The Besotted Bookworm

I am back and I have to tell you about The Cat Who Saved Books

2022-03-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

I know, I know it has been forever since I have posted anything. A lot has happened in the last several years and I was doing my best to survive stuff. Reading was my refuge but the blogging became a chore so I stepped back from it. A lot of things have happened. My sons got married. Zack has 3 boys now. Cody, sadly passed in 2019. We cared for my mother in law from 2017 until her death last year. My dad died in 2017. So much more I can tell you but for now I really need to tell you about this amazing story I just finished

"The Cat Who Saved Books" is written by Sosuke Natsukawa. This is my first book with him and I am happy to report probably not my last. A little background on him. Sosuke Natsukawa is a doctor in Japan. There isn't too much out there about him except his first book, KAMISAMA NO KARUTE (GOD'S MEDICAL RECORDS) won the Shogakukan Fiction Prize and received 2nd Place at the Japan Bookseller Awards. With "The Cat Who Saved Books", I am sure, we will start hearing much much more of him.

So what is this book about? My favorites things of course, books! But it is so much more. It is a modern fairy tail with a hero, villains, a damsel in distress and dangerous adventure. If you read "The Life a Pi" by Yann Martel, (and if you haven't, go immediately to your book procurement location and get it), you will remember Patel was stranded on a life boat with wild animals, including a man eating tiger. They were real until they were more. It was an allegory for survival and the deep discovery of what is bravery. "The Cat Who Saved Books" is very similar. What seems real or not real turns out to be MORE and our hero learns what bravery looks like.

The main character is Rintaro Natsuki, a high school kid who lives with his grandfather after his parents died. His grandfather owns a used bookstore. When his grandfather unexpectedly dies Rintaro inherits the bookstore. He is still in high school and is extremely introverted. He tells everyone he is hikikomori, socially withdrawn. He doesn't like school and as soon as his grandfather dies, he stops going. He is supposed to close the bookstore and move in with an Aunt he doesn't know. He is fine with that plan until Tiger the talking tabby shows up. Tiger is a typical cat; a little arrogant and doesn't suffer fools. He engages Rintaro on 4 mazes to save books. Each labyrinth is more complicated and the villain more wily. An accidental sidekick is Saya who is a school friend. She is an unusual young woman who isn't daunted by a talking cat or strange places that appear behind the bookstore wall. Rintaro relies on his grandfather's wise words and his own love of books to defeat the destroyers of books.

Of course they save the books, but more importantly they save Rintaro. In the beginning Rintaro wants to run at the first sign of conflict. He has no clue what he needs to do to defeat the bad guys. He then realizes they aren't really bad guys. They are misguided lovers of books who have twisted their love into obsession which results in them destroying the very objects of their obsession. By the final adventure Rintaro is more comfortable in his skin and more confident of his purpose.

It is a very relevant tale for today. With people looking only at the surface because they are too busy to go deeper to find the truth we are dumbing ourselves down. The internet makes it so easy to stay on the surface. Reading takes time, requires us to stop, and pay attention.

I loved this book because it was a really good story with well realized characters and because I had several aha! moments. The story was talking to me and at the end I felt like I had taken the journey with Rintaro and I decided to restart my blog so maybe I can help save books too!

Time has gotten away from me but the books haven’t

2013-04-20T05:48:00.001-07:00

Boy, it has been a long while since I updated everyone with my books….sorry about that. It has been a rough couple of months at the Burkett household. February was the scariest month of my life when my 23 yr. old son was in a near fatal motorcycle accident. We raced to him from Florida to North Carolina where amazing doctors patched him back together. I won’t leave anyone in suspense, he is recovering with miraculous speed and all prognosis from his medical team is for a full but long recovery.

Then I had some surgery in March. We returned from NC in time to begin a string of doctors appointments and medical tests. The surgery was the last week of March and it was very successful. I too am recovering with remarkable speed and ease. Thank you God for the good family genetics!

What time did I have for reading? For those of you who are rabid readers like me you are more likely asking the question when did I have time for everything else in between books? Well, to be honest there was a lot of waiting going on. In NC we sat for a week at Zack’s bedside or in the OR waiting rooms patiently (or not) for Doctors to tell us what was going on and for Zack to wake up. There was more waiting as I went through my on procedure. I spent my time wisely with several books. I will tell you honestly when we first got to NC and Zack’s status was uncertain I couldn’t read. I couldn’t concentrate enough to follow a story. I went to the craft store and picked up some yarn and hooks and crocheted granny squares. The repetitiveness of looping yarn over hook was soothing and I could listen to what was going on around me while I crocheted. Once we were told he was out of the woods and the tears dried up I picked up a book and lost myself. Enough about accidents and doctors, what the heck was I reading? Well, let me tell you…..

Lynsay Sands “The Lady is a Vamp” is a fun romp with the Argeneau family of vampires. This time Jeanne Louise Argeneau who has been working on research to discover why 2 of her relatives have to use fresh blood instead of the bagged stuff has been kidnapped. The kidnapper is a human who works in the research facility with Jeanne Louise. He has figured out what she is and he wants her to turn his daughter who is dying from cancer. Romance, silliness and mix-ups ensue. You know how it ends and that’s okay because it is the story not the ending that counts with Lynsay Sands. I think I have mentioned my one complaint regarding Ms. Sands writing and that is her abuse of the word wryly! A page doesn’t turn without reading it once or twice and in a 200+ page book that is a lot of wryness. Please Ms. Sands pull out your thesaurus and discover some new expressions. I give the book a B.

Next up was Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove series spin off. “The Inn at Rose Harbor” is set in one of my favorite make believe towns of Cedar Cove. The story follows Jo Marie Rose, a young widow who has decided to start over after losing her husband Paul to the Afghan War. After a year of mourning she quits her job, moves away from big City Seattle to little town Cedar Cove and buys a bed and breakfast. She renames it Rose Harbor Inn in honor of her husband. I really enjoyed coming back to Cedar Cove. The story revolves around Jo Marie’s first two guests who have come back for opposite reasons but find they are putting to rest some similar emotional demons. All the neighbors of Cedar Cove are here. I was so happy for Jo to meet Grace and Olivia. Peggy Beldon stopped in with sage advice as an experienced Innkeeper. It was a wonderful mix of new and old melding together and creating a heartwarming story of regular people living regular lives and finding meaning in them. This was book one of the series and I have already got book two on my pickup list, “Rose Harbor in Bloom.” B+

Christine Feehan got the juices going with another Carpathian adventure. This time it takes place just below a volcano in a Brazilian rainforest. Dax is a Carpathian hunter who has trapped himself into an ancient volcano with the evil vampire Mitro. His mission to keep the vampire contained and if possible kill him. He has been fighting this battle for nearly a milenium but he hasn’t done it alone. Arabejila was Mitro’s lifemate and he chose evil over her. She and Dax trailed him to the volcano and cursed him to the fiery prison. It has been the responsibility of her descendants to come to the volcano every so many years to refresh the curse and keep the evil one imprisoned. It is now Riley and her mother’s turn to once again perform the world saving task. Of course this is Christine Feehan’s world and things go wrong. The silver lining is Dax discovers his lifemate in Riley. No one does and erotic scene better than Feehan! She is downright Lava hot!!!! And she does it with sexiness and class. I am giving this one a B only because the storyline is pretty much the same in every book but somehow it just doesn’t matter. Yum!

Jayne Ann Krentz’ is moving her “Dark Legacy Series” to merge her paranormal crystal storyline with her Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle personas. “Dream Eyes” is a current times story revolving two powerful psychics in Gwen Frazier who can see ghosts and manipulate dream energy and Judson Coppersmith who is a powerful hunter. The two of them come together to solve the mystery of Gwen’s dear friend Evelyn’s death and the possible connection between this murder and a series of murders that happened a couple of years prior. The only problem is the serial killer is dead. Gwen knows this because she was the one who killed him. It is a pretty good mystery and of course the romance is great. What made me perk up my ears in this story was Judson uses a piece of unusual amber to tune and recharge his psychic strength. Sounds a lot like what Jayne Catle’s Ghost Hunters do, doesn’t it? I think it will be fun if and when she finally has the first expedition to Harmony and finally find out who those aliens were. She gets a solid B.

New Author for January: Sheila Roberts

2013-02-20T04:00:00.001-08:00

So, I made the commitment that I would read at least one new author a month in 2013 and I am off to a good start.

Sheila Roberts has been around for a while but this is my first visit with her and her town of Icicle Falls. After reading “Better than Chocolate” it won’t be my last.

Why did I choose this book? To be honest I liked the cover of the book. The big cups of hot chocolate with floating hearts I couldn’t resist. It just shouted sweet romance and it didn’t disappoint.

Ms. Roberts writing is similar in style to Debbie Macomber. Her books revolve around a small town in the Northwest called Icicle Falls and the people who live there. These are light frothy books. While there is real conflict in the story; it is handled with a light and silver lining kind of touch. Each story is complete in itself but is richer for reading the previous installment.

“Better than Chocolate” features the Sterling family who run the chocolate factory. The first chocolate candy recipe came to Great Grandma Sterling in a dream. The rest, as they say, is Icicle Falls history. Now the factory is in big financial trouble and eldest Sterling, Samantha needs to come up with a good plan to save her family business and the jobs of those depending on Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company.

Enter newly made Bank Manager Blake Preston, former high school football star and now by the book businessman. The future of Sweet Dreams and the Sterling family is in his hands. Of course Samantha resents him on first meeting and sparks fly between them.

The story is filled in with a whole cast of supporting characters like Bill Will the swaggering dancing cowboy. Samantha’s mom, Muriel Sterling is a writer of self-help books. Then there’s Cass, the owner of Gingerhaus Bakery. She is one tough cookie.

The Sterling sisters throw everything they have at saving the company and that of course means a chocolate festival over Valentine’s Day weekend. To make it even sweeter they host a Mr. Dreamy contest. I can see you smiling. I know I was.

There is nothing steamy in Ms. Roberts story. Truth be told the romance between Samantha and Blake is secondary to the community of Icicle Falls. This was perfect for a cozy weekend by the fire with bread baking and stew in the crock pot. It was that comforting and lovely.

It was great meeting Ms. Roberts and Icicle Falls. I will definitely be visiting again.

January’s Reads

2013-02-02T06:25:00.001-08:00

My First book of the new year is Iris Johansen’s “What Doesn’t Kill You.” It is a spin off of the Eve Duncan series and unfortunately not as good. Catherine Ling from Eve’s series is the main character here. Other characters like CIA Chief Venable, the mysterious Hu Chang, and John Gallo who was the father of Eve’s murdered daughter join Catherine in what should be a fast passed race against time to save a potential important figure. There was too much thinking and talking and not enough doing. There was one note to all the characters. They all talked a lot about their thought processes without ever explaining anything. Too many pages waiting for action. It ended with a sequel in mind. Let’s hope there’s a little less talking and a lot more satisfaction in the next one.

Next on the list of go to authors was a disappointment. “After Moonrise” is two short stories by P.C. Cast and Gena Showalter. I have read both of these authors several times even though I haven’t written about them. I enjoy them. I can always count of Ms. Showalter to be fast paced and P.C. Cast to be pretty steamy. They didn’t disappoint in these areas but I couldn’t finish P.C. Cast’s “Possessed.”

I can stretch my imagination pretty darn far, almost to transparency but this was too far for me. Psychic Detective Kent Raef, (I like the switch with Raef being the last name), gets a murder case. A set of beautiful twins; one of them is murdered and is possessing the other in the hopes to catch her killer. I actually like the premise. I am totally cool with them all being beautiful and physically perfect. What I am not ok with is Kent having sex with the dead twin and it isn’t via the living possessed twin’s body. It is the ghost that suddenly becomes corporeal for a bout in the sack. Really? I realize there is a taboo for me in fiction and that is sex with dead people. I am also not a fan of Angelic romances either but sex with dead people, even in spirit form are off the reading list for me.

I headed toward the 2nd short story. “Haunted” by Gena Showalter was only a little better. Sorry Gena. At least this time all the people having sex were ghosts. This story had more of a “Sixth Sense” to it. There was a fairly decent crime to solve and the characters were interesting. It was a straight up romantic suspense except for the 2 main characters. There is actually a fun little character/plot twist to this story that worked well. As you may have surmised I finished this one. My problem with both of these stories is I personally believe that death is death. There may be a hereafter but it doesn’t include bungalows in Oklahoma where spirits are shacking up. Even worse I don’t think I would want that to be real. Somehow it implies an earthly future and that offends me a little. I want to move on to something higher. Don’t get me wrong. Sex is great! I love it but I am thinking the hereafter has more for me than a physical act. I don’t know what it will be but I guess that will be part of that adventure. I have steered away from these kinds of stories in the past and after these two I am convinced I will stay clear in the future. Please P.C. and Gena come back from the heavenly plane and stick with the paranormal and romance.

Stephanie Bonds didn’t disappoint with “6 Killer Bodies”. I like these characters. I see a lot of myself in Carlotta. She is a caretaker and loves her charges and yet longs for the day when they can take care of themselves. Her brother Wesley reminds me of a young man I know. He wants to do the right thing but his compulsions and insecurities are always getting in the way. Obviously this is the 6th book in Ms. Bond’s series and I like them. There is a nice love triangle tension thing going on. The mystery of the Charmed Killer played well across the last 3 books and I am rooting for Carlotta to pick the right guy. I also want to kick her father’s ass. Sorry for the profanity. This has a Stephanie Plum feel to it without the tongue in cheek humor of Janet Evonavich’s writing. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of light moments in Ms. Bond’s writing but I never laughed out loud at anything either. Finally, there are 2 great plot twists at the end which, for me, made the whole book worth it. One spoiler, it isn’t the discovery of who the Charmed Killer is either.

So this is it for my familiar authors. Tune in for my review of a new to me author, Sheila Roberts’.

Catching up on my reading and other stuff

2013-01-03T03:42:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!! Can you believe it? It is 2013? Wow! This has been a busy year. I know, I know. It’s been a while since I last posted. I am sure all 8 of my readers have wondered where I went. Well, to be honest I got distracted with travelling, wine making, gardening and crocheting.

I know, that’s pretty busy, right?

All that fun didn’t mean I wasn’t reading. It was just having too much fun with the other stuff to be writing. My journal is chocked full of writing. I just didn’t get it on the blog. That was wrong of me. It’s not that I have a ton of readers but I love to write. I want to share my thoughts with whoever is reading my writing. The other problem is I am in a rut. I have been reading the same nine or ten writers for a while now and while I am enjoying the books it isn’t enough to write about.

Recently, as I was travelling to North Carolina for Christmas, I read J.D. Robb’s “Delusion in Death”. It was a fun fast paced read. Someone was murdered in a seemingly impossible way but Eve Dallas along with her crew, especially Roarke, solved the crime in less than 72 hours.

I also read Sherrilyn Kenyon’s new Dark Hunter offering, “Time Untime”. Again it was a fun read. Lot’s of “End of the World” excitement but it wasn’t new. Artemis’ Dark Hunter finds the love of his life, they save the universe and she immediately gets pregnant and they live happily ever after. Now I love happy endings and I love my series books but I cannot tell a lie, they start getting old and I worry that you, my readers, are getting bored with my one note scribing.

So I have decided to change things up a bit. First, I am going to post twice a month. I know, all the “Build your Blog Websites” say “Post baby Post.” My plan is to give you a consistent blog to visit rather that 20 posts in a month and then nothing for 3 months. One post is going to be an author I have never read before. The other post will be a run down of my usual faves with shorter reviews. If a book comes along my way that is just beyond fantastic I will add a review then.

Another change I am making is the launching of mamejane.com. Here you will find a collection of my writing about…well…everything. Here you will find my blog gulpclub.com which is a wine pairing group. I will shortly be adding my notes and thoughts on living a more creative life. Sure that sounds kind of hokey but I have found out in the last few years I like growing things, cooking them up and sharing them with friends. I also love making things from jewelry to afghans to wine. I am creating a place I can keep track of it all and I thought it would be fun to invite you into my crazy world of being Mame.

Welcome to the new and improved Besotted Bookworm. I wish everyone a wonderful, successful and most of all happy 2013!

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, From the past comes new beginnings

2012-07-10T16:12:00.001-07:00

I was left with a cinematic cliffhanger in Ms. Harkness’ first book, “A Discovery of Witches”, when Diana and Matthew headed into the past . Now in “Shadow of Night” they are in a race against time hoping to find answers for the future in secrets of history. One of the biggest secrets to be revealed is how does Diana access her witchy powers. The other secret is Ashmole 782. Where are the missing pages and who removed them? Ms. Harkness leads our hero and heroine on a fantastic chase from the countryside of Elizabethan England to Matthew’s home in France, (it is a very different place in the 1500’s). They travel to London and the Queen’s Court filled with intrigue and betrayal, then to Prague and an Emperor’s obsession with magic and Diana. One more trip back to London where more questions than answers pop up before finally returning to face the future together. Ashmole proves to be as mysterious in the past as in the present.

What I loved about the first book is very present in this second book, “Shadow of Night”. Ms. Harkness has stuffed this story with historical accuracy and wonderful literary license! Christopher Marlowe, the great Elizabethan playwright who is credited with influencing Shakespeare, plays a large role in the life and history of Matthew Clairmont. He was considered a shady character in history and Ms. Harkness uses said suspicious tales to great advantage in this story. Sir Walter Raleigh, another great historical figure, gets a clever twisted backstory that makes him so very interesting, sexy and star-crossed. Queen Elizabeth even has a moment with Matthew, her “Shadow”. This story is dense with historical references so well weaved into the fiction I found myself shocked to Google characters and find out they really did that! I can’t tell what those things were, I will let you have your own discoveries.

While the story was awash in history and vampires Ms. Harkness didn’t ignore the witches. Again using the foundation of research and history she creates a world filled with religious superstition, ignorance and magic. She balances charlatans with true practitioners so much so, it is shocking to find out who is real and who is not. Diana finds out much about her “powers” but in this book she really has a “Discovery of Witches”. Where they came from, how they functioned in the community, and how they were depended on and reviled at the same time and who her family really is. She learns about her magic and learns to be proud of who she is. I loved the witches! I loved the historical girl power! Ms. Harkness does an amazing job of drawing a picture of this close knit group of women and why they are so protective of their culture in the future. These women did what they did at the cost of their lives and most gave of their talents freely and with bravery. Bravo Ladies!

Then there was the romance. Not only did I feel like I was chasing Ashmole 782 through the entire book I got as frustrated as Diana over Matthew’s 1500 year old case of angst. I wanted to do a Cher in “Moonlighting” on him; slap him upside the head and tell him to “Snap out of it!” Matthew’s father does a pretty good job to beat the guilt and shame out of his vampire son but it will be Diana who brings him the greatest peace. I know you want me to tell you if they finally consummate their love, well…….. you will just have to find out for yourself. Their love leads to much trial and tribulation in the past just as it did in the future and it will take a strong bond to sustain them. The very future of paranormal creatures may depend on the seed planted in the past. There are definite bumps on that particular romantic road.

A few words about the time traveling. As you may already know I am not a fan of this literary vehicle. I appreciated Ms. Harkness’ handling of a tricky thing. It was just another part of her world. It was accepted in the past as it was in the future, rare but not unheard of. Every once in awhile throughout the book she bounced to the future where Ysabeau or another character would find a note or picture that let them know the past was being affected. It worked.

“Shadow of Night” is 590+ pages long. It is chocked full of history, food, characters and action. It is wordy but I felt every word was necessary. I felt the beginning was slow but by page 30 the action took off. There is a lot of place and history setting but it has to be, so I the reader, understand the choices the characters are making. There are also a lot of satisfying surprises. I was disappointed with the lack of wine but hey it was the 1500’s. When the book comes to a skidding halt back in France once again I am left on a cliff hanging by my fingers wanting more. This was totally worth the wait and I feel confident the final installment, Book III, will satisfy as well. Hopefully there will be more wine!

50 Shades would have been better as one book

2012-03-15T03:14:00.001-07:00

As you read in my previous post I really enjoyed “50 Shades of Grey”. I had the next two installments on my Nook before the screen cooled off. I began reading “50 Shades Darker” immediately. I wanted to be swept away again. I wanted to see how Christian and Ana would work out their strange, painful and erotic relationship. I wanted E.L. James to take me to the edge again.
What I got was a more traditional romantic story of the bad boy lover trying to be what the innocent ingénue wanted him to be. I got the silly innocent girl worrying that she isn’t enough for the rich, dark, powerful and sexy bad man. I didn’t want Christian to become good. I wanted Ana to get a little darker and more powerful herself. I wanted that organic flow I felt in the first book. They could come into the light, as it were, later.
The third book, “50 Shades Freed”, continued in the more traditional romance vein. They had more conflicts with Christian’s controlling ways but the ‘princess’ Ana was gentling him with every sexual, loving act. It was predictable all the way down to the real bad guy out to destroy them both.
The were good moments in the second two novels. When Ms. James describes gliding, jet skiing, or sex she is completely in the sensory moment. When she takes me through Christian’s history she is empathetic and clear. She has my attention and keeps it. She is a good writer when she isn’t apologizing for being so dark. I loved the dark, dangerous man Christian was in the 1st book. I loved that Ana ran after asking to see how far he could go and she learned it was more than she was ever willing to go herself. I loved seeing that strong woman coming into her own.
The first book was about the sex and the darkness in our psyches. It was about love and how screwed up it gets with our baggage. It was hot, dark, compelling and oh so very edgy. I didn’t skip a page. The second two books almost feel like a mea culpa to the audience for going overboard in book one. I skipped a lot including the sex. It was toned down and sanitized, even the sex. I felt like Ms. James was saying, “Sorry about the darkness and violence in the first one. I will explain and clean it all up in the next ones.” I didn’t want her to clean it up. Why does it have to end with a pretty neat bow? Why can’t a happy ending be realizing this isn’t right for me and I will be stronger for this relationship in the next one.
This is the second trilogy to let me down after the first installment. I felt similarly to the “Hunger Games” trilogy. I was just let down after such a wonderful high. Maybe the authors are releasing the next ones way too soon so they aren’t really developed enough. Maybe they really just said it all in book one and the publisher pressured for more when they saw the first one sell so well. All I know is I will be stronger for my next trilogy and stop at the first book.

Fifty Shades of WOW! by E. L. James

2012-02-29T08:47:00.001-08:00

Ladies! My heart is racing! I feel breathless and naughty and barely before I finished the last sentence of the first installment, “50 Shades of Grey by E. L. James I was on B&N ordering the next two!
What a crazy dark, funny and erotic ride I have been on for the last 24 hours! The romance between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele wraps every John Wayne and Maureen O’hara Movie, Mickey Rourke in 9 1/2 weeks, Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss and James Spade in the Secretary into an amazing, crazy dysfunctional, un-put-downable story I have read in a really, really long time.
This is a dirty book, graphic, dark and incredibly sexual and sensual. This is also a book about love. I know that sounds crazy but there it is. Love is never simple. I don’t care how nice a ribbon Nora Roberts or Johanna Lindsay put on it.
“50 Shades of Grey” starts off very cliché. He’s a mysterious, sexy multi-millionaire and she is a young innocent virgin, untried and completely inexperienced. Hints are dropped everywhere this is going to be a bondage and submission story. She says “Yes Sir” and he is “very controlling and possessive.” I have read these before including Anne Rice’s “Beauty Series.” I was thinking I have done this and there will probably be a lot of overdone sex scenes that I will be skipping over. I was really wrong. I have read other novels in this genre and none of them have the depth of relationship “50 Shades” has. The sex is graphic and necessary and the star but it isn’t the only player on the stage. Once we get past the initial facades we discover two people who are very lonely and screwed up. From the story it is obvious that Christian came out of dire circumstances as a very young child and even though his adoptive family try to love the damage away it is never really enough to overcome hunger, abuse and pain. Ana, though has her own demons and they are actually more subtle and dare I say even possibly worse than Christian’s because she doesn’t recognize her baggage. She loves her mother but she was just as abandoned by hers as Christian was by his. She feels very small and unlovable and she complicates an already complicated situation by constantly questioning her value. Don’t we all? How do these two people who have come from such disparate backgrounds find a way to make their dysfunction work together? That is what this story is really about. Ok and it’s about the sex too.
Again, I cannot reiterate enough this is adult material. This is a very graphic story. It is pornographic. This is NOT for kids or even teens! This is what X is all about. I am not sure if I should be even reading it. Yes, I am going to read the next two installments, “50 Shades Darker” and “50 Shades Freed.” I am not innocent.

Bonnie by Iris Johansen made me cry!

2012-01-15T05:34:00.001-08:00

I didn’t intend to. I thought it would be a crazy bullets flying cliffhanger again. I have been on the trail to find Bonnie with Eve for years. I came to accept long before that Eve would never find her daughter. It would always be the motivation for her to keep bringing lost children home. I cried anyway at the end of “Bonnie”. Who knew I would need closure as much as Eve did.

These last 3 novels from Ms. Johansen beginning with “Eve” then “Quinn” and finally “Bonnie” have finished years of searching. I won’t say how it happens or who took Bonnie all those years ago. Like Bonnie said, “It doesn’t matter Momma, it never did.” It will matter to you when you read it. It will matter that all the pieces finally come together in a crazy puzzle to create a final vision of love and peace.

Ms. Johansen is one of my favorite writers. I have been reading her work since the late 80’s. I think the first one I picked up was “This Fierce Splendor.” I loved “The Magnificent Rogue.” Her early works were pure romantic adventure whether they be historical or not. She writes with a fast paced clarity that puts me in the moment.

When she came out with her first Eve Duncan novel, “The Face of Deception”, I was hooked with the first eraser head pinned to a skull. Eve is a forensic sculptor, the best in the country. She has made this job a calling to bring the missing, especially children, home. She is a single mom and experienced the worst nightmare any parent can. Her daughter is abducted. When it happens the FBI is called in and the lead agent is Joe Quinn. They fall in love and commit to find Bonnie no matter what. The relationship between Eve and Joe is one of the most real fictional relationships out there. Through the life of the books they have real disagreements that separate them. They hurt each other sometimes intentionally to get back at the other. The relationship changes and grows as they do and it has serious hurdles to overcome.

Iris Johansen’s writing is really clean and crisp. There are no extraneous thoughts or dialogue. It is all pure action and feeling. From the beginning she set it up that Eve had an especially close relationship with her daughter Bonnie even after Bonnie went missing. She sees her daughter and talks to her. She thinks it is just her way of dealing with the loss, but is it really?

This final installment of this story doesn’t tie everything up in a nice pat bow. There are threads that still need to be tied off and that is great because it means that more books are in the offing that will have new dangers and new arcs. I see Joe and Eve taking a back seat to the story of Catherine and John Gallo. Maybe Jane Maguire will finally come to terms with her relationship with Mark Trevor. No matter what, I can count on a pretty good story.

While I think you could read the books, at least the early ones, as stand alone stories the last 5 need to be read in order. There are a few in the series that I think Ms. Johansen lost her way with the story in an attempt to keep it fresh. The episodes that focus un her adopted daughter with a strange paranormal cult theme were less than stunning. By the time she get’s to “Eve” she really has her groove and I loved getting all the backstory of who John Gallo was and how Bonnie came to be. “Quinn” could have been skipped,(not written), and nothing would be missed. “Bonnie” made me cry. While nothing is ever perfect there has certainly been more good than bad in this series and I am happy Bonnie has finally come home.

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evonovich was a DUD

2012-01-09T04:56:00.001-08:00

R.I.P. Stephanie Plum. Not a funny line in the book. If I were Joe and Ranger I would be hooking up with Snookie.

Book One of Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.....WOW

2012-01-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

Book One of the Game of Thrones series is called A Song of Ice and Fire. I don't really get the ice part but I have to say it's full of fire! This book is so full of characters, plots, sub-plots, locations, sub-locations, action, betrayal, death, violence, passion, tragedy and intrigue it boggled my mind!


George R. R. Martin

Their must be a million characters! Ok, I am exaggerating about the character numbers but there are a lot of them and at least 7 are the storytellers. They aren't first person telling but the story is told from their point of view. There is more violence in this novel than in a Freddie Krueger movie! Then there is the ending! Really?! George R. R. Martin must take cat naps only because his head it too busy to let him sleep more than and hour or so. His imagination is run amok!

Roy Dotrice

I have to let you know I listened to this book and I am glad I did. Roy Dotrice is amazing as the narrator. He is a Tony award winning actor with an extensive resume. He has a terrific range of accents and vocal tones including the children and women. He uses the drama of his voice to give life to the words Mr. Martin put on the page. He was totally believable without using falsetto or baby voices. It was like listening to a radio drama and the were several scenes when I found myself holding my breath for the outcome. Bravo Mr. Dotrice!
The actual story is in it simplest concept a medieval political thriller. Don't mistake me, this is not a simple story. It has more layers than Kim Kardashian's wedding cake! King Robert dies and his beloved right hand man, Eddard, is accused and convicted of his death. Relatives begin declaring themselves the rightful heir.
Meanwhile an exiled heir Viserys, sells his thirteen year old sister Daenerys into a barbaric marriage to raise the money and army to reclaim his throne. Daenerys discovers barbarians aren't so bad and ends up being the biggest barbarian of them all. Eddard's family isn't aware he has been executed and goes on the march to rescue their Lord. This is the simplest description of this story and it no where near encompasses the whole.


Game of Thrones is now an HBO Series

There is no one hero or good guy. The guy I was pulling for at the beginning appalled me by his arrogance and stupidity midway through. Drogo, the barbarian who disgusted me turned into a sexy lover who had me thinking very bad thoughts. The women are no easier to pin down. The queen Cersei, who seemed just spoiled and perverted turns out to be a black widow, literally. I wouldn't want her to be my mother. Catelyn, a mother who is torn by the harm committed against her son turns out to be a woman of hidden stories and resentments. Her actions are determined by her emotions and I don't expect her to do well as we go forward. Then there are the children. John, a bastard son sent to a desolate place to become a monk-like soldier because his step-mother resents him so much. The oldest son Rob who is placed into a position of leadership and doing the best he can. Bran, the younger brother who is almost killed and left as a cripple has a brighter future ahead than, I think, anyone knows. Sansa, the sister who is an innocent and yet spoiled with dreams of becoming queen is dealt traumatic blows at the hands of her future husband and king. Arya is the other sister who is a wild thing and her future is still undetermined but of all the characters is the one I hope becomes the baddest, toughest ass-kickingest heroine of them all.
I have only touched the surface of this story. There are all the other support and secondary characters, (at least they are in this installment), who play important parts but are too numerous to list at this time. There are plots beneath plots beneath plots and there were times when I wasn't always sure I knew what the heck was going on but didn't want to stop listening either. When I got to the end my mouth literally fell open and I was so shocked and surprised I had to listen again! It was fantastic! I loved it!
There have been some other reviews that compare this series to J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring ". Other vehemently reject that notion. I would say that while there are similarities between Middle Earth and the 7 Kingdoms in the grandeur of both tales that is the end of it.
Tolkien's tale was high melodrama with clear cut standards of good and bad. You knew from the beginning who was the hero and who was the villain. There was violence but it was honorable and the good guys ultimately trounced their enemies. Romance was important but it was more a concept than it was an actual physical thing. Magic was integral to the story and was everywhere.
Martin has created a world that is much more real for its grit and lack of true hero versus true villain. He doesn't shy away from graphic details whether it is of a murder, war or sex act. His characters have bad teeth and foul mouths. There is nothing Arthurian about the Seven Kingdoms. It's more like a medieval gangster novel. All the factions are run by their own and there is always someone trying to run the whole show. Magic is mentioned in the past tense and not believed in any more.
I know I haven't given a lot specific storyline but truth be told I don't know what parts to share that won't give away the parts I shouldn't. Suffice it to say I have already downloaded the next installment "A Clash of Kings". I just want to know what winter is going to be like!

Catherine Coulter hits the mark with Prince of Ravenscar

2011-12-29T09:48:00.001-08:00

I had given up on Ms. Coulter. In fact in my last post about a Catherine Coulter novel I said until something new comes along I would not be picking up any more. I have stuck to that decision until now.
The Prince of Ravenscar is, to me, a delightful return of the wit and romance that made me fall in love with Catherine Coulter in the first place back in the 80’s.
The Prince of Ravenscar is a romantic adventure that is light and frothy. Lord Julian Monroe is home after a 3 year absence grieving the death of his young wife Lily. Upon his return he discovers his mother, Her Grace Corinne Monroe, wants Lord Julian to marry her best friend’s daughter and eligible young woman, Sophie. Julian hasn’t seen the girl since she was 12 and still in pigtails. Sophie’s mother passed away a few years earlier and is relying on her Aunt Roxanne to help her with her first Season in London. Roxanne is a beautiful woman who at 27 is deemed on the shelf but who secretly longs to be picked up. Julian’s nephew Devlin, future Duke of Brabante is ecstatic over his Uncle’s return to London. Well, he is as happy as an aspiring vampire can be.
So sets the story for mismatched loves, a mysterious death, kidnapping, and several attempts to expose Devlin to the full light of the day.
The story moves quickly, if not on occasion with a lot of confusion but I found myself smiling and hoping for one match to happen versus another. There was a little hint of depth to this story too. These characters discover there is more to them than the stories they have or have not been told all their lives. Julian discovers the father who died when he was a baby was more than an old man. Devlin realizes there is more to life than affectations and indolent living and he can have a purpose.
The other great thing about this story is the women. This might be a Regency Romance but these women can take care of themselves. Roxanne prevents her rape with a good kick in her attacker’s privates and later rescues herself again by climbing out a window. Sophie has a good mind and excellent way with words and can cut or comfort with a flick of her tongue.
This story had a little bit of everything in it with nothing taking over the plot. Ms. Coulter even managed to mention the racing cats thanks to connections to the Sherbrookes. Ms. Coulter has a wonderful flair for Regency. Was this her best novel? No, but, for me, it is the best read from her in the last few years. I am hoping it is only the beginning of a new trend for a favorite author. I am still staying away from the FBI series.

Henry Neff has woven a Tapestry of Adventure

2011-11-21T18:20:00.001-08:00

I looked back through my blog list and I cannot believe I have not reviewed Henry Neff’s books in the “Tapestry” series. I came across the first book, “The Hound of Rowan” in 2008 and I was totally pulled into Mr. Neff’s world. I was blogging then. Why the heck didn’t I let everyone know about this adventure sooner is crazy. I have read the second and third books and I can’t wait for the 4th installment coming out sometime next year. The Tapestry series has often been compared to the incomparable Harry Potter. I think this is a compliment. The similarities are they are both about a boy who discovers he is more than he ever imagined and he is given the opportunity to discover the magic inside himself. This series is sold as juvenile fiction and just like with Harry Potter it has appeal for readers of all ages. The characters are wonderfully drawn both in words and illustrations. Mr. Neff illustrates each of his novels and it does add something to the story. His artwork is interesting and graphic.

The story takes place in present day U.S. It starts innocently enough when our unsuspecting young hero, 12 year old Max McDaniel, comes across an ancient Celtic tapestry in a Chicago museum. In his pursuit to find out where it came from Max finds out he has special skill and is recruited to attend an unusual academy in New England. From the minute Max crosses the gate of the Rowan Academy he begins the discovery process that not everything is as it seems nor is he. He has been chosen to be the champion of Rowan. He finds out, like Harry, he has magic. Unlike Harry, Max isn’t training to be a wizard. He is training to be a warrior. His ancestor is the great Cuchulain, the first champion against evil. Max is filled with the Old Magic and he realizes he has come to the school to learn how to focus his gifts to help defend Rowan and more, the world from the growing threat of an evil demon named Astraroth. Okay, that does sound kind of like Voldemort.

Unlike Harry there is another character as important to the story as Max. Max isn’t the only one at Rowan learning to fight and protect. He becomes roommate with David Menlo. David is probably more powerful than Max as a budding sorcerer but physically not strong and it will take both of them to take on Astaroth and the destruction of not just the world but its history too. Like Harry it is the whole cast of characters that take a simple coming of age story into a heroic journey! The cast is too long to list here but I promise you are going to love them!

Book One: The Hound of Rowan introduces us to the amazing world of Max and Mr. Neff. It is a story of discovery. I was left in excitement waiting to see the heroes finally beat the evil plaguing the world.

Book Two: The Second Siege pits Max and David in direct conflict with Astaroth with devastating consequences. It is a story of facing your fears. The world as we know it has been decimated and I was filled with sadness for losses both personal and worldwide.

Book Three: The Fiend and the Forge finds the world post battle and we have lost. Astaroth is in power. This is a story of claiming yourself and your destiny regardless where it takes you. This installment is very dark and I actually think a little too mature for an 11-12 year old to read. I also thought Harry got very mature in the last 2 books. Max and David have to go their own ways to help each other accomplish a mutual goal, the downfall of the evil empire…(I know, Star Wars).

Bottom line: I can’t wait for the next one.

Undead and Ungood May Janice Davidson

2011-10-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

All I have to say to Ms. Davidson on her newest installment to the Betsy the Vampire Queen series, "Undead and Undermined" is YOU OWE US AN APOLOGY! Had I bought the book and not gotten it from the library you would owe me a refund. You should refund the library I got it from.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is a Great Find!

2011-10-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

Deborah Harkness is a woman after my own heart. She is a lifelong student of history. She loves libraries. She loves wine and wrote a blog about her search for great wines under $20.00. She started writing fiction with the classic question “What if?”
From her passions comes a novel that encompasses all of the above and throws in witches, vampires and daemons for good measure. I LOVED “A Discovery of Witches”.
Dr. Diana Bishop is a historian with a specialty in historical alchemists. She is exploring the connection between magic and science. Her studies have brought her to England and the famous Bodleian Library. She is pulling research material out of the stacks when a book dating back to the 17th century called “Ashmole 782 comes into her hands. She knows this book is different from all the rest she has been researching. She is a witch, a real one who’s family can be traced directly to Bridget Bishop who was executed during the Salem Witch trials. This book connects to her. Simply touching it makes her hands tingle and the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. So begins a story of intrigue, tension and a forbidden romance.
Once Diana opens Ashmole 782 a whole host of “Creatures” start showing up. Some just want to see what happens next while others actively seek the answers they believe are in the book. One of these creatures is a 1500 year old Vampire named Matthew Clairmont. He is also a scientist and he is researching the evolution of the supernatural beings sharing the planet with human beings. You see, there are 4 species of humanoids on earth: humans, vampires, witches and daemons. Once the humans were in the minority but time and circumstances have changed the world and now the creatures are far exceeded by the humans. Matthew wants to know why and how and if anything can be done to keep his race from becoming extinct.
This story takes you from the hallowed colleges of Oxford to a fortress in France and humble family home in New England and by the end back to the past. Relationships bloom and die. For every question answered 3 more pop up. The cast of supporting characters are as well written as Diana and Matthew. Mysteries abound and no one is as they seem, especially Diana. As I read I felt like I was reading the paranormal version of the Davinci Code and like Dan Brown’s bestseller A Discovery of Witches is as fascinating for it’s historical research as it is the story itself.
I read some of the reviews on Amazon before I started mine. I like to see if I am in-line with other readers and what I found was either you love this book or hate it. I fall, most definitely, in the love column. Ms. Harkness creates a world of sensuality and tension. The dinner scene between Diana and Matthew is nothing short of sexy and all he is doing is introducing her to the world of wine tasting, there is no sex. I was leaning forward in my chair waiting for him to kiss the wine from her lips and I was left wanting just like Diana! Then the sensual becomes brutal when Satu, a powerful witch literally tries to peel the magic from Diana’s body. Ms. Harkness has a wonderful talent of placing me right in the middle of the moment. Awesome!
But I have to be honest. The end of the book sends them traveling beyond geographical limits. Yep, that’s right, they time travel…..arghhh. That was the only stinker in an otherwise perfect read! I am looking forward to the sequel Shadow of Night. The expected release date is next summer.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon was much better than I expected

2011-10-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had the experience of trying to read a book and just not be able to get into it? Everybody says it is amazing, a page turner, couldn’t put it down but you just didn’t get what all the hype was about. I have. There are actually two books in my lifetime that for all the peer pressure and actual attempts to read them I just couldn’t get into them. From the title of this post you know “Outlander is one of them. The other, (Please don’t groan or chastise me…that includes you Debbie), is “Gone With the Wind.” The problem with GWTW is I don’t care enough about the characters. I think Scarlett is a brat and what’s his face, Ashley is so, effeminate. Lesley Howard in the movie didn’t improve my opinion either. Rhett I liked but, for a guy who could have anyone but is hopelessly in love with such a b**ch is beyond me. I digress, I will think about this another day. Sorry Debbie.
When Outlander first came out back in the 1991 I tried to read it. Over the years I tried 3 more times to no avail. I love a great epic novel. Katherine by Anya Seton is in my top ten favorites not to mention Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I couldn’t get past the first 60 pages of Outlander. Frank and Claire bored me to tears. I didn’t care what happened to them. Frank was milquetoast and Claire was almost masculine.
Another thing that really turned me off was the time-travel plotline. I am not a big fan of time travel stories. They don’t feel plausible and someone has to give up all they hold dear to stay in the other time including family and friends. It feels way too final for me. It is worse when they go back and forth in time. I know this is going to sound crazy coming from a huge paranormal fan but time travel is just too unbelievable for me. In Outlander it really bugged me how comfortable 20th century Claire felt in 18th Century Scotland. Granted she was raised by a historian/archeologist and married a historian/genealogist so she wasn’t unfamiliar with the time period but come on, there is a huge difference between reading about cooking in fireplaces and witch burnings and actually using one and being a potential victim to the other. It is too complicated a subject to believably portray.
The final thing was the fact that she was married and in love with Frank in the 20th Century but so easily fell for Jaimie in the 18th. Granted Jaime is hot. (Makes me think of Liam Neeson in Rob Roy). He is big, redheaded, muscular and speaks with a brogue. I would want him too. I just didn’t see how Claire would be able to reconcile the two relationships. I don’t think I would so easily get over my husband, be he dead or I was thrust into another time period. Claire was really quick to jump into bed with Jaimie. I know in the first hateful 60 pages I learn that Frank and Claire have been separated by duty to the War Effort during WWII. She as a triage nurse just behind the lines and he in the defense department doing who knows what. They were reacquainting themselves when she tripped through the stone ring but still…
By now you realize I finally bit the bullet and read the dang thing. It is my sister Kate’s fault and as begrudging as this may sound I am glad she can be a pushy little thing sometimes. I bought it through B&N for my Nook so I would have something to keep me busy while I helped my son and daughter in law with the new baby. (You had to know I would work in the new Grandma status). I had nothing else to do but hold my new best guy in one arm while I clicked through pages with the other. The first 60 pages were still hell. In fact, the first 150 pages were as boring as an algebra text book but I am Irish and I will pit my stubborn against a Scot’s stubborn any day and kept reading. The story only improved slightly when Claire went through the stones. Maybe it is because I have read so many other epic fantasy novels this felt a little predictable. Damsel immediately encounters villain to be just as quickly rescued by the good guy. Well in this case the good guys. She helps the young and badly injured hero and they make tracks for their highland home. I have been here and done this. I kept reading and it got better.
Here is why this is a good read. Letting go of the prejudging I did before I opened it for the 4th time I discovered I was enjoying this story. The characters are complete and finely detailed. The location is well studied and described. I smelled the horse manure in the stable. I felt the punches when Jaimie took Loghaire’s punishment. I marvelled at how much folk medicine is really based in solid knowledge. I so wanted to swim in the mineral water bath. But the biggest reason this is a good read is Captain John Randall. He is probably the greatest villain of all time! I kept reading because I had to know if he ever got repaid for the crimes he committed against everyone he ever came in contact with. What he does to Jaimie is nothing less than Jeffrey Dahmer disgusting. Jaimie's retelling of the final debauchery done to him was nothing short of masterful. I felt all of his pain and debasement. It is so heinous that when Randall's end came I cheered and was pissed all at the same time. He deserved a much more ignominious death than Ms. Gabaldon gave him. It is almost unbelievable that Jaimie survived not just in body but in soul as well. I think I would have killed myself regardless of how much the love of my life wanted me to fight.
I admit it, this book was totally worth the work. I definitely think some text could have been dropped. This is a lot of words. I think Dougal and Collum took up more pages than they were worth. The young Loghaire wasn’t worth Claire’s first twinge of jealousy. I did love Geilie but even some of her story dragged. In the end it was satisfying and I am glad we all made it through.
I know there are several sequels to Outlander but I think I am going to leave Claire in the 18th century with her future still an unknown. Maybe I will give Gone With the Wind another try. I know it would totally make Debbie’s day!

Don’t be Mad Lauren. I didn’t like Fallen by Lauren Kate

2011-09-28T13:22:00.001-07:00

My cousin Lauren told me “Fallen” was a must read. She is a very cool and smart young woman. She loves the Beatles, Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter and Glee. She is a truly talented photographer and she loves books like her ol’ cousin, me. When she recommended the book I had to give it a read. Alas, while our tastes run closely together on many things we must part ways at Fallen.

Fallen is supposed to be about unrequited and everlasting love. It is supposed to be about the recurring romance between Lucinda and Daniel and I guess it is in a general way. Seventeen year old Lucinda has been sent to a very strict boarding school called Sword and Cross. She is sent there because she was a person of interest in the burning death of her ex-boyfriend Trevor. Her parents were at a loss how to help her and sent her to the boarding school on the recommendation of Luce’s psychologist. She has always felt on the outside and freaky. She see shadows no one else sees and they terrify her. Upon entering the school she meets Arien, Penn, and Cam. She becomes friends with the 2 girls and finds herself oddly attracted to Cam. I guess it isn’t so odd since the guy is drop dead gorgeous and seriously charming. She also meets Daniel who seems to be the exact opposite of Cam except he too is drop dead gorgeous. In fact, her first encounter with Daniel includes him flipping her the “Bird”. Even with his rude and sulking behavior Luce wants to know more. She feels like she knows him somehow. Arien takes her on a tour of the campus and when they end up at the cafeteria she has a confrontation with the obvious mean girl Molly who takes great pleasure in humiliating her. Then there are the oblivious and naïve teachers who don’t seem to notice all the kids breaking the rules even though the campus is riddled with cameras. The exception to this is Ms. Sophia who turns out to be a real wacko. Add in the very gothic campus including the old scary cemetary where wonderful and horrible things happen and I have read this story before.

The story continues as Luce pursues Daniel who in turn responds and rebuffs her attentions. Cam pursues Luce with gifts of jewelry, limo rides and intimate picnics. I know what is going on and who the hero of the story is because Lauren told me but really it doesn’t take much to line up the good and the bad.

Daniel is a good angel and Cam is the bad one. I am not sure if they are both Fallen but it seems Daniel isn’t on the Big Guy’s favorite list either. We find out that Lucinda and Daniel meet and fall in love and then she dies. This happens every 17 years. Luce never remembers the previous incarnations until she fully falls in love with Daniel and the moment she knows what happens she dies…until now. This time is evidently different because her parents aren’t religious and therefore didn’t expose her to the whole God, Angel and Hereafter concepts. So finding out about their history doesn’t kill her…hurray! Even though Luce is wildly attracted to Daniel she is tempted by Cam. Somehow all this sets up a scene of a major heaven versus hell battle with Luse’s everlasting soul hanging in the balance.

This story has lot’s of problems. The backstory jumps in and out without rhyme or reason. There is no real explanation for the shadows that haunt Luce. There is no explanation for Cam’s desire for Lucinda. There is no explanation why she is so important in the Angelic scheme of things. I didn’t feel the love between the two main characters. At first I thought that was because I am in my 50’s and these are kids but no. I think it is because the Ms. Kate did more telling of their love than showing their love. I appreciate a good love story whether it is between two teens or puppies. I felt like I was dropped in the middle of a series and missed the first two episodes. I wasn’t let in on the secret.

The ending was no greater or lesser than the beginning. There was no character arc with great choices or consequences. This story was hyped to be a bang but for me was really just a whimper. Sorry Lauren. I’m gonna stick with Harry and Jane Eyre.

Allison Brennan is a new author to me and I am glad to meet her

2011-09-19T18:31:00.001-07:00

Recently I enjoyed two books from a new author to me, Allison Brennan. I read “Love Me to Death” and “Kiss Me Kill Me”. These tightly written romantic thrillers are the first two installments in her new Lucy Kincaid/FBI series. Lucy was a secondary character in the previous trilogy “No Evil.” In that series Lucy, a seventeen year old girl was a victim of a crazed serial rapist and killer. With the help of the FBI, several of whom are her brothers, she is rescued but in the process she ends up killing her perpetrator. Now, eight years later Lucy has recreated herself into a strong woman who will never be a victim again. She has earned a doctorate degree in criminal psychology and interned in every possible place she could to earn enough experience and credentials to make it into the FBI, including a stint in the morgue and working for a non-profit victims rights organization to bring down cyber-predators. She wants to work with the FBI, the organization that helped bring down her attacker and knows she has an uphill battle.

In the first book, “Love Me to Death” pedophiles Lucy has been tracking start showing up dead. It appears to be the work of a vigilante. Because of her connection to the victims and her personal history she becomes a suspect. Unbeknownst to her another threat is stalking her. So begins a twisted thriller where you don’t know if it is her past chasing her or if it is a whole new threat. She feels isolated and alone when she turns to her bother’s partner Sean Rogan for support. He becomes her protector and wants to become so much more. The story has so many twists and turns the ending comes out of nowhere. I put this book down wanting to know more about the Kinkaids and Rogans.

The next book, “Kiss Me Kill Me” picks up the story about six weeks later and Lucy has taken her exams and completed the interview for the FBI. Meanwhile Sean who has become her official boyfriend has received a call from a relative asking him to look for a female cousin who has gone missing. Once again the story takes off quickly and I was spinning trying to keep up with all the red herrings and left turns. Does Lucy get the job? Will they find the cousin? Who is killing all the girls? Do Lucy and Sean ever get to vacation? While the first book was all about the crime and the family was only introduced to fill in a couple of blanks, “Kiss Me..” delves further into Lucy and Sean as individuals and their relationships with siblings. Family issues rear their ugly heads which makes for a nice balance to the almost super hero skills of Lucy.

There is a cast of secondary characters in the Kincaid books that are useful to move the story forward but they really take a backseat to Lucy, Sean and the crime-solving. You know in Stephanie Plum and Eve Dallas tales the supporting characters are critical to the main characters. Not so in the Kincaid stories. I hope this doesn’t cause the series to get stale too soon. Maybe some of the other characters will move more center and expand the plots.

Just a note I was reading a little of the bio for Allison Brennan and boy is she cool! She worked for the California State Legislature as a consultant. She married and had 5 kids. She was crazy busy and wrote through it all, mostly after the kids went to bed. She didn’t write because she thought she was going to be famous or otherwise but because it is what she does and who she is. I can relate to that. She wrote a book so she could say she did it. It was in 2004 when she sold her first book “Prey” and it took off from there. I am completely inspired by her. It gives me hope that one of these days someone will be blogging about my book.

In closing I just want to say how proud I am of myself for sharing my thoughts on these stories without giving away any of the plot lines. It would be a shame to give any of it away.

So Pick Already Stephanie!

2011-09-08T03:50:00.000-07:00

At seventeen I knew I wanted to be an actress. I had the hots for a gorgeous boy with long brown hair and blue eyes. I didn't think about much else. . In "Smokin' Seventeen" by Janet Evonovich Stephanie Plum seems very similar to my seventeen year old. She knows she wants to be more and she has the hots for a gorgeous guy. Okay, make that the hots for two gorgeous guys. The difference between these two teen personalities is my biggest worry was whether or not my softball team was going to State while Stephanie has dead bodies showing up with notes attached addressed to her. Other than that Stephanie is no more mature than a seventeen year old.
If you didn't figure it out by the title this is the 17th novel in the Stephanie Plums Series. I have read everyone one of these books and for the majority of the time laughed my fool head off. I LOVE Stephanie and the gang but I hate to say it, it is time now for Stephanie and the humor to grow up some.
In this installment the bail bonds office is situated in an RV while the building is rebuilt after being burned down. Trouble shows up when dead bodies start being dumped in the lot in shallow graves. Trouble increases when the bodies start seeming to be gifts to Stephanie. Trouble switches to her love life as she navigates two lovers, Joe and Ranger. She says she loves them both but she sees a future only with one even though her body can't help but say yes to the other. It feels rather uncomfortable when she starts bed hopping between the two. This isn't NYC, LA or London. These aren't jet setting swingers. We are talking about the Burg in New Jersey where the hair is big and so are most of the families. Bladder infections from sex are not funny and even less so with multiple partners. STD's have never been funny. Okay, the granny panties were.
I get it Janet. The formula has been working. You are still laugh out loud funny in parts and I want to keep laughing for a long time to come but and this is a big but. (Not Lula big butt). It is getting old. Stephanie is getting old. I want to see Stephanie to grow and change like I have grown and changed. Maybe I haven't matured but I am different than I was 16 years ago. Stephanie isn't. Joe isn't. Ranger isn't. Lula isn't. It is time. I don't think the series needs to end but I do think it needs to change. Stephanie needs to move, get married, hell go transgender but she needs to change.

Just as a note I recently read there is a movie of the series coming out sometime this year. Check out the picture of the cast! That explains a lot of things. John Grisham's writing lost it's grip and read like a screenplay after his book "The Firm" was turned into a movie. I could almost tell you who he was looking to cast as I read the books. I quit reading after a while. The same thing has happened to Charlaine Harris now that "True Blood" has taken over Sookie Stackhouse. This might be what is happening here.

Please Janet, don't make me quit reading you. If you get any deeper into one dimensional and sad writing there won't be enough of us to bail you out!

Mercedes Lackey is Full of Fantasy and Fairytales!

2011-08-31T16:12:00.000-07:00

How is it that a book I enjoyed so much is so hard to describe?!
I just finished Mercedes Lackey’s newest Elemental Masters novel called “Unnatural Issue.” Just as in her 500 Kingdoms Series she has twisted an old fairytale or folk story with her own signature twists. “Unnatural Issue” is a take on the “DonkeySkin” tale. It is filled with magic, intrigue, drama, love, suspense and creepiness. I really enjoyed it but every time I try to describe it I feel like there is too much to explain and I want to say to you, my friendly reader, just go out and get it! If you like magic and intrigue you will like this whole series.
So here’s what I have decided to do. I am going to give you a word list that describes “Unnatural Issue” and leave it up to you to decide if this is enough to want to read the rest….here goes:
Magic

Puck
Necromancy
WWI
Unrequited Love
Death
Villain
Zombies
Hero
Ingénue
Trenches

Loss
Undine
Fauns
Bogarts
Cheese
Seen enough? Each of the novels in the Elemental Masters series stands on its own but I think you will get more out of them if you read them in order so here they are:
The Fire Rose
The Serpent's Shadow
The Gates of Sleep
Phoenix and Ashes
Reserved for the Cat
The Wizard of London
Unnatural Issue
P.S. isn’t the cover art for these books awesome!?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is dark and dreamy

2011-08-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

I have this friend at my job and we talk books all the time and except for her unhealthy obsession with all that is “Gone With the Wind” and never reading any “Harry Potter” our tastes are pretty similar. She turned me onto Kristin Hannah’s “Firefly”, Sue Monk Kidd’s “Secret Life of Bees” and Lisa Unger’s “Black Out.” I have in turn given her some great titles to enjoy like the “Book Thief” by Markus Zusak and “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman. She has consistently resisted Potter. It is one of my favorite parts of the day when I visit her office to gab about books. We both belong to bookbrowse.com. I get their monthly newsletter but she is a paid member. One of the benefits of paid membership is on occasion a member can sign up to receive an advance reader addition of a new novel, for free. Yes, I said for free! How cool is that? It is by way of this service that “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern came into my life.


Erin Morgenstern

I was doing my daily rounds when I stopped by her office and she excitedly told me about this book she KNEW was right up my alley. It was all about magic and illusions and make believe. She said she read it faster because she wanted to get it to me so we could talk about it. She doesn’t read fantasy. She sticks with more reality based fiction. She reads much more classic style literature than I do so she was tickled that she liked this book so much. It is a fantasy but it is a fantasy in the style of Charles Dickens or the Brontes. It is dark, deep, and confusing. It wraps you up in a web of illusion and magic and for me, never let’s go. This is a richly drawn novel full of word pictures and textural descriptions. I would love to say more but I am afraid too much description will give some of the mystery away. Suffice it to say I could touch, taste, smell and hear her tale. Even at the end when Ms. Morgenstern wraps it all up in black and white striped paper I am still wondering who won.

This story is about the great experiment Nurture versus Nature. Two old guys who have been debating the argument for more years than 2 or 3 people have lifetimes have picked another round of guinea pigs. They are children when they are chosen. One child has no particular talent in magic but he has the drive to survive. The other child is full of magic and longs for someone to love her. They are told from the early ages of 6 and 8 they have been entered into a game. They can’t know who their opponent is nor are they told how the victor is determined. The rules are obscure. Even the order of play is unclear. The game will make itself clear once they are officially on the playing field.
You guessed it. The playing field is the circus. Not your ordinary Ringling Brothers either. One day the field outside of town is empty and then, overnight without fanfare or announcement, the field is filled with tents. Not the brightly colored tents you are used to seeing but striking black and white striped tents. This circus doesn’t have a midway of carnies trying to convince you to knock down the milk bottles or shoot the ducks. This circus is filled with living statues, mystical gardens of ice and paper.

A clock that not only shows the hours but glows and fades with the day and night. The circus is open only during the hours of sundown and dawn. It is a magical place that is never the same. No matter how many times you visit, there will always be something you haven’t seen before.
It is here the two opponents will compete. Is it the illusionist, Marco who will carry the day? Maybe Celia, the magician that will declare victory. For most of the story I am not even sure the game has started. Then someone made mention of a move and I knew the whole circus and its creation was the game. What can one do with imagination and determination? What kind of world does illusion create? Where does the magic end and reality start?
This story is confusing, jumping back and forth in timeline, between locations, and point of view. Celia and Marco might be the combatants but I cannot say they are really the main characters because one chapter belongs to the clock maker. Another chapter goes to the young man, Bailey, who fell in love with the circus when he was eight. Then twins become the storytellers. Depending on the chapter the main character could be almost anyone. This is also a love story between the Marco and Celia. Their lives are so entwined they begin creating for the other and through these creations they know each other in a way no other could. When they discover how the victor will be chosen they are both determined to beat the game and save each other.
My friend thinks the circus is a metaphor for dreams. I think it is more real than that. Aren’t we all caught up in the game of life? Isn’t it our minds that create the shape of our reality?
My friend and I both think you should read “The Night Circus”. It goes on sale September 13th, of course.

Blood, Bones and Butter by Grabrielle Hamilton is anything but reluctant

2011-08-05T03:33:00.001-07:00

I don't normally read non-fiction. I prefer the world of make-believe much more than the troubles of reality. I avoid it as much as possible, hehehehee. So why did I pick this one up? Truth? It was the title.
"Blood, Bones and Butter." I didn't even look at what it was about because the title captured me immediately. I downloaded it to my NOOK before I even realized this would not be about mass murdering, vampires, zombies or pirates. When I did realize this was a memoir of a chef I was let down, so much so, I read 3 books before I looked at it again. Boy, was I silly. This book was fantastic. Gabrielle Hamilton is so passionate about what she does she makes some paranormal characters seem dull. On the face of it the book is her memoir of how she came to be who she is, Owner/Executive Chef, of the restaurant Prune but really it is an adventure in growing up and finding yourself even if who you are is a sometimes cranky, sometimes crazy cooking dervish.
The story, of course, starts at her beginning in a family of odd people. Her mother was a French ballerina with OCD and her dad was a theatrical set designer who was more buddy than daddy. Dad was very loose in his parenting which was in direct contrast to the controlling manipulative mom. Ms. Hamilton’s growing years were the typical dysfunctional story most of us have experienced to some extent. Parents divorce, no one is taking care of the kids, drugs, a little homelessness thrown in. It is the stories in between the dysfunctional episodes that pulled me in. Every summer they would have a lamb roast. Her dad would select the lambs for slaughter, secure them to large spits and slow roast them over an open fire. Then with the male guests he would hoist the spits up and parade them across the yard to sawhorses for carving and serving. Kids would be running around and the adults would be feasting and drinking wine. I would fall in love with food too. The mom was no slouch in the culinary area either. She was a frugal woman to the point of obsessive compulsive disorder. Everything was used. She pickled vegetables, meat and eggs. Crusty bread and cheese veiny and stinky were mainstays of their diet. Chickens gave eggs until they couldn’t and then they would become dinner and then they would become leftovers and then they would become feed for the other animals.
It was in college when she was trying to get her degree in writing that she took up with another foodie who was a caterer and her love deepened as she worked with fruity olive oil, ripe tomatoes, fresh pasta, and seafood of all varieties. She moved to New York and she discovered a whole subculture of the catering world. Who knew New York caterers often used massive kitchens of the same staff regardless of the catering company? Like a catering factory. Everyone smoked, dressed in black and cursed a blue streak. She falls in love with a woman but marries the Italian man she had an affair with.
This is all lovely but it wasn’t why I loved this story. I loved this story because Gabrielle Hamilton is a real woman following her real passion and sometimes her life really sucks. She had falling outs with family. Her restaurant is small and cramped and she wouldn’t be anywhere else. She was married to a strange man who she didn’t live with but had two children with. Through it all she cooks. Her Italian mother-in-law can’t speak English and Gabrielle can’t speak Italian but in a kitchen over a pile of flour, egg and water they speak the mutual language of pasta and the love of cooking for family and friends. She sits on a panel with other female chefs to share with upcoming young female chef wannabe’s and she wants to scream at them, “Cooking is work, it isn’t about celebrity or money, it is about love and life.” She doesn’t say this because she recognizes she can’t burst their bubbles.
I loved her direct, funny writing style that made me see the omelet station she worked while she was nine months pregnant with her second son. I felt her surprise when on family day at the camp she was cooking for the dad she met of her favorite camper was none other than Mark Bittman. She made me cry for dead lobsters! I laughed with her and cried with her and she reminded me following my passion isn’t about accolades or immortality or whatever. It’s about living out loud and being less than you are if you don’t. She inspires me to not give up on my passions and not to follow them but to live them.

Thank you Ms. Hamilton. I will be visiting your restaurant, Prune, in the near future to tell you personally.

One Book Forward then One Book Back or Why I keep reading Anita Blake

2011-07-24T11:25:00.001-07:00

I don't know my fellow reader if I have ever told you I have been married to the same man for nearly 30yrs. I have shared with my friends that is has been the most difficult and rewarding thing I have ever done in my life....sticking it out all these years even when there were a lot of times I wanted to throw in the towel and give up or just kill him. I feel that way on a MUCH smaller scale about Laurell K. Hamilton and Anita Blake. For the last 10 years I have loved her and then wanted to kick her to the curb only to come back and try again. Why?

Well, when I first met Anita I admired how tough, smart and strong she was. I loved how she worked in a male dominated field and not only kept up with the guys she beat most of them. I envied the sexy men she got to pick from and the amazing sex she had. The balance between the sexy men and the very gory and tough thriller kept me turning pages and buying the next book. It was like the first couple of years of my marriage. I never knew quite what to expect. Sometimes it was exciting and sometimes it was dirty but most of all it was so very satisfying.

Then about 10 books in things started getting overblown. Little issues that I had been able to ignore early on because my love was so new was now starting to bug me. The biggest problem I had was the stories were getting away from the suspense and thriller and became more about the goth, S&M sex. I love sex but too much of ANYTHING makes it less interesting or fun. The other thing that began to really bug me was all the moralizing that was going on. Anita is a remarkable woman on so many levels. What is up with the constant self recriminations, the constant struggling with the inner demons? Oh My God, how can a woman who can look a monster straight in the eye and put a bullet in its heart then turn around and whine because she is going to have mind blowing sex with the most gorgeous men to walk the planet. Really? I am not reading this series because I identify with Anita. I read this series because I fantasize about BEING Anita.

I thought with "Bullet" Anita was beginning to work through her crap and we would move on and get back to a good relationship. The story still had more problems than resolutions but we were back to fighting monsters and the thrill was returning. It was good enough that I had really high hopes for "Hit List". Boy was I disappointed. The big bads introduced in Harlequin were way too easily defeated. After all that we had gone through with the Mother of All Darkness, all the fears that she was undefeatable she was completely destroyed in less than 500 words and a metaphysical prayer circle. Oh! and what was the point of the misogynistic Marshal? Outside of giving her an opportunity to cry about being picked on and misunderstood he served no purpose. He was sent away on a stupid road trip just to get him out of the way. I think that was because even Ms. Hamilton was sick of the pissiness and pettiness.

So why do I keep reading these books? Because when Ms. Hamilton is on a roll nobody is better and there are glimpses of that creativity and brilliance in every single book. Anita is so freaking cool I can't help but want to see if she will work through her crap with each installment. Bottom line, I like Anita. What I have learned is to just take her for what she is, a screwed up but very interesting girlfriend. She is a train wreck and I am human. I want to see it/her.

So, I admit it. Even though he can annoy the crap out of me I love my husband and we will be together until the end. I like Anita and I will read her story until the end with hopes and curiosity and as in my marriage I will probably bitch when she lets me down… again. Like I said, I'm human.

Self Published Books...Lovely Surpises

2011-07-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

Back in May I went on a little shopping spree at B&N's Nook Dept. I bought a few newer releases like Debbie Macomber's 1022 Evergreen Place and the book my sister convinced me to give another try, Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. (I know, I know....I am the only woman on the planet who never got hooked on Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall.)
Anyway, I also visited the under $5.00 section and purchased several self-published tales that were either $.99 or free. I have finally gotten to 2 of those stories and I am delighted to report they were really well done. I don't mean to suggest because a book is self published it is less than a mass production house book. but I was expecting the cheaper novels in this section to be cheap because they didn't sell well or not great. "So why buy any?" you ask. Well because I was on a budgeted spree and I was curious. I am an aspiring writer myself and have wondered whether self-publishing is the way to go. I am still not sure on that point but I am sure that I will read more self-published work in the future.

The two books that have me singing a happy tune are "The Mating" by Nicky Charles and "To Kill a Warlock" by H.P. Mallory. Both novels were paranormals. One was a serious romance and the other a tongue in cheek girl detective/whodunit.

"The Mating" by Nicky Charles takes an old theme of arranged marriage and puts a 21st century werewolf spin on it. Elise comes home from a run in the woods with her would be boyfriend to find out she is to be mated that day to a new alpha of the neighboring pack. Even though she is upset and unhappy over being manipulated by her father into marrying a complete stranger she goes through with it because she would rather marry a stranger than be a lone wolf. What happens after this is a really touching love story. Elise is thrust into a well established community that is still grieving over the loss of the past alpha. To complicate matters it seems someone is trying to sabotage the pack to either sell some land to an oil company or give up their territory altogether. Kane, the new alpha and husband seems like a good guy with a lot on his plate with blind spots about the people close to him. As the couple grow closer together the troubles of the pack get bigger.
This is a long story but it read really fast and my attention was held. There are parts that I thought got a little wordy and some connections didn't get made for me but I have experienced that in books I have paid top dollar for. Ms. Charles has two follow-ups to the "The Mating". I downloaded "The Keeping" during the shopping spree. "The Finding" is not on B&N yet but can be gotten at smashwords.com for free. Isn't FREE a lovely word!

"To Kill a Warlock" by H.P. Mallory is a complete departure from "The Mating". It is a short, delightful read featuring a Fairy Regulator, aka cop named Dulcie and her team of sidekicks in the completely fictional place called "Splendor." This tongue and cheek suspense story revolves around a series of very gross killings by a very gross creature. Dulcie catches the case and then is kicked off the case for her own protection. She is surrounded by a slew of gorgeous good and bad guys and until the end you aren't sure which one is which. When she isn't catching bad guys she is writing romance novels featuring some of the hunks she works with. This was totally worth the $.99 I kicked in for it. I would read more of her work and be willing to pay at least a few more dollars for future installments of the Dulcie's adventures.

So my friends, checkout the Under $5.00 section at B&N. There are some real gems in there. One caveat: Make sure you checkout all the info on a book. I have felt totally ripped off when I bought a Nora Roberts novel that was actually a re-release of a short story. As always, be a smart shopper.
I also found smashwords.com to be an awesome resource for inexpensive and free novels to feed my book beast. For those who don't have to own their books, checkout your local library's ebook collection. Mine has really become a treasure trove of great reading.

Lyndsay Sands and Carly Phillips go awry

2011-07-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

I am annoyed. I want to enjoy Lyndsay Sands and Carly Phillips, really I do, but just as I am starting to get into the story I am jarred out of the moment with the constant use of the word "wryly".....ugh! If I had the time and desire to go back and count how many times that word was used by each author it would number into the hundreds! I am sorry ladies but this is not acceptable. You are both good writers with fun and interesting plots so why aren't you using your thesaurus. I did and look, I found 9 options for "wry". From thesaurus.com they are:
askew, aslant, awry, contorted, crooked, cynical, deformed, droll, dry, ironic, mocking, sardonic, twisted, uneven, warped. If I looked up the synonyms for these words the list gets even longer. I listened to Carly Phillip's "Heartbreaker" and I winced every time the narrator said, "wryly." Come on Ms. Phillips not every smile is wry! How about chagrined or delight, embarassment? They are all great words! I read "The Immortal Hunter" by Lyndsay Sands right after "Heartbreaker" and it was like salt in an open wound! Vampires are not the most emotive of creatures ok, but I think of them as more often as stoic or sardonic than wry. I would even go with secretive and sinister but wry would be on the bottom of my expressions list. I would love to say these two books were the only instances of this travesty of language laziness but alas they are not. This is the third Carly Phillips novel I have read/listened to and “wryly” is her most favorite expression in the English language. I will let Ms. Sands a little leeway because I have read most of the Argeneau Series and this is the first time I have noticed the over use of that word. I might have been over sensitive at that point since, as I said, I had just finished “Heartbreaker.”
In conclusion, I want you ladies to promise me in all future books you will strike the words “wry and wryly” from your vocabulary. Get out your thesaurus and play with the rest of the english language….just sayin