Not sure why I didn't post this yet (maybe I intended to flesh out the descriptions a bit? Hmm... Too bad), but here were some (possibly not all?) of the books I read between May and June...
Hope in a Jar - Beth Harbison Allie is in her late 20's, goes to her HS reunion and reunites with her friend Olivia to mend old wounds. She gets herself a makeover and realizes she's in love with her best friend, Noah. But Noah is engaged, so she has to break up her best friend's engagement in order to be with the one she loves.
The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks (Marine finds pic in Afghanistan, considers it his lucky charm. Goes on a quest to find the girl, falls in love, etc. But there are issues when she finds out about the picture and complications from her past.)
The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill (Aminata Diallo is stolen from Africa at 11 years of age, sent to a South Carolina indigo plantation, then gets sold to Charles Town with Lindo Jews, escapes to New York, buys her freedom to Birchtown, Shelburne NS, finds a way back to Sierra Leone to try to get back home, and finally has to escape to England with abolitionists. Loses husband Chekura. Babies Mamadu and May stolen from her.)
Knit Two - Kate Jacobs (second book after Friday Night Knitting Club - how the group deals and heals after Georgia's death.)
Still Missing - Chevy Stevens (told in the form of therapy sessions with a psychiatrist. Annie O'Sullivan, realtor, was abducted after Open House. Held hostage for about a year. Had a dauther named Hope, but she died. She killed her captor in order to escape, but the danger isn't over when she leaves the cabin in the woods. Turns out Mom was behind it all along. There's a love interest with the cop in charge of the case, Gary...)
Death of a Dancer - Caro Peacock (Victorian London murder mystery. Dancer Jenny is accused of killing the famous dancer Columbine at the Augustus theatre and will be hanged. Liberty Lane knows Jenny is innocent and does her best to find the real killer and exonerate Jenny, who is her best friend Daniel's love interest.)
Between Here and April - Deborah Copaken Kogan (Elizabeth Burns comes face to face with a tragedy from her past she thought she had forgotten - the death of her childhood friend April Cassidy. Elizabeth decides to try to find the truth about what happened to April - the mother, Adele Cassidy, killed herself and 2 daughters with carbon monoxide. In learning more about Adele Cassidy and her undiagnosed PPD, Elizabeth learns more about herself.)
Forecast - Jane Tara (Rowena "Rowie" Shakespeare, is a psychic, from a long matriarchal line. She's a fiery redhead who can predict the weather and see your future with a kiss - and she's never wrong. Drew Henderson is the local weather reporter and heartthrob. When he falls thru a roof covering a tornado story, Rowie gets asked to take his place. Jessie, the producer and Drew's jealous ex, believes that she and Drew were meant to be together, he just needs to see it for himself. So once he's home, she bets Drew that he can't get Rowie to kiss him by the end of the night, and also tells Rowie that she should kiss him and tell him who he's meant to be with so he can get over past heartaches. The energy between them needs no persuasion and Rowie and Drew do kiss, but Rowie doesn't see anything. Is he her One True Love, at last?)
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Book Reviews: April Reads
April has been a slow reading month for me. The month itself seems to have flown by and lots has happened, which is probably why I haven't been reading as much. In any case, here are the books I've read:
The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley. This was quite a fun little story about a girl, Jessica Wild, who just tells one little lie that gets her into a heap of trouble. Jessica never knew who her father was and mother died when she was 2, so her grandmother raised her and Jessica dutifully went to visit her grandmother in the home. Then gram dies leaving Jessica with no family at all. But another lady from the home, Grace, becomes her friend and asks Jessica to continue visiting her, which she does happily. Grace is always asking Jessica about her love life and finally Jessica cracks. What can it hurt to tell an old woman she's got a boyfriend if it makes her happy? So Jessica tells Grace that she has a boyfriend called Anthony Milton - who is, in fact, her handsome boss. Grace is happy, but then Jessica makes the biggest lie of all and tells Grace they got married. But it's worth it to make the older woman so happy, right? Then Grace dies and Jessica learns that Grace was actually quite well to do and left an entire inheritance to Jessica. Jessica Milton, that is. She has 50 days to convince Anthony to marry her so she can get her inheritance. Can she do it?
Before I Wake by Robert J Wiersema. This was a crazy, weird, but good read! It's about this little girl who is involved in a hit and run accident, leaving her in a coma. The doctors said she would never wake up and so her parents made the difficult decision of removing her from life support. She stopped breathing and her heart stopped for a moment, but she continued to live for a year. The driver of the vehicle who hit her disappeared. During the year, they move her home and hire a nurse to help take care of her, her parents separate, and then weird things start happening. The story is told from the point of view of many different people, making it interesting and keeping you on your toes. I won't say anything else that could ruin the ending, but it might have you believing in miracles if you didn't before.
A Breath Away by Rita Herron. This was a really good romance mystery, I got really into it. Violet's childhood was traumatized when her best friend, Darlene, was murdered. Violet's psychic connection to Darlene in those last moments as she tried to tell the searches where to look for the little girl, still haunt her. Then Violet's father sends her away with her grandmother and she never sees him again. Twenty years later, Violet starts having visions again, of dying women, just like when Darlene died. Then they get the shocking news that Violet's father is dead - it looks like suicide, and there was a note near his body saying he killed Darlene. Violet doesn't believe her father was a killer. She goes back to Crow's Landing to bury her father and find the truth. Darlene's older brother, Grady, is now the town sheriff, and Darlene's death still haunts him, too. He is also now on a mission to find the truth, no matter the cost. How is it that Violet has a connection to these women she's never met? And how many secrets can one little town hold?
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah - This was a crazy good read, it had me crying at various points. It's a chilling tale of one woman's escape from Soviet Russia, and the journey she and her daughters make from strangers to family, with a happy, surprising twist at the end. :)
By the way... this new blogger is kind of weird! Just had to mention that...
The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley. This was quite a fun little story about a girl, Jessica Wild, who just tells one little lie that gets her into a heap of trouble. Jessica never knew who her father was and mother died when she was 2, so her grandmother raised her and Jessica dutifully went to visit her grandmother in the home. Then gram dies leaving Jessica with no family at all. But another lady from the home, Grace, becomes her friend and asks Jessica to continue visiting her, which she does happily. Grace is always asking Jessica about her love life and finally Jessica cracks. What can it hurt to tell an old woman she's got a boyfriend if it makes her happy? So Jessica tells Grace that she has a boyfriend called Anthony Milton - who is, in fact, her handsome boss. Grace is happy, but then Jessica makes the biggest lie of all and tells Grace they got married. But it's worth it to make the older woman so happy, right? Then Grace dies and Jessica learns that Grace was actually quite well to do and left an entire inheritance to Jessica. Jessica Milton, that is. She has 50 days to convince Anthony to marry her so she can get her inheritance. Can she do it?
Before I Wake by Robert J Wiersema. This was a crazy, weird, but good read! It's about this little girl who is involved in a hit and run accident, leaving her in a coma. The doctors said she would never wake up and so her parents made the difficult decision of removing her from life support. She stopped breathing and her heart stopped for a moment, but she continued to live for a year. The driver of the vehicle who hit her disappeared. During the year, they move her home and hire a nurse to help take care of her, her parents separate, and then weird things start happening. The story is told from the point of view of many different people, making it interesting and keeping you on your toes. I won't say anything else that could ruin the ending, but it might have you believing in miracles if you didn't before.
A Breath Away by Rita Herron. This was a really good romance mystery, I got really into it. Violet's childhood was traumatized when her best friend, Darlene, was murdered. Violet's psychic connection to Darlene in those last moments as she tried to tell the searches where to look for the little girl, still haunt her. Then Violet's father sends her away with her grandmother and she never sees him again. Twenty years later, Violet starts having visions again, of dying women, just like when Darlene died. Then they get the shocking news that Violet's father is dead - it looks like suicide, and there was a note near his body saying he killed Darlene. Violet doesn't believe her father was a killer. She goes back to Crow's Landing to bury her father and find the truth. Darlene's older brother, Grady, is now the town sheriff, and Darlene's death still haunts him, too. He is also now on a mission to find the truth, no matter the cost. How is it that Violet has a connection to these women she's never met? And how many secrets can one little town hold?
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah - This was a crazy good read, it had me crying at various points. It's a chilling tale of one woman's escape from Soviet Russia, and the journey she and her daughters make from strangers to family, with a happy, surprising twist at the end. :)
By the way... this new blogger is kind of weird! Just had to mention that...
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Book Reviews: March Madness
Well, March has been a productive month for me, as far as reading goes! I read almost as many books this month as I did in the last 2 months combined. Wow! I have no life... But, chances are good that I'm going to meet or even exceed my goal of 52 books in the year 2012!
So to begin, I read what I consider to be an Indie type book called The Orphan Sister. It's the story of grown triplets (identical twins and their singleton triplet), told from the POV of _, the singleton. I find the dynamics of multiples fascinating. The identical twins can read each others' thoughts, finish sentences and hold entire conversations without opening their mouths. _ struggles with wanting to be more a part of that bond, and craving her independence from her sisters. In the end, the sisters all learn
Next I read the last 2 books of the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Totally gripping, with much more insight into the workings of the Capitol and Panem in general. Finnick is definitely the sort of character I would have a crush on. Catching Fire helped endear Gale to me (I was not a fan in the first book) and I can see why people would prefer him, but I'm Team Peeta all the way. However, we have to remember that this is not a love story. The love triangle is merely an added bonus to pique the interest of young girls (and, ok, grown women, too). There is plenty of action to entertain boys of all ages, but not so gorey to be distasteful. This is definitely my current favourite series. It took me weeks to get out of Panem in my mind, Suzanne Collins does such a thorough job of sucking her readers into Katniss' world. I also managed to see the film opening night (totally would have gone to the pre-showing Thursday, but I couldn't find anyone willing to stay up late to go with me). It was a good representation and I look forward to the rest of the movies, to see how they tie everything together and make up for the parts they left out...
Due to my mind being drenched in Panem, it took me a while to get into the Body Movers romantic-murder-mystery books. But once I did, I was hooked. It was a shock and disappointment to learn that there are, in fact, 6 books in the series, and I only have the first 3 (Body Movers, Body Movers: 2 Bodies for the Price of 1, and Body Movers: 3 Men and a Body). *sad face* Carlotta Wren is a great character. Reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella's Becky Bloomwood, but a bit more responsible and down to earth. Carlotta and her younger brother Wesley have been on their own for 10 years now, since their parents abandoned them during their father's trial after he was allegedly accused of investment fraud from the firm where he was a partner. The then 18-year old Carlotta lost everything; the mansion and privileged lifestyle she was accustomed to, her friends, her parents, and then her fiance, Peter Ashford (handsome and wealthy). All she had was Wesley (then 9 years old) and the townhouse her parents had bought in her name. She's done her best to raise Wesley, but it's tough! Wesley gets arrested by Detective Jack Terry in the first book for hacking into the court house's system. Detective Terry (big, strong, Southern) makes a great love interest for Carlotta, and also seems to always be at the right place at the right time to bail her out. Then Peter waltzes back into her life, making an interesting little love triangle. But then, as if the girl isn't lucky enough to have 2 guys interested in her, Wesley gets a job moving bodies for the morgue and his boss, Cooper "Coop" Craft (Mr. Mysterious) turns into another interested party! Carlotta manages to get herself into trouble as well, over and over throughout the books, tangled in various murders, but with 4 guys looking out for her, and her quirky best friend Hannah, life's not so bad!
After all that romance and frivolous murder, I was in the mood for something a bit more serious. I had recently purchased Shutter Island (have only seen parts of the movie), but I knew the story, more or less. I thought reading the book might clarify things. Hardly. I didn't enjoy the writing style, it read too much like a movie, which confused me a bit. The overall story was captivating and exercised the mind a bit, which is always good. But it's not a book I would be inclined to read again, or even to keep. If interested, drop me a line, I could probably give you a good price...
After that I went back to my frivolous, flirty books to read Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella. A great installment to the Shopaholic series. Becky is now married to Luke Brandon. In the beginning of the book, they are on their year-long honeymoon travelling around the world, have all sorts of wondering experiences, and buying all sorts of extravagant souvenirs, of course! Becky goes behind Luke's back to buy a bunch of really expensive items and then of course has to lie and sneak her way around telling him. They decide to head home early because Becky misses her family and friends and Luke has some business deals he wants to take care of, but they don't tell anyone they're coming, which ends up being a bit of a flop. Her parents aren't home when they get there, and when they do show up they act really weird. Then she goes to visit her best friend Suze, who has made a new best friend! Then Becky's parents tell her she actually has a half sister, and she is just so excited about the prospect and the idea of a replacement for Suze. But Becky's sister, Jess, is nothing like her. After a lot of misadventures, Becky and Jess finally accept each other for who they are, Suze and Becky make up, and Becky and Luke are pregnant!
And yesterday I finished, The Wedding Girl, by Madeleine Wickam (Sophie Kinsella). Main character Milly is wild at heart, but nobody knows just how wild she really is. When she was 18 she made some gay friends who asked her to marry one of them so he could stay in the country. It was too much of an adventure for Milly to miss, so she agreed. Ten years later, Milly is engaged to Simon Pinnacle, and days before the wedding, she meets her photographer, Alexander - the same young man who was witness to her first marriage and even has a picture of her to prove it. Alexander's presence, and teasing, gets Milly into a real panic and she decides that she needs to find Allan, the man she married, to know if he finalized their divorce, or if they're still married - all without telling anyone but her sister, Isobel, and godmother, Esme. She eventually finds Rupert (Allan's former lover), and Rupert eventually finds Allan. But not before someone tells the priest and everyone, including Simon, learns the truth, and they call the wedding off 2 days before. But is it off for good, or can true love conquer a few lies from the past?
This puts me at 18 books (currently in week 13), which means only 34 to go in 39 weeks! Wish me luck!
So to begin, I read what I consider to be an Indie type book called The Orphan Sister. It's the story of grown triplets (identical twins and their singleton triplet), told from the POV of _, the singleton. I find the dynamics of multiples fascinating. The identical twins can read each others' thoughts, finish sentences and hold entire conversations without opening their mouths. _ struggles with wanting to be more a part of that bond, and craving her independence from her sisters. In the end, the sisters all learn
Next I read the last 2 books of the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Totally gripping, with much more insight into the workings of the Capitol and Panem in general. Finnick is definitely the sort of character I would have a crush on. Catching Fire helped endear Gale to me (I was not a fan in the first book) and I can see why people would prefer him, but I'm Team Peeta all the way. However, we have to remember that this is not a love story. The love triangle is merely an added bonus to pique the interest of young girls (and, ok, grown women, too). There is plenty of action to entertain boys of all ages, but not so gorey to be distasteful. This is definitely my current favourite series. It took me weeks to get out of Panem in my mind, Suzanne Collins does such a thorough job of sucking her readers into Katniss' world. I also managed to see the film opening night (totally would have gone to the pre-showing Thursday, but I couldn't find anyone willing to stay up late to go with me). It was a good representation and I look forward to the rest of the movies, to see how they tie everything together and make up for the parts they left out...
Due to my mind being drenched in Panem, it took me a while to get into the Body Movers romantic-murder-mystery books. But once I did, I was hooked. It was a shock and disappointment to learn that there are, in fact, 6 books in the series, and I only have the first 3 (Body Movers, Body Movers: 2 Bodies for the Price of 1, and Body Movers: 3 Men and a Body). *sad face* Carlotta Wren is a great character. Reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella's Becky Bloomwood, but a bit more responsible and down to earth. Carlotta and her younger brother Wesley have been on their own for 10 years now, since their parents abandoned them during their father's trial after he was allegedly accused of investment fraud from the firm where he was a partner. The then 18-year old Carlotta lost everything; the mansion and privileged lifestyle she was accustomed to, her friends, her parents, and then her fiance, Peter Ashford (handsome and wealthy). All she had was Wesley (then 9 years old) and the townhouse her parents had bought in her name. She's done her best to raise Wesley, but it's tough! Wesley gets arrested by Detective Jack Terry in the first book for hacking into the court house's system. Detective Terry (big, strong, Southern) makes a great love interest for Carlotta, and also seems to always be at the right place at the right time to bail her out. Then Peter waltzes back into her life, making an interesting little love triangle. But then, as if the girl isn't lucky enough to have 2 guys interested in her, Wesley gets a job moving bodies for the morgue and his boss, Cooper "Coop" Craft (Mr. Mysterious) turns into another interested party! Carlotta manages to get herself into trouble as well, over and over throughout the books, tangled in various murders, but with 4 guys looking out for her, and her quirky best friend Hannah, life's not so bad!
After all that romance and frivolous murder, I was in the mood for something a bit more serious. I had recently purchased Shutter Island (have only seen parts of the movie), but I knew the story, more or less. I thought reading the book might clarify things. Hardly. I didn't enjoy the writing style, it read too much like a movie, which confused me a bit. The overall story was captivating and exercised the mind a bit, which is always good. But it's not a book I would be inclined to read again, or even to keep. If interested, drop me a line, I could probably give you a good price...
After that I went back to my frivolous, flirty books to read Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella. A great installment to the Shopaholic series. Becky is now married to Luke Brandon. In the beginning of the book, they are on their year-long honeymoon travelling around the world, have all sorts of wondering experiences, and buying all sorts of extravagant souvenirs, of course! Becky goes behind Luke's back to buy a bunch of really expensive items and then of course has to lie and sneak her way around telling him. They decide to head home early because Becky misses her family and friends and Luke has some business deals he wants to take care of, but they don't tell anyone they're coming, which ends up being a bit of a flop. Her parents aren't home when they get there, and when they do show up they act really weird. Then she goes to visit her best friend Suze, who has made a new best friend! Then Becky's parents tell her she actually has a half sister, and she is just so excited about the prospect and the idea of a replacement for Suze. But Becky's sister, Jess, is nothing like her. After a lot of misadventures, Becky and Jess finally accept each other for who they are, Suze and Becky make up, and Becky and Luke are pregnant!
And yesterday I finished, The Wedding Girl, by Madeleine Wickam (Sophie Kinsella). Main character Milly is wild at heart, but nobody knows just how wild she really is. When she was 18 she made some gay friends who asked her to marry one of them so he could stay in the country. It was too much of an adventure for Milly to miss, so she agreed. Ten years later, Milly is engaged to Simon Pinnacle, and days before the wedding, she meets her photographer, Alexander - the same young man who was witness to her first marriage and even has a picture of her to prove it. Alexander's presence, and teasing, gets Milly into a real panic and she decides that she needs to find Allan, the man she married, to know if he finalized their divorce, or if they're still married - all without telling anyone but her sister, Isobel, and godmother, Esme. She eventually finds Rupert (Allan's former lover), and Rupert eventually finds Allan. But not before someone tells the priest and everyone, including Simon, learns the truth, and they call the wedding off 2 days before. But is it off for good, or can true love conquer a few lies from the past?
This puts me at 18 books (currently in week 13), which means only 34 to go in 39 weeks! Wish me luck!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Book Reviews: February Reads!
Checking in with February's reads! So I've finished the Armand Gamache series, except for the most recent book which I do not yet own. So that's The Brutal Telling and Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny. Great reads. I think that The Brutal Telling was my favourite of all the books, although Bury Your Dead continued the story and was also very interesting.
Next I read The Radleys by Matt Haig. It's a story about a family of English non-practicing vampires (meaning they don't drink blood or kill people). The only problem with this is that the 2 children, Rowan and Clara don't actually know that they're vampires, which becomes a problem when Clara decides to be vegan and refuses to eat any animal proteins. She gets really sick. Then the unthinkable happens, and Peter and Helen must tell their children the truth. In the panic of the situation, Peter calls his vampire brother, Will, to come help them. Will is a practicing vampire, and he's very much in love with Helen. Some interesting twists and turns happen resulting in Rowan having to take some drastic actions to save their family and others, but everything, of course, works out in the end.
The next book I read was Cinder by Marissa Meyer, part of a new series called The Lunar Chronicles. This was such a good read, and a fun, futuristic retelling of the old fairy tale (Cinderella). It takes place in the distant future (after World War IV) in New Beijing. Cinder is a 16 year old cyborg mechanic - the best in New Beijing. Cyborgs are outcasts and Cinder's only friends are her android Iko and her step sister Peony. Cinder was adopted at the age of 11 by Linh Garan, who shortly thereafter died of the plague that has been spreading thru the world ever since, leaving Cinder in the care of his wife Adri and their 2 daughters Pearl and Peony. Adri treats Cinder like a slave and property to do with as she pleases. So when Peony ends up with the plague, Adri's first reaction is to "volunteer" Cinder for the cyborg draft to find a cure. It doesn't turn out quite the way she had planned, and when you throw His Imperial Highness Prince Kai into the mix of things... it gets interesting. :) Cinder is not who she - or anybody else - thinks she is...
That's it so far! I'm up to 9 books and we are 8 weeks into the year, so I'm doing really well at this point, with that goal. Check in again next month... happy reading!
Next I read The Radleys by Matt Haig. It's a story about a family of English non-practicing vampires (meaning they don't drink blood or kill people). The only problem with this is that the 2 children, Rowan and Clara don't actually know that they're vampires, which becomes a problem when Clara decides to be vegan and refuses to eat any animal proteins. She gets really sick. Then the unthinkable happens, and Peter and Helen must tell their children the truth. In the panic of the situation, Peter calls his vampire brother, Will, to come help them. Will is a practicing vampire, and he's very much in love with Helen. Some interesting twists and turns happen resulting in Rowan having to take some drastic actions to save their family and others, but everything, of course, works out in the end.
The next book I read was Cinder by Marissa Meyer, part of a new series called The Lunar Chronicles. This was such a good read, and a fun, futuristic retelling of the old fairy tale (Cinderella). It takes place in the distant future (after World War IV) in New Beijing. Cinder is a 16 year old cyborg mechanic - the best in New Beijing. Cyborgs are outcasts and Cinder's only friends are her android Iko and her step sister Peony. Cinder was adopted at the age of 11 by Linh Garan, who shortly thereafter died of the plague that has been spreading thru the world ever since, leaving Cinder in the care of his wife Adri and their 2 daughters Pearl and Peony. Adri treats Cinder like a slave and property to do with as she pleases. So when Peony ends up with the plague, Adri's first reaction is to "volunteer" Cinder for the cyborg draft to find a cure. It doesn't turn out quite the way she had planned, and when you throw His Imperial Highness Prince Kai into the mix of things... it gets interesting. :) Cinder is not who she - or anybody else - thinks she is...
That's it so far! I'm up to 9 books and we are 8 weeks into the year, so I'm doing really well at this point, with that goal. Check in again next month... happy reading!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Book Reviews: January Reads
Can I just say that I adore murder mysteries?! I'm not even sure why, but man... love them! Crime dramas, murder mysteries, all things related... right up my alley.
Anyway! So I wanted to summarize what I've been reading this month, which includes a lot of murder mysteries! :D I have read 5 books, so far, toward my goal of 52 in 2012 - good progress!
The first book I read was called The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman. It was an ok read, but I probably wouldn't read it again, nor recommend it. The recipes included at the beginning of each chapter look interesting and I might have to try some of them, but as for the book itself... It's the story of a group of 12 women who get together every Christmas for a cookie swap. Each member bakes 12 dozen of her cookies - one dozen for every other member and an extra dozen to go to a charity. So they each talk about their cookie recipe, why the chose it, and how it kind of relates to the year they've had. There are a bunch of little side stories going on, secrets, which made it not that interesting. They have a strict list of rules, and the whole concept really makes me want to try something similar in real life! :)
The next 4 books I read were from Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series: Still Life, The Cruellest Month, Dead Cold, and The Murder Stone. I became interested in reading Louise Penny's works because she's a local author and her novels are based here in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. It's particularly refreshing to read about a landscape and terms I am familiar with. I think she is a magnificent writer, I've loved every book so far. I'm currently reading The Brutal Telling, which is also really good. Possibly even the best so far! Each book has at least one murder, which is solved by the Chief Inspector of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, Armand Gamache, and his team. The murders all take place in, or have something to do with the residents of, Three Pines - a fictitious village in the Eastern Townships - and I think every murder so far has had some sort of connection to a particular house in Three Pines, "the old Hadley house." I won't describe the stories because I would be tempted to give away spoilers because I tend to gush about books I enjoy, and I don't want to do that because I really recommend these books to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery that isn't gorey or graphic! There is some swearing, and Québecois terminology that might be lost on some people, but if you can overlook these small things, I think you'll really enjoy the read!
Anyway! So I wanted to summarize what I've been reading this month, which includes a lot of murder mysteries! :D I have read 5 books, so far, toward my goal of 52 in 2012 - good progress!
The first book I read was called The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman. It was an ok read, but I probably wouldn't read it again, nor recommend it. The recipes included at the beginning of each chapter look interesting and I might have to try some of them, but as for the book itself... It's the story of a group of 12 women who get together every Christmas for a cookie swap. Each member bakes 12 dozen of her cookies - one dozen for every other member and an extra dozen to go to a charity. So they each talk about their cookie recipe, why the chose it, and how it kind of relates to the year they've had. There are a bunch of little side stories going on, secrets, which made it not that interesting. They have a strict list of rules, and the whole concept really makes me want to try something similar in real life! :)
The next 4 books I read were from Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series: Still Life, The Cruellest Month, Dead Cold, and The Murder Stone. I became interested in reading Louise Penny's works because she's a local author and her novels are based here in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. It's particularly refreshing to read about a landscape and terms I am familiar with. I think she is a magnificent writer, I've loved every book so far. I'm currently reading The Brutal Telling, which is also really good. Possibly even the best so far! Each book has at least one murder, which is solved by the Chief Inspector of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, Armand Gamache, and his team. The murders all take place in, or have something to do with the residents of, Three Pines - a fictitious village in the Eastern Townships - and I think every murder so far has had some sort of connection to a particular house in Three Pines, "the old Hadley house." I won't describe the stories because I would be tempted to give away spoilers because I tend to gush about books I enjoy, and I don't want to do that because I really recommend these books to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery that isn't gorey or graphic! There is some swearing, and Québecois terminology that might be lost on some people, but if you can overlook these small things, I think you'll really enjoy the read!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Recap 2011
Well... I think we can safely say that I failed my goal of reading and blogging about 52 books in 2011. It was close, but... not quite close enough. There were 17 books I read but didn't blog about, which left me lacking 6 books to reach the reading goal. I'm still proud of the results, but admittedly I'm disappointed I didn't make the goal!! Better luck next time...
So, just to give a recap of the 46 books I did read (and yes, I counted the Sherlock Holmes series as 5 books), here they are in the order I checked them off in my notebook, which is definitely not necessarily the order I read them in (not including author's names - sorry!) :
Anyway, so I'm going to try again this year (2012) to read 52 books! I won't make blogging part of the goal, because it's a lot of work, but I will still try to at least mention the books I've read and maybe 1 or 2 lines about them. :) Happy reading!
So, just to give a recap of the 46 books I did read (and yes, I counted the Sherlock Holmes series as 5 books), here they are in the order I checked them off in my notebook, which is definitely not necessarily the order I read them in (not including author's names - sorry!) :
- Fly Away Home
- Eye of the Beholder
- The Suicide Club
- 1984
- Dancing with Butterflies
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
- Eclipse
- I Am Number Four
- The Reader
- The Mysterious Benedict Society
- The Penny Tree
- The Monk Downstairs
- Jinxed (lol #13? funny stuff...)
- Confessions of a Shopaholic
- Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
- Shopaholic Ties the Knot
- Too Small to Ignore
- The Prince Next Door
- The Hangman
- A Body to Die For
- Elvis Takes a Back Seat
- The Film Club
- Rapid Descent
- Jessica Z
- Two Years, No Rain
- To Save a Life
- Then Again
- Over Her Dead Body
- My Wicked Vampire
- Sherlock Holmes
- "
- "
- "
- "
- Smart Girls Think Twice
- Robinson Crusoe
- Eat, Pray, Love
- The Help
- A Vintage Affair
- If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now
- Breaking Dawn
- The Moneypenny Diaries
- The Undomestic Goddess
- Can You Keep A Secret?
- The Power of Six
- The Hunger Games
Anyway, so I'm going to try again this year (2012) to read 52 books! I won't make blogging part of the goal, because it's a lot of work, but I will still try to at least mention the books I've read and maybe 1 or 2 lines about them. :) Happy reading!
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