Tampilkan postingan dengan label Book Reviews. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Book Reviews. Tampilkan semua postingan

Senin, 09 Januari 2012

Book Reviews: Second Grave on the Left/It Begins/Rest in Peace

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.
Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?
Ok, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you know how much I LOVED First Grave on the Right.  It is up there on my "favorites" list.  Second Grave on the Left, the 2nd book in the series is just as good, if not a little better!  Sarcastic Charley is back again, getting herself in trouble (she wakes up one morning with 3 men wearing suits in her apartment...she proceeds to ignore them & start a pot of coffee, then just stares at them as the coffee brews) and solving mysteries.  Her latest case/mystery to solve is that of Mimi who is Cookie's friend (Cookie is her best friend/employee) who abruptly disappears.  She also has to solve the mystery of Reyes....where IS he???  She does all this while somehow managing not to get herself killed, of which there are many attempts at doing made by different people.  **My fav line from the book:  "You're about as helpful as a spoon in a knife fight."


Charley Davidson—grim reaper extraordinaire, private investigator . . . meh—is practicing her profession under the influence, caffeine and copious amounts of it, due to an extreme desire to induce insomnia. Every time she closes her eyes, Reyes Farrow, the part-human, part-supermodel son of Satan, is there. Only thing is, he’s a tad peeved. She did bind for all eternity, so it’s hard blame him. But 13 days without a wink is bound to bring out the crazy in a girl. So, when a man hires her to find his wife, Charley accepts the job with one goal in mind: Put the man behind bars, and not the wet kind. She can sense the guilt waft off him and vows to find the woman’s body and prove he’s a murderer. 
In the meantime, Reyes is back in prison and none too happy about it . . . so Charley thinks, until she is carjacked by the dark-haired rake, who swears the very man he went to prison for killing is not only alive, but close by. And he wants Charley to find him. 
While a visit to her old friend Rocket sheds no light on Reyes’s situation, Charley finds out the man’s wife is still alive and time is running out. Finding her before she dies would be a miracle, but she has to try. Together with the help of a fashion-impaired receptionist named Cookie, Charley sets out to bring the bad guys to justice. She just hopes Reyes is not one of them. And that she’s not hallucinating from her self-induced bout with insomnia.
All I can really say is, I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL 1.31.12!  Third Grave Dead Ahead's release date.  I MUST buy it and see what is next for Charley!  Ending  note:  I would like to give a HUGE thanks to Darynda Jones, as I was strictly a "romance/contemporary romance" reader, until I picked up First Grave.  Darynda has opened up a whole new genre for me, and I'm loving it!  :)




Out walking alone one rainy night, Lucy becomes convinced that someone or something is following her. Spooked, she ducks into a cemetery to try and lose her stalker. Panicking in the darkness, she slips and stumbles into an open grave only to discover she is not alone in there. . . . Lucy manages to escape, but she doesn't get away unscathed. She begins having terrifying visions and dreams and she still can't shake the feeling of an unseen presence, always watching, waiting. . . . Who was the girl in the grave? And what has she done to Lucy?
I picked It Begins up after reading the back cover, it sounded REALLY good.  I have to say, I wasn't overly impressed at first, and the ONLY reason I kept reading after the first few chapters is because I logged onto Goodreads & saw that most people LOVED the book and the author, Richie Tankersley Cusick (who is the author of numerous horror novels, including The House Next Door, April Fools, and several Buffy the Vampire Slayer books.)  I figured it would get a lot better if that many people liked it.  I WAS right, it DID get better.  The story-line is really a good one.  What I didn't like is the over-explanation/rambling of Lucy (main character).  I guesstimate that I skimmed over approximately 30% of the book, and I don't feel as I missed out on anything.  


In a nutshell, Lucy who has just lost her mother, is forced to leave her home, friends and everything she knows, to move in with her Aunt Irene (who her Mother could not stand and barely ever talked about) and her Step-Cousin Angela, even though neither of them really want her there and don't go out of their way to be hospitable. Then she meets Byron, a sexy boy that all the girls want but can't have, as he keeps to himself, but he has a dark secret only for Lucy.


Still stalked by an unseen force and plagued by unspeakable visions, Lucy feels she cannot carry on for much longer—especially now that Byron, the one person who understood what she was going through, is dead. No one else believes her. She is still alone. And still in grave danger.
That said, I liked it enough to go on and read the 2nd book, Rest In Peace, and will be purchasing the 3rd & 4th books in The Unseen series as well to see how it all ends up.  I'll do a final review after the 4th book (Sin and Salvation), just to wrap up my opinion on the series overall.


I know a lot of book reviewers will go into graphic detail of the book, often including spoilers.  I don't/won't do that, for the simple fact that I HATE spoilers.  I just want to be given a brief overview and general opinion on a book.  I figured if I want that, there have to be others who prefer that also.  If you want spoilers/more detail, my reviews are not the place for you, unfortunately.  



Selasa, 27 Desember 2011

Book Review: Bring Me Home for Christmas





Ok, so Robyn Carr:  a couple years ago, I ran to Borders really quick to get a new book to read cuz Hubbs was going to be working that night.  None of my "usual" authors had anything out (in stock) that I hadn't already read, so I decided to try Robyn Carr's Virgin River.  I was NOT disappointed.  At all.  Robyn paints a VERY vivid picture of this little mountain town and all the characters in it.  So much so that you find yourself actually wanting to move there!  Too bad its a fictional town.  However, Virgin River is the 1st in a long series (there are 16 Virgin River books right now, with 17-19 to be released in early 2012) so you can keep "visiting".  I know....some of you may think that is WAY too many books for a series, however Robyn does a great job of introducing new characters but also keeping in touch with everyone from the previous books.  I won't go back and review ALL books in the series, however, pick up Virgin River....if you like it, you'll definitely want to finish the series!


This year, Becca Timm knows the number one item on her Christmas wish list—getting over Denny Cutler. Three years ago, Denny broke her heart before heading off to war. It's time she got over her silly college relationship and moved on.

So she takes matters into her own hands and heads up to Virgin River, the rugged little mountain town that Denny calls home, as an uninvited guest on her brother's men-only hunting weekend. But when an accident turns her impromptu visit into an extended stay, Becca finds herself stranded in Virgin River. With Denny. In very close quarters.

As the power of Christmas envelops the little town, Becca discovers that the boy she once loved has become a strong and confident man. And the most delicious Christmas present she can imagine.

This brings me to the 16th book, Bring Me Home for Christmas.  Ok, so even if I wasn't a sap for Christmas movies (even cheesy ones....thanks, Hallmark channel!) and books I would love this one.  Robyn introduces Becca Timm and her twin brother, Rich.  Becca invades an all-guy hunting fishing trip so that she can see her ex, Denny, who broke up with her before reenlisting into the Marines after his Mom dies.  Things don't go exactly as she plans (I won't give away what happens), and she ends up having to stay in Virgin River, despite thinking it was a dumpy little place.  After a few days, she comes to see the town and people in it, and grows to love it as she helps out in a town emergency.  Is it enough to keep her there, or will she go back to her life by the beach in San Diego?

I can't wait to get to the store later.....Hidden Summit (book 17) is out TODAY! :)

Sick of running into her cheery ex-husband and his new wife, Leslie Petruso accepts a job at the Virgin River branch of Haggerty Construction and takes the high road right out of town. Now she's got Paul Haggerty's business running like a well-oiled machine. In fact, things are so busy Paul jumps at the chance to hire an extra set of hands.

Just like Leslie, Conner Danson has been burned by love. But if Leslie was disappointed by her relationship going bad, Conner was decimated. He's got no time for women…although he spends an awful lot of time pretending not to notice Leslie. And she's pretty busy "ignoring" the chemistry between them.

According to Conner and Leslie, they have only one thing in common—they're done with love. But everyone in Virgin River can see that things are heating up at Haggerty Construction. And as far as Paul Haggerty can tell, the best thing he can do is hang on to his hard hat and watch the sparks fly!

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Jumat, 23 Desember 2011

Book Review: BoneMan's Daughters


BoneMan'sDaughters by Ted Dekker.  Ok, this book is NOT my "normal" genre, however, Hubbs got it as a Christmas gift and when I finished my last book I thought I'd give it a try.  


From the book jacket: They call him BoneMan, a serial killer who's abducted six young women. He's the perfect father looking for the perfect daughter, and when his victims fail to meet his lofty expectations, he kills them by breaking their bones and leaving them to die. 

Intelligence officer Ryan Evans, on the other hand, has lost all hope of ever being the perfect father. His daughter and wife have written him out of their lives.

Everything changes when BoneMan takes Ryan's estranged daughter, Bethany, as his seventh victim. Ryan goes after BoneMan on his own.

But the FBI sees it differently. New evidence points to the suspicion that Ryan is BoneMan. Now the hunter is the hunted, and in the end, only one father will stand.



MY view:  While it was a GOOD book (it kept me intrigued enough to finish in one day), I didn't love it.  I don't like "horror" stories that'll keep me up at night, but I DO like a good scare once in awhile and I THOUGHT I'd get that reading this book.  It had some....gruesome scenes (including rather detailed info on how to break all/most bones in a human without tearing the skin), but there were no "Oh my God, what's gonna happen next?" moments.  Unfortunately, there is nothing "shocking" in the book that isn't covered in the "blurb" on the jacket.  I guess maybe this is an "off" book for Ted Dekker, as other reviews I've seen say that they are disappointed in this after reading some of his other books.  I don't think I'll be giving him another shot, though.



Thanks to PureTextuality for posting my review!!  Stop by PureTextuality to check out my reviews as well as reviews from others & all other "book" news!


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Rabu, 14 Desember 2011

Book Review: First Grave on the Right

So, as I mentioned in my "A New Direction" post, I will OCCASIONALLY be posting books that I like and possibly a quick review of them.  I just finished First Grave on the Right, by Darynda Jones and it was SO good that I had to share!  Darynda is a relatively new author, so I don't think many have heard of her yet, and I want to help spread the word!  





First Grave on the Right

Ok, I’m a “girlie” reader.  You know….contemporary ”romance” novels, typically.  Not the “Fabio” romance novels (you know, the ones with guys that have long, flowing hair and a woman whose cleavage spills over her dress on the cover), but the modern-day romance novels.  Every once in awhile, something new catches my eye.  This was the case with Darynda Jones’ First Grave on the Right.  My first thought was “that’s dumb”, and I passed right by it.  After not seeing anything else that looked good, I went back to it and read the back cover: “This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.  Or a diagram of some kind.  A flowchart would have been nice.”

Can I just say….I am SO glad I gave the book a 2nd look?!?!  Basically, the main character, Charley Davidson is the grim reaper.  However, it doesn’t work like the stereotypical grim reaper stories (ie:  no black cloak and sythe).  Charley is a sexy, coffee addicted, accident prone chic with a Ph.D. in Sarcasm (ok, so no degree, but if it were a major, she would have aced the program!).  She can see and speak with dead people who have not “crossed over” yet, and works with local PD to catch the bad guys (hey, its easy to know who the killer is, when the victim tells you who murdered them). 

 That's all I'll say, as I don't want to give anything away!!  I definitely recommend this book, it was good from beginning to end, and I WILL be purchasing the sequels, Second Grave on the Left, and Third Grave Dead Ahead (when it is released in Jan 2012)!!

Visit Darynda’s site here: http://www.daryndajones.com/ and check out her books on Amazon! 

First Grave on the Right @ Amazon: http://amzn.to/vlQswO
Second Grave on the Left @ Amazon: http://amzn.to/vlQswO
Third Grave Dead Ahead @ Amazon: http://amzn.to/tWU42R




***Happy Dance*** My review was featured over at PureTextuality.com!!!  Pop on over to PT, see my review there, and check out the post to win a FREE Kindle Touch Wifi!


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