"Tigers & Devils" by Sean Kennedy

This is an excellent and well written story that takes place mostly in Melbourne, Australia, and focuses on Simon Murray, who runs an independent movie festival, and Declan Tyler, a top player in Australian Rules Football.  Simon and his best friends, married couple Fran and Roger, are big fans of the sport, like the rest of the country, and are shocked when Declan kisses Simon at a party.  Could one of the most popular players in the Australian Football League really be gay?  The answer is yes, but he's mostly in the closet until someone takes a photo of Declan and Simon kissing and all hell breaks loose.  I liked this poignant and sometimes humorous tale and the author's writing very much.  It's told from Simon's POV, and he's not the most confident and easy going guy like Declan is.  He can be immature and easily hurt, but he finds he is stronger than he thinks when the whole country seems to be laughing at him.  Highly recommended and there's a sequel!  376 pages (Kindle edition).

"Cop Out" by KC Burn

This was an unusual story of Kurt, a Toronto cop, who is injured and his partner killed in a shooting.  Even though he'd been partnered with Ben for several years, it turns out that Kurt really didn't know much about him outside of work.  For one thing, Ben was gay, and for another, he had a longtime boyfriend, Davy, with whom he'd been living.  When Kurt meets the inconsolable man at Ben's funeral, he knows he has to do something to help as he would if Ben had been with a woman.  But as Kurt gets to know Davy, he comes to realize that Davy has been the victim of Ben's verbal and mental abuse.  That's all I can say to prevent spoiling this emotional story about two men connected by tragedy and second chances.  I'd definitely read a sequel.  200 pages (Kindle edition).

My Fight/Your Fight by Ronda Rousey, with Maria Burns Ortiz.

Summary: "Marked by her signature charm, barbed wit, and undeniable power, Rousey’s account of the toughest fights of her life—in and outside the Octagon—reveals the painful loss of her father when she was eight years old, the intensity of her judo training, her battles with love, her meteoric rise to fame, the secret behind her undefeated UFC record, and what it takes to become the toughest woman on Earth. Rousey shares hard-won lessons on how to be the best at what you do, including how to find fulfillment in the sacrifices, how to turn limitations into opportunities, and how to be the best on your worst day.

Packed with raw emotion, drama, and wisdom this is an unforgettable book by one of the most remarkable women in the world."

I am a huge fan of Ronda Rousey as the very first UFC Women's Champion, and after reading her autobiography, I'm an even bigger fan of her as a person. Her book is as real and honest as she is. I absolutely loved it. I really enjoyed the backstory of her history in judo and her transition to MMA. It was really great to read her inner thoughts during her historic UFC fights. I remember watching the fights, and it was so interesting to see them through her eyes. 

301 pages 

I am the Weapon by Allen Zadoff

Summary: "Sixteen-year-old Boy Nobody, an assassin controlled by a shadowy government organization, The Program, considers sabotaging his latest mission because his target reminds him of the normal life he craves."

I actually found this book on another library's book blog, and it was quite different than I expected. It's a very quick read, as the chapters are very short and the story moves along at a rapid pace. It's a bit darker and more intense than I anticipated; it is not a children's/young teen book at all. It also isn't as predictable as many YA books , so it was fun to be surprised by the plot developments. The ending will certainly leave you hanging, so make sure you have the next book, I am the Mission, ready and waiting! 

(Note: I am the Weapon is the first book in the Unknown Assassin series. It was first published as Boy Nobody, but later republished as I am the Weapon once the book turned into a series.)

337 pages

The Pioneer Woman : Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

Summary: "I'll never forget that night. It was like a romance novel, an old Broadway musical, and a John Wayne western rolled into one. Out for a quick drink with friends, I wasn't looking to meet anyone, let alone a tall, rugged cowboy who lived on a cattle ranch miles away from my cultured, corporate hometown. But before I knew it, I'd been struck with a lightning bolt . . . and I was completely powerless to stop it. Read along as I recount the rip-roaring details of my unlikely romance with a chaps-wearing cowboy, from the early days of our courtship (complete with cows, horses, prairie fire, and passion) all the way through the first year of our marriage, which would be filled with more challenge and strife---and manure---than I ever could have expected. This isn't just my love story; it's a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet.
It's the story of a cowboy.
And Wranglers.
And chaps.
And the girl who fell in love with them."

My cousin introduced me to the recipes of the "Pioneer Woman," aka Ree Drummond. My cousin showed me one of The Pioneer Woman's cookbooks, and I enjoyed reading the delicious recipes within. However, I was more intrigued by the beautiful pictures of Ree's ranch in Oklahoma and her lovely family, along with her witty captions under each picture. Which led me to finding Ree's published love story of how she, a city girl, met and fell in love with her cowboy husband. It is a wonderful real-life story of romance and true love, and I absolutely love Ree's fresh voice and funny story-telling. Once I started reading, I couldn't put this book down (even though I know how it all ends!). I absolutely loved it; it made me laugh and it made my cry. I would recommend reading it or at least visiting her website: http://thepioneerwoman.com/, where you can read through many of her adventures. 

341 pages

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway; Read by Gareth Armstrong

Most people probably remember bits and pieces about the Bosnian War of the 1990s.  The mass killings of Bosnian Muslim men and boys, the rapes of Bosnian Muslim women, and the failure of the U.N. to intercede.  In the Cellist of Sarajevo, Galloway takes us into the lives of four citizens of Sarajevo during the war.  An anonymous cello player decides to play every day for each of the 22 people killed in a mortar attack on a street market. A young sniper called Arrow is assigned to keep him alive. Kenan must make a day long trek across the city, dodging snipers and mortar attacks, to get water for his family and neighbor.  Dragan spends hours trying to make it across the street without getting shot. Each must grapple with the choice between cowering and acting.  These glimpses into wartime life are accompanied in the audiobook by haunting cello music. 235 pages. Unabridged audiobook. 5 hours and 33 minutes.

Ran Away by Barbara Hambly

A Turk living in 1830s New Orleans is accused of murdering two of his concubines. Someone saw him throw the women to their deaths from an upper story window. Enter Benjamin January- musician, doctor, and unofficial detective. It turns out that Benjamin knows the Turk, Huseyin Pasha, from his medical school days in Paris.  Hambly takes us back to Benjamin's earlier life in Paris. We get to know his first wife Ayasha and the role she played in the first encounter between Benjamin and Huseyin Pasha.  Once again, Benjamin uses his connections among the servants and working class of New Orleans to solve the murders.  An engrossing story with lots of historical detail.  256 pages.

Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen

Rebecca Winter has fallen on hard times.  She's an award winning photographer who hasn't had an exhibit or sold a work in years. She's decided to take drastic measures in order to pay her monthly bills-she's leased out her New York apartment and rented a ramshackle house in upstate New York. It's very satisfying to read how Rebecca creates a new life for herself. 252 pages.

Paradise Lost by J. A. Jance

It's been three years since Joanna Brady became sheriff of Cochise County. She's become a more confident manager, has solved many cases, and has successfully juggled the demands of her job and her personal life.  Should she run for re-election? This question lingers at the back of Joanna's mind as she tries to solve a new murder.

Joanna's daughter Jennifer and a troubled fellow Girl Scout discover the body of a brutally murdered woman. When the troubled Girl Scout is later killed in a hit and run, Joanna races to find the killer before her daughter becomes the next target. Jance continues to develop the relationships that make this series worthwhile reading, especially the one between Joanna and her mother. 371 pages.

Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura Bates

Laura Bates was an English professor who began teaching Shakespeare to inmates in Indiana prisons. She eventually managed to get the prison system to allow her to teach a Shakespeare class in ‘SuperMax’; the ‘prison within a prison’ for the most violent, incorrigible criminals.

 

In this memoir, Bates describes the “Shakespeare in Shackles” where she met Larry Newton. Newton spent over 10 years in solitary confinement; as a teenager he murdered a man and got life in prison without parole in return for pleading guilty. Newton got Bates’ attention with his first essay about Richard III. He posed questions on topics such as honor, revenge and conscience.

 

The impact of Shakespeare's works, primarily Macbeth and Hamlet,  on Newton was so powerful that he became a teacher, prepared  workbooks to help inmates study, and helped create videos to inform other inmates about the relevance of Shakespeare to their lives. And the impact on  Bates has led her to ask questions such as: Should the state pay for educational programs to rehabilitate criminals? Need we be concerned about the inhumane and unsanitary conditions that exist in some American prisons? Can we prevent juvenile offenders from become career criminals?

 

An interesting read.

 

308 pages

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Number 4 in the Game of Thrones series was a bit slow in places, particularly since Martin chose to reveal the stories of only half the characters in the series, leaving out my favorites.  This volume focuses on events in and around Kings Landing, with Cersei, Jaime, Brianne and Arya, as well as some new characters from across the sea.  The word is spreading about the existence of the dragons, with much speculation and disbelief.  While the story has treachery and intrigue, along with some attempts to pursue justice and truth, I'm looking forward to the next volume.  1060 pages.

"Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety" by Daniel Smith

The author began suffering from severe anxiety after having a terrible experience the first time he has sex.  His life devolves from there into suffering panic attacks and excessive sweating in many situations.  He struggles not only through college but through his first real job as a fact checker for "The Atlantic" and his first serious relationship, which his anxiety and insecurities ruin.  I also suffer from anxiety but mine does not compare to the severity of the author's.  He has found no cure, but, with the help of a psychologist, uses cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with it.  The weakest part of the book was the section about working for "The Atlantic."  I thought it was too long and detailed and didn't add much to the book.  Overall, though, it was interesting to hear how one severe anxiety sufferer acquired it and deals with it.

Audio:  7 hrs. 15 min.
Print:  224 pages

"The Shadows" by J.R. Ward

The 13th novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series focuses on the twin Shadows, Trez and iAm.  They are a different species from vampires, both of which are unknown to most humans, but iAm and Trez have been living with the BDB for about nine months.  Although Trez is fated to be the mate of the Shadow Princess, he and iAm escaped that world many years ago to live and work among humans.  They teamed up with the BDB to fight their common enemy, the Lessening Society, but now Trez has been ordered to return to the Shadows to fulfill his duty or his people will declare war on the BDB.  On top of that, he has fallen in love with Selena, a Chosen, who provides her pure blood to the Brothers who cannot take from their mates.  Unfortunately, Selena has been stricken with a mysterious illness that renders her body's joints to freeze.  Other Chosen before her have had this same illness, and it has always been fatal.

I know this sounds convoluted, but if you've read all the other novels in the series it will make sense.  The real focus is on Trez and Selena's love story and how they each deal with her illness and his destiny to be the mate of the Shadow Princess.  It also deals with iAm and his quest to help them, which holds the real surprise of the book.  I was glad to see a side story on Rhage and his shellan (wife), Mary.  He has begun to have panic attacks, and Mary, being a counselor, tries to help him understand them.  Hopefully, we'll see more of those two in the next installment.  Overall, I liked this book better than the last one, "The King."  576 pages.

Snakecharm by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Summary: "The peace forged by the love between Zane and Danica, leaders of the avian and serpiente realms that had been at war for generations, is threatened by the arrival of Syfka, an ancient falcon who claims one of her people is hidden in their midst."

While Hawksong was told from Danica's POV, Snakecharm gives us a glimpse into Zane's mind. I have tried to read the rest of the books in this series, but unfortunately, the author loses track of what made Hawksong so incredibly good. The relationships are the heart of these books, not the magic, not the avian lore. But as the series continues, she gets more and more into the fantasy and loses the heart of the story. Snakecharm is interesting and good, but it could have been better. I found myself missing Danica and her thoughts, especially when something profound happens to her. 

167 pages

The Heir by Kiera Cass

Summary: "Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn't expect her Selection to be anything like her parents' fairy-tale love story ... but as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought."

Unfortunately, The Heir did not live up to the fun and excitement of the previous 3 books in the Selection series. Princess Eadlyn is a spoiled, self-centered brat. She's also incredibly dim, dull and downright insensitive at times. I didn't relate to her or root for her at all. However, the end of the book indicated that Eadlyn might have learned from her mistakes and is willing to change her ways. I am hopeful that the next book in Eadlyn's story will turn things around. 

346 pages

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Summary: "Yelena, about to be executed, is offered the job of food taster to the Commander of Ixia, but politics and magic keep threatening her life."

Yelena is quite a heroine! She is smart, determined and a fighter. She reminds me a little bit of Katniss Everdeen, in that she fights every day to stay alive. She is the definition of resilient.

I truly enjoyed this book, and its ability to provide depth while moving the story along quickly was very refreshing. I would definitely recommend!



361 pages

"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell

This bestseller discusses the way we make snap judgments and the consequences of doing so when they are wrong.  The most interesting parts were examples of these, both good and bad.  The author uses the term "thin-slicing" to describe the process of filtering out the variables that don't matter and depending on the ones that do when making a quick decision.  Overall, it was a pretty interesting book although some of it felt like padding.  The author read the CD version that I listened to, which was good because he had a pleasant, mid-range speaking voice.

Audio:  7 hrs. 43 minutes
Print:  296 pages

"A Restored Man" by Jaime Reese

This is the third book in the Men of Halfway House series and focuses on Cole Renzo, who has spent the last two years in prison for car theft.  He moves to Halfway House to finish his sentence but must find and keep a job.  He gets a position at a car restoration shop owned by Ty Calloway, brother of Aiden Calloway, a Miami detective who is trying to keep Cole in line.  Cole notices that the two brothers are very different and have a fractured relationship due to an accident in the family a couple of years ago that physically and emotionally damaged Ty.  But Cole's non-stop mouth and overconfidence help Ty come out of his shell, much to the brothers' surprise.  However, someone from Ty's past is trying to blackmail him and force him out of business.  Can Cole and Aiden help him defeat his blackmailer and find happiness again?

This is the best book of the series (so far) with two main characters whose personalities are very different but complement each other.  Ty and Cole have both suffered personal losses and have families that love them but don't always know how to show it.  There were well written secondary characters, especially Cole's siblings and Ty's main mechanic, who added layers to the story.  It was also great to see Julian and Matt, who run Halfway House.  I can't wait to read the next in the series.  362 pages.

"Watching Elijah Fall" by Amy Spector

Jacob Pierce is having a hard time moving past the break-up with his long time boyfriend.  He's depressed and not sure how to be happy again.  His friends talk him into taking a photography class where he finds himself drawn to the instructor, Elijah Fall.  But Elijah has his own heartache weighing him down.  This was a gentle novella with good secondary characters and two very likable leads.  67 pages (Kindle edition).

"The Best Man" by L.A. Witt

Jon Beatty is trying his best to deal with being asked to be the best man at a wedding - his ex-boyfriend's wedding to a woman.  He reluctantly agrees even though he still has feelings for Craig, and the fiancee seems to hate him.  Then he meets Liam Sable, and Jon thinks his life may be getting back on track until someone starts to stalk him and cause him harm.  I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I liked this story and the writing.  I was surprised by the suspense angle to it since I thought it was going to be a regular romance, but it added nicely to the story.  251 pages (Kindle edition).

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

In 17th century Boston, a Puritan colony, Hester Prynne gives birth to a daughter, Pearl. Her husband had sent her ahead to America, but never made it to Boston. She has apparently had an affair, and is sentenced to wear a scarlet “A" for adultery on her chest . She will not reveal who the child’s father is, so is put in stocks on the town square.

A young minister helps Hester keep her daughter when officials try to take her away, but he develops a mysterious illness, which is then treated by Hester’s husband.  Eventually, it comes to light that the minister is Hester’s lover, and he dies after publicly confessing.  Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns, and when she dies is buried beside her lover.

I don't know that I like this book any better than I did when I read it in high school, but I did understand it better.  150 pages.

published 1850

"End of the Trail" by Jane Elliot

Will Connors is trying to raise cattle on a small ranch out west with his wife and small son when he rescues a badly injured man on his land.  He and his wife nurse the man back to health without knowing that he's John Anderson, an outlaw wanted for murder.  Anderson soon leaves without trouble, and Will and his family go on with their lives.  Fast forward a few years and Will is partially crippled, widowed, and living alone still trying to raise cattle.  Guess who shows up?  John Anderson.  Will he take advantage of the man who once rescued him, or has he changed his ways?  This was a gentle character study of two loners and the hard times faced in the west, which could be made easier with the right person.  140 pages (Kindle edition).