Author Archives: Dee

Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

I have to say when I first got the notification from Goodreads saying that I had won this book, I wasn’t sure if i would enjoy it. So it got put on the overly full bookshelves with the intention to "get to it eventually" as with most of my books. Then I discovered that I needed a book about immigrant experiences in the United States and found that over half of the book, fit the bill and so decided to read it.

I was pleasantly surprised while reading Li’s authobiography. Having studied through various history courses a bit about Communist China, I sort of knew what to expect but he portrayed it in such vivid detail that those images will remain in my mind.

His experiences when he arrived in the United States, the perceptions of how China lied to him about them being the richest people in the world and the United States being the poorest were poignent. After he decided to defect to the United States, it felt like my heart was being torn-out after reading about his experiences.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a personal experience of living under a communist rule, as well as students who are studying those areas of history.

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The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes the good thing about partaking in a reading challenge is that it makes you push your boundaries and read a book you normally wouldn’t – I read the Cookbook Collector for just that reason. I’d seen it previously in stores, but it just never gained by attention enough that I read it. However, I’m glad that I did. Its a marvelous story about learning who you are and finding your place in teh world, about living each day as it comes and not putting off today what can be done tomorrow. I highly recommend it.

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Title: Soul Bonds; Rush in the Dark; Edward Unconditionally
Author: Lynn Lorenz
Series: Common Powers 1, 2 and 3
Genre: Erotic Romance: M/M
Date Read: October 2010

Review
This was a series of books (only 3 in the series) where I felt the need to include all three in the review, because I sat down at read them 1 after the other over the period of about 2 days. I enjoyed them all, but they definately did get better as the story progressed. The series takes place in Houston, TX, as well as in a small town a few hours outside of Houston and focuses on three couples: Mitchell/Sammi (Soul Bonds); Rush and Brian (Rush in the Dark) and Edward/Jack (Edward Unconditionally). As with other great series, I’ve read, characters from previous books make an appearance in later ones so you can catch up with what has been going on with them. These were the first books that I had read by Lynn Lorenz but they won’t be the last.

Rating
Soul Bonds – 3.5 stars
Rush in the Dark – 4 stars
Edward Unconditionally – 5 stars

Title: Duck!
Author: Kim Dare
Series: None
Genre: Erotic Romance: M/M; BDSM
Date Read: October 2010

Plot (from Goodreads)
Raised among humans, Ori Jones only discovered he was an avian shifter six months ago. Unable to complete a full shift until he reaches his avian maturity, he still can’t be sure of his exact species.

But with species comes rank, and rank is everything to the avians. When a partial shift allows the elders to announce that they believe Ori to be a rather ugly little duckling, he drops straight to the bottom rung of their hierarchy.

Life isn’t easy for Ori until he comes to the attention of a high ranking hawk shifter. Then the only question is, is Ori really a duck—and what will his new master think when the truth eventually comes out?

Review
When I was first recommended this book I was a bit skeptical – I had read a couple of Ms. Dare’s books in the past, and while I had enjoyed them, they weren’t mind-blowing. However, everyone who had read this one so far was raving out it, so I took the chance and I can say that I don’t regret it in the slightest! I loved this book! A re-telling of the old Fairy Tale, the Ugly Ducking with some elements of BDSM, all tied up into a M/M romance. What more could a girl ask for?

Rating
5 stars

Title: Brindisi Bedfellows
Author: Jamie Craig
Genre: Erotic Romance: M/M
Date Read: 8 July 2010

Review
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Rating
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Title: Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson
Author: Keith Ablow
Genre: Non-Fiction
Date Read: 7 July 2010

Review
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Rating
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Title: Bareback
Author: Chris Owen
Series: Bareback 1
Genre: Erotic Romance: M/M
Date Read: 7 July 2010

Review
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Rating
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Title: Case Histories
Author: Kate Atkinson
Series: Jackson Brodie Book 1
Genre: Literature and Fiction
Date Read: 5 July 2010

Review
It is rare that a book takes me longer than a week to read unless it is one that is 750+ pages because I know that I read fast. Yet, while reading Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, I struggled with it. When all was said and done, it took me nearly three weeks to finish the book and yet I never gave up on it and I’m not sure why. It was well-written, but the presentation was a bit confusing. Essentially, the novel focuses on a PI who is working three cold cases. Each chapter is a different case, plus his perspective mixed in, but each of the cases are told through the eyes of a person involved, be it one of the sisters, the father, or other connected character. There was also a significant discrepancy at least to me in the time devoted to the cases…the one took up probably a close to a third of the book and have long chapters whereas the other only had a few pages mixed in here and there.

All three of the cases were solved in the end and I was unable to identify who had committed the various crimes and yet, it wasn’t an ah-ha moment for me when they were identified, but rather more ho-hum, ok, case solved. The book was one of the initial ones I bought for my kindle back in 2009 when I was gone and it has sat for that long…maybe I should have let it sit longer.

Recommended For: I honestly don’t know who I could safety recommend this book to as of right now

Rating: 2 stars