Monthly Wrap Up

September 2008 Wrap-Up

Tara
September 2008 Wrap-Up

Here’s my end of the month wrap-up:

  1. Stephanie Meyer, New Moon –> This one was not as good as the first one, but I still really enjoyed it. My biggest gripe was that Bella was so disgustingly whiny it was awful!! 4.5/5
  2. Stephen King, The Shining –> This was a re-read, reading it the first time while I was in high school. I definitely liked it a lot better the first time around, but I still enjoyed it. 3.5/5
  3. Kevin O’Brien, One Last Scream –> Oh my goodness, I can’t possibly say enough good things about this book – I absolutely LOVED it!!! 5/5
  4. John Saul, Black Creek Crossing –> I was really disappointed in this book. I had myself all geared up for a great strong ending and it was horrible, just plain awful! This is the first time I have read Saul, but it definitely wasn’t a positive introduction for me … I’m not sure if it was this particular book or Saul…. 3/5
  5. Sandra Brown, The Witness –> This one started a little bit slow, but it quickly picked up pace. And the ending came completely out of left field! But I enjoyed this one a lot! 4/5
  6. Chelsea Cain, Heartsick –> I wanted to love this book so much because of all the great things I heard about it, but overall I was left a little deflated, but I still enjoyed it, just not as much as I had hoped I would. 4/5

Here are some statistics in regards to my reading:

  • Books read: 6
  • Pages read: 2726
  • New Authors: 2
  • Fiction: 6
  • Nonfiction: 0
  • Read for Challenges: 3
Archie and Gretchen, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008, SERIES

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

Tara
Heartsick
by Chelsea Cain

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 337
Rating: 4/5
Read: Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: Archie doesn’t know for sure that it’s her until that moment.

Detective Archie Sheridan spent years tracking Gretchen Lowell, a brutal serial killer. But in the end, she caught him. And she tortured him and let him go. But why would she let Archie live?! That’s the question that has haunted Archie ever since. But when a new task force is formed because of a new killer on the loose, Archie is called back into duty to lead it. With the local news following this case 24/7 Archie can’t solve the case soon enough. But the question is, will he solve it in time to save himself?

Okay, in all honesty, I have heard a lot of good things from various people in regards to this book. So when it finally arrived in my mailbox via PBS, I was beyond ecstatic. But did it live up to my expectations?! Unfortunately, not really. However, in the end I ended up giving it a high rating because the ending was really a curve ball and was enjoyable. I just had a lot of issues with a few of the characters, mainly Susan and Gretchen. So I’m not sure if I will pick up the next Cain book, “Sweetheart” but I’m glad I read this one at the same time.

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

The Witness by Sandra Brown

Tara
The Witness
by Sandra Brown

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 428
Rating: 4/5
Read: Sept. 21-25, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight – From my TBR category

First Line: The infant’s mouth sucked as his mother’s breast.

When Kendall Deaton pulls herself and her baby out of a wrecked car, she does what any caring person would do: she saves the man she was riding in the car with. But when she gets to the hospital she realizes that she cannot under any circumstances reveal her true identity and that the accident just might have been a blessing in disguise. Having been the public defender in Prosper, South Carolina the past couple of years she never would have imagined what she would stumble upon while out in the woods trying to locate her husband so that they could make up after a horrendous fight. As a mother who only wants to protect her baby’s life, she is forced to become a reluctant witness against some of Prosper’s most powerful men. The only question is whether Kendall will make it out alive or if someone will track her down and silence her forever.

Okay, this book got my attention pretty quickly. It really picked up pace about halfway through. But I’m going to be honest here, the ending was really strange. And I’m talking about coming out of left field strange. But overall I really enjoyed this book a lot and I really recommend it to others as well!!

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?!

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

One Last Scream by Kevin O’Brien

Tara
One Last Scream
by Kevin O’Brien

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 476
Rating: 5/5
Read: Sept. 9-15, 2008
Challenge: 2008 2nds Challenge

First Line: She turned the key in the ignition, and nothing happened, just a hollow click, click, click.

Twelve women disappear and eleven years later there is still no closure to those disappearances. Amelia Faraday is a beautiful young women who is having blackouts. And she fears that she is responsible for the deaths of some of her close family members during those blackouts. It will take Amelia and her therapist before she can really find out what is really going out during those lost times.

I really enjoyed this book! It was really a great read! This is the second O’Brien book that I have read, the first one I read a long time ago but I still remember enjoying it as well. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more Kevin O’Brien. I highly recommend this book!!

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

The Shining by Stephen King

Tara
The Shining
by Stephen King

Copyright: 1977
Pages: 464
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: Sept. 2-8, 2008
Challenge: 1% Well-Read Challenge, Book to Movie Challenge, Celebrate the Author Challenge,

First Line: Jack Torrance thought: Officious little prick.

Jack Torrence’s life has been turned upside down by an incident at the school that he used to teach at. Now living in Colorado with his wife and son, the family is struggling. So Jack decides that the family will move into the Overlook Hotel during the winter and be the caretakers. But the Overlook Hotel has some secrets of its own….

This book was okay, I think I enjoyed it a lot better the first time I read it, which was more than 5 years ago. But it was still classic King and I enjoyed it.

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

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

Tara
New Moon
by Stephanie Meyer

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 563
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: Sept. 1-7, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight – 500+ pages category

First Line: I felt like I was trapped in one of those terrifying nightmares, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can’t make your body move fast enough.

Bella Swan’s live is turned upside down when her one true love, Edward Cullen, and the rest of his family abruptly leaves town after a little incident at Bella’s birthday party. Edward feels horribly guilty and feels like it would be best if his family was not around Bella anymore and would no longer be a danger to her. But his absence absolutely breaks Bella. She mopes around the house, barely eating, barely talking, ignoring her friends, studying her schoolwork to the point of exhaustion. Her father, Charlie, simply doesn’t know what to do for her. But when Bella realizes that he wants to send her to live with her mother in Florida, she appears to break out of her trance. She begins to start interacting more with her school friends. And she becomes incredibly close with Jacob Black. But Jacob is falling in love with Bella. And Bella loves Jacob to a point – she needs him to be able to function, but she is still obsessed with Edward, she’s just learning how to hide it better. But Jacob has his own secrets to keep. Who would have thought that Bella, girlfriend of a vampire, would become best friend to a werewolf?! But in the end, it will be Edward that needs Bella to save him and it will take her all the way to Italy to do so.

Okay, the first part of this book almost made me sick. It was disgusting how whiny and obsessed Bella was with Edward’s leaving. Hey, I was a teenage girl and I had my heart broken once, but I didn’t stop functioning completely like Bella did. It really got on my nerves. So much so that I almost gave up reading. But I stuck with it and I was glad that I did. The ending was great, and I’m looking forward to the third in this series, I’ve already put my name in line at the library for it!!

Monthly Wrap Up

August 2008 Wrap-Up

Tara
August 2008 Wrap-Up

Here’s my end of the month wrap-up:

  1. Janet Evanovich, Two for the Dough –> This one was just okay. Some places were hilarious some places were lacking. This series is just a little too fluffy for my taste. 3.5/5
  2. Sue Grafton, B is for Burglar –> This one was a lot better than the first in the series. I figured out the ending before it was over, but it was still a good story. 3.5/5
  3. Alex Kava, A Necessary Evil –> I really enjoyed this one! I’m glad we finally got to see what happened to Father Keller. Yet I’m sad because I’m pretty sure this might be the end of the Maggie O’Dell series (she could bring it back, but she really wrapped it up in a way). 4.5/5
  4. Matt Dalton, Presumed Guilty: What the Jury Never Knew About Laci Peterson’s Murder and Why Scott Peterson Should Not Be on Death Row –> Okay, this shows the other side of this case. He brought up some interesting points, but it didn’t sway my opinion. 3/5
  5. Nelson DeMille, Night Fall –> Overall this was a good book. It had a slow start, but the ending was really great!! 4/5
  6. Gregg Olsen, A Cold Dark Place –> This book was awesome! I was hooked from the first page and could hardly put it down until I was finished!! I highly recommend this one! 5/5
  7. James Patterson, Judge & Jury –> I enjoyed this book to a certain extent. It felt like Patterson, but then it didn’t. I really prefer when he authors a book alone rather than co-authoring (like this one was). 3.5/5
  8. Stephanie Meyer, Twilight –> WOW! I never thought I would enjoy a vampire book or a YA book, but I absolutely LOVED this one!!! 5/5
  9. J.D. Robb, Glory in Death –> This one was MUCH better than the first in the series. I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit and am looking forward to #3! 4/5
  10. Jeff Lindsay, Darkly Dreaming Dexter –> Dexter is a weird, sick character. The whole book was very strange. It was quite funny in some places, but overall it was just nasty sick. And I usually like sick shit in my books, lol. But this one was a little far out for me. 3/5
  11. J.T. Ellison, All the Pretty Girls –> This one had a slightly slow start, but once I was about 100 pages into it it really took off and I was hooked! This was a superb author debut! I’m looking forward to more J.T. Ellison!! 4.5/5

Here are some statistics in regards to my reading:

  • Books read: 11
  • Pages read: 4060
  • New Authors: 6
  • Fiction: 10
  • Nonfiction: 1
  • Read for Challenges: 5
Challenge Wrap-Up

Finished Challenge – Initials Reading Challenge

Tara

Finished my fifth challenge today!! I finished Becky’s Initials Reading Challenge. I only kept two of my original 5 selections. But it was only because I was by chance picking up books with authors whose names had initials in them. When I signed up for this one I thought it would be a lot more difficult than it was, but I really enjoyed it!! Here’s my wrap up:

The rules were to read 5-8 books (I read 5) by authors whose names are initials.

I read:

  1. M.C. Beaton, The Deadly Dance
  2. J.F. Freedman, The Disappearance
  3. J.A. Jance, Name Withheld
  4. J.D. Robb, Glory in Death
  5. J.T. Ellison, All the Pretty Girls

Favorite: All the Pretty Girls (Ellison)
Least Favorite: The Deadly Dance (Beaton)

4.5/5, AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, E, Fiction, Read in 2008

All the Pretty Girls by J.T. Ellison

Tara
All the Pretty Girls
by J.T. Ellison

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 411
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: Aug. 27-29, 2008
Challenge: Initials Reading Challenge, Suspense & Thriller Challenge – Serial Killer subgenre

First Line: “No. Please don’t.”

When a local Nashville girl is killed by a sadistic serial killer, Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin find themselves working together to catch the “Southern Strangler.” Up-an-coming TV reporter Whitney Connolly is absolutely positive that The Southern Strangler is her ticket to the big times. She is being contacted by the Strangler. But she has no idea just how close the story is to herself. When the killer starts to spin out of control, Taylor and John have no idea where this case will take them, what it will uncover and how awful the truth actually is.

This book was really good! I thought that it had a slightly slow start, but once I got about 100 pages into it it really picked up and was an awesome read!!! This was a fantastic debut for Ellison, and I look forward to her book for many years to come!!