Strut Your Shelves featuring...me!

Thank you for joining me on this first ever addition of Strut Your Shelves!

If you would like to be featured on Strut Your Shelves, please send me an email!  I'm looking for lots of submissions so I can make this a regular feature.  Please email me at notenoughbooksblog(at)gmail(dot)com.

I thought I would take you on a tour of my bookshelves, just to get the party started.  You might have seen pictures of it before, but that's ok, I'm going to explain it a bit more this time around.

Currently I only have one set of bookshelves, or a library cabinet as I sometimes call it.  I would love to have more, but alas, for now I just have one and the rest of my books live in boxes.   I'm lucky enough to have a room dedicated to books in my house.  Yup, I have a library!  The only problem, the bookshelves I envision (taking up one complete wall) will need to be custom made and Husband and I don't think we can do it, so we have to pay somebody.  That's expensive.  We focused on updated the rest of our house first, but that's done now, and we can focus on saving for the library. Yay!  But..alas..back to the library case I do have.

Here it is!  Hope you like it! (Myla decided she wanted her picture taken too). You can click on each picture to view a bigger image, if you wish.

Here's what I have on my shelves.  The door on the far right contains some YA and some random fiction.  These are books that I either loved, plan to get to soon, or are ones I plan to loan my sister when she needs more books.  There is no organization plan to this area.

The two doors in the middle contain all mysteries, mostly cozy.  These are organized alphabetically by author.  I have a lot more books than room, so once I filled the shelves up once, I started back at the top and went down again.   As I've bought more books for the series or new series, I've had to try and get them in the right spot...which has proved very difficult.  It's a mess!  If it wasn't books, I would fix the mess, but since it is books and I like looking at them, I'm ok with it for now.

The shelves on the left contain the books I'm hoping to read for challenges.   Once I sign up for a challenge I go through the books I have and find ones for that challenge.  Then I move them on these shelves (along with a print out of the challenges and the books I'm reading for them).  Then when I'm ready to start a new book, I browse those shelves first in hopes one will catch my interest.   Currently, the bottom shelf holds the books Husband has recently bought and read as well as some books borrowed from a friend.

Oh, and see the white bag and misc books on the far right of the photo?  The books on the floor are ones I pulled out for the WWII challenge last year, as possible reads, and I didn't want to put them back in a box.  The White bag holds books my Grandpa has brought to me from their house so I can put them in my library (if I want).  Isn't that nice of him? I love that he is always thinking of my library and offering me books he thinks will make a great addition.

Now, because I know you are wondering, how many books do I have that aren't on the shelves and where am I storing them?  Why, they are in that same room..but in boxes.   Make no mistake though..they are organized in boxes.

Now, because I like to know how people organize shelves, I'm going to tell you how I plan to organize my books once I have my shelves built.  I plan to have my shelves organized alphabetically by author, and genre. I know, that's going to be a task, but I can't wait!  I love to organize a big project like that!  Rest assured, I will share pictures again once the shelving is in place.  How could I not?  Don't hold your breath though, it's going to be expensive to pay somebody to do it so it won't be done for awhile.  I will however share a picture of what I want my shelving to look like.  I have had a picture from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine on our fridge for almost 2 years now as a reminder of what I want.  Yesterday when reading Kittling: Books, she linked to a bookshelf and it was a great picture of what I had in mind.  Very similar to the picture growing up, but easier to see the size of the spaces.   So, click HERE to go the the NY Times article that has a picture of what I want my shelving to look like.

Thanks for reading this first edition of Strut Your Shelves, I hope you enjoyed it!   If you liked it and would like to see your shelves on display, please email me!  Bloggers and non-bloggers are invited to participate.  You can send as many pictures as you want, or just pick one or two bookcases that you like.  You can give as much or as little detail as you want.

Left to Die by Lisa Jackson

#1 - Selena Alvarez and Regina Pescoli
Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Zebra
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 386
Challenges: TBR challenge, Thriller and Suspense
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description: 
In a small town in Montana, the unthinkable has happened, there is a serial killer on the loose.  He is targeting woman.  The police can't find any kind of link between the woman, other than that the were driving the mountain roads at the wrong time.  The killer shoots the woman's car tire and they crash. Then he rescues them and it appears he nurses them back to health for awhile before he ties them to a tree to die in the cold.

Regan Pescoli and Serena Alvarez are the lead homicide detectives on this case.  They go over and over the clues but can't seem to get a step ahead of the killer.  They know about what his time line is, but that's about it.  They have no way to stop him because they don't know where he takes the victims after the car accidents. Plus, due to the snow they keep getting, they usually don't find the cars until after the women are found.

Jillian Rivers was driving to her ex-husbands house when she heard a gun shot and then lost control of her car.  She had recently received some disturbing news, it appeared that her first husband, who was presumed dead, might still be alive.  She wants some answers.   However her car crashes and MacGregor happens to find her and takes her to his cabin and tries to help her get better.  However Jillian doesn't think she can trust him because before she left her house she read an article about a serial killer in this area, is she the latest victim?  What, if anything, does this have to do with her first husband possibly being alive?

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
Overall, I enjoyed this book and because the book does stop with a cliffhanger, I'll be reading the next one in August.   It's very interesting because we go back and forth between the detectives investigating the case, the serial killer, and Jillian Rivers.  Throughout the book we don't know who the serial killer is, we don't know if it's the man who has Jillian or not.  We are given glimpses of him through the other stories, but his identity is never revealed.  In fact, at the end of this book we still don't know who he is.

While this book did take me awhile to read it, it did move pretty well.  There always seemed to be something that was going on, some new twist.

I think part of what kept me from reading it faster and possibly liking it more than I did were the two detectives.  Alvarez and Pescoli are main characters in this book and important to the story, but I didn't connect with either one of them.  We know that Alvarez has some secret about her past and while we finally are told part of it, I really don't think that's the whole story.  Pescoli is made to seem as somewhat of a wild and loose single Mom.  I just didn't think the characters were that strong or appealed to the reader much.  I'm hoping with the second book we are able to connect to them more.  I'm assuming we will finally learn the secret Alvarez is carrying around with her.


This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

Penguin Books 75th Anniversary - Penguin Group (USA)

Video - Penguin Books 75th Anniversary - Penguin Group (USA)

Happy Birthday to Penguin! I have enjoyed watching these video's and wanted to share with my readers.

I loved the one titled The Look.

Friday Smile: Husband - reading? No way!

Breaking News...Breaking News....We interrupt your regularly scheduled show to bring you this important update.   HUSBAND IS READING!

I even caught it on film on our recent trip.

That's right..you read that correctly..my husband is reading!   I can't tell you just how excited this makes me!  See, Husband used to read, in high school and college.  In fact, he was an English major in college.  Then he graduated college and never picked up another book.   He would tease me about how much I read and even try to convince me to read some of the books he had to analyze in college and liked (and I did read a couple and didn't like them), however he would not bother reading.

Then one night, several weeks ago, we were doing our normal routine.  He was watching something on tv I wasn't interested in so I was reading.  He was switching back and forth between some stupid show and a baseball game.  Now, I don't follow sports and never have.  I really don't care about professional sports.  I played soccer for 12 years and loved it and was very competitive..but professional sports never had my interest.  This is something my husband can't understand.  How is it I don't know the rules behind basketball and baseball and football.  How is it I don't know the names of all our city's professional players.  How is it I just don't care?   So the game is on and he asks me who we are playing..luckily they had just said it so I knew.  Then he asked me to name a couple of players on our team, I could name one.  He asked me who the coach was..after some thought I could provide the name.  He started going on and on about how he doesn't understand how I don't know this stuff, etc.  I made the comment that I know a lot more about the publishing industry than he does and that I don't understand how it is he doesn't know more about books and authors, etc.   I said we each have our passions.   So then I made him a dare.  (We do like to dare each other in our house..this is how I'm stuck doing the p90x program..another post to come on that one.)  I told him that if he read a book, cover to cover, I would watch a sports game with him -without reading (something that has never been done before).  He actually took me up on the offer.

I had several books I already owned that I suggested, but he didn't want to read any of them.  Oh no, he wanted to read The Passage by  Justin Cronin.  So we went to Borders and he bought it.  And he read it.  And he liked it!  And then we went back to Borders to buy him another book, and another, and another.  That's right..he hasn't just read 1 book, he has finished 3 books and is currently reading a 4th!   I can't tell you just how excited I am about this!  I sure do hope this trend continues.

Since I'm guessing some of you might ask, here's what he has read and what he has thought about them (that I can remember):

The Passage by Justin Cronin

He really liked this one and has decided that he likes end of the world type books (although I can't convince him to read The Stand by Stephen King).  In fact, he liked it so much he is insisting I read it.  He's getting rather annoyed that I haven't read it yet.  I tried to get him to review it on my blog, but when I sad this we were in the car and he started getting all analytical about it on me and I asked him to wait until we were home so I could type it, but then he lost interest.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

He thought the book was ok.  He said that it was for old people and a bit Sherlock Holmesish and that I should read it because I would enjoy it.  I haven't asked him how it is I fit into the old people category, I figure that's best left unanswered.  He didn't really get what all the fuss is about.  However, let me add that I don't know if he's ever really read a mystery and I don't think mysteries are his cup of tea.  But..according to him..if you are old and like Sherlock Holmes, you will like this series.  haha!

World War Z by Max Brooks

I honestly can't remember what he had to say about this one.  I believe he liked it, but beyond that I don't know.

Currently he is reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I'm actually excited about this because I have been wanting to read it myself..and instead of using my allowance to buy it, he used his.  sucker.  Lucky for him I already have the 2nd in the series for him to read, if he likes this one that is.

I also find it interesting that he waits until he has finished a book before buying another.  I think this is rather smart because he won't end up with a bunch of books he owns and has never read. At the same time..how could he possibly not have a book or two or three to choose from and pick up immediately after he finishes his current read?  Time will tell if he continues with this rate of buying or not.

Here's a question for you, faithful readers, what books can you suggest for dear husband?  Do you have any "end of the world" type books to suggest?  If so, I would love to hear them.

Paco's Story Read-a-long - Chapter 6 & 7

This is the final read-a-long post for Paco's Story, chapter 6 & 7 were the last ones to read.  I reviewed the book earlier this week, so I won't do a re-cap with this post.



1.  What is the significance of the rape scene?  How does it change your opinion of Paco?
I think it shows us something that haunted Paco, possibly the reason he is having so much trouble adjusting to life back in the States and why he is haunted.  This happened right before his whole group was wiped out, except for him.  That has to have an impact on him.  In reading about it, I felt that while Paco wen't along with it, he wasn't always sure about it..he did have periods where he knew it was wrong, but yet he still went ahead with it.  Then, he was the only one left living.  He has to be asking himself why, why him.


2.  Cathy’s diary plays an integral role in Paco’s final decision.  Why do you think it has such a drastic impact?
 I think it shows him how people really feel about it.  At first, when her entries were about how he was handsome and intriguing, he felt good and he was going along with it.  Then it changed to where she didn't fee this way about him.  Possibly, she saw who he really was, and he had trouble with that.  I don't think he wants people to know just how much trouble he has with his own demons, when he's alone at night.  I also think that maybe he didn't really think about how people perceived him in this town,  yet reading her diary he found out how she felt, at least.


3.  What are some of the similarities between Vietnam and Boone, Texas?  Differences?
In some ways, the climate is similar.  Both places were hot and left him sticky with sweat.   He is also alone in Boone, Tx.  Nobody really wants to be around him...they mostly shy away from him.  I suppose this could be said about those who live in Vietnam, the enemy, too.


4.  Were you satisfied with the ending?  What are your overall impressions of the book?
In a way I'm not satisfied with the end, but then I am.  In the end he leaves Boone, Texas after finding out how others perceive him and finding out that somebody realizes just how haunted he is (even though it doesn't sound like she really gets it..she seems a bit more disgusted with it).  After learning this, he leaves.  Then the book ends.  I think it was a fitting end to the story, a good way to end the story.  However part of me wishes the book was a bit longer and we could learn more about his story and where he goes next and if things get better.

For my overall impressions of the book, check out my review HERE.   I did really enjoy this book, I'm very glad we read it.  I go into a bit more detail in my review though.

Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann

Copyright: 1986 (original)
Publisher: Vintage Books
Genre: fiction
Pages: 210
Challenges: War Through the Generations (Vietnam), Buy 1 book and read it
My rating: 4.5/5

If you have been reading this blog than you know I've been participating in the read-a-long of this book with the War Through the Generations challenge.

Last week I gave a brief summary about what had happened so far in the book.  Tomorrow I'll be answering questions on the last two chapters of this book.

In case you missed those other posts or didn't read them all, here's a brief description about the story.  Paco is the only man left alive after an attack on his unit.  He is left for days..near death...before he is found, rescued and nursed back to health.   Now he is back in the states, out of the hospital, and in need of a job. He gets a job at a dinner in a small town and works all day, and goes back to his room at the inn at night.

We get all the info about Paco and what he went through from a narrator..one that we don't learn who it is until half-way through the book.  However through this narrator we learn more about Paco than if Paco told the story himself, or at least that's what I think.   We get flashbacks about things that happened when Paco was still in Vietnam, and we learn about what is going on with Paco present day.

This isn't a book to be read lightly.  There are several scenes that some might have trouble reading because of the honesty to them, this is war after all.  There is also a rape scene that some might have trouble with.

I personally thought all the scenes benefited the story and made the story.  How can we possibly learn about what Paco went through (or any soldier who fought in Vietnam) without getting the bad along with the good (is there good?).

I finished this book about an hour ago, on my lunch break.  Normally I don't write reviews right away for books like this, books that really make you think.  I like to take a couple days to think everything over. However, knowing I would be answering the questions tomorrow, I felt I needed to review it today.  Or maybe need is the wrong word, I wanted to review it today.

And this is a book that makes you think.  Yes it's tough to read at times.  However, those poor soldiers.  The things they saw, the things they did, the things they were ordered to do.   I just can't imagine.   I definitely think this is a book you should read.   I think this would be a great book to read in class..maybe college over high school because I could see a lot of parents being upset about their kids reading this in high school.  Regardless, I think this is a book that is best read with a group that you can talk to about it.  I think having the questions to ponder over and answer each week really helped me understand Paco more, it made me really think about this story more than I would if I had just read it on my own.

I gave this book such a high rating because I think it does a great job describing what happened to the men who served in Vietnam.  Hard to read at times, definitely, worth the read in the long run, absolutely.

Regarding the cover, loved it, thought it was perfect for this novel.  I found myself staring at the cover a lot.  Thinking about the man pictured, thinking about Paco.  I stared at the man's face..just looking at the expression.

Hometown reading Challenge

I've started a new challenge, I'm really excited about it and I hope you'll check it out and maybe sign up yourself.

The challenge is to read at least one book that takes place in our city....I think it will be fun and challenge to find books to fit this one.   I'll create a post later as to which ones I think I might read for this one.

Here's a link to the dedicated blog.

Coming Soon: Strut Your Shelves

Very soon you will see a regular feature on this blog, a feature I'm calling "Strut Your Shelves". This is where you, my wonderful readers, get to show off your stuff...er..your shelves. Yes...bookshelves. As a reader, and I'm sure your like me in this regard, I love looking at other people's bookshelves. When I walk into a room that has a bookshelf, that's what gets my attention first. I also believe that most bookshelves represent their owners. Do they have mostly mystery or fiction? Is there a section on birds or dogs? Is there any kind of order to the books or does it seem random? Are the shelve's messy or neat? Do the shelve's look like a book lover lives there or are they just for show? So many questions!

What this feature is for, is for bloggers and blog readers to show off their shelves. Send me a picture of your shelves...either a specific one you want to show or multiple ones. Tell me a little about it. How is it organized or isn't it organized? What books do you keep on this specific bookcase? Is there a story behind the bookshelves/bookcase?

Here's how I cam up with this idea. I'm a follower of Kittling: Books and I love her Scene of the Blog feature. I also noticed that anytime somebody sends her a picture of the place they blog and there are bookshelves, I'm always looking at them. Based on the comments that others leave, I know I'm not the only one. I thought it would be fun to have a regular feature where we get to look at each other's bookshelves/bookcases. Sound like fun? It does to me and I hope it does to you as well.

Later this week I'll show off my bookcase. You've probably seen it before, when I showed pictures of my library. However I'm going to show you pictures again and also tell you how I came to be in possession of the library cabinets and why they books look the way they do. I sure hope you'll come back later in the week to see it.

I also hope that you will enjoy this feature and contact me to be featured! Please do contact me! I hope you want to participate and show your shelves as well! You don't have to have a blog in order to participate, you only have to be a reader.

Friday Smile - Lake Cumberland, KY

Man oh man..it's been awhile since I did a Friday Smile, I apologize for that.  I don't have a really good excuse, unfortunately I kept forgetting until Friday, at which point I didn't have any  pictures to upload.  This week...I hope to get back in the swing of posting one of these every week again.

For this Friday Smile edition, you get pictures from a recent trip husband and I took.  It was a family trip to Lake Cumberland in Kentucky.  It was husband and myself, his parents, his brother and his wife and kid.  We were there for 3 days, so it wasn't a long vacation but it was long enough to give us a break from the daily grind of work work and more work.


We did go to Cumberland Falls one day while we were there.  I love being out in nature like this.  Husband and I hiked down to the river and then I thought hmm..I bet I could get a great view of the falls if I climbed up some of these rocks.  Yup...sure enough..great view.

Then I decided that husband needed to climb up on the rocks and look at the falls too..and of course take our picture with the falls in the background.

We went out in a pontoon boat one afternoon, just my husband, his brother, his Dad, and myself.  This is of my FIL, his brother, and myself in the lake.  You have no idea how hard it is to balance on a life vest and give a thumbs up with both hands.  As you can see, myself and his brother are both about to tip over.

This is a picture of the husband and myself on the boat.  The husband has mastered the art of taking pictures of ourselves.  I try it every time and get funky pictures, he does it once and it's perfect.

This is the husband, relaxing and getting some vitamin d.

Here's what I love about this next one.  Look at the little boy's face..isn't that just precious?  Now that is what being a kid is all about, pure joy.

Here's the little guy again, this time being caught by his Dad.  It kept doing belly flops, but doesn't his form look good? :)

Paco's Story read-a-long - week 3 - chapter 5

In hindsight, I think it would have worked well if I had given a brief description regarding the part of the story that I have read for each week's questions.  That way you all knew what this book was about.


To give a brief summary, Paco is the only survivor of his battalion.  The one fight left everyone dead, except him.  He wasn't found for several days and when he was, nobody thought he would survive, but he did.  Now he has taken a bus as far as his money would take him and he is in a small town.  The owner of the local grill is a WWII veteran and gives Paco a job.   Paco isn't telling the story himself, we have a narrator that up till this point was unknown.


This chapter I think we learn more about Paco and what he is going through, mentally, now that he is back in the States.  A drifter comes into the diner one night and talks to Paco and Ernest about his experiences with the Vietnam war.   We also learn that Paco has a couple of dreams that he has every night or at least most nights.  We learn what happens in those dreams.  


Here are the questions for week 3:


1.  Is the identity of the narrator becoming more clear?

I think it's very clear who the narrator is, but I don't want to say anything else because I don't want to give it away to those who haven't read this book yet and want to.   I'm  happy with who the narrator is too.  I think it works very well for this story.     

2.  What is it about the work at the Texas Lunch that makes it so easy for Paco to assimilate?

if I'm understand the question correctly (it's been one of those days), I think it's because the work is basic, it's the same day in and day out.  He doesn't have to think about it, he just has to do it.  It's mindless.  I think it's what he wants and needs right now.  


3.  What is the purpose of the dream sequences?
I thought the dream sequence was interesting.   I think it shows us how Paco is dealing with the war, it shows more of his emotions and what he is going through.   It shows that he is scared, he has nightmares about what has happened.  He isn't numb to it.   I think it shows that his experiences do haunt him, that war haunts an individual long after they are home and not physically involved in it anymore.

4.  Why do you think Ernest and Jesse are so forthcoming with their war stories, but Paco is not?
I think Ernest and Jesse have had more time to come to terms with what happened.  I also think what Paco went through was a bit worse.  I'm not saying Ernest and Jesse didn't go through a lot and see a lot and experience a lot.  I just think that Paco went through something different, a bit harder, than they did.  He was the only person in his battalion to survive, and he was alone and near death for several days.  That is going to stay with a guy.  I think he's not ready to talk about it yet, I think he doesn't really understand how to cope with it yet. 

Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell

#1 A Witchcraft Mystery
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Obsidian
Genre: mystery
Pages: 313
Challenges: Thriller and Suspense
Author's Website
My rating: 4.5/5

Simple Description:
Lily is a witch.  She was born a witch, she isn't one of those who was interested in it and became a Wiccan (or another type).  Most of her adult life she's kinda been running from it, she knows she's different and doesn't feel like she fits in.  She decided that wasn't the life she wanted and she moved to San Francisco and opened a vintage clothing store.  She is trying to be normal, as normal as a witch can be anyway.

Somehow the local witch coven found out she was in town..  Aidan Rhodes seems to be the head of the local coven and pays her a visit, giving her a familiar.  The familiar is a gargoyle that Lily names Oscar, and he changes into a pig whenever people are around.    Lily doesn't plan to keep Oscar or to get to know Aidan, that is until a young girl disappears outside her house.  This happening right after Lily and a nice old lady hear the screams of La Llorona. La Llorona is a myth in the hispanic culture.  La Llorona is a demon in the water who kills children.   Lily finds out that children have been disappearing over the years from this area and while some might not think it's La Llorona, Lily knows that it is.   How is this nice old lady involved though?
To make things even more interesting let's introduce sexy myth buster Max Carmichael that somehow gets involved in what Lily is doing, even though he doesn't believe in any of it.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I worry that my description doesn't do this book justice.  Let me just tell you that I loved this book.  I think it's a refreshing addition to the cozy mystery genre.  I love paranormal books, so this one has been on my radar for awhile and I knew I had to give it a try.  I'm so glad I was able to get a copy of it.  I loved that I didn't so much feel like Lily was looking for a murderer but rather was trying to figure out how to get rid of a demon before more people get hurt. I loved that Lily wanted to rescue this child even though she just met her. I loved that it was different.  Yes..different.  I love cozy mysteries, but we have to admit that they usually do follow a pattern and sometimes we need something different.  That is just what this book is.  It's different because what Lily is doing is all supernatural, the murderer isn't a human that she's trying to find so the cops will get off her back, but rather Lily knows who the murderer is..or rather what it is right away, and wants to get rid of it but in the process she must admit what she is to those she considers friends and ask for help from some new acquaintances.

I fell in love with Lily right away...and of course most of the other characters too.  The 2nd book in this series was published last month (I think..I could be confused) and I can't wait to get to it.

This is definitely a book that I recommend to others.  I had trouble putting this one down, I just wanted to read it all in one sitting.  If the second is just as good as the first, I can see it becoming a favorite series of mine.


 Thanks to Megan with Penguin for providing this book in hopes I would review it.

Bookmarked For Death by Lorna barrett

#2 A Booktown Mystery
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime/Penguin
Genre: mystery
Pages: 286
Challenges: Thriller and Suspense, TBR, Series Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5

Simple Description:
It's been several months since Haven't Got a Clue owner Tricia Miles found a dead body.   She really didn't anticipate finding another one, nor did she want to.  However she has local author and best seller Zoe Carter at the store for a signing and Zoe ends up dead, in the bathroom at Tricia's store.

The local sheriff doesn't like Tricia and because of this Tricia feels she needs to get involved and investigate on her own, so she can prove her innocents and get her store opened again.

At first the author's niece seems to be the prime suspect.  She was rude and didn't seem to really care about her Aunt.  However when Tricia finds out that the niece doesn't get any of the author's money, she doesn't believe there is a motive.  While investigating the murder Tricia does talk to several local residents who know Zoe when she was younger, before she was famous.   The info they tell Tricia makes her realize there is one person who would want the author dead, but who that person is becomes the real mystery.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
It took me awhile to get into this book, which is weird since the murder happens right away.  I'm not sure why it took awhile for me to get into the swing of it either.  Overall I ended up enjoying the story though. I love the town, who wouldn't with a handful of genre specific bookstores!  I like Tricia and her two co-workers too.   Maybe one reason it took me while to really get into it is because I don't like Tricia's sister.  Her sister can be a very nice person and has Tricia's back, if you will, but over all she's just annoying.   I would love to see this character toned down or made to be nicer..something.  

Overall, this is a good cozy mystery, one I think a lot of cozy fans will like.  I, personally, plan to continue with the series.

This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

At the King's Command by Susan Wiggs

(note: I was out of town for 4 days and was lucky enough to finish 3 books!  Since I didn't have pc access while on vacation, I wasn't able to write my reviews.   Therefore I'm going to date each review with the day I finished it instead of leaving it with the default date - the day the review is written)
#1 The Tudor Rose Trilogy
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Mira
Genre: historical romance (per the book cover)
Pages: 375
Challenges: year of the historical
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description: 
King Henry VIII decides to punish Stephen de Lacey by forcing his hand in marriage.  He is married to a gypsy woman who tries to steal his horse.  Stephen doesn't want to marry again but agrees to marry this woman because the King would have her hanged if he didn't.   Juliana Romanov is the gypsy woman.  She is the only surviving member of the Romanov family. When she escaped on the night her family was killed she joined a band of gypsy's and has been with them ever since.   She hopes that either the King or de Lacey will believe her when she tells them about her past and help her avenge her family.  Stephen and Juliana agree that the marriage is a mistake and home to get an annulment as soon as Stephen feels the King will allow it.  Stephen stays away from Juliana as much as he can.  However, the two do begin to have feelings for each other.   It's not easy though.  Stephen is bitter and hiding a secret.  Juliana is seen as a wild gypsy woman.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I'm torn about this book.  It's not the normal type of book I read.  I don't mind some romance in a book, but I rarely read a romance book.  I don't think I've read a historical romance ever...at least that I remember.  While I can't rave about this book, something about it keeps me from giving it a lower rating.  I actually thought about it for a couple days after I read it, so it really stuck with me.  The writing flowed well, it moved well.  I think it's just not the normal type of story for me and so I just wasn't sure of  it the whole time.  I also feel that if it's labeled as romance, there should be better sex scenes.  I'm just saying.  :)
However, because I ended up liking it and the book stayed with me for a couple of days, I will give the other two books in the trilogy a try.


This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

Paco's Story Read-A-Long - Week 2 - chapters 3 &4

This is week 2 for the read-a-long of Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann.  I'm really enjoying the story so far.  I honestly love having these questions and reading this one as a group (even if we are small!).  I don't think I would really contemplate and think about the story this much if I didn't have the questions to answer.  Each time I go to answer a question, I come up with more questions of my own and I realize I'm really thinking about Paco.




1.  Do you think Paco is ready to rejoin the living and will he easily re-enter “normal” life?
  I'm actually not sure yet.  Paco appears to have more physical issues than he does mental issues at this point.  I would think as long as the work wasn't too physically taxing on him, he would be fine.  However, I'm going to guess there is a lot going on mentally and we just don't know it yet.  Perhaps this will come out as the story unfolds.   Of course, there is also the issue of him being on all the drugs to help deal with the pain.  Oh..and it did mention depression drugs too didn't it?  Well, that's not surprising and does go with my guess that there is a lot going on mentally with him.   Also, I'm not sure why he was on the bus in the first place.  Is he running from something?  Did he feel the need to get away from where ever he was at or who he was living with? Does he not have any family or friends he can stay with while he looks for a job (or was this mentioned and I just don't remember or didn't pay attention)?   Or maybe he can't deal with family right now and that's who he is getting away from.  gah...all these questions I know have just in trying to answer this one question!


2.  How do you think the lively atmosphere of Rita’s Tender Tap affects Paco?
   I don't think he was ready for it.  I feel he prefers an atmosphere that is more quite.  Perhaps this is because he has seen things the others haven't and the people seem immature to him? or maybe immature isn't the right word.    It just didn't seem like the type of people that Paco would associate himself with.


3.  Do you think Heinemann made the right choice in narrator, or do you believe Paco should be telling his own story?
  I think the author did make the right choice.  I feel like the narrator can give us more insight, more info on what is going on because we can get it from multiple characters in the story.  Even though this is Paco's story, I think it's just as much a story of how he is doing and what he is going through, as well as how others perceive him.  


4.  Do you think the side stories about the medic who found Paco, the bus driver, and Mr. Elliot, etc., add to the narrative or take too much attention away from Paco, who seems to hide in the background during these asides?
  I'm somewhat undecided on this one.  I think some of the stories add to the overall story but some I don't really understand what it has to do with the story.  I think the medic's story was good and glad it was added.  I liked the background on the cook, Ernest, at the cafe who offered Paco a job. I feel that was important to know, it shows us why the cook is offering Paco a job and shows that there is somebody who can relate to Paco.   The bus driver, I'm sure there was a point to the side story but I'm not exactly sure what it was.   So some side stories I like and think are helpful to the story, others I just don't really understand why they were added.


5.  How do you feel about Paco at this point in the book?
  I feel sorry for the guy honestly.  I'm sure he wouldn't want my pity, but I can't help it. I want to give him a hug and let him stay in my spare bedroom and in return he can clean my pool and do the yard work.  (As long as he doesn't set foot in my library).  I feel like he isn't too sure what's going to happen.  He isn't sure where he belongs right now.  I bet he has a lot of guilt..why did he survive but nobody else in his company did?  Is it worth living with all this pain?  I'm anxiously awaiting the next chapters to see how he adjusts to having a job.

The Quick and the Thread by Amanda Lee (aka: Gayle Trent)

#1 Embroidery Mystery
Copyright: 2010 (not released till August 3, 2010)
Publisher: Obsidian
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 313
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

pst - doesn't the cover make you want to visit that store and give the cute doggy smooches?  No?  Oh..well I do.

Simple Description:
Marcy is an accountant and just not happy with the boring job.  He friend Sadie tells here there is a store front available next to her cafee in the small town of Tallulah Falls, Oregon and Marcy decides to open up an embroidery shop.  The first day the shop is open Marcy has a grand opening party.  The next day, she finds a man dead in her store room.  The man is the prviouse owner of this space and at the party he kept trying to tell Marcy something.  He appeared drunk and gave her the creeps, so she avoided him.  Now, because of this and the fact that he tried to write something on the storeroom wall, she is convinced he was murdered and feels bad she didn't pay more attention to him.

The man's widow accuses Marcy of killing her husband. The partial message the man left points the blame on somebody having to do with Four Square Development.  The Development was shady and 4 people are in jail because of it.  However, it would appear that not everybody involved in the development was caught and somebody feels the need to protect themselves.

Soon, not only does Marcy have to deal with a man having been found dead in her store room, but her shop's landlord is also found dead. Marcy believes the two deaths are linked.  The chief of police thinks both deaths were random and not connected, so of course Marcy digs around to try and flush out the real killer.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
First, let me apologize for reviewing a book that isn't even out yet.  I was contacted by the author to review this book and I gladly accepted since I enjoyed her book, Murder Takes the Cake.  Then, I was sent a copy of this book from the publisher to review. When I went looking for the next book to read this one was fresh in my mind and I grabbed.   Usually when something like this happens, I try to wait until the month the book is published to read it and review it.

Ok..now about my thoughts.  One of the things that interested me about this cozy is that Marcy has a dog named Angus. Angus is an Irish Wolfhound.  If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know I love big dogs. I've never had an Irish Wolfhound but because of their size I know what the breed is and would love to see one in person.  So, right away the dog has my interest. haha!  I'm sure we've all read books due to something even more insignificant than that right?   Secondly, I've done some very detail oriented cross-stitch projects in my time.  I haven't done any in a long time, but still have all my supplies and kits.  So the idea of an embroidery store has my interest. I know I could get lost in one.

Now, I kinda feel about this book almost the same way I feel about the other book I read by this author.  I thought it was good, but for some reason the writing makes me feel like the author is new at this and needs more polishing.  This doesn't mean I didn't like it, just means it's something I notice and keeps me from liking it more than I did.  This is the first in a series, so I also have to keep in mind that we are getting to know the characters and getting a feel for the town and the character interactions.

 I do like several of the characters.  I feel Marcy and Sadie have a good friendship, even if they do seem to bicker more than I would expect.  I'm interested to see how their relationship grows in future books.  I like that there are two possible love interests for Marcy.  One owns the Brew Crew across the street, the other is a cop.  It will be fun to see how those two play out in future books too.

Overall, I did like the book.  I thought it was a good cozy and I do recommend it to cozy mystery fans.  I'll be keeping my eye out for future books in this series.




 Thanks to the author, Gayle Trent,  and Megan, from Penguin, for providing this book for review.

Paco's Story - Read-a-long

This is the 1st week in the read-a-long of Paco's Story being hosted by the lovely ladies doing the Vietnam War Challenge.

The questions for week one are:

1.  Who do you think the narrator is?

I honestly don't know.  It's not Paco, because it talks about him in 3rd person.   I read the comments on the read-a-long post for this and the suggestion was made that maybe this is a ghost, a fallen soldier.  That got me thinking that maybe it could be the ghost of the medic, but then the medic is talked about in 3rd person as well.  I'm interested to see if we can figure out the narrator by the end or if we just aren't meant to know.

2.  What does the opening paragraphs of Chapter 1 tell you about the narrator?

I definitely feel like the narrator is somebody who has experienced this war and is bitter about it.  It's somebody who talks very openly about it, using terms that I don't think any of us who didn't fight the war would use.  

3.  How do you think Paco’s survival impacted the medic’s world view?  And how did that change the medic?

This part was rather interesting.  I think it turned the medic's world upside down.  It seems to me that he had hopped he would be able to save a lot of soldiers and right away, soon after he got to Vietnam and started working, he realized he couldn't. He would try to save soldiers just to learn that they died before getting to the hospital. While this bothered him, I think he got so used to it that he expected it.  Then comes Paco.  Paco should have been dead, but he lived.  What was so different about Paco that he lived?  I think the medic just couldn't deal with it, couldn't deal with why some men with horrible injuries that were left to die actually lived, and others who didn't seem to be as hurt didn't make it.

4.  Is Paco’s Story narrated in a way that is “too” honest?

I don't think the narrator is too honest.  Brutally honest?  yes.  Honest to the point that some descriptions, such as Paco when he was found, are disturbing?  Yes. But too honest?  No.  I think that in a story like this we need that kid of honesty.  It's that kind of honesty that makes the story what it is and drives home the point the author is trying to make.  

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

Genre: fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: What's in a Name?3, audio book
Author's Website (it's in french though), here's a website for Sarah's Key
My rating: 3.75/5


Simple Description:
Julie Jarmond is an American living in France and married to a French man.  She is a journalist for an American magazine.  She is assigned an article on the Vél' d'Hiv' roundup that occurred in France 60 years ago.   The roundup occurred during WWII, in 1942.  French police rounded up many Jewish families in one night and the parents ended up being deported to Auschwitz while the kids went to a camp in France.   Julie soon learns that the apartment she is about to move in to, that has been in her family for 60 years, was once inhabited by one of these Jewish families.


Julie researches this family.  She finds that Sarah was an 11 year old girl who survived.  She wants to know what happened to Sarah, what is Sarah's story, is Sarah still alive?    


In between learning about Julia and what she is going through, such as a cheating husband, a pregnancy in her 40's, and learning more about herself, we also get Sarah's story.


On the night that Sarah's family was taken into custody her little brother was left in the apt, locked in a cupboard.  Sarah thought she would be going back later that night to let him out, if only she had known this wasn't the case.  We relive the terrible weeks when Sarah was separated from her family and sent to a concentration camp, and how she escaped.  We learn what happened to Sarah after she escaped and how she is tied to Julia's French family.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought this was a wonderful book.  I enjoy reading about books with a WWII theme and this one was different than others I've read because it deals with the roundup in France, something I have never heard of before.  I liked how the story goes back and forth between Julia and Sarah.  We get Julia's perspective of an American living in France..wondering how it is the French she asks don't usually remember learning about this.  How could they just forget something like this happened? I thought it was an interesting struggle for Julia.  Not only does she wonder how it is most French don't remember this, but she has to deal with her own family not wanting to talk about it or even being interested in it.    We get Sarah's story..during the roundup and after it.  We learn what she had to go through and you can just imagine what the kids who really went through it must have felt.   I just can't imagine.

There were some parts where I wished we didn't get so much info about Julia and what she was going through, but I also know that Julia is important to the story and part of this story is seeing how learning about Sarah changes Julia.

I think this is going to be one of those books that I think about for several days after finishing it.  I did look up the Vel' d'Hive roundup online and found this website that has more info.

I did listen to the audio version of this book.  Polly Stone is the narrator. I thought she was a wonderful pick for Julia.  It was very easy to understand her, she appeared American, however she could pronounce all the French words and names with an accent that made the story that much better - as if Julia really was telling me this story.  


This audio book was rented from my local library.

A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: RazorBill/Penguin
Genre: young adult
Pages: 278
Challenges: young adult, buy 1 book and read it
Author's Website 
My rating: 4.5/5

Simple Description: 
Fiona is starting her senior year in highschool.  She might not be popular, but she has her best-friend Marcy and that's all that matters.  On the first day of school she finds out that the highschool is requiring all seniors to complete a course called Trying the Knot.  The kids are paired up as couples and must work with their spouse to earn money and participate in activities together.   Fiona considers herself incredibly unlucky and can prove this because she is paired with Todd Harding.  Todd is popular and dating Amber, Fiona's enemy.
Marcie is grouped with Johnny Mercer, a bigger kid, although he seems nice.  Fiona's crush, Gabe, is paired with her enemy Amber.

This book takes you through Fiona's senior year of highschool.  There are pranks between her and Todd, there are fights and verbal insults between her and, well, several kids.  There is trouble between her and Marcie.

In her senior year, Fiona learns how others view her and how maybe she could change and maybe she is a bit too harsh on others.  Fiona grows up and learns that people aren't always who they appear to be.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I loved this book!  The writing was good..the barbs going back and forth between Fiona and Todd are very funny.  I found myself chuckling to myself most of the time and sometimes I was so into the story that I giggled out load before I could stop myself.     I liked the concept of this book, the idea that in having to pretend she is married to somebody she dislikes, she actually learns more about that person and other people.  She learns that things aren't always what they seem to be.  In the reverse, those she starts to see differently also see her in a different light too.  

I can't believe this is the author's first published book, hopefully there are many to come because I would love to read more by Kristin Walker.

I definitely think this is a book that teenagers would get a kick out of.  I think they will like the story and all the funny comments.   Of course, I think a lot of us adults would like it too.

Now, I will say that a lot of the comments going back and forth between Fiona and Todd are sexual in nature.  I personally think that any high schooler reading these books is hearing the same things or possibly worse and therefore it's not a problem.  I believe the same about kids in junior high.   I don't have kids, but I don't think I would have a problem letting a teenager read this one.  I just wanted to say something to you, just as an FYI - not so you don't let kids read this but so that you know to talk to them if you so choose.

I read this book for Girls Gone Reading Blog Book Club.

This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer

#2 The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Speak
Genre: young adult
Pages: 288
Challenges: young adult challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description:
School is getting ready to start for Vlad.  He will be a freshman in highschool this year, but assumes things will be the same as before.  He still has his best friend Harry and there are still two bullies that want to beat him up every chance they get.  He still likes Meredith but can't bring himself to even talk to her.  Oh..the only difference is that Henry's cousin, Joss, will be staying in town and going to school with them.

Vlad's Uncle Otis still thinks Vlad needs to be careful and soon finds that a hired vampire killer has been sent to kill Vlad.  At the Halloween party one of the other kids see's Vlad's eyes turn purple and he knows that Vlad isn't human but he doesn't know exactly what he is.  Then he see's Vlad levitate and gets a picture, good thing it's not a very clear picture.  

Over winter break Vlad gets to go to Siberia with Otis and meet a very old vampire who is going to help train him in the different abilities of vampires.  Vlad is excited about this but also worried because he doesn't want to learn to take over people's minds and force them to do things and that's one thing he has to work on.

Once back in his home town, Vlad learns who the hired killer is and who hired the killer.  He also learns why other vampires are after him.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought this was another fun book in the series.  It doesn't seem look like too much is really going on, but it flows well and keeps my interest.  There's still stuff going on..we still know somebody is out to get Vlad and he is learning more about his powers and vampires.  It's fun to grow with Vlad as he tries to figure out how to talk to the girl he likes and deal with his best friend being popular.   I think this is a fun YA series, I can't helping loving Vlad and wishing I could beat up the bullies for him.  I'm very interested to see what happens in the next book when he's in 10th grade.


This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

Tressed to Kill by Lila Dare

#1 Southern Beauty Shop Mystery Series
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 292
Challenges: Cozy Mystery
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5

Simple Description: 
Grace Terhune is a stylist at her mother's beauty Salon (run out of her Mom's house).  Things normally go along smoothly, that is until Constance DuBois shows up.  She needs her hair colored before the town meeting that day.  Her blond highlights come out orange (her fault and not the stylest) she threatens to have the shop shut down.  Grace and her Mom find Constance, dead, after the town meeting that day.  All fingers point to the Terhune's because everyone in the small town of St. Elizabeth's knows Constance threatened their shop.

Grace can't just sit back and let her Mom be a suspect for this murder though.  She decides to do some inestigating on her own.  It doesn't help when Grace's ex-husband finds the murder weapon in her Mom's house.   The good thing is that Special Agent Dillon is on the case and he believes the Terhune's are being set up.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
It was a little slow going for me at first.  I liked Grace right away but I think some of the writing was throwing me off.  Sometimes it seemed like sentences didn't make sense or something.  I'm still not sure if it was done to seem like how Grace would talk/think or not though.  Either way, once I got into the book a bit more I didn't notice it bothering me.   I couldn't help but love the woman who are all part of Grace's close group and who work at the salon and want to help find the real killer.  Grace, her Mom Violetta, and Althea are great characters.   This is only the first in the series, but there's a lot of promise for this one and I can't wait to read about these three woman again.

There's one part where a water moccasin is put in Grace's apt and when she notices she says "Ye Gods!"  I just want you all to know that if it had been me, the words coming out of my mouth would not have been appropriate for publication. lol!  My heart went pitter patter just reading about the snake.

psst - don't you just love the cover of the book?  I like the little quote or whatever you call it on the cover too. It says "Bad hair can be murder".

 Thanks to Megan with Berkley for providing this book for review.

Paco's Story - read-a-long for the War Through the Generations Challenge

I will be participating in the read-a-long for Paco's Story this month.  I've been looking forward to reading this book so I'm really glad it's finally time to read it.    If you are interested in reading this book, you don't have to be participating in the War Through The Generations challenge to participate.  Info on the read-a-long can be found here. 

June 2010 Reads

Total books read: 12

New authors: 5
Mystery: 6
Fiction: 3
Young Adult: 3
Pages: 2,705
Audio: 3

Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay *
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig
Happy Hour by  Michelle Scott
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexia *
Death Perception by Victoria Laurie
A Timely Vision by Joyce and Jim Lavene
Split Second by David Baldacci *
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
A Virgin River Christmas by Robyn Carr
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephanie Meyer
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich *
At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost

* while I did like all the books I read, the ones with the * are ones that stand out for me this month


Challenges:
101 Fantasy Challenge - 7/7 - Finished!
Series Challenge - 4/7 books, 1/3 series
What's in a Name?  - 3/6
Chic Lit Challenge - 4/8
Year of the Historical - 5/12
War Through the Generations - 3/5
Stephanie Plum - 4/5
Young Adult - 7/12
Thriller and Suspense - 8/12
TBR - 6/24
Audio Book - 15/20
Buy 1 Book and Read it - 6/12
Cozy Mystery - 5/6


The year is half-way over (wow - I just can't believe that!) and I call tell that I'm doing great with some challenges, but others not so much. I thought the chick lit and historical challenges would be somewhat tough but at the same time not too hard since I love both genre's, but wow - I really need to work on those.  I also thought I picked good choices for the TBR challenge this year, but I'm not doing nearly as well as I would have liked.  Sure, I have half of it done (I really only have to read 12) but I was hoping this is the year that I read both my regular and alternate list and really got more of the books read that I've head for awhile.  I'm not giving up yet though..I do have till the end of December for most of these challenges.