Sunday, December 30, 2012

Anne Shirley!

My Rating: 5/5 Review: I loved the book as much as the mini-series, though it was quite different. Anne Shirley has always been one of my favorite characters, and her story is just so much fun to read. You just never know what kind of mischief she's liable to get into. The scenery is also lovely, and it truly makes me want to travel to Prince Edward Island someday. Book Description: Everyone's favorite redhead, the spunky Anne Shirley, begins her adventures at Green Gables, a farm outside Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. When the freckled girl realizes that the elderly Cuthberts wanted to adopt a boy instead, she begins to try to win them and, consequently, the reader, over.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Pollyanna

My Rating: 3/5 Review: It was very different from the movie, and I didn't like how the characters spoke, but it was enjoyable. Book Description: When orphaned 11-year-old Pollyanna comes to live with austere and wealthy Aunt Polly, her philosophy of gladness brings happiness to her aunt and other members of the community.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

A Feast For Crows- Not My Favorite

My Rating: 2/5 Review: I cannot believe how much I struggled to finish this book when I enjoyed the others so much. It was long, tedious, and so very boring. There were a few great scenes, a couple of which were shocking. For the most part, though, I just didn't really care about the characters as much. There was way too much Cersei, and Samwell isn't an exciting enough character to carry more than one chapter. Oh well, I am still looking forward to the next book. I hope it's better. Book Description: After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. But it's not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters of the Seven Kingdoms gather. Now, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—emerge from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges of the terrible times ahead. Nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages, are coming together to stake their fortunes...and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

She Remembers Everything

My Rating: 4/5 Review: I was intigued by the plot: A young woman with a eidetic (photographic) memory witnesses a murder and ends up having to change her identity to escape the Russian mafia. It was very good for the most part, though a little hoaky at times. It was a a light read compared to the other series by a different author I've been reading, which would explain the 4 stars. Sometimes you need a little fluff in between the darkness. Book Description: Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever. Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems—and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail’s reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something—and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Ramona Was Better

My Rating: 3.5/5 Review: My son and I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. Still, I think we will have fun continuing the series. I love it when we laugh-out-loud together while reading a book. Book Description: Life with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing mashed potatoes on the walls at Hamburger Heaven, or trying to fly, he’s never far from trouble. He’s an almost three-year-old terror who gets away with everything, and Peter’s had it up to here! When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter’s pet turtle, it’s the last straw. Peter has put up with Fudge for too long. Way too long! How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Raging War Among Kings

My Rating: 4/5 Review: One word: Astonishing! So many crazy, unexpected things happened in this book my head is spinning. The very end was the most amazing of all. I am completely flabbergasted. I love this series! Book Description: Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world... But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords...

Friday, August 10, 2012

Fantastic Mr. Fox

My Rating: 4/5 Review: My son and I enjoyed reading this fun little book together. There were some great laugh-out-loud moments. Book Description: This early Roald Dahl adventure is great for reading aloud to three- to seven-year-olds, who will be delighted to hear that Mr. Fox keeps his family one step ahead of the obsessed farmers. When they try to dig him out, he digs faster; when they lay siege to his den, he tunnels to where the farmers least expect him--their own larders! In the end, Mr. Fox not only survives, but also helps the whole community of burrowing creatures live happily ever after. With his usual flourish, Dahl evokes a magical animal world that, as children, we always knew existed, had we only known where or how to look for it.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Royal Treachery Continues

My Rating: 4/5 Review: So intense! I lost sleep over this one towards the end. Book Description: A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who hold sway over an age of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Friday, July 20, 2012

The Fiesty Queen and her Love of Books

My Rating: 4/5 Review: What a wonderful little discovery this book was! I loved getting a peek into the life of Queen Elizabeth and her discovery of books. It is comical how shocked and appalled the people around her were of her new love. She was fiesty and defiant, however, and went on reading whatever she liked. I love that. Book Decsription: A deliciously funny novella that celebrates the pleasure of reading. When the Queen in pursuit of her wandering corgis stumbles upon a mobile library she feels duty bound to borrow a book. Aided by Norman, a young man from the palace kitchen who frequents the library, Bennett describes the Queen's transformation as she discovers the liberating pleasures of the written word. With the poignant and mischievous wit of The History Boys, England's best loved author revels in the power of literature to change even the most uncommon reader's life.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Dark Divine Finale

My Rating: 3/5 Review: While I've enjoyed the trilogy very much, this last book was far too drawn out. It's never good when you are actually relieved to finally get to the end. I still enjoyed large chunks of the book, though. I liked the "lost boys" and the big battle at the end. The Etlu Clan were an interesting bunch. There are other parts I enjoyed, but don't want to mention and ruin the story for someone who hasn't read it yet. I always love a good romance, but Grace and Daniel started to get a little too sappy towards the end. Overall, a descent finale, but it could have been better. And shorter. Book Description: A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle. Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything. With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders. The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion.(

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

In the Garden #3

My Rating: 3/5 Review: The conclusion to the In the Garden trilogy didn't have the magic of the first two books for me. I just wasn't drawn in like I was before. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe the ghost side of things was a little too over the top. Book Description: Three women learn that the heart of their historic home holds a mystery of years gone by, as number-one bestselling author Nora Roberts brings her In the Garden trilogy to a captivating conclusion, following Blue Dahlia and Black Rose. A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night... Hayley Phillips came to Memphis hoping for a new start, for herself and her unborn child. She wasn't looking for a handout from her distant cousin Roz, just a job at her thriving In the Garden nursery. What she found was a home surrounded by beauty and the best friends she's ever had-including Roz's son Harper. To Hayley's delight, her new daughter Lily has really taken to him. To Hayley's chagrin, she has begun to dream about Harper-as much more than a friend... If Hayley gives in to her desire, she's afraid the foundation she's built with Harper will come tumbling down. Especially since she's begun to suspect that her feelings are no longer completely her own. Flashes of the past and erratic behavior make Hayley believe that the Harper Bride has found a way inside of her mind and body. It's time to put the Bride to rest once and for all, so Hayley can know her own heart again-and whether she's willing to risk it.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

In the Garden #2

My Rating: 4/5 Review: I enjoyed this second book in the In the Garden trilogy. I love getting an inside look at running a nursery. It makes me want to get in my garden and make things grow. The ghost story is interesting, but it's the people and scenery of the book that keeps me reading. Nora Roberts is so good with banter and engaging interactions among her characters. Book Description: At forty-seven, Rosalind Harper is a woman whose experiences have made her strong enough to bend without breaking - and weather any storm. A widow with three grown sons, she survived a disastrous second marriage and built her In The Garden nursery from the ground up. Through the years, In The Garden has become more than just a thriving business - it is a symbol of hope and independence to Roz, and to the two women she shares it with. Newlywed Stella and new mother Hayley are the sisters of her heart, and together the three of them are the future of In The Garden. But now the future is under attack, and Roz knows they can't fight this battle alone. Hired to investigate Roz's Harper ancestors, Dr. Mitchell Carnegie finds himself just as intrigued with Roz herself. And as they being to unravel the puzzle of the Harper Bride's identity. Roz is shocked to find herself falling for the fascinating genealogist. Now it is a desperate race to discover the truth before the unpredictable apparition lashes out at the one woman who can help her rest in peace...

Monday, June 4, 2012

Winter is Coming

My Rating: 5/5 Review: An amazing fantasy that kept me on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, and I defintely need to check out the television show. Book Description: Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Healing hands

My Rating: 4/5 Review: This was a just a fast-paced, easy read. Nothing too spectacular, just good entertainment and fun characters. Book Description: Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos. Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Pussycat Pussycat Kill Kill



My Rating: 5/5

Review: This is the fourth book in the Jane Yellowrock series, and the best so far in my opinion. Jane is back in her Appalachian home, hired to protect vamps during a parley. Naturally bad things happen, and plenty of action and intensity ensue. Weres out killing people and trying to turn witches, friends in danger, a powerful witch wreaking havoc, and complicated relationships. That's just some of the things you'll find in this novel. I was so frustrated whenever I didn't have the time to sit down and read. I'm definitely looking forward to the next in the series.

Book Description: The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: Jane Yellowrock.

But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Unless she wants to face a very angry mast vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer. It's a good thing she's worth every penny.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Friendship Overcomes




My Rating: 4/5

Review: This was a wonderful book about the strength of friendship and life for women in the 60's and 70's. I loved the camaraderie and diversity of the five women who became known amongst themselves as the Wednesday Sisters. Each woman has her own story, of course, and her own trials to bear. They become each other's support around every turn, every crazy bend in the road. Writing becomes the center point of they're weekly meetings, and a way for them to become even closer. I enjoyed the retro vibe through out the story, and the historic references to what was going on during that time. It made me laugh, made me think, and it even made me cry a little bit. Good stuff.

Book Description:Friendship, loyalty, and love lie at the heart of Meg Waite Clayton’s beautifully written, poignant, and sweeping novel of five women who, over the course of four decades, come to redefine what it means to be family.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Curiouser and Curiouser



My Rating: 3/5

Review: I read this book with my son. We were both entertained for the most part, but there were a couple of chapters that were a bit tedious. There isn't a single movie or cartoon version out there, I don't believe, that has been completely true to the book. Yet, they were far more enjoyable I dare say. The book is just so ridiculous, but I suppose that was the true theme of the story, so there you go.

Book Description: For more than 130 years, children have reveled in the delightfully non-moralistic, non-educational virtues of this classic. In fact, at every turn, Alice's new companions scoff at her traditional education. The Mock Turtle, for example, remarks that he took the "regular course" in school: Reeling, Writhing, and branches of Arithmetic-Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. Carroll believed John Tenniel's illustrations were as important as his text. Naturally, Carroll's instincts were good; the masterful drawings are inextricably tied to the well-loved story.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Boggy, Soggy, Mess



My Rating: 2/5

Review: Unfortunately, I struggled with this fourth book in the Mary Russell series. I was bored out of my mind for the most part, which is very disappointing. I still like Mary, of course, and her husband, but the storyline lacked the magic that drew me to the series in the first place. I'll continue with the series, but I sincerely hope that the next book picks up the pace again.

Book Description: Holmes and Russell are summoned to Devonshire to solve a tin miner's mysterious death. Lonely Dartmoor provides plenty of opportunities for King to both relate the haunting legends of that part of the world and offer some amusing revisions to one of Holmes's most famous cases, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Though Holmes purists might resent the liberties taken with their hero, readers in search of a strong female protagonist, some fascinating local history, and spooky ambience will enjoy The Moor.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Southern Heartwarmer



My Rating: 5/5

Review: Wonderful, heartwarming, southern story about a girl in search of love and answers.

Book Description: Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love--a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Mary Russell #3



My Rating: 4/5

Review: This third book in the Mary Russell series didn't quite have the magic of the first two books, but I still found it engaging.

Book Description: Late in the summer of 1923, Mary Russell Holmes and her husband, the illustrious Sherlock Holmes, are ensconced in their home on the Sussex Downs, giving themselves over to their studies: Russell to her theology, and Holmes to his malodorous chemical experiments. Interrupting the idyllic scene, amateur archaeologist Miss Dorothy Ruskin visits with a startling puzzle. Working in the Holy Land, she has unearthed a tattered roll of papyrus with a message from Mary Magdalene. Miss Ruskin wants Russell to safeguard the letter. But when Miss Ruskin is killed in a traffic accident, Russell and Holmes find themselves on the trail of a fiendishly clever murderer. Clearly there was more to Miss Ruskin than met the eye. But why was she murdered? Was it her involvement in the volatile politics of the Holy Land? Was it her championing of women's rights? Or was it the scroll--a deeply troubling letter that could prove to be a Biblical bombshell? In either case, Russell and Holmes soon find that solving her murder may be murder itself.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Infernal Devices 2



My Rating: 4/5

Review: Clockwork Prince, the second book in the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, was a wonderful Victorian romp. The only thing keeping it from getting a full 5 stars is the word beautiful. That word, along with others similar to it, was used so much, it almost became sickening. The story, itself, however, kept the book from being completely ruined. I love the characters, and I love how they interact with each other. I love the Victorian theme mixed with alternative suspense. I love the action, and drama. I am dying to know what will happen next. So, it's an awesome series. Only a little too obsessed with beauty.

Book Description:
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

No Goals Met

It's quite a bummer, but I didn't reach any of my reading challenges' goals. Oh well, better luck this year. Happy 2012!