Friday, September 28, 2018

Book Review: Overbite - Meg Cabot

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Meena Harper has a special gift, but i's only now that anyone's ever appreciated it.  The Palatine Guard--a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican--has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan.  With Meena's ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead.

Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Antonescu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames.  Now Meena's sworn off vampires for good...at least until she can prove her theory that just because they've lost their souls doesn't mean demons have lost the ability to love.

Meena knows convincing her co-workers -- including her partner, uber-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf -- that vampires can be redeemed won't be easy...especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just the lives of the Palatine, but Meena's friends and family as well.

But Meena isn't the Palatine's only hope.  Father Henrique---aka Padre Caliente--New York City's youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case.

So why doesn't Meena--or Alaric--trust him?

As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare...and temptations she never even imagined existed, but finds impossible to resist.

This time, Meena may finally have bitten off more than she can chew.

3/5 stars (liked it)
This book was better than the first one.  Even though I was not crazy about Meena and Lucien in the fist book I grew to like them more in this one.  Although I would l love to see a novella on Alaric Wulf and his back story.  He's one of my favorite characters in the book.   Another favorite character is Jonathan, Meena's brother.  His little love story was adorable!  The book had a slight predictable ending, although I did like the ending.

Book Review: Smoke and Iron - Rachel Caine

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To save the Great Library, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire, and Ash and Quill put themselves in danger in the next thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.

The opening moves of a deadly game have begun.  Jess Brightwell has put himself in direct peril, with only his wits and skill to aid him in a game of cat and mouse with the Archivist Magister of the Great Library.  With the world catching fire, and words printed on paper the spark that lights rebellion, it falls to smugglers, thieves, and scholars to save a library thousands of years in the making...if they can stay alive long enough to outwit their enemies.

3/4 stars (liked it)
In this book I really started to like Brendan a little more.  Through Jess, we learn more about him.  We also get more a glimpse of the love between Santi and Wolfe.  Khalila has grown to be one of my favorite characters in the series.  The love story between Khalila and Dario, although they are so different, their story works.  I also like Morgan's story in the Dark Tower and the introduction of new characters.  

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Book Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

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In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life.  The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice.  Together, can they fill the world with color once more?

In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage---Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

4/5 stars (really like it)
Although I haven't read many books by Brandon Sanderson I have read enough to tell me that I love him!  I love his writing style and his characters.  I love the way he tells you a little bit but just enough to get you to read more.  Although not everything is answered in the book I still walked away from it satisfied with the ending.  Although I am glad the store continues in a another book.  I was not crazy about Vin when she was fist introduced but by the end of the book I loved her.  I love the way she grew, not just her allomancy but her as an individual.  I loved Kelsier form the beginning and I wish we could have learned more about his past.  A character that really surprised me was Elend Venture, a noble that was introduced later in the series.  His character really grew on me and I hope he's in the next book.  Seems like so much happens in the last few pages of the book.  Definitely reading the next one.

Tuesday, September 04, 2018

Book Review: Acceptance - Jeff VanderMeer

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It is winter in Area X, the mysterious wilderness that has defied explanation for thirty years, rebuffing expedition after expedition, refusing to reveal its secrets.  As Area X expands, the agency tasked with investigating and overseeing it--the Southern Reach--has collapsed on itself in confusion.  Now one last, desperate team crosses the border, determined to reach a remote island that may hold the answers they've been seeking.  If they fail, the outer world is in peril.

Meanwhile, Acceptance tunnels even deeper into the circumstances surrounding the creation of Area X- what initiated this unnatural upheaval?  Among the many who have tried, who has gotten close to understanding Area X-and who may have been corrupted by it?

In this last installment of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, the mysteries of Area X may be solved, but their consequences and implications are no less profound-or terrifying.

2/5 stars (It was OK)
I though this book would actually answer questions but it really didn't .  I was not happy with the ending.  But was glad to see the story from the point of view of the Lighthouse keeper and the Psychologist.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Book Review: The Thief - JR Ward

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Sola Morte, former cat burglar and safecracker, has given up her old life on the wrong side of the law.  On the run from a drug lord's family, she is lying low far from Caldwell, keeping her nose clean and her beloved grandmother safe.  Her heart, though, is back up north, with the only man who has ever gotten through her defenses: Assail, son of Assail, who never meant to fall in love--and certainly not with a human woman.  But they have no future, and not just because she doesn't know he is a vampire, but because he is not about to stop dealing arms to the Black Dagger Brotherhood.  Fate, however, has other plans for them.  When Assail falls into a coman and lingers on the verge of death, his cousins seek out Sola and beg her to give him a reason to live.  The last thing she wants is a return to her past, but how can she leave him to die?

As a lethal new enemy of the vampires shows its face, and the Brotherhood needs Assail back on his feet, Sola finds herself not only a target, but a mission-critical force in a war she doesn't understand.  And when Assail's truth comes out, will she run from the horror...or follow her heart into the arms of the male who loves her more than life itself?

3/5 stars (liked it)
As always JR Ward does not disappoint.  This book is about the love story between Assail and Sola.  She helps Assail heal and then find out the truth (that he's a vampire) and she has to decide if she stays or she goes.  Also in this book is the story of Vishous and Jane and their no so happily ever after.  They got together in a previous book and it seems JR Ward cannot give the brothers a happily ever after but give them marital problems.  Also in the mix is a new enemy which was briefly introduced in the previous book.  That is Throe, who has a mysterious book that has him summon Shadows which he can use to fight the Brotherhood.  

Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Book Review: The Kissing Booth - Beth Reekles

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Meet Rochelle Evans: pretty, popular--and never been kissed.  Meet Noah Flynn: badass, volatile--and a total player.  And also Elle's best friend's older brother...

When Elle decides to run a kissing boot for the school's Spring Carnival, she locks lips with Noah and her life is turned upside down.  Her head says to keep away, but her heart wants to draw closer--this romance seems far from fairy tale and headed for heartbreak.

But will Elle get her happily ever after?

2/5 stars (it was OK)
This was a very juvenile book.  I realize it was about high school students but I typically read quite a few YA books and this one just had me rolling my eyes quite a bit.  I still don't understand why Elle and Noah had to keep their relationship such a secret.  The drama seemed forced in the book.  Overall a cute book though and predictable ending.

Book Review: Rich Girl Problems - Tu-Shonda Whitaker

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The diamonds are flawless, their drama is turned up ultra high, and the taboo beauties from Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker's Millionaire Wives Club are back for a third season of explosive lies, forbidden sex, and scandals like you've never seen before!
Step into the world of cable TV's hit reality show and meet new bride and new mother Milan, who finally has everything she's ever dreamed of.  Problem is her perfect life doesn't work for TV.  What will she do when the producer threatens to fire her?  Editor-in-chief Chaunci isn't feeling the fame and the last thing she needs is to share the spotlight with her worst enemy, newcomer Journee.  Socialite Journee expected her eighty-two-year-old husband to only live for days past their wedding night, but it's been four years.  And just when it seems that he's ready to meet his maker, his son---Journee's ex-lover---shows up.  Hair care mogul Vera is struggling with her failing marriage and the last thing she needs is her drug-addicted mother to further ruin her life or her image.  Jaise is finally standing by her man.  But will she live the life she thinks or will it cost her everything?

3/5 stars (liked it)
I didn't know whether to root for these women or smack them.  Okay I wanted to do both.  Women who didn't trust their man and women who cheated and lied.  Wow.  And that's not even what the producer set up for them but how they actually are.  A very entertaining read.

Tuesday, July 03, 2018

Book Review: Money Never Sleeps - Tu-Shonda Whitaker

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The bling is brighter, the drama is amped up, the delicious beauties from Tu-Shonda's Millionaire Wives Club are back for a second season of backstabbing, divorce parties, and family sagas.  
Lights, camera, action!

Milan, Jaise, and Chaunci are the gorgeous, high-rolling divas starring in the hit reality show Millionaire Wives Club.  As they struggle with love, lies, lust, and the pressures of sudden fame, their friendships turn into catfights that keep the cameras following all their malicious moves.

Milan is finally engaged to Kendu, the man of her dreams, and though things look perfect on the outside, distrust and jealousy are crumbling their romance.  Jaise has found the love she so desperately craves, but her son, Jabril, remains the No. 1 man in her life--for better or for worse.  And Chaunci, the independent, single mom who doesn't feel she needs a man, is contemplating taking the plunge into a deep love affair--but will the man she chooses have room in his life for her?  Add to this crafty cast Vera, a venomous new vixen who plays the game better than any of them, and you've got a season even more scintillating than the last.

3/5 stars (liked it)
I love that I already knew most of the women.  But even though all seem to be happily ever after in the end of the first book, not all is as it seems.  Milan and Kendu are having problems and it takes Milan most of the book to say "enough!"  Jaise is happily married to Belal but her son Jabril is such a screw-up that he gets between them.  Not just her son but the way Jaise keeps bailing him out.  Chaunci said "no" to Idris when he proposed and now she's regretting it.  Vera, I did not like her very much even at the end.  Overall a great drama and all the women are nasty to each-other!

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Book Review: Millionaire Wives Club - Tu-Shonda Whitaker

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In Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker's steamiest novel yet, we meed the four deliciously dramatic, designer-clad divas from prime time's new hit reality show, The Millionaire Wives Club.

Evan:  Married to a pro-football star who isn't in love with her anymore, Evan is digging her freshly manicured nails in ever deeper as she fights to keep her husband who loves someone else.

Milan:  Half Dominican, half black, and beautifully exotic-looking, Milan is watching her has-been husband's fortune fade fast--while her romantic attachment to Evan's husband is heating up.

Jaise:  Divorce from a former boxing star who's now married to a white woman, Jaise is trying to raise her sixteen-year-old son on her own.  Will her huge alimony checks keep her from falling in love?

Chaunci:  Editor of the hottest black women's magazine, Chaunci is now engaged to the high-powered man who helped finance her magazine when she was just a struggling single mom.  But when a onetime passionate flame reignites, Chaunci may not be able to resist its charms.

When thses starlets' private lives run as wild as their emotions, their relationships with one another inevitably turn into high-profile cat-fights.  Through it all, the cameras never stop rolling on TV's guiltiest pleasures, where power-and diamonds-are always a girl's best friend.

3/5 stars (liked it)
This book is better than any soap opera I could watch on TV.  We get a first hand look at each woman and their lives behind closed doors are not what they appear on camera.  The camera crew are just as good as the women, Carl the camera man and Bridget the Producer both add into the drama.  Some things in the book really had me guess.  The twist on Jaise's love interest really surprised me.  The ending to the love triangle between Kendu, Evan and Milan was surprising.  Overall a fun book to read and I will definitely read more in the series.

Book Review: Seven Up - Janet Evanovich

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BLOWN UP

All New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has to do is bring in semi-retired bail jumper Eddie DeChooch.  For an old man he's till got a knack for slipping out of sight--and raising hell.  How else can Stephanie explain the bullet-riddled corpse in Eddie's garden?  Who else would have a clue as to why two of Stephanie's friends suddenly vanished?  For answers Stephanie has the devil to pay: her mentor, Ranger.  The deal?  He'll give Stephanie all the help she needs--if she gives him everything he wants...

MESSED UP

As if things weren't complicated enough, Stephanie's just discovered her Grandma Mazur's own unmentionable alliance with Eddie.  Add a series of unnerving break-ins, not to mention the bombshell revelation leveled by Stephanie's estranged sister, and Stephanie's ready for some good news.  Unfortunately, a marriage proposal from Joe Morelli, the love of her life, isn't quite cutting it.  And now--murder, a randy paramour, a wily mobster, death threats, extortion, and a triple kidnapping aside--Stephanie's really got the urge to run for her life...

3/5 stars (liked it)
I love that I can pick one of these books up after not having read one for a while and really get into it.  Stephanie is very likable.  I love all the characters in the book series and love the ones that get introduced.  As always, Stephanie gets in over her head but she always manages to stay alive and solve the mystery.  Not just professional life but she has relationship problems and the ending surprised me.  Can't wait to read the next one.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Book Review: The Chemist - Stephanie Meyer

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She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that.  An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name.  And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long.  They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat.  They want her dead, and soon. 

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back.  But it means one last job for her ex-employers.  To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival.  As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.

3/5 stars (liked it)
This book took me a very long time to ge into.  The beginning of the book was very slow and I think gave too much information on the main character, Alex.  It isn't until she meets Daniel that things really got interesting and then we meet Kevin and things really pick up.  I loved getting to know Daniel and Kevin.  Also loved the dogs in the story.  Overall it had a pretty predictable ending but I like the book.

Book Review: Elantris - Brandon Sanderson

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Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all.  Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod.  Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed.  Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.

Arelon's new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris.  Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping--base on their correspondence--to also find love.  She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow.  Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell.  So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.

But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden.  Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raorden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city.  His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

4/5 stars (really liked it)
The book is from the three main character's point of views, Sarene, Raoden and Hrathen.  We meed Raoden as he becomes cursed by the Shaod and thrown into Elantris.  There he makes a friend, Galladon who has been in Elantris for a few months.  He helps Raoden and shows him around.  Raoden tries to learn all he can so that he can heal Elantris.  Sarene is a princess and has just moved to Kae and learns her betrothed is dead.  By the laws of the land she is considered married and a widow.  So she decides to learn as much as she can and help the people.  Hrathen is a high priest who is in charge of converting the people to his religion.  All is not what is looks like and all three characters learn things and in the end I really ended up liking this book.  The ending gave it an ending but also left it open.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Book Review: Honor Among Thieves - Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

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Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that's made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead of moving with her family to Mars.  In her eyes, living inside a dome isn't much better than a prison cell.

Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she's headed.  Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan--a race of sentient alien ships--to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.

Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth's dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she's assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time.  But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

4/5 stars (really liked it)
Started off a little slow and then I couldn't put it down.  The relationship between Zara and Nadim was great and I love how they are so alike even though Zara is human and Nadim is leviathan.  Also love the relationship between Beatriz (the other Honor) and Zara.  It was great to see Zara open herself up and start trusting.  Also I like how we really learn why there are Honors and what the Leviathan need from them in the first book.  I can't wait to see the adventures that Nadim, Zara and Beatriz have together in the next book.

Wednesday, May 09, 2018

Book Review: Blood Fury - JR Ward

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A vampire aristocrat, Peyton is well aware of his duty to his bloodline: mate with an appropriate female of his class and carry on his family's traditions.  And he thought he'd found his perfect match--until she fell in love with someone else.  Yet when his split-second decision in a battle with the enemy endangers the life of another trainee, Peyton has to face the idea that his future, and his heart, actually lie with another.

Novo, as a female in the Black Dagger Brotherhood's training program, feels like she has to prove herself to everybody--and she has no interest in being distracted by falling in love.  But when Peyton proves to be so much more than a rich playboy, she is forced to confront the tragedy that has broken her soul and closed her off from love.

As the two grapple with Novo's past and Peyton's present, another couple must contend with an erotic connection that is unparalleled--and potentially scandalous.

Saxton, who has had his heart broken, discovers in himself a deep-seated attraction to Ruhn, a new member of the household.  But will the other male explore the connection?  Or will he close his mind and his heart to what could be true love...and cost Saxton everything?

3/5 stars (liked it)
This book is what I always come to expect from a JR Ward book.  Two people fall in love but can't quite get there and they go through a rough patch but everything works out in the end.  I enjoyed the Saxton/Ruhn love story much more than the Peyton/Novo love story.  I enjoyed learning more about Saxton and especially Ruhn.  He was a background character since Bitty was first introduced but now we learn so much more about him.

Monday, April 09, 2018

Book Review: One Breath Away - Heather Gudenkauf

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In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom.  Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.

Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town's children in her hands.  Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands by helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again.  Trapped in her classroom, Evelyn Oliver watches for an opportunity to rescue the children in her care.  And thirteen-year-old Augie Baker, already struggling with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has brought her to Broken Branch, will risk her own safety to protect her little brother.

As tension mounts with each passing minute, the hidden fears and grudges of the small town are revealed as the people of Broken Branch race to uncover the identity of the stranger who holds their children hostage.

3/5 stars (liked it)
I didn't like the characters in the story at the beginning or the book really but as I read more of it and got to know them I like it.  The story unfold from several perspectives, Officer Meg, Will a farmer and grandfather, Augie a middle schooler at the school, Everlyn a teacher close to retirement and Holly, a mother recovering from an accident in AZ.  Holly is the mother of Augie and PJ, both at the school and daughter to Will.  I was very surprised when it was revealed who the man was but once revealed it seemed like everything made sense as to why he was there.  There was also some side stories to other characters that were possible suspects.  Overall a great story.

Monday, April 02, 2018

Book Review: This Heart of Mine - C.C. Hunter

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A new heart saved her life--but will it help her find out what really happened to its donor?

Seventeen-year-old Leah MacKenzie is heartless.  An artificial heart in a backpack is keeping her alive.  However, this route only offers her a few years.  And with her rare blood type, a transplant isn't likely.  Living like you are dying isn't all it's cracked up to be.  But when a heart becomes available, she's given a second chance at life.  Except Leah discovers who the donor was--a boy from her school--and they're saying he killed himself.  Plagued with dreams since the transplant, she realized she may hold the clues to what really happened.

Matt refuses to believe his twin killed himself.  When Leah seeks him out, he learns they are both having similar dreams and he's certain it means something.  While unraveling the secrets of his brother's final moments, Leah and Matt find each other, and a love they are terrified to lose.  But life and even new hearts don't come with guarantees.  Who knew living took more courage than dying?

3/5 stars (liked it)
I saw a lot of Kylie in Leah and a lot of Lucas in Matt, characters from C.C. Hunter's Shadowfalls Series.  I liked the characters, even the secondary ones.  I thought it was a good mystery as to what really happened to Matt's twin and how he really died.  Also at the same time seeing Matt and Leah's relationship evolve.  It was a sad story but at the same time a romance and mystery all in one.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Book Review: Nanny Returns - Emma McLaughlin

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Ten years after the fateful night when Nan was fired, she returns to New York with her husband, HH.  Finally settling in to build a permanent home and get her consulting business off the ground, Nan's plans are derailed by HH's sudden desire to start a family-and her surprisingly strong resistance to the idea.

2/5 stars (it was OK)
So I didn't really feel like a sequel was necessary.  I felt like the first book had a happy ending and gave us hope for Nan.  This book totally ruined that hope.  Nan doesn't seem like she grew up at all.  She gets sucked into the family that fired her.  I think I would have rather read a book through Grayer's perspective and what his life has been like since Nan was fired.

Book Review: Hate List - Jennifer Brown

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Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria.  Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped created.  A list of people and things she and Nick hated.  The list he used to pick his targets.

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year.  Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends, and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.

3/5 stars (like it)
This story was not about the shooting itself but about the recovery from the shooting.  We start out with Valerie going back to school her senior year and through flashbacks we see life before the shooting.  We get to know Nick through Valerie.  We get to know him not as the person that decided to shoot everyone but as the unpopular kid that got bullied and how Val saw him.  We also get to know the people that did the bullying before the shooting and after.  I thought the story was well told and the ending was fitting.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Book Review: The Program - Suzanne Young

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Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone.  With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment.  Sloane's parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they'll do anything to keep her alive.  She also knows that everyone who's been through The Program returns as a blank slate.  Because their depression is gone--but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can.  The only person Sloane can be herself with is James.  He's promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything.  But despite the promises they made to each other, it's getting harder to hide the truth.  They are both growing weaker.  Depression is setting in.  And The Program is coming for them.

3/5 stars (liked it)
I didn't like Sloane at first but grew to like her.  What I didn't understand is why suicide was such an epidemic among young adults.  But other than that the book was good.  Sloane is in the program and as she loves her memories, which happens slowly, we see a little change in her.  We follow her after she leaves the program and meets some people she knew before but doesn't know now.  I will definitely read the next one.

Book Review: Authority - Jeff VanderMeer

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After thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X--a seemingly malevolent landscape surrounded by an invisible border and mysteriously wiped clean of all signs of civilization--has been a series of expeditions overseen by a government agency so secret it has almost been forgotten: the Southern Reach.  Following the tumultuous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the agency is in compele disarray.

John Rodriguez (aka "Control") is the Southern Reach's newly appointed head.  Working with a distrustful but desperate team, a series of frustrating interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, Control begins to penetrate the secrets of Area X.  But with each discovery he must confront disturbing truths about himself and the agency he's pledged to serve.

2/5 stars (it was OK)
This book was very confusing and didn't really answer any questions.  I didn't care for Control and really was sick of him by the end.  I really would have rather had this book been from the Biologist's point of view like the first book.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Book Review: Talking as Fast As I can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, And Everything in Between - Lauren Graham

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In this collection of personal essays, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood revelas stories about life, love, and working as a woman in Hollywood--along with behind-the-scenes dispatches from the set of the new Gilmore Girls, where she plays the fast-talking Lorelei Gilmore once again.

In Talking as Fast as I can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, "Did you, um make it?"  She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood ("Strangers were worried about me; that's how long I was single!"), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway ("It's like I had a fashion-induced blackout")

In "What It Was Like, Part One," Graham sits down for an epic Gilmore Girls marathon and reflects on being cast as the fast-talking Lorelei Gilmore.  The essay "What It was Like, Part Two" reveals how it felt to pick up the role again nine years later, and what doing so has meant to her.

Some more things you will learn about Lauren: She once tried to go vegan just to bond with Ellen DeGeneres, she's aware that meeting guys at awards shows has its pitfalls ("If you're meeting someone for the first time after three hours of hair, makeup, and styling, you've already set the bar too high"), and she's a card-carrying REI shopper ("My bungee cords now earn points!")

Including photos and excerpts from the diary Graham kept during the filming of the recent Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, this book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and - of course - talking as fast as you can.

4/5 stars (really liked it)
So I decided to listen to the audiobook since it was read by Lauren Graham.  So glad I did, it was made the book so much better.  I love how she reflects on every season of Gilmore Girls and makes fun of her hair.  I loved the little bit of behind the scenes for the show and how she even started on the show.  Overall a great book.

Thursday, January 04, 2018

Book Review: The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

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It begins with a boy.  Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother.  Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend.  Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works.  He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch combines vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher's calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art.  It is an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.

3/5 stars (liked it)
This story spans several years.  It starts out with thirteen year old Theo.  We see his relationship with his mother and how close they were.  Then they are bombed in a museum and his mother dies.  He gets away with a painting, The Goldfinch, which becomes a center of the whole book.  Theo moves in with a rich family, then ends up living with his estranged father in Las Vegas.  While in Las Vegas he meets a strange boy named Boris.  I really like Boris and wish we could have had some of the story with his point of view.  After loosing his father, he moves back to NY and lives with an antiques dealer.  Then several years pass and Theo is grown up.  He's engaged, but not truly happy.  We meet old friends and things wrap up with the painting.  I didn't feel like the book had a true ending.

Book Review: Hold Still - Nina LaCour

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I am a girl ready to explode into nothing.

That night Ingrid told Caitlin, I'll go wherever you go. Ingrid was dead and Caitlin was alone.  Suddenly Caitlin has to dela with a completely unfamiliar life--a life without the art, the laughter, the music, and the joy she shared with her best friend.  When she finds the journal Ingrid left behind, Catilin gets a chance to learn about another side of her friend; and the journal becomes her guide as she deals with forging new friendships, finding a first love, and learning to live without the one person who knew her best.

3/5 stars (liked it)
The book started out with Caitlin dealing with Ingrid's suicide.  We get to know Ingrid and Caitlin throughout the book by seeing what they were like together.  We also meet new people as Caitlin does too.  We see how the death of Ingrid didn't just affect Caitlin, but other kids their age, parents and even teachers.  I really like how we see how Caitlin deals with things and how even at the end it's not happily ever after but life is a little more bearable for her.

Book Review: Overbite - Meg Cabot

Overbite - Meg Cabot Meena Harper has a special gift, but i's only now that anyone's ever appreciated it.  The Palatine Guard--...