Review: Mark of the Witch by Maggie Shayne

I’ve always been drawn to witches. As a child, I never liked Dorothy because I thought she was rude to the Wicked Witch of the West who, in my opinion, seemed kind of awesome. I would get so angry when Dorothy threw the water on her, couldn’t stand to watch it.

So suffice it to say, I love stories about “good” witches: powerful, beautiful, magical witches with strong ties to the elements of nature, witches like the ones featured in Maggie Shayne’s Mark of the Witch.

After giving up on ever finding her soul mate, Indira stopped believing in magic and turned away from her faith in witchcraft. But she seeks out the assistance of her friend and high priestess, Lady Rayne, when she wakes with rope burns on her wrist after an especially vivid dream. What follows puts her in multiple situations that force her to question her beliefs, or rather lack of beliefs.

Father Tomas, also is at a point in his life in which he’s questioning his choices regarding his faith. And on a side note, I was quite amused by the reaction I had from people when they asked about the book I was reading, and I responded, “Oh, just a story about a witch and a priest falling in love.”
But this book is much more than a simple love story between a witch and priest. On a deeper level, this book is very much about faith and religion and the differences between the two, as well as the role people allow those to play in their lives. How does a person cope when dogma interferes with a deeper faith, and when love challenges everything in which a person once believed? Maggie Shayne clearly knows her facts about the craft, and this novel is heavy with details and rituals associated with this practice. That is part of what I felt makes this book such an enjoyable read. The story feels authentic, not merely a jumble of made up random traits assigned for entertainment purposes to people who practice magic.

I have mixed feelings about reincarnation stories, sometimes I think they’re just silly, but I liked the way the topic was handled in this story. This takes the idea of soul mates to a whole other level. These are two people who should want nothing to do with each other, should have nothing in common, but their attempts to fight against their feelings for each other are challenged by a powerful love that has existed for more than three thousand years.

While everything that happens ultimately leads to the love story, the characters have to endure quite a bit before they finally acknowledge their destiny. It’s going to take some convincing for Father Tomas to give up his collar for a witch, no matter how beautiful she is or how strong his feelings for her. Before they can be together, they’ve got to solve the mystery of Indira’s dreams, and figure out the truth behind a story about a demon that is going to emerge through a portal on Samhain Eve. They also need to deal with a fanatical priest, decipher some secret scrolls, and retrieve a missing amulet. This is not a light, quick, read. This is an action-packed story, with twists and surprises up until the last few pages.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit and am very much looking forward to reading the next book in The Portal trilogy.

Also – I very much recommend reading the prequel to this book, Legacy of the Witch. It provides quite a bit of background for this novel, and I think it’s available for free on most sites.

Review: Starved for Love by Annie Nicholas

I’ve never read a book about a succubus before, so I’m not familiar with their traits or background. I don’t know the typical living arrangements or habits. In Annie Nicholas’ Starved for Love, Pia, a succubus, still lives at home with her sisters, father and his three wives. The sister wives (and yes, they are called sister wives in the book) and the very controlling, powerful father all felt a little too Big Love for me. I was never much of a Big Love fan because I was bothered by the way the women allowed men to control their lives, which is exactly what I disliked about this story.

Pia’s in her mid-twenties, but she behaves very much like a child. She’s dependent on her three moms, still needs them to cook for her and take care of her. There are scenes in the book in which she’s playing around with her sisters, teasing and punching each other as if they are little girls. One of her favorite things to do is chase frogs, and mentions her father having to help her out of the swamp after she fell in a few weeks — not years — ago. She doesn’t have a real job, but gets paid to sing in a club owned by Sin, her vampire lover – or rather, suitor, as she refers to the men who provide her with orgasms to keep up her energy. But worst of all, she seems to be completely controlled by her father. He plays a role in selecting her suitors, he has the final word with regard to her finding a husband, and she “feeds” him with her energy.

When her father isn’t telling her what to do, she’s taking orders from Sin. It’s because of Sin that she meets Val, who wants to make her his sixth wife. Her father doesn’t approve, but Pia insists on allowing Val to court her. I didn’t find their relationship to be all that romantic. Val is yet another controlling male, telling her what she should and shouldn’t do. She’s simply exchanging one dominant male (her father), for another.

I don’t enjoy reading about weak, childlike women. Pia wants to fall in love, but her needs as a succubus make that difficult. She thinks she may be falling in love with Val, but she’s only known him for three days. I didn’t find that to be very convincing. There was never any sort of explanation that made their attraction to each other believable. They are certainly attracted to each other physcially, but I got the impression early on that Pia is physcially attracted to most men.

Also, I expected a book about woman who needed orgasms to survive to have hotter and more sex. There are a couple of interesting scenes, but not until toward the end of the book. They weren’t enough to make the rest of the story worth it. Much of the book felt like a big tease. There are so many characters in this story: Pia’s other suitors, Sin’s employees, the fallen angel that worked for Val. I was expecting these other characters to have bigger parts in the story, but in the end most of them were irrelevant. I kept reading, expecting something exciting to happen, maybe a big surprise ending that would redeem the story, but when the story was finished, it all felt like a bit of a letdown.

Review: Sole Possession by Bryn Donovan

Bryn Donovan’s Sole Possession is the perfect scary, haunted house story for the Halloween season – or anytime you might be in the mood for a chilling read.

After David inherits his father’s house, he answers an ad for a contractor to get the house ready for a quick sale. He’s expecting an Andy when Andi shows up at the front door. His first instinct is to keep her away from the house, which leads Andi to think he’s a sexist jerk who doesn’t want to hire a woman.

David isn’t even sure why he wants Andi away from the house, but he is sure of his attraction toward her. She isn’t the sort of woman he normally dates. David prefers casual relationships, ones that provide a safe emotional distance. But immediately he feels close to Andi and realizes whatever happens between them won’t be casual.

The two wouldn’t seem to have much in common, David is a handsome successful lawyer and Andi has left her office job to work as a contractor. She strips wood and does tile, but her dream job is a full kitchen remodel. She likes the freedom her job provides and was never comfortable working in a cubicle. David admires her feisty determination, and her insistence that she’s the best person for the job.

As soon as Andi begins working on the house, she realizes there’s something strange happening here when she notices a face in the wood of the banister looking back at her.

There’s something in the house, something evil. David grew up as a victim of this evil, and now Andi is frighteningly aware of it. David is afraid he’ll never be able to escape and now he’s worried that his involvement with Andi – the first person he’s ever allowed himself to care about – will lead to her being another victim of this malevolent force.

As Andi and David begin uncovering the secrets buried within the house, they find themselves forced to confront their own secrets stemming from their childhoods. I found this to be the most interesting aspect of the story. In order to move forward in their lives and in their relationship, these two characters must struggle with their own personal demons, as well as banish the demon clinging to the house. As a child, Andi saw things other people couldn’t see, leading her to believe there was something wrong with her. Now, she’s beginning to realize that maybe what she saw wasn’t part of her childhood imagination. She has to decide what she is going to do with this ability she’s been denying her whole life.

I really enjoyed this story. It’s plenty scary and creepy, and there’s a very nice, hot, sexy romance happening between Andi and David. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good ghost story on a chilly fall night, but be warned, you might end up wanting to sleep with the lights on.

Review: Night Thief by Lisa Kessler

Lisa Kessler’s Night Thief begins along the streets of Paris, as crowds are gathering to watch Napoleon’s remains beings transported down Champs-Élysées to Les Invalides, making the year 1840. Already the story has scored bonus points with me – I enjoy a well-described historical setting, and I love Paris.

Marguerite, or Rita as she is often called, is trying to “earn” money for her escape from Paris. The police authorities refer to her as the “Golden Thief” because the golden-haired beauty is able to distract men with her charm as she swipes their valuables. Her plan is to sell what she takes and then use the money to travel across the ocean, away from the man for whom she works. I really liked this character, she’s tough and determined. There is absolutely nothing weak about her. She isn’t looking for someone to save her, she has a solid plan to save herself, as well as her cousin.

Her whole life, she’s been betrayed by men who claimed they would take care of her. With each man, her situation only grew worse. Now she is going to take care of herself.

Then she meets Kane, who can’t stop thinking about her after noticing her pick pocketing. For weeks he searches for her, though he’s not even sure why he feels so drawn to her. He’s a Mayan god, a night walker with the ability to transform into a jaguar – not that he ever does, at least not in public, because he’s fairly certain that wouldn’t go over well on the streets of Paris. For centuries, he’s avoided getting involved with humans, but he can’t seem to resist Rita.

While Rita is attracted to him, she’s no stranger to immortals and she isn’t too eager to get involved with one. She’s also a bit put off by his desire to rescue her. She’s not ready for another so-called protector to turn into a monster. She’s certain she doesn’t need him, she’ll be just fine on her own.
Kane isn’t about to give up that easily, and he’s not going to stand by idly while Rita is in danger. These are two strong characters that challenge each other before eventually realizing they should be together.

I don’t want to give away too much. That would ruin part of the fun of reading this yourself. But I will add that even though this is a novella, there’s quite a bit happening here. This is packed with action, danger, lots of emotion and quite a few very steamy scenes. The descriptions are written in such a way to elicit plenty of feelings – both good and bad. There are some horrible, gruesome things happening here to contrast against some truly beautiful parts. I’m a painter, and I’m going to cringe every time I see a paintbrush for a while. You’ll understand why if you read this.

This is a quick, fun read. Once I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down. I was going to read a few pages before going to sleep and ended up staying up until it was finished.

I should mention, this is considered part 1.5 of The Night Series. I haven’t read the first book in the series and didn’t feel as if I missed anything. The back-story, at least all that is necessary for this story, is explained thoroughly. This has sparked my interest in reading the book before this in the series.

Review: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

This is the first book in the Jolie Wilkins series.  The ebook is available for free on amazon, which is how I ended up with it.

I thought I'd like this book.  I usually enjoy stories about witches.  It started out well enough, but the fact that it took me more than a week to read it doesn't bode well for the story.  Lately, I've been flying through everything I read.

With this book though, I felt like I'd been reading a lot, only to realize I wasn't very far into the story at all.  After a while, I just sort of lost interest and didn't care all that much about what happened to Jolie.

She's a psychic in Los Angeles who attracts the interest of a handsome warlock.  He hires her to go back in time and discovers she has amazing powers.  Also he's attracted to her and she's attracted to him, but they spend the whole book hot and cold for each other, and after a while it gets boring. 

Jolie describes herself as being very plain, but every man she meets can't seem to resist her.  There's the warlock, the leader of a pack of werewolves, a sexy vampire and the king of the fairies. Everyone wants Jolie in their bed and they're very up front about it. 

And yet, she claims she doesn't date -- well, she says that at one point, says she's only had sex once, back in tenth grade, I think.  But then several times she mentions she hasn't had a date in six months.  I found that confusing.  If she doesn't date -- not at all -- then why keep saying she hasn't had a date in six months.  Did she date six months ago? 

I never quite understood why everyone was so drawn to her.  It's never revealed what is so attractive about her.  How has she gone her whole life -- or six months -- without dating and now all of a sudden everyone wants her?  Maybe she has some quality that only attracts supernatural beings.

Also, after a while I got tired of Jolie crying over everything.  Seems like every scene resulted in her crying for some reason.  I just didn't care about her or her tears.

I was under the impression this was a fun and light-hearted story, and it's written in a very casual way - but then we have all these near death battles.  Such drama didn't fit with the style.  Or maybe I'm just picky.

While I didn't hate the story, and I was amused by the Bon Jovi mention -- Living in Sin is played during a party, following a waltz -- there are much better witch stories out there.   

Review: Where There's a Will by Karen Kelley

This was really just not my kind of book.  I didn't enjoy it all that much.

My full review can be found on Brazen Reads:  http://brazenreads.com/review-where-theres-a-will-by-karen-kelley/

Review: Soul Weaver by Hailey Edwards

I reviewed this book for Brazen reads, which can be found here: http://brazenreads.com/review-soul-weaver-by-hailey-edwards/

This is the first book in a series about fallen angels, Wicked Kin, I believe the series is called.  Up until I read Gena Showalter's Wicked Nights, I didn't have much interest in angels, but I enjoyed this story and really liked the two main characters.

The Soul Weaver, Nathaniel, - an angel who fell because he was trying to protect his family - falls for a dying human.  He attempts to save her when he notices she has no friends or family - he describes it as having no "tethers to this world" and her soul wouldn't survive the trip to heaven.

I found this idea especially interesting, because I always wonder about the people who don't have anyone.  If there is no one to miss you, no one to notice you're gone, what happens to your soul or your spirit?  Every time there is a disaster or big tragedy, we hear all about the families and loved one who are grieving those they've lost.  But I always find myself thinking about the people who don't have anyone to miss them.  We don't like to think about that, but I promise you, there are plenty of people like that out there.  People who go through life completely alone. 

Because I think about that so often, I felt a personal connection to the character of Chloe, who was too scared of life to live it, who kept herself confined to her home and the bookstore downstairs.

My only problem with this book was that I found the details of Nathaniel’s job and background to be a bit confusing. This is the first book in the Wicked Kin series, but a few pages into the book, I stopped to check and see if maybe I’d misunderstood and began this mid-series. This is written as if the reader should understand what is happening, and I didn’t, at least not at first. I found myself re-reading passages, thinking I’d missed something. By the end of the book, everything had, for the most part been explained. I like that it’s such a complex world, with so many potential storylines – but I wish it had been explained a little more clearly.

Nathaniel’s life is grim. There isn’t much, if any happiness associated with his existence. Viewing so much horror committed by humans and being forced to see and feel their sins is resulting in some major job burnout on his part. It’s no surprise that he’s drawn to Chloe, who possesses a soul so different from what he’s used to handling.

Nathaniel isn’t supposed to interfere with the balance of life and death, but he wants to give Chloe more time, time to find someone and create bonds so that she’ll be allowed into heaven when her time on earth ends. Only later does he realize that his attempt to provide her with another chance has damned her soul.

This isn’t the first time Nathaniel’s good intentions have backfired on him. There is so much sadness in his life. His attempts to protect his brother and save his nephew having resulted in his fall from Heaven. He requests time off from his job so that he can try to figure out a way to remedy what he’s done to Chloe.

While Chloe’s agoraphobia may have began with her wreck, she had social problems long before her accident. Her parents sheltered her, preventing her from having any sort of normal childhood. She has no friends or family.

When Nathaniel walks into her store, offering to do some much-needed repairs on the storefront’s porch, Chloe is startled by her reaction to him. She’s never been drawn to another person like this. He seems to be able to read her mind. When he leans in to kiss her, even though he’s practically a stranger, she offers no resistance.

I really liked the romance between these two characters. It took a while to develop. There is so much going on in this story, that Nathaniel and Chloe don’t have their first date until more than halfway through the book, but it was worth the wait.

I think a story loses credibility when a character who has never so much as kissed a man suddenly becomes a sexual expert in the bedroom, so I appreciated that the author stayed true to Chloe being nervous and hesitant about getting involved with Nathaniel and then inviting him up to her room for the first time. There’s something so sweet about how Nathaniel regards Chloe. He’s so careful with her, always aware of her fears and her inexperience. He was exactly what someone as fearful as Chloe needed.

Nathaniel's entrance into Chloe's life makes everything extremely complicated and difficult.  But still, I liked this story and I'm looking forward to the next book in this series -- really hoping there's more of Chloe and Nathaniel and not just a brand new couple in this world, as most series tend to be it seems.

Review: Magic of the Loch by Karen Michelle Nutt

This is the perfect blend of murder mystery, magic and romance. 

This book makes me want to visit Scotland and search for my soulmate.

My full review can be found here:  http://brazenreads.com/review-magic-of-the-loch-by-karen-michelle-nutt/

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I finally got around to reading Fifty Shades of Grey.  Everyone is talking about it.  Lately, any time I mention that I like to read or that I recently read a book, or mention books in any way at all, the first thing someone asks is, "Have you read Fifty Shades of Grey?"  And I always answered, no.  Honestly, it didn't seem like the sort of book I would enjoy. 

When it first started gaining attention, it was called "mommy-porn."  I don't know what that means, but being that I'm not a mommy and have no desire to ever be a mommy, I figured this book wasn't for me.  I avoided it.  Every once in a while, I joined in conversations ridiculing it, even though I'd never read a word of it.  But more and more people that I knew were reading it.  Even my students (I teach at a high school) were talking about this book.  Out of curiosity, I put my name on the library's waiting list for the Kindle version of the book.  I was number 48 on the list.  By the time I got the notice that it was available, I had forgotten that I'd even requested it.

One of the boys at school says he didn't read the book, but his sister did and then much to his horror, asked him to pick up the second book in the trilogy on a trip to Wal-Mart. He says he didn't.  He warned me to stay away from the book.  "You'll hate it, it's a story about an old man and a young girl.  It's going to gross you out, you know you hate stuff like this."  He's known me for four years, he's familiar with my feminist rhetoric and it's true, I'm a bit disgusted by the idea of old, wealthy men taking advantage of young women.  I'm very big on telling my students that women are capable of taking care of themselves, they don't need a man and should aspire to do more with their lives than "find a man."  I told myself that if, indeed, this was the story of an old guy and a young girl, I would stop reading immediately.  I was relieved to discover that the "old guy" was 27.  When I was 21, I dated a 27 year old.  I didn't feel like that was a big age difference.  In hindsight, maybe I was wrong.  He was so not Christian Grey - thank goodness - but he was kind of boring, boring enough that I realized if that's what relationships were about, maybe I'd just stay away from them.  And I did for a while, which actually worked out well for me.  But this isn't about me, we're discussing Fifty Shades of Grey.

The book wasn't anywhere near as horrible as I expected.  It was quite readable.  There were little things that made me cringe - that she kept falling, and not just stumbling, but falling flat on her face - on multiple occasions.  She's twenty years old.  There's clumsy and there's: maybe she's suffering from some severe balance issues and needs some help.  And the pigtails.  Does anyone over the age of six wear pigtails? -- unless, of course, they're serving tables at a breast-a-raunt and trying to increase their tips by looking like pre-pubescent girls that gross old men find attractive.  What bothered me the most throughout the book though was the battle between the subconscious and the "inner goddess."  At no point was this "inner goddess" even explained, or if it was, it didn't stick with me.  Why was she suffering from this multiple personality problem?  If an editor had gone through and eliminated all mentions to this "inner goddess" I think I would have rolled my eyes much less while reading this.  It was just silly, made the character seem like an immature teenager.

She's not a teenager, but she isn't very experienced, and she's very naive and very drawn to this gorgeous, wealthy, successful man.  And he seems to be equally captivated by her.  I'll admit, I'm a sucker for stories about beautiful men who fall in love with plain women.  Aren't we all?  That's why we're at home reading romance novels, right?  Okay, fine, maybe that's just me.

I was okay with the story until Christian Grey presents Anastasia with a "contract" explaining the terms of the dom/sub relationship he wants to have with her.  That's when my head exploded for a moment.  If the dom/sub is what you're into, great, that's cool.  I have no problem with consenting adults doing whatever they want in the privacy of their own home.  But Anastasia was a virgin until she met this guy and he expects all of this of her.  It's ridiculous - he's dictating what she can eat, how often she exercises, when she can make eye contact with him.  To someone like me - this is horrifying.  No one tells me what to do.  And how dare this guy take advantage of this young woman's inexperience.  (In hindsight, maybe the boy who told me to stay away from this book knew what he was talking about.)  She's so overwhelmed by him and all he has.  I was impressed that she did try to stand up to him a few times, she's seeking compromise, wanting a real relationship, not what he's presented to her.  But she doesn't want to lose him and he's got issues, so many issues.  He describes himself as "50 Shades of fucked up" - hence the title. 

I didn't find their story to be especially romantic or erotic.  If someone has to be told that what is being done is for "her pleasure" because she can't figure that out on her own, maybe they don't need to be doing it.  I thought the story was sad and I thought Christian Grey was cruel and arrogant and felt he could simply buy Anastasia.  I HATE people who think they can have anything and anyone they want because of their money.

As for the sex scenes, I've read better.  I said this to a co-worker and she looked at me like I'm a deviant.  Oh well.  Sorry, I'm an adult and sometimes I read books that have sex in them.  Is that only acceptable when reading Fifty Shades of Grey?  And yes, the books I read have better sex.  I don't equate kinkier with better.  I suppose the books I tend to read feature "vanilla" sex, but the descriptions are much hotter, and don't involve the woman being whipped and powerless.  Seriously, I can provide you with a list of titles.  Sometimes they involve demons or vampires, but they're much nicer in the bedroom.  On that note, I kept thinking I would like Christian Grey much more if he was a vampire, then he would at least have an excuse for being so cruel and well, inhuman.

I know that a lot of people like this book, love this book.  That's great.  We all have different tastes.  I didn't like it all that much and I'm probably not going to read the other two books in the trilogy.  I prefer to believe it ended with the end of this book.  It's just  not my thing.  But if it's your thing, that's cool.  Enjoy. 

Review: Wicked Nights by Gena Showalter

Wicked Nights is the first book in Gena Showalter's Angels of the Dark series, which is a spin-off of her Lords of the Underworld series.  If you've read my review of that series, you know how much I like it, so, of course, I was going to read this.

The main character of this book is Zacharel, who we first meet in Book 7, Darkest Secret.  He is described as being stunningly beautiful (as are all the angels) and devoid of emotion (that would be his own personal quirk, not necessarily an angel trait).

He appears again in Book 8, accompanying Lysander to the Harpie Games and plays an even bigger role in Book 9, Darkest Seduction, traveling with Paris in his search for Sienna.

In this book, he's being punished because he doesn't care about humans, has no qualms about killing them when they get in his way of doing his job.  He's got issues, to say the least.  Years ago, he lost his twin brother, and lost his ability to love or care for anyone.  He does his job, follows orders.  His boss though, he wants him to develop some empathy for humans.

No one is more shocked than Zacharel when he finds himself drawn to a human who has spent the last few years in a mental hospital.  She's being tormented by demons.  He feels obligated to rescue her.

Annabelle is damaged.  Not only has she lost her family, but she's also endured years of abuse in the mental hospital.  She and Zach are quite the pair of dysfunction. 

It takes them a while to work things out.  Annabelle is leery of trusting anyone - with good reason.  Zach doesn't even know how to go about caring for another person.  I enjoyed seeing them work through their issues.  I thought it was a nice, believable love story.  Believable in that they had to get to know each other before they fell for each other.   

I also really liked the guest appearance of some characters from the Lords of the Underworld. 

I was a little bothered by some events at the end of this book.  There's a huge secret revealed in the end, and it's resolved way too quickly.  While I don't question the choice made, I felt there should have been a stronger reverberation from the choice.  The information was shocking, but Zach seemed to handle it way too easily.  Maybe centuries of denying any emotion would have that effect?

For the most part, I really liked this book and I'm looking forward to the continuation of this series. Showalter has created yet another world, or rather an extension of a world, filled with interesting, complex characters battling demons real and imagined.  And I love the clouds in which the angels live.  This Angel wants a cloud!

Oh, and did I mention the cover of this book is absolutely beautiful?  Every time I look at it, I ache, wishing I'd been the one who painted it.  When I was a teenager, my dream job was to be an artist who painted the cover of romance novels.  I used to spend hours drawing those covers that featured Fabio and the Topaz Man.  (I have a weakness for men with beautiful bodies.)  I remember reading an article in an artist magazine about a woman who painted those covers and setting it aside, thinking someday that would be my future.  So sad when dreams die.

Review: Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter

Instead of nine separate reviews, I'm going to write one big review including all the books in this series.  I read them all as one big story, so that seems most appropriate.

I'll spare you the messed up details of all that has been happening in my life.  Not sure I could explain it even if I tried.  But let me just say this summer I was in dire need of an escape.  My interest in the "real world" had hit an all time low.  I wanted out and the only way I know to escape is through books.  This has been my coping method for most of my life -- oh sure, I've tried tequila and chocolate chip cookies and large amounts of red wine -- but in the end, books are what works best, and no vomiting or weight gain to follow.

I wanted vampires.  Hot, sexy vampires.  Several of my friends are fans of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, so that's what I was going to try.  But the first book in the series was checked out.  So I went to goodreads and searched for paranormal series.  I was interested in a few different series and I cross checked those with what was available at my library, particularly available for my Kindle.

And that's how I ended up reading The Lords of the Underworld, not knowing this series would soon consume my whole life, at least for the next month or so.

What I checked out from the library contained The Darkest Fire, which is considered the prequel to the series, and the first three books.

First a little general info about the series: The Lords of the Underworld were warriors created by Zeus (ah, yeah, and I love Greek mythology, was obsessed with it back in my younger days), they tried to steal Pandora's box, which resulted in demons being set free. As punishment, the demons are placed inside the warriors. After centuries of struggling to control their demons, they now live in a fortress in Budapest.

I didn't like the Darkest Fire all that much.  It almost prevented me from reading the rest of the books.  It's a strange story -- the beast that guards the walls of hell is trying to help a goddess fortify the walls so that demons don't escape.  They both go inside hell and they're attacked by demons, but in this short amount of time, they fall in love and have sex a few times.  What?  Yeah, strange.  It's supposed to explain the creation of Pandora's box, I think.  Not at all necessary for the rest of the series, so feel free to skip it.  I kind of wish I had.

The first book in the series is The Darkest Night, which focuses on Maddox, the keeper of the demon Violence.  Also, because he was the one who killed Pandora, he has to die every night as punishment, spend the night in hell.  It's gruesome, and the other warriors have to participate in this ritual, one killing him (I can't remember which now, Reyes or Aeron maybe) while Lucien, the keeper of Death, takes him to hell.

Ashlyn is seeking the Lords because she's heard of their special powers.  Her whole life, she's been tormented by the ability to hear all conversations that have happened in whatever location she's standing.  Her mind is a wreck.  Then she meets Maddox and for the first time in her life, the voices are silent.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it.  Maddox is a bit of neanderthal, and sex scenes between him and Ashlyn were awkward, so awkward.  But I liked the story and the characters and the world Showalter had created enough to want to read the next book.

The second book, Darkest Kiss, focuses on Lucien, keeper of death.  I liked this book better because I found Lucien to be a more interesting character.  Years ago, after losing someone he loved, he scarred himself to ensure that no one ever got close to him again.  But Anya, a demi-god, isn't bothered by his scars.  She wants him anyway.  I didn't like Anya very much, she dresses and behaves in a way that encourages people to believe she's a slut, then gets hurt and offended when she's accused of being one.  She's got some issues in her past.  The two seem to be complete opposites, Lucien, quiet and reserved and Anya in everyone's face with her obnoxious behavior.  They make an interesting couple.

I liked the third book, Darkest Pleasure, better than the previous two books.  Reyes is the keeper of pain.  He thrives on pain.  He takes the whole "cutting" thing to new levels.  He's drawn to Danika, an artist, who is on the run from Aeron, who has been ordered to kill her and her family.  I found their story to be the most realistic -- well, as realistic as a story involving a man possessed by a demon can be.  They actually take the time to fall for each other.  Throughout this series, these two would remain one of my favorite couples.

Book 4 - Darkest Whisper - Sabin is the keeper of doubt.  His demon, with its cruel whispers, drives away everyone he's ever loved.  But when he and the others rescue Gwen, a harpie, from a horrible experimental lab, he can't fight the protectiveness he feels for her.  She's terrified of her own powers, and it's Sabin who trains her to become quite the badass fighter.  I liked the character she became, but I didn't like the introduction of her sisters into this book.  Also, all the training scenes got a little boring.  This book wasn't one of my favorites.

My favorite is probably the fifth book, Darkest Passion.  This is the story of Aeron, the keeper of wrath.  An angel, Olivia, has been assigned the task of killing him, but instead she chooses to lose her wings because she's fallen in love with him after watching him from afar.  Aeron is so reluctant to give into the angel.  I loved this couple.  Aeron is so angry, with such a violent past, tormented by wrongs he's done and because of his demon, always aware of the wrongs done by others.  Olivia is so pure and gentle, a joy bringer.  They couldn't be more different, but they're so perfect together.  And the sex is so hot in this book!  My only complaint about this book was the creepy demon named Legion.  She almost ruined what was an otherwise great love story.  Yuck, I cringe just thinking about her.

Book 6, Darkest Lie, was my least favorite of this series.  Gideon is the keeper of lies.  He can't tell the truth, so everything he says in the opposite of what he means.  That got really annoying to read after a while.  And his love interest, Scarlet, wasn't very likable either.  These characters were so angry and bitter.  Didn't care much about them, and I didn't like how their storyline veered so far off from the rest of the group. 

Book 7, Darkest Secret, is the story of Amun, the keeper of secrets.  Amun isn't one of my favorites of the Lords, but this was probably one of my favorite books.  He's quiet, can't speak without spilling secrets, so he uses sign language and he's never had a big part in the other stories.  I enjoyed this book quite a bit though because I found the story of him and Haidee - a former hunter who had devoted her life to tracking down the Lords - to be interesting.  I liked their journey through different levels of hell and the discovery of their past together. 

Book 8, Darkest Surrender, is Strider's story.  He's the keeper of defeat.  He turns everything into a challenge and he has to win, or else he suffers.  I didn't like this book all that much.  A harpie, Kaia, one of Gwen's sisters has fallen for him.  Then he has to accompany her to the Harpie Games.  Felt like he was guilted -- or maybe challenged -- into falling for her.  I just didn't find the Harpie Games all that interesting and I didn't care much about Strider and Kaia.

Book 9 - Darkest Seduction was the book I'd been most anxious to read.  It sat there in my stack of books, taunting me with his hauntingly beautiful cover.  But I couldn't read it until I read the books before it.  This was the story of Paris, the keeper of promiscuity.  A few books back, he found his soul mate, and she happened to be a hunter, trying to capture him, and then she died in his arms.  Since then he'd been on a downward spiral.  In this world, rarely is anyone ever completely dead.  Paris finds Sienna and he's determined to be with her.  They've both been through their own personal hells.  I found myself wanting so much for them to finally be happy and to be together.  I liked this book quite a bit, but being that it was Paris' story, I had expected some mind-blowing sex and of all the books, this was probably the most watered down.  More implied and less explicit. 

For the most part, I read these books one right after the other, taking about two or three days per book.  I had to take a break after book five because I was waiting for book six to become available at the library.  But I sunk into this world, lost all interest in anything happening outside of these books.  Besides the couples on which each book focuses, there is also the big, overall story of the Lords fighting against the hunters, some crazed humans who blame the Lords for all that is bad in the world.  I equated them to religious zealots, causing all kinds of violence to further their righteous agenda.  They're also on a quest to obtain four artifacts to help them find Pandora's box.  Then there's the conflict happening between the gods - the Greeks and the Titans, I believe.  There's a lot happening in this world - it's not just demon meets girl/harpie/angel/demi-god and they live happily ever after.  These books were exactly what I needed at the end of my summer. 

I finished the last book right as school started and I had to return to work.  And the next book won't be available until next summer.  I kind of hate that I'll have to wait so long for the next book, afraid it won't feel the same as reading one book right after the other.  Maybe I'll just re-read my favorites from this series before the next one comes out.   

Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

I loved Deborah Harkness' Discovery of Witches so much, so very, very much.  When I was reading it, I couldn't stop thinking about it, had to talk about it to anyone who would listen - and a few who probably weren't listening.  I was broken hearted when the book ended because I hated the idea of being away from these characters.

This summer I visited Oxford with the specific purpose of visiting the locations mentioned in the book. 

I was anxiously awaiting the release of the sequel - Shadow of Night.  I even re-read Discovery of Witches right before getting my copy of Shadow of Night. 

Maybe my expectations were too high.  I'm not sure how any book could live up to my love of Discovery of Witches.

I will admit to having a few concerns about the sequel, a few things happened toward the end of Discovery of Witches that worried me, as you can see from the review I wrote last October.  I'm not a fan of time travel and I'm not a fan of stories that involve babies -- and it was those two things that bothered me the most about Shadow of Night.

In this book, Diana and Matthew travel back in time so that Diana can find a master witch to teach her how to use her powers.  I assumed they would travel back to work with one of Diana's ancestors.  But no, instead, Matthew decides they should go back to Elizabethan England.  He had a well established life in England during this time period, a group of close friends, a home in London, and connections with some very important people.  

Harkness, a historian as well as was a novelist, is an expert on this time period, so trust that the details are accurate.  The setting is rich in details.  But I have trouble with time travel stories, this is a problem I often have.  Can't get my head around the idea.  The way this one was set up didn't help at all.  The Matthew in the past disappears with the arrival of Matthew of the future.  What?  Where did "past Matthew" go?  And he's just going to show up again after "present Matthew" leaves the past?  Oh, my head hurts just thinking about it. 

Then there is the baby thing.  In the first book, I felt as if Diana was a character to which I could relate on some levels.  She's single, she's focused on her career, she's independent and intelligent and a little hesitant about falling in love.  In many ways, she is exactly the person I wish I could be.  (And I don't mean a witch in love with a vampire, though...)  But in Shadow of Night, she suddenly becomes fixated on having babies and there she kind of lost me.  The desire to reproduce is not something I understand at all, and for that reason, I tend to avoid traditional romances because too often they end with a marriage and/or pregnancy, signifying that life is now "perfect."  But to me, that seems to signify that their life is over.  So in this book, I felt this disconnect with Diana, and that made me sad.  Why couldn't she and Matthew have had some time together, to get to know each other - I mean, what was the rush, he's immortal?  They'd known each other, for what, maybe a month?  I was okay with love at first sight, but this intense desire to start making babies immediately -- while you're still in the 1600s?  I don't know, maybe wait until you're in a safer, more hygienic environment, where your husband -- who happens to be a doctor in the 21st century -- has access to modern technology.  Whatever.  This probably bothered me more than it should have.  I'm sure that this was the sort of thing the more mainstream, target-audience loved.  Again, that made me sad, realizing this is becoming a story for the more traditional female reader, not for a wanna-be academic weirdo like me.

Another minor complaint -- I grew a bit tired of all the extra family members. Brothers, sisters, nephews, parents. Enough already! I wanted to read about Diana and Matthew.  Again, this is based on my own life experience, in which I have no strong family ties of any sort, making it difficult to relate to stories of people who do.

But in spite of the above complaints, I thought this was a well written story and I still enjoyed reading it.  The book sucked me in immediately, I did nothing but read it for two days.  The characters are people that I care about deeply.  That sounds absurd because, well, they're fictional, but to me they're more real than most people I encounter in my so-called real life.  I want only good things for Diana and Matthew.  I don't think I've ever loved two characters more than I do these two.  But I wasn't entirely happy with the way their behavior was affected by their surroundings.  This didn't lessen my love for these two characters, but made me anxious for them to hurry up and return to their present day surroundings.  Enough with playing house in the past, let's get back to living in present times. 

Maybe my biggest problem is that I have become entirely too attached to these characters and this story.  I'm unable to simply read about them, I feel too much toward them.  I think the ability to elicit this much emotion is the sign of a great book.  So even if I wasn't entirely happy about what was happening, it doesn't mean there's something wrong with the book.  I hate for it to seem like I'm giving this book a bad review.  I still think people should read the book.

When I finished the book, I found myself suffering from something of a "book hangover" -- I saw that phrase used on facebook, and it fits perfectly for this situation.  The real world seemed so dull compared to the world created by Harkness.  I'm looking forward to the third book, but I suspect I'll be re-reading the first two a few times before it's released.

In fact, I have the weekend before Halloween reserved for a re-reading of Discovery of Witches.  If I have time, I suspect I will continue with a second reading of Shadow of Night.

Review: Elizabeth the Queen: Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith

When I initially made plans to visit London this summer, I had no idea I would be arriving the weekend of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebration.  I selected the dates based on price, available direct flights and the desire to leave as soon as school was out.

As I prepared for the trip though, I became aware of the Diamond Jubilee events and it made me want to learn more about Queen Elizabeth II.  I think I probably know more about the royal family than the average American, but that isn't saying much.  And being something of a nerd, part of what I enjoy about traveling is the research done before I leave.  Also, I try to always select travel reading material based on the places I'll be visiting.  I wanted a book about the Queen to read on the plane.

My library is always my first resource, but all of their books about Queen Elizabeth II were checked out.  I put my name on the hold list of the one I wanted to read, but it wasn't available before I left for my trip.

Our first night in London, my friend and I sat in Hyde Park and watched the Diamond Jubilee Concert on big screens.  We bought commemorative tea towels and tote bags at Top Shop.  The windows at Harrods were based on the Diamond Jubilee.  We visited a special exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery focusing on art and the Queen. 

When I returned from Europe (a week in Paris followed my week in London) I was desolate, as I always am when returning home from a fun trip.  But what cheered me up somewhat was discovering that the book about Elizabeth II I'd requested was now available from my library.

I spent those first few days back from Europe engrossed in this book.  The story flows so well, it reads like a novel.  It's full of details and information, lots of dates, places and names, but never feels like a dull history lesson. 

This book presents the Queen as an interesting and likable person, with a dry sense of humor and a strong sense of purpose. She's devoted to her job, sometimes at the expense of her personal life, but without regret. 

I already liked the Queen, but reading this book caused me to gain even more respect for her.  I had no idea how involved she was in the government.  Granted, she doesn't have a lot of power, but she still plays an important role.  I loved the part when she's informed that Margaret Thatcher is the new prime minister.  She's told something along the lines of, "Isn't that odd, having a woman in power?"  And she's like, "Odd, how do you mean?" (Paraphrasing, it's been a while since I read the book and don't remember the exact wording.)  But the person is like, "Yeah, strange to have a woman running the country."  You just know the Queen is thinking, "You idiot, you do realize you're talking to a woman who rules a country and commonwealth?"

I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the Queen.

Review: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Allen Addison

I wanted to read this because it was described as a magical story.  While there is a bit of magic in it, it's a small amount.  Magical realism I guess it's called.  I prefer a bit more magic than what this book contained.  I'm also beginning to realize that I prefer there be some sort of mythology or background to support the magic.

The book started out well.  I really enjoyed it at first.  But by the time the story was over, I was annoyed with all the coincidences and the way everything was so neatly wrapped up.  I felt the story required more tension.  But that's not the type of story this was.

By the time I was done with the book, I didn't like it anymore. A little too simple and the happily ever after arrived a bit too easily.  Not my type of book.

Review: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

This is such an usual story.  A childless couple build a snowman one day, and then a child appears.  Sounds absurd, but the story is written in such a way that I kept expecting an explanation.  At times there seems to be a logical reason for all of this, and at other times the only explanation is magic.  As I've said many times, I like stories that include a heavy dose of magic. But every once in a while, there's a bit of reality in the story that threatens the existence of magic.

The child appears during the winter and disappears when the snow melts.  They don't know where she goes and she provides no information.  She can't stay inside for too long or she grows too warm and starts to feel ill.  Each year, she ages, as a normal child does.  Then one winter she falls in love with the neighbor's son and things begin to change. 

I liked this story because it was so different.  This is beautifully written.  But I wanted more.  When the book was over, I still had so many unanswered questions.  I wanted some of my friends to read this book so we could discuss it, but no one did.  Maybe I need to read it again to see if I missed something. 
 

Review: Call Me Princess by Sara Blaedel

This is one of those books that popped up as "if you like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" you'll like this.

I did like it.  It's not really all that much like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but still worth reading if you like crime stories.  The story takes place in Copenhagen and the main character is a detective named Louise Rick.  As if her job isn't stressful enough, she's also trying to deal with some upheaval in her personal life.

The case she's working on involves women being killed by someone they've met through an online dating service.  Sort of confirmed everything I think about online dating. 

It's a typical detective story, police procedural, but that's my favorite kind of book.

I was looking forward to reading other books in this series, but most of the series hasn't been translated to English yet.  I'm hopeful though.  I liked this book and this character, and think I would enjoy this series.

Update: I now have two other books from this series - very happy about that.  Probably won't read them until this summer, when I have plenty of free time to enjoy a good mystery or two. 1/28/2013

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Argrim

I selected this book one day because I needed something to read while laying outside and soaking up some sun. I have a stack of books at home, but wanted something on the Kindle.  So that morning, I searched the library's selections and picked this memoir written by Alison Argrim, who played the part of Nellie Olseson on Little House on the Prairie.

Something you may not know about me - every day after school, I watch Little House on the Prairie.  It's because at night, I watch Golden Girls on Hallmark, and when I come home, I don't bother to change the channel.  Sometimes I sit through hours of it.  Strange, I know, but it isn't like there is anything else worth watching on at that time.  Really, I don't care enough to check for something else to watch, I just turn on the TV for the noise.

I found this book to be very interesting.  I was only going to read for an hour or two, but read until the sun moved past my lounge chair, then I went inside, laid down on the couch and read until I finsihed the book.

I enjoyed reading about what happened behind the scenes at a show I've watched my whole life.  Alison endured some truly horrible childhood experiences.  Now she devotes her time to helping children who have had similar experiences.  She's a very brave, strong person.  I enjoyed reading about her.  I recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in Little House on the Prairie. 

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

I was drawn to this book because I love the title and it's set in Athens. Years ago, I visited Athens.  It was my first international trip.  I fell in love with the city, so I looked forward to reading a story set in that city.

This book is divided into sections, or rather "books."  I liked the first book and thought I was going to really enjoy the entire story.  But I didn't like the second book.  This is the section I remember most about the book.  I believe this is the point where the narrator is trying to deal with his loss.  I understand that he was grieving, but his behavior seemed so bizarre and selfish.  He cuts off the rest of the world and begins to travel from city to city with no plan at all.  It seemed so indulgent.  I think I was supposed to be struck by his profound loss, his inability to move on.  But instead I thought of how the rest of the world has to "suck it up" and move on when they lose a loved one.  How nice to be able to take a year or so off.  Maybe I was jealous because I wish I could do that when I hurt, but I can't.  I have to get up and go to work the next day.  I found it impossible to feel any sympathy for this character.  At that point, I began to lose interest in the book.

I found it difficult to like the book because I didn't like the characters very much.  I felt no connection to them.  It's been a few months since I read this book, and mostly what I remember about it is that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.  I remember the story getting complicated and the character finding the sister of his lover and a diary.  At that point, I simply didn't care all that much about what happened to these people.  The book didn't live up to my expectations.

Emily's Ghost by Denise Giardina

Wuthering Heights is my all time favorite book.  If I had a son, I would name him Heathcliff.  Heathcliff has ruined me for all men.  I'm going to spend my whole life waiting for someone to love me the way he loved Cathy.  But that's okay because it's better than glaring at the man you're with and wishing he were someone else, right?

I wanted to read this because I was going to try to include in my summer vacation a visit to the the area the Bronte sisters called home.  I ended up not going, the travel plans started to get too complicated.  Also, this book described the area as being so harsh, especially during that time period when Emily lived, I sort of lost my desire to visit.

This is a completely imagined story.  I don't think there is any proof that Emily ever had a love interest.  As fans, we assume there must have been someone, someone secret that we know nothing about, because how else could she have written so passionately about love?

The author has taken this idea and created a world in which Emily does fall in love.  We also see her interacting with her family and community.  It's an interesting story, even if it is all imagined.

I enjoyed the romance, though they never quite reach a Cathy and Heathcliff level of passion.  As expected, the ending is sad.  We know she isn't going to live happily ever after. 

It's a well written story.  I liked it, but wasn't blown away by it.  There are several books about the Bronte sisters on my "to-read" list, but I've not gotten around to them yet, so I can't compare them.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one to any Emily Bronte fans.   

Review: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

I loved this book. I love everything about it: the setting - New York City, 1938; the characters - an interesting variety of working-class citizens trying to make it in the big city alongside some trust fund babies; the way the story flowed - As I was reading it, I had no idea what was going to happen next and kept finding myself surprised and intrigued. I didn't want this story to end. Too often books start out well, and then disappoint me in the end. I was bracing myself for that because I couldn't believe that a book that started so well could continue in that manner - but it did.

What I liked most about the book were the strong women characters. The story is about Katherine Kontent (what a great name), and how she chooses to navigate her life in a city that will "turn you inside out." But as she's making her decisions, readers are also made aware of other women in the city, and the choices they make, determined to live on their own terms. 

I will confess to being somewhat sexist in what I choose to read.  I generally avoid books written by men.  That's a terrible thing to say isn't it?  But seems like anytime I read a book written by a man, I find myself annoyed by the portrayal of women, so I started to avoid them.  But Amor Towles has created characters that ring truer than just about any I've ever read.  Very, very glad I decided to go against my "rule" of not reading new male authors.

I realize this review is vague with regard to the content of the novel, but I don't want to give away too much, because as I mentioned earlier, one of my favorite things about the book is that I had no idea what to expect with each page.

This is one of those books I'm going to recommend to anyone who asks what they should read next. Actually I'm probably going to go ahead and recommend it to those who don't ask for recommendations.

I checked it out from the library, but recently, I bought a copy for my Kindle because I liked it so much I'm certain I'll be reading it again a few more times.

Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

When I first heard about this book, I thought it sounded amazing.  Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite writers, and this book is all about history and religion, and I assumed it would have a heavy dose of magic.

I was on the waiting list at the library before the book was even released.  But after I checked it out, it sat there for three weeks and then had to be returned - untouched.  I was reading other books.  It looked so heavy and it was around the holidays when I needed my reading to provide somewhat enjoyable escapes from reality.

I decided to check out the audio version of the book.  I spend so much time in the car, time wasted listening to crappy pop music.  Might as well be productive with my time.

While I'm glad I listened to it because I don't know that I would have stuck with it had I been reading it, I am also concerned that listening to it versus reading it might have effected my impression of the story.  There were four different narrators for this book, as the book tells the story of four different women in the days before the siege of Masada.  At times I found the characters to be so annoying, and I'm not sure if it was because of what the characters were saying and doing or because of the voice.  I know that at least one of the voices annoyed me horribly.  I found myself mimicking her words as I drove along listening to the story.

I didn't find this book as amazing as I'd expected it to be.  I found it very interesting, and listening to this prompted me to learn more about what happened in Masada.  Reading about the remains discovered at the sight made Hoffman's ending particularly interesting.

I thought the book was a little long.  I think the same story could have been told with a few less words.  There were times when I found the story dragged, too much repetition.  Also, I didn't like the characters very much.  I understand that as readers we're supposed to view them as strong, fierce women, but I wasn't that impressed.  I grew tired of hearing the first woman go on about her love for a man who simply used her because he'd grown tired of his wife and there was no one else around.  She kept referring to him as if he were the great love of her life, but from my perspective he didn't seem like a great man at all.  He took advantage of a young girl, got her pregnant, all while his wife and other children are sleeping in the tent next to them.  This happened to the first character in the story, and that might have set the tone for the rest of the book. 

Several of these women seemed to be okay with getting involved with married men.  I didn't find their actions to be strong or admirable, but rather pathetic.  Were we really supposed to feel sympathetic for them?  How are we supposed to feel for the wives being betrayed?  They're also women, suffering through these same harsh circumstances.

Mostly, I was disappointed by the lack of magic.  Oh, there were bits and traces, but much, much less than the typical Hoffman book.  This was, for the most part, a historical novel.  I'm glad I listened to it, but I didn't love it.

Review: The Last Nude by Ellis Avery

I thought this book sounded so good.  This is a novel, set in Paris, 1927, based on events in the life of Tamara de Lempicka.  I think most of the story is imagined, not based on fact, but that didn't matter to me.  Paris in the 20s is one of my favorite settings.  I love reading about the writers and artists inhabiting Paris during that time period.

The story about de Lempicka's relationship with one of her young models, Rafaela.  I assumed this was going to be a nice, romantic, passionate story.  Every once in a while, I enjoy those sort of stories.  But this wasn't very romantic or erotic at all. 

In this book, de Lempicka isn't a very nice person.  She's selfish and she uses this young girl who she knows is in love with her to get what she needs.  She leads her on while she needs her, makes promises she has no plans to keep and treats her quite badly.  Not any better than dating a man. 

The setting in nice, and the other characters are interesting.  I enjoyed Rafaela's scenes at Sylvia Beach's bookstore.  She develops a friendship with a man who I am certain is Hemingway (based on what I know from having read The Paris Wife) but he has a different name in the story. 

But in general, the overall story wasn't very interesting.  I had to force my way through this book. 

However, this summer, while I was in Paris, I found myself thinking about this book as I was walking along the Seine and recalling the scene in which Rafaela throws herself into the river (don't worry, she's rescued).  Also, this was the first time I've noticed prints of de Lempicka's work for sale at the bins on the side of the river.  I'm sure they've always been there, but in the past, having not known much about the artist, I hadn't paid much attention to them.

I learned about the artist from the book, so that's one positive aspect of having read it, but I think there are probably plenty of other books about the artists during this time period that I might have better spent my time reading. 

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

I love New Orleans.  I hope to someday live in New Orleans.  It's part of that long-term plan I've been putting together for years. 

I picked up this book because of the cover, which seems to scream New Orleans ghost story.  Part of what I love about New Orleans are the ghosts.  But I didn't like this book much at all. 

This is the first in a series, so I guess the author was trying to introduce everyone to build up future stories.  But the result was too many characters and too many story lines.  I couldn't keep all the names straight and after a while I quit trying.  I was also under the impression that this was something of a romance, but "romance" wasn't very well developed.  I didn't know enough about the "lovers" involved to care much about what happened between them.

Also, the ghost story didn't really have anything to do with the crime the group was trying to solve.

I thought this was going to be a quick, fun read, but it took me weeks to get through it because it just never held my interest.  I had to force myself to finish it, hoping it would get better.  When I finished reading it though, I wished I hadn't wasted my time on it.  There are better New Orleans ghost stories out there.

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

One review described this book as a crime novel for people who don't like crime novels.  Not quite sure what the means, but I assumed it was a crime novel with more of a story behind it.

I thought it sounded interesting, and I'm a fan of mysteries by British authors.

I found the book to be very readable, it held my interest.  But in the end, I was very disappointed with the story.  I was so disappointed I was angry with what happened in the end.  To me, it felt like very bad storytelling.  I don't quite know how to describe what happened without completely giving away what happened, so we'll just leave it as, I didn't like it.

Beatrice returns home to London after learning her younger sister, Tess, has disappeared.  Her search for Tess causes her to re-examine her own live.  Tess was a free spirit, an artist and in comparison, Beatrice feels as if her own life is stagnant.  Because having a stable job and relationship are bad things?  Have I mentioned I didn't like this book all that much?  I don't quite understand why she was so in awe of Tess, who was still a student (she may have actually quit school - it's been a few months since I read the book) and she was pregnant as the result of an affair with her married professor.  All things to admire -- not.

As an artist, I grow so tired of the portrayal of the irresponsible art student.  This is why people don't respect artists.  News flash - it is possible to be creative, pay your bills and successfully use birth control.  It may not be as much fun - but it's possible.

Beatrice quits her job in America and ends her relationship with her boyfriend and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her sister.  She uncovers so many secrets.  Tess discovered her unborn baby has a disease so she agrees to go through some experimental treatments hoping to cure the baby and preventing it from dying the same horrible death as her brother. 

But as Beatrice gets closer to the truth of her sister's disappearance, it becomes clear that her decision making skills are not much better than those of her younger sister. 

In the end, I felt as if these sisters both made very bad choices which put them in dangerous situations.  A little bit of thought, careful planning, and caution could have prevented so much tragedy, but then again, there wouldn't have been a book if that had happened.  I simply don't enjoy stories that involve women lacking basic survival skills.   And then the twist at the end -- had I not been reading this on my Kindle, I probably would have thrown it at the wall I was so angry.

Disclaimer:  I read this in January, I might be fuzzy on some details, but I think my general impression remains accurate.

Anyone but You by Jennifer Cruise

I was interested in this book because of the basset hound on the cover.  I get dog fever around this time of the year.  Something about the holidays make me think of puppies.  I always assumed I'd grow up and have a dog.  I never wanted a husband, I never wanted kids, but I always wanted a dog.  But I grew up, sort of, and realized that I'm entirely too irresponsible to have a dog.  I'm never home, I'm tight with my money (as in I'd pass out and die if I had to fork over some major, unexpected pet-related medical expenses) and I lack the ability to show affection toward living things.  So yeah, no dog for me.

But back in the day when I wanted a dog, I wanted a basset hound because I think they are adorable, and so even now, long after I've realized I can't have a dog, I am still drawn to basset hounds.  

I read the description of the book and thought it sounded cute.  Not the sort of book I would usually read.  But not every book I read has to be dark and deep and serious, right?  I later realized this is even part of a Harlequin romance series.  I've not read a Harlequin romance since I was in high school and used to take them from my mother.

Day before the end of the year, I had read 34 books and wanted to get that up to 35.  So I took this book to bed with me and I read the entire thing in one sitting.  Finished it early this morning.

As far as romances go, this was pretty good.  A 40 year old, newly-divorced woman moves from her mansion to a small apartment and she decides to get a dog.  She wants a perky puppy, but while at the pound, she instead is drawn to a sad, depressed basset hound who only has a day left before he's put down.  She takes Fred instead of a puppy.  And it's Fred, who Nina trains to use the fire escape to go out, who accidentally walks into her downstairs neighbor's apartment.  The downstairs neighbor is Alex, a 30-year-old ER doctor.

Nina is beginning a new life on her own.  She married her first boyfriend and for sixteen years, she stood by him as he built up his career as a successful and wealthy attorney.  Alex is just getting started with his career, as his family of doctors tries to pressure him into choosing a more distinguished speciality than ER.  Though they are both hesitant to admit it, they seem to be exactly what each other needs.

I actually really liked this story.  I liked the characters, they seemed real and they seemed like nice people.  The story didn't make me cringe like most "romances" tend to do.  I liked that it wasn't the typical broken-hearted, lonely woman seeking a big, successful man to sweep off her feet.  Nina could take care of herself and she was okay with Alex being a little immature and goofy.  She liked the company of a nice guy, she didn't need someone to take care of her.

Maybe it's because I'm closer to 40 than I am 30 and I like the idea that a nice, attractive younger man would find a 40 year old woman attractive.  In real life it seems the only men who notice a woman my age now are the creepy old guys who don't have enough money to attract the 20 year olds.  Let's just say I'm glad I'm no longer involved in the whole dating scene because it's not pleasant for women my age.  It's settle or be single.  So even though this book may not have been realistic, it still made me happy to read this story because it's nice to think the possibility is there.

Alex isn't just a nice guy, he's also not one of those guys needing a wife to "settle down" and cook and clean and have babies.  That seemed to be the only option out there when I was younger.  Never met any guys who wanted to do fun things like travel and watch old movies or attend concerts and sporting events.  No, the nice guys just wanted to get married, buy a house and have a couple of kids - boring!  And the other guys, well they just wanted, you know...

Okay, so the book is a fantasy, but not the typical romantic fantasy.  It's more of a fantasy for women like me.  I guess that was what I found surprising about the story.  These types of stories rarely appeal to me.

I had a few minor issues with the story - one being that I thought it took way too long for Nina and Alex to get together.  He's in her apartment every night watching TV, she's lying on the couch behind him while he's sitting on the floor, they both want each other, and no one makes a move?  This goes on for weeks!  Then once they got together, there was a bit of weirdness, Alex became something of a jerk for a while.  But maybe that's normal?  Not all that experienced with relationships.  But all of that was brief and resolved rather quickly.

Overall I liked the book.  Kind of nice to read something that isn't as heavy as what I usually read.   I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance novels and wants a quick, light read.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I was curious about this book and then a friend of mine went on and on about how it's the best book ever, so I decided to read it.

I like books about magic, stories that can integrate the magic into the story in such a way that it feels natural and normal.  This book was full of magic.

Two competitive magicians set up a challenge between their students.  Once the students are older they end up involved in a circus.  A circus that only performs at night and lasts until dawn.  Everything in the circus is black and white, and there are many tents, each with some beautiful, magical treasures inside. 

I loved the way the words created images in my mind.  The story is so well written that I could easily immerse myself in this circus as I read the story.  I used the word "atmospheric" to describe this book. It felt dreamy and misty and each time I picked up the book I felt as if I was drifting into this special world again.

One element of the story that I especially liked were the people who followed the circus, the Revers.  They loved the circus so much they would travel around the country, sometimes across the ocean to visit the circus.  They made friends with other followers of the circus and they traveled together.  "We lead strange lives, chasing our dreams from place to place," one of these Revers explains.  I could relate too well with these people.  For years, I've followed my favorite bands around the country and to Europe.  Some of my best friends are people I've met along these travels, other people who understand what it's like to chase dreams.  This gave me a stronger understanding of these people and their love for this beautiful circus. 

What I didn't like about the story though was I never fully understood "the challenge."  I don't think I was supposed to understand because even the people involved said several times that they didn't understand the rules or the parameters.  As a reader, this became frustrating to me as the book reached an end.  I assumed as I was reading this that it would eventually be explained.  I felt the ending was unsatisfying.  I'm not going to give away from happened but the resolution felt too vague to me.  I had no idea as to expect, but I certainly didn't expect what did happen.

This is one of those books I may need to read again, just to get a better understanding as to what happened. 

But I did enjoy the book.  Very well written, very interesting story.  And as I said at the beginning, full of magic, always a good thing.
 

finished reading: Dec. 30, 2011

The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender

The description of this collection of short stories sounded so interesting.  But the stories were more weird than interesting.  And I usually like weird, but this wasn't a cool weird but rather a, "WTF, that doesn't make any sense," sort of weird.  There was rarely any sort of explanation or background given to provide any substance for the bizarreness of the stories.

The stories were like, "One day my boyfriend started to go through a reverse evolution.  He became an ape, then a fish, then a tadpole, so put him in the ocean."  The end.  Really?  The stories are for the most part delivered with that much emotion and detail. 

I never felt any sort of connection or concern for the characters involved in these stories.

And yet, I kept reading them, so I must not have thought they were completely terrible.  I suspect I was in some way drawn to the bizarreness.  At one point, about a third of the way through the book, I decided I wasn't going to finish reading it, I had too many other books to read to waste my time on this nonsense.  But I couldn't stop reading the stories.  Maybe I was just hoping that something more would happen.  Maybe my curiosity got the better of me.  A few of the longer stories had potential, but they felt more like introductions or outlines for what could have been better stories.

The more I read short stories the more I realize I don't like them much.  I need to know more about the characters.  If I'm going to invest my time in reading about these people, I need to get a better feeling as to who they are.  Short stories don't provide the kind of connection I need with what I read.

I really didn't like this book very much.  Part of me gets annoyed when I read stuff like this because I don't quite understand why something like this gets published.  Maybe I'm not smart enough to get it.  But the weirdness too often tipped into the "silly" category.  I kind of wish I'd never picked this book up.

finished reading: Dec. 17, 2011

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

This book is so very sad.  Blue Nights is Joan Didion's collection of thoughts on the loss of her daughter.  She doesn't write specifically about her daughter's death, but rather about her daughter's absence from her life now. 

A few years ago, Didion wrote The Year of Magical Thinking about the loss of her husband, and the year that followed his loss.  I seem to recall that book being more structured.  Blue Nights isn't about a certain time period.  It's more about what Didion is going through as a parent who has lost her child, as a parent who assumed that her child would outlive her and be around now.

What broke my heart the most was when she talked about how we hold onto things in hopes of saving memories of important moments, only to look back on those items, cards and photographs and wish that we'd worked harder at enjoying that moment. 

Didion has lost so many people in her life, and she's struggling with the idea of getting older and having to do this without the people who were most important to her.

She also reflects quite a bit on parenthood, and worries about things she may have done wrong.  She's fixated on certain events.  She thinks maybe her daughter was adversely affected by being adopted and that maybe her parenting skills were off.  But as a reader, an outsider looking in, and someone who has never been a parent, but has spent plenty of time around children, I can't help but think that it's normal for parents to question their own parenting skills.  I think any parent who assumes they did everything right is probably very much in denial.  I didn't get the impression that she was a bad parent or that her daughter suffered much.  I think that Didion is probably just spending a lot of time thinking and re-thinking and over analyzing the events in her life.  She's a writer, that's what writers do.  She's seeking an answer, wondering what she could have done differently.

I very much enjoy Didion's writing and this was no exception.  But reading this broke my heart over and over again.  This book made me think of people I've lost, of moments I tried to hold onto, of things I've done wrong and things I wished I'd done differently and the horror that I can't change the past to remedy my mistakes.  It also made me realize that I'm going to grow old alone and it made me a little bit glad that I won't have people to lose and that my own alone-ness will be fully expected, unlike Didion, who thought her daughter would be there with her as she grew older.

I'd recommend this book to anyone.  It's just one of those books I think people should read.

finished reading: Dec. 2, 2011

A Vintage Affair, by Isable Wolff

I saw this book at the store a while back, and wanted to buy it for my friend who owns a vintage shop because I thought it sounded interesting.  Also, I've read two other books by Isabel Wolff and really liked both of them.  Then as holiday travel approached, I needed a book to keep me entertained while waiting in airports and on planes.  I saw this available at the library and snapped it up.  Very glad I did.

What I like most about Wolff's books are that her main characters are strong women, who don't need a man to validate their existence.  Wolff's stories are never about women seeking men or losing men or trying to navigate life with a man.  Instead, her characters are trying to figure out who they are and what they need to "live their best life" - yes, I stole that phrase from Oprah, but it fit.  In this book Phoebe has suffered a tragic loss and is trying to reaccess her life - get her act together and move on. 

She's ended her engagement, a situation which was tainted with bad energy already - and has left a stressful, but successful career to start her own business.  This is the story of how that works out for her.

There are several different storylines - Phoebe dealing with her past, trying to navigate her future, her mother's attempts at moving forward after suffering her own loss, Phoebe's relationships with an elderly women whose life is ending, the storylines of the characters who shop at Phoebe's vintage shop, as well as the stories of the dresses.  It never felt like too many things happening, but rather a very realistic snapshot of the life surrounding Phoebe and her store.

There were parts of the book that were very sad, others that felt hopeful.  This book is about friendships and guilt and grief and forgiveness and the way all of those things mingle together and affect everyday life.  There isn't a nice, happy ending because that wouldn't be possible considering the circumstances.  But there is hope at the end. 

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a quick, interesting read.  Not too romantic or sappy, but emotionally powerful.  Also, the stories about the dresses are interesting.  I know nothing about fashion, but this did spark my interest in vintage clothing.  A big plus that the story took place in London, in areas that I remember from my time spent there, and there's even a trip to France included (an area I've not visited, but would like to someday.)

It Looked Different on the Model by Laurie Notaro

I spent two weeks trying to make my way through a non-fiction book about Berlin under the early days of Hitler.  Not exactly a light or enjoyable read.  I finally gave up on the book and I wanted something fun. 

Was so pleased to see this book by Laurie Notaro.  I love her writing, she's so funny. 

This book was so very funny, one night as I sat here reading it, I was laughing so hard I was crying and my whole body was sore.  I couldn't stop laughing.  This is one of those books that I've told everyone they need to read and I'll probably buy a few copies to give as Christmas gifts.

Of course, as I found out last time I insisted on everyone reading one of her books, not everyone gets her sense of humor.  But then again, I tend to not be amused by things that most people find funny.

Notaro writes about simple, every day situations, that become hilarious.  Such as trying on a shirt that's a size too small and then getting trapped in it, or being banned from the satellite post office for wanting to purchase too many two cent stamps.  I could especially relate to having lost an iPhone - which I did this summer and felt the same raging hatred for the person who now I had my phone and all my photos and notes.  The funniest story was about her husband thinking she was eating candy in bed.  I won't tell you what happened, but highly recommend you find a copy and read it.