was in no way a resort atmosphere. Even though Elizabeth finally found what she was looking for out of her months spent there, she is careful not to push the culture, ritual or even the dictates of the religion, making only observations and telling the story as if to a long time friend, very clearly trying to point out that everyone can and should pursue their own beliefs.
- The return to Indonesia for her after so long is another learning experience. In Italy she learned things about herself, visiting India helped focus her in a different way, two extremes and finding the medium ground was all that was left. Meeting someone, finding love seemed to help with that process.

An amazing journey of self discovery. If only more of us could afford to do that. I liked how the books was put together, the symbolism of the chapter arrangement. No where near a travel guide, self help book or a romance novel but a good representation of one persons journey from one point in her life to a new one. ( )

June 26, 2011

Shattered Wings by Bryan Healey

2011-09-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Shattered Wings by Bryan Healey

Overcoming so much in his life, John had finally found happiness with his partner Charlie and their adopted daughter Cassie. Having already put his life back together from drinking once, being laid off from his job, a job he loved and did well, led John to make bad decisions. Not telling Charlie that he was laid off, John was convinced that he could get another job before his severance pay ran out. Leaving everyday like he was heading out to work when in reality he was spending most of his time looking for a job. As option got less and job offers got even worse, John found other ways to spend his time. Even after Charlie found out what had been happening, John continued to make a string of poor choices that led to fewer options, for them all.

While I did have a difficult time getting into this story (don‘t really know why), I liked the character interaction and even the flashback type sections that gave the story of how his life had progressed and how he had come to be in a good place. To bad he couldn’t realize that he had more options from the beginning. There wasn’t’ enough of Charlie for me, and some of the decisions that John made actually annoyed me but for a time the loving relationship was nice to see (I prefer the happy every after stories). The end was not shocking to me, it probably was suppose to have been, but I could kind of see it coming. ( )

Jul 30, 2011

The Bedtime Book for Dogs by Bruce Littlefield

2011-09-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Bedtime Book for Dogs by Bruce Littlefield

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

A good dog wanted to play. Being a good dog, he does all of the normal things to go play, but found that with out a friend around to play with, it was not as much fun. So, being a good dog, he went home.

Cute and with large printed words for a new reader, this is a simple (maybe too simple) and easy to read story. With wonderful full page, bright colored illustrations by Paul S. Heath that help to tell the story. How fun for a beginning reader to be able to read a bedtime story to a dog or even to themselves. ( )

June 23, 2011

Summer's Path by Scott Blum

2011-09-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Summer's Path by Scott Blum

The diagnosis of cancer left Don with only a few months to live. Not wanting to leave his wife Suzanne with the insurmountable medical bills, he contemplated ending his own life with the help of a spiritual advocate. Making the decision was a tough one, but actually doing it may have been even more difficult if his new friend Richard hadn’t been there to help his transformation from what he was enduring to what would set him free to finish his lifes journey.

Um, OK. As a contemporary fiction, the concept of the story is interesting jus not executed well. The spiritual aspect has a few good points and ideals, but it is wrapped up in contradictory and occasionally offensive theories.

This is one book that I am just relieved to have finished, I will not be reading the next book. This was an audio book and the rating / review is based solely on the work / words written by Scott Blum, not the voice. The narrator did not do any good for the story. Many times that should have been a sad statement, the narrator sounded happy and cheerful. There was and excitement in her voice for everything from a playful day at the park to writing a suicide letter. Not a great combination. ( )

June 20, 2011

Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione

2011-09-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Desire Unchained (Demonica, Book 2) by Larissa Ione

Waking in a cage, Shad found Runa Wagner there with him. Remembering their time together and seeing her reaction to him left him no doubt how she felt about him. Learning who was behind their abduction was horrifying to Shade and he knew his brothers (Eidolon & Wraith) would be equally shocked. Becoming a werewolf about a year before was the most horrible experience until being locked away with one of the being she held responsible for it. Wanting to blame him and hate him just wasn’t making it any easier, especially after they were forced to bond in the way of their kind of demons.

Book 2 ….. The brothers bond and affection for each other is even better in this one than in the first story. Took a while to realized the connection to the first book, other than the brothers and I really liked it. Great characters, as usual in a good series, the inclusion of other characters only strengthens the story line. Really looking forward to the next one, Wraith’s story, Passion Unleashed. ( )

June 18, 2011

The Perfect Wife by Lynsay Sands

2011-09-12T09:44:00.001-07:00

The Perfect Wife (Leisure Historical Romance)… by Lynsay Sands

Spending years on Crusade, Paen Gerville returned home to mourn his brothers death. Collecting and then marrying his betrothed sounded an easy task, but didn’t turn out that way. Preparing for her betrothed to come collect her, marry her and escort her to her new home, Avelyn Straughton knew she was not the ideal bride because of her size. With her limited time she made the decision to make her wedding dress a tad smaller than she currently wore, in the hopes that she would fit in it by the day. Taking it in turned out to be a mistake, one that her cousins would never let her live down. As one incident after another beset the newly wed couple, they began to wonder if the fates or just her clumsiness were working against them. After all, these just were not like her.

First Lynsay Sands for me. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. Finally, characters that, while ignorant of some things, weren’t complete idiots (show of my unfortunate reading selection lately more than anything to do with this book). The writing style was easy to follow and the honor, confusion and humor all came through so great. I am very interested to read more of Lynsay Sands historicals as well as finding out if her paranormals are as well written. ( )

June 17, 2011

Possessed by the Sheikh by Penny Jordan

2011-09-12T09:41:00.001-07:00

Possessed By The Sheikh (Harlequin Presents # 2457)… byPenny Jordan

Realizing that her co-worker was taking her to a desert oasis was not bad enough, after arriving at the oasis Katrina Blake was promptly left by that co-worker after seeing a band of men. Seeing a women left alone did not sit well with Allessandro “Xander” BinAhmed Sayed even if it caused a problem with his current plans, he couldn’t leaver her to the other men. Remembering that his primary goal was to find the people who were planning to do harm to his half brother, who happened to be the ruler.

Save me from the arrogant idiots that are the main characters of the books I have been reading lately …. yeah, a personal problem in selecting books lately. To this book ….. Cultural differences aside, the ego of the characters are the main discord of the story line. “Use your words.” This was a not the greatest but a decent and quite frankly, a typical harlequin romance with the added interest of the plot against the ruler and the innocence of Katrina. ( )

Jun 13, 2011

The Hellion Bride by Catherine Coulter

2011-09-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Hellion Bride by Catherine Coulter

Helping out his brother by going to Jamaica to handle a supposed supernatural disturbance on their plantation, Ryder Sherbrook made many surprising discoveries, none of them had anything to do with the supernatural. Having been forced by her uncle to act a part of mistress to several island men, Sophia Stanton-Greville was not surprised when she was tasked to seduce Ryder. The problem was that Ryder was different, he was not as easily swayed by her beauty and charms like all the others had been. Sensing that something was not quite what it seemed to be, Ryder took things carefully even though he really did want what she offered. Finding out just how far the uncle would go to get what he wanted would not be the last of their problems.

Book 2 ….. While in the first book, Douglas was arrogant, I started to like him in the end of that one. I do like Douglas in this one, I don’t like Ryder. Start to finish I found him to be an arrogant idiot. Yelling at all his stupidity did me no good. Disappointing that even after his big revelation (that a-ha moment) that he didn’t change enough for me to like him at all. Really liked Sophie, Jeremy, Alex and of course Sinjin. Always great to see characters from previous books, still looking forward to ‘meeting’ the other brother but for now I am looking to the next book which I believe is Sinjin’s (this one should be fun) - The Heiress Bride. ( )

June 11, 2011

A Courtesan's Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan

2011-09-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

A Courtesan's Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

After the disappointing response to her last exhibit, Piper Chase-Pierpont knew her job was on the line. Needing to pull off the best show possible for the Boston Museum of Culture and Society (BMCS) as well as showcasing the much admired Ophelia Harrington for her stand against slavery, Piper engrossed herself in her work. Discovering a well hidden secret about the women’s life was a shock. Another shock was running into the man (Magnus “Mick” Malloy) she had been infatuated with long ago, he broke her heart. Using the information she had unearthed of Ophelia’s life, Piper enacted her own version of seduction. ….. Ophelia did not want to be wed to anyone, especially Lord Malcolm Ashford, she was determined to live her lie her own way . Searching out the beautiful and renowned courtesan known as the Swan was a start, convincing her to help ensure her freedom by also becoming a courtesan was the goal. Training to become was to last a week, her trainer was to be known only as Sir, he came to her every night with a mask firmly in place and taught her how to please a man and herself.

Wow, two stories, one a contemporary romance and the other is a historical romance. Thoroughly enjoyed both of them. A bit predictable (both stories), but what lovely details (both stories). Very explicit and scintillating with the sex talk and scenes (both stories). Mick’s Irish brogue was rattling around in my head even just reading his words, I liked that. Difficult to put down, the intensity of it (both stories) was addictive. At times I did find it annoying to break off one story to go to the other right when I really wanted to know what was about to happen next. Not exactly sure which author did what parts of the stories or if it was a collaboration in total. Never read anything from either of these author before, but if this is any indication of their writing, I am sure to read them both again. ( )

June 9, 2011

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

2011-09-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Remember Me?: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella

Having a sad job, an absent boyfriend and her fathers funeral to get to in the morning, Lexi Smart just wanted to get home. Hailing a taxi proved to be difficult in the rain. Slipping on the sidewalk in her cheap boots. Waking in the hospital to discover that she couldn’t remember the last three years of her life, since that rainy night before her fathers funeral. She had become, in the past three years, a completely different person. She was now reportedly ambitious, a ruthless businesswomen and she had gotten married to a very handsome man named Eric Ross. Hard enough to accept all that, but then her best friends won‘t talk to her because of what a strict boss she had become and then an associate of Eric’s informs her of more shocking news, she couldn’t decide what to believe anymore. Since her best friends weren’t talking to her, she would have to find a way to mend fences and find out what had changed her so much after the last night that she could remember.

Cute, really felt for Lexi, waking to a completely different self. Eric was self-centered, conceited and a jerk. Still don’t completely see the transformation happening so quickly, even knowing the circumstances. Not sure that I know anyone that would change that drastically in only 3 years. Absolutely loved Jon and the reason for adding a sunflower to the book cover, so nice. I am willing to read other Sophie Kinsella books after reading this one. ( )

June 6, 2011

True Colors by Kristin Hannah

2011-09-12T09:28:00.001-07:00

True Colors by Kristin Hannah

The Grey family had lived on the ranch known as Water’s Edge for generations. Since the death of their mother, the three Grey sisters (Winona, Aurora & Vivi Ann) had divided up who would help their father run the ranch. Vivi Ann was the natural choice. Although the youngest, she was the one who loved the animals, the land and the work. As the middle child, Aurora took the roll of mediator easily. After doing her best to help raise her sister, the oldest sibling, Winona had difficulty accepting their fathers criticisms of herself while it seemed to her that Vivi Ann could do no wrong, until her new husband (Dallas Raintree) was arrested and convicted of murder.

Following the lives of all three sisters for a large part of their lives spaned more than a decade. The story threw me a little at first. Started by feeling sorry for Win and not liking Vivi, then somewhere along the line realized that I didn’t like Win that much anymore and I did like Vivi. Confusing enough there, but letting Win have the opportunity to redeem herself made all the difference (sorry if that gives anything away). Overall a touching family story that has a long life filled with the ups and downs of life. Very much enjoyed the teenager perspective of Noah’s journal. Seemed in the end a perfect way to summarized the lives of the family. ( )

June 4, 2011

The Search by Nora Roberts

2011-09-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Search by Nora Roberts

Having survived the horrific events in her life, including the death of her fiancé and being kidnapped by a serial killer, Fiona Bristow concentrated on her dogs and helping to find others that are lost or missing. Living on Orcas island had felt a safe place to be. Training a dog for search and rescue is her specialty, but when Simon Doyle shows with his pup Jaws and requests obedience training, she sets him up in one of her beginning classes. Finding out that there was a copy-cat killer out there she knew her and her dogs would have to be extra careful who they let close to them. Learning of her past and the danger of the current situation, only brought out the protective side of Simon, which was odd because the tall, lanky red head just wasn’t his type.

A suspense filled romance to be sure. So it was slow in parts while Fi was training her dogs, searching with her dogs and talking about the dogs, but the connection between Fi, Simon and the dogs was fun to see. There was needless information (his ex for example) that bogged down the story in parts, but overall it was what you would expect from a Nora Roberts romantic suspense novel. ( )

May 30, 2011

Undead and Unworthry

2011-09-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

Undead and Unworthy by Mary Janice Davidson

Now that she was married to Eric Sinclair, Queen Betsy expected things to get easier. Discovering that multiple people still wanted her dead (more specifically gone), but she was still surprised by it. To find out that the fiends that she had done her best to take care of were “awake” and blamed her of all people for the situation they found themselves in. With help like her husbands, the King, and her house full of friends, Betsy can still discover new things about her self and her new existence.

Book 7 ….. Why do I keep reading these? Ok, this one was not the worst by any means but it was still so difficult to like Betsy (didn‘t really). She is ever the materialistic, self-absorbed, silly twit that I have seen in the other books. The comedy is mostly one liners, the plot is shallow, the characters are transparent and the ending is quite predictable. It is a short read (a plus I guess), a quick distraction and every once in a while it is mildly funny in that clumsy humor sort of way. ( )

May 27, 2011

Black Hills by Nora Roberts

2011-09-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Black Hills by Nora Roberts

That first year Cooper Sullivan didn’t want to visit his grandparents in South Dakota. After an encounter with a big cat in the field, he started to enjoy his times there, year after year. Life had gotten in the way and he hadn’t been back for several years, so showing up surprised himself and his Black Hills best friend, Lil Chance. The hadn’t seen each other in so long but the feelings Lil had for him came rushing back as soon as she had seen him. Their lives had changed so much, she had finally started doing exactly what she had always wanted to do, working and owning a wildlife persevere in the Black Hills. He had been a cop, a private detective and now had returned to live with his grandparents and try his hand as a rancher. To be able to pick up where they left off was an impossible dream that neither of them were willing to hope for.

A cross between a contemporary romance and a romantic suspense, simply put, another touching and action packed Nora Roberts novel. The chemistry between these two are felt a mile away from their first meeting but letting them travel their separate road before coming back to each other helped build the suspense. Not that it needed more of that. Really enjoyed the wildlife refuge and all it’s connected people, places and parts. The description of the country is almost like another character in this story, fabulous - makes me want to go see it for myself. ( )

April 23, 2011

Teach Your Kids to Think! by Maria Chesley Fisk

2011-09-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Teach Your Kids to Think!: Simple Tools You Can Use Every Day… by Maria Chesley Fisk Ph.D.

Working as a compilation of strategies to help parents and other caregivers of children. To have and to offer the tools children will need to become independent thinkers. Teaching this to kids falls on the parents just as much as it does on the teachers at school. Learning the difference between analytical thinking, creative thinking, social and emotional thinking or practical thinking is the start to understanding how to help our children think for themselves. The approach used to help children learn all these aspects only slightly differ from each other. For any person to have the thoughtful intelligence that it takes to truly succeed, one needs to have use of all theses skills in combination with each other. Learning that helps the child and the caregiver too.

The author has compiled a vast amount of skills and tools into a concise and easy to comprehend book. The background as a teacher comes through with the adaptability of each lesson. This book is filled with definitions of these thinking patterns as well as suggestions for conversation starters and examples. I was startled by the abrupt ending. So much effort was put into an introduction and each of the sections. I expected a wrap up but it never came, just bounced right into notes and references. The reference guide in the back gives you locations for further information.

Seems to be great information, and so easy to implement. Some of the suggestions are commonly used with out even realizing that it is a thinking strategy. Other are more obviously a learning opportunity but all of them are fun to think about. That is the point, to get your mind thinking and the children’s minds around you. I am eager to start using a few that I haven’t used before and to re-assess the ones I use on a regular basis. ( )

May 23, 2011

The Magic of Finkleton by K.C. Hilton

2011-09-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

The Magic of Finkleton by K. C. Hilton

Their house burning down left few choices for the Finkle family. Taking over their recently deceased Uncle Harry’s general store in Finkleton was their only option. Arriving in the small England village after hearing father’s stories of Uncle Harry and his store, each of the three children were intrigued just enough to be looking forward to exploring everything. After a modicum of unpacking, they all wanted to look at the store and the house, Jack was the oldest and was looking forward to learning more of the workings of the store and finding the office in disarray, organizing was his first priority. The middle child and only girl was an avid reader and since the fire had consumed her store of books, she was only interested in the promised room of books. Once there, she quickly figured out how they were organized and selected her first nights reading material with the promise to return for them all at some point. As the youngest, Richard was trying to find his own place when he found something much more interesting. The lever under the counter seemed to control the rain. Astonished at his find, Richard wanted this to be his secret from everyone, but as the consequences started making themselves clear, her realized he needed hop to make sure Mr. Bad Guy never found out the true secrets of the success of Finkleton.

What an adorable story. Some of the dialogue and wording felt a bit awkward at times, but I was hooked from the start and simply enjoyed it all the way to the end. While it was set approximately 100 or so years ago, this is one of those timeless fantasies. Simply adored all the children even with their sibling rivalry and teasing. This would be a fun book to read with younger kids (5-8) or to let older kids (8 and up) read on their own. It makes for a wonderful story, creative with some great characters, truly a story for all ages. ( )

May 23, 2011

A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber

2011-09-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber

Six years after he had walked out on his wife and kids, Grant was freshly single again and looking to reconcile with Bethanne Hamlin. To forgive the betrayal was one thing, she did that for herself. To forget was something that she didn’t think she could ever do and she wasn’t sure if she could ever trust him again either. Being willing to at least think about it for the sake of the grown kids, herself, him, she wasn’t sure, but think about it she was. Hearing that her ex-mother-in-law was planning a road trip across the country to her 50th class reunion in Florida was the perfect excuse to get away and do that thinking. With the addition of her daughter Annie, Ruth and Bethanne set out to see America. Even though Ruth had made plans, the addition of Annie added spontaneity to the group, taking them off the plotted course early in the trip. Helping out in a diner for an old friend of Ruth’s was the fist of may changes to come. Then they have trouble with the rental car with only one source of help, and that coming from a group of motorcycle riders they met at the diner. Offering a ride to the nearest town was the best way for Max to help, but the connection they found while offering confessions may make some decisions more difficult.

Book 8 ….. I remember Bethanne from a previous book. I liked her than and I like her more now. She has proven herself to be a smart independent women over the years and even with the dual “Grant push” from Ruth and Annie, she is able to understand it is her choice. Now, on a personal note, can I have a Max of my own? I instantly fell for him and was shouting at Annie to stop pushing for her dad, and at Bethanne to realize what she should be doing. Really enjoyed the relationship between the three women and the side story of Ruth and Royce was a lovely addition also. Can’t wait to see if there is another book taken from the friends of the Blossom Street yarn store. ( )

May 22, 2011

Changeless by Gail Carriger

2011-09-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Changeless (The Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Carriger

Something was going around humanizing all of the supernatural’s and since that was Alexia (Tarrabotti) Maccon’s job, she was determined to be a part of the investigation. And she would be, she had the right to do just that. Since the humanization and her husband both seemed bound for the same place, Alexia decided to follow. Picking up traveling companions along the way only complicated things.

Book 2 ….. Had to start by tiring to remember what all had happened in the first book (Soulless), that may be the reason it took me so long to get into the story of it. The beginning was slow, often confusing but then it finally got going. There was Lord and Lady Maccon’s travels and the mystery to solve all with Alexia’s blunt if humorous statements. Whole story was rolling along great, then cam the ending. Very disappointed with what was done to my favorite character (Conall) and I have hopes that the next book (Blameless) fixes it. ( )

May 21, 2011

The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston

2011-09-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Following the long life of Elizabeth (Bess) Hawksmith from the 1620's to present day in a combination of narrative and journal format seemed to at times make it more difficult and confusing than it needed to be. This is a good story that I enjoyed for the most part. Seeing the highs and lows of her life and the world around her, all of the challenges she has overcome and finally the time she puts into her new apprentice. It was a struggle at times to keep focus on the story though. ( )

May 7, 2011

Seduce Me in Dreams by Jacquelyn Frank

2011-09-12T08:37:00.001-07:00

Seduce Me in Dreams: A Three Worlds Novel by Jacquelyn Frank

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Having their lives on the line was nothing new for Commander Bronse Chapel of the Interplanetary Militia, finding evidence that suggested he was the true target of his latest missions didn’t settle well for him or his crew. The gut feelings he was having didn’t help any either. Finding those feelings were apparently connected to his dreams didn’t make him feel much better. As the commander of the First Active Extreme Tactics Force (ETF), he had to press on for the answers. Knowing she was the one that kept creeping into his dreams, Ravenna could only hope he could remember enough of the warning she had told him of and hope the future would prove him as the savor of herself and her family of Chosen Ones. Enduring the torture would be worth it if he found her in time. Finding his dream was real affected so many discussions already, but if she really was prophetic, maybe everything would work out in the end.

Book 1 ….. Seeing Jacquelyn Franks name on this, led me to think that it was going to be a paranormal romance. It wasn’t, but that is ok, these wonderful characters are so easy to care about, well, maybe not Kith. The idea that IM special forces team will work with the chosen ones makes me eager to see what is next and how each of them grow. I sincerely hope the Jacquelyn Franks plans are for each of them to have a story. I am interested in seeing the changes that each of them makes because of the presence of the other or in spite of their presence. ( )

May 19, 2011

The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen

2011-09-12T08:35:00.001-07:00

The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen

Surviving the disappearance and probable murder of her daughter gave drive to Eve Duncan. The need to keep busy and her own tragedy gave Eve a perspective that some of her collogues in the professional field of forensic sculptor didn’t have. Being the best in the field caught the attention of wealthy businessman John Logan when he received information about a skull that he desperately needed confirmation on the identity of. Utilizing every resource to persuade Eve to help him, Logan and Eve finally confirmed the identity of the victim only to find themselves targeted to be the next victim on the list.

Book 1 ….. With all these cop or forensic type shows and books out now, it is difficult to come up with a new idea. This may not be a completely new idea, but it is sure done well. Quickly jumping into the action and the characters lives. Each of these characters come through great, especially John Logan - he reminds me a little of another Eve’s man (Roarke - and that is a good thing). Actually really liked Eve’s reluctance to help at first, not every heroine is made to jump in the middle of things. I anticipate the relationship with Logan and the growth of Eve’s character the most when I read the next book, The Killing Games. ( )

May 16, 2011

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

2011-09-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments, Book 4)… byCassandra Clare

With Simon struggling to deal with his life as a vampire, Jace disappearing and seeming to hide from friends and family alike, Clary tries to figure things out for herself and help her mother prepare for the wedding.

Book 4 ….. I am a ‘happy ever after’ reader and this was not that type of book. Okay so the final battle was pretty good even if extremely predictable. The actual conclusion to the book was a “cliffhanger” in the worse sense of the word. This book was so slow going, getting to the few and far between good parts took effort, a lot of effort. So very disappointed to see Jace with so much self doubt, even knowing what he was wrestling with. Terrible to watch Simon feeling so isolated and yet needy. Even Clary and Alec seemed smaller, less than themselves. Don’t know if I will be able to read book 5 (who am I kidding, of course I will). I just hope that it proves to be a correction for the injustices to the characters that this one seemed to be. If it be a bridge, or all about setting up some greater story all I can hope for is that it was worth it. ( )

April 18, 2011

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

2011-09-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1) by Larissa Ione

As a doctor of the Underworld General, Eidolon sees all sorts of people and creatures, but discoing his new patient, Tayla Mancuso is a demon slayer leaves him and his brothers nervous. Keeping her safe became a priority after discovering she was more than any of them had suspected her of being. Spending so much time hunting and killing all the demons she could find, Tayla felt out of sorts to have one helping her, protecting her, trusting her. As a tentative aliance formed, she started seeing things and people differently than she ever had before. That new information might just be what she needs to help her face some of the truths the Eidolon and his brothers help her discover.

Book 1 ….. Another paranormal romance, I liked the dynamics between the brothers and look forward t them having a story of their own, especially the rough Wraith. This was action packed and yet easy to follow. I got into the main characters and wanted to see more of them. A few of the concepts were difficult to imagine, but by the end I was looking forward to the next story - Desire Unchained - which is Shade’s story. ( )

April 8, 2011

The Darkest Secret by Gena Showalter

2011-09-12T08:21:00.001-07:00

The Darkest Secret (Hqn) by Gena Showalter

Since the time that the warrior’s opened Pandora’s box, Amun had resigned himself to a lonely existence spent protecting his friends from their own secrets that his demon was able to get from everyone around him. After a particularity bad event leaving him unable to control himself or his demon, Secrets, Amun was more than surprised to find that whoever was being held in the next room seemed to be able to hear him. Hear his thoughts. No one was going to hurt her man, she had dreamed about him nearly all of her life, but there was something different about him now and Haidee needed to get them out to safety before bothering to find out what it was.

Book 7 ….. Oh Lords, talk about the strong silent type. Always like to learn more about how each of the demons work to help or hinder the Lords, and this is one of them that I was really looking forward to. Not a disappointment. While I loved their story, I also very much enjoyed the addition of Strider, William, Paris and a few others getting some story time. This series has so many great characters that just seem to get better and better with each new addition. So, I eagerly await Striders story in the Darkest Surrender (due out September 2011). ( )

April 5, 2011

Nell's Cowboy by Debbie Macomber

2011-09-12T08:17:00.001-07:00

Nell's Cowboy (Heart of Texas, No. 5) by Debbie Macomber

Moving on for her children after the death of her husband, Nell Bishop finally decided on a course of action. Opening the family ranch up as a Dude Ranch, teaching greenhorns, like in ‘City Slickers’ to ride, rope and herd cattle. Arriving in the town of Promise during the rodeo left Travis Grant with no where to stay until the Bed & Breakfast owner told him that Nell might make an exception and open the bunkhouse early, if he asked really nicely. The fascination of the ghost town sitting undiscovered for a hundred years had brought him to this small Texas town, but he was quickly finding more reasons to stay.

Book 4 …..Another stranger romance, like ‘Lonesome Cowboy’ (book 1), the character is new to everyone in town and there is no history - which I usually prefer. I liked finding out things about each of them and “watching” them fall in love (sorry if that was a spoiler, but it is a romance). Sweet, gentle and predictable from the start, but still a light romance that I enjoyed enough to re-read. Will defiantly continue with this series, the next one will be Lone Star Baby. ( )

April 4, 2011

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

2011-09-12T08:14:00.001-07:00

Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 9)… by J.R. Ward

During one of their now regular sparing sessions, Payne is hurt by Wrath and brought back to the Black Dagger Brotherhoods compound for treatment by Dr. Jane. Realizing that the spinal injury is more than even she can handle by herself, they enlist the help of her old boss Dr. Manuel Manello. Even though Manny thinks that Jane is dead, he soon is allowed to remember things that had happened to him in order to help in Payne’s recover.

Book 9 ….. The story of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and their related friends and family continues. This one was a bit of a let down after the last few action packed editions. So much of the set ups from Lover Mine seemed to be just forgotten about while Payne and Manny had their emotional relationship explored. The said, the Manny and Payne story is a good one. The continuing conflict of Vishous and Jane, even the few short sightings of the other brothers did help. It may not have lived up to he hype of the “new Brotherhood book” but it was still a good addition to the series, jus not the best addition. Hope for more in the next of the series. ( )

April 1, 2011

Fire in the Hole by Colleen Kelli

2011-09-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Fire in the Hole: A Year in the Life of the World's Sorriest Stuntwoman… by Colleen Kelli

Fire in the Hole: A Year in the Life of the World's Sorriest Stuntwoman
By: Colleen Kelli

Making the decision to separate from her long time love, who she calls Pickle, was a drastic move. Choosing to move from Los Angeles, California to Albuquerque, New Mexico may be the change that Colleen, also known as Pea, needed to finally reach her goals. Getting a new life consisted of getting a place to live, alone, going back to school and finding a job. As an actor, Colleen looks for acting jobs and finally finds a job at a local theme park only to find that they wanted her to do stunts, like falling off buildings. After a family tragedy, Colleen starts to fall apart, starts to struggle with her choices, and then finally starts to find the determination, with the help of a few good friends, to make it alright for herself.

*** "Dysfunction Junction, so that's your function." ***

Labeled as a memoir (which I don't read many of), this reads like a fictional story. One year, showing the ups and downs in her life - sounds like a life that is more interesting than the story portrayed it to be. There were a lot of people who entered her life during this transition time and while they may have played a large roll in her life, their characters in the story seemed to blend together some. I either needed less characters or more of each of them because as I read it, I found that I just didn't care enough about so many of the characters / people to know what happened next. Tough times in life can bring interesting stories and this is one example of that. I would be interested in seeing how she writes her 'previously published' novel. ( )

May 10, 2011

The Last Day of Kindergarten by Nancy Loewen

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Last Day of Kindergarten by Nancy Loewen

The last day of school can be sad, scary, exciting and even hopeful. For one little girl finishing Kindergarten, the last day of school is all these feelings. Lucky for her and all of her classmates, their wonderful teacher is there. Discussing the parts of Kindergarten that were fun and the parts that they are all going to miss the most. Helping the children to face their fears of what will be found in First grade by talking about what they are looking forward to the most, what they can expect and what will be the same. The sadness of the last day turns to fun as the day becomes a celebration of accomplishments. The proud Kindergarten class gets a chance to show what they have learned in front of family then proceed in becoming a First graders.

Fantastic storyline that is easy to relate to. I may not remember my own time spent in Kindergarten but watching my children go through it was almost as good. While I think that the book could have flowed better between remembering their time in class and their anticipation of the future. Or touched some of the deeper concerns of this emotional time for kids. I appreciated how simple it was to start the “I remember when” conversations with kids about their time in Kindergarten. I believe that point is to make the transition easier on the child and this story just might help. The illustrations by Sachiko Yoshikawa are colorful and happy, they do a great job of depicting the story as it is told. I have already offered to donate the book to a favorite Kindergarten teacher in our Elementary school. I hope she and all her classes to will enjoy it as much as my family has. ( )

May 9, 2011

All About Daisy by O'Dell Hutchison

2011-09-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

All About Daisy: Daisy Rose Brown - Book One (Volume 1)… byO'Dell Hutchison

High School was the time for change, Daisy Rose Brown had plans, well a list of things she wanted to accomplish her freshman year at Glenmark High. Some of the things on the list were admittedly just dreams, but some should be attainable with work and some luck, she just didn’t want to be invisible anymore. First day of school did not start well, running late because of having multiple embarrassing accidents, missteps and mistakes that her middle school tormentor took advantage of but that also introduced Daisy to Ms. Reed, the only bright spot of the day. As the year got underway, things really started to look up when Russel Bryan, Daisy’s middle school crush, started talking to her and then so did popular girls Meghan and Cyndi. Well on her way to checking off several items from her list, Daisy was enjoying her new found popularity and friends when suddenly things changed again. Between mean girls, ignorant parents and a naive Daisy, she grows up a little when she learns some hard lessons, not in a schoolroom.

As high school students go, Daisy Rose Brown is very relatable. Seeing the different types of bullying take and adult reader (me anyway) right back to high school. Hard to sometimes remember that this is the type of situation some of our young ladies have to deal with, or worse. This book is tagged as a Young Adult, it is about young adults, she may be only 14, but with the occasional language and some of the content, the older end of the young adults would be more appropriate, in my opinion.

This story is slow going, lots of set up time and then the truly terrible moments are done with quickly. Several significant things happen to Daisy, both the good and the bad kind. After she had finally had enough, her outburst is enviable in it’s simplicity and effectiveness. Enjoyed the emotions of it, just wish the emotions could have come through earlier, had to wait nearly 300 pages to get to the good stuff. The author tells of a next installment to the Daisy Rose Brown series and gives a website (which I have not yet visited). Turned out to be pretty good coming of age type story that I would be willing to read the next one of. ( )

Apr 14, 2011

Caroline's Child by Debbie Macomber

2011-09-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

Caroline's Child (Heart Of Texas, No. 3) by Debbie Macomber

Raising her five year old daughter Maggie by herself, Caroline Daniels worked as the post mistress. Now that her best friend Savannah was happily married, it was only a matter of time before her and her other now engaged friend Ellie, decided that everybody needed to be matched up. Taking his sisters suggestion, Grady Weston tried to get along with Caroline and lucky for him Caroline seemed to be one of the few people immune to his brother Richard’s charms. For everything he did for Caroline and Maggie he couldn’t seem to win over the five year old.

Book 3 ….. And on the set ups go, don’t even finish all of one romance when you can already guess what will happen in the next. Little more of the suspense and adventure but it is a gentle story, nice and almost boring. Richards miss deeds mount and finally the father of Maggie is revealed. No shocker there. Still consider this to be a quick, light read with some good characters. I read a little out of order, the next one is “Dr. Texas” and then “Nell’s Cowboy”. ( )

Apr 1, 2011

Texas Two-Step by Debbie Macomber

2011-09-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

Texas Two - Step (Heart Of Texas, No 2) by Debbie Macomber

Losing her father then watching her mother pack up and sell the home she grew up in and then moving left Ellie Frasier feeling alone. Having a close friend like Glen Patterson new by helped some, running her fathers feed store helped some, but the sorrow was still there. Now that Ellie had gotten an inheritance, Richard Weston saw opportunity to get some money, move up in his life and drive his brother Grady’s best friend Glen crazy. After being friends for so long, Glen was worried that one kiss would ruin everything they had. Finding that kiss all he could think about and then realizing that she was also seeing Richard was about to make him - crazy.

Book 2 ….. I have the whole series now, the first book set up the entire town with characters and their paths. This one just continued in the same way. Got to see more of Savannah, and get to know a few of the others better. The story of Bitter End continues and there is amore set ups made. Another nice and gentle romance with a bit of adventure to add a little suspense. Next up is “Caroline’s Child“, finally going to get to know who the father is. ( )

March 26, 2011

Lonesome Cowboy by Debbie Macomber

2011-09-12T07:41:00.000-07:00

Lonesome Cowboy (Heart Of Texas, No. 1) by Debbie Macomber

After going against her brother Grady’s wishes by going to the ghost town of Bitter End to find antique roses, Savannah Weston decided to stop for the lone cowboy she saw walking down the side of the road. He just wanted to get his truck fixed and get back on the road, Laredo Smith never planned on staying long I Promise Texas. Seeing the way Savannah cared for her brother, her animals, and her plants shouldn’t have changed his mind. Having protective feelings for her when it came to her plans to return to Bitter End then watching the way her brothers treated her, Laredo knew he had to do the right thing for her and for himself.

Book 1 ….. Opening to the Promise Texas series. Lots of characters, lots of set up for the 2nd , 3rd and even 4th books. This is a re-read for me, but it has been to many years to remember. Found the book to be an easy read with a few great characters, and even more good ones. Plan to read the rest of the series in the weeks to come. Next one is “Texas Two-Step” ( )

March 25, 2011

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

2011-09-12T07:37:00.000-07:00

The Peach Keeper: A Novel by Sarah Addison Allen

The house had set empty for so many years, when Paxton Osgood and her family chose to restore it, they didn’t know what sort of trouble they were digging up . Coming back to Wall of Water had been a difficult decision for Willa Jackson without the well deserved reputation as the town prankster. Knowing her ancestral home was being renovated, Willa took every chance she could at a private peak without anyone knowing, or getting to close to it. Taking over the landscape design end of the renovations as a favor to his twin sister Paxton, Colin made several unexpected discoveries, one was that Willa had effected so many of his decisions over the years, another had been under the peach tree.

Sarah Addison Allen has quickly become one of my favorite authors. As usual, she has added a touch of magic and a ghost too. This is a book of friendship, love and compassion, understanding and self discovery. Really liked the stereotypes being broke down and lines being crossed. I would have liked to see more of the emotions behind the romances, more emotions period. Bonus with a nod to Garden Spells and the brief appearance of Claire Waverly and neice. Eager to see what SAA will have next. ( )

March 23, 2011

Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts

2011-09-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts

The wedding industry was something Parker Brown and her three best friends knew a lot about. Running Vows, a business all about weddings, she had gotten use to seeing the happiest days of peoples lives and now all three of her friends as well as her brother had found that one special someone. Planning their wedding would be fabulous for her as well as them, finding the loneliness as a side effect of it all was very unexpected. Having known the Brown family for so long, Malcolm Kavenaugh was amazed at how quickly and easily she became so important in his life. No matter that they seemingly came from different worlds, the just couldn’t and wouldn’t stop what was happening.

Book 4 ….. As a conclusion to the Bride Quartet series, it was very predictable. We first met Mal in a previous book and saw the interest between the two get started. Unfortunately Mal changed (or maybe he just didn’t live up to my expectations of him). I liked the inclusion of the other ladies (and their men) and it did all wrap up nice and neat, but this one was not as good as it could have been or as good as the rest of the series was. The Straight laced image of Parker and the Regular Joe image of Mal left a lot of untouched ground that could have made for a better romance. The friendships were well played. ( )

March 19 , 2011

Book - Dr. Texas

2011-03-14T17:59:00.001-07:00

Dr. Texas by Debbie Macomber

In trade for getting some of her student loans paid down, Dr. Jane Dickinson agreed to a three year stretch as a clinic doc for a small town in Promise Texas. Big City California doc had lots to learn about small town Texas, but after talking to her, Cal Patterson soon realized she was a good sport and willing to try to fit in. Riding a horse, dressing the cowgirl part and listening to Willie Nelson all with a sense of humor that even got Cal to loosen up

Book 4 …. Normally I am all about reading a series in order, man an exception this time because I have already read these (long ago). Obviously not the first in the series, there are many characters in this town, some of them have already gotten married, while others are newly engaged, some are still dealing with situations that have taken place in previous books. Still this book gives enough of the background information to understand how and why it relates to this book and this couple (I still plan on re-reading the rest of the series at some point). As usual with Debbie Macomber books, it had a little fun, a little adventure, a little suspense, a little love, a little family, a little friends and lots of emotions from all the characters. This book was a bit slow, but I was in the mood for a slow gentle romance, so I enjoyed it.

3/14/11 4****

Book - Wicked Lovely

2011-03-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Always having had the ability to see the fae kind, Aislinn Foy knew she was being followed by them. Not knowing what they wanted from her was the problem and figuring out how to tell the person (Seth) she had com to depend on was another problem she faced. Would he believe her, would it put him in danger too. There was something special about Aislinn, Keenan had felt that way about others, but being the Summer King and getting more desperate to find his Queen, he was considering taking more drastic measures to assure that Aislinn took the Winter Queen’s test.

Book 1 ….. Took a while to get interested in this one. I understand the author wanting to draw out the suspense before reveling all the secrets and circumstances of the story, but it took a long time to get there. I liked most of the characters (really liked Seth) and found myself a little sad with the ending but it was intriguing enough that I will search out the next book of this series (Ink Exchange). - note: Everything that I find on this book labels it a Young Adult. I would caution, not to young. There are a couple uses of a “bad” word.

3/12/11 4****

Book - Sherbrooke Bride

2011-03-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

Sherbrooke Bride by Catherine Coulter

Feeling the families pressure to produce an heir, the Earl of Northcliffe, Douglas Sherbrooke finally decided on taking a beautiful women he had known years before, Melissande Chambers. Getting a personal request from his country for help, Douglas had few options. Heading to France on a mission himself and leaving his cousin Tony Parrish, Lord Rathmore to marry for him by proxy. On his return he discovered that Tony had married Melissande as well as her sister Alexandra Chambers.

Book 1 ….. I have read all (so far) of Catherine Coulter’s FBI series, but this is the first of her historicals that I have read. While it has many elements that are consistent with the stereotyping of historicals and it is ,oh so predictable, but the combination worked well for me. Really liked Alex and even found myself liking the arrogant Douglas eventually. Will continue with this series as soon as I locate The Hellion Bride.

3/10/11 4****

Book - Master of the Night

2011-03-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

Master of the Night by Angela Knight

Revenge, justice, her job, it didn’t matter what title was put to it, Erin Grayson wanted the persons responsible for the death of her partner and love to pay. After so many years as the American Magi (vampire) champion, Reece found that one special law enforcement officer, that turned out to be a latent (mage descendent), had power over him. Controlling their feelings was something else, especially if they were destined to be trapped in battle with themselves, each other and true evil.

Book 1 ….. Finally I read a full length novel of the Mageverse series. The novellas were good, but the full size included much more of the origins and back stories. As first in a series books usually are, this was a lot of information. I liked some of the characters (really liked Reece). Already started my search for the next full length book - Master of the Moon.

3/8/11 ****

Book - Please Explain Anxiety to Me

2011-03-09T20:10:00.001-08:00

Please Explain "Anxiety" to Me! by Laurie Zelinger, PhD

Ever wonder why we get nervous, worried, stressed, distressed or anxious? Most people do feel that way at some point, but it is not the same for everyone. For children it can be even more difficult to deal with and understanding the reason why may be the first step to helping them get through it. Identifying with a dinosaur, learning that they possibly had the same reactions to worries may help a child understand that they are not the only one. Learning the whys of anxiety are not enough, children and adults alike that suffer through this fear need a way to cope, something that can help them through the worst of the symptoms. Getting certain breathing techniques or exercises that can help to calm yourself may be enough, but knowing you have someone to go to can also help.

In story book fashion, Laurie Zelinger , PhD breaks down the whys of anxiety in easy to understand ways. There are real psychological terminology used as well, but the words are explained in a concise and appropriate ways, and the word is also given phonetically to make the pronunciation easier to get. The large pictures make the dinosaur story feel like a regular picture story book. The story is worded so that it is easy to ask the questions like - “have you ever felt like that” several times which does make the comparison with the dinosaurs more realistic. The helpful suggestions for reducing anxiety and relieving some of the symptoms are easy to understand and feels more like a game than a calming tool, but if it works, even better. The closing rhymes are fun to say and fun to practice. All this information, so much of which was common since, the story was good but not great and the pictures were at times distracting from the “anxiety” topic of the book. Great concept to help children learn to cope with anxiety, I just expected and wanted more.

***

Book - 13 Days: The Dark Circle

2011-03-06T11:31:00.000-08:00

13 Days: The Dark Circle by K. Lippi

A teenagers game show putting sixteen teens on a deserted Island that once was the St. Clara Asylum. The teens arrive in teams made up of brothers, sisters, cousins, best friends and dating or engaged couples. The building had even more history than just as an asylum, it was reported to be haunted long before the massacre that caused the hospital to be closed down. The search for a suitcase full of money and the clues to find it while the sixteen contestants are locked into this castle with video cameras on them 24/7 “Big Brother” style. The twists start right away with the disappearance of one of the contestants, then another. While the rest are left wondering if this is a “Survivor” style elimination or if the history of the manor has ghosts that are truly taking control of the game.

This is a unique writing style, it is all in the first person, but the first person changes often. Seeing the events unfold and knowing not only what is said, but how it is heard and what is thought about it is different. So many points of view, it did get confusing occasionally. I liked the big brother, survivor, mole game concepts but together with the ghosts, horror stories of the past and the supernatural abilities of a few of the contenders. Not so sure if I enjoyed the first person rotation type of narration. Some of the wording was awkward for me to follow though, the whole chant as each of the “trespassers” were taken was one, and there were several grammatical errors that after a while distracted from the story line. I don’t think this is really a good young adult book, it may be supposedly about teens, but with the pregnancy, the hooking up and the partner switches that went on in the thirteen days they were together (not that any of it was graphically described, more like implied), it seems more about and for the twenty somethings. There was also several things that were not explained very good, I read paranormal / supernatural stories a lot, so I think I get it, but the changes in some of the characters personality, names and overall disposition were not well explained. I would have like more of the who, why and what happened next of the two main couples after the games ended.

3/6/11 3 stars ( ★★★ )

Book - Multiply & Divide w/ Sticks & Steps

2011-03-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

Multiply and Divide with Sticks and Steps by Maureen Stearns

The concept of book is to simplify multiplication and division so that regardless of whether or not a student can memorize the times table, they will always have a strategy that helps them to be able to figure out the answer, how to get it and why that number makes sense. This method of counting tally marks help to reduce errors in counting and increase confidence in mathematics.

There are large diagrams that help to explain the reasoning of multiplication and this method of multiplying. The vocabulary used is also broken down and made easier to follow allowing this method to be taught to any child that has mastered addition. The concept of this method is easy to catch on to and resembles the traditional tally mark way of multiplying with the exception of the “steps” which is the reason for the ease and accuracy of this strategy. The method is then taken to the next level to show how it can work for division.

The addition of quotes and proverbs provide encouragement and inspiration for the readers while the larger print on large pages leaves no doubt about how easy this method is to learn. Tested the method and concepts on my own children and discovered that having this tool in their reach took the stress of memorizing the times table away and actually allowed them to start to remember their times table quicker. The old adage about learning for yourself will stick with you longer than just being told something really stands up to the test when it comes to multiplication and division. Knowing how and why that number is the right answer makes it easier to remember what the number is.

This method is so simple to teach and easy to use that I find it surprising that it isn’t already widely used, maybe it is in some areas. I do know that the ease of use alone has allowed my youngest the confidence to make a great improvement in the math scores brought home from 3rd grade. The confidence alone has increased the scores, but the method behind it also helps with those tricky problems.

2/25/11 4 starts (★ ★ ★ ★)

Oops !!

2011-02-12T13:09:00.001-08:00

Bad Debbie ..........

Such a bad thing I did, I didn't actually post any of my reviews the last week of December 2010 and as of right now I haven't posted anything for the year of 2011.

Promise to myself, catch up and then continue to post as I go.

New for 2011 .....

I am hoping to read and do better at writing reviews for movies. Maybe even give some of them away whether it is through a blog, book swap site or just given to a friend, I have to many and need to start letting them go so they can make other people as happy as they have made me.

e-Book - Karaoke at the Tumbleweed

2010-12-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

Karaoke at The Tumbleweed by Carol Lynn

Winning the area Karaoke contest at the Tumbleweed was the first step for Nicole Ashford. She still had to win in Louisville if she wanted to get that NASCAR weekend. Being new in town, Brian Taggert (Tag) didn’t know the history of Nicole, but he did know that he liked what he saw. Getting together may have been easier than expected, but falling was more unexpected than anything else, even if Nicole was the town klutz.

Fast paced romance that is a little weak on character creation. It is a good basic story but it just all moved too fast for me. Not enough of the background of the characters was explored. I would have liked to see / hear / read what Tag did during his few days locked in his fathers house but we can only assume. Did, like I said, enjoy the basic storyline so I would be interested in reading something else that this author has written. ( )

Book - Family Affair

2010-12-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

Family Affair by Debbie Macomber

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Starting over in a new apartment, new job, new city was the only way Lacey Lancaster felt she could survive her divorce. She was struggling with the loneliness of it so she got a Abyssinian purebred cat named Cleo. Possibly wanting to breed the cat, she waited, but when Cleo finally went into heat she found out that her neighbor Jack Walker had a cat also, named Dog. Leaving her door open to go ask Jack to be quiet so that she could make a call, Dog got into her apartment and now she had to find the backbone to deal with Jack and the consequences. Noticing her from the first day she moved in, Jack had no idea that it would turn out to be Dog that finally got him the in he had been working for. Now if he could just be patient enough for her to work through her trust and commitment issues he might have a chance at what he wants.

This seems to be a re-print of a 1994 novella. I happen to really enjoy Debbie Macomber’s gentle, sweet romance stories and even though this is short and the characters are not as developed as some of her more recent ones, I found myself really enjoying the “misunderstandings” of Sarah and even relating to some of Lacey’s insecurities. Could have had more of Jack, really liked him, but for a short, older story, it was a nice little get a way. *Bonus: there is a few recipes for home made cat treats in the back of the book. I have not made any but they are a fun addition to the book.

I was luck enough to have received this as an early reviewer copy from LibraryThing. It is marked with a SRP of $16.99 which does seem a bit high for a 102 page book, especially one that is a re-print of a novella. ( )

December 23, 2010

Book - Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor

2010-12-24T07:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas

Losing her mother in a car accident left Holly to be raised by her Uncle Mark. Having no idea what to do with a 6 year old, Mark Nolan did the best he could with a young girl. Looking around a toy store they found the widow Maggie Conroy had a special way about her. With stories and possibilities, Maggie was able to help Holly find her voice again. Stunned that the belief in a fairy tale, a belief in magic was all the child needed, Mark was willing to give Maggie a closer look. Spoiling Holly was never anyone’s intention, but would she get what she really wanted most, a new mom for Christmas.

Book 1 ….. A sweet and gentle story about family and learning to explore the possibilities of the holiday seasons. What an inspiration, full of fun (not including that Holly’s mother, Victoria died) and laughter. Recently found out this is a first book of a series, yeah, can only assume that the other characters of the family (Alex and Sam especially) will have a story. As I was reading it didn’t feel like a typical first book, all cluttered with information, but looking back it was a good introduction to the brothers and I will look for the rest of the series. ( )

December 23, 2010

Book - Faeries Gone Wild

2010-12-24T07:02:00.000-08:00

Faeries Gone Wild by Michele Hauf

This anthology has 4 separate stories ....
- Tall, Dark and Not So Faery by Mary Janice Davidson
A look at what would happen if a vampire, werewolf, talking SUV, dryad (tree creature) and a faery prince all live together and the faery census taker shows up to count everyone. Then there is the half-giant that talks to the SUV even though the SUV has a crush on the werewolf.
*** Yeah, a little confusing, lots of funny one liners and the concept of the story is hilarious but as a short story in an anthology, it just doesn’t really have the time to create enough of the story to make it all that enjoyable.

- Pixie Lust by Lois Greiman
All she wanted was to find her a fern that the faery people needed, but taking a nap in a flower, she found herself in the bathroom, naked. After struggling to point his life in the direction he wanted, he was not going to let this young lady derail him. Finding her uncooperative to communicate with made it difficult to get her back to where she belongs, until they found each other.
*** Short and quick, again the novella size makes it all happen so fast that it is not easy to get involved in the story or the characters. I liked them all, I just wish it could have lasted longer. There is so much left to questions and assumptions, the story that is there is so rushed that it loses the flow and continuity several times.

- Dust Me, Baby, One More Time by Michele Hauf
As a tooth faerie, the worst news to get is that the mothers in town are banding together to make sure no one believes in you anymore. Then to literally run in to a sandman and get dusted by him leaving you unconscious on the floor was not a great way to end the day. Whether she liked it or not, the sandman was going to help her find out how to save the job she loved in a town she had been a part of for so long.
*** What a cute interpretation of the combined fairy tales. The character interaction was great and the admitted problems of sandman were both funny and endearing at the same time. This is a quick burst of energy that made me laugh and still had a slightly sentimental story to go along with the adult humor.

- A Little Bit Faery by Leandra Logan
Struggling to find a faery mate was difficult enough, but then being told that she was half human, of all things, explained quite a bit. Traveling from the Isle of Man to the Isle of Manhattan, this faery had her human fathers name and not much else, but she was determined to find a father and see if his world would except her better than her mothers world ever did. Finding a reluctant hero who treated her better than anyone else ever had was a great start, the question was “would she push him away also”.
**** Best of the short stories of this anthology. Strange and fun characters, their interactions was light hearted yet urgent in their own particular cause. I liked the hero complex and the hero worship. There are so many dimensions to this particular story (love, lust, acceptance, betrayal, confidence, fear, ect) that it is amazing that it all fit into such a short story. ( )

December 22, 2010

Book - Autumn's Bride

2010-12-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

Autumn'S Bride (Harlequin Historical Series, No. 582)… by Catherine Archer

Trouble in the area made everyone nervous, but when Annaliese Stanhope was running late to get home, she took her chances on a shortcut. Halfway home she came across an unconscious man that had been stripped of his belongings, including most of his clothes. Not one to leave a helpless man to the weather and wild, she found a way to get him home and asked her father and Aunt to help him. It had been a simple task of delivering the money his sister-in-law owed to the woodworker for a special gift, but then Kendran Ainsworth was set upon by the local menace and changed his plans. Now that Annaliese and her family had helped him and confided in him, he felt the need to find out the truth for her. To help her in return, even if she would never accept the aid or the word of any highborn nobleman.

Book 4 ….. Never really got to see much of Kendran in the other books, so I am not sure what I expected from him. Kendran has the typical Ainsworth self confidence to the point of arrogance, but it didn’t play as well on him as it did on Benedict. Since this was the end of the series, again I think I had too high of hopes for the wrap up of the Ainsworth brothers. There were some good characters that never seemed to be given the time that they could have been given. There was a quick wrap up with a brief mention of the brothers, wives and children, but other than a short visit from Benedict and Raven it was all Kendran. A typical Harlequin Historical set in Medieval time, honestly I liked Spring and Summer’s Brides (Benedict and Marcel‘s stories) better. ( )

Dec 16, 2010

e-Book - Dark of the Day

2010-12-12T13:19:00.000-08:00

Dark of the Day by Selah March

Sometimes the best solution for life’s problems is to take action before life gets even worse but for Robin, her brain tumor was speeding the life decision along. Surgery may prolong her life but after the life she’s lead, she is not sure if she really wants it to be longer. Taking an active part in choosing her final days, she let Thann (Nathaniel) in to her apartment, and in to her life soon realizing he was not the death counselor that she thought he was. Convincing Robin that there were still good things available to her if only she tried would push Thann to try new things too.

Death by cancer or suicide, not sure how I feel about either of those lines for a romance story character. The ‘pain’ in Robins past seemed pales in comparison to things that would normally be considered reasons for taking such drastic action. Throwing in the past only seemed to muddle the story more instead of justifying her actions. Being a short story gave less time for the characters to emerge, but I really liked Thann as a concept and wonder if some of Selah March’s other stories have similar almost angel like characters. ( )

December 10, 2010

Book - Eternal Hunger

2010-12-08T21:38:00.000-08:00

Eternal Hunger: Mark of the Vampire by Laura Wright

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Finding a cure for a bad memory had been Sarah Donohue’s life work. Causing the fire that had killed her father and left her brother, Gray, physically and emotionally damaged gave her the incentive to become a doctor. Now if she could get him to cooperate she may be able to help him finally forget. Being an outcast from birth had left Alexander Roman and his brothers with a strong desire to escape the control of the vampires credenti (community). Even after spending a hundred years away from the Order, some of the habits still remained, but when something new started to happen to Alexander, they didn’t know where to turn for answers. He had ended up on a door step just as the sun was rising and even though it had never bothered him before, he found himself in the middle of morpho (his change). Finding a man on her door step in need, Sara felt the pull to help, finding a man inside her home, she felt the need for help. One man was an ex-patient that had become a stalker and the other turned out to be a vampire.

Book 1 ….. Could get at least a trilogy out of this series, the set up is with the three brothers, Alexander, Nicholas & Lucian. I had mixed feelings about this one, several aspects are reminiscent of Christine Feehan’s Carpathians series with the one true mate thing. Not real fond of some of the terms though, I mean come on - morpho? I understand that this is the first book of a series and it has to do the set up for the series as well as it’s own book, but there were a lot of characters and multiple stories and a ton of information and history in this first book. Took some time to get used to the writers style also. It is written like people talk and think, with lots of distractions, tangents and partially formulated thoughts. Once I did get used to it, I enjoyed most of the characters. Liked the brothers and Dillon, struggled with how Sara was taking the news about vampires and her sudden attraction to one, until the last 20 pages when some big questions were answered. Frustrated waiting so long for the explanation, but in the end it was overall enjoyable enough to have me looking for the next of the series (Eternal Kiss) in 2011. ( )

December 6, 2010

e-Book - Inking Aaron

2010-12-06T21:54:00.000-08:00

Inking Aaron by Cheryl Dragon

As a Las Vegas tattoo artist, Mohan did excellent work. He was a talented man, but when his income started to lessen, the executives of the hotel wanted to get him step up his business. Putting flare in advertising was not Mohan’s strong suit, Aaron (one of the execs.) had a few ideas to help. Getting personally involved in the tattoo artist was not the plan, but if Mohan was leaving, there may not be any other time. Taking the chance that his feelings would be reciprocated, Aaron took the step and found that it was more of a leap - of faith. In himself and in Mohan.

Fast and right to it, this is a short story that could have been longer. The characters were little more than half formed, but it was enough for some connection. The bad boy and Mr. Perfect was a familiar scene, but the addition of little sis and her girlfriend was a great way to emphasize just how much Aaron needed to accept about others as well as himself. I would read Cheryl Dragon again. ( )

November 27, 2010

Book - My Sparkling Misfortune

2010-11-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

My Sparkling Misfortune by Laura Lond

What goes around, comes around. For the villain Lord Arkus of Blackriver Castle that may have been what brought on the beast that had been trying to get him for so long. Only living near and hiding in the great white towers that he had built in secret around his own castle had saved him from death so many times. Finding that someone had been destroying those safety towers left Arkus with few options, he could not defeat the beast, but the fairy realms Gormacks (evil by nature) might be able to. Catching a Gormack was tricky, it would take timing and strength. With a twist of fate, the one that he captured and bargained with, ended up being a Sparkling named Tulip. Having a Sparkling bound to him might not be such a bad idea either, but that name, Tulip, bothered him enough to make him change it. Getting away from the beast one more time, Arkus and Tulip (now known as Jarvi) ran to hide in the land of Ulkarian. Befriending King Osmund and Prince Philip after playing the part of the hero, Arkus (now known as Sir Lakeland Knight) just wanted to be left alone so that he could get back to being a villain, if only Jarvi would let him. And then there was still the feud with Prince Kellemar of Dalvanna.

So much was packed into this short story. Fun and fast paced with several twists and turns, some expected and some not so much. Took a while to really get into the story, the characters were slow to grow on me. Found the villain turned hero to be almost natural - oddly enough. Wanted to like the Sparkling from the beginning, struggled with that until almost the end. Enjoyed Arkus the best, try to not like him, it won’t last. The addition of a former co-villain and a hero want-to-be makes the transformation of Arkus obvious and even more fun. Only one down side, it was too short, there was still more I wanted to know about Arkus, the original Jarvi and even Tulip-Jarvi. There was so much that could have been added to the end. The last paragraph was a let down. I wanted more (don’t know if that should be taken as good or bad). ( )

Book - Stargir

2010-11-26T08:29:00.000-08:00

Stargirl (Readers Circle) by Jerry Spinelli

Fitting in and being a part of something is half the battle for most high school students. For Stargirl, being herself and doing things because they were right or made her feel good about herself was even more important. The students at Mica High couldn’t understand why this strange girl would sing Happy Birthday to everyone on their birthday or put flowers on her desk, but Leo Borlock wanted to know more. Befriending the new girl to learn more about her gave him a new look on life, but what it cost him in return might be too much for Leo to deal with.

Moral lesson, be yourself; truth is, it is sometimes hard to do that. What a cute and refreshingly basic story, and from a boys point of view. I read mostly romance, so reading a first person with a boy (Leo Borlock) as the main character was unusual for me. I enjoyed the perspective more than I would have thought. (FYI) May have been written from a boys point of view, but still geared more for a girl to read (IMHO). Loved the old mentor (Archie) and his Senor Saguaro. There is a second book by Jerry Spielli (Love, Stargirl) that is now resting in my to be read list. ( )

Nov 24, 2010

e-Book - It's Now or Never

2010-11-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

It's Now or Never by Wendy Davy

As the live-in nanny, Sara was becoming part of the family. With the hopes of making the situation more permanent, she set up a special birthday celebration dinner for Logan. When he showed up with his ex-wife and asked her to leave, she was afraid she had misread the recent flirtations.

Short story that could easily be made into a much better, much longer story. Even in the short amount of time the characters came through in a good way. I like these short stories, it gives a brief view of the writer and their style, and this one is worth it. I would be very interested in reading other books by this author. ( )

Nov 17, 2010

Partial Book - Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

2010-11-26T08:24:00.000-08:00

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe by Charlaine Harris

**** Star of David by Patricia Briggs - read on 11/15/10

After accidentally killing his wife and her lover in front of his own daughter (Stella), David Christiansen understood why she was scared of him especially in his werewolf form. Getting a call for help was something he would never ignore, he would do anything to be a part of her life again. The help she wanted wasn’t for herself as much as it was for one of the foster kids that she was responsible for. A werewolf might be the only way to help Devonte Parish with his particular problem.

- What a sweet and tender story - from David’s point of view. A short story that shows exactly why Patricia Briggs is so good with her werewolf characters. I really enjoyed the vulnerability of all the characters, from the small child that had been beat up by a vampire to the werewolf that was there because he too is a monster in his own daughters eyes. ( )

flag17 other reviews | Nov 17, 2010

e-Book - The Lovers

2010-11-16T07:32:00.000-08:00

The Lovers by Eden Bradley

Finally convinced that her online writing groups annual retreat was the perfect time to get out of her the safety of her home and regimented life, Bettina Boothe makes her way to the California coast. A couple of months is literally what the doctor recommended for her to help with her many social anxiety type problems. Finding everyone so friendly and welcoming gave Bettina hope for a productive few weeks, both in terms of the newest book she is working on as well as her other issues. One of her fellow writers stands out, Audrey LeClaire is stunning and captivating and offering more to Tina than she had ever even considered. Learning to let herself have what she wants regardless of what she used to think of the idea was a huge step in the right direction. And then when Jack Curran showed up, Tina finds herself caught between the jealousy of not being the focus of Audrey’s attention and desire to just be included. Finding herself in an intense emotional and sexual relationships opened her to what she had tried to avoid for so long, her own feelings.

Started off intense and never let up, the sexual scenes were many and close together. At some points the flow of the encounters were an easy and obvious conclusion, while other times the issue seemed to be forced in that direction to get more sex in. There was plenty of great sex, the characters were easy to follow in the progression of their relationships, the first person style of writing left some of Audrey and Jack as a mystery that I would have liked to know more about. Bettina’s story is pretty basic and common (the secluded and scared opens her wings and flies into the arms of … everyone), for some reason I had a difficult time connecting with her emotionally though, too much sex - maybe. This was a nice erotic distraction, fun and fast paced. ( )

Time Traveler's Wife

2010-11-16T07:31:00.001-08:00

Review to come .....