Thursday, February 28, 2013

Sizzling Sixteen A Stephanie Plum Novel Written by: Janet Evanovich


I’m going to be in the state of NJ next week, and I have to ask myself will I see as many crazy people as in the Stephanie Plum Novels? I mean my friends and the few family I have contact with are semi nuts, but I don’t see them as that nuts  I’ll be in the Newark area for a bit so I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled LOL. Seriously though, in this recent book Janet has turned up the heat with how insane and dangerous the world of Stephanie Plum is. There’s doughnuts, fried chicken, handcuffs, and sexual tension everywhere! I mean everywhere! The only thing thicker than the hormones are Connie’s stink bombs, and from what I read they are just gross! I wonder how badass a bounty hunter Connie would be… she’s certainly got a devil streak in her granted it might be she’s related to the Mob. There is a bit of bloodshed in this recent book, but for the serious matter of Vinnie being kidnapped and his very life threatened there’s just that much equal and then some comedic moments. The bond business has become very dangerous for everyone involved at Vincent Plum’s office and millions of dollars as well as everyone’s health is at stake. As I have been saying the whole Ranger, Morelli, Stephanie love Triangle is just frustrating! Especially since a certain man has confessed he loves a certain curly haired Hungarian/Italian bounty hunter. I really had a lot of laugh out loud moments during this book especially when Janet gives us this moment: “This was pretty weird, because we’re not necessarily gigglers, but men spit and scratch their nuts and do high-five hand slaps when they get away with stupid shit …and women giggle.” So, yes I giggled a lot during this book, and after everything that went down if that wasn't ridiculous enough throw in a ton of hobbits, women's panties, and Orcs...ugh! A fun read, but again where can this series go!? Especially after this book. 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Finger Lickin' Fifteen A Stephanie Plum Novel Janet Evanovich


BBQ, I don't know why I'm surprised but Janet Evanovich has brought BBQ into the latest Stephanie Plum novel I read, is nothing sacred? Never mind the fact that heads are turning up without bodies, Lula it seems is the target this time for the crazies, and old wrinkly doodah are flying left and right...yeesh. This latest book Stephanie was soul searching again, yes the past few books she's been saying she needs a new job, a new life, a new something... but hasn't really had the drive to make any changes maybe instead of being such a wet blanket Stephanie will actually try to make a change? Even her love life is stagnant this current book had a little bit of the spice of previous relationships but not much c'mon girl which is it going to be!?!? Ranger or Morelli, yeesh it's enough to make a girl scream with how indecisive this woman is when it comes to these two guys. The books however need Ranger and Morelli without them I think the stories wouldn't be grounded at all especially Stephanie as these two save her Italian/Hungarian bootie all the time. Even Stephanie’s family seems to be getting used to her life style granted Stephanie's father is willing to skip dinner home to eat at the lodge and her mother has used Stephanie's very birth to threaten her to not leave her with the mess Lula and friends make. The Plum character is intuitive and has a knack for finding trouble and somehow solving the mysteries, but she's really not getting any better at being a bounty hunter she's ok at the low FTAs but the bigger ones are just way out of her league still, and I have no clue how anyone is willing to sell or give her a car when these poor mechanical wonders become little more than scrap metal 95% of the time. I enjoyed this book it was amusing and had its moments, but even the back-story and front story were missing something frankly these books need to pick up the pace I like the formula but maybe it calls for a little more.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Choices Book 2 of the Guardian Trilogy Written by: Liz Schulte


Hello faithful book readers and reviewers... or to those of you who just stumble upon this blog,
"Hi." So, if any of you are familiar with the Die Hard movies first, I love them! Yes, love them...even the Second one...even if it's just a tad over the top. Now, take this second book in the Guardian Trilogy I will not compare it story wise to the Die Hard Franchise  merely that it didn't have the power of the first movie, and where the 2nd Die Hard movie was way too over the top (compared to the third, fourth, and fifth this argument may be moot now) Anyhow, with this book the opposite was true it wasn't so much over the top as it felt like the book was just a stepping point a spring board for the next and final book. Somethings seemed a tad predictable to me so we shall see how things unfold in the next book. Olivia, Holden, and Quintus are all back in Choices. The story starts off well enough, but it's the whining that gets to me, ok I understand soul mates, lovers lost, a big friggen hole in your soul, buuuuuuuttttt...well it felt a tad over done this is a book so for plots sake sometimes things need to be prodded along, and I just couldn't grasp that that's what was occurring into the beginning, middle, and end of this story. There are a few setups that will be explained later I'm sure, but though the book had pages it didn't overly get anywhere. It was a tad frustrating because I really liked the first one and I had a tough time liking Olivia in this book the girls got spunk, but a lot of the times it came off as majorly snarky and poor me...again I get it she's been dealt a wicked card in life and death, but if she would just communicate if anyone would just be a little more than slightly honest this book would have progressed oh so much faster. Holden has changed too, but it's a very intriguing change I'm not sure again what this authors creations are fully thinking... and I'm reading their thoughts! The way the author chose to tell time and overlap points of view were interesting once I got a hang of what the hell was going on, but the ending made the story worth while. Will I finish this trilogy? Oh yes, you bet though the story was lacking a certain aspect it still was interesting and I really want to see just where this author is taking us.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Cold Days. The Dresden Files book 14 Written by: Jim Butcher


Happy Birthday Harry Dresden... He died doing the right thing. Well, at least he was only mostly dead which means he was just a tiny bit alive, and in this most recent Jim Butcher Book Harry Dresden learns that maybe being dead wasn't really all that hard compared to what he is forced to face in Cold Days. This recent book was just a jolt to my system, the opening of the book was quite expected in the fact that Harry is now the winter knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, and she's throwing Harry quite the coming out extravaganza complete with a Winter lady with certain beauty treatment, a beautiful escort, and very deadly entity to help him with becoming acclimated to Winter Court.  Things in this book never stall, slow, or even take a breath. Think of a final Fantasy Game when you're leveling up and just fighting battle after battle... well then make all of those battles mini to large boss battles and you're out of Phoenix Downs. Poor Harry is losing clothing, blood, and his sense of trust left and right, but he's also gaining enemies, power, and problems. He is the Winter Knight after all and with that mantel comes a bit of responsibility to Mab and Mab has given Harry a task which makes previous tasks seem like a standard walk in the park. Thankfully for as much as Harry has lost he's still that wacky, sarcastic, rag tag Wizard and though things have changed so many things will always stay the same. Cold Days introduced quite a bit of questions and though it revealed many answers ( I mean BIG answers) it also didn't answer everything but Butcher is leading us further into his Noir world and it looks like everything has a purpose in previous books leading up to now. Even small to large characters come into this book so the gang a bit battered and weary are back into the fray, but can Harry Trust them, and in turn can they trust him? There are so many emotional and physical wars going on and a straight answer appears to be impossible to come by. But, it's all in a day’s work for Harry and his Merry Band of folk to take on the world and save it right? A few of these arguments are a tad old, but are relationships ever not complicated? The action that goes on is still friggen AWESOME! I mean c'mon when an event like this and Hallows Eve brings together you're Winter Knight average yellow page Wizard, a Jolly guy, a leader of a hunt, Freddie Mercury, Magic, bad guys, and protectors from all areas both mortal and immortal, and we're on the outside looking in how could this not be just AWESOME! SO, here is Harry Copperfield Blackstone Dresden and he did Die doing the right thing and he's going to keep on going and trying to do the right thing, but will the Winter Mantel and Mab make that possible? Read for yourselves readers and beware Jim Butcher does not hold back his punches and will really make you think to the very end of this book.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Between a Smile and a Tear Written by: Robert Bucchianeri


Hello Fellow book readers. Happy Day after Valentine's day the day of love, or rather the day everyone who’s not madly in love loathes with an all consuming hatred. (on a somewhat related note my hubby bought me book earrings they're mini books so love them!) Well, I read a lot of books about love so I thought let's try to pick something new. Between a smile and  a Tear was anything but a romance novel. It was suspenseful, mysterious, and filled with sorrow. I was quite skeptical when I first started this book I had a difficult time falling into the story as it was written like perhaps you were reading the main characters manuscript. Jack Waters is a writer and a recovering drunk. He's made a lot of mistakes and his wife Sondra and Sam suffered through all of Jack's lying, cheating (only once), and lack of finances. Now though, Jack is ready to change all that and is working hard to make up for his past. The book as I said in the beginning is just slightly disjointed the voice of the book just a tad off key, but as I pushed forward in the reading the multiple voices and stories of the other characters became clearer and easier to pull apart and follow. Jack really is trying but he has a woman whose partner has marked Jack and she believes "Every one of us is conceived in sin and born in corruption and we pass from the stink of the diaper to the stench of the shroud." (Author of Quote Mr. Robert Penn Warren. According to book) Angie, that's her name and she has her own problems, but she's got a job to do and that job involved blackmailing Jack. This is no spoiler as it's in the jacket of the book and it seems Jack is really screwed with this whole blackmail plot and it will drag him into the world of Nick Morelli and characters called Bullwinkle and other shady folks. Can Jack save himself from this scandalous blackmail plot and will his wife and son ever be able to fully trust him? Also, I've never read a book where leeches were used as a means of a threat... that was creative. (Forgive me but c'mon who cannot mention Leeches!?) Well, the book picks up and there are quite a few little twists here and no one can really come away from this whole mess it seems without spilling a little blood.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Secrets (The Guardian Trilogy) Written by: Liz Schulte


Olivia Martin is a young talented photographer and she does not take bullshit. She believes Hypocrisy is the fuel of life, and she watches everyone and everything both with a camera and with her own eyes. She is the type of person who likes to figure out all the angles in people. Then there's her BFF Juliet who is the type of woman who needs to be seen, loved, and manages to con men into buying her fifteen dollar drinks without giving them any form of commitment. They are each others ying and yang and have been best buddies for sixteen years and friendship like that is rare. Both are single at the moment and where Jules is looking for love Liv is just enjoying taking it all in even though she has been sensing darkness from the shadows around her. Then a moment, again a single chance in time that can change it all... and enters into her life the gorgeous, tall, and green eyed Holden. He's a mystery, cold, distant. Liv cannot get him out her heart, mind, and oddly dreams after only only a single moment. Her heart and mind seem to be lost to love now, and Holden it seems isn't fairing much better, but perhaps a simple snap of a neck can fix his problem. Liv is noticing another man who has also entered her life and discovers there is a lot in the world she is unfamiliar with and then people she knows begin to die... can the life she has built survive can she survive, and will she ever be able to find love? This book was pretty interesting there were a few times I was just frustrated with the circumstances there was a real catch 22 in this book. I absolutely fell into this book it was a new take on some very old ideas and the way the story progressed was not boring. Liv the character I can completely relate too in so many ways I even cried a few times during this book and was rooting for Olivia and her kick ass take no bullshit persona. The ending will probably crush your hearts a little so it may be best to have something to remind you there is some good in the world.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Gone Girl Written by: Gillian Flynn


The first meeting, one filled with laughs, promises, hope, and of course a romantic swirl of sugar to really seal the moment in time for these two people. They are that which so many wish to be and they themselves find their lives one of perfection at least for a time, but marriage takes work and sometimes things don't work out right? Well, Gillian Flynn does something remarkable she takes a marriage and shows you just how terribly, terribly, terribly wrong it can go. I found myself not really wanting to get into this book not because it was written poorly actually it was written quite brilliantly the voices of Nick Dunne and Amy Elliott Dunne were simply so real and I found myself hating them just plain hating them. The rest of the cast of characters are so life like too it is a tad unnerving how well she gives them life in the story. The setting is the fifth year wedding anniversary a time when the wedding is becoming just a memory but a life has been built together and maybe some of that newlywed shine is still there. For the Dunne's though, something has happened to shatter what life they've been holding together. Amy, Nick's amazingly brilliant and beautiful wife has vanished and just like any other book, movie, or television show now, Nick is quickly becoming the prime suspect. But, that's where the typical ends and it ends BIG TIME. This book brings us into the mind of Nick through his thoughts and in the mind of Amy through her diary. It is interesting as we learn from both that Nick has had an odd look in his eyes lately and has been admiring the slope of his wife’s head. This book had me guessing and pondering a lot. The characters are so vapid and so scary simply because they could be anyone. Of course perfection has to break eventually no one can be perfect it just is not done especially in the society of today you can be perfect until you are not, and it seems Nick Dunne is far from the golden boy everyone believed, but what about Amy? Amy's face is everywhere now and people love her as she should have been loved, but she's missing and there's some disturbing evidence turning up so is she dead and is Nick the killer? I simply could not stop being drawn into this sick car crash of a marriage it was just too much to try and even look away. The book is just toxic to the extreme, but it is a very interesting concept and by interesting I mean terrifying! Gillian has basically stabbed me with an Ice pick and keeps twisting it until the very end. This is a sharp piercing book with a whit that is so darkly comedic you find yourself wishing you weren't smirking at times. Read this book and remember you will not be able to go back you can only go forward up until the very end when Gillian Flynn lets you go. It is almost as if she is saying "ok, I'm done with you now, go on your way after I've tortured your mind a bit."

Friday, February 1, 2013

Fearless Fourteen A Stephanie Plum Novel Written by: Janet Evanovich


Happy First of the Month book readers. So, yes, I have done it again three Stephanie Plum novels  in a row. And for once I have just what I need while reviewing a book of this craziness. I have a meatball sub, a mini bag of Doritos, and cookies (baked um myself) alas I also have a date with a treadmill after this review. So, this latest book I read well there was something a tad off. There were all the elements for this book a crazy Grandma, Lula being annoying yet lovable as all hell in her skimpy clothes, car dying a horrible death,  lotsa sexual innuendos and tension, dead bodies, nutso FTAS, and blue skin dye...(well maybe that last one isn't usually in the mix, but give the burg gals hair a break) yet this mystery Stephanie was working on just didn't sit right, sure she was playing house and sure maybe Morelli may have fathered a certain computer game playing teenager, but things just felt flat. The plot moved along ok, and there were some really funny movies, but yea just the story felt lazy. I really cannot even begin to say much about this book because it just kind of occurred and again had all the ingredients, but just didn't come out quite right. Also, I grew up in NJ was there really this much nudity? I admit the occasional guy would show up in a man thong to a party or run around the house naked due to the lost of five beer pong games, but the amount of people who whip their intimate bits out in these books is nuts. Why does anyone need to go to a strip club when there are always naked men and scantily clad women? Also, what's with the old wrinkly balls? Ick, I'm a happily married women and though it's hilarious most of the time some of the jokes with the graphic detail well ew! HA, I mean it like totally EW! So this was an ok read it had a lot of craziness to it and I mean A LOT but just fell a tad flat this time it needed some pizzazz, but its been 14 books so maybe Evanovich just needed a mental book.