Category: R

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, RATING, Read in 2011, SERIES, SIGMA Force

2011.24 REVIEW – Sandstorm by James Rollins

Tara

Sandstorm 
by James Rollins

Copyright: 2004
Pages: 569
Rating: 4/5
Read: May 11 – 18, 2011
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly Count: 24
Format: Print

First Line: Harry Masterson would be dead in thirteen minutes.

Blurb: An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum, setting off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world. And now the search for answers is leading Lady Kara Kensington; her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery’s brilliant and beautiful curator; and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, into a world they never dreamed existed: a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert. But others are being drawn there as well, some with dark and sinister purposes. And the many perils of a death-defying trek deep into the savage heart of the Arabian Peninsula pale before the nightmare waiting to be unearthed at journey’s end: an ageless and awesome power that could create a utopia … or destroy everything humankind has built over countless millennia.

Review: This is my first time reading James Rollins, I have always heard good things about him and I love a great thrill ride of a read and this book fit that bill perfectly. The characters were interesting and the plot was intense at times. There were a few moments in the book where the science involved was a little over my (science-hating) head. I’m not a science fan and I will be the first to admit that the hydrogen-oxygen-antimatter information was way beyond my understanding. Other than that one issue, I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, RATING, Read in 2011, Review Book

2011.14 REVIEW – Deed So by Katharine A. Russell

Tara

Deed So
by Katharine A. Russell

Copyright: 2010
Pages: 428
Rating: 4/5
Read: March 18 – 22, 2011
Challenge: None
Yearly Count: 14
Format: Print

First Line: I was a waitress for Christ.

Blurb: A young girl struggles to understand a tightening web of racial and generational tensions during the turbulent 1960s in the astonishing new novel, Deed So by Katharine Russell. All twelve-year-old Haddie Bashford wants is to leave the closed-minded world of Wicomico Corners behind, in the hopes that a brighter future awaits elsewhere. But when she witnesses the brutal killing of a black teen, Haddie finds her family embroiled in turmoil fraught with racial tensions. Tempers flare as the case goes to trial, but things are about to get even hotter when an arsonist suddenly begins to terrorize the town. Can Haddie help save her town, and herself?

From page 12:

Several ‘deed so’s could be heard bubbling from the congregation. One pew over, Miss Thelma sighed and shifted her fan to her other hand, causing a momentary disturbance in the airflow. Reverend Harrison smiled and nodded. “but remember, down here, when we say ‘deed so, what we mean is we recognize the truth.”

Review: I received this book to review for the Pump Up Your Book blog tour. I must start out by saying that just about any book that has the words “1960s” and “racial tensions” in its description is going to immediately attract me. I was a history major in college, and I had two favorite areas of study: the Civil War and the Civil Rights eras. So when this book was originally pitched to me, I snatched it up based on the description. I must state that while I enjoyed this book thoroughly, it was not at all what I was expecting. The storyline revolves around Haddie, a twelve-year-old girl who seems much wiser than her short 12 years. Haddie sees a lot of different things during the time in which this book is set: she witnesses her best friend (whom she secretly crushes on) go off to Vietnam a boy and come home a changed man, and she is very aware of what is going on around her as far as the racial tensions, especially when she is a witness to a murder and a subsequent murder trial witness. I only had one real problem with Haddie’s character: she was not entirely believable as a 12-year-old girl. Sure, he had the dreams and beliefs of a child, but she had the mind and thoughtfulness of a much older young woman. I had trouble believing that a 12-year-old girl could really see things the way she did. Most adults would not have caught on to some of the things Haddie did. I had a slight problem with that. Other than that, I felt the book was really well written. Although this was a 400+ page book, it was a quick and enjoyable read. I was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t more mention of outside issues that were going on in the 1960s, mainly because to really set the mood of the book in line with the turbulent decade, things needed to be more real. Sure, Wicomico Corners was in the North and it was a little more isolated, but I think that it could have been more believable if other issues had been addressed. At one point a field trip to Washington D.C. is taken and an incident happens with a black boy on the bus: things like that really happened. And there were descriptions of the demonstrators who showed up to protest the trial as well as a brief mention of a sit-in at a local restaurant. I felt as if the author had included a few more episodes like that sprinkled throughout the book then it would have better captured the mood of the decade, because while they were mentioned, they didn’t seem to be really addressed by the characters. They were mentioned and Haddie’s character and her two friends, Sarah Jane and Elise sometimes questioned the adults as to what was going on, but really there could have been more elaborating on those issues. Overall, I did enjoy this book. I just felt as if the blurb on the back of the book really overstated what the story was about.

4/5, AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, Fiction, R, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009

REVIEW: Conflicts with Interest by Michael Ruddy

Tara

Conflicts with Interest
by Michael Ruddy

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 333
Rating: 4/5
Read: Dec. 28-30, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010
Yearly Count: 73

First Line: The river card snapped to the felt.

T.R. Morgan of Morgan Homes has had a successful life and business. But it’s all threatened by one little thing: a lawsuit. And who else is he going to be going up against but Steve Sanderson – a ruthless and feared attorney in the Bay Area. Not knowing much about what he is about to be involved with, he’s optimistic that his insurance company will come to his rescue and a quick settlement will be reached. But not with Steve Sanderson – even the insurance companies fear Sanderson. How far will this go? Will he lose his business? His home? Everything? Everything will have to play itself out before it will come to an unbelievable end. An ending that no one would have expected. Will T.R. bring Sanderson down, or will Sanderson bring T.R. down?

I was contacted by Rebecca Brown of The Cadence Group about reading and reviewing this ARC. Scheduled to be published in late January, 2010, this book was quite interesting. It was not a mystery, which is what I’m used to reading. But it was more of a general fiction book. It also dealt with the building industry, something that I am somewhat involved in being employed by a concrete company. Overall I think that this was a good debut novel. However, I had some reservations about it as well. First of all, the legal descriptions that are involved in this book can be a little overwhelming to the lay person. I also felt as if the chapters going back and forth were a little choppy. There were a few grammatical errors (but it was an ARC, hopefully they’ll catch that before final publication – I hate being such a stickler for grammar, but I am!) Overall though, this book kept my interest. It was an enjoyable read for me, and I’m glad that I was contacted about this book because it probably would not be something that I would pick up in a bookstore or library. I am interested to see where Mr. Ruddy’s writing will take him next based upon his background. He definitely has the skill to come up with new and interesting topics and I hope to see that in the future.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009

REVIEW: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Tara

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone
by J.K. Rowling

Copyright: 1997
Pages: 309
Rating: 4/5
Read: Dec. 6-13, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 2009 Celebrate the Author Challenge; Harry Potter Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 65

First Line: Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

Harry Potter only knows one thing: he has a miserable life living with his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys and their son, Dudley. But he also knows that he’s a little different than the average kid. When he gets really upset or angry, he can make strange things happen without realizing what he’s doing. He is as confused about it as anybody else is. But he will finally get some answers to what is “wrong” with him when on his birthday he gets a letter that arrives by owl messenger: it’s an invitation to go to a school that he’s never heard about. What he finds when he arrives at Hogwarts is unforgettable. He finds friends, magic, and new found fame.

I love Harry Potter 🙂 This was a re-read for me (something I never do!) and I loved it just as much as I did the first time around. Rowling created such a wonderful series when she started Harry Potter. I simply cannot say enough good things about this series and this book in particular. However, my one complaint is that this book is a little more juvenile than I care to read (the later books aren’t like that), but it’s still an enjoyable read.

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, Read in 2009

A Tisket, A Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket by Fran Rizer

Tara

A Tisket, a Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket
by Fran Rizer

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 282
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 7-10, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 1st in a Series Challenge; Suspense & Thriller Challenge – Cozy Mystery subcategory
Yearly Count: 28

First Line: Eager to pump up my new underwear, I dashed into my apartment just as the phone rang.

Calamine “Callie” Parrish is a mortuary cosetologist at Middleton’s Mortuary. She likes to spend her free time with a moon pie and a mystery novel. Oh yeah, and watching Six Feet Under. But, she finds herself mixed up in a local murder. When the body of Bobby Saxon comes in with a hypodermic needle broken off in his neck, Callie realizes that his death wasn’t accidental as originally thought, and that there’s a killer on the loose in town. But with the list of suspects as long as her arm, Callie must figure out who the killer is before she turns up dead next.

Okay, so this is a little bit out of my comfort zone. I am more of a hard-boiled mystery reader. However, I do like the occasional cozy (or as I call them, “fluff books”) just to get myself out of a funk. I found Calamine to be an endearing character, even if a little naive for my taste. I had pretty much figured out who the killer was since Rizer didn’t hide her clues very well. But overall I enjoyed this quick and fun read.

AUTHOR, Book Review, Nonfiction, R, Read in 2008

Dead by Sunset by Ann Rule

Tara
Dead by Sunset
by Ann Rule

Copyright: 1995
Pages: 528
Rating: 2/5
Read: Nov. 20-23, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight – True Crime Category; Celebrate the Author

First Line: September 21, 1986, was a warm and beautiful Sunday in Portland – in the whole state of Oregon, for that matter.

Attorney Cheryl Keeton’s body was found in her van on an Oregon freeway. Her husband, Brad Cunningham, was the prime suspect. Unfortunately, there was no evidence linking him. He married again, to Sara, a physician. She adopted his three sons and they settled to have a fairytale life together. Unfortunately, things start to go wrong and everything becomes a nightmare…

I was not really impressed by this book. I usually like Ann Rule’s books, but this one seemed to drag a little bit. Maybe it was because I didn’t know anything about this case before picking the book up. I’m not sure, this one just didn’t appeal to me very much.

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, Read in 2008

Black Creek Crossing by John Saul

Tara
Black Creek Crossing
by John Saul

Copyright: 2004
Pages: 459
Rating: 3/5
Read: Sept. 16-21, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: It was the cold that awakened her, a cold that crept first into her sleep, curling its fingers around her subconscious, making her feel as if she were walking through the woods on a winter night.

Thirteen-year-old Angel Sullivan is excited when she learns that her family will be moving into a really cool old house in Roundtree, Massachusetts. She sees it as a way to start over at a new place. But when she is once again socially shunned, she is just beside herself. But when she meets Seth Baker, a fellow outcast, her whole world is turned upside down. After some weird happenings in her house, Angel and Seth set out to figure out what really is going on with the house at Black Creek Crossing. And that they will find is far more scarier than anyone in town ever thought possible.

You know, this book had great potential in my opinion. It was a little slow but then it started to pick up pace and I began to get really excited about it … until the end. Yeah, the ending was not what it could have been. In fact it was slightly disappointing. And unfortunately I was not the only one who felt that way, my grandmother read this book a few months back before giving it to me and she told me she was disappointed in the ending as well. I’m curious to know what others felt about this book. This is my first time ever reading John Saul – is this a book that just wasn’t as good as all of his others or what?!

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Eve Dallas, Fiction, R, Read in 2008, SERIES

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

Tara
Glory in Death
by J.D. Robb

Copyright: 1995
Pages: 296
Rating: 4/5
Read: Aug. 25-26, 2008
Challenge: Initials Reading Challenge

First Line: The dead were her business.

Beautiful and successful women are being brutally murdered. Their numerous business contacts and lovers provide Eve Dallas with a very long list of suspects. Unfortunately, Roarke is also on that list. For Eve she wants to trust the man she shares her bed with but her profession makes her investigate into areas that she wishes she could just live untouched. Once again murder will come between Eve and Roarke, but in the end, Eve will ultimately get the man and the murder suspect.

This book was MUCH better than the first in the series (Naked in Death). I read this one very quickly and enjoyed every minute of it!! I love the romance sprinkled throughout the mystery. I’m so glad that I’m finally getting around to this series and so glad that I have so many more books ahead of me 🙂

3.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, Read in 2008, SERIES

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

Tara
Deadly Decisions
by Kathy Reichs

Copyright: 1999
Pages: 368
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: June 25-29, 2008
Challenge: Title Master Challenge

First Line: Her name was Emily Anne.

When nine-year-old Emily Anne Toussaint is fatally shot on a Montreal street, Dr. Temperance Brennan feels compelled to stop the senseless killings that she encounters. The fact that little Emily Anne was an unintended target by a ruthless biker gang war only fuels Tempe’s anger even more. But when she delves deeper into the cases more and more bodies keep popping up. And it won’t be until her nephew, Kit, is in the line of fire before it will all come to a screeching halt.

This book was just okay for me. I skipped the second in the series (a pet peeve of mine) because I needed to read this one before my July 1st deadline in the Title Master Challenge. Did I enjoy this one?! Not particularly. I love the TV show Bones, but for some reason this series just isn’t doing much for me. I own the others in the series and will probably trek on, but I’m still unsure about this series. It was just okay for me.

4.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, Read in 2008

Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts

Tara
Blood Brothers
by Nora Roberts
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 314
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: June 4-5, 2008
Challenge: Title Master Challenge

First Line: It crawled along the air that hung heavy as wet wool over the glade.

Every seven years in Hawkins Hollow mysterious things happen for one week in July. People go mad and do unspeakable things without any memory afterward. The strange happenings is what brings author Quinn Black to Hawkins Hollow in order to do research for her upcoming book featuring Hawkins Hollow. When she arrives in early February to interview three men who were boys when the terror first began, Quinn herself begins to experience strange things. It will take all the bravery and strength of six men and women to bring this terror to an end.
This is the first in the Sign of Seven Trilogy. It definitely had it’s ups as well as its downs. There were a few spots that were wayyyy weird, but the topic of the trilogy is weird to begin with. But I’m definitely looking forward to getting the second one through PBS.