4/5, AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Cotton Malone, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2011, READING CHALLENGES 2011, SERIES

2011.19 REVIEW – The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry

The Alexandria Link
by Steve Berry

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 485
Rating: 4/5
Read: April 8 – 17, 2011
Challenge:  TBR Dare; TwentyEleven Challenge
Yearly Count: 19
Format: Print

First Line: George Haddad’s patience ended as he glared at the man bound to the chair.

Blurb: “You have something I want. You’re the only person on earth who knows where to find it. Go get it. You have 72 hours. If I don’t hear from you, you will be childless.” Cotton Malone’s teenage son has been kidnapped, and an anonymous e-mail from those responsible proves they will stop at nothing to get their hands on a coveted prize: the legendary lost Library of Alexandria, which vanished 1,500 years ago. Within that vast reserve of 500,000 manuscripts, one holds the key to ultimate power – a revelation so shocking it could fundamentally alter modern geopolitics. Pursued by a lethal mercenary, Malone crosses the globe in search of this vast bounty of wisdom. His quest will lead him to England and Portugal, even to the highest levels of American government – and the shattering outcome, deep in the Sinai desert, will have worldwide repercussions.

Review: The last 200 pages of this book made the first 300 pages that I suffered through made this book entirely worth it. There were spots that were just too much for me. I am not a religious person and I found myself skipping over whole passages discussing the Bible and the Holy Land and how the Bible was fundamentally changed in translation. However, I still enjoyed this book. And honestly, I loved the conspiracy part of the book. And once the climax occurred, the book flew by for me. It was just getting to that point that was a little difficult to me. But I toughed it out because I remembered how much I enjoyed the first Cotton Malone book, The Templar Legacy, and I was just patiently waiting for the break-neck thrill ride that I know Steve Berry is capable of writing to happen. I’m glad I stuck with it, because it was honestly a great ending. I already have the third book in this series on my shelf and I hope to get to it quicker than I got to the second book after the first. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys fast-paced thrill-packed adventure!

Sunday Wrap-Up

Sunday Wrap-Up, April 17, 2011

Well another week gone by. I know things were quiet here at the blog this past week. That’s partly because I stepped away from the computer a little bit this past week. Does that mean that I got a LOT of reading done during that time? Or maybe cleaning the house? Laundry? ANYTHING PRODUCTIVE? Nope. Nada. Zilch. Zero. NOTHING accomplished. There were actually two nights in a row that I didn’t even turn my computer on. And you know what, it was kind of nice!! Of course that also means that I’m having slightly guilty feelings due to this. Oh well, life goes on. I did post two things this week that I had scheduled:

One review: A World I Never Made by James LePore

And I shared my very slim mailbox – oh and guess what, I don’t even have anything to contribute to tomorrow’s Mailbox Monday. It’s kind of a nice relief 🙂

So that’s pretty much it. Maybe this coming week will be more productive for me. Have a great week!!

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, April 11, 2011

Mailbox Mondays

Mailbox Monday is still on tour, with April’s spot being at Passages to the Past.

Slim mailbox this week, but that’s definitely a good thing right now 🙂 I recently signed up for Bookmooch, this is the first book I’ve mooched:

  To pay for her last semester of school, college senior Lily Madison makes the difficult decision to donate her eggs to a fertility clinic. There she meets Peter Kelly, another penniless student who supplements his tuition money by visiting a sperm bank. Bound by their secret, and by a powerful attraction, they continue to think of each other even as life takes them in different directions. Nineteen years later, Pete – now a wealthy entrepreneur – sees Lily in an airport, and falls for her all over again. But while they enjoy their unlikely reunion, a news story about the fertility clinic they visited long ago will have shocking repercussions for both of them…

And this was a PBS Wish List book that I’ve waited a long time for:

    Although the private lives of political couples have in our era become front-page news, the true story of this extraordinary and tragic first family has never been fully told. The Lincolns eclipses earlier accounts with riveting new information that makes husband and wife, president and first lady, come alive in all their proud accomplishments and earthy humanity. Award-winning biographer and poet Daniel Mark Epstein gives a fresh close-up view of the couple’s life in Springfield, Illinois (of their twenty-two years of marriage, all but six were spent there), and dramatizes with stunning immediacy how the Lincolns’ ascent to the White House brought both dazzling power and the slow, secret unraveling of the couple’s unique bond. The first full-length portrait of the marriage of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln in more than fifty years, The Lincolns is written with enormous sweep and striking imagery. Daniel Mark Epstein makes two immortal American figures seem as real and human as the rest of us.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, L, RATING, Read in 2011, READING CHALLENGES 2011, Review Book

2011.17 REVIEW – A World I Never Made by James LePore

A World I Never Made
by James LePore

Copyright: 2008. 2009
Pages: 262
Rating: 4/5
Read: April 1– 5, 2011
Challenge:  Criminal Plots Reading Challenge
Yearly Count: 17
Format: Print

First Line: Dad, I don’t owe you or anybody an explanation, but I think you’ll appreciate the irony of a suicide note coming from a person who has abhorred tradition all of her life.

Blurb: Pat Nolan, an American man, is summoned to Paris to claim the body of his estranged daughter Megan, who has committed suicide. The body, however, is not Megan’s and it becomes instantly clear to Pat that Megan staged this, that she is in serious trouble, and that she is calling to him for help. This sends Pat on an odyssey that stretches across France and into the Czech Republic and that makes him the target of both the French police and a band of international terrorists. Joining Pat on his search is Catherine Laurence, a beautiful but tormented Paris detective who sees in Pad something she never thought she’d find – genuine passion and desperate need. As they look for Megan, they come closer to each other’s souls and discover love when both had long given up on it. Juxtaposed against this story is Megan’s story. A freelance journalist, Megan is in Morocco to do research when she meets Abdel Lahani, a Saudi businessman. They begin a torrid affair, a game Megan has played often and well in her adult life. But what she discovers about Lahani puts her in the center of a different kind of game, one with rules she can barely comprehend. Because of her relationship with Lahani, Megan has made some considerable enemies. And she has put the lives of many – may even millions – at risk.

Review: I received this book as part of the Pump Up Your Book blog tour. This was definitely a thrill ride of a book from the first page. The storyline was a little more complex than I really prefer in my books and alternating storylines aren’t my favorites either, but overall I still enjoyed it. The characters were very well-developed. I don’t read a lot of political thrillers overall, but I really enjoyed this one. Mr. LePore is a very talented author, he definitely has a way with descriptions. To be completely honest, the plot felt a little bit rushed, but I think that was because he was trying to have such a complex story in a short 262 pages. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thrilling roller coaster ride of a book! Having just previously read and reviewed Blood of My Brother, I can only hope that Mr. LePore has a long and prosperous writing career.

Sunday Wrap-Up

Sunday Wrap-Up, April 10, 2011

Wowzers … another week gone by! I really wish I knew where the time was going. Especially since I saw a friend on Facebook who said that she and her husband had been married for 6 months the other day and I realized that next month it will be 4 years for Nathan and I. I was like, really? FOUR YEARS! Where on earth has that time gone?! I only wish I knew. Anyways, that’s totally beyond the point of this post. I had a really good week here at the blog. Here’s what happened:

I also posted two reviews:

And I am happy to say that we ARE getting a fence! And NOT chain link! We are going to go with the black aluminum that looks like wrought iron. It’s actually cheaper than the vinyl style (but still a lot more than the chain link, but it’s in the budget! … after a slight stretch of it, lol!) I am really excited to finally be getting a fence, we’ve been talking about it for the two years that we’ve had Buster, but it just never worked out for us until now. So we’re super happy. PLUS! I am happy to say that in 42 days I will be cruising my way to Alaska for our first BIG vacation together! We are super excited!! The countdown is definitely on for that! Hope everyone has a really good week 🙂

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Dismas Hardy, Fiction, L, RATING, Read in 2011, READING CHALLENGES 2011, SERIES

2011.18 REVIEW – The Vig by John Lescroart

The Vig
by John Lescroart

Copyright: 1990
Pages: 376
Rating: 3/5
Read: April 4– 8, 2011
Challenge:  TBR Dare
Yearly Count: 18
Format: Print

First Line: At 2:15 on a Wednesday afternoon in late September, Dismas Hardy sat on the customer side of the bar at the Little Shamrock and worked the corners of his dart flights with a very fine emery board.

Blurb: Down-and-out lawyer Rusty Ingraham left behind a murdered woman and a houseboat splattered with blood. All the evidence said Ingraham was in San Francisco Bay. Dead. But a friend of Ingraham’s, former cop and prosecutor Dismas Hardy, isn’t so sure. And Hardy has to find out, because a stone-cold killer, now paroled, once threatened to kill Ingraham and Dismas Hardy both. Now, to save his own skin, Dismas must face down liars and killers on both sides of the law. From mob foot soldiers to brokenhearted lovers to renegade cops, a dozen lives are tied to the fate of Rusty Ingraham – and the payback has only just begun…

Review: Whoever edited this book should be fired. Immediately. I can’t even begin to tell you how many different grammatical errors I spotted in this book. And I also had trouble with the amount of different characters that were presented in this book. I found myself not remembering who was who. However, that didn’t change my overall opinion of the book itself. I read the first book in this series, Dead Irish, almost three years ago. So it was really like starting the series all over again since I didn’t remember much from the first book. But that was okay, I still enjoyed this book. It actually stands well on its own. The mystery aspect of it was interesting, but it was not a really big surprise. I liked this book, but I think I now realize why after reading my review from the first book as to why I’m just now picking this book up, it wasn’t specatular, just good.

DNF Books, SERIES

2011 DNF #2 – Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

Faceless Killers
by Henning Mankell

Copyright: 1991
Pages: 359
Format: Print

Blurb: On a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse, an elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death, and his wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. The only other clue the police have is one that they wish they didn’t: the dying woman’s last word is “foreign.” In the first riveting installment in the internationally bestselling Wallander series, police inspector Kurt Wallander doggedly investigates the horrible crime, as he contends with his own demons and tries to keep the public outcry for vengeance against an already reviled immigrant community at bay.

I picked this book up based solely on the recommendation of many fellow readers on the Yahoo reading group MostlyBooks. It sounded like it was right up my alley. But the fact of the matter is that it wasn’t a very good book in my opinion. I never warmed up to the main character, Kurt Wallander, I didn’t find him to be a very likable fellow. In fact, I didn’t think that any of the characters were very well developed. I gave this book 150 pages before I finally had to put it aside. It just wasn’t to my liking.

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

2011.14 REVIEW – Deed So by Katharine A. Russell

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.

Book vs. Movie

Book vs. Movie: The Lincoln Lawyer

I am a fanatic about wanting to see the movie AFTER I read the book it is based upon. Sometimes this does not always work out. Sometimes I have read the book years before. Sometimes the book doesn’t interest me when it comes out, but I see the movie anyway. Sometimes I don’t even know that it was based upon a book. However, my experience with The Lincoln Lawyer was completely different. I had had the book on my shelf for about 6 months in anticipation of the movie. For whatever reason, I waited until the last moment to read it. To be completely honest, I even contemplated not reading the book at all because Michael Connelly is not one of my absolute favorite authors, he’s just someone who I read occasionally. Let me just say that if you read my review you know that the book absolutely blew me away. It was a 500 page book that I devoured in 4 days. I could hardly stand to put it down. After I finished the book, I told my husband we could go see the movie over the weekend. Then I started to kick around the idea of not wanting to see the movie because I knew I would be disappointed.

So now that I have seen the movie, was I disappointed? No, not really. However, the book was so much better. There were just little intricacies that the movie couldn’t even begin to showcase that the book included. There were a few subtle differences, but for the most part, the screenplay was very consistent with the book. As I stated in my review, I really did think that the casting was really good as far as the characters were concerned. There was one cast member that I wasn’t completely sold on as to the casting job: Josh Lucas as Ted Minton, the prosecutor. I’m not sure who I would have put in that role, but based on the description of Minton’s character in the book, I would have chosen someone who was younger than Lucas (not that Lucas is old, just older than I would have thought right for the description of the character). I am not a huge Matthew McConaughey because more of his recent movies have been silly (and I am not a fan of silly movies), but I really like it when he takes on a more serious role (see We Are Marshall, A Time to Kill). And let me just say that Ryan Phillippe as Louise Roulet was perfect! So what does this all boil down to? The book is better. Not that the movie is bad, because it’s a really good movie. It’s just that once you’ve read the book you can really see the differences between the book and the movie, and unfortunately the book wins out as far as which is better. I would highly recommend the book AND the movie 🙂

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, April 4, 2011

Mailbox Mondays

Mailbox Monday is still on tour, with April’s spot being at Passages to the Past.

Another full mailbox with the final two PBS Box-of-Books packages I had come in. I’m very tempted to put my account on hold because there’s no way I can keep up anymore ….. but that wouldn’t be very much fun 🙂 Anyways, here’s what I got:

     The Cold War is over. And chaos is setting in. The new President of Russia is trying to create a new democratic regime. But there are strong elements within the country that are trying to stop him: the ruthless Russian mafia, the right wing nationalists, and those nefarious forces that will do whatever it takes to return Russia to the days of the Czar. Op-Center, the newly founded but highly successful crisis management team, begins a race against the clock and against the hardliners. Their task is made even more difficult by the discovery of a Russian counterpart … but this one’s controlled by those same repressive hardliners. Two rival Op-Centers, virtual mirror images of each other. But if this mirror cracks, it’ll be much more than seven years bad luck.

     Fighting for their lives aboard the hijacked submarine, ship superintendent Amy Russell and Commander Darius McCann have only one hope for survival. With the lives of millions at stake, they must play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, where capture would mean certain death. On land, Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Connelly and Commander Bruce Dunn are working to learn the details of the hijacking in time to stop the attack. As mass hysteria paralyzes New York City, the two investigators uncover a trail of secrets as dangerous as the silent weapon aimed at the heart of America.

     She lies in a pool of her own blood. More blood decorates one wall in macabre finger paintings. The victim is a fortune teller from the Little Saigon community of Westminster, California – a seemingly random murder. Detective Seven Bushard wonders cynically if she saw it coming. When local artist Gia Moon shows up at the precinct claiming to have had visions of another murder yet to happen, Seven doesn’t buy it. Some say Gia’s paintings give a glimpse into the next world, but all Seven knows is cold, hard evidence. But when per prediction comes true, his investigation becomes a hunt for a serial killer. But Gia is not all that she seems. A link to her past points to a lunatic whose desire to complete a bizarre collection has become an obsession. Now, Seven is locked in a game of greed and murder with a woman he can’t entirely trust, and a killer who will silence anyone who gets in the way.

     It is 1982. In the Vatican, priestly vultures gather around the dying Pope, whispering the names of possible successors. In a forgotten monastery on Ireland’s gale swept coast, a dangerous document is hidden, waiting to be claimed. And in a family chapel in Princeton, New Jersey, a nun is murdered at her prayers. Sister Valentine was an outspoken activist, a thorn in the Church’s side. When her brother, lawyer Ben Driskill, realizes the Church will never investigate her death, he sets out to find the murderer himself – and uncovers an explosive secret. The assassini. An age-old brotherhood of killers. Once they were hired by princes of the Church to protect it in dangerous times. But whose orders do they now obey?

     Shadow is the Secret Service code name for First Daughter Nora Hartson. And when White House lawyer Michael Garrick begins dating the irresistible Nora, he’s instantly spellbound, just like everyone else in her world. Then, late one night, the two witness something they were never meant to see. Now, in a world where everyone watches your ever move, Michael is suddenly ensnared in someone’s secret agenda. Trusting no one, not even Nora, he finds himself fighting for his innocence – and, ultimately, his life.

     Charlie and Oliver Caruso are brothers working at an ultra-exclusive private bank when they’re faced with an offer they can’t refuse – three million dollars in an abandoned account no one even knows exists. Almost as soon as they take the cash, a friend is killed and the bank, the Secret Service, and a female P.I. are closing in. Now the Caruso brothers are on the run and about to uncover an explosive secret that will test their trust and forever change their lives.

     Grace Hart seemed to have it all: a bright, beautiful daughter, a successful career as a judge, and a lovely home in an Ohio suburb. But beneath the placid veneer, darker truths lie waiting. Her fifteen-year-old, Jessica, is teetering on the cusp of drugs and delinquency. And someone is stalking the troubled teenager. Someone who has already violated their home and stolen their peace of mind. Now the police are involved, Grace is relieved – and worried. Is Jessica in danger from a drug dealer who wants to silence her? Detective Tony Marino is on the case. He’s too close for comfort, asking disturbing questions, probing into her long-buried past, igniting feelings Grace has tried to suppress. In Tony’s strong arms, Grace finds comfort, protection – passion – as he tries to shield them from the evil lurking just beyond their door…

     When the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court dies unexpectedly, the lame-duck president is only too happy to appoint his successor, a well-liked and respected decorated Vietnam veteran – who will be the first black chief justice in U.S. history. But one of the most conservative justices on the court feels that the position should have been his, and he is hell-bent on claiming it no matter who gets in the way … or how dishonorable and shameful his tactics. As nomination-ending scandals brew in Washington, former judge Tim Quinn races to uncover the real truth. He believes in the nominee’s innocence, but his report must prove it to the SEnate Judiciary Committee – before it is too late.

     As the city sizzles under the early summer sun, New York chief assistant D.A. Butch Karp and his family are happily vacationing on Long Island’s north shore. Their reverie changes to horror when they learn that their beachfront neighbors, Rose and Ralph “Red” Heeney – a coal miners’ union leader – have been brutally murdered back hom in tiny McCullensburg, West Virginia. Irresistable force meets immovable object when the governor appoints Karp special prosecutor to bring justice to the corrupt rural town, its ruthless union boss, and his band of violent henchmen. Now, Karp finds himself not only searching for the killers, but fighting to protect his own family from an evil that runs as deep as the mines that fuel it.