Let’s Review- Homicide in Hardcover
by on August 3rd, 2010
filed under Book Review
If you’re reading this post then you must love books. So what’s better than a book about books?
I have to admit, I always thought old books smelled funny. And they’re not very easy to throw in your purse to read at the beach. But last Christmas I asked for a fancy copy of the Count of Monte Cristo, my favorite book of all time. My mother gave me a set of old volumes as it seems the Count originally came in two parts. These old books have worn leather covers that are cracked and faded. Their pages are delicate and gilt edged. And they smell musty and well, old. But I love them. I can’t wait to find the time to sit down with them and read them at an old desk in a paneled library with a cup of tea at my elbow.
Now I know how the heroine of Kate Carlisle’s Homicide in Hardcover feels.
Brooklyn Wainwright is a skilled surgeon. Sure, her patients might smell like mold and have spines made of leather, but no ailing book is going to die on her watch. The same can’t be said of Abraham Karastovsky, Brooklyn’s friend and former employer.
On the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration, Brooklyn finds her mentor lying in a pool of his own blood. With his final breath Abraham leaves Brooklyn with a cryptic message, “Remember the Devil,” and gives her a priceless—and supposedly cursed—copy of Goethe’s Faust for safe-keeping.
Brooklyn suddenly finds herself accused of murder and theft, thanks to Derek Stone, the humorless—and annoyingly attractive—British security agent who found her kneeling over the body. Now she has to read the clues left behind by her mentor if she is going to restore justice and save her own life…
This is a fast-paced, light hearted mystery with quirky, funny characters and snappy dialog. Kate cleverly weaves in tidbits about book restoration, making it both interesting and educational. Homicide in Hardcover is the first in Kate’s Bibliophile Mystery series. I loved this book so much I started reading the second book If Books Could Kill as soon as I finished the first one. Unfortunately the third book in the series The Lies That Bind won’t be out until November! Write faster Kate!!!
I give Kate Carlisle’s Homicide in Hardcover a full leather binding, a foredge painting, a pot of 23 karat gold and two bent over librarians.
Pop on over to my friend Barrie Summy’s blog to check out more wonderful book reviews.
Let’s Review- Too Much Temptation
by on April 6th, 2010
filed under Book Review
Too much is right.
I’ve read Lori Foster’s Too Much Temptation twice and while I was waiting for my computer to boot up so I could write this review I started reading it again!
If you’re looking for a steamy, where’s-my-husband-cause-I’m-in-THE-mood romance pulsing with sweaty, sheet twisting sex scenes then this is the book for you.
Grace Jenkins has had little experience with men—feeling too awkward and insecure to free the passionate woman inside her. But that hasn’t stopped her from dreaming about Noah Harper. Gorgeous, strong and darkly sexy, his rough edge beneath the polish promises no mercy in the bedroom. When Grace learns Noah’s engagement has ended in scandal, she shyly offers him her support and her friendship. But Noah’s looking for something extra…
Noah wants Grace—badly. He wants to possess those curves that go on forever, to savor her sweet innocence, to take her to the limits of white-hot desire…again and again. What he doesn’t want is anything more complicated than that, and he knows Grace is a woman who deserves better. Grace, however, knows exactly what she wants—the kind of ecstasy only Noah can give her. Brazenly, she accepts, and Noah promises to make all her secret fantasies come true…
And let me tell you, Noah not only promises, he delivers. <<fans face vigorously>> Wowza!
This is by far my favorite Lori Foster book. The sexual tension between these two ignites in chapter one and blazes like a California wild fire through to the aw-it’s-over-already-end. Keep your husbands or battery operated devices on stand-by for this one, ladies, cause let me tell you, this little romance novel is better than (puts hand over mouth and whispers) porn. And it’s not even erotica.
I give Lori Foster’s Too Much Temptation multiple O’s and a very smug looking husband.
Pop on over to my friend Barrie Summy’s blog to check out more wonderful book reviews.
Let’s Review-The Brightest Star in the Sky
by on March 3rd, 2010
filed under Book Review
Have you ever read a book that left you with the overwhelming urge to hug it?
Yeah, me neither.
Until I read Marian Keyes’ The Brightest Star in the Sky.
I sat there, totally alone, late at night, as I closed the book for the last time.
I looked around.
No one was there. Everyone was asleep. But still!!! Hugging a book? Nah, not me. I wasn’t going to do it.
After much scoffing & mental teasing of lame people who hug books… I mean it’s a book for jeepers sake!…I hugged it. <hangs head>
I hugged this book.
Marian Keyes’ writing is really something that defies common story telling. It bends and twists ordinary story telling bounds. It leaves you craving more while simultaneously gifting you with a deep sense of gratitude and completion.
Ms. Keyes has the rare ability to make you think about a book for days… nay, weeks as I did with her book Is Anybody Out There. Her stories have layers. And those layers have layers that are so deeply layered… Cripes, but I’m gushing like a prepubescent Twilight fan!
Welcome to 66 Star Street…
In the top floor flat lives music exec Katie. She spends her days fighting off has-been rock stars and wondering how much cheesecake you’d need to eat yourself to death.
Below her, a pair of muscular Poles share with a streetwise cabbie named Lydia who has a sharp tongue, an even sharper brain but some unexpected soft spots.
On the first floor is Fionn – the gardener who prefers the company of parsnips to people. But he looks like a fairy-tale prince and when he’s offered his own television show, he’s suddenly thrust into the limelight.
And at the bottom of the house live Matt and Maeve, who are Very Much In Love and who stave off despair by doing random acts of kindness.
But a mysterious visitor has just landed at 66 Star Street and big changes are on the way. Old secrets are working their way to the surface, bringing love, tragedy and an unexpected optimism. And life will be different for everyone…
I searched the almighty web for the best possible description for this story or really collection of stories. I found the best one (above) on Marian’s website. Ms. Keyes tells this tale in 3rd person, which is unusual yet the only way to tell it. If you’re a fan, you’ll love this book. If you’ve never read Marian Keyes… where the hell have you been?… I mean, it might take a couple of pages to get into it but trust me, it’s worth the effort. I easily made the metaphysical jump, but then I was raised by two failed Buddhists. For those of you who were not so fortunate, Marian tells this tale so skillfully, so wonderfully comically, you’ll easily make the leap too.
I give Marian Keyes’ The Brightest Star in the Sky two pints of Guinness, a Blarney Stone and two Irish eyes a smilin’. That’s ar fheabhas (‘excellent’ in Gaelic).
Pop on over to my friend Barrie Summy’s blog to check out more wonderful book reviews.
Let’s Review-Deeper Than the Dead
by on February 3rd, 2010
filed under Book Review
In 1985 Michael Jackson bought The Beatles song catalog, New Coke bombed, the first cell phone call was made , a gallon of gas was $1.09 and a movie ticket was $2.75. 1985 is also the setting for Tami Hoag’s first novel after a two year hiatus.
Can you smell the Bartles & James wine coolers? Are your eyes stinging from the perm solution & Aqua-net? Are your shoulders properly padded? 
Then you’re ready for this review.
California, 1985. Three children, running in the woods behind their school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre, shocked by this discovery and heartbroken as she witnesses the end of their innocence. What she doesn’t yet realize is that this will mark the end of innocence for an entire community, as the ties that bind families and friends are tested by secrets uncovered in the wake of a serial killer’s escalating activity.
Detective Tony Mendez, fresh from a law enforcement course at FBI headquarters, is charged with interpreting those now revealed secrets. He’s using a new technique-profiling-to develop a theory of the case, a strategy that pushes him ever deeper into the lives of the three children, and closer to the young teacher whose interest in recent events becomes as intense as his own.
As new victims are found and the media scrutiny of the investigation bears down on them, both Mendez and Navarre are unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves-or the family and friends of the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very close to them is a brutal, calculating psychopath.
Tami Hoag juggles the multiple points of view deftly with short chapters which also keeps the action moving. Working in the children’s point of views gives the reader interesting insight. Children often feel and notice things adults don’t, including who the good guys are and who are not. And in this book the bad guy is really bad. Today we take DNA evidence and criminal profiling for granted but in 1985 these were new, untested tools for law enforcement. Police work has come a long way in the last 25 years. It must have been a challenge to not sneak in one single text message, email or cell phone call (remember rotary phones?) while writing this book.
I’m glad you’re back Tami. Please don’t make us wait another two years for your next book. I give Tami Hoag’s Deeper Than the Dead a Yuppie, a Preppie, 2 Coreys (Feldman & Haim) and a silver DeLorean.
Pop on over to my friend Barrie Summy’s blog to check out more wonderful book reviews.
Disclosure- Barrie received this book from the publisher. She put the call out for a volunteer to read & possibly review it. My review policy is that I only review books I like, books I can recommend to other readers. Being a huge fan of Tami Hoag’s I would have bought and read this book anyway. I posted this review only because I liked the book and not because it was given to me.
Let’s Review- Vision in White
by on January 6th, 2010
filed under Book Review
I know what you’re thinking.
How difficult… reviewing a Nora Roberts book. It’s like recommending a dehydrated person drink water or telling someone who’s interested in breathing to gulp air.
But if you want a good romantic story? You want Nora. You want characters who are funny, relateable and can kick ass? Nora again. You want a hero who’s sexy, singularly focused (on the heroine), and smart? Nora’s your gal. You want a heroine who’s not TSTL (too stupid to live), strong, talented and genuine enough to be your friend in real life? You got it… Nora.
I guess there’s a reason she sells 27 books every minute. She delivers.
She’s returned to her roots with a new straight-up romance series called The Bride Quartet about 4 childhood girlfriends who run a wedding business. Here’s the back cover blurb on book one in the series- Vision in White.
After years of throwing make-believe weddings in the backyard, flowers, photography, desserts, and details are what these women do best: a guaranteed perfect, beautiful day full of memories to last the rest of your life.
With bridal magazine covers to her credit, Mackensie “Mac” Elliot is most at home behind the camera – ready to capture the happy moments she never experienced while growing up. Her father replaced his first family with a second, and now her mother, moving on to yet another man, begs Mac for attention and money. Mac’s foundation is jostled again moments before an important wedding planning meeting when she bumps into the bride-to-be’s brother…an encounter that has them both seeing stars.
Carter Maguire is definitely not her type: he’s stable, and he’s safe. He’s even an English teacher at their high school alma mater. There’s something about him that makes Mac think a casual fling is just what she needs to take her mind off dealing with bride-zillas and screening her mother’s phone calls. But a casual fling can turn into something more when you least expect it. And with the help of her three best friends – and business partners – Mac must learn how to make her own happy memories…
Nerds everywhere should be thanking Ms. Roberts. Her hero, Carter Maguire turns dorky into delish and has had me checking out the Geek Squad… twice. Who knew glasses & tweed coats could be so hot? I give Vision in White two hideous brides maids dresses, one whacked out mother-in-law, a Macarena dance and an open bar (that’s good). This quartet is off to a fine start in life.
Pop on over to my friend Barrie Summy’s blog to check out more wonderful book reviews.
Let’s Review-Obsidian Prey
by on September 2nd, 2009
filed under Book Review
Oh woe is me my bloggy friends.
I have just come off of a bender of two bad books.
And like a bender of bad booze, bad books can leave the same moth ball after taste on your brain and sense of dread when you realize the hero & heroine don’t have any chemistry (much like the scary morning after).
You start to question your sanity. Parts of the book whiz by you like cows on a freeway with no off ramps. And you ask yourself-Did I really read that? Why can’t I find the conflict? Why, oh why should I care about these characters when all I want to do is knock their heads together? Do I need to visit the eye doctor to have my cones checked or is the hero on the cover blond and NOT raven haired?
You don’t feel fresh until you’ve scrubbed your mind clean & brushed your imagination with the minty freshness of a beloved author who always delivers a good story.
Obsidian Preythe 6th book in the Ghost Hunters series by Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) was my imagination’s Colgate & hair of the dog. God bless Jayne and her reliable story telling. Reading her is like taking a deep breath of relief when you realize that although you’ve just woken up next to a stranger
, you still have your panty hose on.
Two hundred years after the closing of the energy Curtain that allowed interplanetary travel—cutting off all contact to Earth—the planet Harmony is thriving. Thanks to an abundant supply of amber, which powers not only electrical machines for everyday use but also psychic abilities in the colonists, Harmony has created a stable, progressive community. But when that stability is threatened, resolving an ancient family feud and a fresh lover’s quarrel might be the planet’s only hope.
Three months ago, Lyra Dore suffered a heartbreak and a hostile takeover—both at the hands of the same man. A descendant of her ancestors’ fierce rival. Cruz Sweetwater charmed his way into Lyra’s heart and gained access to her pet project, an amethyst ruin. Then he took over the project and took off. When Cruz walks back into her life and requests a private meeting, Lyra convinces herself he’s there to crawl and beg forgiveness. Wrong again—he just needs her help. With the project he stole from her.
Five innocent men are trapped inside a chamber in the amethyst ruin, and Lyra is the only one who can reopen the door. Reluctantly she agrees to help. Then Cruz wants her to apply her talents to the rest of the ruin—because no one else can work it. Lyra and Cruz are both harboring psychic secrets. Unknown—and dangerous—powers pulse within the amethyst ruin, and the closer Lyra gets to them, the more at risk she becomes. And now she must decide whether to trust her guts or her heart…
Now, I have to confess *right hand over heart* I don’t love paranormal books.
Yes, that’s me.
The only person in the whole world who doesn’t get the whole paranormal phenomenon. Vampires & weird fantastical creatures in a bizarre up is down, down is up world is so not my thing. I didn’t get Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Never heard of Firefly and didn’t think Angel was anything more than a stupid Buffy knock off.
But I lurve Jayne Castle’s Harmony Series. I give Obsidian Prey 4 Dust Bunnies & a pulse of psychic energy (read the book & you’ll get it).
Pop on over to my friend Barrie Summy’s blog to check out more wonderful book reviews.
Let’s Review-And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
by on March 31st, 2009
filed under Book Review
Last month I reviewed my favorite adult book of all time, this month I’m reviewing my favorite children’s book of all time (turns out it’s Barrie’s too!).
Seriously, I have read this book more times than I’ve blinked.
My parents read it to me as a child, I read it myself, and to both of my boys and I never, ever get tired of it.
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss
Everyone knows that the good doctor was a genius. His words and phrasing read more like music than poetry, perfect rhythm and timing with a beat you can dance to. Mulberry Street opens with a young lad, Marco, on his way home from school-
When I leave home to walk to school,
Dad always says to me,
“Marco, keep your eyelids up
And see what you can see.”
But when I tell him where I’ve been
And what I think I’ve seen,
He looks at me and sternly says,
“Your eyesight’s much too keen.
“Stop telling such outlandish tales.
Stop turning minnows into whales.”
Now, what can I say
When I get home today?
And what did young Marco tell his father he saw? Ha, you’ll have to read the book to find out how he created a story that NO ONE could beat, when he says that he saw it on Mulberry Street!
Dr. Seuss is known for creating imaginative stories that entertain children of all ages (including us middle-aged ones, as my son so nicely points out!). I give Mulberry Street- a plain horse and wagon, an elephant with plenty of power and size, a man that sits and listens while hitched on behind, an airplane that dumps out confetti while everyone cheers and reindeer pulling a charioteer.
Pop on over to my friend Barrie Summy’s blog to check out more wonderful book reviews.
Let’s Review- The Count of Monte Cristo
by on March 4th, 2009
filed under Book Review
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is by far my favorite book of all time. If you didn’t read it in high school (which is where I first read it) read it now. It’s an adventure story written by the same author of The Three Musketeers.
Recently promoted to Captain, Edmond Dantès, returns to Marseille eager to marry his fiancée Mercédès. His predecessor, a supporter of Napoléon (who had been exiled to Elba), had charged Dantès on his deathbed to deliver a package intended for Napoléon.
A jealous rival, Fernand, accuses Dantès of being a Bonapartist traitor, and although Villefort the deputy crown prosecutor would rather not imprison an innocent man, he ultimately chooses to save his political career and condemns Dantès to life imprisonment.
In prison a priest provides Dantès with a comprehensive education and also teaches him the manners of polite society. Aside from the lessons, the two discuss Edmond’s betrayal and piece together the events that placed the young man in his brutal predicament.
The priest, ill and knowing that he will soon die, confides in Dantès the location of a great cache of treasure on the Italian islet of Monte Cristo. Dantès escapes (by climbing into the body bag of the dead priest) and makes his way to the island, where he finds the treasure. With his new found wealth and education, Dantès is quickly accepted in the highest levels of society.
Nine years after his return to Marseille, Dantès puts into action his plan for revenge. He reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious, fabulously rich aristocrat. He subsequently moves to Paris, where he becomes the sensation of the city, even his enemies find him charming, and because of his status, they all desire his friendship. The only one who recognizes Dantès is his former fiance, Mercédès, now married to Fernand who had him imprisoned. Confident in his new found power and position, Dantès uses his enemies own greed and avarice to bring about their downfall.
The Count of Monte Cristo is not just a book about vengeance, but is also concerned with themes of hope, justice, mercy, forgiveness, death, and a little thing called Karma (although it is never mentioned by name in the book, it is nevertheless a very important element).
I give The Count of Monte Cristo cinq étoile (five stars). It’s an excellent read for any age, male or female. Enjoy!
Pop on over to Barrie’s blog to check out the other participants.
Let’s review Putting on the Dog
by on February 4th, 2009
filed under Book Review
My bloggy friend Barrie Summy is hosting a book review written by fellow bloggers like me. She’s asked me to read a book (hardship!) and write a review for it (ah… never done that before!). I find it a cautionary sign that Yahoo news has just posted an interview with Stephen King where he says this about Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series:
According to Stephen, “Both (JK) Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series) and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people… The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
Yow! Don’t worry Ms. Baxter, I will be kind in my review of your book Putting on the Dog, A Reigning Cats and Dogs Mystery Book 2 by Cynthia Baxter.
A charity dog show has veterinarian Jessica Popper hitting the road with her faithful one-eyed Dalmatian, Lou, and her tailless Westie, Max, for the palatial summer estates of Long Island’s fabled East End. When she arrives, the posh seaside community is crawling with stars eager to take best in show for their beloved pooches. But it’s murder most tacky when a celebrity photographer is felled by a giant ice sculpture at a $500-a-plate fund-raiser.
Unable to resist the scent of the hunt, Jess is soon investigating a casting director’s dream of potential suspects. But if Jess isn’t careful, she just might become the next victim of a killer determined to prove she’s barking up the wrong tree.
The mystery is so cleverly done that I had no idea who done it until they were exposed at the end. The plot takes more twists and turns then a dog chasing it’s tail.
Her characters are nicely drawn, not too over the top which is hard to accomplish when you’re writing mega movie stars, it-directors, a gay iced tea maven and a macho, stuck in 70′s rock n roll private investigator. The pampered pooches get equal billing as one of them quickly becomes the main murder suspect.
I liked how she threw in interesting breed information and common canine and feline medical anomalies or ailments. She must have gone to a lot of dog shows to be able to convey just how serious that business is.
All in all, a very entertaining story. And even though the dogs saw more action then the people (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), I really enjoyed the story.
I give it… roof, roof, roof, roof… 4 barks out of 5.
Pop on over to Barrie’s blog to check out the other participants.
