Month: January 2019

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, J, RATING, Read in 2019

Review: Injustice for All by J.A. Jance

Tara

Injustice for All
by J.A. Jance

injustice for all

 

Copyright: 1986

Pages: 376

Read: Jan 24 – 28, 2019

Rating: 3/5

Source: Paperbackswap

 

Blurb: It was like a scene from a movie: the beautiful blond screaming on a Washington beach, a dead man lying at her feet; the dashing Homicide detective arriving to offer kindness and solace to the distressed lady. What it wasn’t was a restful vacation for J.P. Beaumont. And now a murderous mix of politics and passion is turning Beau’s holiday into a nightmare – and leading the dedicated Seattle cop into the path of a killer whose bloodlust is rapidly becoming an obsession.

Review: This is the second book in the J.P. Beaumont series. I read and enjoyed the first book, Until Proven Guilty, last year so I was looking forward to jumping back in with Beau.

Beau probably isn’t any different from any of the other male detective protagonists that I follow religiously, but he certainly feels different. I like his character. And his partner. And his attorney. Maybe that’s the difference … I really like all of the supporting characters in addition to him.

Either way, this book was an interesting storyline. Not necessarily all that surprising when the ending was revealed, but it was still enjoyable to work the case with Beau. He had a lot of obstacles that he had to work around in order to get to that final conclusion, so that was interesting as well.

Just a good, solid read in my opinion. Nothing truly new and exciting, but enjoyable and entertaining in my opinion. For a book published in 1986, it doesn’t have that dated feel that some of the other book series I read have. So I enjoyed this one and am definitely looking forward to continuing on with Beau in the future!

Meme, Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday – January 30, 2019

Tara

top 5 wednesday

So today I am participating in something totally new to me. I’m not entirely sure how I came across this, but I saw it late last week and decided it was something I would give a shot at!

January 30th: Freebie! …. Most Disappointing Reads of 2018

This was originally the January 16th prompt. I wasn’t even aware of this bookish meme on that date, and since this week was a freebie I thought it would be a great idea to start here! So without further ado … here are my Top 5 Most Disappointing Reads of 2018:

Seven Deadly WondersI was really looking forward to this one, but I had been kind of intimidated by it just because it was lengthier than I normally care for. And while I still think it would be a PERFECT movie, this one just didn’t work for me in book format. I believe in my review I likened it to an Indiana Jones movie – and I still stand by that. But ultimately it was a disappointment to me as far as a book goes.

Mallory's Oracle
This one was really frustrating. I disliked all the characters. The main character was just so cold I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t like the storyline. In fact I was really confused about how the killer ended up being the killer, it didn’t make sense for me. It just didn’t work for me at all.

 

Never Never
I’m a sucker for James Patterson books. They are usually my go-to slump breakers. But this one was just awful. I didn’t care for the setting or the storyline. I had the killer pegged WAY too early to be enjoyable. It was just not good at all. Bad, even. 😦

 

An American Marriage
This one was probably the biggest disappointment of 2018 for me. Not because it was a bad book. But because it wasn’t what I was hoping for. It wasn’t what it should have been, in my personal opinion. I just couldn’t help but think that this book could have been 1000 times better (for me) had it just been written a different way.

Hallowe'en Party
This one I picked up solely for a Goodreads challenge I was involved with. I had honestly never read an Agatha Christie novel before, and I’m not entirely sure this was the place for me to start. This one just didn’t work for me at all.

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, January 28, 2019

Tara

Mailbox Mondays

So last week we went down to Nashville for a night. We had tickets to see Metallica (husbands choice, not mine – although it ended up being a pretty decent show) and we spent the night. The next morning I insisted we check out McKay’s, a used book store that I had a friend tell me about. Can I just say that I am in love?! I came home with 8 new-to-me books. Four of them are non-fiction and four of them were fiction.

The four non-fiction books are:

american creationfounding brothersthe spirit of 1787inventing a nation

And the four fiction books are:

the big sleepthe partnerorphan trainordinary grace

I’m super excited about them …. especially those non-fiction books! I started my first John Adams book for my presidential reading challenge, but I’ve kind of stalled on it. I don’t know. I’m tempted to just start in on these books instead to brush up a little bit more about the actual process our founding fathers went through to form our Constitution. I’ll just have to see where my history reading takes me next to be honest. I think I may have to re-think my strategy as far as my presidential reading goals. Anyhoo, that’s what I picked up this week 🙂

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2019, SERIES, Stone Barrington, U-V-W

Review: Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods

Tara

Fresh Disasters
by Stuart Woods

fresh disasters

 

Copyright: 2007

Pages: 277

Read: Jan 15 – 24, 2019

Rating: 3/5

Source: Library Book Sale

 

Blurb: Stone embarks on his most dangerous adventure yet when a chance encounter with the wrong man sends him straight into the heart of New York’s Mafia underworld.

It starts as just another late night at Elaine’s and ends with the hapless Herbie Fisher, the bane of his existence. Stone finds that what should have been a throwaway case instead leads right to a powerful mob boss with a notoriously bad temper and long reach. Fortunately for Stone, the twists of the case also take a more congenial turn – sending a little romance his way, and giving him another opportunity to try to rescue a beautiful woman in distress. But as the danger deepens, Stone is left to wonder if he can disentangle himself from this lawless mess before he winds up – as his friend Dino likes to put it – “at the bottom of Sheepshead Bay with a concrete block up his ass.”

With the often hilarious action, razor-sharp characters, and crackling dialogue that are his hallmarks, Fresh Disasters is Stuart Woods at the pleasurable height of his storytelling powers.

Review: This is the 13th book in the Stone Barrington series. I can’t lie … the Stone Barrington series is definitely one of my reading guilty pleasures. They’re definitely mindless entertainment. But they usually read relatively fast and are enjoyable.

This particular installment I had a love-hate relationship with. First, we find Stone sleeping with 3 different women in this book. Clocking in at 277 pages, that’s got to be some kind of record, even for Stone Barrington’s standards. I’ll give him the first two, but it was the third one that bothered me the most. I’m no prude, but come on, at some point it doesn’t feel believable that Stone can (and does) hop into bed with almost every woman he encounters. But then you’ve got the Herbie Fisher character … and it kind of makes up for it. Stone groans every time Herbie comes into his life, and as the reader, I can’t help but giggle. He’s a likable character who keeps things interesting for Stone.

So yeah, I’d say another decent installment in this series. As I’ve said before of these books, they are no literary feats … but they are just plain fun!

Meme, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Tara

Top Ten Tuesday

January 22: Books I Meant to Read In 2018 but Didn’t Get To

Hm. Well, this could be a long list (ha!) But actually when I went through my TBR list I realized that there were really only 3 that really stood out to me.

What HappenedGone GirlOutlander

What Happened … I was pumped when I purchased this one brand spanking new in hardcover at full price (a very rare thing for me) … but I just can’t bring myself to open it yet. 😦

Gone Girl … at this point I think I may be the only person on earth who hasn’t read this one.

Outlander … I’m just too intimidated by it. But I will conquer it. Someday. 😀

 

 

Life, Miscellaneous Ramblings

Reading Slumps Stink…

Tara

Here I was all excited for the new year and the fresh start of a new reading year … and I’ve hit a reading slump. Just, ugh! These things are supposed to hit in March … or October … or any other month at all … NOT in January 😥 But here we are.

I thought at first it was because I had to finish my way through Clive Cussler’s Treasure since I was silly to pick up a 500+ page book at the end of 2018, but the last couple hundred pages went quite well and I was done by the 2nd, so I figured a few days into the New Year wouldn’t really matter all that much. Then I hopped right into Harry’s Trees for the MMD book club selection and I was pumped at first only to have to wade through at the end.

Then I picked up a James Patterson book because James Patterson always puts me right back into reading, but this one (The President is Missing) doesn’t have the same feel as a “usual” Patterson and I’ve spent the last 3 days on it and I’m only 49 pages in. I think I’m going to have to have my first DNF of the year and that saddens me. I don’t really know where to go from here. I mean, if James Patterson can’t pick me up (my go-to slump author) … what will?! This is awful.

I know a lot of it has to do with some stuff going on in my personal life. Not wanting to go into too much detail (you know, because it’s personal and not necessarily my story to tell, but I am involved in it). .. I have a family member going through a divorce. And I’m feeling the effects of if in a major way because I lost not only a family member, but someone who I considered a very close friend. I was lied to multiple times over the course of at least the last 6-8 months and that hurts. The betrayal. I don’t make friends easily, and the ones that I do make I tend to hold onto for dear life. So the fact that not only am I losing a friend but I’m losing one because of such a big betrayal … it’s really hurt me in ways I can’t describe. The whole family feels betrayed, not just the member involved in the divorce. It’s just been a cluster and I’m having a very hard time processing everything.

We will all heal with time … but for now, my reading is really taking a hit. I find myself just aimlessly surfing the internet more often than not and when I do pick up a book, I can’t tell you anything about the previous 5 pages I just read.

So all that rambling … what is YOUR go-to slump breaker? Have you read anything AMAZING lately that you’d like to share in the comments? Please drop me a note with your recommendations!

In the meantime … happy reading 🙂

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, MMD Book Club, RATING, Read in 2019

Review: Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen

Tara

Harry’s Trees
by Jon Cohen

harry's trees

 

Copyright: 2018

Pages: 428

Read: Jan 4 – 14, 2019

Rating: 3/5

Source: Library

 

Blurb: Thirty-four-year-old Harry Crane works as an analyst for the US Forest Service. When his wife dies suddenly, he is unable to cope. Leaving his job and his old life behind, Harry makes his way to the remote woods of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, determined to lose himself. But fate intervenes in the form of a fiercely determined young girl named Oriana. She and her mother, Amanda, are struggling to pick up the pieces from their own tragedy – Amanda stoically holding it together while Oriana roams the forest searching for answers. And in Oriana’s magical, willful mind, she believes that Harry is the key to righting her world.

After taking up residence in the woods behind Amanda’s house, Harry reluctantly agrees to help Oriana in a ludicrous scheme to escape his tragic past. In so doing, the unlikeliest of elements – a wolf, a stash of gold coins, a fairy tale called The Grum’s Ledger and a wise old librarian named Olive – come together to create a golden adventure that will fulfill Oriana’s wildest dreams and open Harry’s heart to a whole new life.

Harry’s Trees is an uplifting story about the redeeming power of friendship and love and the magic to be found in life’s most surprising adventures.

Review: This book is the January selection in the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club. As usual, this selection is way outside my normal reading. It’s billed on Goodreads as magical realism. I was a little leery to take this one on, but having skipped the last few months I knew I wanted to at least give this one a shot – it didn’t sound terrible, just not necessarily my norm.

So what did I think? Well, ultimately, it wasn’t a bad book. In fact the first half of the book really swept me up and I was really enjoying it. And then right around the time that Oriana and Harry put their “scheme” into motion it kind of dropped off for me. I think it was right around that time that I could see the obvious about how the ending would happen – and for the most part, I nailed it. I don’t like predictability in my endings, and this one was just a little too predictable for my personal taste.

The book itself is well written and thought out.  The characters were all well-developed and each had their own interesting story. The character development was definitely a big part of this book and that was probably my favorite part about the entire book. I can definitely see the “magic” of this book, but I had a hard time buying into it personally.

Meme, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Tara

Top Ten Tuesday

January 15: New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2018

Well if you read my 2018 reading recap I posted a few weeks ago you would have seen that in 2018 I read 26 new-to-me authors. Woo! However, I’m only going to share those authors that I will for sure continue to follow in the future, so that pares the list down to a manageable 5. Without further ado:

The Great Alone
The first on the list is without a doubt Kristin Hannah. Her novel The Great Alone was my #1 favorite for the entire year of 2018. I still get all the feels when I think back to my reading experience of that book. I’m definitely looking forward to exploring her back list a little bit as well as watching out for her in the future.

Final GirlsSThe Last Time I Liedecond on my list is definitely Riley Sager. I enjoyed his first book, Final Girls so much that I could hardly contain myself when I got my hands on The Last Time I Lied. I can’t wait to see what he does in the future! Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be thrilling. Annnnd I totally just peeked at his Goodreads author page – another book coming in July … Can you say BIRTHDAY BOOK?!? 😀

The Seven Husbands of Evenlyn HugoNext up is Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book caught me by surprise. I’m not going to lie, I chose it basically for the cover (which is saying something for a person who isn’t really a “cover person”) so I wasn’t really expecting to be so caught up in it. But I sure was! I haven’t really spent much time looking through her backlist, but I definitely will keep my out on her future works.

The Woman in Cabin 10
Ruth Ware. This particular book was one of my BOTM selections that I picked up as part of a Goodreads challenge. It was a twisty novel that had me questioning everything and everyone! I have two of her other books already on my shelves that I’m definitely looking forward to getting to!

 

for-better-and-worse1And last but not least we have Margot Hunt. This book was super good and when I went to her author page I saw her previous work that looked good as well. FYI – Margot Hunt is actually a pseudonym for Whitney Gaskell, who seems to have written 12 books which all appear to be not my cup of tea (romance/chick lit), but I sure hope she continues to write psychological thrillers under her pseudonym because this book was really good!

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, January 14, 2019

Tara

Mailbox Mondays

Only one book this week, a backlist series book that I realized I didn’t have a copy of when I was updating my Goodreads TBR catalog.

shoot him if he runsTeddy Fay, the rogue agent last seen escaping from an imploding building in Iron Orchid, has been considered dead for some time now. But President Will Lee thinks Teddy may still be alive. In a top-secret Oval Office meeting, Stone learns that he and his cohorts, Holly Barker and Dino Bacchetti, are being sent to the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Marks, courtesy of the CIA, to track down Teddy once and for all.

St. Marks is a vacationers’ paradise, but its luxurious beach clubs and secluded mountain villas are home to corrupt local politicians and more than a few American expats with murky personal histories. Stone and Holly soon discover that in St. Marks, everyone is hiding something—and that Teddy Fay may just be hiding in plain sight.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Dirk Pitt, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2019, SERIES

Review: Treasure by Clive Cussler

Tara

Treasure
by Clive Cussler

Treasure

Copyright: 1988

Pages: 547

Read: Dec. 24, 2018 – Jan 2, 2019

Rating: 3/5

Source: Paperbackswap

 

 

Blurb: Charts of lost gold … breathtaking art and rare volumes … maps of hidden oil and mineral deposits that could change the world’s balance of power. Now Dirk Pitt has discovered the secret trail of the treasures of Alexandria – a trail that plunges him into a brutal conspiracy for total domination of the globe. Zealots threaten to unseat the governments of Egypt and Mexico, exposing America to invasion and economic collapse. Suddenly, from East to West, anarchists reach their deadly tentacles into the heart of the United States. And Dirk Pitt, the hard-hitting hero of Clive Cussler’s Deep Six and Raise the Titanic! is up against the most feared assassin known to man. An international band of terrorists is making its play for world power on the high seas – and Pitt is the only man alive who can stop them!

Review: I try and read one Clive Cussler book every year, but I kept putting this one off every time I thought about needing to get my yearly Dirk Pitt fix in. 😦 For some reason this one just didn’t call to me the way the other installments have. And for the most part, my original assessment was pretty close to spot on.

There were a lot of things going on in this book with multiple storylines. Some of those storylines I loved and yet the other one… not so much. It all came together in the end in an interesting way, but there was a lot of political scenes that I could have done without. I just found it a little bit of a stretch to believe what Dirk Pitt went through in this book (which I think is pretty par for the course for any Dirk Pitt novel).

So while overall I’m glad that I was able to cross this one off the list, at 547 pages it was a little long and it dragged in a few places. But I’m still looking forward to continuing on with this series! There’s just something about Dirk Pitt that keeps me coming back for more.