"A Dark Kiss of Rapture" by Silvia Day

This e-book novella is a prequel to Day's Renegade Angels series and introduces Raze, one of the Fallen, a former angel stripped of his wings and soul and turned vampire.  He hunts rogue creatures and lives a transient life, never making deep emotional connections until he meets Kim McAdams, a human who captures his attention and shows him what he's been missing.  But Raze has many enemies, and being with Kim puts her in danger . . . and she knows nothing of his world.

All the different types of creatures left me a bit confused as to who has what powers and which enemies, but the writing was well done and kept me interested in Raze and Kim's fledgling relationship.  I'd like to read the rest of the series.  60 pages (Kindle edition).

Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins

This week I decided to try a lighthearted romance. Just One of the Guys has journalist Chastity O'Neill returning to her hometown even though it means she will once again be in the shadow of her brothers and nearer to Trevor, her first love who only sees her as a "little" sister. (At just shy of six feet, there is nothing little about her!) A typical Harlequin romance, but with plenty of self-deprecating humor. It got a little bogged in the middle, but for the most part it was an enjoyable, quick read. 384 pages.

People of the Book

By Geraldine Brooks

384 pages

Another compelling novel from the fantastic Geraldine Brooks.  This one follows the path of a haggadah, a Jewish religious text, and the people who helped create, pass on, alter and restore it.  The storyline alternates between current times as a rare book conservator is commissioned to work on the recently unearthed and extremely valuable codex, and the moments in history when the book has been owned, altered, and passed between Christian, Jewish and Muslim hands.  Brooks’ roots as an investigative reporter in the Middle East and Europe serve her well here as the story of the book unravels and crosses borders from Jerusalem, Sarajevo, Venice, Seville and Vienna.  Families come alive, the intermingling and alternating peace and war between religious groups paints the background for the human, person-to-person interactions.

This book is just a beautiful commentary on the cyclical nature of history, the importance of the written word, and wondrous thing that is our shared humanity.   

Crossed

By Allie Condie

367 pages

This second novel in the Matched trilogy finds Cassia and Ky on the outskirts of the Society, fighting for their lives as they try to find their way to one another and the camp of the rebellion.  I thought this novel was much stronger than the first – better written, more engaging - and liked that the voice of the novel was split between Ky and Cassia. 

Matched

By Allie Condie

400 pages

Obviously I am a sucker for dystopian novels with teen protagonists.  Gone, Divergent, Hunger Games…now Matched.  I heartily enjoyed the plot:  a society that chooses one’s profession, provides meals, regulates free time, matches ideal mates and provides an easy death at age eighty for its citizens is starting to show cracks in the system.  Cassia is seventeen, and is matched with her best friend, Xander, at her matching ceremony, but is later shown a glimpse of another boy labeled as her match.  As the Society’s attempts to clean up this untidy situation with Cassia leads to more abnormal situations, the reader is drawn into a larger story, involving a war on the border of the organized Society.

Something about Cassia didn’t exactly click for me, though.   I can’t put my finger on it…I was just more intrigued with the story and the secondary characters than by her. 

Insurgent

By Veronica Roth

544 pages

This second novel in the Divergent series was just as action-packed and absorbing as the first.  Tris finds herself fighting a war, and surprising herself with the sides she chooses and the people she discovers are her allies.  This isn’t high literature, but it’s a fun read.  The world Roth created is intriguing, and though the characters could stand to be a bit more rounded, I like them and the trajectory of the series.  I’m game for the ride!

Fatal Debt by John Gapper, read by Alan Sklar

I had a hard time listening to this book.  I don't know if the story didn't grab me or if it was because I found the narrator annoying.  Fatal Debt sounded promising in the catalog-inspired by the 2008 financial crisis, written by a financial columnist.  But I had trouble following the plot and found the writing clunky.  Not recommended. Unabridged audiobook, 10 hrs. 32 min. 288 pages.

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, read by Mark Deakins

Why read another book about a post-apocalyptic world where everyone's killing each other to survive?  A lonely man and his dog, an enigmatic survivalist neighbor, and an airplane..what's not to like?  All of the characters have experienced the unbearable loss of loved ones. All of them have had to do unspeakable things to survive the breakdown of society.  All of them hope to find community again. Seriously, it's a beautifully written (and read) story. Unabridged audiobook, 10 hrs. 41 minutes. 336 pages.

One of Fred's Girls by Elizabeth Hamilton Friermood

I just reread this book and it's aged a little bit.  It's 1891 and Bonnie Blair is the oldest of twelve children living in a small Indiana town.  She signs up to become a waitress for the Fred Harvey Restaurant company and heads out west.  I love the historical setting of this novel-the Southwest being opened up by the railroad carrying an influx of farmers, prospectors, and young women looking for adventure and a better life.  The part that's a bit dated is the whole go out West to get a husband story line.  But it is offset by some strong female characters and an atypical romance.  Great escape reading written by a librarian! 229 pages.

Water for Elephants / Sara Gruen

Following the untimely death of his parents, Jacob Jankowski walks away from vet school and finds himself despondently hopping a train in the night.  Morning finds him in a stock car of the Benzini Brothers circus.  An only child, he finds a family of sorts among the circus staff as he is drafted as the circus vet. Over the ensuing summer he learns much about the nature of man and beast.  A compelling read, good book club fodder.  350 p.

The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome

Thirteen-year-old Gerald Archer is surprised to find he has inherited billions of dollars from a great-aunt he has never met. Gerald quickly finds that many things are amiss. His great-aunt may have been murdered. A diamond is missing. He is being hunted by a thin man. His plight is ignored by the police. 

I found the plot promising, but ultimately the story fell flat. I didn't find the main characters engaging - although I tried especially hard to find redeeming qualities in Gerald and his friends. I expected strong character development, particularly with Gerald who I hoped would grow into being a positive role model for the reader. But, that didn't happen. The ending is surprisingly violent given the tone of the rest of the book. Archer Legacy, book 1. I don't plan to read the remaining titles in the series. 384 pages.

The 500 by Matthew Quirk

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

He was a con man, and decades of blackmail extortion is what he has to overcome.   And it took a career service to a power broker and lots of luck.

Audio:  12 hrs. 34 min.

Print:  336 pages.

Billie Standish Was Here by Nancy Crocker

Billie Standish is an 11-year-old girl growing up in a small Missouri town in the 1950’s. Her parents are consumed by their work, leaving Billie alone most of the time. Her mother is abusive; her father is distant. There are only two other girls her age in town, and they don’t like her. She spends most of her time alone. She feels invisible, and has to look in the mirror to be sure she exists.

 

It takes a disaster for her to find a friend. After heavy rains, a levee is in danger of breaking, and Billie discovers that the town has been evacuated. Her parents are out on their farm, and she is terribly alone. Then she sees her elderly across-the-road neighbor Miss Lydia, who has also chosen to stay in her home. The two form a bond that sustains them through tragedy and hardship. In Miss Lydia, Billie has an advocate and a friend at last.

This is a wonderful young adult book by a Missouri author.

 

288 pages

BURY YOUR DEAD by Louise Penny

Chief Inspector Gamache has come to Quebec City to recover from an investigation gone bad, very bad, Armand’s wounds are physical and non-physical.  The investigation and its outcome are revealed to the reader in bits and pieces as the events play out in his head over and over throughout the novel.  A very interesting technique that pushes the plot forward.

As in the other Three Pines novels, the author writes beautifully of the setting.  I felt as though I walked the winter streets of the very old Quebec City and visited the Literary and Historical Society Library where, of course, because this is a crime series, there is a murder.

I was especially glad to read this one back-to-back with THE BRUTAL TELLING because it put to rest the feeling of something unfinished in Three Pines.

Wonderful characters continue to reveal themselves as humans you want to know, and, in case I haven’t mentioned before, hilarious moments of dark humor roll through the dialogue.  I love this series.

Minotaur, 2010 371 p.

THE BRUTAL TELLING by Louise Penny

 

We’re back in Three Pines and one of the villager’s residents, Olivier, has secrets he does not want to reveal to Chief Inspector Gamanche, Inspector Beauvoir, or even his companion, the irrepressible Gabri, proprietor of the town’s B & B, especially when a dead body shows up in Oliver’s antique shop. 

Who is the dead man no one seems to know?  If he didn’t die in the shop, where was he murdered?  And why?

Minotaur, 2009  372 p.

ENDLESS NIGHT by Agatha Christie

I can’t remember how long it’s been since I read an Agatha Christie novel but when I heard her grandson interviewed on the radio upon the anniversary of her death, I had to read the novel he said was his favorite.

An unexpected romance between a rich young woman and an apparent ne’er-do-well, or maybe, an apparently unexpected romance.  Told in first-person, “I”, the young man of the story tells the tale.  Because this is Christie, there’s a surprise ending.

Because I’ve been reading a lot of novels set in current times, or post-apocalyptic times, it was a delightful bit of stepping back to mid-20^th century Britain.

Collins, 1967 224 p.

THE TWELVE by Justin Cronin

I read THE PASSAGE when it first came out and found it a very well written post-apocalyptic novel about what happens when a plan to create invincible soldiers (and maybe find a cure for all diseases) goes very, very bad.   I liked the author’s style of changing-up the point of view, and even time-frame, from chapter to chapter.  It was a really long book with lots of characters and I really had to pay attention to where I was in the narrative.

THE TWELVE continues the story with the characters that haven’t yet died a violent bloody death.  Did I mention there are lots of gruesome details about the “virals” as Earth as we know it is overrun and humans are barely hanging on in small groups?

Maybe it was just gory overload, but eventually I found the story tiresome and I lost interest in the characters.  The author has planned a third final installment.

Ballantine, 2012 568 p.

BURN MARK by Laura Powell

A young adult novel set in near-contemporary London is a coming-of-age story of two very different teenagers whose lives are forever altered when they receive the “fae”…a mysterious bruise-like spot that spontaneously appears and marks them as witches!

This is a fast-paced story with good plot twists as Glory and Lucas discover they might not be all that different from each other after all.  Thanks to the author, I also learned a bit more about England’s long history of witchcraft.

If the author decides to make a sequel or series from these characters, I’ll certainly read them.

Bloomsbury, 2012, 403 p.

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

I absolutely LOVED this book it is so funny. It is about 4 girls that move into the same dorm at Smith College. Each very different in there own way. It follows their lives through college and after. And it is really funny and good. And in some cases I could relate to the book. I love reading books like that. I enjoyed it very much.

432 pages

The Trials of Tiffany Trott by Isabel Wolff

This book is good and funny. It has a lot of british slang in it, which was interesting. It is about a girl named Tiffany who is in her late 30's looking for the Mr. Right. The way she talks is what makes this book so interesting. I enjoyed it.

416 pages

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

I am not really sure why I chose this book. I guess the description was appealing. But I was kind of disappointed when I finished the book. It was nothing like I thought it would be like. It talks about a girl named Ruby McQueen. It is not a bad book just not what I expected.

336 pages

Sunset Embrace by Sandra Brown

Ok I have to say I am a sucker for romance novels. And this was one of the most amazing romance novels I have ever read. I loved every minute of it. I could not put it down. The story is amazing. The setting is great. And the ending will surprise you. It is fantastic. GREAT READ!!!

Pages:384