Another Opal Adventure

My Rating: 4/5

Review: While I do like Opal a lot, I don't like how easily she falls into bed with whomever she's currently in love with. She's been horribly tortured and betrayed in a very sexual way. That should be enough to make her weary. That's my only complaint in this second book of the Glass Trilogy by Maria V. Snyder. She has created such a wonderfully adventurous world with endless possibilities and stories to be told. Her characters both good and evil are well developed and all entertaining in their own ways. I'll be checking out Opal's final adventure soon, and I hope it comes to a satisfactory end.

Book Description: Student glass magician Opal Cowan's newfound ability to steal a magician's powers makes her too powerful. Ordered to house arrest by the Council, Opal dares defy them, traveling to the Moon Clan's lands in search of Ulrick, the man she thinks she loves. Thinks because she is sure another man now her prisoner has switched souls with Ulrick.

In hostile territory, without proof or allies, Opal isn't sure whom to trust. She can't forget Kade, the handsome Stormdancer who doesn't want to let her get close. And now everyone is after Opal's special powers for their own deadly gain....

The Pioneer Woman's Love Story

My Rating: 4/5

Review: I must start by saying that I absolutely adore Ree Drummond. Her blog is such a joy to read, and I have made a couple of her recipes so far that were fantabulous. This book has been so much fun to read, and I am so glad that she has shared her sweet romance with her fans. It felt like I was reminiscing with a dear friend. It was real and heartfelt, and funny, and just so good. I liked that she added some recipes at the end. I will have to try at least one.

Book Description: I'll never forget that night. It was like a romance novel, an old Broadway musical, and a John Wayne western rolled into one. Out for a quick drink with friends, I wasn't looking to meet anyone, let alone a tall, rugged cowboy who lived on a cattle ranch miles away from my cultured, corporate hometown. But before I knew it, I'd been struck with a lightning bolt . . . and I was completely powerless to stop it.

Read along as I recount the rip-roaring details of my unlikely romance with a chaps-wearing cowboy, from the early days of our courtship (complete with cows, horses, prairie fire, and passion) all the way through the first year of our marriage, which would be filled with more challenge and strife—and manure—than I ever could have expected.

This isn't just my love story; it's a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet.

What's Under the Floor?

My Rating: 3.5/5

Review: The beginning didn't draw me in as much I would have liked, but by somewhere in the middle, I was hooked. Too many descriptions tended to slow the story down a bit, and I never seem to like it when the author shows the character's thoughts. The action was great, though, and there was an unexpected twist at the end. I liked the main character, Nat Greco, who has a big family that's always in her business. She is short, but spunky. She loves books. She sometimes has trouble getting through to her students. She's very relatable, which makes her predicaments seem real. So, not an overly fast-paced novel, but a good read nonetheless.

Book Description: Mousy University of Pennsylvania assistant law professor Natalie "Nat" Greco, finds herself in way over her head when an unintended visit to a minimum-security prison in nearby Chester County puts her in the middle of a deadly uprising -- and places her at the center of an elaborate plot that involves an incarcerated crime boss and more than a few improbable conspirators.

Kvothe Returns At Last

My Rating: 4/5

Review:
I am going to liken this book to what I imagine a hike on the Appalachian Trail to be; long, tedious at times, but extraordinary. Patrick Rothfuss has such a beautiful and magical way with words that I am astounded with every page. Still, this book did not have quite the magic and thrill the first book in the trilogy posessed. The beginning was like a happy reunion. All of the characters I have grown fond of were there. The mishaps and intrigue of daily life at the university was an endless delight. Then it started growing darker and slightly less entertaining for a bit. There was still eloquence on every page, but there were tedious moments too. After that, it changed between merely interesting and moderately exciting. I hope the author will forgive me for saying so, but it felt very indulgent at times. I can still say that I loved the book, however, and I will try my best to wait patiently for the next installment. It's going to be difficult, but I will try.

Book Description: For nearly four years, fantasy and science fiction enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting this second volume to Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles. The first volume, The Name of the Wind, won the prestigious Quill Award and was recently voted as the third-best SFF novel of the decade on Tor.com. In this linchpin book of the trilogy, Kvothe continues his perilous search for answers about the Chandrian even as he grapples with more pressing dangers.

Maybe You Didn't Know This About Your Favorite Female Author

My Rating: 4/5

My Review:
This was a wonderful little book. Very interesting facts about female authors of some of the most memorable books. It seems that the best writers must suffer before they achieve greatness.

Book Description: An exploration of classic heroines and their equally admirable authors, The Heroine's Bookshelf shows today's women how to tap into their inner strengths and live life with intelligence and grace.

Introducing Flavia de Luce

My Rating: 4/5

Review: This was a lovely mystery involving the most intriguing little girl I have ever come across in a book. Flavia de Luce loves chemistry, and she is most particularly enamored with poisons. When a stranger dies before her eyes outside her home, she is immediately thrust into a complex murder mystery. When her father is arrested for the crime, it makes her investigations all the more important. I love her wit, her love for her trusty bicycle, Gladys, and her determination. Not to mention her bravery. It takes quite a bit of gumption to go through what she does to solve the murder and free her dad from jail. I am looking forward ti reading the next book in this series.

Book Description: In his wickedly brilliant first novel, Debut Dagger Award winner Alan Bradley introduces one of the most singular and engaging heroines in recent fiction: eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. It is the summer of 1950-and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia's family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. "I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn't. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life."

To Flavia the investigation is the stuff of science: full of possibilities, contradictions, and connections.

Not Your Average Mystery

My rating: 5/5

Review: When I first started reading this book, I didn't really think that I would be teary eyed by the end. It was just another great mystery story to me. Let me just tell you right now, it is not just another great mystery story. The twists and turns don't really get going good until you get closer to the end, but there are so many of them that your mind will reel. There's also a lesson or two to be learned, as it always seems to be with Coben's books. Supposed facts can be deceiving, just as lies can end up being truths. Compassion is something we all need at one time or another. Also, bad things can happen even with the best intentions. I'm sure there are one or two I'm leaving out, but I think you get the idea. Great book, great mystery, fabulous ending. I'll be reading every Harlan Coben book I can get my hands on from here on out. That is, as soon as I get through the next four books I have stacked up on my end table.

Book Description: From the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense comes a fast-paced, emotion-packed novel about guilt, grief, and our capacity to forgive 17-year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year with all the hopes and dreams her doting parents can pin on her. Which is why, when her mother wakes one morning to find that Haley never came home the night before, and three months quickly pass without word from the girl, the community assumes the worst. Wendy Tynes is a reporter on a mission, to identify and bring down sexual predators via elaborate-and nationally televised-sting operations. Working with local police on her news program Caught in the Act, Wendy and her team have publicly shamed dozens of men by the time she encounters her latest target. Dan Mercer is a social worker known as a friend to troubled teens, but his story soon becomes more complicated than Wendy could have imagined. In a novel that challenges as much as it thrills, filled with the astonishing tension and unseen suburban machinations that have become Coben's trademark, Caught tells the story of a missing girl, the community stunned by her loss, the predator who may have taken her, and the reporter who suddenly realizes she can't trust her own instincts about this story-or the motives of the people around her.