Meme, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday – Sept. 18, 2012

This week’s question asks:

Top ten bookish people you want to meet. 

I don’t know if I will be able to get to 10 with this question, but I have a good blend of bloggers and authors. In no particular order:

  1. Trish at Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity – because she seems to be such a cool person and her daughter is gorgeous! Plus she has the greatest post ideas, ever! I only wish I could come up with half the cool ideas she does.  I love how she has been able to combine cooking, reading, vacationing, family and whatever else kind of post she can come up with and make it work 100%. If you don’t “know” Trish you are sooooo missing out!
  2. Samantha at Booked on a Feeling – because she’s awesome. She’s been a follower/commenter of mine since I can remember and she has always had great things to say. Oh and we like pretty much the same type of books 🙂
  3. Jackie over at House Wife Blues and Chihuahua Stories – Jackie stumbled across my blog a year or two ago and I have enjoyed getting to know her. She’s had a rough couple of years in her personal life and I respect her for everything she has been through. She’s just a very nice person and while we don’t read the same type of books, I think it would be a lot of fun to sit down over coffee in a bookstore and chat with her.
  4. Wendy of  Caribousmom – I first “met” Wendy in a Yahoo reading group that we both belong to. I soon found out that she has a beyond awesome blog. And in my opinion, she is one of the biggest names out there in the book blogosphere. Yet she’s so down to earth and nice. I have found a lot of awesome books through her blog and if you don’t know her blog, definitely check it out.
  5. Mary Higgins Clark – I want to know how this woman does it time and time again. Her books are amazing. I would love to be able to pick her brain a little bit. She seems to timeless. Her books are awesome!
  6. Stephen King – I will admit I haven’t been such a big fan of his recent stuff. But his older books, oh my goodness. Creepy doesn’t even catch it! This guy must have the most messed up dreams on the planet and I would love to be able to chat with him.
  7. Brad Meltzer – I will admit, I actually haven’t read many of his books. However, I follow him on Twitter and am a huge fan of his show Decoded (Please, History Channel – I would love a 3rd season!). But seriously, this guy seems to be one of the funniest guys out there. He’s got one of those perfectly sarcastic senses of humor and I would love to meet and talk with him
  8. James Patterson – I have so many questions for this guy. Number one being – why do you feel the need to put so many frickin’ books out in a year? Don’t get me wrong, I like his books, but seriously … I would think his prolificness would put pressure on other authors to produce like he does – and lets all be honest here, I bet he only writes one book a year himself, I’m a firm believer that his co-authors do all the work on the other books.

Well that’s all I’ve got. I had fun this week and am already looking forward to next week’s topic 🙂

Happy reading!

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday – September 17, 2012

September’s Mailbox Monday stop is at BookNAround

Another Monday … another week of good books hitting my mailbox 🙂

Review Book … Part of Partners in Crime Tours … My review is scheduled for November 🙂
Saw a review of this on Caribousmom’s blog months ago and put it on my Paperbackswap wish list immediately. Finally got a copy 🙂
Review book from The Readiacs …. watch for my review on Sept. 25th 🙂

 

 

Book Giveaway

Giveaway Time

Here it is … my big book giveaway. After pondering how I would handle this, here’s what I came up with:

All of this will obviously depend on how many entries I receive. However, my plan is ideally to have one book per winner. When you fill out the Google form, you will be given the option to list the books in the order of your personal preference. By this I mean that I am giving you the option to tell me what book you would ultimately prefer. Obviously this is not entirely ideal for the people who get chosen 7th or 8th, but it still could possibly work out for you anyway since everyone has different tastes. I’m trying to do my best making sure that you get the book you want, but as I said, it is flawed and I can make no promises.

If this giveaway flops and I don’t have 8 entries, I will divvy up the books between however many entrants I do have.

Fine Print: Giveaway closes September 30, 2012 at 5pm central time. I will announce the winners here on the blog. Open only to US residents (sorry to my international readers – I just don’t have the funds to send internationally right now). Although pimping this giveaway out to your readers/twitter followers will be nice, you will receive no additional entries for doing so. You do not have to have a blog to enter – all I need is for you to fill out the Google form that I created and you’re entered. Thank you and good look!!

Now on to the books that I have available. Most of them are ARCs, but I do have two available finished copies.

DiSemblance by Shanae Branham (Finished copy – paperback)
A computer prodigy, Jason has spent his life with limited social contact due to his father’s secretive work on a hologram machine that can create digital immortality. When his father is murdered and framed as the Comfort Killer, Jason is targeted as the killer’s new fall guy. Having spent much of his youth living in the virtual world his father created, he must now go on the run if he is going to save himself, his brother, and the beautiful girl next door.

READ MY REVIEW HERE


Shelter by Harlan Coben (ARC)
After tragic events tear him away from his parents, fifteen-year-old Mickey Bolitar is sent to live with his estranged uncle Myron. For a while, it seems his train wreck of a life is finally improving – until his girlfriend, Ashley, goes missing without a trace. Unwilling to let another person he cares about walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley’s trait into a seedy underworld, revealing a conspiracy so shocking it will leave him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew.

READ MY REVIEW HERE


Fireproof by Alex Kava (Finished copy – hardcover)
When an abandoned warehouse in Washington, D.C., bursts into flames on a cold winter night, the first investigators on the scene instantly spot similarities to a string of recent fires in the area. There is one difference, however: This one has a human casualty. The local team insists the murder is an isolated incident, concluding that the culprit must be a bored young man suffering from an uncontrollable impulse to act out anger and sexual aggression. But when Special Agent Maggie O’Dell is called in, everything she sees indicates that this is the work if a far more dangerous and calculating criminal.

Jeffery Cole, a reporter looking for his big break, is also at the scene of the crime and decides to make Maggie part of his news piece, putting the spotlight on her and digging up aspects of her past she would rather forget. Maggie’s half brother, Patrick, is back in D.C. too, working for a private fire-fighting company, and he is frequently called in as these fires continue to light up around the city.

As the acts of arson become more brazen and bodies keep turning up, Maggie’s professional and personal worlds begin to collide dangerously. She starts to fear for Patrick’s safety as he is sent into the flames set by this madman again and again, and Jeffery is becoming a very unwelcome distraction. Meanwhile, the arsonist-murderer may be much closer than Maggie imagines.

READ MY REVIEW HERE


Jack 1939 by Francine Mathews (ARC)
It’s the spring of 1939, and the prospect of war in Europe looms large. The United States has no intelligence service. In Washington, D.C., President Franklin Roosevelt may run for an unprecedented third term and needs someone he can trust to find out what the Nazis are up to. His choice: John F. Kenedy.

It’s a surprising selection. At twenty-two, Jack Kennedy is the attractive but unpromising second son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Roosevelt’s ambassador to Britain (and occasional political adversary). When Jack decides to travel through Europe to gather research for his Harvard senior thesis, Roosevelt takes the opportunity to use him as his personal spy. The president’s goal: to stop the flow of German money that has been flooding the United States to buy the 1940 election – an election that Adolf Hitler intends for Roosevelt to lose.

READ MY REVIEW HERE


Sly Fox by Judge Jeanine Pirro (ARC)
In Westchester, New York, young assistant district attorney Dani Fox is investigating a series of brutal crimes against women and children, cases that male prosecutors don’t care about. It’s a man’s world in 1978, and as the only female prosecutor in the office, she’s shunned by her peers, dismissed by judges, and ignored by detectives. Using her legal acumen and razor-sharp wit, she outmaneuvers her critics both in and out of the courtroom.

Fox stumbles upon one of her most challenging cases when she goes after a successful businessman who has been secretly molesting his beautiful young daughter for years. While handling this politically tricky prosecution, she learns that the accused is hiding an even more sinister crime: the murder of his second wife. Her death was ruled a suicide at the time, but Fox uncovers evidence that suggests otherwise. Proving his guilt is tougher than she imagined, as even murderers have friends in unexpected places, and there are times when the legal system – her fellow prosecutors, judges, and the police – may not be on her side….

READ MY REVIEW HERE


Conflicts with Interest by Michael Ruddy (ARC)
Sometimes, life can be a poker game with a fortunate stroke of serendipity. Sometimes, it’s nothing but incessant bad luck. T.R. Morgan is playing such a game with his most feared situation as a builder: Defect Litigation. It isn’t enough that he is still mourning the loss of his beloved wife. Now, he finds himself caught in a nasty lawsuit against Steve Sanderson, a ruthless Bay Area lawyer.

The problem – it seems, is when will T.R. lose his company and home over this lawsuit and how many times-over? Or will his own gambling habit be his downfall? Can the insurance companies out-play him? And is his new girlfriend, Catherine, actually who she seems? T.R.’s story comes to an explosive climatx that one could have foreseen – least of all T.R. himself.

READ MY REVIEW HERE


Stolen Prey by John Sandford (ARC)
Lucas Davenport has seen many terrible murder scenes. This is one of the worst. In the Minnesota town of Wayzata, an entire family has been killed – husband, wife, two kids, dogs. One the wall, in blood: “Were coming.” No apostrophe.

There’s something about the scene that tugs at Lucas’s cop instincts – it looks an awful lot like the kind of scorched-earth retribution he’s seen from Mexican drug gangs. But this is a seriously upscale town, the husband ran a modest software company, the wife dabbled in local politics. None of it seems to fit.

Until it does. And that’s when everybody starts coming to town: the DEA, the Mexican federales, and some independent operators who are decidedly less welcome.

Where it all leads … will take Lucas into the darkest nightmare of his life.

READ MY REVIEW HERE


Racing the Devil by Jaden Terrell (ARC)
Nashville private investigator Jared McKean has a son with Down’s syndrome, a best friend with AIDS, an ex-wife he can’t seem to fall out of love with, and a weakness for women in jeopardy – until one frames him for murder.

His DNA and fingerprints are found at the murder scene. His voice is on the victim’s answering machine, and the victim was killed with a bullet from his gun. To make matters worse, his teenaged nephew comes out of the closet and runs away to join a dangerous fringe of the Goth subculture.

Now Jared must find a way to clear his name, hold his family together, and solve a case that could cost him his life.


4/5, AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2012, READING CHALLENGES 2012, Review Book

2012.22 REVIEW – DiSemblance by Shanae Branham

 

 

DiSemblance
by Shanae Branham

Copyright: 2012
Pages: 369
Read: Sept. 4-8, 2012
Challenge: The Eclectic Reader 2012, Mystery & Suspense 2012
Yearly count: 22
Format: Print
Source: Review copy provided by author

Blurb: As a computer prodigy, Jason has spent his life with limited social contact due to his father’s secretive work on a hologram machine that can create digital immortality. When his father is murdered and framed as the Comfort Killer, Jason is targeted as the killer’s new fall guy. Having spent much of his youth living in the virtual world his father created, he must now go on the run if he is going to save himself, his brother, and the beautiful girl next door.


Review: I was contacted directly by the author to review this book.

My faithful readers know that I don’t read a lot of young adult books. But when I was pitched this book, something about it really caught my attention.

I finished this book this morning. And I’ve been sitting on it trying to figure out how to best review it. Let me start with this: nothing is as it seems in this book. There were times where I couldn’t even tell what was real life and what was happening in the machine.

There is truly so much that could be said about this book, but I want to be careful and not give too much away, because I think that it would be very easy to say too much about this particular book.

Generally, I  have a pretty low tolerance to unbelievable things. This pretty well explains why I usually dislike anything paranormal or science fiction. But for some reason this book didn’t bother me. And it should have; seriously, a hologram machine? Whatever the reason, it worked for me.

The characters were well developed. I especially liked how Bruce and Angela were at odds throughout the entire book. I personally felt as if that made things feel so much more believable. Jason and Isaac seemed to be your typical teenage brothers. And while the story really belonged to Jason, I felt as if Bruce was a truly great supporting character. His part in the story was integral to the whole book. I felt like he was really the hero in this book. Definitely an A+ for this book in terms of character development.  (I guess I should mention that character development is HUGE for me).

My one complaint is that there were a few minor typos. I’m just such a stickler for perfect grammar. But I’ve determined that just about every single book on the market has typos. It makes me have flashbacks to senior year in high school when I was feature editor of our school newspaper and I had to edit so many mistakes out of every article that crossed my desk! But in reality, I only noticed two typos, not bad in a 300+ page book.

So what does all this rambling have to do with my thoughts on this book? I liked it. A lot, actually. I found it fast paced and engrossing. I would start reading and realize that I had flown through 50 pages before I realized it. I’m definitely glad that Ms. Branham stumbled across my blog and sent me her pitch, I would never have found this book otherwise. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read. It’s not just for the young adult crowd or the science fiction crowd. It’s definitely a book that will appeal to a wide variety of readers and I highly recommend it.

 

First chapter, Meme

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros #2

20120807-073336.jpg

Diane over at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts this meme.

This week I am sharing the intro from a review book I’m reading. DiSemblance by Shanae Branham

20120904-200422.jpg

Orange, gold, and red hues of sunrise shone through the trees as Jason Tanner jogged along the abandoned trail through Knobs Park. He loved moving unseen like a specter through these woods.

I have to be completely honest here, this intro lacks a little in my opinion. However, I cannot stress enough how exciting the book gets if you continue on. I’m about 100 pages in and thoroughly enjoying it!!

Baby Book Addict, Miscellaneous Ramblings

Random bookish ramblings

Happy Labor Day to those in the US. Hopefully everyone has been enjoying their long weekend …. At least those of you who get a long weekend. It’s been a quiet weekend at home for us and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

I’ve been taking advantage of having time to go through some stuff here at the house. I am such a hoarder! Not really, but I do have a lot of crap.

After a lot of consideration, I decided to purge a lot of my books. And by a lot I actually mean 93 books. That’s right, 93 books from my Mt. TBR that I know I will never read are going to either my local library or the Goodwill tomorrow. I’m long past due regarding this decision. My shelves are just a little ridiculous to be completely honest. I might as well let others enjoy them. Besides, I still have a grand total of 405 unread books that are staying here 🙂

Hi, my name is Tara, and I am a bookaholic!

Also, while cleaning out of my shelves I found quite a few good ARC’s that I have with nothing to do with them. So I’m considering a giveaway. But I’m still considering if I should just do one big box giveaway (I think I have a good 7 or 8 of the ARC’s) or if I should break them up somehow. I’m still thinking about it …. What is your opinion? One big box where the books would be a complete surprise when they arrived in the winner’s or break them up and offer them two or three per winner?

A quick Garrett update – he turned 3 months old on Aug. 30th. I can’t believe how much he has grown and changed. It’s unreal. Last night he slept through the night without the aid of his reflux medicine. We were up in the air as to what to do last night at bedtime. He ate at 7:30. I asked Nathan if he wanted to treat it as his final meal and give him his medicine, Nathan said no, that he would stay up and feed him again at 10:30-11:30. Well 10:45 rolled around and he was still sound asleep. So instead of waking him up we just let him sleep. Well, he slept until 6:15! And he’s gone all day today without his medicine. I was going to give it to him with his first bottle this morning, but Nathan wanted to see how he responded without it. So that’s what we are doing. So far no problems, but I’m sure it will be a few days before it leaves his system completely. I was just glad to know that he slept through the night without the medicine, I was afraid that that was what was making him sleep through, but maybe now he’s used to it enough. I hope 🙂

Oh and I am sad to report that I am putting Gone Girl aside for now. It’s just not working for me right now. I’ve had it out from the library for over a week and am barely 100 pages in. It will be due back this coming Saturday and I know that there is no way I will finish it before then. So I have decided to put it aside and maybe come back to it sometime in the future. I should have known better than to jump on the bandwagon, it almost always disappoints me when I do that. Oh well, maybe sometime in the future.

Hope everyone has a good upcoming week.

Thrill Week

Thrill Week: Questionnaire

Marce over at Tea Time With Marce is hosting Thrill Week again this year. I missed it last year (I don’t know how I managed to do that – thrillers are my favorite!)

To kick things off she’s posted a questionnaire. Here’s my answers:

1)  Introduce yourself

My name is Tara. I’m 27 and from southern Illinois but currently making my home in western Kentucky. I’ve been married to Nathan for 5 years and on May 30 of this year we welcomed our first son, Garrett, into this world. I started blogging in January of 2008 and have enjoyed every minute of it. I mainly read mystery/thrillers, but I have been known to read the occasional romantic suspense, historical fiction some non-fiction. I stay away from most paranormal/fantasy books.

2) What has been your top 3 reads this year? Link your reviews

I am ashamed to admit how few books I have read this year. However I do have a very good reason …. My son 🙂

But to answer the question, in no particular order:

  1. Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
  2. The Pawn by Steven James
  3. The Wrong Man by David Ellis

3) What are you currently reading during Thrill Week?

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn!

4) Do you have an all time favourite cover in the genres above?

I hate to admit this, but I don’t pay a lot of attention to covers. Sometimes they will catch my eye, but I’m not cover obsessed.

5) What debut author(s) or new to you author(s) have you read within the last 12 months that have impressed you?

In no particular order, these are new-to-me:

  • David Ellis
  • Scott Turow
  • Steven James

6) Favourite trilogy or series you recommend to others to read in the genres above?

I’m a huge series reader! So I’ve got lots of recommendations, but these are my favorites:

  • Alex Cross by James Patterson
  • Taylor Jackson by J.T. Ellis
  • Maggie O’Dell by Alex Kava
  • Rizzoli & Isles by Tess Gerritsen
  • Lincoln Rhyme by Jeffery Deaver

7) What popular author(s) have you NOT read but is on your Wishlist?

I honestly don’t know. I can’t think of anyone right now.

8) Other than blogs, share with us what other tools you use or subscribe to in order to keep up with the latest news on authors, new releases, book tours, etc? 

Goodreads, LibraryThing and Fict Fact are the three main ones I use other than blogs.

9) What current book is hyped among the blogosphere that you want to read or are not interested in? Why or why not or link your review if you have read it.

50 Shades  …. I will not be reading it. I have no interest in erotica. But I am currently reading Gone Girl and loving it!

10) What is most important in these genres to you? Plot, characters, location, dialogue, red herrings, narrator or what mix of them?

Plot and characters are most important to me. I like exciting, fast paced plots. And I need well developed characters – which is probably why I am such a big fan of book series.

 

11) Recommend a book made into movie you thought both were good? 

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. The book was still better,but I think they did a very good job with the movie too, it stayed pretty true to the book.

 

12) Recommend a book you would like to discuss with others and possibly the author? Note – I will do a poll with participant’s choices at the end of Thrill Week and then we can agree on a date for Q&A. I will try and arrange the chosen author to participate.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – just because I’m currently reading it 🙂

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, K, Maggie O'Dell, RATING, Read in 2012, READING CHALLENGES 2012, Review Book, SERIES

2012.21 REVIEW – Fireproof by Alex Kava

 

Fireproof
by Alex Kava

Copyright: 2012
Pages: 307
Rating: 5/5
Read: Aug. 13-21, 2012
Challenge: Mystery & Suspense 2012
Yearly Count: 21
Format: Print
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer

Blurb: When an abandoned warehouse in Washington, D.C., bursts into flames on a cold winter night, the first investigators on the scene instantly spot similarities to a string of recent fires in the area. There is one difference, however: This one has a human casualty. The local team insists the murder is an isolated incident, concluding that the culprit must be a bored young man suffering from an uncontrollable impulse to act out anger and sexual aggression. But when Special Agent Maggie O’Dell is called in, everything she sees indicates that this is the work if a far more dangerous and calculating criminal.

Jeffery Cole, a reporter looking for his big break, is also at the scene of the crime and decides to make Maggie part of his news piece, putting the spotlight on her and digging up aspects of her past she would rather forget. Maggie’s half brother, Patrick, is back in D.C. too, working for a private fire-fighting company, and he is frequently called in as these fires continue to light up around the city.

As the acts of arson become more brazen and bodies keep turning up, Maggie’s professional and personal worlds begin to collide dangerously. She starts to fear for Patrick’s safety as he is sent into the flames set by this madman again and again, and Jeffery is becoming a very unwelcome distraction. Meanwhile, the arsonist-murderer may be much closer than Maggie imagines.


Review: I received this book through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program.

This is the 10th book in the Maggie O’Dell series. After being a little disappointed in the previous two installments, I was a little unsure about this book. I still wanted to read it, but I went into it not knowing if it would live up to the expectations I so badly wanted out of it.

Luckily this book was as good as I wanted it to be. Maggie is back and better than ever, in my opinion.

The  identity of the arsonist is not really all that shocking, and easily detected quite early. But that didn’t really bother me. I was a lot more interested in seeing a possible love interest for Patrick and the possibility of a serial killer. I am assuming that this will be the direction that the next book goes in.

But what I really appreciated about this book was that Maggie was back front and center. My complaint about the two previous books was that Maggie felt more like a supporting character rather than the main character. That was not the case in this book. And that was definitely a much needed move for this series.

While this book is the 10th in the series, I felt as if it had enough background to stand somewhat on its own. However, I think it would most definitely make you want to read the previous books.

Overall, I’m glad I got the opportunity to read this book and I would highly recommend it to others.

Meme, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday – Aug. 21, 2012

Wow, I haven’t participated in this in almost a year. But today’s topic really spoke to me and I knew I had to put something together for today.

I’ve been blogging since January 1, 2008. My categories show that I have posted 322 book reviews. I did come up with 10 books for today, quite easily actually. The first book listed is my absolute favorite book ever, the rest of the books on this list will be alphabetical.

Top Ten Favorite Books You’ve Read During The Lifespan Of Your Blog

  1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett – Without a doubt, the BEST book I’ve ever read. Period.
  2. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
  3. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
  4. The BoneMan’s Daughters by Ted Dekker
  5. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
  6. The Confession by John Grisham
  7. 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan
  8. The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
  9. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
  10. Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

There you have it. There’s my list of the best of the best books I’ve read since I began blogging in 2008. Have you read any of these? Would they make YOUR top 10 list?

Recipes

RECIPE: Blackened Chicken and Beans

 

 

Blackened Chicken and Beans (makes 4 servings)

  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup chunky salsa

Directions:

  1. Combine the chili powder, salt and pepper; Rub over both sides of chicken. In a large, nonstick skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 170. Remove and keep warm.
  2. Add the beans, corn and salsa to the pan; heat through. Serve with chicken.

Recipe source: Taste of Home

Personal Review: I’ve been trying to try new recipes at least 1-2 times a week. This is a new one that I made last week. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture for this post. I was surprised at how moist the chicken was. And the amount of spice was just perfect in my opinion. Actually I almost added a little more chili powder just because we like spicy things. I didn’t use chicken breast halves, I used hi chicken breasts so it took longer for me to get the chicken cooked through. I think next time I will cut the chicken breasts in half just for ease of cooking. The bean mixture was very easy and quite good. Beans aren’t my normal thing, but I did eat a little bit of it. I served this dish with steamed Brussels sprouts. Definitely an easy meal to make and scrumptious too! Highly recommended.