2.5/5, AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, E-Book, Fiction, M, RATING, Read in 2018

Review: Art in the Blood by Bonnie MacBird

Tara

Art in the Blood
by Bonnie MacBird

Art in the Blood

Copyright: 2015

Pages: 336

Read: March 24-29, 2018

Rating: 2.5/5

Source: Barnes & Noble Serial Reads

 

 

Blurb: London. A snowy December, 1888. Sherlock Holmes, 34, is languishing and back on cocaine after a disastrous Ripper investigation. Watson can neither comfort nor rouse his friend – until a strangely encoded letter arrives from Paris.

Mlle La Victoire, a beautiful French cabaret star writes that her young son has vanished, and she has been attacked in the streets of Montmartre.

Racing to Paris with Watson at his side, Holmes discovers the missing child is only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger problem. The most valuable statue since the Winged Victory has been violently stolen in Marseilles, and several children from a silk mill in Lancashire have been found murdered. The clues in all three cases point to a single, untouchable man, an art collector seemingly beyond reach of the law.

Will Holmes recover in time to find the missing boy and stop a rising tide of murders? To do so he must stay one step ahead of a dangerous French rival and the threatening interference of his own brother, Mycroft.

This latest adventure, in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, sends the iconic duo from London to Paris and the icy wilds of Lancashire in a case which tests Watson’s friendship and the fragility and gifts of Sherlock Holmes’ own artistic nature to the limits.

 

Review: This was Barnes & Noble’s March selection on their Serial Reads program. I was really unsure about reading this one. While I do enjoy mysteries, Sherlock Holmes has never really been a huge draw for me. I posted the introduction to this book here, and based on the comments it was split whether or not my visitors would continue reading the book based on the intro. To be honest, the first few pages didn’t really immediately draw me in either, but I eventually got interested enough in the book to continue on.

Overall, this wasn’t necessarily a bad book. It just wasn’t really a home run for me either. It fell somewhere in the “eh” category. It felt a little convoluted and I didn’t like how the storyline kept switching from the missing boy to the art theft and back to the missing boy, constantly… I think it was a little too much. I wanted Holmes to concentrate on one or the other cases.

I’m not entirely sold that this book was really written in the Sherlock Holmes “way.”  It didn’t feel entirely authentic. Not that I’m an expert in Sherlock Holmes, but I just felt like something was missing from his character. It didn’t feel like an authentic Sherlock Holmes character in this book.

To be honest, this book didn’t do much for me in the end. It was a decent enough read for   a freebie. However, I don’t really feel the need to read the second book in this series. I’m not even entirely sure I would recommend this book. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to hard-core Sherlock Holmes fans … but I suppose the casual mystery lover may find something in this that I simply didn’t.

First chapter, Meme

First Chapter, First Paragraph – April 3, 2018

Tara

First Chapter

So this week I am featuring the April selection for Modern Mrs. Darcy’s book club:

Home Fire

Isma was going to miss her flight. The ticket wouldn’t be refunded, because the airline took no responsibility for passengers who arrived at the airport three hours ahead of the departure time and were escorted to an interrogation room.

Not going to lie …. that immediately caught my attention!! What about you?! Would you continue reading!?

Monthly Wrap Up

March 2018 Wrap-Up

Tara

Ok, so March was a pretty good month all around for me. I had some pretty good reading … had a good Spring Break with the family in Florida … it was just a good month and I’m definitely looking forward to April! (Bring on warmer weather, too!) I was able to finish five books and 1,634 pages. I’ve started the second book in the James Thomas Flexner George Washington series. Here’s what I read this month [Art in the Blood‘s review will be posted in April]:

George Washington- The Forge of ExperienceBaby TeethAll Together DeadMallory's OracleArt in the Blood

Baby Teeth would probably be my favorite this month. I enjoyed it, but I think it will be very divisive – you’ll either like it or you won’t. I am definitely on the like it side though!

Once again I did a lot of pre-scheduling this month and was able to provide quite a bit of content. To briefly recap:

March was a fun-filled month for us with our big roadtrip down to Florida. I had posted a few weeks before we left that I wasn’t really looking forward to it … we went with the in-laws. And to be honest, for the most part we had a good time. There was a hiccup or two (to be expected), but the kids had an absolute blast and that’s what really matters. It would have been nicer had the weather been a little warmer, but it beat the snow that we got back at home our first full day down there!

We didn’t watch a single movie in the month of March. Bummer.

We were able to spruce up a few areas of our house this month. We changed out some drapes and bathmats in our master bath and put up some new wall hangings. That made a world of difference in there. We also replaced some drapes in our living room. We’ve been in our house for a little over 3 years and for the most part have done very little to make it our own. We’re finally ready to start making some changes and doing some stuff around to make it feel more like our home. I hope to be able to get a painter in there to get some of our rooms repainted. Nathan would like to put up some crown molding. I guess we’ve resigned ourselves to the fact that this is probably home for the foreseeable future we might as well make it more to our liking … ha! We still have a long way to go, but as Nathan likes to tell me … one room at a time 🙂

I started attending a new class at the gym. I’ve been taking kickboxing twice a week since August and now I’m adding in a step class twice a week. I’m already so sore, but I know that I’m going to get some new results simply because of the change in routine. All total, I’m down 28 pounds since March of 2017 🙂 But I’ve still got a long way to go… I don’t necessarily have a set number goal in mind … but someone please tell me how can someone lose 28lbs and not lose a freaking pants size?! Like it’s mindboggling….

Well I think that’s all I have for this month. Back to reading 🙂

Miscellaneous Ramblings

I joined a book club!

Tara

I have been on the hunt for an IRL book club for quite some time. I am a member of a Facebook book club group that meets locally. But they seem to just get together at local restaurants for drinks under the auspices of a book club. Which would be okay … if I clicked with the members better … or liked their book selections. 😦 The book club through my library meets one Thursday a month at noon, and I am always 45 minutes away on Thursdays for work. I apparently don’t live in a very literary area so those are my only options. And neither works for me.

So I’ve joined Modern Mrs. Darcy’s book club online. I had looked into joining this for quite some time, but didn’t really want to pay to belong. But I’ve recently cancelled both of my beauty box subscriptions, my meal planning subscription and my online workout subscription …. all of those were costing me $40 a month! MMD is only $10 a month … so I’m still coming out $30 ahead each month, lol.

I’ve just joined and I’m still getting used to the website. But I’m really liking what I’m seeing! Some of the book selections are not really my cup of tea, but for the most part they are. But I’m going to look at it as a way to expand my reading horizons! 😀 As if I need any more books to read! Eek!

And now I’m off to the library to pick up April’s selection!

2.5/5, AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, Fiction, O, RATING, Read in 2018

Review: Mallory’s Oracle by Carol O’Connell

Tara

Mallory’s Oracle
by Carol O’Connell

Mallory's Oracle

Copyright: 1994

Pages: 310

Read: March 14-18, 2018

Rating: 2.5/5

Source: Purchased at Used Book Store

 
Blurb: Jonathan Kellerman says Mallory’s Oracle is “a joy.” Nelson DeMille and other advance readers have called it “truly amazing, ” “a classic” with “immense appeal.” It is all of that, and more: a stunning debut novel about a web of unsolved murders in New York’s Gramercy Park and the singular woman who makes them her obsession.

At its center is Kathleen Mallory, an extraordinary wild child turned New York City policewoman. Adopted off the streets as a little girl by a police inspector and his wife, she is still not altogether civilized now that she is a sergeant in the Special Crimes section. With her ferocious intelligence and green gunslinger eyes, Mallory (never Kathleen, never Kathy) operates by her own inner compass of right and wrong, a sense of justice that drives her in unpredictable ways. She is a thing apart.

And today, she is a thing possessed. Although more at home in the company of computers than in the company of men, Mallory is propelled onto the street when the body of her adoptive father, Louis Markowitz, is found stabbed in a tenement next to the body of a wealthy Gramercy Park woman. The murders are clearly linked to two other Gramercy Park homicides Markowitz had been investigating, and now his cases become Mallory’s, his death her cause. Prowling the streets, sifting through his clues, drawing on his circle of friends and colleagues, she plunges into a netherworld of light and shadow, where people are not what they seem and truth shifts without warning. And a murderer waits who is every bit as wild and unpredictable as she….

Filled with deep, seductive atmosphere and razor-sharp prose, Mallory’s Oracle is gripping, resonant suspense of tantalizing complexity—a genuinely unforgettable novel.

Review: Okay so this is the first book in the Kathleen Mallory series. I had actually acquired this book a long time ago and at some point took it off my Goodreads TBR (I’m assuming it was going to be part of a purge) but for whatever reason, I put it back on my shelf to keep. I should have let it go in that purge…

This book was really strange. I had a very hard time connecting to any of the characters. I actually re-read the first few pages in the beginning because I felt like I had missed something. I hadn’t. It just didn’t draw me in. Because of that lack of early disinterest, I know for a fact I missed a lot going forward. At the very end when it was all revealed, I had no idea how on earth the killer ended up being the killer. It just didn’t make sense to me at all. There was a lot of unnecessary things along the way in my opinion. An entire storyline regarding mediums and seances? Had absolutely nothing to do with the serial killings being investigated. What was the point?!

I didn’t care for it. I won’t be reading further in this series. I didn’t like the characters. Mallory is cold, way too cold for my taste. I never could figure out why Charles “inherited” her…. yeah, this book just didn’t work for me very well.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, H, RATING, Read in 2018, SERIES, Sookie Stackhouse

Review: All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

Tara

All Together Dead
by Charlaine Harris

All Together Dead

Copyright: 2007

Pages: 323

Read: March 9-14, 2018

Rating: 4/5

Source: Purchased at the Used Book Store
Blurb: Betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse must now not only deal with a possible new man in her life – the oh-so-handsome shape-shifter Quinn – but also contend with a long-planned vampire summit. With her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans, the local vampire queen is vulnerable to those hungry for a take-over. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she’ll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe…

Review: This is the 7th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I read the 6th installment back in early 2016. Oops? No wonder I was a little out of sorts trying to remember what had happened in a few places….

Most of this particular book is dealing with the actions that happened in the 6th book, so I definitely recommend reading that one before this one to save some serious confusion.

I enjoyed this one though. It was interesting and kept me entertained throughout the entire book. It definitely renewed my interest in this series and I hope I get to the 8th book sooner rather than later.

 

First chapter

First Chapter/First Paragraph – March 27, 2018

Tara

Well, it’s been three years since I last participated in this … oops?! It even has a new home with Vicki at I’d Rather Be at the Beach ….

This week I’m featuring the intro to Barnes & Noble’s March Serial Reads selection:

Art in the Blood (Sherlock Holmes Adventures, #1)

My dear friend Sherlock Holmes once said, ‘Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms.’ And so it was for him. In my numerous accounts of the adventures we shared, I have mentioned his violin playing, his acting – but his artistry went much deeper than that. I believe it was at the very root of his remarkable success as the world’s first consulting detective.

I have been loath to write in detail about Holmes’s artistic nature, lest it reveal a vulnerability in him that could place him in danger. It is well known that in exchange for visionary powers, artists often suffer with extreme sensitivity and violent changeability of temperament. A philosophical crisis, or simply the boredom of inactivity, could send Holmes spinning into a paralysed gloom from which I could not retrieve him.

It was in such a state that I discovered my friend in late November of 1888.

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, March 26, 2018

Tara

Mailbox Mondays

When will I learn to stay out of the Goodwill?! It started out innocently enough – we had 9 (yes … NINE!) bags of old clothes/toys to donate and well, of course I had to go check out what books they had…. ugh! The struggle is real. 😥

I picked up three fiction books:

What Alice ForgotHouse RulesMy Name is Lucy Barton

And three non-fictions books:

ColumbineLone Star Rising Vol. 1Robert Kennedy-His Life

4/5, AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, E-Book, Fiction, NetGalley, RATING, Read in 2018, Review Book, S

Review: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

Tara

Baby Teeth
by Zoje Stage

Baby Teeth

Copyright: 2018

Pages: 320

Read: March 2-8, 2018

Rating: 4.5/5

Source: ARC from NetGalley

 
Blurb: Sweetness can be deceptive.

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette’s husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.

From blazing new talent Zoje Stage, Baby Teeth is a story about a perfect-looking family, and a darling little girl who wants nothing more than to kill her mother.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

I first found this book in a NetGalley email advertising it as Read Now. I immediately logged in and downloaded it. It caught my eye nearly instantly! It looked like such a good book, I knew I had to read it.

And oh my goodness was it so creepy good. I devoured it. I was absolutely enthralled by Hanna and Suzette’s story.

The only reason this one didn’t get a 5 star rating is because I had a little bit of a hard time accepting that a 7 year old could actually be as evil as Hanna. At one point it flashes back to when Hanna was like 2 or 3 and she realized that Mommy was going to fail her “test”? I mean, come on – I have two children, almost 6 and almost 3 years old …. there’s no way at 2/3 a child could think in that manner. And to imagine that at 7 she could be actively plotting to kill her mother? I’m not sure that I buy that either…. And we won’t even talk about the unhealthy obsession Hanna has with her father. Yikes.

The ending (or really lack thereof) was a little disappointing. But I can totally understand why Ms. Stage chose to end it as she did. I can appreciate that, but I would have liked a little more closure than I got. Maybe a teenage Hanna will re-emerge in a few years?! 😉

I’m nearly positive this is going to be one of the most talked about books this summer. It’s definitely buzz worthy. It’s controversial. It’s enthralling. I’m glad that I read it and I’m looking forward to Ms. Stage’s future ventures in writing!

While I can fully appreciate that this book would not be for everyone, it’s definitely a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and will be recommending it to everyone I know!

 

Meme, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday – March 20, 2018

Tara

Top Ten Tuesday

March 20: Books On My Spring TBR

I don’t normally like to make lists like this. Basically because I completely fail and not a single book off this list will be read. Oops?! Whatever. Here’s what I’d “like” to get to this spring, I need to revisit some series books that I’m woefully behind on. And then a few new(ish) acquisitions that have really caught my eye.

Grave PerilWhat HappenedThe Final DetailLost LightAll Together DeadLittle Fires EverywhereThe Alice NetworkThe Seven Husbands of Evenlyn HugoHoliday in DeathNight Prey