Summer Hiatus

Dear Readers,

I'll be taking a break from reviewing for the summer but I expect to be back this fall.

Cheers,
lemonstargirl

The Last - W.D. McKay

Searching the universe for signs of intelligent life, world-renowned astrobiologist David Mace is about to realize his dream. But not even Mace could have predicted the magnitude of the changes descending upon the Earth. It's not until he teams up with Bobbi-Lynne Allen that he discovers the unimaginable truth.

Absolutely amazing!

This book will make you question all your preconceptions about...well...everything! It has changed how I look at the world. What if McKay has stumbled upon the truth? Could we handle it?

The characters are wonderful. Bobbi is brilliant and terrifying, yet sweet and fiercely protective. Absolutely love her.

The story moves along well with, surprisingly, no dry spells whatsoever. And it keeps you glued to it; I had a hard time going to sleep at night knowing The Last was out there waiting for me to continue it.

A spectactular science fiction adventure. I can't wait for book two of the trilogy!

Tigers in Red Weather - Liza Klaussmann

Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha's Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their "real lives": Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, who is about to return from the war.

Soon the gilt begins to crack. Helena's husband is not the man he seemed to be, and Hughes has returned from the war distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, back at Tiger House, Nick and Helena - with their children, Daisy and Ed - try to recapture that sense of possibility. But when Daisy and Ed discover the victim of a brutal murder, the intrusion of violence causes everything to unravel. The members of the family spin out of their prescribed orbits, secrets come to light, and nothing about their lives will ever be the same. Brilliantly told from five points of view, with a magical elegance and suspenseful dark longing, Tigers in Red Weather is an unforgettable debut novel from a writer of extraordinary insight.

Whoa.

This story is amazing. Klaussman does an amazing job revealing the mental processes of each of her characters. They're all so unique and their voices really shine through the writing.

I love how real, how normal all the characters are. Well, normal in the sense that we all have secrets, we've all lied and cheated, done things we shouldn't have, have unfulfilled desires and a need to protect those we love... Normal.

This is definitely a book I'll be reading again and again. I fully recommend it to everyone.

The Girl Who Married An Eagle - Tamar Myers

When Julia Elaine Newton, a young, pretty Ohio girl, volunteered to go on a mission to the Belgian Congo, she knew it was going to be a huge change. But she never expected to wind up teaching at an all-girls boarding school primarily populated by runaway child brides!

Much to her chagrin, Early Dusk was born beautiful. If only she'd been ugly, Big Chief Eagle would not have noticed her. Escaping an arranged marriage, the scrappy eight-year-old girl finds her way to Julia Newton and the school. But this time her jilted husband will not be denied.

It's up to Julia and Early Dusk to try to save the school as Congolese Independence looms and Big Chief Eagle embarks on his revenge. With the help of Cripple and her husband, and even Amanda Brown, these plucky women must learn to save themselves.

Such a lovely story.

I love the diversity and depth of the characters. Julia's frustrations and Buakane's confusion in their first days at the school are captured perfectly. And who couldn't love a child like Clementine!

The Girl Who Married An Eagle captivated me from the very beginning. But it was over far too fast. Just as things were getting going, poof it was all over. I wish the story had continued longer instead of jumping ahead so suddenly.

I fully recommend this book to those looking for a quick read that will thrust you into the heart of Africa with characters you will never forget.

Wolfhound Century - Peter Higgins

Inspector Vissarion Lom has been summoned to the capital in order to catch a terrorist. A totalitarian state, worn down by an endless war, must be seen to crush home-grown insurgents with an iron fist. But Lom discovers Mirgorod to be more corrupted than he imagined: a murky world of secret police and revolutionaries, cabaret clubs and doomed artists. Lom has been chosen because he is an outsider, not involved in the struggle for power within the party. And because of the sliver of angel stone implanted in his head.

One of the most unsatisfying books I've read in a long time.

I feel like I missed half the story, like every other page was missing - and those were the key pages to alleviate my confusion.

The book was interesting in the sense that I kept pushing forward, waiting for the big reveal, for everything to come together in some brilliant explanation. But it never came. And, to be honest, I couldn't even give a brief synopsis of this book for someone; I am that lost.

It was filled with such wonderfully descriptive scenes that I often had no idea what was actually going on - what was real and what was simply metaphor.

So many threads have been left untied, which makes me think Higgins is planning another book. As much as I want a satisfactory conclusion, I will not be reading a sequel if there is one.

Prophet of Bones - Ted Kosmatka

Paul Carlsson, a brilliant young scientist, is summoned from his laboratory job to the remote Indonesian island of Flores to collect DNA samples from the bones of a strange, new species of tool user unearthed by an archaeological dig. The questions the find raises seem to cast doubt on the very foundation of modern science, which has proven the world to be only 5,800 years old, but before Paul can fully grapple with the implications of his find, the dig is violently shut down by paramilitaries.

Paul flees with two of his friends, yet within days one has vanished and the other is murdered in an attack that costs Paul an eye and nearly his life. Back in America, Paul tries to resume the comfortable life he left behind but can't cast the questions raised by the dig from his mind. Paul begins to piece together a puzzle that seems to threaten the fabric of society, but the world's governments and Martial Johansson, the eccentric billionaire who financed Paul's dig, will stop and nothing to silence him.

This 'thriller' had no thrill!

It simply plodded along, occasionally going for a brief sprint before returning to its trudging pace.

I thought this book would be fascinating, but it often lost me in its technical jargon. I often felt like I needed some form of forensic/biology degree just to get through various passages.

Not even the characters could redeem this book. They were all painfully flat and superficial, and the only interesting aspects that they might have possessed were only glanced over and never delved into. The character I was most curious about only had a small part before he was killed and we never got to learn who he was beneath the surface. Disappointing.

I wouldn't recommend reading this book unless you already possess knowledge of DNA analysis and a basic grasp of early hominid types.

Battle Royale - Koushun Takami

Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it became a runaway best seller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.

Oh. My. Gosh!

What an ending! I kind of saw it coming, and then I didn't, and then I was completely blindsided!

This book is incredible. Brutal, but incredible. I loved the detail it went into with each death; it truly added to the horror.

Introducing so many characters right off the bat can often cause confusion for readers, especially with such similar names, but Takami handled it perfectly. We spent enough time with each person or group, in their own unique set of circumstances, to be able to easily discern them from their fellow classmates. This made it really easy to follow.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. I just hope you have a strong stomach because mine did churn once or twice.

The Karma Beat - Juli Alexander

Not every seventeen-year-old girl works part time for the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E., but when you're a genie, you have obligations. I'd rather spend my time rocking with my older brother's band. I've been waiting years to replace the last drummer. Just when it's looking good for me, Leo Fuller shows up, and this bad boy genie's after more than just my drummer gig.

Male genies are dangerous, volatile, bad-boy types, and I'm finding him way too attractive. If we're caught together, we could both lose our powers and be banished to the other realm. I know helping Leo will be a really bad idea. What I don't know is why I'm doing it anyway.

Interesting but super light.

I'd never read a book about genies before so the book was refreshing in that sense, but it was really light. I felt like we were only ever scratching the surface of the characters and the whole genie world. We never got to dig deep.

The plot was entertaining enough to keep me reading, although it was definitely a book I could toss aside mid-chapter for several weeks or months without a second thought.

If you're looking for light-hearted fluff you can speed through in an evening, then check out this book. But if you want in-depth characters, you won't find them here.

Africa In My Blood - Jane Goodall & Dale Peterson

Africa In My Blood is an extraordinary self-portrait, in letters and commentary, of Jane Goodall's early years, from childhood to the landmark publication of In the Shadow of Man. It reveals this remarkable woman more vividly and clearly than anything that has been published before, by her or about her. We see Goodall grow from a schoolgirl into the promising young candidate whom the legendary Louis Leakey sent to a wildlife preserve on the shores of Lake Tanganyika to undertake a revolutionary study of chimpanzees. At Gombe we see her immerse herself in the lives of wild animals as no one had done before. Africa In My Blood is a dramatic, moving, funny, and important book that tells the story of how an English girl who loved animals became one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century.

Before reading this book, Jane Goodall had always just been "that monkey lady" to me - little did I know, chimps and monkeys aren't even the same species! The book taught me a lot about Jane (and chimps), but it could have been far briefer.

The early letters were rather boring and dry, although it was evident from a young age that she was fascinated by animals. Where the book really picked up and hooked me was when Jane was finally sent out to the reserve. After that point, I was engrossed.

Jane's voice and passion shine through in every letter - be it personal or professional. It was hard not to share in her excitement.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to peer in to Jane Goodall's personal life and early career. If you can survive the first half, the second half is well worth it.

Pedophilia: A Cause and A Cure - Steve A. Mizera

Steve A. Mizera reveals what life in orphanages was like for him in the middle 1940s and 1950s Pennsylvania. After suffering physical, emotional and sexual abuse, he runs away and lives on the streets of Philadelphia. His survival techniques could serve as an operating manual for today's runaways.

A product of a dysfunctional family and not having any bonding in infancy, he predictably has little success with relationships in the USAF or in employment. Nevertheless with this handicap he starts a weekly newspaper in a small northern California town and vents his anger while taking on the establishment. Believing the pen is mightier than the sword, he conducts his battles while attending law school and working as a conductor on the railroad.

Steve reveals his deepest secrets for a very personal reason and discusses a despicable crime for which he has to learn survival once again in Folsom State prison, the most violent US prison in the 1980s.

In his final chapters of his life he does experience both solid relationships and love which turn his life around completely.

I couldn't finish this book. I expected it to be an interesting enough autobiography but it was written without any kind of flair. It felt like reading a list of facts, not a story.

I understand that in an autobiography you want to keep it accurate and factual but that does not mean you can't still tell it like a story rather than simply listing occurrences.

I'm sure Mizera has a fascinating tale to tell but I just could not get into it.

Grace Grows - Shelle Sumners

Always a planner, textbook editor Grace Barnum feels prepared for most eventualities. Until the responsibility-challenged Tyler Wilkie show up. In need of a little help, Tyler has warm eyes, a country drawl, and a smile that makes Grace drop things. And worst of all he writes devastatingly beautiful songs. About her.

Tyler reaches something in Grace, something she needs, but can't admit to - will she learn to let go and let love grow?

Simultaneously adorable and hokey.

I'm not generally one for romance novels; I'm by no means a sap. Yet I had a really hard time putting this book down.

The characters drew me in and kept me hooked. Grace frustrated me so many times, but Tyler's puppy dog persistence more than made up for it.

It was really well written, and I found myself aww-ing often. But it was fairly predictable and formulaic - but hey, that's the genre for ya.

For all you romantics out there, this book is definitely for you.

Stuck - Lissette E. Manning

A world too different from what we once knew...all we hold onto now is survival.

Memories of the dead remind Annie Page of the world she'd once known. Renegade forces are closing in, seeking to command the little that remains. Yet she refuses to stand by and watch the world crumble.

Her children's love the driving force behind the choices that she's made, she's determined to make their world a better place. Yet their survival comes with a price - one that she never meant to pay.

There was nothing special about this book at all.

The blurb makes it sound like it could actually be pretty interesting; however, there was almost no climax nor conclusion. It left me thinking that it was just the introduction to what could have been a really good story.

This story was well written but it could have been so much more. I was saddened that it ended so prematurely.

Asgard Park - Ronald Simonar

Across two continents, three strangers uncover the oldest story on earth and the best kept secret of all times.

I have no idea what this book is about.

Between the undefined acronyms, the incredibly long/difficult names, and the references to groups and organizations I have never heard of, it was extremely hard to figure out what was going on.

From what I could grasp of it, the concept was interesting, as were the events themselves. But why people did what they did, feared who they did, and how it all came together in the end... I am so lost.

The Black Conspiracy - Ken Magee

Ancient magic has infected the Internet… is this the end for civilisation?

Previously - Ancient magic has transported Tung, a young thief, and Madrick, a has-been wizard, across a millennium. The powerful magic they brought with them was unwittingly spread over the Internet by Michael, a hacker whose good intentions far outstripped his common sense.

Problem - Civilisation simply can’t handle the unforeseen consequences of the magic and the only people who can prevent the ensuing catastrophe are the same three who created the mess in the first place.

Now - To make matters even worse, evil wizards have followed Tung and Madrick through time. They’re determined to hunt down and destroy the pair, and with them, our modern way of life. Saving the world has just got a whole lot harder.

Yet another amazing tale from Magee.

This book is so fun and amusing. It keeps you drawn in and just won't let you go. It is filled with a plethora of idioms, and Tung's attempts to use them correctly is just hilarious.

The introduction of the Universe was really well done. She is definitely a new favourite character. The way she related to things was clever and intriguing, and I might just have to start referring to Lady Luck as Lord Luck from now now on.

This book was wonderful and I would definitely recommend it. But read Dark Tidings first, just to increase the level of awesome.

The Good Fairies of New York - Martin Millar

Dinnie, an overweight enemy of humanity, was the worst violinist in New York, but was practicing gamely when two cute little fairies stumbled through his fourth-floor window and vomited on the carpet...

When a pair of fugitive Scottish thistle fairies end up transplanted to Manhattan by mistake, both the Big Apple and the Little People have a lot of adjusting to do. Heather and Morag just want to start the first radical fairy punk rock band, but first they’ll have make a match between two highly unlikely sweethearts, start a street brawl between rival gangs of Italian, Chinese, and African fairies, help the ghost of a dead rocker track down his lost guitar, reclaim a rare triple-bloomed Welsh poppy from a bag lady with delusions of grandeur, disrupt a local community performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and somehow manage to stay sober enough to save all of New York from an invasion of evil Cornish fairies.

If they can stop feuding with each other, that is.

I struggled, for the entire length of this book, to not simply walk away from it forever.

The story was presented in such a scatterbrained way that it got me dizzy with all its hopping about. Almost every paragraph was about a different group of fairies dealing with a different issue, all of which remained disconnected for the majority of the book.

There were many threads of story coming together in the end, yet somehow it miraculously got tied up in a tidy little bow that was far too easy for all involved.

However, I applaud the author for providing a wide variety of characters in his story. Unfortunately, his climax was un-climactic. It started to climb and as it was approaching the peak it just stopped and ended instead of talking the extra step to reach the apex before descending.

All in all, a very disjointed and uneventful book.

The Mushroom Shift - Joe Clifford Faust

As the year draws to a close, Monmouth comes to realize that the county's aging Sheriff will soon be succeeded by the political enemy who put Monmouth on the Mushroom Shift to begin with. Survival mode kicks in and he begins to consider his options, interrupted by his crumbling marriage, his drinking, and the never-ending parade of drunk drivers, family fights and perverts that make up small town police work.

This is most definitely not your average cop drama. And that's what makes it a good read.

 

I was intrgued by this small town and the goings-on of its citizens because, as we all know, small towns can be a little...shall we say 'odd'? Faust was able to really humanize his characters and their idiosyncrasies.

 

A few times I got confused with which nicknames belonged to whom, making certain situations and conversations difficult to follow.

 

The ending caught me off guard, it was not at all what I expected, but it was what I've been trying to find in a novel for a while now. Not your run-of-the-mill "happily ever after", but it left me content nonetheless.

Mutant Message Down Under - Marlo Morgan

An American woman is summoned by a remote tribe of nomadic Aboriginals who call themselves the "Real People" to accompany them on a four-month-long walkabout through the Outback. While traveling barefoot with them through 1,400 miles of rugged desert terrain, she learns a new way of life, including their methods of healing, based on the wisdom of their 50,000-year-old culture. Ultimately, she experiences a dramatic personal transformation.

Mutant Message Down Under recounts a unique, timely, and powerful life-enhancing message for all humankind: It is not too late to save our world from destruction if we realize that all living things - be they plants, animals, or human beings - are part of the same universal oneness. If we heed the message, our lives, like the lives of the Real People, can be filled with this great sense of purpose.

An incredible tale.

The journey this woman went on is fascinating, and she writes such powerful messages. There are definitely lessons in this book that everyone should learn.

This book has motivated me to try to live more in harmony with nature and the world in general.

However, I don't believe this is a book everyone would enjoy. It is not written as a "story" in the traditional sense; there is no climax, no denouement. Morgan simply relates different happenings over the course of her journey.

If you are looking for profound life lessons, then this is the book for you; but if you are looking for just a "story", then you may not enjoy this one as much.

The Watchers - Jon Steele

Meet Marc Rochat, a man-child who has devoted his life to being the bell ringer at the Gothic Lausanne Cathedral, one of the greatest architectural structures in the world. Eerie things have been going on in and around his church, including tremblings in the underground crypt and a variety of gruesomely murdered bodies showing up in nearby streets. Across the square from the cathedral lives Katherine Taylor, a beautiful young American woman who is making phenomenal money as one of the highest-priced call girls in Switzerland; she's a bit too introspective for her own good and, unfortunately for her, much too observant of her clients' peccadilloes. Rochat's and Taylor's lives collide with Jay Harper, a British private eye who has been sent to investigate the killings and other strange doings; alas, he has no memory of who hired him or precisely why he was chosen for the job. And now all the clues are pointing skyward, where fallen angels are said to haunt Lausanne.

Incredible!

I'm not one for re-reading books, you know how it's going to end so what's the point? However, with this book I can see myself reading it time and again because I am so in love with the characters that I just want to be engulfed in their world again, forever.

This book had me so captivated that I found myself reading it in lectures, on the bus, even at work (ssh don't tell my boss!). I wish I had a rating higher than "Loved it!" because this book has far surpassed anything on this blog thus far.

The storyline, the characters, the world were written so well. Tiny threads you think insignificant, come flying back to smack you in the face with their importance. Everything weaved together in a stunning tapestry.

I would recommend this book to everyone. This is one read that you will definitely not regret.

Tough Cookie - Diane Mott Davidson

When caterer Gold Shulz is offered a temporary stint hosting a cooking show for PBS, she jumps at the chance. After all, she could use the money - not to mention the great exposure. Plus taping the shows at Colorado's posh Killdeer Ski Resort will be fun. A little cooking, a little chitchat. What could go wrong?

The answer: everything! When Goldy has to do one of her shows live for a PBS telethon, the broadcast is riddled with culinary catastrophes - from the Chesapeake Crab Cakes right down to the Ice-Capped Gingersnaps. But the deadliest dish of all comes after the cameras go off - and a baffling accident claims a life. Then a series of suspicious mishaps places Goldy's own life in jeopardy, and she knows she'd better whip up her own crime-solving recipe, and fast - before a deadly dash of danger ends her cooking career once and for all.

A definite page-turner!

Goldy is a favourite character of mine, and the intense things that happen in her life always keep me coming back for more.

Tough Cookie is very well written, and the ending took me by surprise. I had my own theories about "whodunnit" and, as per usual, I was wrong.

The book speeds along at a pace that doesn't allow any "dry spells". It keeps you thinking "Just one more page then I'll go to bed" until it's 5am and you realise you have to be up soon.

My only issue with the book was that sometimes I couldn't remember the connections between certain individuals. However, within moments of me starting to get confused, Davidson quickly tossed out a tidbit that helped me to re-connect the dots.

Overall, a fantastic book.

A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

The second book of A Song of Ice and Fire.

Throughout Westeros, the cold winds are rising.

From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding lands of Winterfell, chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms stake their claims through tempest, turmoil and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky - a comet the colour of blood and flame - five factions struggle for control of a divided land. Brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory is measured in blood.

A book of war.

With such chaos and fighting, the story was very intense.

I really enjoyed all the different perspectives. It's great seeing a tale from several different angles, and it really allows you to better understand the characters and their motives.

However, at times the story did lag a bit and some of the fighting ran a bit long.

I am very thankful for the appendix at the back, with the lists of characters and who's related to whom. Very helpful. Things got rather confusing at times and my brain is still a little muddled about some of events that occurred.

Overall, not my cup of tea. Although I am still anxious to read the next in the series.