I joined a summer reading program again this year, so my book reviews here will be going up a lot more regularly. I don't like writing book reviews, so I put them off. I need to stop that.
Shopgirl by Steve Martin
I saw the movie based on this book sometime last year, and I've had a copy of the book, borrowed from my sister about ages, and I finally got around to reading it. I started it on my way to the airport, and finished it before I came home, so I could finally return the book. Anyway ... while I did enjoy this story, I had a hard time picturing Claire Danes as Mirabelle. The character as written just didn't jive with her face or mannerisms. I had the same problem with her boyfriend, played by Jason Schwartzman in the movie. Amazingly enough, Steve Martin made a perfect Ray Porter. Still, it was a sweet little story, and worth the read.
Big Boned (Heather Wells Mysteries, book 3) by Meg Cabot
I like Meg Cabot's book because they are light and fluffy. Sometimes I don't want to have to think very hard about what I'm reading and these books are perfect for that. I'm sad that this is the last Heather Wells book, she was a fun heroine and I was able to identify with her neuroses and insecurities. Since this is the end of the series, Heather ends up happy and everything is tied up in a neat little bow. I also loved most of the supporting characters in this series and I would love to read more about them. Perhaps we can lobby Meg Cabot to write more about Sarah, Heather's Dad, and maybe even Jordon.
Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities by Richard Bear
When I was in junior high I read everything I would get my hands on about multiple personality disorder: When Rabbits Howl and Sybil are the two that I remember most. They were fascinating yet disturbing but I couldn't not read them. At some point the phase ended and I moved on. Recently a friend listed this on her current reads and I got curious. Just like the other books, it was fascinating, disturbing, and heartbreaking all at the same time. It was good that at the end she was able to integrate everyone and make all of these personalities into a fully functioning and mentally healthy woman.
When I read my first novel in verse, I thought it must be an easy thing to do. Fewer words, lots of white space and a very simple plot. But with this one, I realized how freaking hard it must be to wrote these novels. Fewer opportunities for description, not many words to get your reader to care about your characters, and having to actually tell a cohesive story through poems\. In this story, Ava boyfriend dies and in her subsequent depression, he starts to appear to her, but only when she's at home. Trying to hold onto Jackson, Ava withdraws from her friends and her life in order to stay at home and be near his ghost. Only when her parents force a family vacation at the beach does Ava start to live again and enjoy life.
A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer
It didn't occur to me until I was about a third of the way through this that I was reading a modern retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. I loved the story as a child, and the Richard Chamberlain movie version was of my favorites for years. It's a wonderful story of revenge and I was quite angry when Hollywood gave it a happy ending a few years back. This retelling was so close to perfect and such an enjoyable read that I almost didn't want to finish it. I tend to get mad at the endings of a majority of the books I read and I did not that to be the case here. I risked the ending and I'm happy to say that I was not angry or disappointed. Hooray!!!
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls, book 2) by Ally Carter
The first book in this series, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, made me laugh but I thought the ending was rushed and way too contrived. On the recommendation of goddesslibrarian, I decided to give the second one a try. I'm glad I did. The story was tighter than the first one, the girls were a little less annoying, and the ending did not suck. I can't wait to see what the Gallagher Academy girls get up to next.
There were things about the movie version of this that I really liked, mainly the idea of teleportation. But the execution fell flat for me. So I went to the source, and I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than the film. Now I want to read the other books in the series to see how much was pulled from those books, because so much of the movie was just not in the book. The main character had the same name, he had parents, and he could teleport, and that's pretty much where the similarities ended. There was no secret force chasing him, he did not find another jumper, and his mother's back story was completely different. So maybe the film is a composite of the three novels? This must be partly the case as Griffin does not make an appearance in this first book. I'm reserving judgment until I get the rest of the story.
The Third Circle (Arcane Society, book 4) by Amanda Quick
I wanted to like this alternative history World War II novel, I really did, but I hated the ending. I know, I know, that's a theme for me, and I do wish this wasn't the case. I just get so invested in the books I read and have this idea in my head of the way the characters should act that when they do something else I get mad. I also can't stand rushed endings or ones where everything is too nearly wrapped up. I'm not doing a very good job of explaining this, it's just the way I feel. After getting wrapped up and involved in this novel, I didn't believe that the main character would have done what she did at the end. It didn't fit. As I've said before I need to someone with similar taste to read things first and tell me if they are worth my time and energy. This was not.
When I read that the Book a Month Challenge theme for May was going to be Mothers, I started thinking about what type of book I wanted to read. My initial instinct was to read something in the self help vein dealing with the mother-daughter relationship. After failing to find something that I liked enough to read, I went looking for some fiction, my safety genre. What I found was a sweet sad story that I would definitely recommend.
When Barbra discovers she is dying, she writes letters to each of her four daughters, wanting to help them through the challenges of life that they will be facing without her. There is Lisa, in her midthirties but incapable of making a commitment, Jennifer, trapped in a stale marriage and buttoned up so tight she could burst. Twentysomething Amanda, the traveler, has always distanced herself from the rest of the family; and then there's Hannah, a teenage girl on the verge of womanhood about to be parted from the mother she adores. I thought I was going to cry my eyes out most of the way through this. but I surprised myself by staying dry-eyed.
Reading this I felt like I was back in elementary school. This book very much reminded me of the Sweet Dreams teen "romance" novels I read in about third grade. Kiss Me, Creep was my favorite, and I must have read it at least a dozen times. The couples in these books never did more than kiss, they were always told from the girl's perspective, and the plots were simplistic and predictable, and I loved them. They were my stepping stone to the trashy romance novels that I devoured through junior high :) I'm not sure that I really need to return to that point in my reading career, but the book was still fun. I much preferred this author's I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader, written under her real name, Kieran Scott.
I really wanted to like this book. I loved Good In Bed (and In Her Shoes) and I was quite excited to revisit Cannie and her daughter, Joy, all these years later. what struck me right away was the use of multiple first person narrators. Starting on chapter two I was really confused until I figured out that we were now seeing things through the daughter's eyes. I really don't like this literary device at all. Just me third person omniscient already. At least she had the good sense to alternate narrators every other chapter, but still, I was annoyed. I'm not sure if it was the multiple narrators that bothered me or if I just genuinely did not like either of them. I was ready to give up half way through but I wanted to see how it ended. God, what a mistake. It HATED how she ended it, and I really didn't like either of the main characters, and this made me sad.
This was in the same vein as The Best Girl, though I enjoyed it a bit more.
As a big fan of the VI Warshawski novels, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this non-VI novel. I mostly enjoyed it, but I was slightly frustrated by the heavy use of foreshadowing. Everything was leading up to one crazy night, but when it arrived, it didn't seem that crazy. From all I'd been lead to expect, half the town was going to die and the other half was going to do it. The big crazy night was nothing of the sort. This was set in small town outside of Lawrence, Kansas, and centers around three families who have lived on and farmed the land for over a hundred years. When a practicing Wiccan moves in, tensions mount culminating in a "crazy" night. Ms. Paretsky knows how to tell a story, and while she did so here, it was also slightly disappointing. Now I want to her read her other non-VI novel, Ghost Country, to see how it measures up. And maybe I can beg her to write more of the ever delightful Chicago PI.
I loved the first book in this series and had high hopes for this one. I'm pleased to say that it lived up to those expectations. I'm familiar with a lot of different vampire stories, and sometimes I have trouble keeping the parameters of each universe straight in my head. In this universe, the blue bloods are the vampires who who go through cycles of reincarnation and start to regain their memories and transform. But they are vulnerable until they reach the age of twenty-one. Young Blue Bloods are being killed and there is a split in the leadership between those who believe the Silver Bloods (vampires who feed on other vampires) have returned and those who do not believe that is possible. This second book brought us further along, but I want more!
I always enjoy discovering a new universe, and this one is tons of fun. It's written for a slightly younger audience than what I normally read, but I didn't even notice. This was an entertaining and fast paced story, and I need to get my hands on other rest of the series soon. Arthur us the new kid in school and is not having a very good day. He suffers an asthma attack during gym class and dreams that as strange man hands him a strange object. When he wakes up he still has the object (the minute hand of a clock) and Mister Monday has set his goons on Arthur's world to retrieve it. In this series, the clock and the calendar take on new and terrifying meaning, and our hero must battle those who would prevent him from assembling a mysterious will, one to which he has become the heir. I'd also love to read other things by this author. So many books, so little time. Maybe reading this series will help me find an extra hour or two in the day.
This is the first novel of a new series and I can see why it is being compared to Gossip Girl. Set at the Turn of the Century, but full of just as much drama and intrigue as the Cecily von Ziegesar series. We open on the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, and then are taken back to learn of the events leading up to her death. There are four central characters here, Elizabeth, who is engaged to one man but loves another; Henry Schoonmaker, a debauched playboy who must marry Elizabeth or be disinherited; Diana Holland, Elizabeth’s younger sister who is in love with her fiancé; and Penelope Hayes, a member of the nouveau riche who will stop at nothing to win Henry’s affections. As Elizabeth and Henry’s wedding approaches, the spectacle unfolds in a wondrously grandiose scene, making for a fun, though not entirely unexpected dénouement. It's just good fun.
This is a sad, sweet story, and is so much lovelier than the terrible movie version with Kiera Knightly and Michael Pitt. After seeing the movie I wanted to read the novella because I saw potential, and I'm very glad I did. In the 1860s, Herve Joncour makes four difficult journeys from France to Japan to obtain eggs for breeding silkworms. Japan is closed to the world, but he manages to negotiate with a local baron to obtain the eggs. While there, he notices a young woman who does not have oriental eyes. Though they never address each other, they conduct a secret affair. The story, told exquisitely and very well translated (from the original Italian), conveys the richness, delicacy, and mystery of the book's sought-after fabric.
I was so happy that this second book in the series was just as good, if not even a little better than the first one. After a crazy summer in New York where she met her biological father and siblings for the first time, Cyd Charisse is back in San Francisco, back at school, and still trying to figure out her short statured surfer boy ex, Shrimp. She is aided and abetted by new friends, Helen and Autumn, and "old" girlfriend, sunny octogenarian Sugar Pie. I desperately want to read the third book in the series, but I'm slightly afraid that it won't live up to the awesomeness of the first two. I know that;s just an excuse, but it will work for now.
I read these novels about fifteen years ago and enjoyed them. I've picked them up a few times since then but have not reread the entire set. They were fun, but don't contain much substance. Sure, they are titillating, but I usually like a bit more from my reading. As a fairy tale, it ends with the requisite happily ever after, there is a heroine who is unfairly treated after being ripped from her family and there is an unlikely hero. Read it, enjoy it for what it is, but don't expect anything earth shattering.
Honk If You Hate Me by Deborah Halverson
Everyone in Muessa Junction hates Monalisa Kent. After all, she was the
thickwit who blow torched the futon factory—the town's heart, soul, and
bread and butter. So what if she was just six at the time? Junctioners
don't forgive and forget. On the tenth anniversary of the fire, Mona just wants to be treated like a normal person. With her blue hair and her bumper sticker poetry, is that even possible?
Amazingly, I liked this story from start to finish. Monalisa is haunted by her demons, as we all are, yet she find a way to move past them. I aspire to be like her though I think I will skip the blue hair, at least for now.
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
At the start of this book, Liz is killed in a hit and run accident. She wakes up on a boat, not remembering what happened or how she got there. When the ship docks in Elsewhere, Liz meets the grandmother who died before she was born. There were parts of this story that I liked very much, including the ending, but I didn't much care for one of the big conflicts of the story. To avoid spoiling anyone, I'll just say I thought it was cruel and unnecessary. I've read two books by this author now, and (mostly) liked both of them. I'm excited to see what she comes out with next. She's got some great ideas, I've just got a few bones to pick with the execution.
When I'd read about five pages of this book I flipped to the verso to look at the publication date. I skimmed down the page a bit and ended up reading the LC Subject Headings as well. BIG MISTAKE. That was just something I didn't need to, or want to know. Not to self, do not look at LCSH until after you read the book, and sometimes not even then.
Despite my initial shock, I kept reading and I'm glad I did. Holly and Peter are seat mates on a flight from New York to Los Angeles and feel an instant connection. When they part, she writes her phone number on the title page torn from a Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain. But when Peter get to his hotel, the page is gone. Years later they meet again, when Holly starts to date Peter's best friend. This was a love story of second chances and coincidences and it was particularly sweet because I liked the way it ended. Why can't all stories make me this happy?
Inferno (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, book 6) by Troy Denning
I keep telling myself that I am going to stop reading this series, but then I don't. I think I really want to watch the train wreck that is Jacen Solo come completely unglued and then watch the good guys find a way to bring him down. I can't help rooting for Luke, Han, and Leia, even after all these years. They have to win, right? They must win. And then I want Jaina to end up married to Jagged Fel and for them to live happily ever after in a galaxy far far away. Knowing that I want all of this to happen and then hoping it does is probably the real reason that I keep reading.
In this installment, Luke faces a tough decision, does he fight alongside his nephew Jacen, a tyrant who has taken over the Galactic Alliance or doe he once again join a rebellion to bring down the government. I think we all know which way he's going to go.
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. To be more precise, I wanted it to end differently. I loved it up until about 20 pages from the end. It all seemed so nicely tidied up and packaged with a bow, and not matching the tone that had been set.
This hating the ending thing happens to me way too often. I also watch a ton of movies and I rarely feel the same disappointment with the endings. Perhaps because I have much more time and energy invested in a book, I care more about the outcome and want things settled to my satisfaction. I just wish I wasn't so difficult to please. I wonder if this will ever change. This remains to be seen, and in the meantime I will just continue to read, and hopefully every few books I'll find one that does not disappoint me.
I really liked the first novel that these two authors collaborated on. This one was much more difficult for me to get into. Two narrators is what I was expecting after the first novel, and I would have been ok with that. I found the use of six or seven narrators confusing, and it made getting a handle on the different personalities a bit of a challenge. I also found the use of symbols and pictures to be slightly annoying, but at least that was mostly explained by the end of the story. And here is the one a a handful of novels where I did indeed like the ending. It fit in character and in tone, and didn't at all seem rushed or contrived. If all books ended in this manner I would be a happy reader.
I liked this novel slightly better than the last one in the series. It seems like people are finally getting serious fighting this war and it will be interesting indeed to see how it all ends up. At least they are finally starting to figure out the lengths that Jacen has gone to in oder to ensure his rule and his ascension. And Ben seems to be standing up for himself and starting to figure out what really happened. Now if Jaina, Jag, and Zek finally get clued in to what Alema Ra is really up to, the series might start getting better. Oh yes, and they all need to figure out who Tenal Ka's baby daddy is. It's driving me crazy that these simple things seems to be baffling everyone in the universe. It's not that hard people, please see what has been staring you in the face for ages. You'll make the final two books so much better, I promise.
This was a fun book, and I spent a lot of the time trying to figure out who certain characters were supposed to be. Even the mystery was fun, with the deaths of several Oscar nominees the week before the ceremony. The main character is head of publicity at one of LA's luxury hotels, and when her ex husband is one of the victims, she gets drawn even deeper into all the awards weeks insanity.
Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing, books 2 and 3 of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, by Libba Bray
Though I know I can only count one of them for the Book a Month Challenge
, I'm putting them both in the same entry to make writing a review easier on myself.
The theme for March was crafts, and witchcraft must certainly fall into this. Gemma Doyle was raised in India but when her mother dies, she is sent to boarding school in England and starts to learn the mysteries of her mother's past and the legacy she has inherited. The ability to do magic is just one part of this legacy.
In Rebel Angels, Gemma, along with her friends Ann and Felicity, venture once more into the realms and try to learn more about the mysterious Order. In the process they uncover information about Circe's whereabouts and her continued desire to acquire all the magic for herself. This was my favorite of the trilogy, and I couldn't wait to get to the third book.
I wanted to like the third novel, I really did. But it was way too long and kept venturing off topic. Just because the book is set in Victorian England does not mean that I need the author to mention every single thing that was happening during that time. It was almost like the author wanted to show off all her research, and I found it aggravating. At just over 800 pages, I wondered why her editor did not suggest breaking this into two novels. That is a big book to hold and frankly, it was a lot to slog through. I didn't feel like it really got interesting until around page 500. Up to that point I was only reading because I wanted to know how it would all end. While I was satisfied with the end, it took a lot of patience to get there, and this makes me sad.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
I'm a huge movie buff and every year I try to see as many of the Oscar nominated movies as I can. So when the nominations were announced this year, I knew that I had a bit of catching up to do. I went to my local second run theater and saw Into the Wild and just knew that I had to read the book. I often see a movie first, which doesn't stop be from reading and enjoying the book. Is that odd? I don't know, is it? But I digress. This speculative non-fiction is an interesting exercise in journalism, and while I enjoyed it, it felt a bit dry and impersonal. Even though I realize they are two separate entities, I couldn't help comparing the book and the movie. The movie was narrated by Alexander/Christopher's sister, which lent the personal touch that I found lacking in the book. It's a fascinating story, but heartbreaking.
Atonement by Ian McEwan
I saw the movie twice, read the book, and then saw the movie again. I got together with a good friend in December and she told me how much she loved this book and that she was afraid to see the movie because it might not be as wonderful. I respect her opinion and knew that I was going to read the book, I just didn't get a chance before I saw the movie. I really did love this book, it was beautiful, heartbreaking, and nearly perfect. I've read McEwan books that I loved and ones that I hated, and I'm happy this one landed in the love column. I wonder if I would have liked it as much if I'd gone into it knowing less about the story. I guess I'll never really know. One thing that surprised me about this experience is that I didn't see James McAvoy and Keira Knightley as Robbie and Cecilia while I was reading the book. I usually do when I have faces for characters, but I have no idea what happened here. Sorry, rambling again.
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
I this instance, I saw the movie, read the book, and then saw the movie again. I really liked the story here but it drive me crazy that this author does not use quotes to denote dialog. WTF dude? Are you to important to follow accepted conventions or are you just trying to confuse your readers? I was also not a fan of the large sections done in italics. Where is this guy's editor? Or does winner a Pulitzer mean you can do this shit and no one tells you it's a REALLY bad idea? Yeah, I'm slightly bitter about these things. But the story was genius. So I recommend it, but know what you are walking into. I've heard great things about several of McCarthy's other novels, but if they have the same stylistic quirks, I think I'll take a pass. This is sad, but I know myself and I know I'll just get annoyed at the superficial things and have a hard time enjoying the story and this makes me sad.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Several people recommended this to me a while back. I took it out from my public library but never got around to reading it. It came up again recently and this time I read it and I can completely see why so many people loved it, especially those who are music buffs. Not being a huge music buff myself, I didn't quite get all the musical reference, but I was still thoroughly charmed. I was not expecting a story that took place all in one night and I think this one aspect is what won me over and what kept me reading. I also wonder if the two authors each wrote one character, as the point of view shifted back and forth between Nick and Norah. Does anyone know this? I'm looking forward to reading their next collaboration, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List. I also want to know if David Levithan has written other things, since I've read and enjoyed several of Rachel Cohn's solo books, I think I would like his as well.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Yet another book with a recent film adaption floating around. Unlike the others, the film version of this was VERY loosely based on the story and I enjoyed them both. Two completely separate and fascinating stories and were both well done. The two are so different, that I wonder why the source material was even credited. Not that I think the credit should not have been given, but the final product bore so little relation to its source that had I not know this, I would never had made the connection. The edition I read contained this as well as several short stories but I didn't get around to them. I wonder if I missed something great by doing this, but I simply didn't have the time. Darn libraries and their due dates :)
It Had To Be You: The Gossip Girl Prequel by Cecily von Ziegesar
This novel covers the period right before Serena leaves for boarding school and goes over events that readers of the series will be very familiar with. What I wanted from this book was more of a clue to the identity of the Gossip Girl, but sadly I did not get that. I actually had to force myself to read this, as I just didn't really care anymore. Perhaps I read the the series too quickly and just overdosed. One thing this book did accomplish was to change my opinions of the two main characters. I didn't really feel like I was on Team Serena or Team Blair when I finished the series, but after reading this book, I'm solidly on Team Serena. She was very sympathetic in this book, and Blair was a total witch. We also got to find out more about how Dan and Vanessa became friends and to meet Jenny before her more obvious trait had manifested itself. It's not necessary to read this book as part of the series, but it might give you a different take on things you thought you knew. Now I am glad the series is over so that I can move on to other things. But sadly, I didn't get any closer to solving the mystery.
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I loved the idea of it but it just didn't play out the way I wanted it to. This is the story of Dashti, who was raised on the open land but was forced to come into the city when her mother died. Due to her rural people's unusual talent for being able to sing healing songs, Dashti is trained as a ladies maid. On her first day in palace, her mistress, Lady Saren refuses an arranged marriage and Dashti agrees to go with her to the tower. The two are sealed into the tower and will be let out Saren relents, or after seven years. Dashti keeps a journal and this book is that journal. It was a decent story, but it could have been so much better. I thought the ending was contrived and rushed, and I wanted more resolution. Ah well ... here's another case where I need that preview reader to tell me not to bother with this one. One thing I did like were the drawings.
Vampire books are a weakness of mine and this was a fun one. The author did a good job of laying out which vampire rules apply in her universe and just wrote a fun story. It's like gossip girl with fangs :) I'm glad I already have a copy of the second book because this one left me hungry for more.
Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos
I usually try to avoid anything that has been picked by one of the big book clubs, it's my own personal version of snobbishness :) Had I known this was a Today Show book club selection, I probably would have skipped it. But then I would have missed a story that touched my heart. Margaret is an elderly woman tired of her lonely life and in need of a change. She takes in a boarder and sets in motion the creation of an ad hoc family. The story is a bit Dickensian in how everything falls perfectly into place at the end, but I enjoyed that. I wanted everything to fall into place and for the coincidences to play out. I even cried a little at the end. I'm a sap, and I'm totally ok with it. I don't know who recommended this to me, but I'm glad they did.
Fifteen Candles: 15 tales of Taffeta, Hairspray, Drunk Uncles, and other Quinceañera Stories : An Anthology edited by Adriana Lopez
Short story collections usually make me happy, but for some reason this one just made me sad. I've read collections recently about jealously, the holidays, adolescent boys, and mix tapes. I suspect that the lack of humor was issue with this collection. I know not all short stories are funny, but I went into this collection expecting humor and instead got bittersweet and melancholy. It's frustrating to not get what you're expecting. I also got mad at the collection when one of the final stories misidentified "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" as a Guns N' Roses song. Fact check, people, it is NOT hard. Gah. I was also reading Slash' autobiography at the time, so I was particularly offended :) Bad author, no biscuit!
Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer
The edition that I read had much more interesting cover art. I am a total shoe whore, so lots of shoes, even ones with velcro closures are going o catch my eye faster than jeans and chucks, not that I don't love my chucks. Sorry, I got distracted. Ok, the book. I liked the story, a bit of a mystery combined with a story of friendship and second chances. Um, I just realized this is the sequel to a book that I haven't read. Don't you hate it when you unknowingly do that? Thank goodness it was well enough written that I didn't realize it until I went to Amazon to find the cover art. I liked this story and now I will go read the first book, Rules of the Road and I hope I like it just as much.
Slash by Slash with Anthony Bozza
I had a serious thing for Guns N' Roses way back about 7th grade. I remember going to the mall with my friends and being so excited to get a copy of Appetite for Destruction on cassette. When I got home my mother was disgusted and let me keep the tape but I had to throw out the liner notes. WTF mom? I asked her about the recently and I was shocked that she didn't try to justify is somehow. Go mom.
Anyway, the book. I was charmed. I liked the voice that came through, the writing style was enjoyable and flowed nicely, and it was just a great story. But it made me very sad that I recently lost most of my music and had no GNR to listen to. I went into this with pretty minimal expectations, and it blew me away.
Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn
Luckily this time I knew I was reading a sequel and spent the first fifty pages or so trying to remember what happened in the first book. This was an ok story, but not the best of the Star Wars novels. Perhaps because I really don't care about the characters or perhaps because the Sith are just passé. I read most of these novels out some (perhaps misguided) sense of loyalty to the Star Wars franchise and lately I've been disappointed. Perhaps I will learn this lesson and not read this books in the future. I'm just afraid that if I do, I'll miss out on a fantastic novel, such as The Cestus Deception. It's too bad I don't have my own personal book screener who knows exactly what I like and dislike. Actually, that would be fantastic. I'll have to work on it. Anyone want to volunteer? Book reviews you say? I stopped reading them when a major character death was ruined for me by a review of Star by Star. Who DOES that?
Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
This book was total fluff, and a very quick read, but it made me laugh. Even when her plots are full of holes and completely predictable, I still enjoy the Stephanie Plum series. Something to do with two guys names Ranger and Joe, though Lula is a close third. This book, billed as a "between-the-numbers" is really more of a novella, at 176 pages, but if you have two hours to kill and was a few laughs, go for it. It this latest installment, Grandma Mazur finds a bag of money, buys and RV and takes off for Atlantic City. Stephanie and Diesel track her down and try to figure out how to give the money back without getting anyone killed. Of course there are the usual hilarious hijinks, and Stephanie's car is never safe, but that's just part of the fun. But as fun as these books are, I really do hope that the series does have an end point though and that Stephanie must choose once and for all.
Sizzle and Burn (The Arcane Society, book 3) by Jayne Ann Krentz
I read the first two books in this series out of order, and I wish I'd read book 2 more recently because I didn't remember much about it. Luckily there was enough back story here that I was able to back-fill on my own. This was a fun story, and I'm curious to see where she takes this next. I love that she's writing this series with both historical and contemporary installments. I also liked that the suspense part of the romantic suspense was much more prominent than the romance part. Not that I don't like the romance, but when the mystery is sacrificed for the sake of the romance, I tend to get annoyed. I'm long past the point where will read a romance novel just for the romance, so it's great to have a fully flushed out plot to hold my attention.