It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (May 7, 2012)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.


Last week was a good week for reading. I finished five books.

I began by reading the newest Liaden Universe book in eARC form from Baen Books. Dragon Ship is the fourth book in the Theo Waitley series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. My very early review will be posted on May 12. The book doesn't hit the bookstores until September. My autographed copy has already been pre-ordered.

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix is a young adult epic fantasy that I got from the Amazon Vine program. It was exciting and entertaining but I had some problems with some of the choices the hero made. My review for this one will also be posted on May 12 just ahead of the books May 15 release date.

These two arrived last week and immediately moved to the top of the stack but for different reasons.

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock was an Amazon Vine pick. It is a young adult story with a mystery, romances, and werewolves. I thought it was very good. It will be released on May 8 and my review will be posted on May 9.

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris is the twelfth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. It is also the penultimate book and sort of felt that way. This was a quieter story the tied up a couple of the plot threads that have been woven through the last couple of books. My review will be posted on May 17.

I finally got to What Doesn't Kill You by Iris Johansen which was readable but sort of odd. None of the main characters really know how to deal with emotion, express emotion, or recognize emotions that others feel. It gave the book an odd tone. There was lots of adventure and a number of exciting scenes but the romantic part of this romantic suspense novel was definitely the lesser part of the book. My review will be posted on May 19.

I am currently reading Of Poseidon by Anna Banks. This is a young adult book about mermaids. I got the ARC from Feiwel and Friends last December and am reading it now because it will be release on May 22. I am not very far into the book but already like the main character Emma very much.

Next week I have a bunch of other May 22 young adult releases from my review stack to read. 

Rush for the Gold by John Feinstein is a sports mystery that is the latest book in a series I have read. This was an Amazon Vine pick.

The Dragon in the Sea by Kate Klimo is a middle grade fantasy and is the latest book in a series where I have only read the first book. I got this one at NetGalley.

Bridge of Time by Lewis Buzbee is also a middle grade book. I have the ARC of this time travel story from Feiwel and Friends.

If I get a chance, here are the adult books I would like to read this week.

The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts is the second book in the Inn Boonsboro trilogy. I can always depend on Nora for satisfying romances.

Locked On by Tom Clancy has been in the plans for quite a while. I must not really want to read it too badly or it would have been read by now. If it doesn't get read this week, I think I'll throw it back on the mountain to read another time.

What was your week like? What are your plans for this week?

Stacking the Shelves (May 6, 2012)

Tynga of Tynga's Reviews is starting a new meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. She explains at her site. She also does a very nice vlog each week showing her books (and hopefully her new baby).


Another option is Mailbox Monday which was originally started by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. She hosted it for a long time but in April 2010 she decided to make it a traveling meme. You can see all the details here. You will also find a list of the 2012 hosts. 


Martha from Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf will be hosting in May.

I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the wonderful books everyone gets. You will also discover lots of great blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

This week I added five books to the TBR mountain (but I have already read two of them.)
Here are the ones I had to read as soon as they got to my house:

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris is the twelfth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I needed to find out what was happening in Sookie's complicated life. This was a quieter book that is tying off some plot threads but was still very enjoyable. It is hard to believe that the next book will be the last one in the series. I have been reading this series since 2001.

Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller is also a new entry in a long-running series. It is the fourth book in the Theo Waitley series but is the fifteenth book (I think) in their larger Liaden Universe series. I love these character driven science fiction stories. I bought the eARC the day it was available and now have to wait months until I can hold the print book in my hand.

Here are the three books I haven't had a chance to read yet:

Heart of Brass by Kate Cross is the start of a new steampunk series for adults. I am almost certain that she also writes young adult steampunk under the name of Kady Cross. Both seem to by pseudonyms for Kathryn Smith who also writes romances.

The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts is the second book in the Inn Boonsboro series of romances with ghosts. This one is right near the top of my TBR mountain and should be read soon. 

Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson was added to my stack because of the great cover and the great reviews I read about it online. I couldn't resist this new urban fantasy that takes place in a post-Katrina New Orleans.

What couldn't you resist this week?

Book Review: The Witness by Nora Roberts

The Witness
Author: Nora Roberts
Publication: Putnam Adult (April 17, 2012)


Description: Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security  systems—and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail’s reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something—and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plotline, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today’s most reliably entertaining thriller author—and will leave people hungering for more.



My Thoughts: This one kept me up late reading and delayed my errands the next day too because I couldn't put it down until I reached the very satisfying ending. I fell in love with both the hero and the heroine. Abigail is making a life for herself in a small town in to Ozarks. She has been on the run since she was seventeen years old and has survived by being ready to move on at a moment's notice and by keeping to herself. 


Brooks is the Chief of Police in the town where he grew up. He returned home from years as a police detective in Little Rock when his family needed him. He is determined to protect and to serve and is an integral part of the town. He is fascinated with Abigail and is determined to work his way into her life because everything about her tells him she is on the run from something.


Abigail is a genius who has very little social experience. She reminds me a lot of the television portrayal of Dr. Temperance Brennan on the television show Bones. She has no social filters. She is logical and blunt. She wants to make a life for herself in this town and stop running. But to do that she will have to bring down a powerful Russian mafia family that wants her dead because she witnessed a murder.


 Another plot line in this one concerns a purely local bad seed of a teenage boy and the rich father who is willing to pull strings and dispense bribes to keep his darling out of trouble. This situation parallels Abigail's larger problem but puts Brooks and Abigail in more immediate danger. 


One of the strengths of this story is the strong family that has nurtured Brooks. By watching his interactions with his family, Abigail is learning what family is like. She was raised by a mother who had her almost like a science experiment and who controlled her life completely. Abigail has never known love because her mother is a cold, selfish woman who abandoned her when she wouldn't follow her mother's directives. 


I loved this story and can't recommend it enough to fans of romantic suspense.


Favorite Quote:

She stowed the protective gear in the seat of the bench. "All right. You can have the pie and the wine. But I won't have sex with you."

"Now you hurt my feelings."

"No, I haven't." Deciding to make her position clear, she started for the house. "I like sex."

"See there, we just keep finding common ground. If this keeps up, we'll be best friends inside a week."

"If I wanted friends, I'd join a book club."

Loosening up, he thought, delighted with the sarcasm. "I like to read, which is another check mark on common ground. But we were talking about sex."

I bought this one because Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors. You can buy your copy here. 

Book Beginning & Friday 56: The Witness by Nora Roberts

Happy Friday everybody!!

Book Beginnings

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader.

Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. 

If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

The Friday 56

Rules:

• Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
• Turn to page 56.
• Find the fifth sentence.
• Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Freda's Voice
• Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

I just got The Witness by Nora Roberts and had to move it right to the top of my TBR mountain. This is her 200th book. I read recently that she has more than 400 million books in print. She is always a good read and I look forward to this one. Her books are a great combination of romance and suspense.

Beginning:

Elizabeth Fitch's short-lived teenage rebellion began with L'Oreal Pure Black, a pair of scissors and a fake ID. It ended in blood.

Friday 56:

"Warehouse 12. I..." She had to tell the truth. No more lies. "I made fake IDs for us."
His face barely registered surprise as he wrote in his little book. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen. I'll be seventeen in September."

ARC Review: The Department of Magic by Rod Kierkegaard Jr.

The Department of Magic
Author: Rod Kierkegaard Jr.
Publication: Curiosity Quills Press (January 5, 2012)


Description: Magic is nothing like it seems in children’s books. It’s dark and bloody and sexual – and requires its own semi-mythical branch of the US Federal Government to safeguard citizens against everpresent supernatural threats.

Join Jasmine Farah and Rocco di Angelo – a pair of wet-behind-the-ears recruits of The Department of Magic – on a nightmare gallop through a world of ghosts, spooks, vampires, and demons, and the minions of South American and Voodoo gods hell-bent on destroying all humanity in the year 2012.

Only Rock and Jazz, in the company of a ragtag team of urhobos – homeless guardians of the District of Columbia – can prevent it by resurrecting “Goddess America” in a mystical ceremony on the Fourth of July.

It’s all just a normal day on the job at The Department of Magic – where new employees entering its offices are never seen again, while mysteriously continuing to draw full salaries and benefits, sometimes for decades or even a century after.

With a magical cast of characters and a wry insider’s view of the US Federal Government, here at last is a Harry Potter for grownups.

My Thoughts: This was an action packed story with a wide variety of supernatural characters. The main characters were Rocco di Angelo and Jasmine Farah. In the beginning they think they are hired by an obscure government agency and are competing for the same job. But things quickly get weird.

Jazz and Rock soon find out that they are working for a dead man and are part of a plot to reanimate George Washington to help protect the United States from takeover by ancient Aztec gods and other outside attacks.

The story was quick moving and had lots of dangerous encounters for both Jazz and Rock. Ultimately, though, I didn't feel a connection with either Jazz or Rock and didn't really care about the problem they were trying to solve. The story concentrated on action rather than character development which made it less engaging for me.

Also, each chapter began with a description of some magical character many of which seem a tongue-in-cheek stab at political characters. For example, "plaints" are said to be "silent sad defeated creatures who have long since given up the ghost, still pursuing lawsuits for damages against the federal authorities or filing for patents." I never could decide if those descriptions were supposed to be serious or humorous.

The description suggests that this is Harry Potter for grownups but I saw few parallels between the two stories. This is an urban fantasy that has a rather unique premise but would have been better if more attention had been paid to creating sympathetic characters.


Favorite Quote:

"The Union is now complete," said Crawley solemnly.

Of course, now that he was dead, everything the man said sounded pretty damn solemn. And binding.

I got this one from Curiosity Quills Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. You can buy your copy here.

April Reading Report

April was another good reading month for me. I read a total of 22 books with 7197 pages. I read 12 young adult books and 10 adult books this month. Fifteen of the books I read were books that I had for review. Nine of the books were ebooks. Check out my spreadsheet here.

My favorite adult book this month was The Witness by Nora Roberts. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa was my favorite young adult book. The review for The Witness will be posted on this blog on May 5. It is already up at Amazon, GoodReads, and LibraryThing. The link for The Immortal Rules will take you to my review.

According to LibraryThing I added 41 new books to my TBR mountain. Here is how I tagged them: 26 YA books, 8 review books, 4 urban fantasy, 8 free. Thirty-six of them are still unread but I have already read 4 of the 8 review books. I am currently reading the fifth of the review books that arrived this month.

I currently have 1310 books in my To Read collection at LibraryThing.

Teaser Tuesday: The Department of Magic by Rod Kierkegaard, Jr.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I was browsing NetGalley and chose The Department of Magic by Rod Kierkegaard, Jr. because of this description:

Magic is nothing like it seems in children’s books. It’s dark and bloody and sexual – and requires its own semi-mythical branch of the US Federal Government to safeguard citizens against everpresent supernatural threats.

Join Jasmine Farah and Rocco di Angelo – a pair of wet-behind-the-ears recruits of The Department of Magic – on a nightmare gallop through a world of ghosts, spooks, vampires, and demons, and the minions of South American and Voodoo gods hell-bent on destroying all humanity in the year 2012.

Only Rock and Jazz, in the company of a ragtag team of urhobos – homeless guardians of the District of Columbia – can prevent it by resurrecting “Goddess America” in a mystical ceremony on the Fourth of July.
It’s all just a normal day on the job at The Department of Magic – where new employees entering its offices are never seen again, while mysteriously continuing to draw full salaries and benefits, sometimes for decades or even a century after.

With a magical cast of characters and a wry insider’s view of the US Federal Government, here at last is a Harry Potter for grownups.

Harry Potter for grownups?

Teaser:

"You said you believed in magic, right?" Farah said. She sounded like she was on the verge of hysterics.
"I was kidding. I just said I was keeping an open mind." He yawned.
Well, good, you'll need on open mind. I can't get this damn thing off."