Monthly Archives: February 2011

The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs And Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think most of us have probably seen or heard the story of Balto the dog that saved Nome during the Diptheria epidemic in the 1920’s, but do you know the real story? This is that. An interesting book about the details of the outbreak, how the decision was made to use the sled dogs (although using a plane was considering) and the transit of the men on the sleds through the weather to bring it to safety. I had heard of Balto, but seeing how much else was in the background of the story that I didn’t know about made this a great read. A lot of fascinating information about the history of Alaska, as well as what happened to the people who made up the sled relay after the treatment made it to Nome.

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The Family Affair by James Gainer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

***I won this book as part of a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway***

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical starting this book because I wasn’t sure about the whole step-son of the sister as a love interest idea, but the book turned out really good. If you are expecting a typical HEA, however, this book won’t be for you. And yet, I felt like there was closure – but I would love to see more about Jack and Rick in the future (HINT HINT!). My heart-broke for Jack as he went about the process of trying to move on after the death of a loved one and you could see him start to heal, especially after Rick came into the picture. I look forward to seeing what else this author produces in the future.

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Cold Earth by Sarah Moss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was different – its almost hard to describe. A group of 6 strangers (Nina, Ruth, Jim, Catriona, Yanni and Ben) conducting an archeological dig in Greenland when they get world of a possible epidemic that is making people ill at home. The book is told in 6 sections from the perspective of the six people, as the story progresses through their time on the dig. It was interesting as I learnt quite a bit about archeology (I don’t ever want to go on a dig now) and the characters were interesting. <spoiler>The ending left a bit to be desired in that you never really found out what the epidemic was, and that all but one of the made it home (although it wasn’t who I thought it was going to be).</spoiler> I’ll be interested to see what this author writes in the future.

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Warrior by Zoe Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Warrior is one of those books that has been so hyped up on the past year that I was scared to read it for fear of it not living up to the hype. Boy was I wrong. I loved the unique setting (Mongolia) and that Thalia the heroine was the typical TSTL heroine that you see so often in historical romances. My only comment would be that I see this shelved as steampunk on a regular basis and I don’t think that it necessarily falls under that because there aren’t the common elements that you see in steampunk (the derigables and other technological advancements – with the exception of a few inventions used by the blades). I have book 3 on the pile waiting for me, but need to get a hold of book 2.

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Burning Up by Angela Knight
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Of the four authors who were published in this anthology, I’d only read one prior to this (Nalini Singh), but I will definately be checking out the other three in the future.

Singh continues her psy-changling series with a changling/human pairing – Ria is a half-american-half-chinese who is being stalked by a gang that is trying to take over a section of her town, Emmett is the changling who saved her life. Wow, talk about an explosive combo – i was fanning myself a few times – loved the secondary characters (including the grandmother).

Knight pairs a vampire with a woman with magical abilities in an effort to stop a magical wall from coming down. At first I wasn’t sure about this one, but ended up enjoying it and will be seeking more books out by her in the future.

Kantra continues with her children of the sea series – this one focusing on a woman who is finfolk and how she found her love. I’ve had a book by Kantra sitting on the pile for a while and it has now been elevated slightly higher on the TBR.

Brooks introduced the characters in his Iron Duke series with this prequel. I’ve heard so much hype about this author that I was skeptical about whether I would enjoy the Iron Duke, so I didn’t buy it until trying out the series in this book – wow! this was really my introduction to the steampunk genre and I will def. be seeking out more in the future. I’ve already bought The Iron Duke and look forward to reading it.

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