Wordsmithonia

Mailbox Monday for 1/30/12

2012-01-29T21:14:00.004-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Alyce of At Home With Books.

I received a trade paperback of Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson for an upcoming TLC Book Tour.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Wonder Woman

2012-01-25T22:41:00.001-06:00

Well here it is, another week and finally a new character to post about. I know she's not from One Life To Live, though that would have made the show even more interesting. I've been rather upset about the show going off the air, so I'm just not prepared to dive back into the pool of characters. It's pathetic, but I miss them too much right now. Instead I'm going to briefly talk about one of my favorite super heroes of all time, Wonder Woman. Now I was never a fan of DC comic books, so I can't talk about that version of her. Instead this will be about the TV version played by the gorgeous Lynda Carter.

As some of you may know, the television series only lasted 3 seasons, though I think it should have gone for many more. I actually own every season on DVD and probably watch it a bit too much. The show was cheesy and the timeline was hilarious. Season one takes place while the U.S. is fighting Nazi Germany, and most of the action takes place along those lines. The second season takes place decades later and the main male lead actor is now playing the son of the first character he played. It's just lots of fun.

Like I said earlier I don't know much about the comic version of Wonder Woman, but from what I've seen form the TV show makes me fall in lover with her every time she steps onto my screen. Besides being drop dead gorgeous with some of the sexiest eyes to ever grace a human being, she is one of those rare characters that has no ulterior motives. She does what she does because she believes it to be the right thing to do and she wants to help the human race survive the pitfalls that are laid before it.

She is everything a super hero should be. She has superior strength, stamina, and can leap like a gazelle. She has a lasso that forces those caught with it to tell the truth, she can stop bullets with her bracelets, and even has an invisible plane to ride around in. But most of all she is purely selfless. She is an Amazonian princess who grew up (without aging) on an enchanted island that protects it's inhabitants. It's by her own choice to get involved in the outside world and protect man from outside enemies and from itself. It's not something she has to do because the gods tell her, it's because she knows it's the right thing to do. I can only hope that she is an example that more people live up to in that regard.

I think this is where I will end this post because I have an burning desire to go watch season 3.

Prime Suspect by Lynda La Plante

2012-01-25T00:29:00.002-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

The moment Jane Tennison takes over Scotland Yard's investigation into the death of sex worker Della Mornay, two grim fact become immediately clear to her. First, that the constabulary's old boy club is determined to hinder, harass, and undermine the new female Detective Chief Inspector at every turn. And second that their murder victim isn't Della Mornay.

Now the police are a step behind, and a madman is loose onto the streets of London. To apprehend the criminal stalking women through the city's shadows, Tennison will have to steel herself against the hostility of her fellow officers and conceal her own mounting obsession with breaking through the glass ceiling of the station house - even as department politics, a crumbling relationship, and a wickedly elusive prime suspect threaten her very existence.

When I was given the opportunity to read/review Prime Suspect and it's two sequels, I jumped at the chance. By now, anyone who reads this blog on any sort of regular (or irregular) basis should have figured out I'm a huge mystery fan. It doesn't seem to matter the style; noir, cozy, golden age, police procedural, I like them all. You can't be a mystery fan and not have heard of Prime Suspect or at least of it's television incarnation with the great Helen Mirren. They even tried it on US television this season with the gorgeous Maria Bello. Sadly that was cancelled almost right away. Now I'm going to admit right up front that I'm guilty of never watching either show, though I was familiar with them. It's for that reason, partly to resolve my guilt and curiosity, that I agreed to read the three books in the series.

When I first started reading this book, I will admit to having some doubts about it. I almost put it down after the first twenty or so pages. It was reading to me more like a television script that an actual novel. The pacing seemed off and the transitions between scenes seemed more apt for a visual medium over the printed word. I stuck with it though and before I knew it, I was in love. There was something so infectious and real about what I was reading that I couldn't put the book down. I carried the book with me everywhere I went, reading every spare moment I had.

Part of that appeal is with the main character, Jane Tennison. She is one of those rare characters that seem real. It doesn't feel like a character that came out of the imagination of it's author. Instead she feels more like a real life cop, who agreed to step into the footsteps of a figment of imagination. She was flawed and heroic. It's those flaws though that cemented her into my cerebellum and will probably never allow her to pack up and leave. She was a fully thought out, three dimensional character who I would want working my murder case.

She is an overly insecure individual who has a driving need to prove herself as a cop and as a woman. That fact that she is of the female gender makes her job all that much harder in the overly masculine world of homicide. She steps on toes and even resorts to a bit of professional blackmail in order to get the opportunities she needs to prove herself. She is tenacious, ambitious, and wholly lovable despite her habit of destroying any personal relationship that she is in. Now, the one example given in this book makes me believe it's more her bad taste in men and their own insecurities that cause her the problems.

Now as far as the mystery itself, I can't find any flaws with it. The villain that Lynda La Plante created as Tennison's foil is so Ted Bundy like in style and charm that you can't help but believe him and in his innocence. Cerebraly I knew he was guilty as sin, but my brain just didn't want to accept that such a debonair, charming man could be guilty of such brutality. As both the case and the proven ability of Tennison's mind becomes clearer with each page, the mystery solidifies and the true nature of the prime suspect fully enters into my mind. He becomes the perfect literary villain. He is someone who is truly evil, but still retains that likability and sympathy. In one word, he is perfect.

I have already received the other two books in the series, and can already tell you that I will be heart broken at the end of the third one. It will be the last time I get to see Jane Tennison on a new case. Of course I have two TV shows to fill any emptiness that I may end up feeling.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Challenges: A-Z

Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

With my hateful brother, Binky, in town, I've been desperately seeking an escape. To my delight, it comes in the form of an invitation form the queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania - legendary home of vampires.

I soon realize why I was the one honored with such an invitation. The bride, Princess Maria Theresa, happens to be my old school chum, Matty. But my stay in her macabre-looking castle turns unnerving when I find dear Matty with blood running down her chin. Then, during the ceremony, a prominent wedding guest is poisoned. Something must be done lest the nuptial festivities go to ruin, or, worse yet, the couple's vows becomes: to love and to cherish, till undeath do us part...

Now normally I would not be a big fan of mixing a cozy mystery with the whole vampire thing, but with Georgie right in the mix of things, I was game. Like the three previous books in the series, Royal Blood is a riot of funness to read. Yeah I know funness isn't a word, but it should be.

The mystery itself, the poisoning of the uncouth general, isn't all that interesting to me though. He was a boorish jackass who needed to die, otherwise I would have been annoyed every time he stepped out onto the page. I would have been just fine letting the murderer get away with it. Of course, he then had to start killing others, so he probably did need to get caught.

What saves this book, and saves the others for that matter, is Georgie and the group of people that come in and out of her life. Georgie herself is one of the funniest gals I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and I know we would be good friends if she was a real girl. Her friend the clothing designer, her mysterious Irish Peer, her actress mother, and a whole host of other characters liven things up a bit for her. They meddle, tease, love, and do everything they can to make Georgie's life interesting.

Now in case any of you were wondering about the vampire stuff, this is a cozy mystery. Cozy mysteries will never (at least I hope not) have real vampires in them. But the way the themes are explored had me in stitches most of the time. It was integrated into the story without taking it over. Something that's hard to achieve with blood thirsty monsters roaming the castle halls.

Challenges: A-Z

Mailbox Monday for 1/23/12

2012-01-22T19:05:00.000-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Alyce of At Home With Books.

This was the week of my last buying binge for a while. I go into stores and I just can't help myself. I really do need my hands slapped one of these days.

I received a trade paperback of The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn for an upcoming TLC Book Tour.

The lovely Becke of The Mysterious Garden Muse, just so happens to be the moderator of the mystery board over at Barnes & Noble. She generously, without my knowing about it, a package of three books. They were a hardcover of The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe (I couldn't find the correct cover anywhere), a paperback of The Gift Shop by Charlotte Armstrong, and a hardcover A Puzzle for Fools by Patrick Quentin (again not the right cover.)

This is where I went a little crazy. I went to Barnes & Noble to pick up a trade paperback of The Man in the Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart that I had ordered. While there I picked up a paperback of From Hell With Love by Simon R. Green. They have a great CD sale right now, buy 2 get 1 for free, so I picked up The Italian by Patrizio, Ultimate Dolly Parton, and Crystal Gayle Greatest Hits. That trip happened on Friday.

Then today (Sunday) I went to exchange a few books that I was given as a gift. Since the gift giver could not find a receipt I had to trade them in at the lowest price, I think I got robbed a bit on this. So I picked up a trade paperback of The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart and 3 more CDs. I got Forever Begins Tonight by Patrizio, Patrizio, and The Artist Collection: Julie London.

On Friday (it was my big shopping day; clothes, camera, the whole enchilada) I stopped in at Target, don't remember why though. While I was there, I picked up a Blue-Ray of American Psycho since it was on sale for $5. I also got Bambi on Blue-Ray since it was on sale as well.

Graveminder by Melissa Marr

2012-01-19T20:03:00.001-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville. While growing up, Rebekkah watches as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual at every funeral: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words, "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is gone and Bek must return to the hometown - and the man - she abandoned a decade ago, only to discover that Maylene's death was not natural.. and there was good reason for her odd traditions. In Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected - and beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. From this dark place the deceased will return if their grave are not properly minded. And only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk...

It's not often that I find a paranormal romance/contemporary fantasy novel that I'm flat out in love with. After reading what seemed like an endless stream of reviews praising this book, I thought out loud, "Hey, maybe this could be the one." So I would look at it every time I went into a bookstore, but for whatever reason, I just never took it home with me. Well when I was given an opportunity to read/review it, I took it as a sign that this one could just do it for me.

When I got the book in the mail, and saw the new cover, I started to have my doubts. Where the old cover was a little creepy, the new one looked like every other book out there. I would have a hard time picking this out on a table of other new YA or paranormal books. Needless to say, my excitement level dropped a little. I still knew that I needed to crack the book open and at least start it before I started to judge the book by it's cover.

Once I began my journey into Claysville and the secrets the town held onto so tightly, I never really wanted to leave, but I was constantly looking for a better reason to stay. What I loved was the world that Melissa Marr created for her characters to inhabit and explore. Claysville resembles most small towns, but has some rather peculiar customs. Everyone who has ever been born within the town limits, must be buried there when the die. It's written into the town charter and everyone involves just accepts it like it's no big deal. If someone who moved away from town is to die, even in another country, the current Undertakes must collect the body and bring it back to town for burial.

The strangeness doesn't stop there. Every funeral is attended by a woman who stays behind and performs her own private ceremony. Again, not something anyone else in town really think about as anything other than normal. People take it for granted that there is no real crime, poverty, or other problems the outside world has to deal with. There is a rather creepy sense of complacency in the air, one that is mandated by a contract with someone the town founders made a deal with.

All of this is to protect the town, but the price they paid was a little more that I think most people would be willing to bare. The dead don't stay dead within Claysville and it's up to the Graveminder and Undertaker to make sure they don't come back and bother the living.

Like I said, the world the author created is brilliant. I love Claysville and I love the city of the dead that lays beneath their feet even more. What I didn't love so much were the characters. Actually, let me rephrase that. I didn't really care for one character all that much, Rebekkah.

I like all the secondary characters and am flat out in love with Byron. I just wish Rebekkah had been a bit less annoying about her feelings for Byron. I get she has issues with her feelings for him over what her sister did, but come on already. Get the hell over it and grow the blank up. This is where the book reminded me of a YA novel, there was just too much angst for my taste.

Thankfully, once my travels through Claysville were over, I still didn't want to leave. Rebekkah had grown up a bit, though I still didn't know that I would want to hang out with her all that much. But since I had to leave I did, and I'm actually looking forward to the next time Claysville and it's dead call out my name.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Favorite Fictional Character Repost --- The Lady of Shalott

2012-01-18T22:28:00.000-06:00

Once again I must apologize for allowing life to get in the way of having a brilliantly written new post for you to enjoy. This bronchitis or whatever the crap it is is still kicking me in the butt and my cough doesn't seem to be getting any better. I have days where I don't cough much at all and then I have some where it seems I'm doing it all the time. I'm also going on a staycation from work over the weekend so I've been working open to close the last few days in order to get everything I need done before I take 4 days off. I promise that next week I will have something new and shiny for you to enjoy. In the meantime please let me reintroduce you to a character that I first posted about in 2099. She is still the only character to come from poem though I have a few others that I have thought about. So with no further ado, here is The Lady of Shalott.

I'm not sure I can really describe why this poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson gets to me the way it does. Why the main character of this beautifully written work makes me want to cry every time I read what happens to her. Nor am I going to give an academic dissertation on the themes found in this work. That is for another time. What I'm going to try and explain here is what I feel when I read this poem and why The Lady of Shalott is my third pick for My Favorite Fictional Character.

As most people who have read this poem, I encountered it for the first time in my Senior English class in high school. All I remember is reading along in class and having this well of emotion come out that I'm not sure had ever been brought out by any other poem. It was a feeling of utter sadness and regret for this woman who was condemned to live alone with no physical contact from the outside world.

She is loosely based off of Elaine of Astolat from the Arthurian legends. Though many of the details from the poem are not to be found in the original story. We meet her as a woman living in a tower that sits on an island in the middle of a river. She is physically isolated from any other human being. Her only view of the comings and goings around her is through a mirror. If she were to gaze directly out the window a curse would come over her so she has never chosen to do such a thing before. One day Sir Lancelot rides by and the Lady of Shalott is so enchanted by what she sees that she looks out the window and with the breaking of her mirror she condemns herself to death. The rest of the poem recounts her journey down the river to Camelot and her eventual death.

What really upset me the first time I read this was Sir Lancelot's response once the Lady reaches Camelot lying dead in her boat. As a young man I found it to be callous and cold. Upon later reflection I really couldn't blame him, for how is he to know the small role he played in this tragedy.

Her story had stuck with me since then and I tend to read the poem many times throughout a normal year. I have the above print by Waterhouse framed and hanging in my living room and I listen to Loreena McKennitt sing the poem about as often as I read it. The sadness and total isolation she felt still gets to me and I end up putting myself in her shoes. If I were ever in her situation would I eventually get to the point where I would say "I am half sick of shadows", damn the consequences and choose to live just one last moment in the world.

I' m not sure I can fully express the emotions this poem and it's "hero" convey in me so I will post the poem here and let you read it for yourself.

The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

On either side the river lie

Long fields of barley and of rye,

That clothe the wold and meet the sky;

And thro' the field the road runs by

To many-tower'd Camelot;

And up and down the people go,

Gazing where the lilies blow

Round an island there below,

The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,

Little breezes dusk and shiver

Through the wave that runs for ever

By the island in the river

Flowing down to Camelot.

Four grey walls, and four grey towers,

Overlook a space of flowers,

And the silent isle imbowers

The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow veil'd,

Slide the heavy barges trail'd

By slow horses; and unhail'd

The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd

Skimming down to Camelot:

But who hath seen her wave her hand?

Or at the casement seen her stand?

Or is she known in all the land,

The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers, reaping early,

In among the bearded barley

Hear a song that echoes cheerly

From the river winding clearly;

Down to tower'd Camelot;

And by the moon the reaper weary,

Piling sheaves in uplands airy,

Listening, whispers, " 'Tis the fairy

Lady of Shalott."

There she weaves by night and day

A magic web with colours gay.

She has heard a whisper say,

A curse is on her if she stay

To look down to Camelot.

She knows not what the curse may be,

And so she weaveth steadily,

And little other care hath she,

The Lady of Shalott.

And moving through a mirror clear

That hangs before her all the year,

Shadows of the world appear.

There she sees the highway near

Winding down to Camelot;

There the river eddy whirls,

And there the surly village churls,

And the red cloaks of market girls

Pass onward from Shalott.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,

An abbot on an ambling pad,

Sometimes a curly shepherd lad,

Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad

Goes by to tower'd Camelot;

And sometimes through the mirror blue

The knights come riding two and two.

She hath no loyal Knight and true,

The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delights

To weave the mirror's magic sights,

For often through the silent nights

A funeral, with plumes and lights

And music, went to Camelot;

Or when the Moon was overhead,

Came two young lovers lately wed.

"I am half sick of shadows," said

The Lady of Shalott.

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,

He rode between the barley sheaves,

The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,

And flamed upon the brazen greaves

Of bold Sir Lancelot.

A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd

To a lady in his shield,

That sparkled on the yellow field,

Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,

Like to some branch of stars we see

Hung in the golden Galaxy.

The bridle bells rang merrily

As he rode down to Camelot:

And from his blazon'd baldric slung

A mighty silver bugle hung,

And as he rode his armor rung

Beside remote Shalott.

All in the blue unclouded weather

Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,

The helmet and the helmet-feather

Burn'd like one burning flame together,

As he rode down to Camelot.

As often thro' the purple night,

Below the starry clusters bright,

Some bearded meteor, burning bright,

Moves over still Shalott.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;

On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;

From underneath his helmet flow'd

His coal-black curls as on he rode,

As he rode down to Camelot.

From the bank and from the river

He flashed into the crystal mirror,

"Tirra lirra," by the river

Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,

She made three paces through the room,

She saw the water-lily bloom,

She saw the helmet and the plume,

She look'd down to Camelot.

Out flew the web and floated wide;

The mirror crack'd from side to side;

"The curse is come upon me," cried

The Lady of Shalott.

In the stormy east-wind straining,

The pale yellow woods were waning,

The broad stream in his banks complaining.

Heavily the low sky raining

Over tower'd Camelot;

Down she came and found a boat

Beneath a willow left afloat,

And around about the prow she wrote

The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse

Like some bold seer in a trance,

Seeing all his own mischance --

With a glassy countenance

Did she look to Camelot.

And at the closing of the day

She loosed the chain, and down she lay;

The broad stream bore her far away,

The Lady of Shalott.

Lying, robed in snowy white

That loosely flew to left and right --

The leaves upon her falling light --

Thro' the noises of the night,

She floated down to Camelot:

And as the boat-head wound along

The willowy hills and fields among,

They heard her singing her last song,

The Lady of Shalott.

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,

Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,

Till her blood was frozen slowly,

And her eyes were darkened wholly,

Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.

For ere she reach'd upon the tide

The first house by the water-side,

Singing in her song she died,

The Lady of Shalott.

Under tower and balcony,

By garden-wall and gallery,

A gleaming shape she floated by,

Dead-pale between the houses high,

Silent into Camelot.

Out upon the wharfs they came,

Knight and Burgher, Lord and Dame,

And around the prow they read her name,

The Lady of Shalott.

Who is this? And what is here?

And in the lighted palace near

Died the sound of royal cheer;

And they crossed themselves for fear,

All the Knights at Camelot;

But Lancelot mused a little space

He said, "She has a lovely face;

God in his mercy lend her grace,

The Lady of Shalott."

This is the talented Loreena McKennitt putting the poem to song.

The Thorn And The Blossom by Theodora Goss

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn't know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorns handed her a medieval romance, he didn't know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself...

This is one of those books that you need to read for the experience of reading it alone. It's a two sided book without a spine. There are two covers and the pages are done like an accordion between then. When you finish one story, you flip it over and read the other. It's a fairly short book either way you count the pages, but what's inside was a pure joy to read.

The story itself is pretty simple. Boy meets girl, girls leaves without explaining anything to boy, boy and girl meet again years later, girl leaves again without explaining herself, boy and girl end up in same coastal village where they met without the other knowing it. And that's where the story ends, both of them in the same English village on the cusp of running into each other again.

Obviously there is a lot of detail I'm leaving out, otherwise there would be no point in your reading it, which I think you should. I started the book with Brendan's story and I believe I'm thankful for that. It allowed me to get to know not only Brendan but Eleanor through his eyes. In Brendan's story they both come across as strong, if a bit quirky, characters that I want to see together. When they meet again years after their first encounter, I'm rooting for them. I feel so bad for Brendan and the loss that he has had to go through up to that point. By running into Eleanor again, it feels as if he is getting a second chance at happiness.

Eleanor's story on the other hand left me feeling a bit cold on her as a character. She comes across as neurotic, emotionally unstable, insecure, and just a tad bit nerdy (not that nerdy is bad.) If I had not met her through Brendan's filter first, I'm not sure I would have liked her as much. After reading her story though, I found her to be braver than I had at first thought and I grew to like her for who she was, not who Brendan thought she was.

I've never read the legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, at least not that I can remember so I can't tell you how closely this book mirrors the story. What I can say about it is that I found it fascinating enough that I really want to correct my past error and read it for myself.

I hope everyone gets to experience this one for themselves. This will be a book that stays on my shelves for years to come and I'm sure I'll be rereading it many times.

Mailbox Monday for 1/16/12

2012-01-15T20:22:00.001-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Alyce of At Home With Books.

I received trade paperbacks of Prime Suspect, Prime Suspect 2: A Face In The Crowd, and Prime Suspect 3: Silent Victims by Lynda La Plante. I also received ARCs of Gillespie and I by Jane Harris and The Technologists by Matthew Pearl. They are all for upcoming TLC Book Tours.

I received In The Nick Of Time by J. Lee Graham from the author for review.

Moving Targets edited by Mercedes Lackey

2012-01-12T15:40:00.000-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar is an ancient land where the peace is kept by a very special corps of protectors: the Heralds. Chosen from all across the kingdom, from all walks of life, and at all ages, these unusual individuals are Gifted with abilities beyond those of normal men and women. They are Mindspeakers, FarSeers, Empaths, ForeSeers, Firestarters, FarSpeakers, and others who are uniquely suited to protect their realm. Sough and Chosen by mysterious horselike Companions, they are trained to be emissaries, spies, judges, diplomats, scouts, counselors, and even warriors. Bonded for life to the Companion who chooses them, the Heralds of Valdemar ride patrol throughout the kingdom preserving the peace and, when necessary, defending their land and monarch.

Now, fifteen authors join Mercedes Lackey, adding their won magical touch to the heroes of this well-loved fantasy realm. Ride circuit with Tanya Huff, Mickey Zuker Reichert, Fiona Patton, Judith Tarr, Rosemary Edghill, and other in fourteen original stories - including an all-new novella from Mercedes Lackey - to a world where:

An insecure Herald Trainee learns that her self-doubt can become the source of her strength...

An elderly Herald teaches a young Herald that a good story can protect a kingdom...

The selfless devotion of a servant girl elevates her stature higher than she could ever have dreamed...

I used to be such a huge fantasy fan, devouring almost every book I could get my hands on. Over the years though, that passion for the genre has died down a bit, but I still have a handful of authors that I will read every chance I get. Mercedes Lackey is one of them, and her Valdemar books are my favorite of all. As usual, I love every time I get to escape into Valdemar and get immersed in the stories of the Heralds and their Companions. Valdemar is that fictional kingdom, that if it actually existed, I would have ran away from home to go live there.

Because of that, when I got this one for Christmas, I couldn't wait to dive in and get lost once again. Now this collection actually is before the other two anthologies that I have already reviewed. I'm not sure how I managed to miss this one, but I'm glad that has been corrected as of now.

The biggest reason I loved this one was I got to see Ree and Jem again. The stars of my favorite short stories from the last two anthologies I read, Ree and Jem already feel like old friends to me. Instead of being of writing their own stories, as they did in the other two books, Sarah A. Hoyt and Kate Paulk wrote "Heart, Home, and Hearth" together. I got to meet Ree and Jem before they make it to the old man's house and the relative safety he provided for them. It was nice to see the two young men (one completely human, the other a changechild) again. They are such a terrific couple, who always look out for each other in a world that is dead set against them, a world that would be willing to kill one of them. This story is about how Ree has to find shelter for the sickly Jem before the bitterness of winter really kicks in. It's that journey that sends them stumbling into what they think is a abandoned farm house. But instead of it being vacated by those who previously lived there, the two young me find the family and support that they are so desperately needing.

I've just now realized that I haven't read the anthology that comes before this one either, I'm hoping that one will tell me how these two young men met in the first place.

I don't think there was a story in this collection that I didn't love or feel as if it added to the history of Valdemar and it's people, but there was one other that just had me falling in love and hooting with laughter. The title story "Moving Targets" is Mercedes Lackey's contribution. I found the story to be a wonderful homage to Scooby-Doo, what is there not to like about that. In the story a Herald Elyn is assigned the task of taking a group of four Herald Trainees out on their first circuit, as circuit that if successful will make all four full Heralds. These four students though, while talented and uniquely gifted, are a tight knit group that just can't seem to stay out of trouble. Because of the size of their group, they travel with a covered wagon. In the fist hint of Scooby-Doo, the wagon is painted int he same colors as the Mystery Machine. That paint is quickly covered up, but it's a great hint for what's to come.

Once out on the road they are caught up in what looks like a haunting designed to get people to flee their village. It's through some careful investigation, trap setting, and mishaps that the foursome discover the truth. The whole thing was set up by an old coot who needed people to leave so he could mine gold out of the stream. When he's caught, he even whines about how he almost got away with it, it if just wasn't for those darn kids. The story was hilarious, and for a kid who grew up with Scooby-Doo, it was wonderful.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Dorian Cramer

2012-01-11T23:02:00.003-06:00

Counting today there are only 3 more episodes of One Life To Live for me to watch. The disgusting thing, other than it going off the air, is what is replacing it. Do we really need anymore makeover shows? Really, who the hell cares about makeover shows anymore. I thought it was bad enough that they replaced All My Children with a cooking talk show. I'm still shuddering over that one. The makeover show is the icing on the cake though. So instead of pulling my hair out, I'm going to talk about my favorite bitch (hero) from the show.

Dorian Cramer, plus a host of other last names, is the antihero frienemy of last weeks FFC, Victoria Lord. Dorian, who just so happens to be a cardiologist, moves to town and quickly starts trouble. And when I say trouble, I mean trouble. She starts an affair with a married man, accidentally kills a patient, and takes a spill down a flight of stairs landing herself in a coma. You have to give it to the woman, when she wakes up, she gets right back on her feet.

After she confessed to accidental death, she is dismissed from the hospital, a dismissal she blames Victoria Lord for. She sets out to even the score and marries Viki's father, Victor Lord. From there the talons come out and Dorian is at her worst. She hides heart attacks, makes fathers and sons hate each other, blackmails and does all sorts of other mean and nasty things. Now all this happened before I started watching the show, but just hearing about it from my mom made me like this woman even more.

Now if all she did was evil and dastardly deeds, Dorian wouldn't be all that interesting. At the heart of who she is, Dorian is a fiercely loyal individual who will do anything she needs to do in order to protect her family and friends. She has an ability to make those around her love and forgive her every time she screws up, which she does often. She doesn't mind manipulating those she cares about to do what she thinks is right for them. No matter what though, she does it out of love, even if it is a bit misguided at times.

Even her relationship with Viki has evolved over the years. The two of them are constantly at each other's throats but are always there for each other when it's needed. Despite everything that has passed between them, they do love each other and I'm not sure their lives would be complete with out the other.

Dorian, and characters like her, is the reason I will miss daytime dramas. Characters that have years of history and development are always a joy to watch because they never stop evolving.

Our Man In The Dark by Rashad Harrison

2012-01-09T23:13:00.001-06:00

Synopsis From TLC Book Tours:

Feeling unappreciated and overlooked, John Estem, a bookkeeper for Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), steals ten thousand dollars from the organization. To the bookkeeper’s dismay, the FBI has been keeping close tabs on Dr. King and his fellow activists—including Estem—for years. FBI agents tell Estem that it is his duty, as an American and as a civil rights supporter, to protect the SCLC from communist infiltration. Playing informant empowers Estem, but he soon learns that his job is not simply to relay information on the organization. The FBI discovers evidence of King’s sexual infidelities, and set out to undermine King’s credibility as a moral leader.

I'm going to be honest right up front. I'm going to be honest about something that, I have a feeling anyway, will put me in the minority on this one. I really didn't care about this one. I didn't hate it, but after I put it down, I felt nothing; zip, zero, nada, nothing. It's been a few days since I've finished it, and to tell you the truth, I had to reread the synopsis on the dust jacket to really remember what the book was about.

I know part of the problem is that the book has a really noirish vibe to it. I can't really call it noir, because it wasn't gritty enough for me, so we will go with noirish (even if it's not a real word.) I love noir though, so I think part of the problem is that it just didn't go far enough for me. It's like when you are really craving pizza, it's all you can think about, and when they bring it to your door, it has the wrong damn toppings. They sent you pepperoni and black olives instead of sausage and mushrooms. It's still good, just doesn't satisfy you the way you wanted.

The other issue, at least I'm going to blame my bland response to this one, is what else I was reading at the time. I was reading a few golden age mysteries and a cozy at the same time. I think the juxtaposition between what those offered me and what this was giving me, just didn't work. I know we aren't supposed to compare books, especially books that have nothing to do with each other, but that's easier said then done. When I'm in love with my other reading and not feeling the same way about this one, it made it very hard to put those others down and pick this one back up.

With all that being said, and for the most part I could have ignored all of that, what I really kept me from connecting with this book was it's main character, John Estem. I just didn't like him. This has a noir feel to it, so I was expecting the characters to be flawed, which they were. With John though, as flawed as he was, I couldn't find anything about him that I liked. I found him to be rather boring and despite the self awareness he had, a trifle pathetic. I'm not really sure if all the blame can be laid at John's feet, but since he's an easy scapegoat, he will have to deal with it.

Now I don't want anyone to think the book is a waste of time. Like I said in the beginning, I think most people will like this one. For that matter, if I were to read this at a later date, I may actually end up liking it. I think the author has a wonderful sense of words and description. His style, at least in this book, is concise and wonderfully easy to read, without dumbing it down for the audience. He dealt with some serious subject manner, some of which given some of the historical characters involved, I found to be very interesting and even a little brave. I guess what I'm trying to say is ignore the first 4 paragraphs of this review, and base your decision on this last one. I don't want to be responsible for someone not reading this book.

I want to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book. Please visit the tour page, where I'm sure you will find more upbeat reviews.

Challenges: A-Z

Mailbox Monday for 1/9/2012

2012-01-08T14:57:00.000-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Alyce of At Home With Books.

On Barnes & Noble's website, they had a whole bunch of hardcovers on sale for $2.99 each, plus shipping and handling. I ended up buying The Sword of the Lady by S.M. Stirling, The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom, The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett, and The Seance by John Harwood. The first is part of a continuing series I've been reading. The rest are all books I've seen reviewed by other bloggers, so I'm really excited for all of them.

On a trip to a local used bookstore, I picked up 4 paperbacks and 1 hardcover. None of which is what I was looking for. I was looking for more Mary Roberts Rinehart books, but they didn't have anything I didn't already own. So I picked up paperbacks of Brat Farrar and The Franchise Affair, both by Josephine Tey. I also got two other paperbacks of The Casino Murder Case and The Kennel Murder Case, both by S.S. Van Dine. I also picked up a hardcover of The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin. After reading a mystery last year that featured Josephine Tey as a character, I've been wanting to read some of her books. I've seen the movie version of The Kennel Murder case with William Powell, so I've been wanting to read the Philo Vance books. The Midnight Mayor is the second book in a series, the first of which I think I read/review in 2010.

Wal-Mart has the first 7 Harry Potter movies on sale for $3.96 each. I got two of them for Christmas and when I was in there the other day, I saw they had been restocked in the others. So I picked up Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, and Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. That means I own the first seven, the last of which I haven't seen yet. Know I just need to buy and watch the 8th movie and I'll be all caught up.

I made a quick stop into the flea market today and while I was shopping around for records for my roommate, I found two for myself. I got Julie Is Her Name and Whatever Julie Wants, both of them by Julie London. I've never heard her music on vinyl before, so I'm really excited for these. Both of them together, I only paid $3.

The Great Mistake by Mary Roberts Rinehart

2012-01-06T21:27:00.000-06:00

Synopsis From The Back Cover:

Love was the furthest thing from Patricia Abbott's mind when she met Tony Wainwright. though he was heir to the Wainwright fortune and the magnificent family mansion knows as the Cloisters, the rumors of his private revels hinted at a dark and sinister decadence. And there was something else - a woman Tony never spoke about... a woman hidden away in the shadows... a woman who was his wife.

But it was already too late. And as Tony drew her into a dangerous liaison, Patricia was about to become enmeshed in an inescapable web of lies, secrets, and cold-blooded murder....

Well here it is, my first Mary Roberts Rinehart book of the year. It's nice to kick off the year with such a fabulous read and a revisit to an author I feel as if I've know for years. Of course it hasn't been for years. It's only been since the middle of last year that I discovered her, and boy am I grateful for it. So I want to take a second and thank Yvette of in so many words... for the introduction. This was my 9th book by her and I already have another read, plus have started in on my third for the year.

Now onto my predictably glowing review of this book, and I promise not too much sugar. Well maybe just a tad too much. I'm sure you will forgive me. Like in almost all her other books, the back blurb goes overboard and makes poor Tony sound like such a cad. In fact Tony is a wonderful young man (the kind I would love to meet) who just happens to have made a huge mistake in marrying his gold digger of a wife. He and his mom, Patricia's new employer, are still paying for that mistake. It's not his fault that Patricia finds herself get into more than one close call. We would just have to chalk that up to bad timing and a overly strong sense of curiosity.

The story itself is one of the more complicated plots that I've read by Rinehart, and it was fantastic. Their is such a large cast of characters, many of whom have secrets that they really don't want to come out. More than one character arrives back in town after years of being away. Some of them aren't who they claim to be. More than one person will pay with their lives to keep all the secrets buried in the past.

See that wasn't too saccharine. I am almost positive, though won't say for certain, that I will probably not be able to do a Mary Roberts Rinehart review without it being overly positive. If I ever do, I will buy everyone chocolate cupcakes with cherry frosting.

Challenges: A-Z, VM

A-Z Mystery Challenge 2012

2012-01-06T00:00:00.000-06:00

The wonderful Michelle of red headed book child is hosting her own mystery challenge once again this year. The A-Z Mystery Challenge was one I was really excited for last year, but since I signed up to do the whole alphabet, it was one I didn't finish. I think I was 11 letters away. This year I think setting a goal to read as many letters as I can, but I'm not going to stress out if I don't get the whole alphabet done. Here are the rules as written by Michelle.

RULES:

Challenge runs from January 1 - December 31, 2012. Sign up ends February 1, 2012.

Each letter represents the last name of the mystery author. G= for Sue Grafton.
You decide your level.
Mystery genre can include Cozy, Suspense, Thriller, or Noir. All Adult novels please.
Sign up on Mr. Linky.
Write a post about this challenge and what letters you want to read. You can list the authors you choose or do it as you go.
When you post your reviews, mention this challenge and link back to this sign up post.
New button will be available that will have my new blog address on it. Feel free to grab this one for now!

Favorite Fictional Character --- Victoria Lord

2012-01-04T20:51:00.002-06:00

It was bad enough that I had to say goodbye to All My Children late last year, now I'm being asked to say goodbye to the only other soap opera I watch, One Life to Live. It will air it's last episode on the 13th. What really ticks me off is that because the production company that bought the rights to both shows has decided to not create online versions of them, I'm going to be left with two shows that end with huge cliffhangers. Cliffhangers that will never be resolved. I'm digressing right now, I don't want this post to turn into a diatribe about how unfair life is. Instead I'm going to highlight some of my favorite characters, characters that I'm going to miss dearly once this month is over.

There is no way I could start off a month of One Life to Live characters and not start with Victoria Lord. Played by the beautiful Erika Slezak since 1971, Viki is the heart and soul of a show that revolved around the machinations of her family, almost since the beginning. Victoria Lord Gordon Riley Burke Buchanan Carpenter Davidson Banks is in a class all her own.

Raised by a villainous publisher who molested her as a child, Viki tried everything she could to get out of underneath the thumb of her father. Her ordeal of what her father did to her, her repressed memories of finding him in bed with her best friend (which produced two half siblings), and all the frequent strains in her life cause Viki to develop split personality disorder. At last count she has had 6 personalities emerge at different times. For the most part Viki is fully integrated, but every once in a while, when things seem to being falling apart all around her, one of the more dominate personalities will come out. They, while protecting parts of her, always seem to get her into trouble. The character's ability to deal with the aftermath of their actions, never failed to amaze me. The fact that anyone can wrap their mind around and accept actions their bodies performed, but had no control over, is amazing to me. I'm in awe of the strength of will that would have to take.

Through the years Viki has had numerous triumphs in life. She has had five children and numerous grandchildren. She has been blessed with deep and abiding loves in her life. Loves that at times, as a viewer, took my breath away. She has been mayor of her city, sat on the boards of the hospital and various charities, been dean of the local university, and has run a successful newspaper for years.

She has also suffered losses that would bring most mortals to their knees. She has been widowed three times, lost one daughter to lupus, lost four grandchildren, and has had three of her five siblings die violent deaths. She has also survived breast cancer, a stroke, a heart transplant, and being shot. No matter what else you say about her, she is a true survivor.

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2012

2012-01-03T00:00:00.000-06:00

The wonderful Bev of My Readers Block is sponsoring her Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge once again. It's the only challenge I actually completed last year, so I'm super excited to join in once again. I'll let Bev explain the rules, since they have changed this year.

Once again, I will be sponsoring the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge--but with a bit of a twist. I wanted to mix things up a bit to keep it interesting for all of you who have joined me in Vintage fun for 2011. This year it's all about Vintage Themes. In order to participate, you will need to choose at least one Vintage Theme listed below (minimum 8 book commitment). Here are the general rules:

*All books must have been written before 1960 and be from the mystery category (crime fiction, detective fiction, espionage, etc.). Please remember that some of our Vintage authors wrote well after 1959--so keep an eye on the original publish date.*You are welcome to count these books towards any other challenges as well.

*Challenge runs from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Sign up any time between now and November 30, 2012. If you have a blog, please post about the challenge and your theme commitment. Then sign up via the linky below. And please make the url link to your Challenge post and not your home page.*I would love to see reviews of your challenge books, but it is not necessary to participate. If you do not have a blog, post to the comments what your challenge commitment will be and then post again at the progress site (see below) when you have completed your challenge (include a list of books read).

*No matter what theme you choose, please read from at least two different vintage authors.

*Everyone who completes their declared theme/s will be entered for a prize drawing at the end of the year. Anyone who completes two or more themes (16 or more books) will automatically receive their choice from a prize list.

*On January 1st, I will post a site where you can link up your reviews/progress.

Vintage Themes:

1. Colorful Crime: 8 books with colors in the title
2. Murder by the Numbers: 8 books with a number in the title
3. Occupational Hazards: 8 books with a "detective" who is not a P.I.; Police Officer; Official Investigator (Nurse Keate, Father Brown, Miss Marple, etc.)
4. Perilous Policemen: 8 books with a policeman as the primary investigator
5. Lethal Locations: 8 books that are all about place (for instance: country houses, hospitals, schools or even particular cities/countries)
6. Dangerous Beasts: 8 books with an animal in the title (The Bat; The Canary Murder Case; etc.)
7. Deadly Decades: 8 books, one from each time period plus one of your choice (Pre-1900s; 1900-09; 1910-19; 1920-1929; 1930-1939; 1940-1949; 1950-59)
8. Golden Age Girls: 8 books by female authors OR 8 books with female detectives
9. Cherchez le Homme: 8 books by male authors OR 8 books with male detectives
10. Murderous Miscellany: Choose your own theme. Get creative--surprise us! The only stipulation is that the theme cannot be reading books by a single author.

I've decided to sign up for challenges 3, 8, and 9. I'm also thinking of making up my own challenge, ~~but not sure what I'm going to do with it. I'll let you know, once I know.~~ I already know, it's going to be a short story challenge. Now I just need to come up with a really cool name for it.

Mailbox Monday for 1/2/12

2012-01-01T22:45:00.000-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Alyce of At Home With Books.

I'm super excited for this one. This is one of my favorite authors so when I won a book of my choice from Jenny of Let Them Read Books, I picked the trade paperback of Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory.

While I was at The Friends of the Library Bookstore, I found a hardcover of The Christmas Thief by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark.

Happy New Year! Welcome, 2012!

2011-12-31T16:56:00.001-06:00

I Wanted To Wish You All A Safe And Joyous New Year's Eve. I Hope The New Year Brings You Prosperity And Good Fortune.

My Top Ten (17) Favorite Books Read In 2011

2011-12-29T23:15:00.000-06:00

I really tried, and I mean really tried, to narrow this list down to 10 this year. Over the last few years, that wasn't really a problem. In 2009, I had only been blogging for the last few months of the year, so I didn't have that many books to choose from. In 2010, I read a lot of bad books. The great books were few and far between, which made the choosing easier.

This year is another story. For the most part, I really enjoyed the 102 book read this year. I think I can count on two hands the amount of books I didn't like, none of which I hated (unlike last year.) Don't even get me started on Noah's Castle again.

Back to the subject at hand. I've actually been thinking about what my favorite list would look like and when I first drew it up, I had about 20 books on it. After a lot of soul searching, I got it down to 17. That's about as far as I can whittle it down this time around. Actually when I started to type up this post it was only at 16, I had to add another one because I felt bad about leaving it off the list.

For the most part, the list is going to include a lot of mysteries. This seems to be the year I really got into them again. It also includes a few Gothic novels, which I had never read before. There are two authors, new to me this year, who make the list twice. What really surprised me as I made the list, was that despite all the great nonfiction books I've read this year, only one book made my final list. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next year goes just as well.

So with no further ado, here is my list, in the order they were read. If you click on the title, a separate window will open up with my review.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan

The Mapping Of Love And Death by Jacqueline Winspear

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Lost In Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff

Rotters by Daniel Kraus

The Swimming Pool by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

The Wall by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Centuries of June by Keith Donohue

Two For Sorrow by Nicola Upson

Bedbugs by Ben H. Winters

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer

The Conference Of The Birds by Peter Sis

The Doll by Daphne Du Maurier

Favorite Fictional Character --- Year End Recap

2011-12-28T10:42:00.000-06:00

This was the year where I almost decided to make this a monthly feature, instead of a weekly one. It was also the year where I tried out theme months, which I think for the most part, worked out pretty well. It was the year, that for the first time, I reposted a few of them. I only did it when I was sick or just too damn tired to get one written up. And it was also the year I invited other bloggers to share their favorite characters. That is a decision that will spill over into next year as well.

I'm almost always afraid that I'm going to run out of characters to feature, though if I haven't done so after two and a half years, I don't think that is going to happen. I'm also, when I'm picking the character to feature, worried that you guys won't find them as interesting as I do. I have noticed that some characters get more love than others, but I have decided to not let that influence my decision making in the future. Whether a character get none, one or 20 comments, they all deserve the recognition. I'm really looking forward to the new year and all the characters that are going to get their day in the sun.

January was the first of my theme months, I chose to recognize some of my favorite characters from 1980s sitcoms.

February I had decided to go with some of my favorite cartoon characters.

March was the month I shared some of my favorite muppet/puppet characters.

Don Music

Sherlock Hemlock

Lady Elaine Fairchild

Mr. Moose

Miss Piggy

April I was planning on sharing some of my favorite female characters from fantasy books. I did share three of them, the four post of the month was my first repost.

Polgara the Sorceress

Kerowyn

Signe de Barbentain

Auntie Mame Dennis (repost)

May focused on a set of characters that were part of my favorite TV show of all time, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, and it's spin off, Angel.

June's theme was inspired by a short twitter conversation about who our favorite bears were.

July was the first month that featured guest posts by some of my favorite bloggers: Yvette of in so many words..., Stephanie of Misfit Salon, Michelle of The True Book Addict, and Melissa of My World...in words and pages.

August continued the sharing theme: Simcha of SFF Chat, Deb of Book Magic, Cecelia of Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia, Staci of Life In The Thumb, and Sheila of Book Journey.

September saw one of my favorite soap operas, All My Children, go off the air. So I wanted to feature some of my favorite characters from the show. I managed to do that for the first three weeks, but ran into a bit of a problem for the final one (couldn't narrow it down) so I went with something completely different.

Arabella "Babe" Chandler

Ryan Lavery

Jesse & Angie Hubbard

Cade Foster

October was, per usual, all about Halloween and the characters that I love during that particular time of year. The month started off with a repost.

Michael Meyers (repost)

Eleanor Lance

Roderick "Rick" Fitzgerald

Frederick Loren

November was a rough month for me. There was no theme and only two of the four posts were brand new, the other two were reposts.

Nick & Nora Charles (repost)

Micki Foster

Jessica Fletcher (repost)

Northstar

December was all about Christmas. I mean, who doesn't love great Christmas characters.

Tangerine Bear

Aaron, The Little Drummer Boy

The Grinch

If anyone is interested in checking out even more of my Favorite Fictional Characters, please visit the entire list.

Mailbox Monday for 12/26/11

2011-12-26T00:44:00.002-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Jenny of Let Them Read Books.

I received a trade paperback of Graveminder by Melissa Marr and a hardcover of Our Man In The Dark by Rashad Harrison for upcoming TLC Book Tours.

I won a hardcover of The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright from Michelle Teacress. She also included a wonderful postcard book of Utah.

I got paperbacks of Moving Targets edited by Mercedes Lackey and Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen for Christmas.

I also got my first two Harry Potter DVDs for Christmas. I got Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

I Wanted To Wish You All, A Very Merry Christmas. May It Be Filled With Love, Laughter, and Joy.

Odd And The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

2011-12-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on him and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy.

Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle - three creatures with a strange story to tell.

Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he imagined - a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.

It's going to take a very special kind of twelve-year-old boy to outwit the Frost Giants, restore peace to the city of the gods, and end the long winter.

Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever...

Someone just like Odd....

When I first sat down to write this review, all I was going to say was "I loved it." Then I was going to finish the post with "Everyone should read it." That's all folks. Though I doubt that would really excite you, or would it? Well either way, I'll never know. There is no way I could leave a review at two lines, though I'm sure some of you would prefer that over my longer, rambling ones.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved mythology. It doesn't even matter what pantheon of gods we are talking about. Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, Babylonian, Egyptian, even American Indian; they were all fair game to a young boy that could never get enough of those stories. So when I saw this book reviewed last year (maybe the year before) by a blogger I know I trust, Tasha of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books, I knew this one would be for me. I'm so glad that I listened to myself.

For such a short book, one that I ready pretty quickly, it packed one of the biggest escapism punches of the year for me. For that brief amount of time, I was lost in another world. A world that was ruled by gods who weren't really as powerful as they thought they were. A world where a tricky Frost Giant can trick the trickster god himself into doing something really stupid. A world where three of the most powerful gods to ever walk the Earth, can be turned into animals. It's a world where those same animals get into trouble and have to have a crippled, twelve-year-old boy get them out of it. It's a world that I really want to know for myself.

Odd, the young hero of the tale, is one of those boys that is way too clever for his own good, and he knows it. He knows how smart he is. From what I can tell, he has know problems letting everyone else know it too. But he isn't that smarty pants kid that you couldn't stand in 5th grade. You know the kid I'm talking about, we all had one in class. Instead, Odd is the kid that you wanted to have as your best friend. He is the resourceful one, the kid you can count on to get you out of trouble. I figure if Odd can get Odin, Thor and Loki out of trouble, he should be able to do the same thing for the rest of us.

I really want Odd to make another appearance someday. I would love to find out how he got along with the other Gods or how he settles into the lands of his mother. He is one of those characters that deserved to have more than one book written about him.

Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

Mags, recently arrived in Haven after being chosen by the Companion Dallen, is still finding it a bit hard to fit in. Even though everyone keeps telling him that he is supposed to be there, Mags still feels it can be yanked away from him at any time. Mags, who grew up as a virtual slave in a gem mine, came from a level of poverty nobody else can even begin to grasp, let alone relate to. It's that poverty though that taught Mags to never complain and be a bit intolerant of other's complaining. It's stopping him from being befriended by most of the other trainees, other than a few loners, like himself.

The isolation grew even more when he was "recognized" by foreign assassins, and now the ForeSeers are seeing his hands covered in blood, standing by the King. Between his "foreignness", his unsociable tendencies, and the new visions; his fellow students and even a few other Heralds, start to doubt whether or not he really belongs there. It's up to a thirteen-year-old Mags to figure out what's going on so he can prove himself once and for all. Somewhere in there, he has to learn to play a new game, figure out who his parents are, and try to make some more friends. It's going to test Mags to the core, a core that will either break or become stronger.

I'm going to admit to be a little ashamed of myself for taking so long in reading this book. I had read the first book in The Collegium Chronicles over two years. I actually reviewed Foundations back in October of 2009. I'm not really sure what took me so long in delving back into the world of Valdemar as seen through Mags eyes. In my defense though, even if it took me years to buy the second book, I read in within a few days of the purchase.

Mags is the typical Mercedes Lackey hero. When I say typical, I mean it in the nicest possible way. He is a Herald in training who from a young age has had to deal with hardships that most of us could never understand. Instead of him being broken and bitter by it, he has grown into a young man who cares about others and just wants to do what is right. He tries his hardest to be accepted and to fit in, but never really feels like he belongs. He has a few friends, but even then he thinks they could go away at any time. So when his right to be there is challenged by those who should be accepting him, he takes it upon himself to prove to everyone that he in fact was rightfully chosen by Dallen and that he is meant to be a great Herald.

I'm not saying he doesn't whine and feel sorry for himself at times, because he does. What thirteen-year-old doesn't? What I love about Mags, and most of her heroes/heroines, is that he doesn't wallow in self pity (at least not for long) and he takes it upon himself to fix the problem. If others think he is going to kill the King, he is going to prove that the ForeSeers are wrong or not understanding their visions totally. He manages to do just that.

He puts himself into danger more than once, a few times coming out the other end with a few bruises and broken bones. He finds a place amongst the other trainees and manages to make even more friends, friends who will stand by him no matter what. He comes through the trials even stronger and better for it. He is a character I can't wait to meet again in the third book. Now I just need to get off my butt and buy it.

Torchwood: The House That Jack Built by Guy Adams

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Jackson Leaves - an Edwardian house in Penylan.

Built in 1906, semi-detached, three storeys, spacious, beautifully presented. Left in good condition to Rob and Julia Wallace by Julia's late aunt.

It's an ordinary sort of a house. Except for the way the rooms don't stay in the same place. And the strange man that turns up in the airing cupboard. And the apparitions. And the temporal surges that attract the attentions of Torchwood.

And the fact that they first owner of Jackson Leaves in 1906 was a Captain Jack Harkness...

Part of me is saddened that I've read this book and part of me is still bouncing up and down for joy. The sadness comes from the fact that this was the last Torchwood book that I owned and the store I would buy them from, no longer exists. Which means, unless I buy some on line (which I hate doing) this will be my last Torchwood read for a while. The bouncing is caused by the awesomeness that this book was and how frickin excellent it felt to delve into the world of Captain Jack and the rest of the team.

I'm a sucker for a haunted house story. I tend to devour every single one I come across and rarely ever walk away disappointed. Now I'm not saying this book would hold up to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, but it's a fun, energetic spin on the genre. The fact that it marries the haunted house with Torchwood means the book took the concept in a whole other direction than anything I've ever seen before.

Because of the time disruptions that Captain Jack has been so fond of making in the past, present, and future; some temporal beings have been attracted to the planet. Unfortunately for the planet, those being are hungry for that energy and are trying to rip a whole in the fabric of reality and consume the entire Earth. Now you may be asking yourself what the hell does this have to do with a haunted house story, and you would be right to ask that. Normally alien life forms bent on destroying the planet have nothing to do with ghosts and spirits walking the halls of a home.

The focus point these beings decided to focus on was the home formerly inhabited by Captain Jack. It's there that they feel they will be able to break through and get their hunger sated. Their constant attacks though, ripple through time, altering the history of the house. It causes the history of the house to become more violent. People who lived there and lived there happily, suddenly die violent deaths. Deaths they never experienced the first time around. The constant barrage also alters the flow of history in the house. It causes images of the past to appear in the present, it allows people from the past to actually materialize in the home, people who don't have the best intentions of the current occupants in mind.

Thankfully, though as usual it's a very close call, Captain Jack, Gwen, and Ianto are able to save the day, albeit with some help that like all things Torchwood, carries it's own baggage.

I'm grateful for this dose of Torchwood, but sad that it ended so suddenly.

Favorite Fictional Character --- The Grinch

2011-12-21T09:58:00.000-06:00

There is nothing more rewarding than a redemption story, especially one that happens during Christmas. When a character starts off grumpy or even flat out mean, when they hate Christmas and all it stands for, there is always a chance that they can change in time to understand the true meaning of Christmas. One such character, who does make the transformation, just happens to be one of my favorites. So with no further ado, I would like to present you with The Grinch.

I lived for this TV special to come on when I was a kid. I don't think there was a year, at least a year when I had any choice in the matter, that I didn't plop myself in front of the TV and enjoy every second of The Grinch's attempt to destroy Christmas. As a kid, I'm not sure I fully understood the reason why he hated Christmas so much. All I saw was someone who was mean and nasty steal presents, Christmas trees, wreaths, and even all the food from the poor people of Whoville.

I don't think I got that he was so bitter and mean, because he was lonely. At least that's the way I've come to understand it now. It's the explanation I give to my son when he asks me why The Grinch acts the way he does. The poor guy has no family or friends to celebrate with. He has nobody to share the warmth and joy that Christmas brings to the rest of us every year. All he knows is that he hates is with all his heart and he wants it to go away.

But it's through that attempt to annihilate Christmas that The Grinch comes to understand the meaning of that special day. Once he has successfully gotten away with all their decorations, toys, and all the food for the feast, he discovers something he never thought would happen. Christmas isn't about all those things, and the people of Whoville prove that to him. They still wake up on Christmas morning and because they are all together they still start to celebrate. They rejoice in the meaning of that day and being together. Because of that, The Grinch is forced to rethink the whole thing, both mentally and emotionally. He comes to understand what makes Christmas so special.

It's because of his story that I never let the trappings of the season get to me. In the years that I've been poor and could barely afford a tree or a few presents, I remember what the season is really about. It's about family and friends and the things that makes Christmas special. It's not about the material things. As long as I can remember The Grinch's lesson, I will always enjoy Christmas to the fullest.

Monsters of L.A. by Lisa Morton

2011-12-20T12:30:00.000-06:00

Part Of The Synopsis From Back Cover:

Frankenstein, Dracula, Mr. Hyde, the Phantom, the Hunchback... they're all here, the ones you grew up watching on the silver screen. But these monsters aren't lumbering across a for-shrouded moor or clambering along the ramparts of a Gothic castle; no, they're here, in sunny modern-day Southern California, in place you know and may have visited. That homeless vet with the rebuilt leg longing before the liquor store in Santa Monica - could that be Frankenstein's monster? The eerie host making promised at the end of an Orange Country amusement park ride - is he really the Devil? Some of these monsters you might recognize instantly - it's hard to disguise a Giant Monster, after all - but you'll never know what to expect in these stories that range from black humor to the farthest extremes of extreme fiction.

I've been on a huge short story kick this year, hopefully it will be a trend that continues into the next as well. When I agreed to review this book, I wasn't sure what I had to look forward too. Part of me was thinking that it would simply take the monsters I'm already familiar with and put them into L.A. I really wasn't expecting what I got, though after reading the book, I'm doubly glad for it.

What Lisa Morton managed to do was way beyond what I thought this book would be about. She was able to breathe new life into twenty staples of horror Hollywood. Some of them are given new life by reinterpreting their original story. Others are given the typical Hollywood treatment, but put into a situation that is new and fresh. If you were reading her version of "The Phantom", you wouldn't recognize the character, but you would the basic concept behind it. "The Haunted House" gives new meaning to the entire concept of what it means for a house to be haunted. By the way, I want to move into that particular house. "The Creature" is simply what it is, taken out of the Black Lagoon and inserted into the La Brea Tar Pits. It's short and sweet and reminds me of the best moments in those old black and white movies. "The Killer Clown" scared the hell out of me, of course it doesn't hurt that I'm petrified of the damn things. The longest story, which is also my favorite, "The Urban Legend" was simply brilliant. It took the legend of a race of lizard people living beneath the city and brought it to life through character and story. It was a brilliant example of this authors work, work that I would love to read more of at some point in time.

Mailbox Monday for 12/19/11

2011-12-18T19:26:00.001-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Jenny of Let Them Read Books.

I won a trade paperback of The Lunenburg Werewolf by Steve Vernon from Gef at Wag The Fox.

I received an accordion hardcover (see the youtube video below) of The Thorn And The Blossom by Theodora Goss from Quirk Books for review.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Aaron (The Little Drummer Boy)

2011-12-14T18:47:00.002-06:00

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum

I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum

I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum

That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,

On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum

The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my drum for Hi, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum,

Me and my drum.

One of the few Christmas specials I never seemed to get into as a kid, was The Little Drummer Boy. I'm not sure why, maybe because there was no Santa Claus or a red-nosed reindeer. There was no talking snow man or and pretty Christmas trees. There just wasn't enough excitement for me. Now that I'm an adult, this is one that I look forward to every year. Aaron and his story make me realize that it's not just about the flash and pretty things that makes Christmas special, it's that warm feeling you have when you think about those that you love and the story of that first Christmas night.

When the movie first starts, Aaron is a hurt and angry young man. Angry at the world for taking his parents away from him, but most of all angry at the entire human race for being responsible. The only friends he has are the three animals that follow him around. Baabaa, Samson, and Joshua, the sheep, donkey and camel who dance and play to the beat of Aaron's drum.

When he is kidnapped by a desert nomad to be apart of his traveling show, Aaron goes along with it but quickly loses his temper and tried to run off. It's through a chance encounter with the three kings that sets Aaron up for an eye opening and life changing experience. He learns to love and trust again. He learns that through love, all things are possible.

Aaron is one of those characters that sticks with me, especially during the Christmas season. His ability to change into someone he wants to be, is both reassuring and touching to watch.

This is a clip from the movie, when Aaron is about to play for the baby Jesus.

This is Linda Eder, singing one of my favorite versions of the song itself.

Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie

2011-12-13T19:49:00.002-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Sir Charles Cartwright should have know better than to allow thirteen guests to sit down for dinner. For at the end of the evening one of them is dead - chocked by a cocktail that contained no trace of poison.

Predictable, says Hercule Poirot, the great detective. But entirely unpredictable is that he can find absolutely no motive for murder...

I feel as if I had neglected Agatha Christie over this past year, especially when I discovered Mary Roberts Rinehart. I feel like a spouse who has strayed a little too far, so here I am getting one last Agatha Christie book in before the end of the year.

This was a new one to me, though I had earlier seen the PBS Masterpiece Mystery! movie. So I knew what was going to happen, but like most book to movie adaptations, the movie had left out a lot of details. It was those details I was looking forward to discovering for the first time. The biggest difference though was the deletion of Mr. Satterwhite from the movie. He, more than Hercule Poirot is the star of this book. For those of you who have no clue of what I'm speaking of, Mr. Satterwhite previously appeared in The Mysterious Mr. Quin, a book I reviewed last year. Mr. Satterwhite is one of the older men who notice everything, study life, but never became jaded from it. He's a great character, one that I'm glad to have met again.

There is no way I can got into the details of the mystery without giving too much away, but the title alone should give you clues into how many victims are claimed by the egomaniac murderer, who just so happens to do it all out of a strange sense of misguided love. It's one of the odder motives I've ever seen, but given the context of the overall storyline and the murderer's personality, it works.

Agatha Christie is by far, the most adapt author I've ever had the pleasure of reading. She can spin a story on the end of a needle, throwing red herrings and clues with equal aplomb. She is the perfect author and I adore her for it.

Challenges: VM

Mailbox Monday for 12/12/11

2011-12-11T18:29:00.001-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Jenny of Let Them Read Books.

On a trip to Barnes & Noble (which I just found out this location is closing, leaving us with only one) I picked up a paperback of Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey, a trade paperback of Orcs by Stan Nicholls, and a hardcover of The Winds of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The last two were off the clearance table, which had an extra 50% off.

From Target, I bought two DVDs. I picked up Mickey's Christmas Carol and Holiday Inn.

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

2011-12-09T11:15:00.001-06:00

What Marian Rolfe really wants, more than anything else, is to get out of New York City for the summer. She doesn't want to deal with her neighbors, the heat, or same daily routine she's been doing the previous summers. When she talks her husband, Ben, into looking at summer homes to rent, she really lays it on thick. She finds a old country estate on Long Island that seems to be perfect for them. Maybe a little too perfect, considering the price is only $900 and they are able to stay for the entire summer. Against his better judgement, Ben packs up his family, including their son David and Ben's elderly aunt, Elizabeth.

Once they arrive, the rundown manor quickly grows on them and they settle into a comfortable routine. Their idyllic oasis is hiding a ton of secrets though, secrets that may kill them all in the end.

Two years ago, around Halloween, I caught the movie version of this on TV. Since I had nothing else to do at the time, I settled in on the couch and got lost in what turned out to be a cheesy, but scary movie. Ever since then I had wanted to read the book, but trying to get a hold of it proved to be harder than I had first thought it would be. I finally found it at the flea market last year but had not time to read it until recently. I have to say, that now that I'm done, I loved it even more than I thought I would.

The overall storyline itself is pretty simple. A brother and sister who own a sprawling, occasionally rundown, country estate rent it out for the summer every few years to a "deserving" family, the bigger the better. All they ask is that their elderly mother, who stays in her own room and will never be seen, be allowed to stay there. All the renters need to do is bring a try to her sitting room three times a day. What the siblings don't tell their renters, is that the house and it's grounds can only come back to life by draining the life out of them. With each act of violence, each drop of blood spilled, or with each death, the house is rejuvenated and comes back to the glory of it's heyday. What they really don't want to tell them is the wife, will by the end of their stay take the "mothers" place in that lonely room.

Now, that may sound pretty cheesy, and it is, but the way this horror wove the story together is brilliant. There are so many creepy factors, like the emotionless pictures on display in the mother's sitting room. The growing fascinating and love that Marian starts to have for every aspect of the house. The violence in the pool when Ben came close to drowning David. The mysterious illness and wasting away of Aunt Elizabeth. The fact that nobody else on the island is willing to admit that they have even heard of the house or it's family.

The atmosphere this author was able to pack into the book is simply amazing. There is a lingering sense of danger on every page, but it's a danger that lays just beneath the surface. It's not visible all the time, but it's presences is felt with every word. This is what horror should be like, not the crap that gets spoon fed to us now days. This will be a book that I read over and over again when I need something to give me nightmares.

Favorite Ficitonal Character --- Tangerine Bear

2011-12-07T10:18:00.001-06:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Christmas. I'm pretty sure I have, but just in case, I'll say it again. Christmas is my favorite part of the year for so many reasons that I will fill up a few blog posts just naming them. One of my favorite aspects though are all of the great characters that have been created to tell the story of Christmas. That's why every December I highlight some of my favorite Christmas characters, characters that make the holiday season that much better.

From the get go, Tangerine Bear has a life that isn't what it was supposed to be. The poor guys smile got sewed upside down, so when he was placed on the department stores shelves during the Christmas season, nobody bought him to take him home. He was left all alone of the shelf, even after Christmas had come and gone. To add insult to injury, he was thrown in a bin and taken to secondhand store, to languish away.

Once there Tangerine makes a few friends with other toys that are waiting for homes as well. They are friends that he quickly grows to love. He even grows to care about the store's owner, Mr. Winkle, who really cares about the treasures in his store and would like nothing more to find them a good home. Because of that Mr. Winkle puts Tangerine in the window That's actually how Tangerine got his color and his name, the sun faded him to a peculiar color of tangerine, once his friends noticed that, the name kinda stuck.

As the new Christmas season comes to pass, one customer decides he wants to buy Tangerine. He seems like a good man, so Tangerine gets really excited that he may actually get a home for Christmas. Mr. Winkle though refuses to sell the guy the bear. The customer just wanted Tangerine as a collectors item, it seems teddy bears with upside down smiles, may be worth some money. Mr. Winkle decides that Tangerine deserves a real home, not to sit in a display case all by himself.

At first Tangerine doesn't know what to think, he just lost his chance for a home. But events quickly come to pass that makes Tangerine rethink the whole concept of home. Maybe he has been home this whole time. He is surrounded by friends who love and support him. What more do you need to be home.

What I love about this story is the whole idea of creating your own home. Surrounding yourself with friends and starting your own family. That home is the place you feel comfortable, loved, and protected. It's not about the building, it's about those that you surround yourself with.

Mailbox Monday for 12/5/11

2011-12-04T22:08:00.001-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Jenny of Let Them Read Books.

On a trip to BestBuy I found Barbra Streisand's A Christmas Album on CD for $4.99.

I won a trade paperback of My Soul To Take by Tananarive Due from Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit.

A Train In Winter by Caroline Moorehead

2011-12-02T10:36:00.001-06:00

Part Of Synopsis From Back Cover:

They were teachers, students, chemists, writers, and housewives; a singer at the Paris Opera, a midwife, a dental surgeon. They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, printed subversive newspapers, hid resisters, secreted Jews to safety, transported weapons, and conveyed clandestine messages. The youngest was a schoolgirl of fifteen who scrawled "V" for victory on the walls of her lycée; the eldest, a farmer's wife in her sixties who harbored escaped Allied airmen. Strangers to each other, hailing from villages and cities from across France, these brave women were united in hatred and defiance of their Nazi occupiers.

Eventually, the Gestapo hunted down 230 of these women and imprisoned them in a fort outside Paris. Separated from home and loved ones, these disparate individuals turned to one another, their common experience conquering divisions of age, education, profession, and class, as they found solace and strength in their deep affection and camaraderie.

In January 1943, they were sent to their final destination: Auschwitz. Only forty-nine would return to France.

I have been reading a lot of great books, both non fiction and fiction, that deal with WWII. It's not a subject I had sought out on purpose, but for some reason I was presented with books this year that I could not turn down. For the most part, they blew me away with their narrative voices and I walked away feeling as if I had not only learned something, but my emotional thinking was altered as well. So when I agreed to review A Train In Winter, I was betting on the same thing happening. I wish that that bet would have payed off.

It's not that I didn't find the story being told compelling, because I did. I found the women (and men) featured in this book to be both heroic and engaging. What happens to them after they are captured broke my heart and reaffirmed for me the inhumanity that we, as a species, can show to each other. They are true heroes and deserve all the recognition and honor that we can bestow upon them. My issue with the book, and I'm sure it's more of me comparing this book to others that I have read this year, is the tone of the narrative voice.

I don't think cold is the right word for it, but it comes close to the way I reacted to it. In the beginning of the book the author throws a lot of names, dates, and events at the reader, hoping that he/she will be able to follow along and not get bogged down in facts. The author shows her skill as a biographer and historian, but the human side of the story seems to get lost in the shuffle. There are moments where the women shine through the recital, but it's pretty sparse. As the book continues, the narrative changes a bit, especially after the women are captured and put into the camp. But even then, as the women take more shape and the author lets us to get to know them on a more personal level, there still seems to be a level of detachment there that I was just not able to get over.

I'm glad I read the book and even happier to learn even more about a period of history that seems to, the more time passes, get glossed over in our schools. The women whose stories are being told, deserve to be remembered for their courage and strength. I just wish I had been able to connect with the author's style a bit more.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

The Doll by Daphne du Maurier

2011-11-30T13:13:00.001-06:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Before she wrote Rebecca, the novel that would cement her reputation as a twentieth-century literary giant, a young Daphne du Maurier penned short fiction in which she explored the images, themes, and concerns that informed her later work. Originally published in periodicals during the early 1930s, many of these stories never found their way into print again... until now.

Tales of human frailty and obsession, and of romance gone tragically awry, the thirteen stories in The Doll showcase an exciting budding talent before she went on to write of the most beloved novel of all time. In these pages, a waterlogged notebook washes ashore revealing a dark story of jealousy and obsession, a vicar coaches a young couple divided by class issues, and an older man falls perilously in love with a much younger woman - with each tale demonstrating du Maurier's extraordinary storytelling fits and her deep understand of human nature.

I adore a well written short story more than I do the same writing in novel form. The skill needed to tell a finely honed story in such a small amount of space, when down well, never fails to impress me. This collection of thirteen stories blew me away, every single one of them made me laugh, shudder, and stare in amazement once I was done.

I don't know what to type next or even what to say if someone were to ask me about this one. I think I would just stand there, tongue-tied, unable to fully express the way these stories made me feel. I would find myself being both fascinated and horrified at the same time. I don't even know which story to start with, because for me there wasn't one of them that failed to impress me.

The title story, "The Doll", is one that because of the subject matter will never leave my brain. Rebecca and her doll will wander the corridors of my brain, doing things that I never even dreamed of, let alone want to do. The young lady in "The Tame Cat" who comes home after years at school, only to be caught up in a web of jealousy involving her mother and her mother's lover, will find a a few brain cells to move into and set up permanent residency. "Maize" and her fellow prostitutes forced to live in dreams and get back alley abortions, are frozen in time right behind my optic nerves. The manipulative harridan of "The Limpet" who just can't seem to understand why nobody loves her, made me pity and hate her at the same time. She has now whispers in my ear anytime she needs to whine about how unfair life is.

I had only just read Rebecca for the first time a month or so ago, and Daphne du Maurier blew me away with her lushness of style. With these thirteen short stories, she is cemented in my brain as someone who I need to read more of, and I don't think I'll ever be disappointed.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Mailbox Monday for 11/28/11

2011-11-27T21:39:00.001-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by her Mailbox Monday Blog.

I received a trade paperback of Monsters of L.A. by Lisa Morton for review.

I bought Christmas Cheers, Straight No Chaser's second holiday CD for $6 from Target.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T00:37:00.001-06:00

I hope you all have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Northstar

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

Growing up I was a comic book junkie, not as bad as a lot of kids my age were, but serious enough. As I grew older though, my interest died down a bit, but never went away completely. I still knew what was going on with my favorites, even if I didn't read the books all the time. So when Northstar came out of the closet, I was thrilled. I had enjoyed him for a few years and found him to be my favorite of Alpha Flight, so him being gay just topped of my love for him.

Born Jean-Paul Beaubier, Northstar had a rather hard childhood. Shortly after he was born both of his parents were killed and he was separated from his twin sister. He was raised by distant relatives until they were both killed when he was six, and he was put into foster care. As he got older he started to realize that he was both gay and a mutant, he has the ability of super speed and can manipulate his own kinetic energy. He acted out by petty theft until someone took him under his wing and introduced him to skiing, an activity that allowed him to train his powers as well. He had a brief run as a trapeze artist for a circus but quickly went back to skiing, where he won an Olympic Gold Medal. A medal he had to give back years later when the public found out he was a mutant.

He eventually joined the Canadian team, Alpha Flight, were he was reunited with his twin sister who went by the codename Aurora. She shared his same ability and when they touched, their powers were amplified. Throughout the years he was been killed, turned into a zombie, brainwashed to kill other heroes, and adopted a young baby girl with AIDS who dies shortly after. Now since this is superhero land, he was done all this in different alternate realities, instead of in the same time and space.

His sexuality has been both ignored and explored, in one reality he dated Colossus. He has had issues with his sister and the public over it and has even mentored another young hero who was gay. He was been a role model for thousands of gay kids who needed a hero they could look up to, and thankfully the Marvel writers (for the most part) have allowed him to do just that.

Happy Haulidays!

2011-11-22T17:40:00.001-06:00

The great people at Chronicle Books are hosting their Happy Haulidays giveaway once again this year. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's this great opportunity for one blogger and one of their commenters to win $500 dollars worth of books. This year they have added in another winner as well, the winning blogger will get to pick their favorite charity to win $500 dollars in books as well. It's such a great thing that they are doing, now I just need to keep my fingers crossed.

If I win, the charity I chose is Positive Directions. It's a local charity that assists clients with HIV/AIDS obtain housing, transportation, food, and a varied list of other services. They also do a great job with HIV/AIDS prevention outreach. Every year they give out holiday boxes with not only food but other items, such as books.

Not to the fun part, picking the books. After selecting the books I wanted, the grand total was $494.25.

Non-Fiction:

This Is NPR by various authors

Ramayana by Sanjay Patel

Smart on Crime by Kamala D. Harris

The Anatomy of the Sea by Dr. David Ponsonby and Professor Georges Dussart

Cookbooks:

Grilled Cheese by Marlena Spieler

Macaroni & Cheese by Marlena Spieler

The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

The Big Book of Casseroles by Maryana Vollstedt

The Big Book of Soups and Stews by Maryana Vollstedt

Photography:

Microworlds

Bird by Andrew Zuckerman

Creature by Andrew Zuckerman

The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell

Fiction:

A Time To Run by Barbara Boxer

Blind Trust by Barbara Boxer

The Conductor by Laetitia Devernay

Journals:

Birch Forest Flexi Journal

The Heights by Kate Ascher

2011-11-21T22:55:00.001-06:00

Part Of The Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

The Skyscraper is perhaps the most recognizable icon of the modern urban landscape. Providing office, homes, restaurants, and shopping to thousands of inhabitants, modern skyscrapers function as small cities - with infrastructure not unlike that hidden beneath our streets. Clean water is provided to floors thousands of feet in the sky; elevators move people swiftly and safely throughout the building; and telecom networks allow virtual meetings with people on other continents. How are these services-considered essential, but largely taken for granted - possible in such a complex structure. What does it really take to sustain human life at such enormous heights.

I have read some wonderfully detailed, analytical reviews of this book by people who really know their stuff. Thankfully, I'm not one of them so I won't have to beat myself up for not delving into the minute details of what the books is choosing to highlight or leave out. I'm not bogged down with a vast store of foreknowledge on the subjects of skyscrapers, engineering, architecture, or any of the stuff I was so horrible at (it all required math skills way above my level) in college. Instead this will be a rather short, but unapologetic positive review.

Using lots of pictures and graphics, thank goodness, the author does a pretty good job of giving a brief history of they skyscraper and it's genesis Pretty quickly after that the author quickly moves into the science and the construction of the tallest building to ever see the light of day. She gives pretty interesting detailed information on all the small stuff that I never thought about before. How do you keep the wind from blowing a building over? How do all the pipes needed to carry water and sewage get built into the core of the building? How do engineers take settlement of the building into the plans? I found it to be a rather informative read that I think I and my son will look into for years to come.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review the book. Please visit the tour page to read some really great, educated reviews.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Jessica Fletcher

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

I was all set to give you guys a brand new FFC post about one of my favorite superheroes, Northstar. I had already started to type it all up when I realized, I really do not feel well enough to write a post that makes any sort of sense. I've been running a fever and really am not feeling well at all, so for not being able to give you guys something new, I apologize. I feel really bad because it seems I've been having to do that lately, more than I would like to. So instead I'm going to do a repost on one of my favorite fictional detectives of all time, Jessica Fletcher. I hope you enjoy it and I'll be back next week with Northstar, the first openly gay superhero.

I decided to go with one of my favorite TV detectives for this weeks Favorite Fictional Character. The brilliant and always classy Jessica Fletcher from the show Murder, She Wrote.

Jessica was a widow and former high school English teacher who took to writing mystery novels. Shorty there after, her life started to imitate the adventures she wrote about. For the most part she stayed in her fictional town of Cabot Cove but as the seasons progressed she found herself traveling more and more around the States and internationally. For some odd reason whether she stayed at home or travelled people always seemed to die around her.

Most of the dead were friends or acquaintances so she felt compelled to solve the case, especially when the police always seemed to be chasing the wrong leads. She never cared about the danger she found herself in, she only cared about finding out the truth. Sometimes that truth wasn't what she wanted it to be, as she sometimes had to put friends in jail. No matter what she never backed down and always proved to be smarter than the criminal.

I've loved this character so much that I have read quite a few of the over 30 books by Donald Bain that are based on her exploits. I keep telling myself to buy the DVDs of the show but I always get distracted by other purchases, so for now I stick to the reruns that occasionally air on cable.

The Conference of Birds by Peter Sis

2011-11-15T00:08:00.001-06:00

If I ever had a reason to ban ereaders for all of eternity, it would be this book. Peter Sis' adaptation of Farid ud-Din Attar's epic, 4500 plus line poem, The Conference of Birds, uses some of the most gorgeous images I've ever had the privilege to behold. The images some in simple hues, others in sumptuous colors, leap off the page and tell the story more than the words.

I was not familiar with the poem before this, and what little of it I have experienced by reading this adaptation, makes me want to read the entire poem. It tells the story of a hoopoe bird that gathers all of his kin from around the world in a quest to find their true king, Simorgh. All the birds from around the globe meet together and the hoopoe convince them to take part in the journey. Many of them fall away through despair of cowardice along the way, many of them die, and only a few of them make it to the mountain of Kar where Simorgh is said to reside.

Along the way the birds must travel through seven valleys that test their emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels. The Valleys of Quest, Love, Understanding, Detachment, Unity, Amazement, and Death all have their own perils but it's only through making that journey that the remaining birds are prepared to accept the final outcome. Simorgh, the true king, has already been found. He resides in each one of the birds, it's their better, noble nature that they discover, but only through a journey of self discovery first.

The few poetic words that Peter Sis uses in this book are really just their to accent the richness of the illustrations. It's in the tea stained pages, or the labyrinths in each of the valleys that really tell the story. The book is full of symbols and other visual storytelling techniques that keep the eye on the beauty of it all as each page is turned. The tactile nature of the pages, the texture and thickness of it just helped the process along.

This will be a book that stays around my house for a very long time to come. It's one that is truly a honor to own and one that I can't wait to share with others.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Motor City Shakedown by D.E. Johnson

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-06:00

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Detroit, 1911. Seven months have passed since Will Anderson's friend Wesley McRae was brutally murdered and Will and the woman he loves, Elizabeth Hume, barely escaped with their lives. Will's hand, horribly disfigured from the sulfuric acid he used to help save them, causes him constant pain, forcing him into morphine addiction. He lives for nothing except revenge against the people who contributed to Wesley's murder - first among them crime boss Vito Adamo.

When Will stumbles upon the bloody body of Adamo's driver, Carlo Moretti, he knows he'll be a suspect, particularly since he was spotted outside the dead man's apartment that same night. He sets out to find the killer, and the trail leads him to a vast conspiracy in an underworld populated by gangsters, union organizers, crooked cops, and lawyers. Worse, it places him directly in the middle of Detroit's first mob war.

The Teamsters want a piece of Will's father's car company, Detroit Electric, and the Gianolla gang is there to be sure they get it. To save their families, Will and his ex-fiancee, Elizabeth Hume, enlist the help of Detroit Police Detective Thomas Riordan, the teenage members of what will one day be know as the Purple Gang, and Vito Adamo himself. They careen from one danger to the next, surviving shootouts, kidnappings, and police brutality, while barreling toward a devastating climax readers won't soon forget.

I think I've already made my first New Year's resolution for 2012, I will not review books that are not the first of a series. I will not, for my own sanity, review a book that is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or....... in a series. It's too stressful and it keeps adding to my already growing wishlist of books that I'll never have time to read. The crappy thing is, I keep reading some fantastic books because of my poor decision making process.

Normally, and I think I've gotten lucky so far, most of the books haven't required me to have read the previous one. This was one time, while not necessary, I'm really wishing I had done so. The characters of Will and Elizabeth had been through so much in the previous book, and while some of it is explained in this one, I still felt at a loss sometimes to truly understanding the deep emotional scars between them. It's apparent they have been through hell and back, I just wish I had been along for the ride. It would have been nice to experience the background first hand, instead of in bits and pieces.

I love mysteries, I love noir even more so this book was a terrific treat for me. It had all the gritty, dirty elements that I love in a book like this and I got lost in the story every time I was able to pick it up and dive in. Will is such a damaged character who is trying his best to get him and those he loves out of dangerous situation. If he makes the wrong decision or abuses moriphine too much, his entire family could be killed. It's a pressure that combined with the events of the previous year, is about to put him into the ground as well. He does everything he can to raise above it and protect those he loves, and in the end he does it. He just has to go through hell first.

I'm really looking forward to not only reading the first book in the series, but any others that this author chooses to write about Will, Elizabeth, and the rest of the cast (at least those that didn't die this time around.)

I would like to thank Lisa of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Challenges: A-Z

Mailbox Monday for 11/14/11

2011-11-13T19:25:00.001-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by her Mailbox Monday Blog.

I stopped in at Target the other night and found two great Christmas deals that I couldn't pass up. I found a CD I've been wanting for a while, Holiday Spirits from Straight No Chaser for $9.99. I also picked up a DVD of Miracle On 34th Street for the same price. It has both the B&W and colorized versions on it.

One of the perks of my job is that I get free stuff every once in a while. Two weeks ago I was given a $110 gift certificate to Merrell.com, my favorite shoe company in the world. When I went on the site I really couldn't find any shoes I wanted, I already own quite a few. So I got two shirts instead. I got the Hoffman Flannel shirt and a long sleeve T-Shirt that has vintage national park posters on the back. I'm already in love with the flannel shirt, but haven't had a chance to wear the T-Shirt yet.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Micki Foster

2011-11-09T12:53:00.000-06:00

I guess I'm still in a spooky sort of mood and I was thinking about some of my favorite paranormal TV shows, which of course lead me to some of my favorite characters from those shows. Well today's character is that of Micki Foster who for three seasons tried to recover cursed antiques on the show Friday The 13th: The Series.

When Micki inherited her late uncle's antique shop, little did she know that she was about to put her life in danger for the next three years. When Micki, along with her cousin Ryan, first inherit the shop, all Micki can see is dollar signs. She's not exactly the strong, independent, kick ass woman that she becomes later on in the series. She eventually talks Ryan into reopening the shop and selling off the contents. Little did they know that the former owner, their uncle, had made a deal with the devil to sell cursed objects. Objects that granted their owners certain powers for the exchange of human lives.

When Micki and Ryan learn what their uncle did and their role in making the problem worse, Micki realizes that they need to do everything they can to recover the objects. Over the next three years Micki grows into a woman that is still at the core fragile but has a tough outer skin that allows her to deal with the horrors that she sees everyday. She had to deal with losses along the way, Ryan being turned into a kid with no way back and ever her own death, but through it all she came out the other side a stronger more confident person.

I really wish this show would have lasted longer than it did, but I'm grateful for the three seasons they allowed Micki to become a character that I would not only like to be friends with but one I know would have my back regardless of the circumstances.

Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

2011-11-08T12:14:00.000-06:00

My good friend Michelle from The True Book Addict has a great Christmas blog as well. The Christmas Spirit is a wonderful year round blog that highlights what I love about Christmas. Every year she hosts a Christmas reading challenge and I'm happy to sign up once again.

I'll be signing up for The Christmas Tree Level (5 or 6 books) plus the other two side challenges, one about movies and one about kids books. If you are interested, go on to the sign up post to do just that.

Here are the details in her own words:

challenge will run from Monday, November 21, 2011 through Friday, January 6, 2011 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany).
cross over with other challenges is totally permitted AND encouraged!
These must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore, a book of Christmas short stories or poems, books about Christmas crafts, and for the first time...a children's Christmas books level!
visit this POST for a list of new Christmas books for 2011. Two books I highly recommend for this season that I have read and reviewed...The Christmas Village by Melissa Ann Goodwin and The Reindeer Keeper by Barbara Briggs Ward (click the titles to read my reviews).

Levels:

            --Candy Cane: read 1 book
            --Mistletoe: read 2-4 books
            --Christmas Tree: read 5 or 6 books (this is the fanatic level...LOL!)

Additional levels:

--Fa La La La Films: watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!

--Visions of Sugar Plums: read books with your children this season and share what you read

*the additional levels are optional, you still must complete one of the main reading levels above the most important rule? Have fun!!!

I will have a review linky posted as a page the day the challenge starts. You will find it at the top of the right sidebar.
Sign up in the linky below (link to your post with your reading list...you can change up your list during the challenge...I just want to be able to stop by to welcome you and see what you plan to read).

Mailbox Monday for 11/7/11

2011-11-06T22:50:00.003-06:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by her Mailbox Monday Blog.

I won a trade paperback of The Handmaid's Tale from Alexis at Reflections of a Bookaholic during the Banned Book Week Giveaway Hop.

I received a trad paperback of The Doll by Daphne du Maurier for an upcoming TLC Book Tour.

Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer

2011-11-03T23:31:00.001-05:00

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the military to ban anyone from certain areas of the country, with primary focus on the West Coast. Eventually the order was used to relocate 120,000 people of Japanese descent to internment camps such as the Rohwer Relocation Center in remote Desha County, Arkansas.

This time of fear and prejudice (the U.S. government formally apologized for the relocations in 1982) and the Arkansas Delta are the setting for Camp Nine. The novel's narrator, Chess Morton, lives in tiny Rook, Arkansas. Her days are quiet and secluded until the appearance of a relocation center built for what was in effect the imprisonment of thousands of Japanese Americans.

Chess's life becomes intertwined with those of two young internees and an American soldier mysteriously connected to her mother's past. As Chess watches the struggles and the triumphs of these strangers and see her mother seek justice for these people who came briefly and involuntarily to call the Arkansas Delta their home, she discovers surprising and disturbing truths about her family's painful past.

For some strange reason, I've been reading a lot of books this year that relates a story during World War II. I've never been a big fan of war history or that particular time period, so I have found it all that more curious that I seem to be reading everything that comes my way that deals with that era of history. They have for the most part been nonfiction and the few fiction books have been mysteries or Gothic that just happens to be set during that period. Up until this point, I hadn't read a fiction books that needs to be set in that period in order for the story to work. Camp Nine is the first one and if they are all like this one, I have a very busy life ahead of me. For me this book wasn't about the history, though it played a huge part, it was more about the story itself.

Now while this book does deal with race, class, and the societal structures of the day, that's not what I focused on as I was reading it. Those elements needed to be there in order for the story to progress, but I couldn't take my mind off the characters long enough to really analyze the rest of it. This experience was all about some of the most wonderful characters I have had the pleasure of discovering in a long time.

The action revolves around Chess and her mother from the beginning and it never leaves them as the other characters are introduced. The way they interact with one particular family in the internment camp, the Matsui family, made me feel hope and relief that there may still be people who are willing to fight for what's right and just, even if it's only in the smallest way. They, despite their faults and blindness to other issues, do what they can to make the lives of those in the camps a little better and develop close friendships with some of them. I can't even start to explain the richness of all the other characters as they bought in their voices and stories to the tale. These will a cast of extraordinary people that I don't think I will forget for a very long time.

But the one character that set this book apart from a lot of others, was the place. The land became the most important character as it dictated so many of the relationships between the human characters. The land controlled the fates of those who owned and those who worked. It gave some riches and caused others to be little more than serfs of those who owned the land. It was the canvas that gave life to all those who lived on it and it wouldn't hesitate to take it all back. It was a living, breathing entity that provided a lush and rich background for the dynamic relationships that I found so much pleasure in.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews as they are posted.

Favortie Fictional Character --- Nick & Nora Charles (Repost)

2011-11-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

I'm going to apologize right up front for not coming up with a new character to feature. Life and work has been chaotic this week and I've been lucky to remember to tie my shoes. I would like to thank everyone who has been reading my blog for the last few years, no matter how frequently. I appreciate all of you and if it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't be doing this anymore. Becuase of not having any time at all this week, I'm going to repost my Nick & Nora Charles FFC. It was originally done within the first few weeks of starting the blog, I hope you enjoy it.

With it's witty and daring couple, The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, brought to mind my favorite sleuthing couple of all time. Nick and Nora Charles the star of 6 Thin Man movies and one book by Dashiell Hammett.

I have never read the book so I can't say how much Nora is in it but without her the movies would not have been the same. (There was also a TV show in the 1950s that I'm not familiar with either).

The premise behind the movies is that a detective marries a rich socialite, then tries to retire from the business. Now if this is all that happens we would not have 6 glorious movies to watch. It seems that everywhere they go someone seems to find themselves dead. It is then up to Nick to solve the crime, well almost up to Nick that is. It seems that no matter how hard Nick tries to keep Nora out of it, she always puts herself in the thick of things and in my opinion ends up doing or saying something that helps Nick solve the case.

Now these characters, as played by William Powell and Myrna Loy, are as well rounded as movie characters can get. On the surface you see two people whose constant banter and love of cocktails seems to be all they have in common. Once you get to know them though you are able to witness a strong marriage built on love, respect, and friendship. This was the type of relationship I have always wanted and never seem to be able to find. Watching them together is a joy and I wish they would have made many more Thin Man movies to enjoy. I will say that if these characters were played by two different actors I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the movies as much. William Powell and Myrna Loy have such great chemistry together, they went on and starred in 14 movies together.

As the movies progress something happens that made the characters fuller and richer. At the end of the second movie we learn that Nora is pregnant. The third movie introduces us to little Nicky, Jr. Being able to see how they adapt their lifestyle to this development is hilarious at times. In one of the movies Nicky, Jr. insists that Nick drink milk at the dinner table. Now I'm pretty sure Nick hasn't drunk anything non-alcoholic in years and watching his face as he takes a drink of milk is hilarious.

Now Nick and Nora would not be complete without Asta, their wired-hair terrier, that was their constant companion. Asta is hilarious and acts the coward at all the right times. The obvious affection they hold Asta in, as a dog lover, is wonderful to watch. They even go to the extreme of riding in the baggage car of a train in order to keep Asta with them.

For anyone who has not had the pleasure of watching these movies, I more than strongly suggest them. I implore you, no I beg you to do so. Please take the time and familiarize yourself with two of the best detectives in the biz.

The Movies In Order Are:

The Thin Man

After the Thin Man

Another Thin Man

Shadow of the Thin Man

The Thin Man Goes Home

Song of the Thin Man

Practical Jean by Trevor Cole

2011-11-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Jean Vale Horemarsh is an ordinary small-town woman with the usual challenges of middle age. She's content, mostly, with the life she's built: a semi successful career as a ceramics artist, a close collection of women friends (if you ignore the terrible falling-out she had with Cheryl all those years ago), and a comfortable marriage with a kind if extraordinary man. And then Jean see her mother go through the final devastating months of cancer, and realizes that her fondest wish is to protect her dearest friends from the indignities of again and illness. That's when she decides to kill them all....

Have I ever told you guys how much I love my sense of humor. It tends to lean towards the darker side of things, which is why I find some circumstances funnier than most will. I guess a perfect example, a short one anyway, is from the movie Titanic. I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about, though I didn't really enjoy it that much. There is one moment that cracks me up every time I see it though. When the boat is sinking, tail end up in the air, passengers start to fall like confetti. There is one in particular that makes me laugh out loud, I know it's callous but sorry. It's the guy who falls and hits the propeller blade, the thunking sounds he makes sends me into stitches. Now you might say I'm morbid, but it will give you an insight into why I loved this book so much.

I'm not saying that I laughed out loud the entire time I was reading it, because I didn't. But I did find a lot of it humorous enough to say this was one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time. Jean is one of those rare characters that I love despite everything that she does. She is a woman lost in pain who decides on being practical for the first time in her life. Unfortunately for her friends, that means killing them off before they grow old and suffer in the way her mother did.

It was a joy and a thrill to to watch the internal conflict as she meandered her way and started knocking of those closest to her. The only stipulation is that she has to make them as happy as she can before she does it. In once case that involves sleeping with the one that has had a thing for her since college. I love the way Jean is able to twist herself in an elaborate pretzel in order to justify what she is doing. Much like Serial Mom and those college kids from The Last Supper, Jean starts off doing what she thinks is right and just. For the most part, she is firm in that thinking by the end as well. She has her moments of doubt, but all it takes is remembering the pain and suffering her mother went through for Jean to realize she is on the right path no matter the consequences to herself.

This was a wonderfully complex and inspired look at friendship and morality in an age where both things seem to be expendable. The author, through dark humor and brilliant writing, was able to bring Jean and her friends to life in such a way that made me want to be Jean's friend, despite the risk.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this books. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T10:25:00.001-05:00

I Hope Everyone Has A Safe And Fun Halloween Night!

Winner Of Little Goblins Ten

2011-10-31T02:22:00.003-05:00

The winner of Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane is.......

~~Gwendolyn!~~

Because the first winner had already won one, the new winner is.....

Anne!

Mailbox Monday for 10/31/11

2011-10-30T20:10:00.000-05:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit.

I received hardcovers of The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper by Kate Ascher and Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer for upcoming TLC Book Tours.

The very lovely Staci of Life in the Thumb sent me her ARC of Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens.

I picked up paperbacks of Miss Pinkerton and The Frightened Wife by Mary Roberts Rinehart from a used bookstore today.

Through the Disney Movie Rewards program I got The Reluctant Dragon on DVD.

My roommate gave me Michael Buble's new CD, Christmas.

Bless The Child by Cathy Cash Spellman

2011-10-28T10:13:00.001-05:00

Part Of The Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

What if your drug-addicted daughter left a newborn baby on your doorstep and disappeared? What if she came back three years later and took the child you love into a satanic cult? And, what if that child turned out to be mankind's last hope in the war between good and evil?
Would you risk your soul to save her?

Maggie O'Connor is about to answer these questions...maybe with her life. A vibrant, attractive, recently widowed partner in a Manhattan antiquities shop, she is too young to be a grandmother. Yet the love and the bond between her and her little granddaughter Cody is deep and rare enough to make her fight - not just for custody, but for the child's life itself.

The law won't back her up. But the exorcist priest believes. And the rabbi who practices Kabbalah knows too much not to believe. And ancient, raging memories of an Egyptian prophecy are rising within her own terrifying dreams.

When I saw this book at the Friends of the Library Bookstore, sometime last year, I knew the title was familiar but couldn't remember why. I went ahead and bought the hardcover, for $1, and took it home. It's been sitting on my shelves ever since, but since this was Halloween month, I wanted to get it read. Once I started reading it, I realized why it was so familiar. This was the book the Kim Basinger movies, of the same name, was based off of. Luckily for me, the book was way better than the movie, which was mediocre at best.

I'm going to be honest with you right up front, this won't be a very detailed review, I have been trying to figure out what I can say about the book without spoiling the surprises, and I've decided that's not very much. If you have seen the movie, which for your sake I hope you haven't, you'll know the basic plot points already. If not, I apologize now for what will probably being a boring review.

What drove this book for me were the characters. Lead by the strong willed, Maggie, the entire cast seems to be ready made for the big screen. There is the fiercely loyal cop who not only falls for Maggie, but is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her and Cody. There is the priest who was sent into exile for his views, he too falls for Maggie, but it's the memories of the past and a crisis of faith that help him put that into context. The white witch, bookstore owner, proves to not only be a powerful ally for Maggie, but a good friend as well. Maggie also has a martial arts master, her friend and business partner, and her housekeeper that will do what needs to be done to rescue Cody. I'm not even getting to the FBI agent, the rabbi, or the various international agents that all, in some way, help Maggie along the way. It's a large cast of characters, not one of them was weakly drawn.

What I was really impressed with is that Cathy Cash Spellman manages to mix in Christianity, Satanism, Egyptian Mythology, Kabbalah, and a few other disciplines and make it work. Nothing feels forced or out of place. She was able to create a seamless narrative that allowed me to believe in the Isis Messenger and the amulets. I actually was hoping they were true, but alas they weren't.

I'm not sure what else she has written but I'm curious enough about her writing style to do a little more digging into her other books.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Frederick Loren

2011-10-26T00:15:00.000-05:00

This will be my last Halloween Favorite Fictional Character post for they year, and I think it would be a sacrilege to not have a Vincent Price character at some point. The problem is he had so many awesome roles that deserve the attention. Last year I posted about Dr. Phibes, a character he played in two movies. This year I wanted to go with a more human, relatively speaking, villain. One of my all time favorite movies is the 1959 version of The House on Haunted Hill. Vincent Price plays the main villain of the piece, Frederick Loren.

Frederick Loren is an eccentric businessman, with a mean streak a mile wide. He probably killed his first 3 wives and it looks like he's on his way of getting rid of his fourth. He has rented a old haunted house, with a very violent past, to throw her a birthday party, but he didn't invite any of her friends. Instead he invited 5 complete strangers and offered them $10,000 to spend the night. The only hitch is that the electricity will be turned off and all the doors and windows will be locked after midnight. Anyone who is still alive will get the money. Of course, the demented man had a reason for inviting each of the people he did. He plays a sick game in the movie, one that he makes sure to win.

What I loved about the character is the sheer genius of the man. For those of you who have not seen the movie, I don't want to ruin it for you, but I have to tell one key point of the plot in order to gush about the character. He is able to take a situation, where he was the intended target and turn it around. Instead of being the victim (which he deserved to be) he got the people who were trying to get him. And he did it in such a way, that they had no clue. The were in the middle of celebrating when the tables get turned, loved it.

There are times when I want the bad guy to win, this movie is one of those cases. Though I must say, there is more than one evil person involved. I think Vincent Price, as usual, brought such a quiet menace to the role that as a viewer I loved to hate him. I relished every minute he was on screen. If you haven't seen this movie and his performance as Frederick Loren I would highly encourage you to do so. Skip the remake.

I managed to find the full movie on youtube if anyone is interested.

I Have A Guest Post At Wag The Fox

2011-10-25T08:11:00.001-05:00

Gef, over at Wag The Fox, asked me to review one of my favorite monster movies. I wasn't sure what I was going to do at first, but after lots of thinking, I went with Brotherhood of the Wolf. For those of you not familiar with it, it's a terrific French movie with lots of action and a great cast. Please go on over and read my review of it.

Instant City by Steve Inskeep

2011-10-24T01:27:00.000-05:00

Part of the Synopsis From The Dust Jacket:

In recent decades, the world has seen an unprecedented change in human life: for the first time in history, more people now live in cities than in the countrysides. As Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep so aptly puts it, we are living in the age of the "instant city," when vast metropolitan areas emerge practically overnight. No rising metropolis has experienced this epic migration more dramatically than Karachi, Pakistan, which has grown from four hundred thousand people in the 1940s to more than 13 million today. Karachi is the largest city in a nation of vital strategic interest to the United States - yet is a place Americans frequently misunderstand. In his first book, Inskeep explores how this one city illuminates the perils and possibilities of rapidly growing megacities all around the world.

I like to think I'm pretty smart and that I have a decent grasp on world history and current geopolitical events that are shaping the world we live in. Then I see or read something that makes me realize I really don't have a frickin clue. These are the moments that I both live for and dread. I love them because they help me remember that I will never stop learning, that there is so much out there for me to discover that I'll never get bored. On the other hand, it's almost too much to comprehend. There are times I feel I should be concentrating on one subject for the rest of my life, if I don't, I'll never know what I need to. Reading Instant City was one such moment.

When I decided I wanted to read/review this book, I wasn't thinking too deeply about it. There were really only two reasons I wanted to do so. I'm a fan of Steve Inskeep, I listen to NPR all the time, and I want to know more about Pakistan, a country I don't know all that much about. That, and this sounds really superficial, but every time I think of Karachi, I think of the last segment of one of my favorite movies. At the end of Auntie Mame, as she is telling Patrick's son about the sites and sounds he is going to see on their trip, Karachi is one of the place she is telling him about. Silly reason to read a book, but I'm glad I did.

What I enjoyed the most about this read, even though it made me feel a little dumb at times, was finally being able to understand a little of the history of the region and why India and Pakistan are always at each other's throats. I know I heard of the partition before, but I never thought about it and the ramifications of splitting apart such a large country into smaller ones. The concept of it being done along religious lines, gave me a better understanding of the history and and current troubles in the region.

Karachi serves as a perfect petri dish for studying the very modern phenomenon of an Instant City. When you have mass migration from rural to urban settings, whatever the reasons, it's bound to cause problems that nobody really thought through or prepared for. Buy investigating Karachi, even by narrowing down to one bloody day in December of 2009, Steve Inskeep is able to look at the subject from all angles.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book. Please visit the tour page to read some really insightful reviews on this one.

Mailbox Monday for 10/24/11

2011-10-23T16:51:00.003-05:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit.

I received a hardcover of The Conference of The Birds by Peter Sis for an upcoming TLC Book Tour

I received a trad paperback of The Tin Ticket by Deborah J. Swiss form the publicist for review

I bought a trade paperback of Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie on my last trip to Barnes & Noble

The 3rd Annual Top 10 Sexy Vampire List

2011-10-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

I've done this last for the last two years, so how could I pass it up this year. It seems there is a never ending supply of eye candy when it comes to vampires. Be they men or women, some gorgeous actors have taken on a role involving fangs and blood. If you are even a bit curious to see who made the list in 2009 and 2010, please be my guest and go gaze on some undead beauty. As far as this year, let me introduce you to ten of the hottest vampires around. But be careful, you may find yourself offering your neck or other place for them to sink their teeth.

THE MEN

Mick St. John, as played by Alex O'Loughlin in the TV show Moonlight. I'm a sucker for a sexy private eye, there is just something so intriguing about the job. If you need a private dick to help you out, I'm sure Mick would be glad to lend a hand.

Dracula, as played by Dominic Purcell in the movie Blade: Trinity. Dracula is a character that should ooze sex appeal, this version does that in spades. All the other vamps want his blood so they can walk in daylight, here's hoping that if they all look like this, that they succeed.

Aaron Gray, as played by Adria Paul in the movie The Breed. Aaron is trying his hardest to stop a war between vampires and humans. He's in league with a hunky human cop, trying to figure out why a vampire killed a human and if that has anything to do with a virus that can wipe out all the vampires. It would be a shame for a vampire that looks like this to die any kind of death.

Cash, as played by Channon Roe in the TV show Kindred: The Embraced. Cash is the Toreador Primogen of Los Angeles and this guys likes it rough. He wears leather, rides a motorcycle, and is very in touch with his primal side.

Marius de Romanus, as played by Vincent Perez in the movie Queen of the Damned. For a man who is over 2000 years old, Marius is looking better than ever. He is the kind of man that can sweep you off your feet, enchant you with his art, and make you forget the rest of the world even exists.

THE WOMEN

The Countess, as played by Lauren Hutton in the movie Once Bitten. Being 400 years old is starting to wear on The Countess a bit. She needs to find a virgin to feed off of in order to stay looking this good. So if any of your are in the L.A. area, I would advice you to make sure you don't remain a virgin much longer.

Elisabeth Nodosheen, as played by Ingrid Pitt in the movie Countess Dracula. The bloodthirsty countess has no problem bathing in a tub of virgin blood. I could show you the picture of her doing just that, but I would have to place a warning on the blog.

Katrina, as played by Grace Jones in the movie Vamp. The owner of a strip club, Katrina rules her little kingdom with a iron hammer. She's a tough, dominating woman who doesn't take kindly to being told no. Her raw sexuality puts her into a class all her own.

Cym, as played by Phina Oruche in the movie The Forsaken. Cym follows Kit wherever he goes. She is his lover and his strongman and will do anything for him. She's tough, sexy, and just a little scary. If you happen to run into her, run the other way.

Nyssa, as played by Leonor Varela in the movie Blade: II. Nyssa is a take no prisoners kind of gal. She's handy in a fight and know her way into a man's heart. She is destined to rule the vampiric world someday, now she just needs the right man by her side.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

2011-10-20T15:02:00.001-05:00

Synopsis From Back Cover:

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley Again."

So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse of the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten... her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant - the sinister Mrs. Danvers - still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca... for the secrets of Manderley.

I'm not even going to try to go into an in depth review on this one. I think almost everything that can be said about this one, has already been said. I don't think I will have a new take on it or any breakthrough in understanding of the themes. What I can say, is I loved it. I'm not really sure why it took me so long to read it.

Daphne Du Maurier wrote this with an almost decadent lushness that I found overly appealing. I got lost in her descriptions of the grounds of Manderley. I wanted to walk those paths through the woods to the beach. I wanted to wander the halls and peer into rooms, long abandoned after Rebecca's death. I wanted to touch, taste, and smell everything our heroine was experiencing. If it had been possible, I would have lost myself and not been able to make it back. I would have holed up in a room somewhere and forgot the rest of the world. If there is only one aspect of a Gothic novel that I love, it's that decadence in the writing.

The other aspect of this book I found utterly fascinating were the female characters. I love the idea of our heroine never having a first name. It makes the recounting of the past that much more personal. It gives the impression that as a reader, we are already friends with her. It was as if we were together, sitting in a library much like the one in Manderley, and that she is telling her tale during a lazy afternoon. It allowed me as a reader to get even more involved with the action and the characters. It was in intoxicating feeling at times, one that I never wanted to let go of.

I guess that leads us to Mrs. Danvers. I'm not even sure where to being on my feelings towards her. Before I had actually read the book, the one thing I've heard from everyone is how evil and nasty this woman is. When I began the book, I was waiting to meet her, because I wanted to see how bad ass she really was. At first, I was a little disappointed. For a while, I thought she was a bitch, but not much more than that. She just seemed to have a massive chip on her shoulder, one that would never go away. Needless to say, I was feeling a little let down. I was wanting the devil incarnate and instead I was getting Gargamel. Thankfully, Mrs. Danvers redeemed herself. She finally became the manipulative hag I had been hearing so much about. What she tried to do to the new Mrs. Danvers will go down in literary history as one of the most evil examples of mental abuse. She was brilliant at it, and I love her for it. This book was worth reading, just for Mrs. Danvers.

I haven't watched the Hitchcock adaptation of this yet, but if everything I've heard about it is true, I can't wait. Either way, I think this will be a book I reread often. It will be one of those that I discover new things in every time, and I can't wait.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Roderick "Rick" Fitzgerald

2011-10-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

I am going to try my hardest to keep this post about the character, not the movie he's in. That's going to be really hard for me because The Uninvited is by far, my favorite ghost movie of all time. The movie is brilliant and still sends chills up my spine every time I watch it, despite it being made in 1944. The cast is brilliant, the cinematography is award worthy, and the story itself is superb. So I'm going to try and separate Ray Miland's character, Rick Fitzgerald, from the rest of the movie.

Rick Fitzgerald is a London based composer, but makes his living as a music critic. On vacation, with his sister, they fall in love with Windward House. I don't blame them really, it's a lovely old house sitting on a bluff overlooking the sea. The decide the best thing to do is buy the house, move to the country, and start life all over again. Rick hopes it will give him a fresh start on his music.

Once they are settled in, they meet the granddaughter of the man who sold them the house. Through her, they learn of the home's tragic past and her connection to the home. Rick and the young woman, quickly form an attachment, one that you could easily see going towards the romantic side. Their relationship is the first real glimpse into Rick as a human being. He's a gentleman through and through, the kind the we all dream about meeting ourselves one day.

He's driven, but easily distracted. He's considerate, but once he has his mind on something, he will do what needs to be done. He plays the gallant well, when the young lady gets into trouble, Rick rides off like a White Knight. He handles the paranormal with a bit of skepticism at first, but allows himself to belief once he has no choice.

I think that it helps he was played by Ray Miland, who was such a gorgeous man. He had a air of distinction around him that highlighted all the best traits of the character. If any of you have not seen the movie, please do so. Discover for yourself what a truly scary ghost story should be like. Hopefully you will enjoy Rick and the rest of the characters as much as I do.

Alibi For Isabel by Mary Roberts Rinehart

2011-10-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

There are two things I love in life, well more than that but only two that have anything to do with what I'm doing here, short stories and Mary Roberts Rinehart. Now granted, when I got a hold of this book, I did not know that it was a collection of 9 short stories. I thought I would be in store for another great mystery set around a wonderful heroine and an intriguing storyline. What I ended up with was so much better.

Each one of the stories, mystery or not, showcases what Mary Roberts Rinehart was so good at. In a rather short span of time, each story is around 13-15 pages, she was able to capture not only the characters but the atmosphere as well. Each character, regardless of their circumstances, are fully fleshed out and capable of starring in their own full length novel.

The "feel" of the stories though is where, as usual, Rinehart shines for me. She is capable of bottling the tension in the air in a way that I'm not sure most other authors could. Every emotion and reaction are palpable as each page is turned. The fear and desperation these characters feel, at times, chocked the air I was breathing. It made me lose my sense of time and place as I got lost in their lives.

Since they aren't all mysteries, I would think this would be a good introduction to her writing style for those who have not read her before. I think it would give somebody new to Rinehart a good sense of what she was capable of, without becoming too invested in a story that you may not like as much. For anyone who hasn't been swayed by my previous reviews, I hope you will give this one a try.

Challenges: FM, VM

Mailbox Monday for 10/17/11

2011-10-16T19:50:00.000-05:00

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit.

I received an ARC of A Train In Winter by Caroline Moorehead for an upcoming TLC Book Tour.

I won a trade paperback of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson from Bea of Bea's Book Nook.

The lovely Melissa of My World...In Words And Pages sent along a hardcover of Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel.

I bought Oliver And Company on DVD