I am a NetGalley Member!

I recently signed up with NetGalley as a Professional Reader.  I honestly didn't know that there was such a thing!  I'd come across NetGalley before when reading other customer reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, etc. but never really gave much thought to it.  I had no idea what it was and to be honest, I had no idea what an ARC was!  I just kept seeing NetGalley and ARC popping up under reviews and blog posts and decided to find out what the deal was.

I found out what ARC meant right away.  Advance Reading Copy.  Wait, what?  You mean I get to read a book before it gets released?!  Ok, I just died and went to book heaven.  So many books!  So little time!

Of course I signed up immediately.  I followed their recommendations and filled out my profile and tried to make myself sound good to the publishers because they are the ones who hold the keys to book nirvana.  After setting up my account, I started searching for books.  Once I found one that sounded interesting I simply clicked on a box to request a copy and it was shipped off to the publisher to give me a yes or no.

I was turned down quite a bit, especially by the bigger publishers.  They want reviewers with more book reviews under their belt I guess.  But I wasn't going to give up and I found a few that wanted to give this amateur reviewer a chance and I just posted my first review today!  Now to find more books...

Review for The Bones of You by Debbie Howells

NetGalley provided an ARC and my review is an honest opinion and nothing was promised in return for my review other than the ARC, all opinions are my own.

I was intrigued when I first read the synopsis for The Bones of You.  The perfect daughter from the perfect family is missing and later found brutally murdered.  A murder mystery, a family with a terrible dark side, an innocent bystander who gets drawn into the middle after extending the branch of friendship and ends up solving not only the murder but also exposing the horrible secret behind the "perfect family".

The plot was enough to get my attention.  Rosie Anderson, oldest daughter of the town's perfect family, is missing.  She is found murdered and it rocks the town to its core, especially Kate McKay.  She is a local gardener and horse woman who has a daughter the same age as Rosie.  She believes that these types of things just don't happen here.  Is there a stranger in their midst, preying on their children?  Are any of them safe?  Kate McKay asks herself this question as she thanks the heavens that her own daughter, Grace, is alive and well.  What can only be described as survivor's guilt, Kate befriends Rosie's mother, the beautiful and fragile Joanna Anderson.

Through this friendship, Kate begins to unravel a family secret, a darkness that hides behind the dazzling façade that the Anderson's have built for themselves.  The beautiful and graceful Jo, her husband and renowned journalist, Neil and their youngest daughter, Delphine.  As anonymous notes arrive, Kate slowly begins to unravel the web of lies and deceit that surround Rosie's life and death, not knowing where they will lead.  It will make her ask the question, is anyone really who they seem to be?

While I really did enjoy this book, I will admit that it did take awhile for me to warm up to the story and to the characters.  I put it down and took it up again several times before I was able to let the story suck me in.  Some of the characters were a little wooden and one dimensional.  In some aspects they were barely there, but for some of these characters I think it does fit the story perfectly.  There are some people who float through our lives and never seem more than just a ghostly image and I believe that is what the author has achieved here. 

While I did enjoy the backstory provided by Rosie's perspective, the change in perspective was a bit jumpy at times and I think this could be smoothed out to make it more cohesive and less jarring.  There were times that even though you knew it was told from Rosie's perspective, it was still hard to follow at points.  There are a couple entries where the perspective is Rosie's but it's someone else who is actually speaking and this can be a little confusing at times.  There were also a few shifts into Delphine's perspective and I think that these subtracted from the story instead of adding to it. 

Overall, I would give this novel a solid 3 stars.  It may take some time to grow on you, but I think it's worth a look if you like a book with a few twists and turns with a fairly satisfying resolution.

The Bones of You on Amazon

Harry Bosch Series by Michael Connelly

As if I didn't have enough series to follow, I started another one a few weeks ago.  A co-worker recommended the new Amazon produced show Bosch and said it was based on a book series.  I can't bring myself to watch a movie or television show that's been based on a book without reading the books first.  So that led me to my local library and luckily the first 15 (yes fifteen!) books were available immediately!  I checked them out three at a time and am now up to Echo Park, book 12 in the series.  I found out later that I only needed to read as far as City of Bones, the 9th book, to not lose anything by watching the series.  But I was hooked and am now reading now only all of the Harry Bosch books, but I've been hooked into reading a couple of books by Michael Connelly that don't have Harry as the main character, but he's there.  I had to read The Poet before I could read The Narrows.

I'm not actually going to review all of the books, that would take too long!  But I am going to recommend them to anyone who likes a good mystery and a good detective novel.  In Detective Hieronymus (rhymes with anonymous) Bosch you have a character who is flawed but likable.  His mother named him after a 15th century painter who was famous for his portrayal of earthly sins and his visions of hell.  This sometimes parallels Det. Bosch and his own struggles.  He was orphaned at an early age, spent time in Vietnam as a tunnel rat and seems to be constantly at odds with those in charge.  But he has an undeniable need and desire to do good, to make everyone count.  Every case matters, every victim counts no matter who they are or where they came from.  It didn't matter if they were the homeless man on the sidewalk or a Beverly Hills millionaire.  To Detective Harry Bosch, they all count, they all matter and he will do everything in his power to bring justice.

Even after reading 11 books in the series, I keep going back for more and am more than willing to branch out and get involved in other series by Connelly just to keep up with Harry Bosch.  And now that Bosch has been picked up for another season on Amazon, I'll have even more to look forward to once I get the rest of the series finished!

I will list the Harry Bosch books in order, but I'm also going to include some of the "offshoots" because I did find that I was a little lost when I first started The Narrows because they were talking about people and events that started in another book called the Poet that starred some of the supporting characters from the Bosch books.  I'll put those books in italics and it's also the order that I'm reading the books.

Happy Reading!!

The Black Echo (1992)
The Black Ice (1993)
The Concrete Blonde (1994)
The Last Coyote (1995)
The Poet (1996) Does not feature Harry Bosch but is the prequel to The Narrows
Trunk Music (1997)
Angels Flight (1999)
A Darkness More Than Night (2001)
City of Bones (2002)
Lost Light (2003)
The Narrows (2004)
The Lincoln Lawyer (2005) Part of the Mickey Haller series
The Closers (2005)
Echo Park (2006)
The Overlook (2007)
The Brass Verdict (2008) Part of the Mickey Haller Series
9 Dragons (2009)
The Reversal (2010) Part of the Mickey Haller Series
The Drop (2011)
The Fifth Witness (2011) Part of the Mickey Haller Series
The Black Box (2012)
The Gods of Guilt (2013) Part of the Mickey Haller Series
The Burning Room (2014)
The Crossing (2015) will be released in November 2015

Review for Docket No. 76 by Arita M. L. Bohannan

Docket No. 76 is a legal thriller that is surprisingly packed with vivid details, suspense, action and drama, all in a package of less than 200 pages.  Most stories don't reach this level of completeness even after twice and sometimes three times as many pages.

Little Dori has been brutally attacked in the home of her godfather, a well to do architect in New Orleans.  He is quickly cleared as a suspect and the hunt goes on for the attacker.  Once found, it's the job of ADA Sandy Morgan to bring him to justice.

Docket No. 76 is this case.  It's just a number, just one file in the many that come across her desk every day.  It's supposed to be an open and shut case.  They have fingerprints, DNA and the eyewitness testimony of little 5 year old Dori.  Little does Sandy know that her worst nightmare is going to walk into that courtroom.  One way or another, she has vowed to get justice for Dori.  But will it be justice or vengeance?

The details are striking and vivid, you get a clear picture of every character and the setting.  The action is fast paced and while you already know who did it, it's the how will he be brought to justice that has you racing through the pages.  The courtroom scenes are gut-wrenching and nearly brought tears to my eyes.

There were a few loose ends that never got tied up, but even that really didn't detract from the story.  An engaging story and one that I'm definitely glad that I picked up.  I typically don't go for shorter books, but in this case, I'm very happy that I did.

Review for 50 Halfs from First to Last by Brian Baleno

50 Halfs from First to Last follows the author through his first half marathon and his decision to run one race in each of the 50 states.  He had a little tale or story for many of the races. 

I wish he would have included a story for each of the 50 states, there were many gaps between the races.  I also wish they could have been a little longer and went into more detail about the races, how he chose them, the terrain, the race itself, the participants and the points of interest along the route.  Many of the stories were little more than when he arrived, what his timing was and a very little detail about where he was.  Each one left me wanting just a little more.

Many of the pictures were beautiful, but had little to no contextual clues along with them.

There were several pictures that seemed to have been cropped or attacked with the eraser function in MS Paint which led to the pictures being more of a distraction than a compliment to the story.  I'm sure this was done either due to copyright issues or because they did not have permission to publish the likeness of someone else who happened to be in the picture.

I don't want to take anything away from this amazing accomplishment, because it is absolutely amazing.  He had an opportunity that very few people will ever have in their lifetime and he also recognized that he may never again have the opportunity to see most of those states in his lifetime.  With that in mind, I guess I wished for a more vivid picture of what he went through during that two and a half year journey.

50 Halfs from First to Last on Amazon

Review for Every Town Needs a Russian Tea Room by Anne Steinberg

Every Town Needs a Russian Tea Room by Anne Steinberg is an emotional tale of two very different people who come together against all odds to find love and happiness in a world that doesn't believe they can have that love and happiness.  It's not your typical romance novel and doesn't have the typical romance novel ending and I think that's what made this book so enjoyable for me.  It was very real.  The emotions were raw and most of the circumstances were very believable.

Hallie Remington was a wife and mother.  After the recent loss of her son, she retreats from her loveless marriage and lives the life of a hermit in an apartment in New York City.  She's our poor little rich girl.  She comes from money but is the very picture of the adage that money doesn't buy happiness.  She is withdrawn, depressed and very close to losing her mind until the day she lets someone in.  That someone happens to be Nicholas, the houseboy that came with the apartment.

Nicholas is a Russian immigrant who has come to America to become a Master Chef and realize his dream of opening a Russian Tea Room, he believes every town needs one and is willing to travel the blue highways to find the perfect spot for his dream.  Slowly a friendship forms between Hallie and Nicholas, they both fill a spot in each other's heart and slowly that friendship develops into something more.  This isn't just a torrid affair.  They have seemed to find something that seems to be elusive for many people...true love.

Can love overcome the vast differences between Hallie's and Nicholas' worlds?  Can they truly find happiness together in a world that is so concerned with money and superficial standards?  Take the journey with Hallie and Nicholas and find out if they do find that happiness.  The characters are vivid and complete.  You find yourself going through a whole range of emotions toward them as the book goes on.  You want to yell at them, comfort them and encourage them and most of all, you really want them to succeed.

Every Town Needs a Russian Tea Room on Amazon

Review for Buried Threads by Kaylin McFarren

Buried Threads picks up pretty much where Severed Threads left off.  Rachel Lyons and Chase Cohen are treasure hunting partners and lovers.  They are offered a job finding buried treasure in Japan.  The Heart of Darkness, a katana with a very large emerald embedded in the scabbard.  There is a curse that goes along with the katana and will drag Rachel and Chase into a world of mobsters, intrigue, human trafficking and a touch of the supernatural.

I enjoyed the book, though not nearly as much as I did the first novel.  The characters were well drawn but I think this time there were just too many characters to try and keep straight.  It seems that the author really wanted to keep you in suspense as to who can be trusted, who is on the side of good and who is on the side of evil.  It was far to easy to get lost in the web that was being cast that unfortunately, it was hard to keep the thread of the story straight.  Instead of adding to the suspense and intrigue, it tended to take away from it.

The addition of Japanese words and phrases would have been easier for many to read if there was actually a reference to what the terms meant.  Sometimes it was made clear and sometimes there were just phrases put in with no reference whatsoever as to what they meant.

Ghosts, spirits, souls, reincarnation and the afterlife are represented here and for the most part it's done really well.  A light touch was used through most of the scenes where the supernatural was present and it seemed to flow with the story.  But there were a few times where it just seemed to be thrown in for the sake of being able to explain something away.

All in all, it was still a good read and went by fairly quickly.  There were a few sluggish areas and there were simply too many twists and turns involved that the main story seemed to get lost sometimes in the web of intrigue.  But all that aside, I'm interested in seeing what happens to Rachel and Chase next.  I hope that the author isn't quite done with them yet.  A note of warning, this book really isn't a stand alone novel, to understand some of the context, you should read Severed Threads first.

Buried Threads on Amazon

Review for Severed Threads by Kaylin McFarren

Who doesn't like a good mystery with a little sexual tension thrown in?  That's why I picked up this book and I wasn't disappointed at all.  This was a well written story of who done it and the main protagonists are a couple with a past who are thrown together out of necessity and in the process of solving the mystery they are drawn together once again.

Rachel Lyons is the daughter of a treasure hunter.  Her father died doing what he loved most, searching for the ever elusive Heart of the Dragon.  She blames herself for his death because of the harsh words they had before he left for his final dive.  Shes plagued by nightmares and the ever destructive what if?  She runs from her grief and hides away in the safe world of a museum foundation.

Chase Cohen is the owner of Trident Ventures, the company that has asked the foundation for funding to explore and bring up a Chinese merchant ship.  Chase was Sams dive partner and Rachel's lover.  He blames himself for Sams death and turns his back on Rachel and her family just when they need him most.  She believes him to be a coward and a jerk, just like her brother warned.

Chase wants her to fund his search for the Wanli II, a Chinese ship that went down with a fortune in gold and the Heart of the Dragon, the wedding gift from a concubine of the emperor for the Spanish captain she loves.  400 years later Chase believes hes found the lost ship, the one that Sam died trying to find, the ship that's been part of Rachel's nightmares  for years.

But they're not the only ones looking for the sunken treasure.  Some very unsavory characters come into play and do everything they can to make sure that Chase and Rachel not only never find what they are seeking but that they don't live to tell the tale.  Mob bosses, crooked cops, pirates and a creepy stalker come into play.  Rachel has no intention of helping Chase in any way until her brother is kidnapped and the ransom is two million dollars.  She becomes a reluctant partner in the search for the Wanli II.

The story is full of twists, turns, plot twists and surprises at every turn.  You don't know who to trust and it takes you to the very end before you get your big Ah ha! moment.  Its not perfect and there are a few places that leave you scratching your head and going what? but for the most part, this is a very well written story that keeps you guessing until the end.

Severed Threads on Amazon

Review for Elias's Fence by Anne Steinberg and Nicholas Tolkien

This is my review for Elias's Fence and the opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone or anything.

I was interested in this story because of the premise of an inanimate object being infused with evil and then spreading that evil outward.  It started out promising enough.  Elias is a blacksmith who is asked by the local convent to create a fence.  One of the nuns has been asked to be the model for the angels that will adorn the top of the fence.  But once the casting is done, the blacksmith decides that he wants more than just an image of the young nun.  He takes her in the most evil way possible and ends up killing her next to the fence that he'd just completed and stacked up.

The fence is erected and evil seems to breed and flourish within its confines.  Its then forgotten for about 100 years before being purchased by Christine Thorpe for her home.  The world of 2032 has become a scary place and shes wanting to keep the terror out and keep her family safe never known that shes actually keeping the danger inside.

The America of 2032 has been shaped by a man with a golden tongue and people have come to the conclusion that God is dead and have outlawed religion along with nearly everything else that hasnt been approved by Anderson Thorpe, a man who even has the ear of the President.  Drugs, chemicals, murder and mayhem are all present.

The story jumped around a lot and became hard to follow at times.  The characters were very one dimensional and it was impossible to really get to know any of them in any real sense.  It was almost like reading a graphic novel without the graphics.  You can picture the landscape and the action pretty handily, but you cant really get a handle on the characters and who they really are.

This book will probably appeal to a wider audience, especially those who are interested in dystopian fiction and the incarnation of evil.  Unfortunately this one wasn't for me, but I cant really say that the book was bad, more of a matter of taste.

Elias's Fence on Amazon

Review for The Winter Calf by Michael S. Nuckols

This is my review for The Winter Calf.  The opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone or anything.

Iris Littleton is known as the mountain witch.  In the small town of Maple Gap she has a reputation of being a witch and a hermit.  Shes lived in the mountains for more than 30 years and people say that the Bubbling Brook not only took the life of her young son, but is named after the bubbles when he breathed his last.

Henry Mayfield is a young boy who wants to grow up to be just like his father.  Their milk cow just had a calf and hes going to raise it and help it grow strong.  He wants to enter it into the county fair and impress his family and schoolmates.

Jerome Bigman is the school bully and generally known as a bad seed.  Hes trying to escape a violently abusive father and end his pain.  He runs away and begins a chain of events that bring him, Iris and Henry together in ways none of them could imagine.

The story was a very good one.  The characters were all vivid and very well fleshed out.  You could sympathize with Iris and her loneliness, Henry and Jerome and their trying to come to grips with different childhood tragedies.  There are flashbacks that can get a little confusing at times, I had to go back and read a few portions again just to make sure I read it correctly.  But they didn't really detract from the story and gave you more information on the characters possible motivations.

The story started slowly with a lot of build up.  I was not disappointed in the climax.  It was actually quite shocking because there was a bit of a lull where you're fooled into thinking everything might be okay after all and then the unthinkable happens.  It was impressive and surprising and after the initial shock, it made sense and was a fitting end to that part of the narrative.

I was, however, a bit disappointed by the very end of the book.  The story had come full circle and there was room for hope, but it was almost like the author simply ran out of things to say and just had to find a way to say the end.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.  It was a very touching story.  Vivid characters and engaging story line.  Take a chance on The Winter Calf.

The Winter Calf on Amazon

Review for Worlds of Obsession by Kella McKinnon

This is my review for Worlds of Obsession.  All opinions expressed are my own and in no way influenced by anyone.

Though I'm sure most people will realize from the moment that they see the cover of this book, I feel like I need to reiterate one fact: this book is NOT for young audiences.  This book would most definitely have at least an NC-17 rating and there would be many who would easily give this a XXX rating!  Buyer beware, if you are offended by foul language and strong sexual content, steer clear of this book.  But if you want to lose yourself for a few hours in the world of the Sidhe with an amazingly beautiful and virile Demon.

Bastien is a member of the Fomorian race, one of the protectors of the human race.  He and his kind protect us from the things that go bump in the night.  For the last 200 years hes been living in a world of anger and rage after he lost his mate.  He should have died with her, that's how its supposed to work.  His race mates for life, once they find the one their life force is entwined with theirs and if their mate dies, they follow quickly after.  But not Bastien, he lives and every day is a torment.  Until he meets Liv.

Liv receives a strange package on her 26th birthday.  A mysterious letter urges her to travel to Glasgow and included is a book of Celtic myths and legends.  She finds herself reading about things she never knew existed and doesn't really believe...until she has a run-in with an evil  Vampire in a back alley.

Bastien comes to her rescue and when he finds that he cant wipe her memory of the ordeal, were launched into a whirlwind of intrigue and sexual tension when Bastien realizes that there's some sort of very strong connection between himself and the woman he has saved.  Has he been given a second chance?  Who is this female who has him going crazy?

I found myself enjoying the book in spite of myself.  For the most part the characters were fun and even though you wished that the build up didn't take so long, the results were satisfying.  There were times that I really didn't like Bastien and I found myself telling Liv to run away or just smack him upside the head for being a sexist jerk.

You need to come into this book not looking for something deep and meaningful.  If you can suspend belief and take the book for what it is...book porn...you'll find yourself on a raunchy but enjoyable ride through the Otherworlds with a gorgeous Demon, his insatiable Vampire friend, a rather mean Demi-God and a whole host of supernatural beings.  If you're looking for some graphic and steamy sex scenes with a bit of action and adventure in between, take a chance and have fun with Worlds of Obsession.

Review for American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I think I've been living under a rock or just talking to the wrong people, because I'd never heard of American Gods until the day it popped up on my Kindle Daily Deal page.  I read the sample and figured, what the heck, even if I hate it I'll still only be out a couple bucks.  So I bought it and it sat on my Kindle for weeks until I finally found the time to sit and read.  And I'm glad I did.  I really did enjoy the book...even if it did ramble a bit and descended into madness a time or three.  I'm still not sure if it added to the story or detracted.

Shadow is our guide through a tricky landscape of the Gods, old and new, in America.  Shadow meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday after being let out of prison after a nearly three year stint for beating the snot out of a few people who wronged him.  He was looking forward to going back home to his wife only to be told that she was killed, along with his best friend, in a horrible car accident.  He meets Wednesday on the plane home where he is offered a job as his errand boy.  Shadow hesitantly accepts and is thrown into a world that challenges your beliefs.

Minor spoiler here...Wednesday is actually Odin, the Allfather.  Big, bad ruler of Asgard.  He's now shuffling around 20th century America and has all but lost his bad-assness.  The premise is that the Gods gain their power from belief.  The more people believe in them, the stronger that they become.  But when people stop believing, they become weak and vulnerable and many of them simply cease to be.  There are new Gods taking over.  Media, Internet, Electricity, Money, Television, etc.  The old Gods are dying out.  No one worships Ra, Bast, Odin, Thor, Loki, Gaia, Coyote, Papa Legba, etc anymore.

There will be a battle, a war, between the old and the new for their survival and their hand hold in America.

There are a lot of characters to try and keep straight and at times it's easy to lose track of who is who and where you are either in reality or somewhere in between.  I think the only real problem with the entire book was the fact that there were so many characters that some of them really fell between the cracks.  And I was a little disappointed by the ending.  With all the build up that went on throughout the book it left me wanting more.  There were still some twists and some surprises that left me smiling or shaking my head.

All in all, this was a great book.  I can definitely see myself going back and reading it again.  But then I'm kind of a junkie when it comes to the old gods.  I was definitely born several centuries too late!

Review for The Seventh Sons of Sycamore by Domino Finn

This is my review for the Seventh Sons of Sycamore.  All opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

I haven't read a supernatural book for awhile, so I decided to pick up this book purely because it involved werewolves.  It seems everyone has been writing about vampires lately, so it was kind of nice to see the werewolves getting some ink!

The story is set in the small town of Sanctuary, Arizona.  The local police station is also the medical clinic and most of the municipal building as well.  Maxim Dwyer is a detective in a surprisingly large police force for such a small town.  The local motorcycle club, The Seventh Sons, has been on his radar for a long time and even rumors that the club is a haven for werewolves doesn't stop him from trying to mete out justice where he believes that it needs it.

Maxim is dealing with the disappearance of his wife two years previous when a stranger walks into his town and becomes embroiled in a murder at the local bar that just happens to be frequented by the Seventh Sons.  Suddenly Maxim has the chance to circumvent the protection that city officials have been giving the motorcycle club to investigate the murder and along the way he begins to see just how deep the secrets surrounding the club and his city go.

The story is a decent one, but it was a bit difficult to follow at times.  The mystery and thrill becomes less about the motorcycle club and the werewolves themselves and becomes more about the actions of a lone wolf from the CDC and rabies.  I was very interested in this part of the book and to have an almost logical explanation of where werewolves come from.

Unfortunately the characters don't hold up quite as well.  They're shallow and one dimensional.  It was hard to have any sympathy for any of the protagonists or to even get a very clear picture of who they are.  They are their motivations.  I was a little sad to see so little of the werewolves themselves.  A lot of time was spent talking about them and building up to a boiling point where they would show their fur, but it was a very long time coming and for me, the action simply didn't live up to the build up.

It was still a good story and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a different perspective on werewolves or those who are interested in a pretty decent crime thriller.  All in all, I think I would give this book three stars.  It was pretty middle of the road for me.

Review for Daisy Chain by Nancy Morgan

This is my unbiased review for Daisy Chain by Nancy Morgan.  The opinions expressed are entirely my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

I don't normally go for short stories, I've always been more of a novel gal.  I picked up this book purely based on the premise.  It's something that most of us have either done as kids or as a party game.  Taking the ending line of the story before to start the next story.  You have to build the story around just a few words.  And the collection of stories truly comes full circle because the beginning of the first story is also the ending of the last story.  I really enjoyed this collection.

I really enjoyed most of the stories.  There were a couple that didn't really appeal to me as a person, but I think it's more because of my taste than the writing or the story itself.  Each story was filled with good characters and a good plot.  Even in the limited space of the short story, the author was able to quickly draw me into each story and I was left satisfied each time and looking forward to the next story when I saw that last line.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes short stories but also to anyone wanting to experience something a little different from the everyday novel.

Review for The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd

The Heiress of Winterwood wasn't a terrible book, I did enjoy many parts of it, but there was so much missing and so much left unsaid, that it felt like an unfinished novel. I enjoyed the setting, I am a big fan of historical fiction.  The characters weren't bad, some of them were unfortunately very one dimensional but it was easy to be sympathetic with Amelia, Lucy and Graham Sterling.  It was an easy, if predictable, plot to follow and there was the implied happily ever after ending that many fans of romantic suspense are expecting.

Amelia Barrett is the heiress of a large estate called Winterwood.  There's one caveat to her inheritance.  She must marry before her 24th birthday or the estate will pass to some distant cousins and she will be cut out entirely.  To add to this burden, she's made a promise to a dying friend to care for her daughter.  Amelia hatches a plan that involves proposing to the child's father, Captain Graham Sterling.  He was married to Lucy's mother but due to his duties at sea, has never actually met his now 9 month old daughter.

Little Lucy is kidnapped and a chilling ransom note is delivered.  There is the mystery of who has taken her and the suspense of trying to get her back.  Who has taken her and why?  Will they be able to get her back?

The heavy-handed way that religion was used in the book was what kept me from rating it higher.  I have nothing wrong with religion in books.  I've read my share of religious fiction and have enjoyed many of them.  But it was done with a very heavy hand in this case, it didn't really belong.  Both Graham Sterling and Amelia Barrett seemed to be having a crisis of faith, but why?  What was accomplished by spouting random Bible verses?  A little back-story would have gone a long way in this case.  Not only with the religion aspect, but also with many of the characters who were introduced.  They were merely window dressing with the barest of connections to the main characters.  And even the main characters needed more dimension to them, more depth.

A good beach or airplane read.  Something that you don't have to put a lot of thought or effort into.  An enjoyable but predictable tale of love and loss with a little suspense thrown in.  I bought this book on sale, otherwise I think I would have given it a pass.  3 star rating.

The Heiress of Winterwood on Amazon

Review for The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

I'm not sure why I never got around to reading this book.  Like many people, I think I've seen the movie about 100 times since it was released.  For a long time, I think I just conveniently forgot that it was based on a book.  I think I was also afraid to read it because if you've ever seen a movie and then gone and read the book, either you're horribly disappointed or your reading is somewhat dulled by having someone else's idea of what the characters look/sound like.

I will admit that I really couldn't picture Dr. Lecter as anyone else other than Sir Anthony Hopkins, but I don't think that's a bad thing!  I was able to put aside the visuals that were in the movie version and immerse myself into the story.  The Silence of the Lambs is the second in the Hannibal Lecter books, but you don't have to read Red Dragon first, both books really do stand on their own.  Sure, there are a few references to Red Dragon, but not so many that you feel like you're lost or that you've missed half the story.  I like that.  Sometimes it's nearly impossible to come into a series without first reading everything else first.

The characters are well drawn and you can relate to many of them on at least some level.  There are some cheesy moments where you wonder why it was thrown in or what it was considered important enough to be part of the story line, but for the most part, it works.  I always think it's fun when a person who is supposed to be on the "good" side turns out to be an incompetent creep.  It's so easy to like Dr. Lecter and to absolutely hate Dr. Chilton,

The suspense doesn't come across quite as well in the book, but I think that might be more because I'd seen the movie version first.  I think someone reading the book without seeing the movie first will find the suspense to be very well done.  The build up is done very well, it's not campy and you have moments of real fright that just grab you by the throat and shake.

The ending seemed a little rushed, but it was also that way in the movie too.  Maybe it was just because I wanted more Dr. Lecter?  I think I'll have to go pick up the rest of the Hannibal Lecter books just to satiate that "need more Lecter" feeling.

Even if you've seen the movie, go read the book.  Yes, it's that good.

The Silence of the Lambs on Amazon

Review for Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte by Susan C. Miller

This is my review for Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte by Susan C. Miller,  The opinions expressed are my own and are in no way influenced by anyone.

This book has a bit of everything.  Family drama, drugs, murder, mystery and romance.  Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte takes place mostly in a small town in Louisiana where superstitions run high and outsiders aren't exactly made to feel welcome.  The central characters are Detective Remy Steinberg and his ex-wife, Gabby Hough.  Their 17 year old daughter, Adrienne, is missing.  She's been missing for 30 hours at when Gabby makes a frantic call to Remy, who is working as a police detective in Houston.  From there we are off to the races.  The story picks up speed and never really slows down until the great, albeit somewhat formulaic, conclusion.

Remy and Gabby married very young and though divorced, it's easy to tell that they never stopped loving each other and that the reasons for their separation really had nothing to do with love and more to do with their own youth and insecurities.  Thrown together again by the disappearance of their daughter, sparks naturally ignite, and you have the romance portion.  It's not overdone at all, it doesn't feel faked or forced and really does add to the story.  Between the romance there is a very real tension between them as they battle to keep their wits about them while they frantically search for their daughter.

The small town sheriff doesn't seem to think that she's missing at all so he's not inclined to send out his men on a wild goose chase.  They have better things to do, like play video poker.  There is a bit of hilarity at the expense of the stereotypical small town police office that take care of a one stoplight town.  You almost feel sorry for them, but you're smiling as Remy and Gabby put one over on them again and again in the course of their own investigation.

There is a dark Voodoo priest who seems to be the leader of some pretty shady activity.  People seem to fear him and hate him but are all drawn in by his powers of persuasion.  There is a bit of mysticism thrown in, so you do have to have an open mind to the possibility of the supernatural.  Again, it's not overdone and it is believable to a degree.  Personally, I liked the addition of a little something extra, something totally unexplainable, to the story.  If it were set anywhere other than Louisiana, it probably wouldn't have worked, but it definitely did here.

I enjoyed the characters, particularly Remy and Gabby.  You easily found yourself rooting for them separately and also together.  You wanted everything to work out for them.  I wish there had been a little more time spent on the darker side of things, a better explanation of how some of the less nice elements actually tied into the story.  Some of them were a little flimsy, they had a place, but they weren't fleshed out quite as much as I would have personally liked.  They still added to the story but even without them, especially the illegal drug activity, the story would have still been a good one.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good mystery with a little romance and a little paranormal activity thrown in.  This is actually part of a series by this author, I was unaware of this until after I read the book and now I find myself wanting to go back and read more!!

Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte on Amazon

Review for The Electric Affinities by Wade Stevenson

This is my review for The Electric Affinities.  All opinions included are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

This book is a beautifully written book and flows a bit like a stream of consciousness book as opposed to one that follows more rigid plot structure.  I can't really say whether it's good or bad, because it's really not either.  I think it's more that it's simply not my cup of tea and not really the type of book I enjoy.  I think I'm more of a conventional girl who likes her books to have a real beginning, middle and end with a plot that makes sense to me.

The story follows a group of seemingly unrelated people who seem to have nothing in common other than Ben, who is the unconventional patriarch of the group.  They have gathered at his home in Sag Harbor to party the away the summer of 1969.  Ben is an affluent architect who has adopted this group of young people as his surrogate family, replacing the one he no longer has.  He lives vicariously through their youth.  Andre, the violent tempered and troubled filmmaker and his girlfriend Maya.  Louise the wallflower who is Maya's friend and surrogate mother.  Ben, the idealistic and disillusioned Vietnam vet and his girlfriend Carolina, a free-spirit, summer of love hippie.

 

You follow them as they go through months of discovering themselves and rediscovering themselves.  There is the obligatory "free love" that ends up turning into a rather tragic love triangle within a triangle.  The resolution of this tangled web is unfortunately unsatisfying and rather conventional.  Sex and drugs are ever present as is the discussion of the meaning of life, why are we here, how can I change, how can I be more free?  Each person seems to be on their own journey to figure out who they are and what they want to be.

 

This is a rather difficult book to follow because it doesn't really flow the same as most other books.  I don't think it's a necessarily bad thing, but it does make it a bit more of a difficult book to get into for some people.  It took me much longer than usual to get through the book and I think I'll have to go back and read it again in the future just to make sure I "get" it.

 

If you want a book filled with beautiful prose, descriptive language, interesting people and a time warp back to 1969, this would definitely be the book for you.

The Electric Affinities on Amazon

Review for If I Were King by Randa Handler

This is my review for If I Were King and the opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone else.

I don't normally read or review children's books, but this one caught my eye.  I liked the artwork and the fact that there was an elephant included in the story might have been a bit of an influence.  When you have a 3 year old who loves all things elephants, you're always on the lookout for books that have elephants too!

The story was a good one, though a little bit above my 3 year old's head.  She definitely didn't understand the moral of the story, but she loved the pictures.  The story flows, so it is one that you can read to a toddler or young child and they are able to stay interested, especially if you take the time to stop and explain what's going on.  The lesson is also a good one.  Finding who you are, becoming comfortable in your own skin, listening to the little voice inside you.  Things that sometimes we grown-ups forget or take for granted.

Cute pictures, good story and good lesson.  What happens when a Zebra and a Lion change places?  Take a chance and read it for yourself and share it with a young person in your life.

If I Were King on Amazon

Review for Crystal Ships by Richard Sharp

This is my review for Crystal Ships by Richard Sharp.  The opinions expressed are my own and were in no way influenced by anyone.

The story follows a group of friends through two decades of their life set in the late 1950's and ending up at the end of the 1970's.  It follows their lives as they grow, learn, live and survive one of the more turbulent times in our recent history.  The cast is as different as can be and weave their way together the years, sometimes together, sometimes separate.  Paired or alone, they're still experiencing things together.

The story begins by introducing us to Shane, Connor and Gil.  They are living in Boston and attending college just as John F. Kennedy is about to come into office.  Gil is the privileged scholar who chases women, writes poetry and never seems to want to grow up.  His roommate is Connor, the younger brother of Shane.  They are both from the Boston working class.  We are then introduced to two college roommates and best friends, Lucy and Camille.  They are Italian-American women, one Catholic and the other Jewish, attending Douglass college together.  Lucy is the rebel, going against her father at every turn, shying away from her religious upbringing.  She wants to become a dancer and is dragging Camille along for the ride.  Thrown into the mix is Lucy's older and extremely conservative and protective brother, Ira.  Who coincidentally dated Camille prior to her and Lucy becoming best friends.  Awkward?  Maybe, but in this case, it definitely works and he finds ways to realistically weave it in and out of the story later on.

These five are the main characters and the story really revolves around them and later their partners and wives, who also become almost main characters themselves.  Ava, who marries Ira and Balinda, who Shane meets while working in South Africa.  Their stories weave together to tell the greater narrative of the 60's and 70's.  This book could have easily turned into a saga spanning over 1000 pages and I still would have been interested.  I wanted more.  More of their lives, loves, experiences.  I wish he could have made the book longer so we could spend more time with each of them!

I will admit that the first part of the book is a bit slow, but I think that's more because you're being introduced to a lot of people and given a lot of background information about them and their lives.  It's a lot to digest and you do have to take it a bit slow so that you can absorb everything because trust me, everything comes back later!

The book really does have everything.  You get to experience the culture of the 60's and 70's through every form of media.  You have music, books, poetry, television, movies and the news.  And it's all very well researched with a bibliography at the end, which was very impressive!  You also find yourself immersed in the many problems of the times.  There were the assassinations that effectively ended the feeling of security that many Americans had at the time.  The civil war both here at home and also in South Africa where apartheid was alive and well.  The biggest elephant in the room during those decades was definitely the Vietnam war and it does take a very prominent role in the story.  You're not treated to gory battles but you are allowed a peek into what the world was like for a very small portion of the military stationed in Vietnam and what they went through.

You have people MIA in Vietnam, a murder mystery in California, a crazy stalker and a bunch of people who even after 20 years are still trying to figure it all out.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a glimpse at what life was like for young men and women during the turbulent 60's and 70's in America.

Crystal Ships on Amazon