Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Lean Mean Thirteen A Stephanie Plum Novel Written by: Janet Evanovich


Holy stapled nuts, embroidered panties, singed hair, exploding rodents, and orgasmic lipstick batman! How does such a person exist? Stephanie Plum your NJ average kick butt female bounty hunter... ok scratch average and the kick butt... she's lucky just very lucky but in an unlucky way too. How does a person incorporate so much chaos into a few short weeks? Where other fictional books fit chaos into a matter of days and then in theory their fictional characters manage to obtain some form of a break Stephanie's chaotic life goes on 24/7 it seems. Right off the back I knew this was going to be a nutty book after all she's in a new car and there's no mention of her previous car so what the hell happened to it? Best not knowing poor cars don't deserve Stephanie. Stephanie Plum is like the punishment for cars with bad Karma. Also, these books they make you nuts too and hungry! I had to make sure I was nowhere near food when reading this latest book just between the yummy home cooked food and the horrible but delicious junk food I felt myself wishing I had tasty cakes and ding dongs in my cabinets I don't even like those cheap dessert foods! Still our Tasmanian haired devil of a gal has managed to pick up some tricks she actually does a pretty good slight of hand in this book. But, of course for every triumph Stephanie has two steps backwards and Lula ends up having to either be taken to the veterinarian or upholsterer...how the hell does Janet Evanovich come up with these nut balls they have to bring in? I have to laugh a little with how much Stephanie loses items in these books as well as current one when she's finally called out about it, I laugh because in my world the real world (so I keep telling myself) I have a gf who loses everything and usually at my place, (So E-Famous are you trying to move in while I'm not looking) so I guess people just do this. There's an interesting running of gags going on in this book and I must admit if I was a man I might find myself turning a tad white over these mishaps  and of course the explosions with fur, and I surely don't want to ever have to deal with the cable company now. The plot continues life goes on and I don't think Stephanie is sure what the heck she wants but I do know what I want... to read the next book what the heck is going to happen to this bounty hunter from NJ and her family and friends?

Monday, January 28, 2013

Twelve Sharp A Stephanie Plum novel Written by: Janet Evanovich


Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie... well this book had a lot of big surprises... let's see leather thongs, new owners, did I say leather, an explosion, and a whole heck of the usual. It has been a few months since I have had the the pleasure of reading a Janet Evanovich novel and I do mean pleasure I cannot grasp how Evanovich manages to write about such serious matters and keep me laughing big full belly laughs. In this recent book we learn there's Dark Ranger and then there's Darker Ranger and clearly Darker ranger is going off the deep end. Talk about crazy huh? Stephanie is actually doing ok as far as a bounty hunter goes she's no Batman, but she's doing pretty spiffy even manages to get a few FTA's some help before she turns them over... very sweet. Of course she also ends up getting Tank (the poor guy doesn't stand a chance) hurt again. But, she ends up with some really fun "toys" granted she's buying them at gun point each time, but c'mon toys are toys right? Now on a serious note Leather, dog collars, and platforms... well these are usually fun in books, but this time it's just plain nuts absolutely the gang is all here and again we get more than a peek into how nuts Stephanie's life really is. There's a big story going on here too... a little girl is kidnapped she's in trouble and time is moving very fast and no one can seem to find her to even begin to help her, and so Stephanie is now bait for said kidnapper. Plus Ranger and Joe Morelli are making Stephanie's libido and life as usual very messy. Warning as usual if you have any form of junk food in your house... get rid of it! We all cannot possibly eat like Stephanie and hope to keep our figures, and if you don't have junk food prepare for disappointment because carrot sticks just don't do it for you when you read what this NJ bounty hunter eats. A really fast paced book and just makes you laugh at how ridiculous this all is.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Ever After Book The Hollows Book 11: Written by Kim Harrison


Hello fellow book readers, my talk about a head spin! After having recently listened to a much earlier Rachel Morgan book this book just threw me right back into the cold reality that is now. Still I was giddy to begin the latest Hallows book. So, recent book r-i-g-h-t...how to begin. I was instantly pulled back into the world of Rachel Morgan after all how can you ignore an opening when our main character is all gussied up. Rachel dressed up never equals an evening of ease and luxury. My heart did flutter quite a few times during this book and then it would sink like a stone... after all what chance and what hope does a single Witch and newly minted day walking practitioner of certain arts stand a chance when the ever after is shrinking and if it goes so does the world of magic. Another issue about this ever after leak... Rachel caused it, and now if she cannot pull something out of her little bag of tricks she is dead, and surely if that wasn't hard enough people she loves are in all kinds of danger and Ku'Sox Sha-Ku're has vowed to destroy her... (Again) and it seems all she holds dear. She has to protect everyone, but who will protect her?  A partnership also comes into play again with perhaps a little more trust? Their partnership is just a Tidal wave joining up with a hurricane...they can do just enough on their own but together they're are quite a force to be reckoned with. However, unlike these weapons of nature Trent and Rachel have to deal with betrayals of old and matters of their own hearts. I kept having to have a mantra in my head as this book continued. "Get through this and then take a moment to let it sink in, and then break." My emotions were just flipping left and right during this book, but I was keeping them under lock and key. Kim Harrison really broke out a lot of plot points and made references to older books and brought quite a few old and some new characters into the fold. There was still that bit of turbulent comedy we've come to recognize. I really don't know how Vampric Charms can get any work done with how silly this group of misfits around but somehow it has and still works, but for how long? There's a lot going on in this book people kept coming in and out of this story... Then there was a moment in the end during a particular fight where the demons just become weird...I felt like I was watching a trial in Wonderland it was so bizarre, and yet fitting.  Then wait for it readers... the ending oh the ending not only did Kim Harrison rip my heart out and a few of her characters, but then she tries to inflate it and gets us almost there and goes... well I won't tell you but read! Sigh, I love how her plot developed, I loved how the characters are continuing to change and grow, but ugh! Where else do we go!? I will follow you Kim Harrison, but my gosh... you really have some explaining to do and let's see how you bring this forward.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Too Darn Hot Written by: Pamela Burford


Holland is a very successful Restaurant reviewer. How successful? She can make or break a restaurants staying power in the culinary world with one review. Lin is also very strict in her work ethics and equally serious about her fashion sense and what she presents herself as. She was married and is now divorced living with her best friend Joy who is also divorced. Joy is quite the friend and very perky as well as a tad annoying with how bubbly she is. I love how loyal she is to Lin and pushes her friend to be better and try new things, but her lingo and actions are a bit too predictable and more character rather than coming up genuine. Maybe its just because she's always screaming Jeepers! Still these two are a fun pair and that brings us to the food world. Joy has dragged her BFF to this undiscovered Gem known as the Cookhouse. Right off the bat Lin is not at all impressed especially with the food! There is a very reasonable and sound reason why the Cookhouse seems to be failing to impress this current dinner service but Lin doesn't know or understand that yet. Then the story becomes even more interesting when the owner and Chef enters into the story he's masculine has a smoky honey voice and can cook, need I say more? Eric, he's the owner and father of two teenage boys and very serious about the Cookhouse succeeding. Lin and Eric are introduced and it appears there just may be some chemistry between these two, but is it the right kind? Their interactions throughout this book are just a mess with them just missing what the other is saying constantly. There are some other male interactions that Lin has and one in particular is just amazingly terrible, but in a good way. I love how Pamela Burford wrote such a fun scene I think this was one of my favorites Poor Lin though, but still very hilarious. Back to Eric and Lin though, it becomes rather exhausting with how they just don't get what the other is saying and the conclusions they jump to about the other. How can you even begin a friendship yet alone a possible romance when you're both ready to believe the worst of the other person? The reading was simple enough and flowed I did feel like I was reading about a very dysfunctional beginning to a possible romance. Still, it was a decently happy story and I won't spoil anything for you about Eric and Lin, but boy do they need to learn how to listen better. A cute read this one.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Stained Written by: Ella James


When am I going to learn? When will I!? So, book bub great site sends me daily free books to DL this book the Stained looked interesting it was listed under young adults/best sellers the plot I've read several times before, but I thought well what the heck let's see what's in today with the youth besides the usual vampires, werewolves, demons, and ghosts... well turns out Half demons or Nephilim are half demons and always male, in this case Cayne yes C-A-Y-N-E...is drop dead gorgeous with not quite blonde not quite brown hair of course it artfully falls around his face and he has piercing green eyes... and then you have Julia 17 years old almost an adult she's "human" or humanish I won't spoil you with what makes her "ish" because it just kinda pops out of nowhere with this book. The whole book is totally young adult from the description of the characters, their clothes, and of course the fight scenes. The fight scenes are so he's thrown across the room, he jumped up, he was there... just very See Spot run. Okay maybe not that bad, but it was descriptive without being mature in its descriptions amateurish really. Which, since the character is only 17 and it is a young adult book dealing with half demons and the "Stained" not exactly expecting high caliber writing here. The mystery and flow of the story did keep me interested though of course there's a romance blooming. C'mon! That's just how these books go! For some actual plot mention let's make it simple Girl's family is killed, girl runs into the night, girl is homeless, girl is being stalked, girl almost gets killed, and enter the drool inducing hottie who saves girl, and GO! The main character is actually likable Julia is understandably the way she is and who can blame her for falling for Mr. Tall, dark, and handsome? The big problem I had with this story was towards the end of this book it seemed like the author was trying to build up a relationship rather than further a plot and made the relationship the focal point instead of all the other work she had put into this mystery about Julia and Cayne and their little quest across America. The whole relationship building could've been shortened it was really like I was reading a teenagers Diary. All Cayne Loves Julia, Julia Loves Cayne :circle names in hearts:. Then the end of the book happens and you go wait that's it!? Wait no, no, no! What next!? What is she? What the hell just happened?! So that's where I am going what next!? The book description didn't mention this was a series! Turns out it is...le sigh. So will I read book 2? Probably will I am itching to know what the heck happens, but seeing as there are four more books I don't know what this author is going to do to keep me interested so we shall see. Indeed we shall see...

Monday, January 14, 2013

TYMURS: The 1982 Tylenold Murders Written by: Scott Bartz


Hello faithful review readers. Hope the world isn't getting you too down today what with continents bursting into flames, civil wars, debt ceilings, women's rights, toxic air, school shootings, poverty, oh heck just a lot of crazy stuff going on in the world. I open with this morbid talk because I recently downloaded a book thinking it was fiction, only to learn nope! Turns out in the Fall of 1982 in America there was a crisis that has left 7 people dead possibly more, but there's no way to say and the murders remained unsolved. I grew up always having my medicine have a plastic/foil seal that you have to pull off and a cotton ball inside a real pain in the neck sometimes especially when you are sick. Well, I am very glad being a baby born after these murders that we do have them. Prior the Tylenol Murders in 1982 the bottles did not have these tamper proof checks. This book just horrified me with how anyone would just blindly fill what is supposed to make us feel better and treat our medical symptoms with something as deadly as Cyanide I actually had to look up this story in several searches just to make sure this book wasn't pulling my leg. I know there are sick and twisted people out there who go on killing sprees but this was just somehow colder more distant.. calculating. The book opens talking about Johnson and Johnson (The people who own Tylenol aka J&J) and then shows us how from the beginning this gruesome mystery was doomed to be solved. The book itself is very articulate and gives us a lot of data to process. There is a tone the author takes which makes you think he is not being biased which with how he presents the facts is very understandable. If even a third of what this author writes concerning the Tylenol Murder Investigation is true then a great error in solving crime was definitely committed in 1982 by both the FDA, local authorities, and J&J. The chilling part is if some bizarre coincidence hadn't occurred with one family the Januses who knows how many people would have been poisoned, or how many possibly were and never reported? Just how long would these deaths had gone on before anyone had noticed? It is simply bone chilling. I could write a mini book on all of the data that doesn't add up to what J&J presented to the public and how they took the lead on their investigation. I am amazed at how well Tylenol has bounced back from this 1982 crisis I grew up taking Tylenol and it is still always my go to for colds, headaches, and aches in general so clearly they knew how to survive this PR nightmare and turned it around in less than a year. The book is just out of this world scary in the data and the way the author presents it. I will admit sometimes the author becomes very repetitive and tells us the same information over and over, but it somehow works for the book and really keeps slamming you with the fact someone or some people in 1982 put Cyanide in Tylenol Capsules at random and simply let the cards fall however chance and fate decided.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Cancelled Written by: Elizabeth Ann West


A love story written from a Males point of view, that is what caught my eye about this book, however it wasn't written by a man merely told from a males point of view as in the main character in this little romance is a gentlemen by name of Johnathan Michaels. Jonathan is a successful 27 business owner and shares his business in robotics with two of his best friends. However, a crazy night with his best friend Eric leaves him rather out of it and with the awkward moment when he realizes he wants his one night stand to just leave. Jonathan comes from a sad background his family was rather messed up and he chose his father and stepmother over his biological mother and in doing so left a few half siblings behind. But, he's a good older brother who set up trust funds for his siblings and did the best he could for them. His father is dead and his stepmother Anna is just as nice can be. Now, the business Jonathan and his two friends built is rather nuts at the moment since they are trying to land a government defense contract and then there's one other slight hiccup that one night stand turns out to be only 20 and pregnant... so now what is he to do? Especially since he's finally seeing the love of his life when this news is brought forward? It isn't an overly unique story, but the voice of Jonathan was refreshing and he seemed rather clueless at times. The story was ok and had some interesting moments but the author brought up some background plot points that seemed like they were going somewhere and just fell flat and did not really help the story move forward. I liked the book do not get me wrong but it wasn't anything overly special to me and most of the characters felt hollow to me.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Ghost Story Book 13 in the Dresden Files Written by: Jim Butcher


Cliche but... you know that light at the end of the tunnel? At the end of the last book Dresden finally sees that light he has had rather difficult life and by comparison a very easy death, but it seems death is not actually the end for Harry Copperfield Blackstone Dresden. Ghost Story was a rather interesting book there was a lot packed into this book that occurs only what seems like it is 24hrs, but as usual time is a ticking and Harry needs to solve problems (big monstrous problems) pronto otherwise people will get hurt. (Don't they always though?) The usual cast of characters in this book are well... amped but at the same time it is like they've all been ripped apart and put together via cheap glue. Harry has no choice but to wander around without a body and without magic, but he also needs to figure out who killed him, and he has to thwart an old enemy who has been building up powers for years. Just an average day in Chicago for its only Dead Wizard...or is he? What really got me was the ending of this book it was very "A Wonderful Life" only without the sexism and Happy Ending, and then of course what Jim Butcher pulls out of a hat with his plot twist, but you will have to read in order to find out just what happens. There were a few moments where I felt like Dresden was just repeating himself over and over again to the point where I caught myself screaming at the radio to "Get on with it already!" But, I understand why Jim Butcher drew things out the way he did, granted you had to finish the book before most of this made sense, but still it was frustrating. Another reason I was slightly frustrated was James Marsters due to scheduling conflicts was unable to voice this book which after 13 books really changed the tone of the book. John Glover it seems is a competent reader but his voices were very off for the female cast of characters and quite a bit for the men. It kind of worked since Harry is dead and things are so different, but at times the voices became so similar dialogue was mixed up and people lost their accents or gained them...there were a few proud moments when Glover did capture Harry's real voice, but overall I do not think I could listen to him voice the Dresden files again. He just did an good job, but not nearly the caliber I am used to. This book definetely stood alone in the series since it was so weird and though Harry he was there he really wasn't it is a good spring board and an interesting take, but I really hope Jim Butcher goes back to his usual way of writing and I cannot wait to see where this series is going it just keeps steam rolling ahead and when your Main Character dies well... what next? Just you wait and see!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Good Girls Revolt Written by: Lynn Povich


Hello Readers, a Happy New Year and now in celebration of new and change I looked to the past and the present. The Good Girls Revolt, how the Women of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses And Changed the Workplace. Written by: Lynn Povich was quite a powerful book. This book mostly focused on the feminist movement dealing with only Newsweek, but it allowed me as a reader glimpse more of what was going on less than a generation before my birth and just how daunting the male atmosphere was during the turbulent times called the 60's, 70's, and even up until present. This book just compelled you to want to read as it is accurate, a hands on encounter, and Lynn Povich shows us that really the feminist movement has just begun. I was born in 1985 so growing up I was told I could be anything I wanted to be the concept of not being able to be a police officer, manager, Dr., Senior Editor, Fire Fighter, etc... were quite foreign to me as a child and I was never told reading, playing sports, wearing guys clothes, etc.. would make it so I would never Marry. I wasn't  the generation of "We wore hats and gloves. We couldn't go to proms and parties without dates and the men had to do the asking. We also didn't have many role models in the working world." Most of us had graduated from college in the 60's, when half of our classmates earned their "M-R-S" and got married when they graduated in June. "Our generation was raised to be attractive and smart but not too smart," said Pat Lynden. "We were to be deferential to men, to get married, raise children, and be ornamental wives dedicated to our husband's careers." Yeah, no thanks if you want that life fine, but it is so not a life for me. So, to read this book and see how women put themselves and their careers on the line and generally didn't benefit from their actions themselves was quite inspiring. I am a feminist and proud of the fact I believe in equality in all its forms and that the only thing that should hold a person back is themselves if that is what they wish. But, to see how the world is today yes it is true we have come a far way especially compared to what I read in this book there are so many pages I highlighted and marked I wish I could share them with you the readers of this blog, but I think it would be best if you dove into the Good Girls Revolt by Lynn Povich and found out for yourself what a talented writer and just how strong a character the author is as was her fellow Newsweek co-workers. This book also shows how the civil rights movement bled into the feminist movement and so forth. It is interesting that in school we learned about these movements, but when you're a young child and have MTV and women in every part of the world working force well these movements just seemed so long ago. I just cannot imagine interviewing on a job as a man and having my editor say to me. "The best part of the job is that you get to screw the researchers." That, "he went on, "reflected the position of women as the news magazines  both literally and figuratively. It reinforced in young women that that's their position it's underneath. That's as far as they can get." Ok, that quote just made me "INSTANT FUME!" But, it shows just how a lot of people both men and women thought back then. The fact checkers and researchers at Newsweek were women and they were smart and well educated women in fact on par or above most of their male counterparts and superiors. These women were frustrated they were never given chances to advance due to "50 years of Newsweek tradition." So, in bathrooms and in secret these women gathered and brought their case forward and into the spot light. This story I had never heard of as had many people it seems but three current ladies at Newsweek brought this to the light and Lynn Povich gathers all of this historical data, information, and memories into a very cohesive and informative book. I absolutely loved and loathed this book. Loved because this is a tale of success but loath because we see the world even America after this current political race still has quite a long way to go. So a wonderful read and I tip my hat and remove my gloves in praise for this glimpse into the past and present.