Day: June 28, 2011

5/5, Alex Cross, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2011, READING CHALLENGES 2011, SERIES

2011.32 REVIEW – Cross Fire by James Patterson

Tara

Cross Fire
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2010
Pages: 356
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 26 – June 28, 2011
Challenge:  What’s in a Name 4 Challenge
Yearly Count: 32
Format: Print

First Line: It had been months since Kyle Craig had killed a man.

Blurb: Detective Alex Cross and Bree Stone’s wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington, DC’s most corrupt: a dirty congressman and an underhanded lobbyist. Next, the elusive gunman begins picking off other crooked insiders, sparking a blaze of theories – is the marksman a hero or a vigilante? The case explodes, and the FBI assigns Agent Max Siegel to the investigation. As Alex and Siegel battle over jurisdiction, the murders continue. It becomes clear that the killings are the work of a professional who has detailed knowledge of his victims’ movements – information that only a Washington insider could possess. As Alex contends with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in DC and will not relent until he has eliminated Cross and his family for good.

Review: Without a doubt, this is my absolute favorite series. Ever. This particular installment was better than the last few have been. Kyle Craig is back in the forefront in this book and that always makes for a good story! We see Alex in such a happy place, as happy as I think he’s ever been since his wife was murdered. Every single time that I read these books it really makes me wonder how many more there will be. My biggest fear is that the series will eventually end. I know it’s inevitable, but I don’t want to have to think about it. Also, without revealing any spoilers, there’s something really interesting on the last page that makes me look forward to future books! I would highly recommend this book and this series overall!

Meme, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Tara

Top Ten Bookish Websites/Organizations/Apps, etc. (aside from book blogs — things like Goodreads, Project Night Night, Paperbackswap, etc.)

Oh my, this will be fun!! Here goes:

  1. PAPERBACKSWAP! Fore sure, this has to be, first and foremost, my absolute favorite bookish website! I am unbelievably addicted. In July I will have been a member there for 4 years. And let me just tell you, this one website has singlehandedly grown my TBR pile into a TBR mountain of amazing proportions. But I love it! And for the most part, aside from two transactions that I can think of, I have had really good luck with this website.
  2. Bookmooch. I am a recently new member of this website. I was a member of Frugal Reader before they shut it down unannounced (and to the chagrin of many members) and I am a ex-member of swap.com. (My problem with that website was HAVING to give my credit card to them to put on file – not a good practice, in my opinion). Personally, I like to be a member of a secondary swap site because a lot of my books are pretty common best-sellers that tend to not move quickly on PBS. But those same books will move rather quickly on Bookmooch it seems (and I was always sending books out on Frugal Reader – I really was bummed about that site!)
  3. Shelfari. I use this website in conjunction with a Yahoo group that I am a member of in order to show my books available for trade at any given time. I am not good about keeping it up-to-date – which wouldn’t be so difficult if I didn’t bring books into my house left and right. It’s a neat website that I find very easy to use and browse.
  4. My local library’s website – mclib.net – is another favorite of mine. I am able to search the catalog from the comfort of my own home and place books on the wait list. I love the wait list! My town is not known for its good bookstore selection, whether new or used, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that my local library is a wonderful library with lots and lots of NEW releases!
  5. I have downloaded the Nook app onto my iPhone. I absolutely love that I can access my Nook books at any time from my phone. However, I must say that I am incredibly guilty of never even using the app. HAHA! However, I have it whenever I’m ready to use it 🙂
  6. I am a casual user of Goodreads and Library Thing. For a while I was really using Goodreads religiously. Then I got behind. And I never caught myself back up. I need to do that because I really like how it has the pretty much unlimited shelf building possibilities. Library Thing, although my account was technically opened in 2008 I have not really made use of it before this year. I am seriously considering purchasing the lifetime membership and starting to do everything over at that website because I do like it. Plus I enjoy looking through the LT Early Reviewers options. Although I have yet to receive a book it’s lots of fun to go through what’s coming out soon.
  7. FictFact.com . I stumbled across a reference to this website late last year on someone’s blog (wish I could remember who had it linked on their site, but it’s not coming to me right now). This site lets you track all the book series that you are reading, or want to read. I highly recommend this one. I love it. I can quickly check which book is next in a series and it also allows me the option of “skipping” a book if it’s a series I’m not really following religiously (i.e.: the Kinsey Millhone series).  Plus they’ve got a spot where it shows a calendar of up-coming releases for your series. Love this site, seriously! SIGN UP FOR IT! NOW!
  8. fantasticfiction.com . This is my go-to website every single time I want to look up something from a particular author. Sometimes I like to just go on there and browse using the “similar authors” section at the bottom of each author’s page. This is definitely a great resource in my opinion.

Well, I think that’s all that I have. I hope to find some new resources reading through everyone else’s lists!