Tag: Review

You may think that there is nothing in Minnesota that grants a nuclear attack plan.

You would be wrong.

The Prairie River Nuclear Power Plant seems to be the target and with the help of a few Minnesotans as well as a Three Mile Island Survivor with a chip on his shoulder, things are looking a bit grim.

Yet just as things are beginning to look bleak, we find retired U S Government Intelligence, James Becker, living a mere six miles from the targeted plant.  As John uses his past experience to put together the clues, he is also tasked with trying to convince the government of the threat.

Can’t a retired guy catch a break?

So here I am reading a book about the government,war, and terrorists….. and I do not like reading about government, war, and terrorists.

Why then?

Here’s why.  Last year I had the opportunity to read John Betcher’s first book, The Missing Element.  In this book I was introduced to a character I really enjoyed, James Becker.  James was  light-hearted character who while dealing with serious matters, still had a snappy line here and there that made me smile and want to read more.

This past fall I was offered to read John’s second book and I  was glad to do so.  It took me awhile to fit the book into my crazy schedule but once I sat down to read it…. I was back in the world of James Becker again.

I think what makes this book enjoyable for me is that John Betcher’s writing style is down to earth.  I can’t help but like the life he writes into his character James Becker’s DNA.  SO while this topic would be one I would most certainly pass on, John writes it in such a way that I found it fascinating to research the clues and solve the mystery like a side kick in the story.   I, being from Minnesota as well, enjoyed this setting around the familiar area of  Red Wing, a place where you really are not expecting a body to wash up along the shores of the Mississippi.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map now includes The Nineteenth Element

Did I mention a Giveaway?

I did!  To enter this giveaway leave a comment on this review.

A second chance to win will be given if you blog or tweet about this giveaway (let me know in a separate comment)

For a bonus entry – subscribe to receive my posts by email (upper right sidebar) and let me know in a separate comment)

That’s it!  I will close this giveaway out on January 29th.  USA and Canada entrants only please.  The winner will be chosen using random.org

I received my review copy as well as a signed copy to give away from author John Becker

Why is this book the first book I chose to read in 2011?  believe me – it wasn’t an easy choice.  What if I chose a book I disliked?  Who wants to start the year out that way?  I struggled choosing the read that would hold this coveted posting spot but settled on this one for reasons I feel are perfect:

This book was one I wanted so badly last year right around Christmas time.  I could not find it at any of my local book stores but hinted about it enough to actually find it under the tree for Christmas from my husband.  SSQQUUEEE!!!  He does not but me books often, as obviously if you looked around my home it would appear that a book is truly the last thing I need.  However, he does understand the book lover in me and I was thrilled to receive this treasure.  This was Christmas 2009.  That’s right, I have had this book for over a year and lovingly put it on a shelf and there it sat.

For a year.

That is why this book seemed very appropriate to start off the 2011 year with.  I hope this will remind me to not only pursue books I really want to read, but to also take the time to read them.

Happy New year fellow book lovers!

Sheila

 

FALLEN

Seventeen year old Lucinda (Luce) Price has just arrived at the Sword and Cross Boarding School in Savannah.  It’s not that she is a bad girl really… yes she was present during a recent fire that left one of her friends dead, and yes… she see’s shadows that seem to make her skin crawl and bad things seem to happen when they are present…

and of course her parents are worried for her own safety..

but boarding school seems a little extreme doesn’t it?

And then there is Daniel.  She sees this dark, mysterious, weight of the world boy on her first day at school and he promptly…

flips her off.

This action would probably make most girls decide a gut like that was not worth any attention at all, but Luce finds herself fascinated with this boy who makes her heart race and scowls whenever he sees her.  Something in those eyes seems hauntingly familiar.

Then there is Cam, gorgeous popular and totally swoon worthy and the big difference between Cam and Daniel is that Cam is charming, friendly and likes Luce a lot.  Often surprising her with gifts and attention that warms her insides in this new environment.

Yet why can she not shake this need to be with Daniel?

Why do we girls so often go for the bad guys?

 

Fallen is…. a love story, definitely YA, with a sprinkle of paranormal.  Seriously – whats not to love?

I found Luce’s storyline bringing me right into the setting.  Fallen was very visually described and I had no problem at all envisioning the school, the colorful characters (Arriane – both a little spooky and fun at the same time), Penn ( the girl with a heart of gold who usually does not get the credit she deserves) and doesn’t every school have a Molly (ie.  mean girl usually just for the sake of being mean?.  Of course I feel that I too would probably feel a little ga ga for Daniel as well, in fact he reminded me of a boy I knew in High School…

enough said.

There are parts I wish had been a bit more detailed – for instance the fire before Luce comes to the school seems to be vague on what exactly happened and why Luce is blamed.  I wish that would have been a bit more detailed as it does play out to be an important part of this read.

The ending came to a powerful conclusion that actually did take me by surprise how it all played out.

As far as the love (well… read the book, not sure if it is all love) triangle… I enjoyed it being the big sap that I am (I also enjoyed the Bella, Edward, and Jacob triangle).  I mean,even though I can not stand romance reads, a YA powerful love triangle where the guy will do anything to get the girl admittedly tugs at my heart.

I have read over the past year mixed thoughts on this book, anywhere from it being slow, or underdeveloped but I find I do not agree.  I enjoyed the pace of the book and getting to know the characters and the mysteries behind who they all are.  I am looking forward to reading the second book TORMENT which is on my kitchen table currently, and if FALLEN became a movie I for one would check it out.

Reviewer note:  When you are done reading this book, go back and read the first chapter again called, “In The Beginning” it will have a much richer meaning.

Amazon Rating

 

Book 1 on my WHERE Are You Reading Challenge map

This book was a gift from my husband – Christmas 2009

Thank you Al!

At the age of nine, Grace is torn away from a swing she is playing by a pack of wolves that come into her yard.  Surely she should have been killed, but one wolf – one with particular captivating eyes appears to save her.  Since that day Grace feels a connection with the wolves and sees the wolf with the eyes many times throughout the years around her home, almost as if he is watching her.  In an odd way, Grace is comforted by the wolf’s presence.

Then, when Grace is seventeen, a boy she attends school with is killed in a wolf attack and the hunters take to the woods.  Grace finds a boy on her doorstep with a gun shot wound… oddly, the boy has very familiar eyes… almost like her wolf…

Yes, I did it.  After Shiver has sat on my book shelf for a long long time, I finally took the time to read it.  I had heard the comparisons to the Twilight series, and before you groan about me comparing books… there is a method to my madness….

First of all… my only real dive into the paranormal as far as vampires, and wolves go is the Twilight books (other than The Passage, but that is really not a comparable book as that is so much a deeper/ complicated read).  And I have to admit after hearing buzz about Sam (Shiver) being a much more likable that Edward (Twilight), I had to bite…  (no pun intended.)

Ok…maybe a little bit of a pun….

In the early pages of this read as I was introduced to Grace and Sam, I started making a mental list of what I thought so far of the Sam/Edward comparisons:

1.  I like that in Twilight we get to know Edward and meet Edward before we are introduced to the vampire side of him.  I found it harder to connect with Sam in the beginning and I feel that is due to me first knowing him as a wolf.  I felt I had to work harder to think of him as human.

2.  I didn’t find the love connection of Sam and Grace as totally captivating as Edward and Bella.  Edward’s love for Bella made you have to book crush on his character as he is so emotionally there for her.  I didn’t feel it as strong with Same and Grace although I found Grace a much more likable character than Bella.  No where near as ditzy.

My initial plan as I read this book was to come up with a whole pile of comparisons for this review… I was actually excited about it and even thought about a separate post on Sam VS Edward, which maybe… as I read through this series may still happen – but not now and here is why:

As I read on and shook off my prejudices, I really started to get into the story line and found it less easy to put the book down and leave it as I had in the early pages.  By the middle of the book I had driven to my local book store only to find out they did not have Linger and not wishing to wait, I ordered it immediately on-line.  I enjoyed the alternating  chapters told in each of the main characters voice.

Today, I took the liberty of the holiday weekend to SHIVER under a new blanket from my hubby until I got warm and could LINGER through the end of this book.  I loved that it is set in my home state of Minnesota and I imagine as I am in central Minnesota that I am about two to three hours from Mercy Falls, where Sam and Grace are.

In the book we are introduced to a rich snooty girl named Isabel who goes to school with Grace.  This character is not easy to get along with.  She is sarcastic and unfriendly and only gets involved with others when it is to her benefit.  The more her character come up, the more she formed in my head of what she would look like.  If Shiver ever becomes a movie (and I hope it does!) the perfect character to play Isabel would be Maggie Grace who plays Shannon on LOST.

In the end, I was really surprised and impressed on how much I enjoyed this read.  I  am looking forward to the arrival of Linger!

Amazon Rating

I received this book as a win from a past Read-A-Thon

 

Erin Channing is working hard to keep her GPA high so she can earn a trip to Italy.  To be considered for this, she needs to write an essay that will blow the committee away, yet Erin fears she will not be chosen to win the trip because her life is the definition of boring.  What could she possibly write about that would be interesting?  How can she possibly win this honor?

When a distant Aunt suddenly dies unexpectedly and leaves Erin a pink crystal ball with instructions of how to use it Erin finds that the small requests she makes of the crystal ball seem to be coming true.  With her best friends Lindsay and Samantha at her side, Erin uses the crystal ball without fully understanding all of its powers and at first finds it fascinating (asking the ball is she is “smexy” (smart + sexy = smexy).  Then later finds herself making a mess of her relationships.

As Erin tried to figure out the true powers of the crystal ball she grows in her friendships and in herself.

 

I was really excited to write this review because I am a sucker for good books on friendships.  I really love that and some of my favorite books have to do with strong female friendships.  In my own life I know how important my girlfriends are to me.

I really enjoyed Erin for all she is worth.  She is fantastic – an overachiever that looks at her own life and says seriously, what am I doing?  And her two friends Samantha and Lindsey were well-developed characters that  wanted to go hang out at the mall with, and I don’t even really like shopping!

All in all the book was a delight to read and a fresh breath into the YA genre that I so appreciated.  I think YA’s will enjoy this read and I look forward in seeing what author Risa Green offers up next!

Amazon Rating

I received this book from review from:

Danielle DeLuca

Assistant to the Publicity Team

Planned Television Arts/ Ruder Finn Inc.

This is a delightful read for young YA readers!  Full of imagination and a little history too!

Sheila

 

Abbie would just like to be like a normal eleven year old girl.  She wishes her only worries were her over bearing and heavy homework handed teacher Miss Linegar (rhymes with vinegar), and sharing secrets with her best friend Callie…

But Abbie is a young witch and that adds a whole other dimension to her eleven year old being.

For instance… she has a younger brother they call Munch.  Munch can also do magic but has not figured out the boundaries of doing magic in non magical settings…. uhhhh…. like school.  And really anywhere in public.  Abbie is always having to keep an eye on him and put forget hexes on all those who see Munch in action.  And of course there is Callie….. Abbie wishes she could share this secret with Callie, her one true best friend… but she can not.

Who knew 11 could be so hard?

And then comes Benjamin, the new kitten Abbie’s dad brought home for her.  Abbie has wanted a kitten for like EVER!  Yet there is something different about this kitten who seems to enjoy reading everything he can get his paws on…..

and that is where it really gets interesting…

 

I met author Rhonda Hayter at BEA this past May.  She was a delight to talk to and she gave me this book to read and review.  As life tends to happen, it has taken me quite a while to get to this book, but once I did…. I couldn’t believe I had waited so long.

Abbie is a fun character that I can really see young girls from 7 – 15 really enjoying reading about.  Yes, I would say this book is a MG (Middle Grade) read and I for one am cheering about that.  While I have enjoyed many a YA, I also appreciate a well written MG to keep the pre YA’s reading.  It’s a tough genre because you want it to be mature enough to hold their attention but not quite to the YA level of teen parties, dating, boyfriends, etc…

Rhonda Hayter does well in putting forth a likable and interesting character in Abbie Adams.  I look forward to what Abbie will be up to next, and I thing MG readers will as well.

 

Amazon Rating

I received this book from the author, Rhonda Hayter

This prequel to the New York Times bestseller The Elegance of the Hedgehog tells the story of another occupant of the posh apartment building in Paris: the great food critic Pierre Arthens. As his life draws to a close, he reflects back on its many flavors, and on a singular sublime something, once sampled and never forgotten.

A fine example of a well written book…. but not necessarily the book for me.

Sheila

I have found myself drawn to books about food lately.  I have dabbled a bit  with food critics (Garlic and Sapphire), and a little with food magicians (Cake Boss ) as well as books with delicious recipes in them that makes even a non baker (the villagers have voted and the answer was “no”) like myself wants to don an apron and a wooden spoon and try my hand at some of the mouth-watering treasures….

Total run on (or run away) sentence.

My point being…. that while in Honduras I was browsing through the one book store opportunity I had and was refusing to leave without having made a bookish purchase.

After much pacing and admiring of some of favorite titles in Spanish, I walked out of the store having spent 385 Limperas on this book.  (About 20 Limperas to the dollar so I paid a little over $18  for this book. )

While I found the writing richly worded in a style that I savored… I found that I tended to drift and skim pages as I found the main character, the Maitre’, more and more unlikable.  He was not very found of his wife and admitted to not liking his children.  While on his death-bed he scoffs at his wife’s loyalty and sadness and even states that he will not miss her.   In fact I believe the only thing this sniveling of a man (and I use the term loosely) seemed to appreciate was his palate for food.

(At this point, I remind myself there was two reasons I wanted to read this book:  1)  I had heard good things about this author with ‘The Elegance Of The Hedgehog’ which I have yet to read, and 2) it’s a foodie book… and I found I am interested in this topic.

So… I read on…

And to please the foodie in me, I can say I did enjoy the  mouth watering pictures that came to mind as Muriel Barbery describes the freshness of a chunky orange sorbet, grilled sardines, and Greek loukamades (hot donuts trickled with honey).

While I puzzled my way through the different narrators that lend a voice to this book I still marveled at the descriptive writing, even if I did occasionally get lost in the words.  Overall, I appreciated the writing but found the storyline hard to follow.  I enjoyed reading about the food, yet found myself skimming the pages for more foodish topics….

bottom line, it just did not hold my attention.

I do still look forward to Muriel Barbery’s ‘Elegance Of The Hedgehog’ and am curious now how it will compare to this read.

Amazon Rating

Purchased in Tegucigalpa Honduras