I was giddy with joy this week when my library called me to tell me that I had a book waiting for me at the library - Fired Up, by Jayne Ann Krentz. I recently had gotten a call for Grave Secret and at that time I was well behind in the queue for Fired Up so I wasn't expecting a call so soon. Now I know why I moved up the list so fast - it is because this book was impossible to put down.
Fired Up is the first of the Dreamlight Trilogy (part of the Arcane Society series) and I can't wait to read the next book. The main characters involve Chloe Harper, a talent whose family shies away from anything Arcane society related. The Harper family, shall we say, has a gift for things that tend to lead to illegal activities. Chloe Harper, however, is above board and works as a PI.
Jack Winters comes to her to ask her to locate a family heirloom, a lamp, which he is convinced will be his salvation. He just so happens to need a dreamlight talent like Chloe to work the lamp with him and their troubles really start once she locates the lamp in record time in Las Vegas.
Of course, an Arcane Society book set in the present cannot lack the Nightshade element and this book is no different. Jack and Chloe get tangled up with Nightshade, who wants the lamp for their own sinister purposes.
Fallon Jones is back this time too and it looks like he is going to get his happy ending in a future book.
Overall, I really liked this book. It had a good plot and flowed well enough to keep me interested long after I should have turned out the light and gone to sleep. I started Fired Up yesterday afternoon and finished it this afternoon, having read 3/4 of it yesterday. It was that intriguing. I read the teaser for the next book in the Dream Light trilogy and it looks equally as interesting, to be set in Victorian times.
Arcane Society fans won't be disappointed.
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Book Review "Grave Secret" (Harper Connolly) by Charlaine Harris
I was very excited to get a call from my library to alert me that Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris had finally come in. I had put my name on the list several months ago and was actually surprised that it came so soon considering where I was on the list (pretty far down). However, considering that I returned Grave Secret within 3 days of borrowing it, I can easily see why I got it so quick: It was that good.
Grave Secret begins with Harper and Tolliver traveling back to Texas for a job and a quick visit to see their younger sisters. Sometimes the clients don't like what Harper has to say when she reads graves and the Joyce family was no exception. The revelation that the grandfather had died of fright and his caretaker had died in child birth had rocked the family to the core and the news didn't sit well.
After the grave reading, Harper and Tolliver make their way to Dallas to see their sisters. Unfortunately, danger follows Harper around like a shadow and her brother Tolliver is shot. Harper is now tasked with trying to find out who would try to shoot at them. Add Tolliver's fresh out of prison father to the mix and it's a big mystery filled with family drama. After a second attempt on Harper's life, she begins to wonder if someone really is out to kill her and why. Is it related to a past job? The Joyces? Her sister Cameron?
Family secrets come out of the woodwood work and I'll be honest, I had half of the ending guessed about 3/4 through. Alert readers can pick up on subtle clues and have an idea of the ending. You'll smack your head and say, "Oh yeah!" once the great secrets are revealed. The ends are all tied up, quite tidily. But I'll get to that in a minute....
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SPOILER ALERT - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! *********************
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Ok, this is the part where I rant about the ending of the book. For four books, we've been following the journey of Tolliver and Harper as they travel around the country to read graves. Their cases were interesting and the books always left us satisfied, yet wanting more. In Grave Secret, the issue of Cameron's killer was resolved. It felt like the author had wrapped up the series, never to write another in the series. I urge her to please not abandon Harper and Tolliver in favor of Sookie. I know that Sookie is immensely popular right now, but Harper is a unique, quirky character. I'd love to read more of her adventures and even have her cross paths again with Manfred. Now that would be interesting.
It just seemed like the ends were all tied up, too tightly and too neatly. When I finished the book, I felt like I'd finished watching the Series Finale of a favorite show. It was too final and I do hope that Harper and Tolliver will be back. She gave us our happy ending and now fans like myself are wondering if it wasn't the end, the big happily ever after.
Grave Secret begins with Harper and Tolliver traveling back to Texas for a job and a quick visit to see their younger sisters. Sometimes the clients don't like what Harper has to say when she reads graves and the Joyce family was no exception. The revelation that the grandfather had died of fright and his caretaker had died in child birth had rocked the family to the core and the news didn't sit well.
After the grave reading, Harper and Tolliver make their way to Dallas to see their sisters. Unfortunately, danger follows Harper around like a shadow and her brother Tolliver is shot. Harper is now tasked with trying to find out who would try to shoot at them. Add Tolliver's fresh out of prison father to the mix and it's a big mystery filled with family drama. After a second attempt on Harper's life, she begins to wonder if someone really is out to kill her and why. Is it related to a past job? The Joyces? Her sister Cameron?
Family secrets come out of the woodwood work and I'll be honest, I had half of the ending guessed about 3/4 through. Alert readers can pick up on subtle clues and have an idea of the ending. You'll smack your head and say, "Oh yeah!" once the great secrets are revealed. The ends are all tied up, quite tidily. But I'll get to that in a minute....
****************************************************************************************
****************************************************************************************
SPOILER ALERT - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! *********************
****************************************************************************************
****************************************************************************************
Ok, this is the part where I rant about the ending of the book. For four books, we've been following the journey of Tolliver and Harper as they travel around the country to read graves. Their cases were interesting and the books always left us satisfied, yet wanting more. In Grave Secret, the issue of Cameron's killer was resolved. It felt like the author had wrapped up the series, never to write another in the series. I urge her to please not abandon Harper and Tolliver in favor of Sookie. I know that Sookie is immensely popular right now, but Harper is a unique, quirky character. I'd love to read more of her adventures and even have her cross paths again with Manfred. Now that would be interesting.
It just seemed like the ends were all tied up, too tightly and too neatly. When I finished the book, I felt like I'd finished watching the Series Finale of a favorite show. It was too final and I do hope that Harper and Tolliver will be back. She gave us our happy ending and now fans like myself are wondering if it wasn't the end, the big happily ever after.
Book Review of "Homespun Bride" By Jillian Hart
Upon getting my nook, I immediately started searching BN.com for free ebooks. Jillian Hart's Homespun Bride was free to download and since I enjoy historical romances, I gave it a try.
Homespun Bride is set in Montana Territory in 1883. The main characters, Thad McCaslin and Noelle Kramer meet again after several years after he saves her and her aunt from certain death. Thad had left Noelle waiting for him to come get her so that they could get married. She waited and waited and he never showed. Broken-hearted, she eventually agrees to marry another, but had the engagement broken after she became blind following an accident.
When Thad comes back into Noelle's life, he begins to feel the stirrings of love that he thought he had pushed so far down in his heart that they'd never surface again. Instead, he is even more in love with Noelle than he was the first time he planned to marry her. Will she be able to forgive him? Can a blind woman make a good wife in the harsh territory?
I liked this book for the most part. I haven't read any of the previous McCaslin series, so I would have to say that as a stand alone book, it works. I did feel the romance dragged on a little too long, but this is a Love Inspired romance so there's a heavy helping of faith and a side dish of passion. The characters were almost too chaste, so if you are looking for something with a lot of passion, this book will disappoint.
However, for romance lovers who enjoy reading a romance story where the characters are bound by some morals and don't jump into bed within the first 20 pages of the book, then this is your book. I do enjoy the Love Inspired series quite a lot and pick them up from time to time to ground myself when I've read far too many other romance novels containing graphic sex scenes. I think it is important to remember God as much as possible and a "clean" romance is a nice change of pace.
Note: Homespun Bride is currently free to download at BN.com for your nook, at Amazon for your Kindle and Ereader.com for your Sony Reader.
Homespun Bride is set in Montana Territory in 1883. The main characters, Thad McCaslin and Noelle Kramer meet again after several years after he saves her and her aunt from certain death. Thad had left Noelle waiting for him to come get her so that they could get married. She waited and waited and he never showed. Broken-hearted, she eventually agrees to marry another, but had the engagement broken after she became blind following an accident.
When Thad comes back into Noelle's life, he begins to feel the stirrings of love that he thought he had pushed so far down in his heart that they'd never surface again. Instead, he is even more in love with Noelle than he was the first time he planned to marry her. Will she be able to forgive him? Can a blind woman make a good wife in the harsh territory?
I liked this book for the most part. I haven't read any of the previous McCaslin series, so I would have to say that as a stand alone book, it works. I did feel the romance dragged on a little too long, but this is a Love Inspired romance so there's a heavy helping of faith and a side dish of passion. The characters were almost too chaste, so if you are looking for something with a lot of passion, this book will disappoint.
However, for romance lovers who enjoy reading a romance story where the characters are bound by some morals and don't jump into bed within the first 20 pages of the book, then this is your book. I do enjoy the Love Inspired series quite a lot and pick them up from time to time to ground myself when I've read far too many other romance novels containing graphic sex scenes. I think it is important to remember God as much as possible and a "clean" romance is a nice change of pace.
Note: Homespun Bride is currently free to download at BN.com for your nook, at Amazon for your Kindle and Ereader.com for your Sony Reader.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Finally finished with An Irish Country Doctor
An Irish Country Doctor
by Patrick Taylor, M.D.
Ah, at last I have finished An Irish Country Doctor and have put some distance between me and the book so that I can give a fair assessment. I find that if I spend a short while reflecting on the book, I have a clearer picture of just what I got out of a book.
To be honest, I found An Irish Country Doctor a little hard to get involved in, it took me probably half of the book before I felt that the story started to get intensely interesting.
In the first chapter, we meet a few of the locals and are introduced to our two main characters, Doctors Barry Laverty and Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. Barry arrives in Ballybucklebo, a quaint Irish town, to take the job as a GP's assistant. Barry is quite young, and as such, is not well tuned with the ways of the world. Sure he has book learning, but there's no life experience to make the package complete.
He first meets Fingal, just as he is tossing a patient into a bush, all due to the patient failing to give his foot a good washing before he asked the doctor to take a look at it. Barry is horrified and fears this incident is a sign that he should just turn around and never look back. But Barry ends up sticking around, meeting the quirky residents of this town. Along the way, he gains experience in how to deal with country folk and a thing or two about life, love and loss.
Many years ago, I enjoyed the All Creatures Great and Small books by James Herriott. I must confess, in my mind I superimposed Fingal for Siegfried and Barry for James. They seemed to have the same type of relationship and Fingal was just as quirky as Siegfried ever was in the novels. One thing that did bother me quite a bit was the constant spouting of quotes from literature. It was quite overdone and most of it was lost on me. Perhaps it is because I live on this side of the Pond? But some of the quotes were quite archaic and obscure in nature and it was almost like sitting through an English Lit 101 class for an entire semester.
That being said, I do think that the book is worth a read. I enjoyed the book for the most part and was very pleased with the ending. The interweaving of the characters is craftily done and well thought out. Dr. Taylor also makes good use of Irish colloquialisms and mannerisms, which does help one immerse oneself into the story.
by Patrick Taylor, M.D.
Ah, at last I have finished An Irish Country Doctor and have put some distance between me and the book so that I can give a fair assessment. I find that if I spend a short while reflecting on the book, I have a clearer picture of just what I got out of a book.
To be honest, I found An Irish Country Doctor a little hard to get involved in, it took me probably half of the book before I felt that the story started to get intensely interesting.
In the first chapter, we meet a few of the locals and are introduced to our two main characters, Doctors Barry Laverty and Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. Barry arrives in Ballybucklebo, a quaint Irish town, to take the job as a GP's assistant. Barry is quite young, and as such, is not well tuned with the ways of the world. Sure he has book learning, but there's no life experience to make the package complete.
He first meets Fingal, just as he is tossing a patient into a bush, all due to the patient failing to give his foot a good washing before he asked the doctor to take a look at it. Barry is horrified and fears this incident is a sign that he should just turn around and never look back. But Barry ends up sticking around, meeting the quirky residents of this town. Along the way, he gains experience in how to deal with country folk and a thing or two about life, love and loss.
Many years ago, I enjoyed the All Creatures Great and Small books by James Herriott. I must confess, in my mind I superimposed Fingal for Siegfried and Barry for James. They seemed to have the same type of relationship and Fingal was just as quirky as Siegfried ever was in the novels. One thing that did bother me quite a bit was the constant spouting of quotes from literature. It was quite overdone and most of it was lost on me. Perhaps it is because I live on this side of the Pond? But some of the quotes were quite archaic and obscure in nature and it was almost like sitting through an English Lit 101 class for an entire semester.
That being said, I do think that the book is worth a read. I enjoyed the book for the most part and was very pleased with the ending. The interweaving of the characters is craftily done and well thought out. Dr. Taylor also makes good use of Irish colloquialisms and mannerisms, which does help one immerse oneself into the story.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Rapacious Reader
I know what you're thinking. Rapacious? Well, it was the closest I could get to "voracious" with available urls for Blogger. Ravenous reader? That, too, was already taken. Rapacious doesn't quite have the same synonymous meaning with voracious, but it is close enough for me. Besides, Rapacious Reader does have sort of an alliterative quality to it. So Rapacious Reader it is!
Why'd I start this blog? Simply put, I read voraciously. Insatiably at times. I secretly enjoyed writing book reports in school and when I read a good book, I want to share my experience with others so that they, too, may enjoy the adventure.
So check back soon, I have read some delicious novels of late and will be posting my reviews soon!
Why'd I start this blog? Simply put, I read voraciously. Insatiably at times. I secretly enjoyed writing book reports in school and when I read a good book, I want to share my experience with others so that they, too, may enjoy the adventure.
So check back soon, I have read some delicious novels of late and will be posting my reviews soon!
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