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!

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!

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!) :

1. Fly Away Home
2. Eye of the Beholder
3. The Suicide Club
4. 1984
5. Dancing with Butterflies
6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
7. Eclipse
8. I Am Number Four
9. The Reader
10. The Mysterious Benedict Society
11. The Penny Tree
12. The Monk Downstairs
13. Jinxed (lol #13? funny stuff...)
14. Confessions of a Shopaholic
15. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
16. Shopaholic Ties the Knot
17. Too Small to Ignore
18. The Prince Next Door
19. The Hangman
20. A Body to Die For
21. Elvis Takes a Back Seat
22. The Film Club
23. Rapid Descent
24. Jessica Z
25. Two Years, No Rain
26. To Save a Life
27. Then Again
28. Over Her Dead Body
29. My Wicked Vampire
30. Sherlock Holmes
31. "
32. "
33. "
34. "
35. Smart Girls Think Twice
36. Robinson Crusoe
37. Eat, Pray, Love
38. The Help
39. A Vintage Affair
40. If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now
41. Breaking Dawn
42. The Moneypenny Diaries
43. The Undomestic Goddess
44. Can You Keep A Secret?
45. The Power of Six
46. 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!

Book Reviews: August-September reading

Hi again! It has been a while, but here's the latest in what I've been reading...

Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It's taken me nine months to do it, but I can now say that I have read the complete Sherlock Holmes collection: 56 short stories and 4 novels. I also watched the movie when it came out last year (or was it the year before... time flies...) and between the two I have completely fallen in love with both Sherlock and John Watson. I won't go into really describing each story, and to be honest, it's been a while since I read the first ones. But I think my favourite Holmes story will always be The Hound of the Baskervilles. I also particularly enjoyed The Adventure of the Dying Detective and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. In the Dying Detective, Holmes pretends to be dying of some rare disease in order to draw a confession out of a murderer. In the Sussex Vampire, a woman is believed to be a vampire because she is found with her mouth to her young child's neck, where there are pinpricks, and her mouth is covered in blood. Holmes figures out that the child's half brother was trying to kill his brother with poison darts, out of jealousy, and the mother was sucking the poison out.

Overall story rating: 9.5/10 for all
Recommendation: 13+ (the British might be more difficult for younger readers)


Over Her Dead Body by Kate White. I read another book by Kate White, this book actually takes place before that one. In this book, main character Bailey Weggins lands a great job working for a high profile celebrity magazine. Shortly after starting work, her boss is found dead in the office and Bailey makes it her business to find the killer. Another coworker dies along the way, but Bailey eventually finds her man.

Overall story rating: 9/10
Recommendation: 14+


My Wicked Vampire by Nina Bangs was by far the strangest take on vampires and other-worldly creatures that I have ever read. In this book (which is apparently part of the Castle of Dark Dreams series), main character Cinn Airmid is hired by Sparkle Stardust to work for the Castle of Dreams - an adult theme park - because Cinn has a unique ability with plants. Meaning that she can develop plants that do unimaginable things. Cinn believes that it's all science, but Sparkle knows that the truth is that Cinn is a descendant of the plant goddess Airmid and Cinn is actually a demi-goddess which means she has some of Airmid's own powers. And Airmid doesn't like what Cinn's doing to her plants. Cinn is suddently thrown into a world she never knew existed and falls for the most lethal creature of all - vampire.

Overall story rating: 7/10
Recommendation: 17+


If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now by Claire LaZebnik. I found this to be a really awesome "coming-of-age" story that I kind of felt able to relate to. College dropout Rickie is a 25 year old single mom to the very challenging 7 year old Noah, who has been unemployed and living with her parents since Noah was born. She can't get along with her mom, and can't understand her son. Things start to change when Noah complains that his new gym teacher pushed him too hard and let the other kids kick him and laugh at him. Rickie goes to the school in a rage and tries to get Coach Andrew Fulton fired. That of course doesn't work, but it sparks an interesting relationship between Rickie and Andrew and they ultimately fall in love. *sigh* <3

Overall story rating: 10/10 
Recommendation: 14+


Smart Girls Think Twice by Cathie Linz. This was your typical romance. Between a smart, naïve girl, and a buff, guarded boy. It's more or less love at first sight, and lots of sexual tension between them for most of the book. The story wasn't very well developed/written. The characters were, I feel like the main characters are some of my friends. But the story line was lacking. And it was all very predictable - nothing new going on here. The basic opposites-attract, fall in love, then one runs away and hurts the other, and then they get back together and live happily ever after. The End.

Overall story rating: 5/10
Recommendation: 19+ (a lot of explicit imagery)


I have now read 30 out of my aimed 52 books. There are 14 weeks left of 2011 so I've got 22 books left to read, approximately 1.5 every week between now and the new year!! Wish me luck!  =0D

Yikes!! More Book Reviews

My, my, my, how the time flies! Was my last post really in May?!? Yikes! Well, things have been busy... just not that busy, I don't really have an excuse for ya. Somewhere in the course of the last 6.5 months, my goal has shifted from reading all the books on my list (which was 52 or something like that) in the year, to just reading 52 books this year, equaling out to one a week. I am, of course, trying to check off the list. But, as always, I keep accumulating more books, which look so much more interesting than the old ones, so the older ones keep getting pushed aside. But I am, slowly, working through them. So, to cover the last couple months...

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan and Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella. I've really been enjoying the Shopaholic series, I look forward to someday getting my hands on the rest of them. I think I may have bought another of Sophie's books on my last Value Village run, but I can't remember. Becky is, as always, infuriating and yet reminds me in small ways of myself. I think she gets more annoying with each book! In the Takes Manhattan book, Becky and Luke move to New York. She ends up getting into a lot of debt - again. She also can't stand Luke's mother, who only appears to have an interest in him now that he's becoming famous and making a name for himself. Unfortunately things get really sour when some reporters back in London find out that the finance guru is a complete fake and has loads of debt - overseas, to boot! This also sheds a bad light on Luke and his efforts to open the new branch of his company in New York. They have a huge fight and Becky goes home and discovers who the culprit was behind all of her bad luck. Then she makes the huge decision to sell all her things, pay off her debts, and move to New York - alone. Two months later, Luke goes to find her and proposes. In Ties the Knot, Becky is especially frustrating as she accidentally starts to plan 2 completely different weddings and hasn't got the backbone to choose one and cancel the other. Option 1: New York dream wedding, all expenses paid (by Luke's mom). Option 2: Sweet, traditional London wedding at home, with her mom and dad paying. Both weddings are planned for the same day and she manages to keep both mothers in the dark. In the end everything works out, of course, but it's a close call!!

Overall story rating: 9/10 for both
Recommendation: 14+

Too Small to Ignore by Dr. Wess Stafford was a really moving view of the world's children and how we should be ministering to them. This is not my first choice of book genre's, which I suppose is why it made the impact that it did. Dr. Stafford spent most of his growing up years in Africa as a missionary kid, and I loved the stories he shared about life as a little boy in their village. How different life was there. He also shares unpleasant stories about the boarding school he and his sister lived at for most of the year. Terrible things that people - Christians - do to children, because nobody is there to stop them. That's why children need advocates. That's why I am one. I may not have experienced the horrible things that those children, or that Dr. Stafford, have suffered, but I have compassion and empathy and a sense of justice. It was a really good read...

Overall story rating: 8/10 It's not really a story, more of a biography, but quite interesting
Recommendation: Adults and mature teenagers, particularly those interested in Compassion, the mission field, and/or child advocacy...

The Prince Next Door by Sue Civil-Brown. This was a fun little book about a thrill-seeking dermatologist who just wants to have a good time over her vacation. Her new neighbour seems mysterious enough, but then she finds out that he's trying to disprove that he is the prince of some obscure little European country that nobody's ever heard of. That's just too much of an adventure for Serena to pass up, so she and a couple of her friends decide to help Darius. The plan involves robbery and deception, with some kidnapping thrown in. Things don't turn out as planned for those involved, but they do find their answer - and, of course, Serena and Darius fall in love. :)

Overall story rating: 9/10
Recommendation: 16+

A Body to Die For by Kate White. Halfway through this book, I realized there is one that comes before, which I have since bought. Unfortunately now I know what happens in the first one, but this one was such a thriller I'm sure I'll have no problem getting through the other one. It starts off with Bailey, the main character, going to a friend's spa to relax, and discovering a dead body in the spa, her first night there. She spends the rest of that weekend (and a couple others?) comforting her friend, getting friendly with a cop, and conducting her own investigation. The murderer really is the last person you would expect...

Overall story rating: 9/10
Recommendation: 16+

The Film Club by David Gilmour. This is a true story about a dad who let his son drop out of high school on the condition that they would watch 3 movies (of Dad's choice) together every week. The father had spent some time as a film critic, so he tried to introduce his son to a wide range of different styles of movies. Old movies, new movies, art movies, fun movies, etc.etc. It was a bonding time for them and many topics were discussed during these years. It's an interesting concept, but definitely not for everyone.

Overall story rating: 7/10
Recommendation: I wouldn't really recommend it

Rapid Descent by Gwen Hunter. Parts of this book were a bit boring for me, just because it's all about kayaking so there were certain parts where it's talking about techniques or tools that I'm not familiar with, but at the same time it was interesting, and now I have a slight interest in learning to kayak. Anyway, the story is about this woman (Nell), who goes kayaking with her husband (Joe). She gets caught up in a fallen tree and is unconscious for a while. He gets worried and decides to go for help. She wakes up a day later to find his note and is worried that he might be hurt somewhere because he hasn't come back. She goes out looking for him on the water, despite being very sick. She can't find him and eventually comes across some campers who get her some medical attention. They search for Joe for a long time, but never find him. She also discovers that Joe has a family (which he told her he didn't) and they're rich. And, at the end of the search, she finds out she's pregnant. Fast forward 7 years, Nell has a booming river touring business. The cold case opens back up. Nell was always their first suspect, even now. They eventually find the body, and the real killer, and Nell finds her joy and a new love.

Overall story rating: 8/10
Recommendation: 18+

So... quick overview of all those books. It's been a while since I read some of them, so I'm a bit rusty on the stories.

Oh, dear... Book Reviews

Hm... I'm slipping! I thought I had skipped maybe 1 or 2 books, but come to find out I'm 4 behind now! Yikes! So I will just give a quick overview the books I've read in the last couple months.

"The Penny Tree" by Holly Kennedy - This was a rather true-to-life feeling story about a single mom and the trials she faces in going thru a divorce and raising 2 teenage boys on her own, 1 who is sick and 1 who has been acting out. One day a very romantic ad appears in the local paper - someone is looking for her. When she tries to contact the person, she has no luck and contacting the newspaper only tells her that the person who bought them wishes to remain anonymous and he will reveal his identity in 6 weeks' time, after the rest of the ads have run. Of the many possibilities of men she thinks it could be, her true secret admirer is someone you would never expect!

"The Monk Downstairs" by Tim Farrington - This was a really cute story about another single mom who rents out her basement as an apartment for a little extra income. She ends up renting to an ex-monk, fresh from the monastery and they, of course, fall in love. Very sweet.

"Jinxed" by Beth Ciotta - This was a pretty fun little novel. I wasn't too sure about it, because I bought it at the Dollar Tree, and there are typo's and stuff. But the story was quite amusing. Heroine Afia St. John is quite possibly the unluckiest woman alive. She was born on Friday the 13th, which her mother has never let her forget, and has been brought up to be superstitious and believing she is jinxed. Most people would agree. When she was 16 her father was killed in a freak rhinoceros attack. Her first husband died in bed with her when she was 22. Her second husband has also recently died (I don't remember the circumstances). And because of the wealth these 3 men have left behind for her, the magazines and newspapers refer to her as the Black Widow. But then her business manager runs off with all her money leaving her penniless and almost friendless. But, with the help of her godfather, unbeknown to her, she gets a job with a PI, who is actually being paid to babysit her and make sure she doesn't get into trouble. But he calls off the job when he realizes he's in love with her, then it's only a matter of convincing her that she is not bad luck or jinxed. You choose your own destiny.

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella - I won't lie, I didn't like Becky Bloomwood's character at all at first. I just wanted to shake her and yell "Have you no control?!" But then I realized that in my own way, I'm very much like her. She has this obsession with shopping that seems to be bigger than her. She's thousands of pounds in debt, and the thought of the state of her personal finances is enough to throw her into a panic fit, which usually results in more shopping to make her feel better. The way she justifies every purchase is just ridiculous sometimes... Anyway, the hilariously ironic part is that Becky's job is in finance journalism. She thinks she doesn't know anything about finances, because her own are such a mess and she keeps running away from them. But in the end, she (and everyone around her) realizes she knows a lot more about finances than she thought, and she finally grows up to face her problems. I really enjoyed it... looking forward to getting into the next one...

April 27, 2011

I haven't forgotten! It's just taking me a really long time to get thru my current book. But I will get thru it and hopefully move on very soon! :)