Book Review: Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl – GillianFlynn

Marriage can be a real killer.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary.  Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River.  Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages form Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge.  Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades and endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior.  Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one they love.  With is twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence.  Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife?  And what was in that silvery gift boxy hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

3/5 stars (liked it)

The book started off a bit slow and I guessed whether Amy was really dead or not and whether Nick killed her or not.  I don’t want to give it away but I knew right away what was going on.  So I thought how can I be surprised when I basically know how this book is going to end.  Well it did surprise me.  This book is filled with a mentally screwed up husband and just if not more mentally screwed up wife.  Both have terrible faults and I really didn’t know whom I wanted to root for.  They are both so screwed up that they deserve each other.  The author did a great job at sucking me in and having me want to know how things would play out in the end.  The ending really did surprise me.

Book Review: Countdown City – Ben H. Winters

Countdown City – BenH. Winters

There is just 74 days to go before a deadly asteroid collides with Earth, and Detective Hank Palace is out of a job.  With the Concord police force operating under auspices of the U.S. Justice Department, Hank’s days of solving crimes are over…until a woman from his past begs for help finding her missing husband.

Brett Cavatone disappeared without a trace—an easy feat in a world with no phones, no cars, and no way to tell whether someone’s gone “bucket list” or just gone.  With society falling to shambles, Hank pieces together what few clues he can, on a search that leads him from college-campus-turned-anarchist-encampment to a crumbling coastal landscape where anti-immigrant militia fend off “impact zone” refugees.

The second novel in the critically acclaimed Last Policeman trilogy, Coundown City  presents a fascinating mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse—and once again, Hank Palace confronts questions beyond “whodunit.”  What do we as human beings owe to one another?  And what does it mean to be civilized when civilization is collapsing all around us?

Book will be released 07/16/13

4/5 stars (really liked it)

I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first one.  This books starts out with a  missing person, Brett Cavatone but it turns into so much more.  With the asteroid getting closer and closer people are doing some strange things.  There are people out there that believe they can stop it, others who believe in government conspiracies.  I really enjoyed getting to know Hank’s dog, Houdini, which he acquired in the last book.  Also getting to know his sister Nico and a little bit about Hank’s childhood.  In a world where a lot of people have given up or have just said “screw it”, Hank finds himself still caring about right and wrong.  This book had me guessing on so many things and gave me a few surprises.  I can’t wait to see where the next book will conclude and whether or not the asteroid will really hit Earth.

Book Review: Rapture – J.R. Ward

Rapture – J.R. Ward

Mels Carmichael, reporter for the Cadwell Courier Journal, gets the shock of her life when a man stumbles in front of her car outside the local cemetery.  After the accident, his amnesia is just the kind of mystery she likes to solve, but she soon discovers they’re in over their heads with his past.  Over their heads with passion too.  As shadows walk the line between reality and another realm, and her lover’s memory begins to come back, the two of them learn that nothing is truly dead and buried.  Especially when you’re trapped in a no-holds-barred war between angels and demons.  With a soul on the line, and Mel’s heart at risk, what in Heaven—or in Hell—will it take to save them both?

3/5 stars (liked it)

I can always count on J.R. Ward to give me a book that will be steamy.  This book has Mathias, a character from the previous book, except this time he has amnesia and a woman in his life.  So Jim & Devina get a re-do on his soul, although the last one does count.  I thought the book was a little repetitive in terms of how the other books have been.  Also seems like all the male characters are about the same in her books.  Although she does know how to write steamy scenes.  Overall a good book and the ending with Devina and Jim surprised me a little bit.  I will definitely keep reading these books.

Book Club: Night – Elie Wiesel

Night – Elie Wiesel

Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania.  Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald.  Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel’s memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man.  This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel’s testimony to what happened in the camps of his unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again.

3/5 stars (liked it)

This was a very sad book as well as should be expected when writing about a concentration camp.  It still shocks me to think of how people were treated and what they had to endure.  Anyone that has survived that kind of brutality deserves to be heard and live out the rest of his or her lives in comfort.  The only thing I would have liked about this book was an epilogue of sorts to see what happened to Elie after the concentration camps.

Our next book: The Last Communist Virgin – Ping Wang

Book Review: The Sookie Stackhouse Companion – Charlaine Harris

The Sookie Stackhouse Companion – Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris has topped the bestseller charts and become a nationwide phenomenon, thanks to the unconventional, and otherworldly life of Sookie Stackhouse.  Now take a closer look at Sookie and her family, friends, enemies, adventures, and-of course-the lovers who set her world on fire…

Visit Bon Temps, the small Louisiana town that Sookie calls home, with a detailed map created by Charlaine herself, and learn the characteristics of the supernaturals who live there: vampires, two-natured, and fae.  Examine all the branches of Sookie’s family tree.  And eavesdrop on the private conversations between rival vampires Eric and Bill.

Also, enjoy the compelling, never-before-published novella “Small-Town Wedding,” in which Sookie accompanies her shape-shifting boss, Sam, to his brother’s wedding in Texas, where happily-ever-after seems very far away…

Exclusive interviews with True Blood creator Alan Ball and author Charlaine Harris- complied from fan questions-will satisfy your craving for all things Sookie, as will trivia questions, recipes (including Caroline Bellefleur’s famous chocolate cake!”, and a concordance to the Sookie Stackhouse novels.

3/5 stars (liked it)

I liked the map of Bon Temps that was included in this book.  It was fun to see the places that have been mentioned in the book and where they are in relation to one another.  The short story “Small-Town Wedding” gave us a peek into Sam’s family life and more of his background.  Sookie and Sam go to Texas to attend Sam’s brother’s wedding but of course things in the supernatural world do not ever go according to plan.  The rest of the book includes a summary of all the books, which I skimmed.  But at the end of each summary it has private conversations between Eric and Bill which I found interesting.  The rest of the book is interviews with Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris and other interesting tidbits.

Book Review: Gameboard of the Gods – Richelle Mead

Gameboard of the Gods– Richelle Mead

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims.  But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA).  Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger.  As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

I LOVE Richelle Mead and have read almost everything she has written.  So when I heard there was a new series I had to read it.  This book took a little while to get into because of the fact that it’s a whole new world.  New characters, new society (and classes of people), regions and it’s futuristic.  It’s a society that I can picture coming true.  I think Mead did a great job in the description of what kind of society this was.  This book features three main characters.  First is Justin March, he was exiled to Panama basically because of religion, which is unaccepted in RUNA.  Then you have Mae Koskinen, a beautiful but lethal soldier that gets sent to Panama to get March.  Also you have 16 year old Tessa Cruz, who is from Panama but gets the chance to go to RUNA and study.  Her background gives her a different perspective on the RUNA society.  I would have loved to have more chapters from Tessa’s point of view and it seems like she will become more important as the series progresses.  Also I love the supernatural element in that there are Gods out there looking for followers and choosing people.  Justin reminded me a little bit of Adrian from Vampire Academy & Bloodlines.  He loves to drink, he loves women and he knows he’s hot.  I can’t wait to see where Mead takes this series.

Book Review: If I Should Die – Amy Plum

If I Should Die – Amy Plum

I will not lose another person I love.  I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered.  He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him.  Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality.  I now Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable.  He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together.  How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

3/5 stars (liked it)

The conclusion to the series was good and really gave it an ending.  After loosing Vincent to Violette and having his body destroyed, Katie is desperate to find a way to get him back.  Katie travels to New York and confronts her past.  We also get to see more of Bran, the guerisseur, who learns more from him family through books that will help the bardia.  Also the Champion rises up.  Overall the book was good but I found it somewhat predictable.