Dixie Divas by Virginia Brown

Rating 2 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 483 KB
Print Length: 316 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0982175655
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (December 31, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004HO5M44

"You found my philandering ex-husband?" Bitty asked. "Where? Mexico? Paris? In Tupelo with a cocktail waitress?" "In your closet," I answered. "Dead." 

Break out the hoop skirts and the zinfandel. The Divas are on the case. Wine. Chocolate. Transvestite strippers. Just another good-time get-together for the Dixie Divas of historic Holly Springs, Mississippi, where moonlight and magnolias mingle with delicious small town scandal. But Eureka "Trinket" Truevine, the newest Diva, gets more than she bargained for when she finds her best Diva girlfriend Bitty Hollandale's ex-husband in Bitty's hall closet. He's dead. Very dead. Now Trinket and the Divas have to help Bitty finger the murderer and clear her name.

Sounds good right? It certainly got my attention and I thought this could be fun. However I really struggled with this book. As you know I don't really like giving bad reviews, so I decided to use the good old lol cats style of reviewing to help make it easier.

One plus was the book was short. Thank goodness. Otherwise I would have given up. I nearly did, I seriously considered putting it down just-after-the-next-page. Why did I still persist? I have no idea. I gave this book so much leeway when normally wouldn't. The second half of the book was better, and I think that is why I stayed (in the end, well I tell myself that) but seriously it took half of the book for me to even get into it. I skipped most of the first half, and skimmed a big chunk of the bits I didn't skip.

I didn't get the characters. The ladies were supposed to be in the fifties but honestly I thought they were written to be in their eighties. Now I have knowledge of the "South" of America and how ladies were raised in the 1950's, but I know plenty of fifty year olds and they act nothing like these ladies. To be honest it irked me....a lot.

The only characters I liked were Bitty and Trinket's parents.  The main character Trinket bored me, and I didn't care what happened to her really. I would have preferred the book have been told from Bitty's point of view, as she was hilarious (and I don't think it was just because Trinket was so boring that anyone would look freaking awesome).

So this review is short and sweet. I just couldn't get into it or really enjoy it. However it has gotten plenty of good reviews elsewhere so maybe it was just me.

On a weird side note while searching for lol cat pictures to put in this post, my google image searches were turning up the most bizarre things. The kind of things eyes (innocent or otherwise) should not be seeing. Google must have been on the good stuff when I was doing my searches that's all I can say.

Freaks (Rizzoli and Isles Short Story) by Tess Gerritsen

Rating 4 out of 5 
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 148 KB
Publisher: Transworld Digital (August 31, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005JXBJFI

I am a big fan of the show Rizzoli & Isles and didn't even know it was based on a book series till a friend of mine kindly pointed out. Ever since I have been curious to read the books. I am not a fan of these more hard boiled crimes books even though I like the shows (I love the Show Bones but do not like the book series it is based on), weird I know. So when I saw this book being offered for free on Kindle I jumped at the chance. In my mind a short story set with all the characters was the perfect place to get a feel for Gerritsen's writing and her characters.

In this book Rizzoli and Isles are called to the scene of an emancipated murdered 17 year old girl in a church. The case takes a supernatural turn when her friend and now suspect Lucas informs Rizzoli that they were both vampires. Now another life is being threatened and Rizzoli is in a race to solve the case and save a life. Is Kimberly Rayner really vampire? did Lucas really kill her? how does Kimberly's angry father tie into her life?

As I said previously this is my first Rizzoli and Isles book. I am not sure about the tone of the other books but this one was pretty light and not serious at all. It had a great mix of action, humour, and crime drama. All the characters were similar to the tv series so they felt comfortable even though this was the first time I was reading about them.The supernatural twist made the story very interesting.

This was a great short read and a wonderful introduction to the world of Rizzoli and Isles. I will definitely be starting this series and seeing if the proper books are as enjoyable as the short story.

Note
As at the date of publishing this post Amazon still had this ebook listed as being free.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Rating 3 out of 5
Reading level: Ages 14 and up
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061726826
ISBN-13: 978-0061726828
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.8 inches

 Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn't understand that once love--the deliria--blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: she falls in love.

What I liked
The story concept was interesting and the world created fascinating. The whole premise is that love is a disease and scientists have cured it. By having the procedure done when you roughly turn 18 (it can be done earlier) you can live your life with out sadness, anger, happiness, any emotion at all it seems.

The story is character driven. It focuses on Lena and her struggles. She is terrified she is really like her mother who the procedure didn't work on, and struggles with her emotions leading up to the procedure. She wants to do what is best by her family and bring some honour back, but at the same time starts to question her society and the world she has been brought up in.

I enjoyed the second half of the book far more then the first. In all honesty I felt the first half of the book probably could have been cut in half, it didn't really add value to the book as a whole really.

What I didn't like
It was pretty slow paced for the first half. This was in part due to the nature of the book being a character driven more drama type book. Don't expect a Hunger Games or Pretties type book, this is not that kind of book. To be honest I nearly gave up after about 100 pages. I was on holidays though so persevered (as I didn't have anything else to read). It was just a big info dump about Lena and her life, with out really explaining why the world was the way it is. This was a problem when Lena really wasn't that interesting.

There was not much "history" about how the world Lena lives in came to be. Events are hinted at but no real detail is given as to why they wanted to cure love and then why and how they did it. Apparently this is the first book in a trilogy and it certainly felt that way. Maybe the history side will be revealed later.

This book felt to much like a first book in a trilogy. There were story threads not really finished off and information not given to the reader. This was annoying because by the end of this book I wasn't sure if I would read the rest but I will probably have to now so I can get some answers.

Summary
This was not a terrible book and perhaps my timing was not the best (reading it after a fast paced action book). Sometimes I find it hard to shift from writing styles and might have been more critical as a result. But I did like this book and for someone who likes this type of book they will probably enjoy it more then I did.

Extras
If you would like to read and extract of Chapter 1 of Delirium then head over to Lauren Oliver's web page.

Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles Book 1) by Kevin Hearne

Rating 4 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 440 KB
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345522478
Publisher: Voyager (June 1, 2011)
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
Language: English
ASIN: B0050ZPAPA

Atticus O’Sullivan has been running for two thousand years and he’s a bit tired of it. After he stole a magical sword from the Tuatha Dé Danann (those who became the Sidhe or the Fae) in a first century battle, some of them were furious and gave chase, and some were secretly amused that a Druid had the cheek to defy them. As the centuries passed and Atticus remained an annoyingly long-lived fugitive, those who were furious only grew more so, while others began to aid him in secret.


Now he’s living in Tempe, Arizona, the very last of the Druids, far from where the Fae can easily find him. It’s a place where many paranormals have decided to hide from the troubles of the Old World—from an Icelandic vampire holding a grudge against Thor to a coven of Polish witches who ran from the German Blitzkrieg.


Unfortunately, the very angry Celtic god who wants that sword has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power, plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good, old-fashioned luck of the Irish to kick some arse and deliver himself from evil. 

Sounds good right? well it was good! It was fun from the beginning to end. That is the easiest way to sum the book up.  It was full of humour, action, mythology, bad guy smack downs, and witty one liners. All the things I love in urban fantasy series.

This book came on my radar by reading reviews on From My Bookshelf and Ticket To Anywhere (these two are bad for adding to my Mt TBR). I was intrigued as it has been described as being the next Harry Dresden series (I hate comparing but wont go there), plus it was about druids and celtic mythology an area in the urban fantasy area not really tapped into previously.

Up front the book is not really anything like Harry Dresden other then it had a guy as the main character, he was witty and sarcastic, oh and he did magic. So the comparison really is only at the surface level and was probably a gimmick by a marketing guru to get people to buy the book. By comparing the book they undersell this book/series.

The celtic mythology was really good and the research showed through. I actually learned quite a bit as I had to look some creatures mentioned up on the net. The characters felt believable and fit their "image". I quite liked Morrigan even though in other books she is painted as quite the villain, in this book she walks a fine line between being a baddy and a goody. The book also touches on other mythologies from around the world. There are also vampires, werewolves, and fairies to round out the mythological roll call. But you will no find vampires who sparkle and do creepy stalking type stuff, no the vampires and werewolves are much edgier and realistic.

The pace of the story is quite fast and energetic, you don't get much "down time" between scenes. It moves a long quickly, but not so fast that the story suffers.  If you are a fan of anime or comics you can definitely see the influences they have had on Hearne, there is even a reference or two to anime (the author gets big points for that alone).

I loved the character of Oberon and the little old Irish lady who is Atticus’ neighbor. Both added a great comical element to the book and I look forward to learning more about them in later books. The werewolves and the vampire (whose names elude me currently) were fascinating and I hope to learn more about them over the course of the series.

This should definitely be on your radar if you love urban fantasy. I will be getting stuck into the rest of series in the new year.

Extras
Head over to Kevin Hearnes web page to read the first six chapters of Hounded.

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Book 1) by Cassandra Clare

Rating 3 out of 5

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; First Edition, Later Printing edition (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416914285
• ISBN-13: 978-1416914280
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches

Given there are heaps of reviews on this book I thought I would do more of a Q&A style review with some basic questions. I found this book hard to review as it would be very easy to give away spoilers.

What is the book about?
City of Bones follows the story of 15 year old Clary. One night Clary and her friend Simon go to the Pandemonium Club and their lives change forever after witnessing a murder where the body then proceeds to disappear into thin air. Clary then finds herself thrust into the middle of world she never knew existed

Who was your favorite character?
Probably Jace. He was witty and interesting.

Which character did you dislike the most?
Easily Alex. I know the reader does get some back story to him at the end of the book which goes some way to explaining his character. But I didn't like him on any level. He could probably easily be voted "character most likely to turn to the dark side".

How does this book compare to A Clockwork Angel?
I can honestly say I liked A Clockwork Angel better. A Clockwork Angel came well after this series was written (even though it is a prequel), and it felt Clare had a better feel for the world in that book compared to City of Bones. Plus I liked the characters better. I cant really put my finger on why I liked A Clockwork Angel better I just did.

Is the story original?
Not particularly. You could see the plot twists coming. There are no surprises.

Is there much action?
There is quite a bit of action in the second half of the book. But the teen love triangle is more the focus I thought.

Is it like Harry Potter? 
Not really. There are some parallels yes, but its not like that story line is really original, even before JK Rowling got it. The whole "orphan discovers they are a wizard/witch and there is a magical world existing next to ours" story line was being used for years before Harry Potter so don’t act like JK Rowling invented it.

What is the mythology used? 
The book taps into the angels and demons mythology and builds on those. For instance the Shadow hunters are descended from the people the Angel Riezel mixed his blood with. I haven't read the whole series so do not really know the whole mythology attached to this world, but it seems interesting so far. There are also Vampire, Werewolves, and Warlocks. That side is not really developed in this book.

Would you recommend the book? 
To a teenage girl, yes definitely. That is the target audience and I think they will love it. For older readers, not so sure. While I didn't mind the story, it didn't grab me and make me want to read the rest of the series on the spot. There are better books in the paranormal/urban fantasy genre that I would recommend over this one.

Extras
Head over to Cassandra Clares page and read Chapter One City of Bones.

Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Rating 4 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 685 KB
Print Length: 432 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 184149920X
Publisher: Hachette Digital (April 14, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004SBMJQ0

 Side Jobs is a collection of short stories written by Jim Butcher over the life of the Harry Dresden Series. At the start of each story there is a short blurb from Butcher who talks about how the story came about, influences, and where the story sits in the Dresden world. There are some stories that were previously printed in anthologies which included a novella from Thomas’ point of view. But there were also some previously unpublished stories, including one set after the events in Changes.

Each story adds to the Harry Dresden world, insights into the main characters, and into his relationships with some of the characters. The majority also do not give away anything about what has happened in the series, however there are three stories that do. Though it isn’t necessary it would be a good idea to read this collection of stories either singularly (at the appropriate moments in the Dreseden series, each story tells the reader where in the series the stories fell) OR all of them at the end of Changes. The final story takes place after Changes and it will definitely ruin the book if you have not read it.

Most of the stories are just good fun. There is not a lot of depth or substance. But there are some with real depth, that gives real insights into the main support characters in Dresdens life. The Warrior is Michael centric; Backup is all about Thomas; Something Borrowed focuses on Billy and Georgia; and the story called Aftermath set after Changes features Karrin and Billy. These stories you really do want to read in order of the series. I actually like the Michael story the best.

The story order is as follows:
Vignette.......................Between Death Masks (5) and Blood Rites (6)
Something Borrowed.......Between Dead Beat (7) and Proven Guilty (8)
It's My Birthday, Too.....Between White Knight (9) and Small Favor (10) Heorot..........................Between White Knight (9) and Small Favor (10)
Day Off.........................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11) Backup..........................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
The Warrior...................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
Last Call.....................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
Love Hurts....................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
Aftermath.....................After Changes

I don't really want to say anything more as I will probably give some of the story lines away. If you are a fan of the series then this collection of short stories is a must. I really did enjoy them all.

Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran

Rating 4 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 853 KB
Print Length: 432 pages
ISBN: 0307588653
Publisher: Quercus (March 3, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004U4RY3S

 We all know the name, and the famous wax museum. But what do you really know about the woman who was Madam Tussuad? If your like me probably not much. In fact I didn’t even know she lived in the 1700’s during the French Revolution.I confess to not knowing much about the French Revolution. I knew it had happened, I know there was a famous mis-quote “let them eat cake”, the musical Le Miserable is about it and has some cool songs…um that’s kinda it really. So I was pleased to read this book that was set during this turbulent time of France. It was fresh and interesting perspective into the French Revolution.

The book begins prior to the Revolution with the future Revolutionaries meeting in secret in the home of Marie’s uncles home and shop which was a wax works display. We get to meet Marie (who was Groholt at that stage not Tussaud), her family, and close family friends.

I thought I might try a character interview for this review. Hope you like it.

You are a woman ahead of your times, wanting and having a career, and trying to balance a career with family. You are an amazing role model for all women. Is there anything you hope women will take away from your story? Thank you for saying that it means a lot. I never considered myself to be a role model, but I did want a different life for myself. I was very lucky with the opportunities I was given, and that I had a gift. It was not an easy path to walk, sacrifices were made. I guess the main thing I would wan't other women to take away from my story is that; the path you choose may not be easy, but if you believe and want it bad enough, you can make it happen.

You have an amazing and supporting family do you think they helped you achieve the success you achieved? Definitely, my Uncle taught me the trade of wax modelling for starters. He also kept our family a float during the worst of the Revolution. My mother was always a wonderful source of support and delicious food. Both were savvy business people in different ways.

Did you ever regret not fleeing Paris when you had the chance? Of course I did, still do. Would things have been better, or easier? probably. But I made my choice, and I chose to stay and ensure my family had a lively hood to fall back on when the Revolution was over. There is no point looking back on what might have been, I made my choices and I stand by them right or wrong.

Did you worry about playing both sides as it were? Definitely, it was literally walking on a swords edge. But it was a game we had to play, with the Revolutionaries or the Royalists would win, and we HAD to be on the winning side.

Which side were you on? That is the big question isn't it? I was friends with some of the Royals, and don't believe they deserved the end they got. But I was also friends with some of the Revolutionaries. Both sides were as bad as each other, just coming from different directions. You had the opulence, wealth and waste of the Royalty and the poverty, starvation of the Revolutionaries.

You very cleverly didn't really answer my question? At the end of the day as I said previously it was about staying in business, I was going to be on the winners side. That is all I am going to say on the matter.

There is no doubt the Revolution was full of sadness and barbarity, but you seemed to find some peaceful and beautiful moments amongst the turmoil. What was one of your best memories? Probably my time spent with Princess Lisbeth teaching her to sculpt. When I was at her chateau it was as if all the troubles and sadness of the Revolution fell away. I was in a different world. I miss Lisbeth.

What was the most surprising moment during the Revolution? It would have to be when I visited the Marquis De Sade in the Bastille. I always imagined it to be, well, like a prison. But instead it was like a hotel. They had all sorts of stuff, including pets. If they had the money then they could purchase what ever luxury their heart desired.

So give us the scoop, what was the King and Queen really like? I really don't like to say, but I liked them as people and I am saddened by what happened to them. They were good to me, my family, and our wax museum. I feel they were however mis-informed by their advisers, and kept insulated from what was really happening in Paris and France. Perhaps if they had better advisers, things would have turned out differently. They didn't deserve what happened to them.

So you were pleased with the Revolutionaries who ordered their executions were eventually tried and convicted themselves? Certainly not, some of those people were my friends as well, at least in the start. Power seemed to corrupt them. They became the very things they were fighting against. No one was a winner during this time, and no one was in the right.

To conclude, what was your biggest achievement? Besides my children? and the wax museum? I would have to say staying alive. It very nearly didn't happen. For so many it didn't happen. I lost many friends and loved ones during that period. To say I  lived would have to be a great achievement wouldn't you say?

Thank you for your time Madame Tussaud it has been a pleasure.

Extras
For more information and an excerpt of the book please visit Michelle Moran's blog.

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Rating 4 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 239 KB
Print Length: 256 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0545230500
Publisher: Point; 1 edition (March 1, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004P5NVIO

Hi guys, for this review I am going to try a letter style review again. I hope you enjoy it!

Dear Irishyz

You are lucky I know how much you did try to book bully me into getting this book, otherwise you would be in BIG trouble. I can not believe I waited so long to read this book! I was setting it aside as a holiday read. But I wanted a bit of a change from the last few books I have read, (you know I get the jitters if I don’t get a good dose of paranormal stories) so thought I would give it a go. I blitzed this book in 24 hours, which I have not done since March when I was stuck on a plane for 5 hours.

I liked the basics of the story which focuses around Clarity (Clare) Fern who is Psychic. As you know she lives in a small American town with her mother and brother who also have gifts. I liked that her whole family had abilities, but different forms; her mother is a telepath and her brother is a medium. After a tourist is murdered Clare is brought in by the Mayor to help the new police detective solve the mystery. As the death toll rises, the pressure is on for Clare to solve the crime, and prove her brothers innocence. Phew did I miss something? I think that sums up the plot which while simple was still engaging.

Clare is a wonderful character. I instantly took to her as she is likable with a wicked sense of humour. She has snappy retorts, is quick thinking and intelligent. She is not perfect, and not “mature beyond her years”. Plus the girl likes pizza, and orders pancakes for lunch! She is a girl after my own heart. The supporting characters were all enjoyable as well, especially Clare’s family who I just wanted to adopt.

The love triangle with Clare, Justin and Gabriel felt believable and not to "teen agsty". I will be interested to see how Clare’s relationship with each guy develops over future books. Clare could easily be with either of them. Which team am I? Team Justin or Team Gabriel? As yet, I cant call which team I am on but so far I like Justin (despite his boo boo which lead to his ex status, which I personally think was a frame up!) however to be honest, I preferred Nate to Justin and Gabriel!

I really enjoyed the mystery side of it, as it was well written. It felt more like cosy style but as I like that style of writing I am not fussed. Clare, Justin and Gabriel never magically knew more then they could realistically find out, and there were limited to what her gift could show her. I guess the only quibble would be that in the real world I doubt the police would hire a 16 year old psychic, I’m sure there would be all sorts of problems with that ethically, legally and stuff BUT that would have made the story incredibly boring really, and to be honest I didn’t care enough to get upset about. I can normally guess pretty early on who the murderer is but this time I couldn’t make my mind up. The murderer was a surprise and the author, Harrington, did a good job of throwing the reader of the scent.

I really, really liked this book and I am so glad you talked me into buying it. I can not wait till the next book in the series comes out. This looks like a really promising series that is fun and light, and well written. Thanks again for letting me know about this book, I will definitely be spreading the word, and letting others know about it.

Cheers
Caspette

PS How was the Doctor Who finale?

Smokin Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

Rating: 3 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 439 KB
Print Length: 320 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 075538489X
Publisher: Review (June 21, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B0051GY24S

Stephnie is back in her 17th adventure as a Bounty hunter in Jersey. This time Stephanie has a serial killer leaving her presents and she needs to discover who the murderer is before he decides to kill her.

My initial feelings towards this book is that it was not as good as her last, and that this book was rather average. Though other reviewers seem to think the opposit that the last book was crap and this was great. For me the story line was predictable, and the same as the previous sixteen adventures with no real development character and story wise. Most of the humor I found centered around Lula and Grandma Mazur and I was laughing out loud at some of their antics.I am starting to think Grandma Mazur and Lula should get their own spin off series as detectives, and throw in Mooner and Sally, which I think would make an awesome book. But I am getting off topic.

There has been some rather harsh criticism around the web about this book. Most seem to be rather apposed to Stephanie sleeping with both Morellie and Ranger one after another. If I recall correctly in the other books Stephanie was either with one or the other in a relationship, when she slept with either man. But in this book it just seemed to be for the sake of it (blamed on vordoo).

Now I personally do not have a problem with this, its a romantic comedy type book so if your a bit prudish about it all read another series. What I do have a problem with is Stephanie needs to seriously make a decision, one or the other, or even neither. The reason I have a problem with her lack of decision is that I am really getting rather bored now with the whole love triangle. Also I felt there was a lack of chemistry between all of them, there was no spark, and as a reader I just didn’t care if Stephanie was with Ranger or Morellie.

To be honest I found Stepahnie to be well, a whinger, in this book. I started to get annoyed with her “oh woe is me I need a change” mantra that she repeated over and over again. Stephanie’s character needs some development, and the story line needs to move forward. It’s stagnated and I think that is really where most of the criticism about this book is coming from. People are getting bored.

I think the author knows this, and may even be setting the scene for a change. There were numerous references by Stephanie and other characters to Stephanie needing to change her life and pick a man. I hope the author does something soon either to progress the story/character development, or to end the series. I really think it needs that to keep it fresh.

BUT having said that I still enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it to fans. Because lets face it if you have stuck with the series for this long, you like the formula and know what to expect. There are no surprises with a Stephanie Plumb book and this book doesn’t fail on the expectations. You have the outrageous skips, the hilarious take downs, witty one liners, a ruined car (and what Stephanie Plumb novel wouldn’t have a destroyed car), the antics of Lula and Grandma Mazur, and finally the love triangle that is Morellie, Ranger and Stephanie.

Even though I have been a little negative about this book in this review, I did still enjoy it and will buy the new one due out in November (just in time for Christmas holiday's Thanks Janet Evanovich).

Extras
If you want to read an excerpt you can find on here on Janet Evanovich's website

Rex Riders by J.P Carlson

Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 440 pages
Publisher: Monstrosities Books (June 21, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0982579632
ISBN-13: 978-0982579633

This book was an advanced reader copy obtained through the Library Thing website reviewers program.

“When 14-year-old Zeke Calhoun goes to live at his Uncle Jesse's broken-down ranch in Texas, he discovers that he has a natural way with horses and loves to ride. But this is nothing compared to what he finds in a riverbed near the ranch: a mysterious stranger, riddled with bullets, lying face down in the dirt, and a juvenile T-Rex keeping a pack of hungry wolves at bay. Where did the stranger come from? Who shot him and why? While Zeke saves the stranger and sets out to answer these questions, he finds something much more interesting--a bridle in the dinosaur's mouth. From that moment on he knows he is destined to ride the T-Rex. What he does not know, however, is that his actions will set off a chain of events plunging him into an incredible adventure, one that will lead to the discovery of a deadly alliance between Earth and a prehistoric world that could threaten the very fabric of both “

Welcome to the Wild West but not as we know it.

Initial First Impressions
To start with the story was a little slow and choppy. It bounced back and forth between various character point of views trying to set the scene and tell the story. To be honest it got distracting and annoying. But it settled down and then the story flowed easier I then found myself rather enjoying the book. This book is a blend of westerns, sci-fi, and teen angst. I am not normally drawn to or read either of the Western or Sc-Fi genre and I have no idea why this sparked my interest when it became available as an advance reader copy, it just did. I am glad I read it even though it took me a month (eep, to be fair this was not the books fault but my fault for not being able to find time. These days life is busy, busy, busy!).

Characters
There are a lot of characters but I guess the main three would be Zeke, Uncle Jesse and Angelina. They were believable but a smidgeon stereotypical of western movies. However, Angelina was not, and was quite an interesting character with strong morals, a little bit of spunk, and intelligence.

Stumpy the cook was perhaps my most favorite character to read and he brought a lot of humor to the book. He was the wise, gentle old man who sort of played negotiator between Uncle Jesse and Zeke.

The bad guy D’allsandro was a fairly decent bad guy. On the scale of baddies one to ten he would be about a six. He was more of an oily snake kind of character then an out right pure evil type of character. He did have a “moment” toward the end of the book, but that was again more of an arrogance moment then pure evil bastard moment.

Story
The story was good and interesting. The blending of the western genre and sci-fi (the dinosaurs) was an interesting twist. Other then the choppy point of view and the slow start, the story actually moved at a fairly fast pace with lots of action and excitement.

This is classic pulp fiction. If you are not a fun of the pulp fiction style of writing then it is probably best to stay away from this book. Otherwise it is a fun story .

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. What if humans and dinosaurs had co-existed? Could we have domesticated them? Could we have used them as working animals? How would civilization look with domesticated t-rex’s rather then dogs?

What I didn’t Like
Well the constant jumping from point of views. It seemed really random and sometimes right in the middle of paragraph for about the space of a line. But this is more of a personal I thing. I really hate it when the point of view jumps around so much, for me it is distracting and often I just don’t see the point of knowing what a minor character is thinking when it is obvious (ie the baddie’s henchman not liking one of the main characters, the fact that he always tries to hit,shoot, belittle and bully the main character kinda gives it away that they don’t like each other).

I am not entirely sure how accurate the Professor character was.While fossils had been discovered and collected before 1800’s the first dinosaur wasn’t named till the mid 1800’s. Also given that information took a lot longer to filter around the world back then, depending on his academic base it would be hard for him to be up to date with the latest discoveries. So in short I am not sure if he would have been able to accurately identify the majority of the dinosaurs they discovered, at least not with the terms we know now. This is really a small quibble to be honest as I understand the need for a little suspension of belief to make it easier for today’s readers to understand. Also he would have been forever explaining dinosaurs. But on further thought having the paleontologist making up names could have been a fun experience.

In short
This book was fun. It is not a serious book at all; it’s light, fluffy and campy. I was not the target audience which really would be the teen male market from 13-18 (depending on likes and reading ability), and have seen a few reviews from younger readers who loved this book. Do not take it seriously and you should enjoy it. As for the target group; what teenage boy wouldn’t like this book with cowboys, cool sci-fi devices, Dinosaurs, and action?

To read an excerpt go to Rex Riders

Nobody's Princess (Book 1) by Esther Friesner

Rating 3 out of 5
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (March 25, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375875298
ISBN-13: 978-0375875298


Esther Friesner takes us back in time to ancient Greece to tell the tale of a young girl who later grew up to become Helen of Troy.

"Even if I was pretty, it wasn't going to be enough to bring me the life I wanted: one where I was free to make choices that mattered, one where people listened to what I had to say.

Aphrodite had the beauty; Zeus had the thunderbolts. Everyone loved Aphrodite, but everyone listened to Zeus.

I'd never get my hands on a thunderbolt, so if I wanted to be free, I'd better find a way to get my hands on the next best thing: a sword."

What I liked

• That Helen is portrayed as a strong independent girl. Her portrayal in this book too me is more like what a Spartan Princess would be. Not some helpless little bimbo or a conniving temptress as she gets portrayed time and time again in Hollywood and most literature. In this book she is strong minded and strong willed, smart, independent, and trying to buck the shackles that tie her to her duty, while at the same time trying to honor the traditions she lives by.
• The other strong women portrayed in this book. Friesner has some really wonderful women characters who guide the young Helen from childhood to her teenage years. Shaping her views on the world. There is the nanny Ionne who is loving but firm; her mother who is Queen, politician, wife, healer, and huntress; Atalanta a fellow princess to another Greek King and has followed the path of the warrior; The Delphi Oracle who while having the “gift” is the ultimate diplomat, who is fun and knowledgeable on the world beyond her years. All of these women were believable in their roles and provided many life lessons to the young Helen.
• “Real World” explanations for the mythology aspects of Helen’s story. Helen’s own story is that she is the daughter of the mighty Zeus, but this book dismisses that as just a story. Like wise Friesner over and over discounts most of the “stories” as being just that stories. One character commented that “being told that the hero had killed a swamp snake, even a big swamp snake, is no where near as impressive as killing a three headed hydra”. While the Gods are not totally dismissed, they do not play such a pivotal role other then worshiping them.
• It was a quick, brain candy read.
• I loved the period it was set in which was the Greek “Age of Heores”. It touches on several mythological stories such as Jason and the Argonauts.

What I disliked

• It was quite light and fluffy. Perhaps this is because there is very little “known” about a young Helen before she became Helen of Troy. Or maybe because it is a Young Adult book. I am not sure why, but it was not as meaty as I would have expected.
• The modern world references irked me. While I understand for narrative purposes it probably made sense to use modern terms and ideas, but it still bugged me. At one point a character said a phrase that was essentially “she used to change your diaper” which was odd to me. The author actually used the word Diaper. While I am no expert or historian, I am pretty confident that babies in ancient Greece probably didn’t have diapers as we know them, and certainly wouldn't have used that word. This was only a minor irritant anyway.
• The “history” skipped over an important fact. That at approximately 12 Helen was kidnapped by a prince. There is a scene towards the end of the book, where the prince Theseus tried to kidnap her on the street, but this by no means was not a proper kidnap as described by history.

Overall

I think this book is a wonderful introduction to the story of Helen of Troy and the historical period of “The Age of Heroes”. Teenage girls will probably enjoy this book the best as it would resonate with them (rebelling against authority and adults, going on adventures, and competing with men at their level). Not sure if I will read the next book or not while the book was enjoyable it didn't make we want to rush out and pick up the next book. But if you are looking for something fun and easy to read this will fit the bill.

Changes (Harry Dresden Series Book 12) by Jim Butcher

Rating 5 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 727 KB
Print Length: 448 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1841497134
Publisher: Hachette Digital (April 8, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B003CUDOYE

Changes is the 12th book in the Harry Dresden series. I hate reviewing books in as series because you can't really talk about what you WANT to talk about, otherwise you ruin it for someone else. A Buckeye Girl Reads, recently did a LOLz Cats review for the book Hard Bitten, which gave me inspiration to give it a try. It was a fun and a refreshing way to review a book in a series. Thanks buckeye girl!

So I got my hands on the 12th Harry Dresden book and I was all kinds of happy! It has been awhile since I have read a Harry Dresden book for a lot of reasons but none that are worth talking about. I must confess I love this series and have been hooked from the very first book Storm Front. So needless to say, like a chocoholic who has been denied chocolate for a day getting their chocolate back; I was pretty excited to delve back into the world of Harry and be reacquainted with all my favorite characters. If you have not yet discovered the world of Harry Dresden then get your hands on Storm Front as soon as possible, you will not regret it!

For those who don’t know Harry is a wizard. His adventures started way back in Storm Front when he was a lowly private eye helping people with supernatural type problems, at that time he also consulted with the police to supplement his income. Fast forward 12 books and Harry rarely gets to do basic detective work anymore. He works on bigger picture stuff like fighting for man kind, his friends, and sometimes saving the planet.

So this book follows the usual Harry adventure formula of non stop thrill ride. It careens from one battle to another with barely a pause. The level of battle does seem to vary from mundane to titan throw downs. The action is fast paced and seems to have somehow been ramped up compared to the earlier books. The last battle scene can only be described as EPIC.

I think though this was the first time we see Harry really struggle, both mentally, physically, and even magically. This time he couldn’t just beat his chest and say “I am Harry. I am here to smite thee evil bastard”. It did make a nice change to show that Harry had limits, and how he dealt with this realization. Don’t get me wrong I normally love Harry’s sense of humour, witty repartee, and absolute belief that he will win; but it was also a refreshing character development to see Harry tested. What would he do going up against an opponent bigger, badder, stronger, and quicker witted then him?

This book is aptly named as Changes, there are some pretty big revelations that happen in this book (in the brief down times from annihilating baddies). A lot of previous story threads seem to fall into place, or make sense and we get to learn new things. I will be interested to see how these revelations change the direction of Harry’s story, his friends, and the over arching story of Harry saving the world. Are these good or bad changes? I guess we need to wait and find out.

Then we get to the ending and......OMG. It’s all you can say really. I got to the end and thought “are you kidding me? You stop there? You are leaving me hanging like this?”. I literally could not handle it and my finger automatically hovered over the "purchase" button in the kindle store, so I could buy and download the next book immediately. But I took some deep breaths, stepped away from my ebook reader, and said “focus, your world will not end if you do not start reading the next book immediately”. If you guessed that was an epic fail on my behalf you would be right. I now have the next book on my ereader ready to go. I have zero patience.

Edit - Apparently I do not have book 13. Looks like I got the Anthologies book Side Job, I didn't read the blurb closely as I didn't want to ruin the book for myself. Book 13 is due out later this year. Oh well at least I have the anthologies to tide me over. Boo :(

If you are a fan of Harry Dresden this is a must read for the big story revelations alone. All the usual ingredients that you love about the series are here and you will not be disappointed.

Extras

Not sure if the Harry Dresden Series is for you? Check out the Harry Dresden series sample chapters at Jim Butchers website.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 819 KB
Publisher: Allen & Unwin (November 9, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004BA5HOY

First sentence “Major Pettigrew was still upset about the phone call from his brother’s wife and so he answered the doorbell without thinking.”

What a delightful and interesting book. I will be up front and say this not normally my thing. Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows I’m more of an Urban Fantasy, or Young Adult fan. But I had heard lots of people raving over this book and I thought why not give it a try after I read the blurb. To be honest I was expecting something light and fluffy that was a little bit funny; just a story about a little old man and an unlikely friendship.

This book was all that, I admit, but only on the surface. It was so much more. For starters it dealt with some pretty serious and topical issues like racism, family dynamics, life/death, love, discrimination, class relations, modern living, religious differences and cultural difference. It never delves in very deeply to these issues which is good otherwise the book would have been difficult reading for me (I hate being preached to in a book). But it highlights them enough you get a strong over all idea of the issues involved.

There is not much to hate about the main characters Major Pettigrew and Mrs Ali. They are both delightful characters with wonderful senses of humour. Dare I say it but they are rather perfect for each other. The book focuses on this relationship the most, and follows it as it grows from literally first contact to the deep friendship it becomes. Their dry wit, clever remarks, and quick responses to those around them really make this book. You are cheering for them to overcome the hurdles thrown in their way by the end of the book.

If you are looking for a feel good, delightful read this is definitely the book for you.

Extras

I found this clip of Helen Simonson reading an excerpt from her book. I hope you enjoy it!

A Waltz For Matilda by Jackie French

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 729 KB
Publisher: HarperCollinsAU (December 1, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004GNFX68

First Sentence "It was midnight in Grinder's Alley".

A Waltz For Matilda is set in the late 1800’s in Australia’s outback and tells the tale of a young girl called Matilda who after loosing everything she knows and loves in the city, heads out to “beyond the black stump” to find her missing father. There she has to grow up fast and learn the ways of the bush and its people to survive.

The start of the book was strongly tied into the song Waltzing Matilda, and the song has a presence through out the book. I liked this tie in which worked well with the story.

Matilda was a wonderful character who we meet at the age of 12. The book follows her life on the station and how she grows and evolves living there. Auntie Love is a lovely character that takes Matilda under her wing and shows her the way of the bush. I liked Jackie French’s treatment of the Aboriginal characters and culture, you got a distinct impression that French respects the culture. There was nothing clichéd about the characters at all.

Her friendship with Mr Drinkwater was an interesting one. It seemed to be a love hate relationship at best. But there seemed to be genuine respect for each other. What I found interesting, having recently been at a workshop run by Jackie, was the shearers themselves. Jacki said in her workshop she had originally planned for them to be the bad guys, but by the end of the story they were the comedy relief. Certainly the shearers were a funny bunch with interesting names like Mr Goto, they always floated around the sidelines supporting Matilda when she needed it.

This book covers some very important historical moments for Australia. The formation of the labour union movement, the fight for women to vote, the fight to become one nation instead of separate colonies, and the Boer War. This is not an actual retelling and the facts are not accurate, the events are just a back drop to the main story which was a girl struggling to survive in the bush. She captured the essence of the events and was able to tell them from the point of view of a teenage girl living on a farm in the middle of no where.

There are also some very serious issues that get touched on in this book such as immigration, racism, sexism, class differences, and technological advancement. I found it very interesting that the very thing that immigrants get accused of now in this modern day and age, such as stealing jobs; was the exact same stuff that was being said in the late 1800’s. It made me wonder just a little if we really had progressed as a society as much as we like to think.

Jackie French was very careful to not mention any dates, places, times etc. She did this deliberately as she was not writing a novel based on these events. She was writing a novel about a girl who witnessed these events.

This would be a wonderful book for a teenager to read and gain a solid insight into Australia’s history. While it wont give the reader the nuts and bolts of what happened it does give a good over view of what was happening at that time.

While the ending was good it did seem a little too neat and tidy. With everything being explained. While on one hand I did like having some things explained, I thought in a way it ruined some of the mystery that surrounded some of the characters like Auntie Love. The book would have been fine with out the explanation but like I said I did like finding out why, probably because I’m nosey ☺

If you like history and keen to learn more about Australian history this is a great historical novel with the added bonus that right at the end Jackie has included factual information about the events she writes about and the influences (such as Banjo Patterson and Henry Lawson). I found this just as interesting as the book itself.

The Outlaw Demon Wails (Book 5) by Kim Harrison

Rating: 4 out of 5

Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager; Reprint edition (November 25, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780061149825
ISBN-13: 978-0061149825
ASIN: 0061149829

First Sentence "I leaned over the glass counter, squinting at the price of the high grade redwood rods, safe in their airtight glass coffins like snow white"

We are back for the fifth installment of the Rachel Morgan series. Rachel's exploits are finally catching up with her. Someone is summoning a demon, who should be in demon jail, to kill her and it is a rather long list of contenders of who would want Rachel dead. There is a new big boss vampire in town, Ceri has a secret, a Gargoyle now lives in the roof of the church, and Trent is well Trent. There is also a possible love interest in Rachel's life because her life is not complicated enough.

There are some big story developments in this book and lots of revelations about Rachel and her family. It has been hinted at in the previous installments that perhaps Rachel has been living in a bubble her whole life. What did Trent's father do to her? what is her heritage? Why can she do the magic she can do? A lot of these questions are finally answered. Some of the answers were kinda obvious but it was still a surprise on the how and who.

The romance side of Rachel's life is played down in this book. I think it was good as we focused on Rachel and her inner turmoil as she deals with what her life has become and the need for change. I found this refreshing for this genre of book where the heroine usually just careens from disaster to disaster and never seems to take responsibility for themselves. Rachel frequently thinks and says "something has to change, things can not continue this way".

I was glad to see more of and learn more about Rachel's mum. She seems like a really interesting character and refreshing breath of air amongst the cast that are normally involved. She is both sweet, bad ass, funny, and a little crazy. I hope she features more in future books, and takes more of an active role in Rachel's life.

If you are a fan of this series you will want to read this book. A lot of the puzzle pieces fall in place and you get a better picture of the characters and the world the inhabit.

Extras
Head over to Kim Harrison's website to read and excerpt of the fist chapter.

Altar of Bones by Philip Carter

Rating: 2 out of 5
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Gallery (March 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781439199084
ISBN-13: 978-1439199084
ASIN: 1439199086

Ok I don't like doing negative reviews, so I thought I would have a little fun and do a Chibi review, using anime chibi's to help illustrate my review. Hope this makes the review a little more fun to read.

Altar of Bones is about an alter made out of bones with secret mystical powers. Of course there is a really bad guy who wants these mystical powers and will do anything to get it (with a psychotic blood thirsty girlfriend/side kick).
“I will defeat you mawhahahahaha”

Enter the clueless heroine who protects the alter (once she gets a clue and works out she is in fact the al might protector from a long line of protectors). Then enter stage right is the girl’s protector and love interest who will fight by her side and help her save the day.

“Dude…..BRING IT!”

Sounds good right? Well for awhile it was. I read through half of the book and while the action was pumping I did enjoy it.

Ready? Fight-o!

But then it got bogged down in conspiracy theories. While I don’t mind a little conspiracy theory here and there, this just got to much. There were roughly 20 pages of the stuff. It just went on and on and on, about JFK and Marilyn Monroe being murdered.

Enough! Enough already I get it! Waaaahhhhaaaa!

I could have handled the brief mentions that happened earlier but then the narrative jumped back and told the whole story in full of how the baddy killed Marilyn and JFK. To be honest the book totally lost me and I lost all will to read any further. It’s not like the conspiracy theory was new, it was just rehashed stuff.

“Bahahaha JFK & Marilyn Conspiracy, no one would have thought of that…..best conspiracy theory ev-a!”

If it wasn’t for the conspiracy theory overload, I could probably have overlooked the fact that a big chunk of the book was ridiculous and filled with too many inconstancy's. If the story is going to be flat out ridiculous then it needs to be a non-stop thrill ride with constant action and things going boom. So dont have a chance to stop and think "hey thats not possible". Then I don’t care if it is completely stupid, I just don’t want the action to stop (for an excellent example try Matthew Reilly!).

Crazy unbelievable fight scene – you’redoing it right!

If I get bored and start to think about it, then I get annoyed. There was one scene where the hero spent hours sucking air out of his tire at the bottom of the harbor, while waiting for the baddies to leave. The problem of sea water in his eyes aside (as he was watching them from the bottom of the harbor), Mythbusters

busted this myth yonks ago. I am sorry but even if Mythbusters said it can’t be done then why is it in your book! If

you’re going to write unbeliev

able stuff, at least write s

tuff that hasn’t been or can’t easily be disproven.

Totally Busted!

I think like me, you can all guess where this book was heading and that was to a big good vs evil smack down fight scene; where good ultimately wins.

“You’ve been pawned bitches”

Look this was not a terrible book despite the fact I put it down. The conspiracy thing really killed it for me. As my reading time is pretty precious these days I decided to ditch the book rather then struggle on and hope it got better.

Dark Life by Kat Falls

Rating: 4 out of 5
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545178150
ISBN-13: 978-0545178150

First Sentence: "I peered into the deep-sea canyon, hoping to spot a toppled skyscraper."

Dark Life is set sometime in our future. The sea has risen and cities have toppled into the ocean. The humans remaining on the few scraps of land left are packed into mega high density buildings and the sea bed is the only place left for farming and space. It is being slowly colonised and is the equivalent of the wild wild west US in the 1800's.

This is where Ty calls home. He has lived here his whole life with his parents being among the original colonisers. He lives on a homestead in a large house with his sister. It was a pretty peaceful existence fishing and farming kelp on his parents farm.

Then he meets Gemma, a topsider looking for her brother, and everything changes.

This was a great debut novel. It had a nice mix of action and information for the reader. For a post apocalyptic story it has an interesting twist being set in the sea, and the area being a frontier type settlement. Also it makes a nice change from zombies.

The territory though is full of secretes which are slowly revealed through out the book. Some secrets are easily guessed but some you don't see coming till they are revealed. This is the first book in a series but could easily be read as a stand alone.

The characters were well fleshed out and believable. Gemma is incredibly brave, however this does lead to some incredibly stupid decisions. Also she sometimes she seems to be brave for the sake of it when all sense goes out the window. Ty is also brave but in a much more practical manner. He seems to be very aware of the world and does not view it through rose tinted glasses.

I really enjoyed the cultural changes to this world. For instance it seems women from topside wear full length dresses similar to what was worn in the 1800's. Its not explained why exactly. Plus they scorn and fear the colonists who live under the sea. It was interesting to see the Government referred to as the Commonwealth (or 'wealth in the book). I would be curious to know how it came to be called the Commonwealth. It almost seems like this future as reverted back to past traditions and beliefs.

This is the first dystopian, post-apocalyptic world I think I would want to live in. The under seas colony sounded like a kick ass idea, and why don't we do it anyway.

A great start to a series I will be interested to follow.