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Monthly Archives: November 2012

Review – My Bluegrass Baby – Molly Harper (@mollyharperauth)

18 Nov

My Bluegrass Baby
Author: Molly Harper

Review Copy provided by Pocket Star and Edelweiss

Description:
Sadie Hutchins loves her job at the Kentucky Tourism Commission. Not only could her co-workers double as the cast of Parks & Recreation, but she loves finding the unusual sites, hidden gems, and just-plain-odd tourist attractions of her home state. She’s a shoo-in for the director’s job when her boss retires at the end of the year…until hotshot Josh Vaughn shows up to challenge her for the position.

Josh is all sophisticated polish while Sadie’s country comfort, and the two have very different ideas of what makes a good campaign. So when their boss pits them against each other in a winner-takes-all contest, they’re both willing to fight dirty if it means getting what they want. But it turns out, what Josh and Sadie want could be each other—and Josh’s kisses are the best Kentucky attraction Sadie’s found yet!

Review
Three things, I had never considered prior to reading My Bluegrass Baby by the fantabulous Molly Harper – that I could claim programing my Tivo on my resume (I’m sure that parlays into something workplace related), the number of cartoon characters who run-around with no pants on (aka, the Pantless Pantheon) and Squirrel genitalia (as my friend Toni would say, its all about the nuts ; ) But when I reading Molly Harpers newest contemporary romance, all three of those things, plus many more were mentioned. There is just something quirky about the way she writes, that makes you feel right at home with the characters. I loved how she managed to work so many weird and wonderful facts about Kentucky in the book (but don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil the surprise for anyone, since you guys need to have a chance to read it). I do have to admit that I’m normally not a fan of workplace romance type books, it is just a trope that I normally don’t enjoy, but I think that Molly did a great job balancing the line between funny and the awkwardness that so often ensures in situations like that.

Anyways, i could probably amble on for hours about how much I enjoy Molly Harper’s work – but I won’t 😉 All I can say is that if you haven’t read (or listened) to any of her stuff yet, then you really need to. If you are looking for lite funny PNR or entertaining contemporary romance, she has something for you. After reading this, she has pretty much sealed her spot on my auto-buy/auto-listen list. Now I can start stalking her for new work. Overall, a solid 4 stars. Oh yeah, and I totally have a new saying, I’ve been known to comment on my lack of a brain mouth barrier, but I think atrophied verbal filter sounds soo much better!! (Thanks Molly!)

Thanks to Pocket Star for approving my review request and Edelweiss for providing the opportunity.

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Deja Vu Review (7) – An Author You Are Thankful For

18 Nov

The Deja Vu Review is a weekly meme hosted by Brittany at The Book Addicts Guide. Its an opportunity to revisit old books you might have read before you launched your blog, but that you think should maybe still be highlighted.

An Author You Are Thankful For

When I first saw this prompt on the Book Addicts Guide, I was like easy-peasy…and then I sat down to write the post and ummm, yeah, not so much…there are many authors that I like and admire because of all their writing, but thankful for is a bit harder…then it was like a lightbulb…the one author I am thankful for is LaVyrle Spencer – wayyy back in my teen years, she was my main introduction to romance (aside from a few Silhouette/Harlequin’s that I had read). I found a bunch of her books when I was snooping in my mom’s room one day (statute of limitations has expired now right?) – I then proceeded to devour all of her books.

Most people know her for Morning Glory – which is not related to the Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford movie that came out a couple of years ago. But it was turned into a movie starring Christopher Reeve and Deborah Raffin (see more here). However, unlike most people this wasn’t my favorite book by her – I liked it, but didn’t love it.

At the same time, I am hard pressed to figure out which one of her books is my favorite – its a toss-up between Years featuring a mail-order bride right before WW1, Bitter Sweet about finding love, losing it and finding it again, That Camden Summer or The Gamble – each one holds a special place in my heart. It was a sad day when she announced her retirement from writing. I keep hoping, even now 15 years later, that she will release just one more book. I recently trolled ebay and bought a collection of her stuff that I had lost/misplaced over the years.

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2012 in Deja Vu Review

 

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Happy 201st Blog Post

17 Nov

When I launched my blog back in July of 2010 (the 5th to be exact), I never dreamed that I would a) stick with it long enough to make 200 posts, or b) have enough books that I felt needed reviews to be posted (because I honestly don’t review half of the stuff that I read)…

But here, I am, so happy 201st Blog Post day – I actually planned on doing one for my 200th post, but that just seemed to expected whereas a 201st, not so much (yes, I am that much of a dork!).

Now for the random blog facts (since I know you guys love them!)
5487 total views (and thanks for all you guys who keep coming back for bumping up my numbers!)
122 views on my busiest day (who would have thunk that a blog giving away prizes would have been the most popular…)

Top countries that have had viewers to my blog:
United States (well, duh, I live here)
Australia (Thanks Mom!)
UK
Canada
Philippines (ok, that was an interesting one…)

Random Countries that popped up:
Serbia
Bahrain
Ecudor
Iceland (thanks James!)
Angola

Most Popular Post:
Summer Blog Giveaway – Aug 1 (ironically, my most popular blog day…)

Most Popular Review:
The Ponds of Kalambyi from 28 October, 2011.

Most Popular Tag Used:
Audiobook (well, I am a self-admitted junkie), followed by 3.5 stars (guess I am also a picky reviewer 😉 )

But of course, no blogaversary would be complete without gifts 😉 So for all you guys out there, I’m offering up a $20 Amazon giftcard to a lucky commenter. All you have to do is comment and let me know which of my reviews, or other blog posts, you found the most interesting. Entries will close on November 30th.

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2012 in giveaway

 

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Audiobook Review – At Grave’s End – Jeaniene Frost

12 Nov

At Grave’s End
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Series: #3 in the Night Huntress series

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Run Time: 9hrs and 28 minutes

Book Description:
It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield’s life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she’s successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat’s worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover’s finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger.

As if that wasn’t enough, a woman from Bones’s past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat’s about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she’s learned as a special agent won’t help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself—and Bones—from a fate worse than the grave.

Review
This is a hard book for me to review because my thoughts on the narration have completely taken over my thoughts on the book itself, and I am having a hard time separating the two. So I am going to break from my normal mode, and review the audiobook narration first and then hopefully touch on some of the book specific comments. Many of these audiobook comments can also be found on the Audible.com page for this audiobook. Having read the previous 2 books in the series on my kindle, I decided to try something different and listen to book 3 for a challenge. Going into it, I had heard varying opinions about the narration, specifically focused on the voice of Bones and after listening I would definately say that I fall into the negative. I have to wonder if my opinion would have been changed if I had listened to all of the books, but i don’t know.

Typically I like Tavia Gilbert’s narration, but something with this just didn’t work – I HATED Bones voice – he sounded like an Australian teen high on something – now admitedly based on the backstory, he did spend some time in Australia before he became a vampire and after, but he is also supposed to be British, so the voice just didn’t work for me. I imagine him more sounding like James Marsters who played Spike on Buffy way back when. My other, albiet small complaint, was about some of the word pronunciation. One of the main secondary characters is Don, but for the life of me every time I heard her say his name, is sounded like Dawn…and then on the one occurrence when Dawn is said, it sounded like Don…

But that being said, narration aside, I didn’t mind the book. Cat was a bit more whiny/clingy in this book than she had been in previous ones. She wasn’t as kick-ass as I was expecting her to be and oh the drama and the death. Without disclosing any spoilers, some serious shit went down in this book and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in later books. I can say that I will be reading the rest of them and not listening.

Overall, i’d give the narration only 2 stars, but the book itself 3.5-4. So adding them together about 3 stars over all. I do think that people who like UF should read this series if they haven’t started yet.

 
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Posted by on November 12, 2012 in Audiobook Review

 

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Review – A Thousand Lives – Julia Scheeres

10 Nov

A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown
Author: Julia Scheeres

Book Description:
In 1954, a pastor named Jim Jones opened a church in Indianapolis called People’s Temple Full Gospel Church. He was a charismatic preacher with idealistic beliefs, and he quickly filled his pews with an audience eager to hear his sermons on social justice. After Jones moved his church to Northern California in 1965, he became a major player in Northern California politics; he provided vital support in electing friendly political candidates to office, and they in turn offered him a protective shield that kept stories of abuse and fraud out of the papers. Even as Jones’s behavior became erratic and his message more ominous, his followers found it increasingly difficult to pull away from the church. By the time Jones relocated the Peoples Temple a final time to a remote jungle in Guyana and the U.S. Government decided to investigate allegations of abuse and false imprisonment in Jonestown, it was too late.

Review:
I have often heard the term “drinking the koolaid” and have even said it a time or two, but until I finished this book, I didn’t know the originals of the saying. Not growing up or attending school in the United States means that things many people learned in their history classes, I am clueless about (and don’t even get my started on my lack of knowledge of politics)…but when I was listening to Ice Cold (Tess Gerritsen), the Jonestown cult and massacre was mentioned and I was intrigued. And funnily enough, I was talking to some coworkers at the same time I was reading this and one of them mentioned the phrase and I was then about to put two and two together to understand. I then found out about this book while I was trying to find a book set in Guyana for my Around the World reading challenge – so it was like hitting two birds with one stone.

I loved how the author was able to use various documents that had been released by the FBI to develop the picture of what happened – since there is very little eye-witness testimony and most of the people who did survive (not that there were many of them) have since died. I was actually surprised to see the amount of information that had been recovered from the camp after the massacre was discovered. I found that the author did a good job of weaving the tale to make it interesting, I wanted to know about what happened. It wasn’t like a normal NF book where I can read bits and pieces and be ok with stopped, in the end, I think I read this in about 3 days, which is significantly less time than most non-fiction books that I read. I will definately be looking for her other book to read and will be interested to see what more she writes in the future. 3.5 stars.

 
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Posted by on November 10, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Audiobook Review – Timeless – Gail Carriger

09 Nov

Timeless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: #5 in the Parasol Protectorate

Narrator: Emily Gray
Run Time: 11hrs and 29 minutes
Producer: Hachette Audio

Book Description:
Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire’s second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell’s acting troupe’s latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia’s enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

Review
This has to probably be one of my favorite series that I had read/listened to in the recent past. I loved all 5 books and while various ones had their ups and downs, like can be expected in a series, overall, they were well worth my time. I can’t wait to see how the spin-off series featuring Alexia’s daughter is going to turn out, as well as the other series pending that is set in the same world, but 20-ish years prior. But I digress. Timeless picks up 2+ years after the end of Heartless – but not much has changed in the world. There are still vampires and werewolves roaming loose in London, but Alexia isn’t just having to cope with that, she also now has a toddler to chase after. Adding a twist to this installment, Alexia travels abroad to Egypt (and all that entails). I really want to say more, but it could easily turn spoilish and I don’t want to ruin this series for anyone.

As I was listening to Emily Gray’s narration, I realized that sometimes, it felt like the author had just reached into a hat filled with various sounds and pulled several out to make names of some of the characters. I also loved Lord Ackeldama – he has been one of my favorite characters through-out the whole series and I can’t wait to see the influence that he has had on characters in the later books. I have to admit to being a bit disappointed by the Biffy/Professor Lyall scenario – I don’t think that it really added anything to the book overall – but maybe it will be needed in the future.

Emily Gray’s narration for all 5 books was spot on – I felt that she managed to capture the British accents perfectly and I felt like I was there. Her narration of Lord Maccon was great and well, Lord Ackeldama…all I could do was laugh because it was perfect. I highly recommend her for future narrations and will be looking out for her when I pick audiobooks in the future. Overall, 4 stars and a high recommendation

 
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Posted by on November 9, 2012 in Audiobook Review

 

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Classics Challenge – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith

08 Nov

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Author: Betty Smith
Classics Challenge Sub-topic: Coming of Age

Book Description:
The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness — in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.

Review:
I probably never would have put this book on my challenge to read list if it hadn’t shown up as a group read in one of my various goodreads groups. But now that I have read it, I can’t believe that I hadn’t before. And come to think of it, I don’t recall even really hearing about it – although apparently it is still used on school reading lists. (My library has all the reading list books separated from the standard YA, so they are easy to find).

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is such a simple tale – the story of Francie growing up in Williamsburg, a part of New York (although every time I see that town name, I think of Williamsburg, VA). She goes through the same trials that most kids do – going to school, dealing with boys, first love, but on top of all that, an alcoholic father and being exceptionally poor. I loved seeing her mother (who some reviews describe as being cruel, although I don’t agree) teaching Francie and her brother about the value of money and saving towards a goal (with the tin cup that they nailed in the cupboard at each house they moved to). Or the love of learning that she inspired in them, through Shakespeare and the bible.

Even now, over 60 years since it was originally written, I can see how kids can relate to the going-ons. Not necessarily the time period specific, but the general themes of growing up and finding your place in the world. Being the sucker that I am for happy endings, I wonder what would happen if a sequel was ever written – What did Francie end up doing with her life – Did she finish going to college? Did she get over her first love and subsequent first heartbreak? But at the same time, I don’t want to know because I can imagine various different endings all I want and a sequel would change that.

This is a book that I would recommend to pretty much anyone, but I do think that teenage girls would enjoy it the most because of the themes and the characters.

 
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Posted by on November 8, 2012 in classics challenge

 

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Audiobook Review – Ice Cold – Tess Gerritsen

07 Nov

Ice Cold
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Series: #8 in the Rizzoli and Isles series

Narrator: Tanya Eby
Run Time: 9 hrs 51 minutes
Producer: Brilliance Audio

Book Description:
In Wyoming for a medical conference, Boston medical examiner Maura Isles joins a group of friends on a spur-of-the-moment ski trip. But when their SUV stalls on a snow-choked mountain road, they’re stranded with no help in sight.

As night falls, the group seeks refuge from the blizzard in the remote village of Kingdom Come, where twelve eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. Something terrible has happened in Kingdom Come: Meals sit untouched on tables, cars are still parked in garages. The town’s previous residents seem to have vanished into thin air, but footprints in the snow betray the presence of someone who still lurks in the cold darkness—someone who is watching Maura and her friends.

Days later, Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli receives the grim news that Maura’s charred body has been found in a mountain ravine. Shocked and grieving, Jane is determined to learn what happened to her friend. The investigation plunges Jane into the twisted history of Kingdom Come, where a gruesome discovery lies buried beneath the snow. As horrifying revelations come to light, Jane closes in on an enemy both powerful and merciless—and the chilling truth about Maura’s fate.

Review
I figure after greatly enjoying the last few books in the series, I was about due for a dud. But even saying that, Ms Gerritsen’s dud’s are still better than a good majority of other fiction out there (oh the irony). I can’t even really describe what it was about this one that made it only ehhh for me – I think it was because I had pretty much figured out the who done it early-ish in the book (like not long after the introduction of said character). I also think that it might be the fact that one of the things I love the best about the series is the interaction between Jane and Maura and that was decidedly lacking in this series as they spent 90% of the series separated by several thousand miles. It made me realize how much Jane is the dominant character in the series – while Maura has this quiet strength and perseverance, which was highlighted in this book – Jane is like the gun powder – explosive and on the go. Which is what I prefer – maybe because she is opposite to me – I definitely identify more with Maura than with Jane, which is why I like reading about Jane’s antics. The one interesting thing for me in this book was how various cult’s and the development of Cult’s were discussed. It made me want to read more about some of the ones that have become famous in history (Jonestown specifically), so I am on the look-out for books (if anyone has any ideas – let me know).

Going into the narration, I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of Tanya Eby’s work. I had heard a few negative reviews about some of her work and I was a bit worried – but I was pleasantly surprised. I can’t say that this was my favorite narration ever, because its not, and it definately wasn’t my favorite of the series (Anna Fields has that spot all tied up), but it was enjoyable. One of the comments other listeners had made was on a lisp – but I didn’t hear anything that wasn’t easily gotten used to in listening. However, I wasn’t a fan of how Jane sounded in her parts – she didn’t have the Boston Irish accent that I had gotten used to in previous narrations, so that was lacking. However, I didn’t mind her narration of Jane and thought that she did a pretty good job with the narration of the various males voices that occurred through-out.

Overall, I would give both the book and the narration 3 stars. I liked it, but didn’t love it. It will be interesting to see how I enjoy the narration in future books, as it appears that Tanya Eby may become the primarily narrator (she has done the two most recent books).

 
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Posted by on November 7, 2012 in Audiobook Review

 

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Deja Vu Review (6) – A Cute Love Story

06 Nov

The Deja Vu Review is a weekly meme hosted by Brittany at The Book Addicts Guide. Its an opportunity to revisit old books you might have read before you launched your blog, but that you think should maybe still be highlighted.

A cute love story

So I’m a bit late in getting this one up, but when I saw the question for the week I couldn’t resist. Especially since the book I am going to review is one that I was recently talking about with a friend, who I convinced to read it and who gave it 5 stars (yes, my book recommendation powers are just that awesome!)

Last Chance, My Love
Author: Lynne Connolly
Read: 2009
Rating: 4 stars

In most romance novels, there is a standard boy meets girl, boy and girl hook up, girl and boy get married, and depending on the publisher, girl pops out numerous kids in the epilogue. (yes, all tongue in cheek, but hey, if it works…). What I loved the most about Last Chance, My Love was that it focused on life after marriage and re-discovering love. The two main characters, Miranda and Daniel, had been married for several years, but health issues for her had resulted in them becoming further and further apart in their daily lives. So he tries to rekindle what they once had. Of all the historical romance I have read in the past, this one felt real to me – it didn’t seem to be the overly tedious courtship, but real (if that makes sense). After reading it, I went out and bought the other books in the series and never read them, so they are now on the pile as my memories of this one have been rejuvenated.

 
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Posted by on November 6, 2012 in Deja Vu Review

 

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Review – The You Know Who Girls: Freshman Year – Annameekee Hesik

06 Nov

The You Know Who Girls
Author: Annameekee Hesik

Review Copy Provided by Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley

Book Description
Abbey Brooks, Gila High freshman-to-be, never thought a hellish day of shopping at the mall with her best friend, Kate, could change her life. But when she orders French fries from the flirtatious Hot Dog on a Stick Chick, she gets more than deep-fried potatoes. Abbey tries to ignore the weird, happy feeling in her gut, but that proves to be as impossible as avoiding the very insistent (and—rumor has it—very lesbian) players on Gila High’s girls’ basketball team. They want freakishly long-legged Abbey to try out, and Abbey doesn’t hate the idea. But Kate made Abbey pinky swear to avoid basketball and to keep away from the you-know-who girls on the team.

Sometimes promises can’t be kept. And sometimes girls in uniform are impossible to resist.

Review
Its hard for me to preface why I requested this book to read because I can honestly say that non-romancy LGBT fiction normally isn’t my thing. But there was just something that drew my attention in the description. And I am glad that I took the chance. It has been a while since I was in high school (but I’m not going to tell you how long…lol), but I still remember being that awkward freshman, trying to make new friends and find myself in the hierarchy that is a high school. I can’t imagine struggling with my sexuality, while going through those normal high school trials. While I was reading, I found that Ms Hesik managed to walk the fine line between the dramatic without being too angsty.

While for me the ending was only so-so, I enjoyed the vast majority of the book and I hope that she plans on writing more focusing on Abbey’s other years at Gila High, or if that isn’t possible, then maybe at least her senior year. Overall, I’d give this a solid 4 stars and will definately be looking for more by this author in the future.

 
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Posted by on November 6, 2012 in Book Review

 

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