The Shadow Within by Jenine Wilson

Publisher: jensonbooks (website)
Publication Year: 2006
ISBN: 1599756803
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Websites:
http://www.jensonbooks.com/bookcover.html (author info)
http://www.librarything.com/profile/Jenson_AKA_DL


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I was lucky enough to receive an unbound copy of Jenine Wilson's book The Shadow Within through LibraryThing's new Member Giveaway Program. The book arrived quickly but me being the klutz that I am I immediately rushed over to staples to get the pages bound. Once that was taken care of I sat down to glance through it and next thing I knew I'd read the entire book from cover to cover. The Shadow Within is the story of Jessie Connor a senior at Leeland High School. Nothing much of importance ever really happens there, other then the normal high school stuff of clicks and bullying. Jessie isn't part of the popular crowd and has the unfotunate luck of having a locker in between the head of the cheerleading squad and the football captain. Both of whom seem to take delight in picking on her. That is until the day when Wesley moves to town. Things then go from ordinary to extraordinary pretty quickly and things would be perfect if it wasn't for the fact that Jessie is starting to suspect that Wesley might be behind the recent murders that have been happening in her quiet town.


I really enjoyed this book, that is once I got past the first few chapters. I found the begining to be a little slow, but once I got past that initial hump I couldn't put this book down. Jessie and her friends are believable teends and the situtations while of the paranormal became real as you read them. I was sucked in and the world that Wilson created rose up around me. This is one of those rare novels in which I was really sad when it came to a close. And one in which I wish that the author would write a sequel to continue the story in this faboulous world that she created. If you are looking for an engaging and well written young adult book then I highly recommend The Shadow Within. You won't be disappointed for this has it all: mystery, romance, drama, teen angst, and more!

Challenge Summary:
Book 22 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 7 out of 12 for my Young Adult Challenge
Book 4 out of 9 for the Fantasy/Sci-fi Category of my 999 Challenge

The Sandman Vol 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman

Publisher: Vertigo (website)

Publication Year: 1991

ISBN: 0930289595

Format: Paperback

Pages: 256

Websites:

http://www.neilgaiman.com/

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Doll's House is Volume 2 of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic series. This collection picks up shorten after Volume 1 ends. (my review) Dream has reclaimed his kingdom and is now working at rebuilding it. But there is a problem, a human girl is slowly becoming a vortex and if not stopped then the dreamworld might get ripped apart.

I really enjoyed this installment in the series. The drawings and the storytelling are amazing. There is such intricacies in the plot are just stunning and I loved to see the return of some characters introduced in the first volume. There really isn't too much that I can say without giving away the plot so I'll keep this short. This is a series that continues to impress and I look forward to getting the others from my local library.

Challenge Summary:

Book 21 for my 75 Book Challenge

Book 10 out of 12 for my Support Your Local Library Challenge

The Big Love by Sarah Dunn (audio)

Publisher: HighBridge Audio (website)
Publication Year:
ISBN: 1565118596
Format: Audio
Pages: 420
Audio Length: 5 discs (5 3/4 hrs)
Narrator: Eliza Foss
Websites:
NA

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The Big Love by Sarah Dunn is the story of Alison Hopkins and begins when her live in boyfriend of several years leaves to go out for mustard during a dinner party and then never returns. Instead he calls her from a pay phone to tell her that he's breaking up with her. What follows is how she deals with this break up and moves on with her life.

For me, the only saving grace of this novel was the narrator of the audio. I loved Eliza Foss's presentation of the story and characters and she is the only reason why I stuck this story out until the end. Thankfully though it was only 5 discs, if it were more, I'm not sure even then narrator would have been able to keep me from chucking it out the window. Alison has got to be the whiniest character ever. She also takes no responsibility for anything. Everything bad that ever happens in her life can be traced back to the fact that she was raised as an Evangelistic Christian. And apparently that is the most cruel and horrible up-bringing every because of all the social hang-ups it gives. When Alison wasn't ripping the Evangelistic Christians she was bashing the Mormans....because the only religion that's as bad as the Evangelists are the Mormans. WTF?!?!

I've known many Mormans and they are as well adjusted as anyone can be in this crazy mixed up world that we live in. So the fact that Alison would always site religion as the source of all her deep inner problems just really got on my nerves. There was nothing likable about her and to be quite honest, I can understand why her boyfriend dumped her the way he did. This is not a book that I would recommend. Although the narrator is one to look out for.

Challenge Summary:
Book 20 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 12 out of 12 for my Library Challenge
Book 2 out of 12 for m Audio Book Challenge

All This Hell by Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky (website)

Publication Year: 2003

ISBN: 0813190614

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 264

Websites:

NA

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

A few years ago I read a book called And if I Perish by Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee. The book dealt with the experiences of what the US Army nurses went through during World War II. I was so impressed with this book and learned so much. After all history largerly ignores the contributions that the nurses gave to the war effort. When they are seen in movies its usually in hospitals far from the actual battle and they are dress in their white uniforms where their biggest worry was running out of clean bandages and the occasional bombing. And while that was one role of nurses it wasn't the main role. Nurses where right there with the Army soldiers as they stormed the beaches of Africa, on the front lines at Anzio Beach and all in all just leading a hugely remarkable and awe inspiring life.

So when I learned that there was another book written by Monahan and Greenlee I just had to get it. This book, All This Hell, tells the story of the nurses who where imprisoned in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded. Overall, this wasn't a bad book...the writing and the research where all there but after reading And If I Perish I think that I expected more from it. All This Hell was more of a broad overview of what nurses, soldiers, doctors and civilians went through during their internment. To me this made things a little less personal than if she'd just focused on the experiences of the nurses. Not that there is anything wrong with the broad view, but there are so many books out there that talk about what the soldiers suffered that I was hoping to learn specifics about the women. Those all too often overlooked people who worked just as hard and suffered just as much as the male soldiers but never get their story told.

All This Hell is a good read and will give the reader much to think about of the plight of those imprisoned in the Philippines during the war. But if you want some real hard hitting and inspirational stories of strength and survival then I highly recommend that you read And If I Perish. Its been years since I've read it, but the stories all remain fresh in my mind.

Read other reviews here:

None found

Have you reviewed this book? Let me know and I'll link your review here.

Challenge Summary:

Book 19 for my 75 Book Challenge

Book 3 out of 5 for my World War II Challenge

Book 2 out of 9 for the Non-Fiction Category of my 999 Challenge

Friday Fill-ins 27 Feb 09

Janet is the Host of Friday Fill ins. My responses are in bold and italics.

1. I'm up, I'm dressed, I am trying to find the will to go to work.

2. Why do I have work and not spend my day reading?

3. How does this thingy work, anyway?

4. Every morning, I put my book on my dresser as I brush my hair (etc) before putting it in my bag and heading off to work.

5. I consider myself lucky because I am surrounded by the most wonderful family and friends a girl could have.

6. One day we’ll see the lotto gods bless me with winnings beyond my imagination! (I just need to start making them offerings and buy a ticket one of these jackpots.)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include not hanging out in a bookstore with B as she's not allowed for 39 more days and Sunday, I want to read!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (website)

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 015206396X

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 480

Websites:

http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/hmhbooks/graceling/

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I first heard about Graceling by Kristin Cashore when I was making a purchase on Amazon. It came up as a book that other people bought when they purchased the book I was getting. What grabbed my attention most was the book trailer. It captivated my attention (see link to it below). Graceling is set in a world where some people are 'graced' with special gifts. These people are marked by having two different colored eyes and their gift can be something inane like speaking backwards without knowing it or it can be more deadly like Katsa's Grace, killing. Katsa is an orphan living in her uncle's castle, he is the king of her land and uses her Grace as a way to instill terror in his people. Katsa was young when she discovered her Grace and has been raised to think that she is a monster for her ability. But Katsa has more depth than that. She is a strong willed heroine with a sense of honor. She defies her uncle when she can and when she meets another Graceling named Po she learns that she might not be the monster that she always thought she was.

This book is amazingly well written, especially when you consider that its a first novel. All too often first novels can be flawed and its obivious that the author is still learning. Well, if this is an an author that's still learning, then I can't wait to see what Cashore comes up with next. I was sucked into this novel from page 1 and lost all track of time while reading it. I blitzed through this story in a manner of days I just couldn't put it down. It was filled with adventure and romance and mystery. It was a strong story and didn't have to rely on cheap tricks like the overuse of sex or profanity to distract the reader or fill in pages. It also presents strong female and male characters that teens can really relate to. The dialogue is sharp and witty and the world that Cashore creates is very realistic. I loved this book and am eagerly awaiting the next book by Cashore called Fire, a prequel (of sorts) to Graceling. According to Cashore's blog it is set roughly 30 years before in the same world as Graceling and tells the story of one very intersting character that we met here. Fire is currently scheduled for release in October of this year and I will be counting down the days.

Watch the fabulous book trailer here:

Awards and nominations as grabbed from Kristing Cashore's blog:

Shortlisted for the ALA's William C. Morris Award.

A finalist for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (the SFWA's award for YA given concurrently with the Nebulas).

An Indies Choice Book Award finalist in the category of Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book.

A Cybils finalist in the category of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.

A School Library Journal Best Book of 2008.

One of Amazon.com's Best Books of 2008.

#2 on the Winter 2009 Indie Next Kid's List.

One of Booklist's 2008 Top Ten First Novels for Youth.

On the 2009 Amelia Bloomer List (Recommended Feminist Literature for Birth through 18).


Read other reviews here:
Em's Bookshelf
Magical Musings
Teen Book Review
YA Books Central
Yat-Yee Chong

Have you reviewed this book? Let me know and I'll link your review here.

Challenge Summary:
Book 18 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 6 out of 12 for my Young Adult Challenge

Where am I Wednesday 25 Feb 09

This Wednesday finds me on the tarmac. I just battled my evil headmistress at my vampire finishing school in Tulsa, Oklahoma....my friends and I barely made it out alive. We are currently hiding and regrouping for we need to figure out a plan to take our school back.

In the mean time I am trying to decide if I should go to Cincinnati, Ohio as with Rachel Morgan, a detective witch who works with local law enforcement agencies and faces threats both mundane and supernatural in origin. Or travel to The Seven Kingdoms as Katsa, where I have the Grace of killing and am forced to do the dirty work of my Uncle the King of Middluns.

I currently plan to spend an hour or so in each place and hopefully after that time I'll know where I'll be spending the next few days or so. have any of you been to these places? What did you think of them?

Where are you this Wednesday? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Teaser Tuesday: 24 Feb 09

Teaser Tuesdays hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading asks you to:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
3. Share with us a couple of “teaser” sentences from that page.
4. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
5. One final thing...please avoid spoilers!

My sentences are:

"Po looked at her, but he did not see her. His eyes snapped, silver ice and gold fire."

~ pg 214 of Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Untamed by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (website)

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 0312379838

Format: Paperback

Pages: 352

Websites:

http://www.houseofnightseries.com/

http://pccast.blogspot.com

http://www.pccast.net

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Untamed by PC and Kristin Cast is the continuation of Zoey Redbird's story. This book picks up a few days after Chosen (my review) ends. At this point in the series its hard to give a synopsis of the story without giving away things from others books so please forgive any inadvertent slips. At the start of the book the House of Night is still under lock down that is until the arrival of the high priestess of all Vampires. She is very powerful and arrives in time to give Zoey and her friends the mobility that they need to move on and off campus as they work to try to save their school. There is a big bad on its way, even bigger than the evil that they have faced in previous books, and if not stopped then its not just the House of Night that will be affected.

I liked this book a lot more than Chosen, which seemed more of a set up for this book rather than a stand alone story. The story was fast paced and at times leaves you a little breathless. My main gripes from the previous books still stand though the over use of parenthesis and of course the constant refferal to brown pop. The other issue I have with this series is intense use of pop culture references. These are fine for the here and now....but will teens 10 (or even 5) years from now get them? Pop culture has a tendency to date a novel rather quickly and its a shame with this series because it does have a lot to offer a reader. There is action, mystery, romance, and the general ups & downs of being a teenager.

For fans of the series, the fifth book Hunted will be out in stores on 10 March 2009 and you can glimpse of it by watching one (or all) of the trailers below:

Zoey
Stevie Rae
Neferet
Erik

P.C. and Kristin Cast Author Interview

Challenge Summary:
Book 17 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 5 out of 12 for my Young Adult Challenge
Book 5 out of 5 for my Vampire Challenge

Auschwitz by Pascal Croci

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (website)

Publication Year: 2004

ISBN: 0810948311

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 88

Author Website: None Found

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

I stumbled across Auschwitz by Pascal Croci when I was looking for the next volume of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series at my local library. I picked this up because I thought that the graphic novel format was a different way to approach the story of the Holocaust. I found this book to be a confusing narrative, it starts in 1993 Czechoslovakia with two holocaust survivors (a husband & wife) hiding out in a bomb torn building. Its there that they each tell their story of their experiences while imprisoned in Auschwitz so many years before. What follows are two graphic stories with some impressive gray scale drawings. There is no doubt that Croci is a talented artist although there were a few instances in which I had trouble trying to determine who was who as the faces all looked fairly similar. In some instances this similarity might be a highly negative comment. However, when faced with the fact that that many of the prisoners where near death from overwork and starvation this similarity becomes a poignant testament to the horrors of war. Based on my real life travels to Auschwitz I found his deceptions of the place to be pretty true to life.

So if there is much that I like about this book you might wonder at my 2 star rating. Well I shall explain. The 2 stories told seemed a bit rushed, especially when mixed interwoven with stories of other people in the camp. It made for a disjointed tale that didn't flow. This book was also only 88 pages....most of those pages were used by the author to explain about his book - the research and the reason why. I think that those pages could have been better spent in fleshing out the story of the two main characters a bit more. And finally, some of the drawings were just too graphic! This is a book that I found in the Young Adult section of my library and there where images of mass graves filled with naked bodies. I know this was a big aspect of the war but is it something that needs to be shown to teens? These drawings were so detailed and life like that they were hard for me, a full fledged adult, to look at. I can only imagine what a much younger person would think while looking at them.

Finally, here is an example of the artwork found in this book:

(image from Cassio, click to embiggen)

Challenge Summary:
Book 16 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 2 out of 5 for my WWII Reading Challenge
Book 2 out of 5 for my WWII books 999 Challenge
Book 7 out of 12 for my Support Your Local Library Challenge

The 13th Reality Book 2....has arrived....now go buy it !

Some of you might remember how last year I reviewed a book called The Journal of the Curious Letters....which is the first book in James Dashner's series The 13th Reality. The series follows Tick and his friends as they combat the big bad as only gifted children can. Today makes the release of Book 2 in that series titled The Hunt for Dark Infinity, which has the following description from my friends over at Amazon:

"It's been a quiet summer for Tick, Paul, and Sofia, but the latest message from Master George changes everything. The Realities are in danger and from something more terrible than Mistress Jane and the mutated Chi karda of the Thirteenth Reality. People from all Realities are unexplainably going insane. Worse, some Realities are fragmenting, disintegrating into nothingness. Master George has learned that Mr. Chu from the Fourth Reality is working on a mysterious new weapon called Dark Infinity. But no one has any idea how to stop the weapon or even if it can be stopped. To make matters worse, Tick and his friends have been kidnapped, forced to wink from Reality to Reality, solving impossible riddles in order to survive the deadly traps surrounding them. Mistress Jane and Tick find themselves in a race to reach the weapon first but who will destroy it and who will become its master?"

Doesn't that sound good? I know for my part I've been waiting for this book since I finished The Journal of the Curious Letters. I pre-ordered this from Amazon once I was able to and am not eagerly awaiting for it to arrive. Sadly last time I check this book wasn't do to be shipped until 09 March. *le sigh* I hate waiting. But you don't have to wait. You can head over to your nearest book store and buy one or both books right now. So what are you waiting for? Go!

Manic Monday: 22 Feb 09

Today's questions are:

What's one of the simple pleasures in your life?

One of my simple pleasures is a good cup of coffee with a scone or muffin to eat. I love to relax on my couch on a weekend morning and savor every sip....and my morning coffee is also how I start each weekday morning. This is a necessary thing in order to start the day all calm and collected before the craziness starts to begin.

What do you like to snack on when you watch a movie?

For movies I like to snack on snow caps or twizzlers.

If you were a Survivor contestant, what would be your luxury item?
Of all the reality shows out there I think that survivor would be the last one that I would try to get one...but if I did go on the show then my luxury item would be a really thick book that I could read over and over...or a camera. Those are two of my favorite things to do to relax.


You can join in the fun here.

Book Contest: Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost

Its been awhile since I've held a contest and so with my recent obsession with Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress Series I've decided to hold a contest in which I share my love with all of you. The Night Huntress series follows Cat Crawfield, who is a dhampir (half vampire, half human), and Bones who is a vampire that she initially tries to kill. The two are great on the page together and share many laugh out loud lines. Add to that an amazing set of secondary characters and you get three books that I couldn't put down and that I pretty much shut myself away from the world for three days in order to read.

The three books in the series are:

Halfway to the Grave (my review)
One Foot in the Grave (my review) and
At Grave's End (my review)

So now onto the rules of my contest there are several ways to enter (or get multiple entries if you want to increase your chances to win)

1. Leave a comment telling me who your favorite literary vampire is (and please also leave the name of the book I might want to check it out if I don't know the vamp!) for 1 entry
2. Leave a comment telling me who your favorite on screen vampire is (television or film) for 1 entry
3. Blog about this contest, be sure to leave the URL for your post, for 1 entry....for those who don't have a blog send an email to a friend who might be interested and CC me on it. My email is irisheyz_5 AT yahoo DOT com
4. Subscribe to my blog....or if you are already subscribed you can get 1 entry

This contest is open to everyone and the books will be ordered from Amazon.com (or UK or Canada) or Powells or another online bookshop if you have a preference, just let me know in the comments. This contest will be open until 07 March 09 and winners will be notified on my blog shortly there after...so please check back to see if you've won and send me your shipping information. If you have any questions then just send me and email or leave me comment. Good luck to everyone!

Friday Fill-Ins for 20 Feb 09

Janet is the Host of Friday Fill ins. My responses are in bold and italics. 1-3 are courtesy of Mar this week.

1. Give me coffee and chocolate and I'll promise that no one will get hurt.

2. Whenever you say just give me the coffee already!

3. I wish that my coffee cup would never run dry and that my chocolate would never end.

4. A blueberry scone was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious.

5. To live in this world takes lots of will power to not kill all the annoying ones, coffee to stay alert against possible attack from the undead and chocolate to make everything all better.

6. Other than this one, J-Kaye's is the last blog I commented on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to meeting up with a friend for din tonight, tomorrow my plans include working (blah) and Sunday, I want to get lost in a good book!

Where and I Wednesday 18 Feb 09?

This Wednesday finds in me in a bit of a limbo pattern. Over the long weekend I took a vacation (of sorts) from the second world war and traveled to modern day Ohio, where I was a dhampir named Cat Crawfield...battling vampires searching for the one that raped my mother and created me. During my quest I ran into Bones....he was the strongest Vampire I've ever come across. Amazingly he didn't kill me instead he trained me to become a better slayer. I spent several months with him before leaving to work with a secret government agency after 4 years our paths crossed again as we worked together once more to stop a vampire from killing innocents. My travels took me from Ohio to North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Canada, and a few others. Its been a whirlwind. Learn more about my story in Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave and At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost.

Where are you this Wednesday? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Teaser Tuesdays: 17 Feb 09

Teaser Tuesdays hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading asks you to:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
3. Share with us a couple of “teaser” sentences from that page.
4. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
5. One final thing...please avoid spoilers!

My sentences are:

"I opened my mouth - and had nothing to refute that with. Damn people who argued using logic. Talk about unfair."

~ pg 224 of One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

This long weekend I took a break from my WWII reading to lose myself in a wonderful series of books by Jeaniene Frost. The books are fun fast-paced reads and I read all 3 of them in as many days. Check back later for my review.

At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 0061583073

Format: Paperback

Pages: 352

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

At Grave's End is the third installment in the Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost. This book picks up a few months after One Foot in the Grave ends and is a book that must be read in order of publication. This book continues to build on all the minor plots that were begun in Halfway to the Grave which adds a lot of depth and reality to the series. This book sees the continuing growth of Cat as she learns to accept that part of herself that is a Vampire. Previous her vampire self has always been a bit of contention but as she learns to accept that side of her genetic makeup she really starts to come into her own.

This book sees the return of many of the secondary characters that were introduced in books 1 and 2 as well as some new faces, including that most infamous of vampies Dracula (but shh...I didn't call him that as he doesn't like that name). Vlad is a great character and an excellent addition to the series. He is ever bit as arrogant as you would expect and a perfect thorn in the side of Bones. The two share many witty scenes that had me cracking up. But then if you've read my other posts on this series that shouldn't come as much of a surprise to you as this whole series had me laughing at one point in time or another. As with the first two installments I found that I read this book in one sitting and lost all track of time while reading it. That to me is a sure sign of a good book. While this is more of the brain candy book, then say War and Peace, I think that it will stand against time in that there aren't a ton of pop culture references. I should be able to read this 5 years from now and still be able to enjoy the story. I can't praise this book enough so run don't walk to your nearest bookstore and snap up all three copies of the series. Then join me on my long and miserable wait (ok ok its only 5 months) for the next book in the series. Man its almost as bad as waiting for the next Harry Potter book.


Challenge Summary:
Book 15 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 4 out of 9 for Paranormal Category in my 999 Challenge
Book 4 out of 5 for the Vampire Challenge

Reviews to Come

I'm starting to fall a bit behind in my reviewing again. But that's because I've been sucked into this really engrossing series by Jeaniene Frost. After reading the first book (reviewed here) I had to rush out and buy the next 2 that have been published. And since then my nose has been stuck in a book. So stay tuned for the following reviews:

The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Forst
At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost (reading this now and should finish at some point today)

Manic Monday: 16 Feb 09

This morning I was reading through the posts on the Blogs I follow and stumbled across this Meme on Fond of Snape's blog. And despite the fact that the song Manic Monday is now stuck in my head (thanks to lyrics posted on Snapes blog) I thought it sounded like fun and decided to give it a go.

Of all your favorite foods, which one would you find the most difficult to give up for the rest of your life?

Hmm...not sure what I would call the most difficult. I've given up on so many things previously for various reasons. I think the most difficult thing for me might be coffee. I love coffee (and tea and hot cocoa). Take that away and I'll be a very sad panda.

Which month of the year do you thing best describes your personality?

April in New England. April is an unpredicatble time...it can be snowy & cool. Filled with thunderstorms. Or warm and bright like a day in July.

If you could be a contestant on any game show, past or present, which show would you pick?

I used to love Press Your Luck back in the day....but I think that was more for the fun of saying "no whammy, no whammy, no whammy!" But would that be a game I would pick to be on? I don't know. Haven't really thought about it much the last few years as game shows aren't really on anymore. Unless you count all that Reality TV crap that is dominating the airwaves...and I am definately not a Reality TV person.

One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 0061245097

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost picks up four years after Halfway to the Grave ends. Cat is now using her vampire slayer skills for an uber secret branch of Homeland Security. Because of circumstances that happened at the end of Halfway to the Grave, Cat hasn't seen Bones once during those four years. She's been trying to move on with her life but just can't forget that Vampire she left behind. Things have been going mostly well for our heroine until she learns that a hit has been placed on her head....which was bound to happen since she's earned the nickname Red Reaper by those in the Vampire community and they are getting tired of being killed off by her. In returns Bones via a chance meeting through a friend...but now that he's found his 'Kitten' he won't be letting her go again so easily.

This was a great installment to the series and even better than the first book. Cat and Bones are developed further as are all the secondary characters, like Cat's mother Justina...and Cat's infamous bottle of gin/security blanket. The writing is good, maybe not Pulitzer prize good, but its witty and engaging and doesn't make me cringe like some other authors have been known to do. The main plot line was engrossing and filled with just enough twists and turns to keep it interesting but not so much that all that is left is a muddled mess. The secondary plots are also well told and form a solid base that supports the main story that is being told. I really loved this book and couldn't put it down from the moment I returned from my early morning rush to the bookstore to buy it. This is a book that I read in one sitting pausing only momentarily to eat and drink. It made me laugh many times and then sigh a bit at some of the corny romantic things going on. All in all a great reading a perfect way to kill a day. I can't wait to see what happens next...good thing I bought the 3rd book so that I can just jump right in!


Challenge Summary:
Book 14 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 3 out of 9 for Paranormal Category in my 999 Challenge
Book 3 out of 5 for the Vampire Challenge
Book 2 out of 6 for the What's in a Name Challenge (A book with a "body part" in its title.)

The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

Publisher: Vertigo

Publication Year: 1993

ISBN: 1563890119

Format: Paperback

Pages: 240

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Over the past year I've really started to get into Graphic Novels. I'd read some before but when I was younger I don't think that I ever really appreciated the depth of the storylines. Some of the graphic novels that I read last year really changed that and I've found myself seeking them out more and more. In The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes contains the first 8 issues of the The Sandman comic series. These issues intoduces us to the Dream king who is summoned and held hostage by a man who was looking to harness Death. Dream bides his time and plots his revenge but finds when he is able to escape that revenge can be bitter sweet. His props are gone, those that have wronged him the most are gone and his kingdom of Dreams is gone.

The start of this series is about what happens when you lose your hopes and dreams. But it is also about the building and the change that comes when you learn that when one door closes that another one opens. There was some true Gaiman storytelling here but it is different than the Gaiman that I've come to love in his books. In many ways the story telling is almost secondary to the amazing artwork that fills these pages. I was enthralled with the story of Dream and hated that I had only checked out the first volume of this from my library. Though at the same time glad since I can only handle so many new addictions at once and The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost was trumping this one. Despite that though I do have plans to visit my library again soon so that I can engross myself furter into Dreams world and delight in that discovery. For based on this first volume there is lots more fantastic storytelling to come.

Challenge Summary:
Book 13 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 7 out of 12 for the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge
Book 2 out of 9 for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Category in my 999 Challenge

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon

Publication Year: 2007

ISBN:0061245089

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost is the first in her Night Huntress Series. The series revolves around Catherine Crawfield, Cat to her friends, who is a dhampir (half-human/half-vampire)...her mother was raped and she was the result. A fact that her mother will never let her forget and so as a way to seek redemption she becomes a vampire hunter. Hopeing one day to find the 'man' who raped her mother and exact vengence on her behalf. One night while on the hunt at a bar she gets in a bit over her head when she meets and tries to kill Bones, a master vampire and far out of league - ability wise. They strike a bargain though in exchange for her help hunting down a paritcular vampire he'll tell her who her father is. Having to chose between his partnership and death...Cat chooses the deal.

Being a first book in a series, and I believe the first book by Frost, so it could have gone one of three ways: it could have sucked royally (no pun intended), it could have been just so-so with the story-line having potential to get better, or it could be amazing. Luckily for me the last possibility turned out to be the case. Cat and Bones are amazing characters with lots of depth to them. Cat is a cynical young woman hell bent on earning her mother's love and struggling to find her identity. Bones is old and very English and not quite the monster that Cat has been told all vampires are. He could have killed her easily but instead he trains her to be a better vampire hunter...and in fact hunts vampires himself. He also does the impossible he helps Cat comes to terms with herself.

This book was filled with action and humor. Many times I found myself laughing at the banter between Bones and Cat. I also loved the story in this book it was fast paced and believable filled with many delightful characters that I hope will appear again and again as the series continues. I found that once I started this book I couldn't put it down. And when I hit the back cover I was tempted to drive to my nearest bookstore to buy the next two books....I even looked online to see which stores near me had book 2 in store. I managed to restrain myself from heading out tonight but I think that tomorrow will find me at the bookstore scouring the shelves hoping to find One Foot in the Grave to learn what happens next in Cat and Bones's story. This book was a real win and a must read for all those that love Vampire books.

To learn a bit about the origins of Frost's vampires and other factoids that set them apart (their glowing green eyes for example) from Bram Stoker click here.

Challenge Summary:

Book 12 for my 75 Book Challenge

Book 2 out of 9 for Paranormal Category in my 999 Challenge

Book 2 out of 5 for the Vampire Challenge

Friday Fill-Ins for 13 Feb 09

Janet is the Host of Friday Fill ins. My responses are in bold and italics.

1. It seems like winter will never end. Then there will be a day when the temps rise and the sun sparkles and I know that Spring is on its way.

2. Wash your hands when you're done, please?

3. If I thought you cared, I'd show you how much I care in return!

4. Your smile is what I think of most when I think of you.

5. To me, Valentine's Day means just another day when corporate tries to make me feel bad for not being part of a couple. I am happy to be a singleton!

6. My friends, family and faith gives me strength.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to reading, tomorrow my plans include something not yet known and Sunday, I want to read and enjoy not having to think about working on Monday. For once!

New Books...and my continuing nose dive off the no new books wagon

My dear friends at Amazon sent me not one...but TWO beautiful book-filled packages today. I was completely shocked and blown away and just totally thrown. I mean I'm not supposed to be getting new books...I'm on a year long ban. So I'm not sure how this happened. Ok Ok....I know how it happened I'm an addict. A serious one and my sister sent my a gift card for Amazon that was buring a hole in my inbox....and there were just so many books that I wanted to order and pre-order. But we won't talk about those just yet. The books that came today are:

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I've become a fan of Gaiman's over the last year and recently my friend Mollie over at, Randomness Served Daily, has been raving about it via email. Its a book that I've been meaning to pick up anyway so her assessment really helped to move it to the top of the list.

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost. This is the first book in her Night Huntress series and I keep picking up a later book in the series every time I am in the book store. There is just something about the cover that intriques me and I always put it down when I recall that its a series book and Book 1 is never in the store.

Tangent Warning!

Speaking of Series....is it just me or does there seem be be some sort of bookstore series conspiracy that is going on? Because it never fails when I am in a store and I'll pick up a book and it will be Book 2 or 3 (etc) in a series. When I go to look for Book 1....or whatever book I need....its rarely there. What is up with that? Is the entire world reading at the same pace as me and the same books as me? How freakish...and freakishly boring is that. Also if that's the case I warn all of you readers in MA now. GET YOUR GRUBBY PAWS OFF MY FUTURE BOOKS!

Tanget Over....Back to regularly scheduled blog post.

My final book to arrive was Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich. This is another author that I stumbled across in my last visit to my friends at Borders only to find that the book I kept picking up was part of a series. And despite looking high and low in the store and in every possible section (really we did my friend B over at My Hobbies can attest to that). It sounded like a good historical mystery series so when I had to ask my friends at Amazon for a copy. They were happy enough to oblige.

I also pre-ordered the upcoming books by Melissa Marr (Fragile Beauty, book 3 in her Wicked Lovely series), PC Cast (Hunted, book 5 in her house of night series), Jim Butcher (Turn Coat, the next Dresden book), and James Dashner's second book in his 13th Reality Series, The Hunt for the Dark Infinity. I'm really looking forward to all of these books and can't wait for them to be delievered. Fingers crossed that Amazon sends them out early!

I really could use that Book Addicts Support Group right about now. Anyone know when the next meeting is?


Books mentioned in this post:

Where Am I Wednesday 11 Feb 09?

This Wednesday finds in me spit in two. Part of me is still in the Philippines during WWII. Its a few months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor! It wasn't long after that before they started to bomb the Philippines too. Many Army & Navy troops have been evacuated but there are still many more left behind. Including most the nurses. The Japanese are steadily invading and we keep getting pushed further and further back. Food supplies are low and we've taken to eating the various animals found around the camps for protein....horses, snakes, monkeys....its been really hard especially since food rations for nurses have been cut down to once a day. Bombs and gas are constantly being flung at us but still we operate and do what we can for the troops. Wearing our WWI helmets and with our gas masks always at our side. Surely the Allied troops will arrive soon and drive the Japanese. Learn about this part of my story and that of my fellow nurses in All This Hell: U.S. Nurses Imprisoned by the Japanese by Evelyn M. Monahan & Rosemary Neldel-Greenlee.

The other part of me is also dealing with WWII....only here its 1941 and I am a 15 year girl named Maggie Leigh living with my mother in London. Amazingly she let me go out shopping with Aunt Joan. Since the war started I haven't been able to go many places. Aunt Joan took me to this fabric shop in the West End we were just starting to look when we heard the dreaded sound of the air raid siren....in the middle of the day! Shortly afterward the shop exploded I was dazed at first but Aunt Joan kept her head and we ran to the nearest tube station. They are built so far underground they act as a bomb shelter during blitz attacks by the Germans. Only this time something isn't right....its more than just a bombing in the middle of the day...the tunnel is looking unstable I fear the roof might collapse at any moment. Learn more about my story in Shelter Me by Alex McAulay.

Where are you this Wednesday? Leave me a comment and let me know.

My Blog is Fabulous!

Caspette from The Narrative Causality gave me the Your Blog is Fabulous Award. I love awards and some was very happy to accept this one. =) Now as part of the conditions of the award I get to regale you with 5 things that I am addicted to. I am addicted to so many things so its hard to chose just five...but I shall try to restrain myself.

1. I am addicted to coffee. This is my nectar of the gods. I am very happy when there is coffee. Not so much when I am denied. I hate being sick because it puts me off coffee and then I'm groggy and mopey...of course that might just be the ick...but not entirely.
   
2. I am addicted to reading and books and reading....and well that just goes without saying I think for a book blogger.
   
3. I am addicted to tv...I've become a serious tv junkie over the years. This is bad because it takes away from my reading...but there's so many good shows I find it hard to pull myself away.
   
4. I am addicted the interwebs. This medium has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people through blogging and on Librarything. Its hard to stay away because with each click of the mouse I never know what...or who I might discover next.
   
5. I am addicted to friends. Might be strange to say that my friends are an addiction but they are. I can't imagine my life without them. They make me laugh when I feel like crying and sometimes even make me cry by doing something so outrageously silly that tears come out of my eyes....like that one time one of my dear friends while talking on the phone with me revealed that she didn't know what time zone we were in. Yes it was probably just a mental block....but oh the moments of fun this has brought me. *lol*
   

Now I get to pass on the favor and tag five other wonderful people for this award. This is another hard choice to make since there are so many wonderful blogs. Fortunately for me Caspette has already tagged some of my favorite blogs so I can highlight some others. Although I can only chose five that in no way means that I don't think that all the blogs that I read aren't deserving...because you are! Congratulations you all deserve this award I enjoy reading your blogs.

Bibliolatry
Devourer of Books
Library Queue
Fear and Loathing
Ramblings by Bird

Teaser Tuesdays: 10 February 2009

Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading asks you to:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
3. Share with us a couple of “teaser” sentences from that page.
4. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
5. One final thing...please avoid spoilers!

My sentences are:

Unlike many wealthy civilians, army nurses had arrived in the internment camp with few possessions and no money. They had been warned on Bataan and Corregidor to destroy any money and checks in their possession, and they followed instructions to the letter. Now they found themselves in a situation where money could allow them to buy the food supplements that would change their barely adequate rations to a more nutritious diet.

~ pg 101 of All this Hell: U.S. Nurses Imprisoned by the Japanese by Evelyn M. Monahan & Rosemare Neidel-Greenlee

Chosen by PC Cast and Kristen Cast

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 0312360304

Format: Paperback

Pages: 320

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Chosen by PC & Kristen Cast is the third book in the House of Night Series which follows Zoey Redbird as she enters a Vampire finishing school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the first book Marked (my review), we meet Zoey for the first time just as she is marked to become a vampire and enters the school. In Betrayed (my review), Zoey's adventures continue as her unique powers continue to grow. The book Chosen picks up about a month or so after Betrayed ends which was about a month after Marked. So in 3 short months A LOT has happened to our young heroine and things are only going to get worse.

One thing I learned with this book is to not read the backs of this series if I don't want to be spoiled. Who ever writes up the summary obviously doesn't care if they let things slip from previous books. This might not be such a big deal if the books were clearly marked with the seires order but they aren't so if you pick up the wrong on then you'll learn facts that are best discovered as you read. One thing that this book summary promotes is that Vampires are going to start dying in this book. Murdered. However, as with most horror movies out on the market it was more hype then substance. The first half of the book deals with Zoey keeping a big secret from her friends and her internal stress at doing so. She's also a bit more whiney in this book than in previous installments....maybe this is because she spends more time on her own instead of with her friends. My old annoyances are still there...the overuse of parenthesis, the constant reference to brown pop (seriously I don't know why this one bugs me as much as it does), and the slightly condescending/preachy attitude of the main character.

In this book Zoey is becoming closer to some of the main male characters and after one encounter when her boyfriend Erik gets to 2nd base her inner dialouge goes on this long diatribe about what a ho she is becoming. Sex is natural and just because you engage in it, doesn't make you a ho or a slut. Zoey is far from that and I'm tired of all the references that she makes to herself that she is because she kisses a boy. Aside from my minor annoyances this was a quick read. There wasn't much plot to focus on in this book but there was a lot of set up for the next book in the series. Most of the action in this book happens in the second half of the novel and it really picks up. I was sad when this one ended because it was just starting to get really good. Part of why I rated this book with only 3 stars is because of that slow build. This is a series that I will continue to read and I already have Book 4, Untamed, in my reading queue.

Challenge Summary:
Book 11 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 1 out of 9 for Paranormal Category in my 999 Challenge
Book 1 out of 5 for the Vampire Challenge
Book 4 out of 12 for my YA Reading Challenge