Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons
Category: A genre you don't usually read
5 out of 5 Stars

 

 This was a really cool book! I read The Da Vinci Code several years ago and enjoyed it, not sure why I waited so long to read this one. I was fascinated with the lore of the Illuminati and the Church and couldn't wait to see how the story unfolded. Dan Brown's ability to weave fiction and fact together is remarkable. I was constantly looking things up to see what was actually true and what was myth.Here is the blurb from goodreads.com:
    World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization--- the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on the earth... the long-forgotten Illuminati lair. 
     I also really enjoy this movie and although there are some notable differences the grand scheme and most of the plot points are the same, and hey who doesn't love Tom Hanks. I can't wait to read the rest of Dan Brown's books!!! Hope you'll check this one out too! 

PS : Just one book left in my Winter Book Challenge!! WHOO HOOO!!!

I Got You, Babe

I Got You, Babe 

Category: Song Lyric in the title 

2 out of 5 Stars 

Ok, I know its been a long while since I posted but I started a new job, and took a break to binge watch some Netflix. Also I had a really hard time getting into this book. It wasn't terrible it was just slow. Here is the blurb from goodreads.com 

She picked the wrong man . . . 

On the run for a robbery she didn’t commit, Renee Esterhaus is stuck in the middle of Texas with a broken car and a sadistic bounty hunter hot on her trail. Desperate for a way out, Renee decides to make a promise she never intends to keep–offer the first man she meets a night of unforgettable pleasure in return for a ride. A night to remember, all right, since the handsome guy turns out to be a cop with a pair of handcuffs and zero tolerance for sweet-talking criminals.
. . . only to find Mr. Right.
John DeMarco was supposed to be on vacation, far away from the lowlifes he endured on a daily basis. Even with his guard down, he doesn’t expect to be duped–especially by a beautiful blonde con artist whose claims of innocence and tempting curves are nearly impossible to resist. Renee is not a woman he can trust . . . so why does he feel himself falling in love? 

     Sounds promising but it just took me a while to get into it. I think because there were too many details about things I thought didn't matter. The story finally got interesting in the middle and by the end I was wanting these two to end up together and hoping things would work out. I think if the author cut the book in half it would have been better but over all a cute little read, maybe good for the beach or something but not really my cup of tea. 

Progress Update

Winter Book Challenge Progress Update

 5 points: Freebie! - The Revenge of Seven,  Pittacus Lore  
10 points: an author who has published at least 10 books. - The Wedding- Nicholas Sparks 

10 points: Read a book of short stories. - Smoke and Mirrors , Neil Gaiman 
10 points: Read a book with a food in the title. -The Peach Keeper, Sarah Addison Allen  
15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. - The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen 
15 points: Read a book written by a local author. - Hourglass - Myra McEntire 
20 points: Read a "bookish book." - The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title. - Witches of East End, Melissa de la Cruz 
30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title. - The Dinner, Herman Koch & 

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman -  Sam Wasson

Total Points: 135

I am only 3 books away from finishing this challenge! Some of my favorites so far are: 

1. The Revenge of Seven - because I just love this series. 
2. Hourglass - just a cool premise and fun little read!
3. Witches of East End - I love this author and this world is so cool! 
4. The Peach Keeper - this book surprised me and I love it for that! 

The Peach Kepper

The Peach Keeper, Sarah Addison Allen
Category: Book with food in the title
4 out of 5 stars

This was a delightful little read! I thought this was going to be just a chick lit fru fru kind of book but I was definitely surprised when some elements of fantasy and magic started to show up! It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots. But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it. I loved all the characters and being witness to their growth throughout the book was wonderful. I also really enjoyed the way Allen laid out the story I was kept guessing on more than a few things! I gave this book 4 stars because I found some areas a little slow with too much detail on non important things but overall a great read! Would be good for the beach!!

The Surgeon

The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen
Category: First book in a series new to you
4 out of 5 Stars

I picked this book because I love the TV show Rizzoli & Isles, and as is usually the case the book was very different. Never the less I enjoyed it and finished it in only a few days. Here is the premise from goodreads:  In Boston, there's a killer on the loose. A killer who targets lone women, who breaks into their apartments and performs terrifying ritualistic acts of torture on them before finishing them off. His surgical skills lead police to suspect he is a physician - a physician who, instead of saving lives, takes them. But as homicide detective Thomas Moore and his partner Jane Rizzoli begin their investigation, they make a startling discovery. Closely linked to these killings is Catherine Cordell, a beautiful medic with a mysterious past. Two years ago she was subjected to a horrifying rape and attempted murder but she shot her attacker dead. Now she is being targeted by the new killer who seems to know all about her past, her work, and where she lives. The man she believes she killed seems to be stalking her once again, and this time he knows exactly where to find her.  I tried to figure out who the killer was but I was really surprised when they were finally revealed. I found this book an enjoyable, quick and easy read. A few notable differences from the TV show for all who are interested. 

1. Maura Isles is not in this book at all (she does not show up until the second book)
2. The story is mainly told from Thomas Moore's point of view with Jane and Catherine's thrown in a little. 
3. Jane is not quite as cool in the book as Angie Harmon makes her on the show. 

Hourglass

Hourglass - Myra McEntire
Category: Local Author (Myra McEntire lives in Nashville, TN)
4 out of 5 Stars

   I really enjoyed this book!!  It was a little slow in some places but I find that usually the first book in a series is because of all the information and background the author must give. The primise to this book drew me in: For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back. So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may also change her past. I couldn't wait to find out why Emerson was seeing the visions and how it related to the Hourglass. Also there were some twists and turns I did not see coming! I love Emerson and Michael together, and I can't wait to get to the next book unfortunately its at the bottom of my to read pile. 

Witches of East End

Witches of East End - Melissa de la Cruz 
Category: Book with a direction in the title
5 out of 5 stars

I chose this book as a secondary choice because a friend had just finished my first choice and hated it.  I am glad I went with this one instead because I absolutely loved it! The author also writes one of my favorite series, Blue Bloods , so I thought I might enjoy this one as well. The story is about the three Beauchamp women, Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid, who just happen to be witches. They have lived under a restriction from magic for centuries but have quietly decided to go against the council and help the people of North Hampton, However, during the Fourth of July weekend a young girl is murdered and the witches get the first blame. The women must work together to solve the crime to save themselves all with a little romance on the side of course. I loved the way the story unfolded and really enjoyed the bits of mythology de la Cruz used. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the supernatural fantasy genre, can't wait to read the sequel! 

The Dinner

The Dinner - Herman Koch
Category: Book with a meal in the title part 2
2 out of 5 Stars

I'll start by saying I did not like this book or any of the characters in it. The premise sounded promising:  A summer's evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant. Between mouthfuls of food and over the delicate scraping of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of politeness - the banality of work, the triviality of holidays. But the empty words hide a terrible conflict and, with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened... Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. Together, the boys have committed a horrifying act, caught on camera, and their grainy images have been beamed into living rooms across the nation; despite a police manhunt, the boys remain unidentified - by everyone except their parents, but I found one couple flat out crazy and the other pompous and the boys spoiled rich brats. The only reason I will give this 2 stars and not 1 is because I did find the writing style interesting, the way in which Koch laid out the story was very different. 

Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke And Mirrors - Neil Gaiman

Category: A book of short stories
2 out of 5 Stars

I was very excited to start this book as I am a huge Doctor Who fan and this was to be the first Neil Gaiman I have ever read, unfortunately I was disappointed.  This collection of short stories seemed promising as they are all centered around magic and fantasy they just weren't my cup of tea. I enjoyed a few stories, the one where an elderly lady buys the holy grail at a thrift shop and also the story retelling Snow White from the step mother's point of view and in which Snow White is a vampire. Over all though most of Gaiman's stories were just too far out there for me. 

Progress Update

Winter Book Challenge Progress Update

So far I have finished 7 of the 13 books for this Challenge. 

I am really proud of my progress so far as I have been maintaining the pace of almost 1 book per week. 

1. Freebie: The Revenge of Seven - 5 points 
2. A book of short stories: Smoke and Mirrors 10 points
3. A book with a direction in the title: Witches of East End - 20 points 
4. 2 Books with a different meal in each title: The Dinner & Fifth Avenue, 5 AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman. - 30 points 
5. An author who has published at least 10 books: The Wedding - 10 points 
6. A bookish book: The Book Thief - 20 points

Total Points - 95 

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. - Sam Wasson

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman
Category: Book with a Meal in the title part 1
3 out of 5 Stars

   This is the true story of the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's, from Truman Capote writing the novel to Audrey Hepburn's discovery and reluctance to play the part of a call girl and everything in between. I love this movie and actually learned a lot from this book. For example, the producers hated the song "Moon River" and wanted to remove it but Audrey was adamant they keep it and it ended up winning an Oscar. I also had no clue how difficult it was to get a film made while abiding by the Motion Picture Production Code. Sam Wasson took a non fiction work and made it fascinating! Over all a great read. 

The Wedding

The Wedding - Nicholas Sparks 
Category "Author who has published at least 10 books" 
3 out of 5 Stars 

   This book is a sequel to The Notebook, which I loved and I am certain all Nicholas Sparks fans have read. The story is about Wilson Lewis, Noah and Allie's Son In Law and his wife Jane. The book opens with Wilson forgetting their 29th wedding anniversary. And while Wilson realizes he is still in love with his wife perhaps she may not feel the same. As Wilson sets out to recapture the romance and make his wife fall in love with him all over again we, the readers, get the story of how they met and fell in love to begin with. Also through out the story Wilson visits Noah and receives sage advice set to his and Allie's married life. As all of this is playing out Wilson and Jane are helping their eldest daughter to plan a wedding of her very own. While I enjoyed this book over all it did lull in some places and I found it lacking some of the magic I usually associate with Nicholas Sparks. 

The Book Thief & The Revenge of Seven

I will start out by saying I have not reviewed many books and I definitely have not done so in several years so be patient with me as I find my rhythm. 

I have read two books for my winter book challenge so far and am in the middle of my third so I thought it a good time to post some reviews.

The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak
 Category: "Bookish Book"
  5 Out of 5 Stars   

                Set in Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1943 The Book Thief is about a little girl named Liesel Meminger. The story is narrated by Death who is in possession of the journal she wrote about her time between 1939, when she arrived to live with her foster parents and, 1943 when everything changed. Death as a narrator, to me, is brilliant. It gives a fresh perspective to what could otherwise be considered an over done genre. I thought it was beautiful, poignant, heartbreaking, and soul shattering. I cried, a lot, sobbing can not see through them tears,  and it has taken me several days to process the story and understand how I feel about it. It is rare for me to find a book that invokes this kind of response and as such I feel this book will forever hold a special place in my heart. I think it is a treasure and everyone should read it at least once. 

The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore
Category: "Freebie" 
5 out of 5 Stars 

They caught Number One in Malaysia.

Number Two in England.

Number Three in Kenya.

And Number Eight in Florida.

They killed them all.

I am Number Seven.

I will make them pay. 

               This is the fifth book in one of my favorite series. The Lorien Legacies series is about a group of aliens, who look just like us; hiding on Earth after their home planet was ravaged and taken over by the Mogadorians.  The group is called The Garde, they all have special powers and in this installment are trying to team up to fight the Mogs that are hunting them and trying to take over Earth and destroy it too. There were originally ten of them sent here and only 6 remain. Can they defeat the evil Mogs and return home to rebuild their planet or will Setrakas Ra kill them all in the end.

  A little blurb about the book:

The worst was supposed to be over. We were reunited after a decade apart. We were discovering the truth of our past. We were training and getting stronger every day. We were even happy...
We never imagined the Mogodorians could turn one of our own against us. We were fools for trusting Five. And now Eight is lost forever. I would do anything to bring him back, but that's impossible. Instead, I will do whatever it takes to destroy every last one of them.
I've spent my entire life hiding from them, and they've stolen everything away from me. But that stops now. We're going to take the battle to them. We have a new ally who knows their weaknesses. And I finally have the power to fight back.

This series is totally different from what I normally read but I love it none the less. The first book is I am Number Four, which was made into a movie with Alex Pettyfer.  I enjoyed this book and it was a quick read for me. I can’t wait for the final book to come out next year!!

Hope you enjoy and perhaps try out these books!

Winter Book Challenge

As I am an avid reader a good friend of mine suggested we do a book challenge together! I am very excited to participate in this Winter book Challenge by Semi-Charmed Kind of Life

The rules are simple and as follows:

 General rules:

• The challenge will run from November 1, 2014, to February 28, 2015. No books that are started before 12 a.m. on November 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on February 28 will count.
• Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audiobooks are fine, as long as the print versions meet the page requirements. Large-print books are also acceptable, as long as the regular-print version exceeds 200 pages in length.
• A book can only be used for one category, and each category can only be completed once. If you want to switch the category of a book during a later check-in, that's fine, just be sure to account for that in your point total.
• Rereads can be used for a maximum of three books in the challenge. This rule is meant to encourage you to try new books while still allowing you to revisit books from your childhood or young adulthood that you might get more out of now. Please reread the entire book within the timeframe of the challenge in order to count it; no simply finishing old books or partial rereads (unless the category explicitly states otherwise, of course)!
• The highest possible total is 200 points, and the first five people who finish the challenge will be invited to contribute a category for the next challenge. Good luck!

This is my preliminary list so far!

 5 points: Freebie! —   The Revenge of Seven - Pittacus Lore (the final book in one of my favorite series) 
10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books. --- The Wedding - Nicholas Sparks 

10 points: Read a book of short stories.  --- Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman 
10 points: Read a book with a food in the title. --- The Ice Cream Girls - Dorthory Koomson 
15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. — The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen (The Rizzoli and Isles Series) 
15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language. — The Romance of Tristan and Iseult - Joseph Bedier (originally written in French) 
15 points: Read a book written by a local author. — Hourglass - Myra McEntire (she lives in Nashville, TN)
20 points: Read a "bookish book." — The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title. — Wicked; The life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire 
25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. — Belle; The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice - Paula Byrne (historical fiction)
25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title. — I Got You, Babe - Jane Graves (song by Sonny & Cher) 
30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title. — Lunch in Paris -Elizabeth Bard & 

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman -  Sam Wasson

I will try to post some reviews!