The Excalibur Murders by J.M.C. Blair

Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Berkley Prime  Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 310
Challenges: Arthurian Challenge, Buy 1 book and read it, Year of the Historical, New Author
New-to-me Author: Yes

Simple Description:
King Arthur has been searching for the Stone of Bran and when one of his knights finally finds it and brings it to Camelot, it brings about murder.  Two of Arthur's squires, later we learn they are his sons, are killed and the stone and Excalibur are gone.

Arthur wants Merlin to figure out who the murder is and bring them to justice before the mid-winter festivities.

Merlin narrows it down to 4 people, known of which Arthur is happy to hear about. With the help of Brit, the only female knight, and Colin, Merlin's apprentice, the murders are investigated.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I had read reviews on Amazon for The Excalibur Murders and most were negative but some were positive.  The negative ones seemed like the person wasn't expecting a cozy mystery and unhappy when that's what happened.  The positive ones seemed to be from people who were expecting a cozy.

While I actually ended up liking the story, there was a lot that bothered me about it.   King Arthur is made out to be somewhat stupid. He doesn't seem like the King that we have all heard about and become fascinated with.  Merlin is pegged as merely a very educated man and not a magician at all.  I'm actually ok with that.  My issues were with how King Arthur was portrayed.  I just think he needed to be a stronger character.  Some of the banter also annoyed me.  However..I think it has potential as a series.  I'm going to put #2 in the series on my wish list, and eventually I'll get to it.



This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.
I am an amazon associate. 

SwagBucks - a bit of a different post

Are any of you aware of swagbucks?   I joined awhile ago but just started using it regularly last Nov. or Dec.  

I don't normally ask people to join things like this unless I know they are interested, so just bear with me.  If you don't join up or even finish reading this post, no hard feelings  but I thought some of you might be interested in it since one of the things you can redeem your points for are Amazon e-cards. (which in my mind means free books).

So basically..the idea is that you earn swagbucks when you do a search or purchase from the website.   I set up swagbucks as my default search engine in IE and Chrome (the two internet browsers that I use).   So anytime I go on the internet and do a search for something, I have the opportunity to earn swagbucks.  Sometimes it can seem like it will take forever to get enough for a giftcard, but it ads up.

I redeemed points for two $5 amazon giftcards in january and that's what I used to buy the Vietnam books I bought.  I just redeemed points for another $5 that I'll probably just let sit in my account until I have a couple more.

So anyway..since it's easy and I've tested it enough to know that it works, i thought some of you might be interested since it could help you get free books (of course there are lots of other giftcards too..I just did amazon for the books).  Of course, in several of the blog posts I've read about it the people say they keep their points and towards the end of the year they redeem them all for different giftcards to either give away as Christmas gifts or use to buy Christmas gifts.  I think that's a good idea, I just never do that because I like to reward myself. haha!

If interested, I would appreciate it if you clicked on the image below in order to sign up.  This way it knows I refered you and I get some points.  yeah yeah..a bit like the pyramid scheme but I swear you do get points just for doing normal internet searches.   

Friday Smile - What makes Kris tick? Book databases!

For this addition of Friday Smile - what makes Kris (me!) tick I thought I would take all of you on a journey of my book database.  Honestly, what else would you expect from somebody who likes books but also works in IT?

I use Microsoft Access for my database.  Most people I know use Excel, I haven't talked to anybody else who uses Access.  Access is part of the Microsoft office suite of products but is found on the professional addition, so it's something most people don't get for a home pc.   Access is a database program, you can create several tables, forms, queries, reports, fun stuff!

I have two tables in my book database.  One is for books that I own, the other is my wish list.  I admit, the wish list doesn't get updated as much as I would like. It's a lot easier just to mark posts in my google reader with a label of wish list or put it on my Amazon wish list.  

Here's what my book database looks like..at a glance.  

    I know this is a bit small (but you can click on the image to make it bigger)..probably hard to read, but can you see the numbers at the bottom left?  It actually shows that I have 1610 entries, which means, that's the amount of books that I own!  Scary!  (ok..I own a bit more..I have some I still need to enter into the database and I'm sure I missed some when I originally took on this project).  

Now, one of the benefits of Access is forms.  I created a form which makes it incredibly easy for me when it's time to add a book.  I created drop down menus for some of the fields where the data entered is always going to be the same, such as the type of cover.  It's fast because I can just type the first part of the word and it will select it and I don't have to type the whole thing. Example..if it's trade paperback, I type in a T and since trade paperback is the only one with a T, it populates it, I hit enter and move on to the next field.

Next up...one of my favorite parts of access and my database, queries.   A query is pretty easy to create, once you get the hang of how to use Access.   A query means I can come up with any combination of info about my database.  For example, when it's time to create a list of books for a challenge, I create a query to see what fits.  For the young adult challenge, I created a query where it only brought back the books in my database where the read column was equal to "no" and the genre was equal to "young adult".  I then browse that list and pick the books I want to read for the challenge that I already own.   Another fun one is the query for books read.  All I did was run a query to bring back the books in my database where the column for read was "yes".  I get asked a lot, usually when somebody realizes I have a library in my house, how many of the books I have actually read that I own.  I can easily tell them.  I bet you are wondering now aren't you?  It's 989, but keep in mind I haven't updated my database for those I read in January or February of this year.  I've been lazy.

Here's an example of one of the queries.

Oh, and I also love this database because it helps me keep track of where I'm at in a series.  I  have so many and sometimes end up going a year or longer before reading the next in line.  Who can keep track of that?  So..I look at my database and can easily tell.   

I can't tell you how anxious I am to get bookshelves built in my library so I can all the books out of the boxes and organize them (via author and possibly genre).  Then I can print out my database and catch any info I'm missing and any books that missed being put on the list.  Fun times!   And yes..I think that just goes to show what happens when you combine a love for reading with an IT degree and a love for playing with the MS office products.

What about any of you, do you have a database or an excel doc or some other way where you keep track of the books you own?  What type of info do you keep track of? 

The Barracks Thief by Tobias Wolff

Copyright: 1984
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 101
Challenges: Buy 1 Book and Read It, War Through the Generations (Vietnam)



Simple Description:
It's the 1960's and the USA is currently fighting a war in Vietnam.  Philip and Keith's parents have divorced. This had a big effect on the two boys.   Philip ends p not doing well in school and when he is unable to get into the college he wants to attend he decides to enlist in the army.  Keith ends up being on the opposite end and does drugs and becomes your stereotypical hippie.  

While training to be a paratrooper Philip is sent to watch an ammo depot with two other newer recruits.  They don't really get along but after that night they become friends.   It's the 4th of July and there is some concern that a local fire will reach them and the compound will blow up.  When it doesn't, the three men feel more confident and that they can take on the world.  Things seem to go well until there are a series of thefts at the Barracks.

Hubbord is one of those three and he seems the one most out of sort by being in the Army.  He did enlist, but feels that he was told lies and it's not really what he expected.  He has a hard time with it.

Lewis is the last of the three.  He is a very angry man.  He seems to be very unsure of himself and very socially awkward.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
The Barracks Thief is a very different sort of book.  It doesn't revolve around fighting in Vietnam or how people adjusted once they were back, etc.  It's more about these three men and how each of them end up in the Army for different reasons and react to it differently.  While I don't think I fully got the meaning behind the entire story, I thought it was interesting and a worthy read (and at only 101 pages it's a quick one!).

I've only read one other book by the author and that was This Boy's Life.  (Wow - that was back in 2006 -and my reviews then were not nearly what they are now..hopefully the ones now are better!).   The writing style of this book was different from his memoir and most other books that I've read.  I sometimes had to read sentences more than once.  Normally, this would annoy me and I would talk about bad writing style but with this book, I think it works.  I think the author wrote the sentences in such a way that you had to read them again to fully understand what was said or being implied.  

I'm also happy to report that I bought this one at my third (yes..I said third) Border's store shopping trip last week.  I first noticed the title and picked it up in hopes it was either Vietnam or WWII.   Then I recognized the author's name and remembered liking This Boy's Life.  I figured for $1, it was worth the purchase.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Genre: Fiction
Pages: Audio
Challenges: Chick Lit, Audio Book
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Laura is not looking forward to going to a funeral for her Great-Aunt Sadie.  She didn't even know the woman, doesn't see the point in going.  While at the funeral, however, she see's the ghost Sadie.  Instead of appearing as a 105 year old woman (which is how old Sadie is when she dies) she appears as a girl in her twenties, wearing a flapper dress.   Sadie screams at Laura until Laura puts a halt to the funeral.  Sadie doesn't want the funeral because her necklace is missing.  The necklace is one she has had since the 20's and has a dragonfly on it.   She convinces Laura to help her find it.

At first Laura views Sadie as an annoying ghost.  Sadie convinces her to ask out a complete stranger, dress up in vintage 20's clothing and makeup, and find this necklace.   The more time Laura hangs out with Sadie, the more she comes to enjoy her company.  Not to say that things always go as expected.

While trying to find the necklace Laura realizes that her Uncle Bill is looking for it as well.  Bill owns Lington Coffee and is rich.  He claims he started it with just an idea and two coins.  When Laura tries to talk to him about the necklace he isn't happy and tries to pass her off as crazy.   Something isn't right.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
My overall thought regarding Twenties Girl is that I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.  While listening to most of it, though, there were days when I would really like it and days when I thought it was just so-so.   I think this has more to do with my mood than with the book though.  I think if you like chick lit and you like the author's other books, you will enjoy this one as well.   I have to admit that there is one part where Laura and this other character, Ed, are on a sight-seeing adventure in London.  They decide to make stuff up about the different attractions and pretend they are reading it from a guidebook.  I loved this part of the book, it was a lot of fun.



This audio book was rented from my local library.

Spinning Forward by Terri Dulong

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 301
Challenges: New Author
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Sydney recently moved to Cedar Key Florida to spend some time with her best friend Allison.  Sydney's husbad was killed in a car accident, leaving her a widow in her 50's.  If that wasn't enough, not long after his death Sydney lost the house due to gambling debt.  It seems her husband was a gambler and lost all their money, she never had a clue.    Sydney hasn't worked as an RN since her daughter was born, what is she possibly going to do for a living now?

Allison convinced Sydney to open up a knitting/yarn store.   Allison got a job as a waitress and saved her money and got a loan and made it possible.  She has some doubt that it will work, some early set-backs that make her feel like a failure, but it's the one thing she knows how to do, knit.

Noah has an interest in Sydney.  It seems they fight like cats and dogs when they are around each other, but he can't help asking her out on a date.  Sydney accepts, he is a very handsome man, but her daughter isn't to happy with the situation.

Throughout this story, Sydney has to cope with the tragedies that have recently befallen her and also figure out who she is.  She is adopted and she thinks her birth mother also lives in Cedar Key, but she doesn't really like this woman.  Will knowing who her birth parents are help her figure out who she is and where she fits in life?

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought Spinning Forward was ok.  I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.  I liked it enough to want to know what was going to happen and continue reading it.  I think part of what got me was that Sydney was so negative.  She didn't believe in herself, people didn't treat her right, etc.  I realize that part of that is what made the story because this is a story of individual discovery, but sometimes it annoyed me.  This is also the first book by the author and I think that showed.  Things didn't always flow as well as one would expect.

This book has gotten a lot of praise, so maybe it just wasn't the book for me.

I did accept this book for review, but it appears I didn't save the email and I can't remember who I got it from.

Darn you Borders!

Guess what I did lat night? I stopped in at a Borders (different from the one I went to over the weekend) to see what books they had on clearance.  Of course I knew I wouldn't walk out empty handed, I shouldn't have stopped in "just to look".  But I did.

The cool thing is that I saved more than I was expecting.  There was a sign by the books that had $1 really big, but under that said it applied only to those with a blue sticker.  I didn't see a blue sticker on any of them.  I still picked up 4 books to get, because three of them were trade paperback and marked at $3.99 and one was hardback and marked for $1.99. I figured the price was still worth it.    Then I got to the register and all books rang up for $1 each.  Woohoo!  I should have grabbed more.  I should stop at the other Borders in my area.  Seriously, you have no idea how hard it is trying to convince myself to not stop by more stores.  There is one that could possibly be on my way home if I went a different way, let's not think about the fact that it is a bit out of my way.  The other one is only about 25 min from my house and in the mall..I like the mall..there is an Archiver's in the mall. I love Archiver's.   Please somebody make me stop..don't let me stalk every Borders in relatively close distance to my house!

 Romancing the Dead (Garnet Lacey, Book 3) by Tate Hallaway

I've never ready anything by this author, and didn't realize it was in a series until I looked it up.  It sounded cute though. 

  The Concubine: A Novel by Norah Lofts

Have any of you read this one?  It's another Tudor book.  For some reason the author was familiar to me.

 The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman

I've heard that this author is good.  I actually have one of her other books at home (still unread..oops..and it's a review book.  double oops)

 Haters by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

I haven't read this author before either, although I do own another of her books (which I'm having trouble locating).  Have any of you read this author?  What do you think of her books?

Friday Smile - Nephew turns 4

My oldest Nephew turned four earlier this month and this past Saturday was his birthday party.  Since I don't have kids of my own yet, you  lucky readers get to see pictures of my nephews. haha!

 This is one of my sisters, one of my nephews (brother to the birthday boy), and myself.

This is myself with the birthday boy.  He didn't really want his picture taken but I pretended that I would be upset (ok..and not give him a present) if he didn't pose with me.

This is the birthday boy's family (his Dad, his little brother, and his Mom - my sister).  It appears his little brother wasn't super excited about being in the picture or maybe it was that he wanted the cake and couldn't have any yet.

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

Copyright: 2004
Publisher: Touchstone
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 500
Challenges: What's in a name (title), Year of the Historical, TBR
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Hannah Green has been running for her life. She is Spanish and her mother was burned at the stake because she is Jewish. Hannah and her father finally escape to England where they try to keep some of the Jewish traditions alive, but also go to church and make sure they are "practicing" the faith of England. Hannah's father owns a bookstore/printing press and one day when two men come to visit, Hannah see's a vision, a third man that the other two men quickly call an angel. Hannah is asked to come to court and the King likes Hannah because she is truthful and makes her his Holy Fool. Soon the King dies and Hannah becomes part of Queen Mary's court.

England is not at peace. Mary is Catholic and Elizabeth is Protestant. Mary becomes Queen because she is older and the first Tudor heir. Mary wants Elizabeth to be her friend and sister and in line for the next heir. However Elizabeth wants to be Queen now and comes up with plots to over-throw Mary. Hannah is caught in the middle.

Hannah is betrothed to another Jewish man. However she isn't ready to marry yet. She does lust after Lord Robert Dudley, one of the men that came to her father's shop. Unfortunately he becomes branded a traitor and it looks like Hannah is, again, caught in the middle.

Soon Hannah must decide if England is still safe for her. She is under the protection of the Queen, but is the Queen even safe?

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
The Queen's Fool: A Novel (Boleyn) is only the second book I have read by the author, but wow, quickly becoming one of my favorites. I think I enjoyed this book better than The Other Boleyn Girl, but not so much because of the story but because I was used to the author's writing style and flow of the story.

I can't say how accurate the historical "facts" are, but I don't really care. haha! I enjoyed the story, I liked that it revolved around real historical individuals and yet the main character was fictional. I think this is perfect because it gives the author room to really create a story.

Definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction. Heck, I was so engaged in the story that I read instead of playing New Super Mario Bros, something that I've done almost every single day for the last couple of months (wow - it sounds so bad when I admit that out loud! I guess know you all know why I haven't been reading as much).

This is actually the 4th in the Tudor series by the author. Somehow I have read the 2nd and now the 4th. I'm not sure if I want to read the 1st and 3rd now or not. I already know what happens to the royal family, afraid I'll get bored by it, but also think I would still find it interesting. What do you guys think? Have any of you read them out of order and still enjoyed them?

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

I am an Amazon associate. 

Books, Books, and more books

It's raining books at my house...or at least it was yesterday. I had received a $25 gift card for Borders in the mail on Saturday, so Sunday I went to my local store to use it. Those never last very long in my wallet.

Borders just happened to have one book on sale that I was interested in, a coupon for me to use on a regular priced item, and a decent select of clearance items. Need I say more? In total, I walked away with 8 books and only spent $34.07.

Here's what I got and what I paid for it. Normally I wouldn't tell you what I paid for it, but the deals were so darn good!

Half-Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer

I paid $2.99 for this book. It's a hardback and has a tear on the front cover, but otherwise it's in excellent condition. I've ready a couple of books by this author and enjoyed them, so it was well worth the price.

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

I paid $2.99 for this one. This is the one I'm the most excited for. I have plans to read it with some friends in October, so I knew I would end up buying a copy anyway.

Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer

This is one that I planned on getting yesterday since the author will be doing a book signing on the 22nd and I plan to go. Borders is hosting that signing, so I don't feel bad buying it ahead of time with a coupon. I paid $11.38 for my copy.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

This is the other one that I had intended to pick up while at the bookstore. It was advertised as being 40% off and only cost me $10.79.

Isn't the cover great? I love that dress and, well, I just love the cover.

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
I bought this in hardcover for $1. It is large print, but for $1, worth it.

I loved Lucia, Lucia. I have read the first two in the Big Stone Gap series and not been thrilled (liked the first better than the 2nd though). So this one, have heard it's good but hadn't planned to buy it. I couldn't pass it up for $1 though.

Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward
I got this one in hardback for $1

This is book #7, and I haven't read any in this series. However I've heard some good things about it and was interested. I figured for $1, it was worth it to have the book on hand. I'll hopefully be able to read #1 in the series this year.

Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

I got this one in hardback for $1.99

Hopefully this one is good too. It's not the first in the series, but hoping that it doesn't matter if I read them out of order. It sounds like a cute YA.

Vanished by Kat Richardson

I got this one in hardback for $1 too.

This is the only one that I don't think was familiar to me and I don't think I have read any reviews on it. However I liked the cover and the storyline was interesting.

Have any of you read any books by this author, in the Greywalker series? Interested to hear your thoughts.

Friday Smile - Sneak Peek!

As you may know, we have been in the middle of a master bathroom remodel for a couple of months now. We are finally getting to the end of it! So here is a sneak peak. Remember before I showed you all the stuff we bought for it, now you get to see some of it actually in the bathroom. We decided to pay somebody to do the tile for us..so glad we did. He will be out today (Friday) to grout it. And yes..we went with red walls. It's not a normal color choice for a bathroom, but fingers crossed it looks good.

So far we have the walls painted (actually still needs 1 more coat though), the shower base is installed, the plumbing was moved, walls knocked down, and a new door installed. Today the tile guy will finish the tile and hopefully hang the shower walls. There is an end in site and I can't wait to see the finished product.

Getting ready for the War Through the Generations challenge

I ordered three books for this challenge and they arrived yesterday, all were based on your recommendations and I'm looking forward to reading them. I thought it would be fun to share the books with you..and it gives you something to look forward to since I'll be reviewing them on my blog.

I've read a couple of really good reviews on this one, so expectations are high. Fingers crossed I'm not disappointed.

This one is going to be a buddy read with the War Through the Generations Challenge. Can't wait for that to start..I'm looking forward to discussing it with others.

This one has my interested because it's real letters sent from those serving our country to their loved ones at home. I think it might be hard to read, but at the same time something that needs to be read. We'll see what I think after I read it though.

Black Horses for the King by Anne McCaffrey

Copyright: 1996
Publisher: Del Rey
Genre: YA
Pages: 217
Challenges: Arthurian Challenge, Year of the Historical, Young Adult
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
This is a different twist on the Arthurian novels. This is a book before King Arthur is King Arthur. He does live at Camelot but he isn't with Guinevere yet. Oh yeah, and forget Merlin because he isn't in this story either. In fact, this is more a story of a young boy who works for Arthur.

Galwyn Varianus works for his mean Uncle aboard his ship. His father has passed away and all feel he should be greatful that his Uncle lets him work for him. His Uncle is mean and so are the other sailors. Galwyn's life changes for the better when Lord Artos (King Arthur) uses his Uncle's ship to go to the Continent. Lord Artos is in search of horses. Big horses. Horses that will help him and his men defeat the Saxon invaders. Galwyn helps Lord Artos in the port city because he can speak the language. Galwyn then runs away from his Uncle, buys a horse, and goes after Lord Artos in hopes of working for him and helping him with the horses.

Lord Artos gladly takes him in. Soon he buys the horses, gets the horses to his farm, and Galwyn is left at the farm to help tend the horses and learn about taking care of them. There Galwyn finally feels happy and is excited to be working with the horses. He also helps in the process of making horse sandals to fit the horses hooves.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought this was a great YA book. It was a fun take an an Arthurian legend book too. You can't help but love Galwyn and hope he gets away from his Uncle and finds a place working for Arthur.

I didn't realize this book was published in the late 1990's and wondered why I didn't read it as a kid. Well, I was already in highschool when it was published. haha! I'm so glad I found it and read it now though, it's definitely one that I recommend to others.

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

Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts

Genre: fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: Audio book
New-to-me Author: Yes and No, I have read J.D. Robb book and since it's the same person than technically I have read a book by the author, however this is the first Nora Roberts book I have read.
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Welcome to Hawkins Hallow, where every 7 years the towns people go a little crazy. When three boys, Caleb, Gage, and Fox, decided to camp put at the pagan stone on their 10th birthday, they unleashed a demon and the man who tried to trap it. Now, every 7 years, in the 7th month, the town has a week where there is murder and mayhem and most act a bit nuts.

This year it might be different though. Quinn has heard about the strange things going on in the Hallow and she has the ok from Caleb to investigate it. She knows the three men, because they are in their 30's now, have something to do with it.

Caleb and Quinn immediately hit it off and are soon a couple.

Two other women end up in The Hallow that also seem to have a connection to what is going on. Layla is from New York and one day she has the urge to go to the hallow and gets there, although she has never heard of the town before. She meets Quinn and is then introduced to Caleb and Fox (and Gage when he shows up). Quinn also calls one of her friends to come to the town and help out with what is going on, Cybil.

Will the 6 of them be able to stop the demon that shows itself every 7 years?

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I suppose this is the first book I've read that I would label a romance, for some reason I think this is more of a romance than the Heather Graham paranormal books I read. Either way, it was a different read for me but I enjoyed it a lot. I kept being told to read this author and that her books were good, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So finally I looked at her trilogies and this one sounded like something I would enjoy because there is a bit of a paranormal aspect to it. I'm glad I finally bit the bullet and read one. I definitely plan to finish this trilogy and I'm sure I'll read more by the author too.

I did listen to the audio version of this one. I thought the reader did a very good job. Unfortunately the copy I borrowed from the library had several disks that skipped a lot, so I missed part of the story but not a lot. It was more annoying than anything else. I'm definitely going to see if the library has the rest in this trilogy for me to borrow.

Girl Mary by Petru Popescu

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 354
Challenges: new author, year of the historical
New-to-me Author: Yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
I took the liberty of copying this from the author's website, because I'm having trouble describing this book.

The most famous woman, Mary of Nazareth, is also the greatest sexual mystery of all times. Who was Mary as a woman? Why was she angry with God, and why did she think that God shortchanged women? And how was Joseph woven into the story? Why was Pontius Pilate obsessed with the virgin? Who was this man Pilate, whose encounter with Mary was erased from the Gospels?

Petru Popescu's novel answers these questions. Written with fascinating magical realism, drawing readers in and giving life to myths, Girl Mary will surprise!

Ok..so yeah..it's a religious book, in a way. Mary's family and her clan were exhiled from Nazareth and sent to die in the desert. Instead, Mary and another girl find a well that nobody else knows about and they were able to get clean water. Her family made camp and started trading with the trade caravans..their water for items they needed.

Meanwhile, Pilate is studying the Jewish religion and becomes a spy for the ruler that he hates. He ends up getting the family the right to live in Nazareth again and heads out to meet them, not realizing that once he would be infatuated with Mary once he saw her.

Throughout this book there are several times that Mary talks to God and God talks back and shows her signs.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I have mixed thoughts on this book. I didn't hate it. I did like it, it made me contemplate and think about it for awhile, but it won't be one of my favorites for the year. I'm not the most religious person (reasons why are a whole other issue and not to be discussed on this blog) but basically I was raised Catholic and I know the stories. This story of Mary was so totally different from what I had learned. I liked reading this angle on it. I also can't tell you how much is the author's work of fiction and how much was based on his research, I'm rather lazy and don't feel like looking in to it. There was one part that sorty turned me off, that was how Mary became pregnant. It was just....weird. It didn't ruin the book, was just really weird.

It took a bit for the book to really get my interest, but then it moved along pretty well. Do I recommend it? Hard to say. It's a very different type of book than I usually read, than what I think most of my followers usually read. Depending on your religious interest and history, you will either enjoy this book or not. At least, that's what I think. The author does have the first chapter available on his website, which I liked to above, so if you are interested I recommend checking it out.

In all, it did make me think. I'm still thinking about it. I finished it early yesterday morning and am just now doing my review of it because I didn't know what I wanted to say.

Thanks to Katie with Simon & Schuster for providing this book for review.

Friday Smile -Trevi Fountain

From Favorite photo's

This is one of my favorite photo's from Italy. Sure, it's not the entire fountain, but I love the close up. Look at all the details!

Husband and I have been to Europe a handful of times and I can safely say that Italy is the one country that we mention time and again that we would love to go back to and spend a summer or at least another couple of weeks. If we won the lottery (the big one!) I can almost guarantee we would buy a little house in Italy somewhere.

Monthly Challenge Update - January

Total challenges I'm participating in during 2010: 17
Total challenges completed in 2010: 1

Overall Thoughts:
I've started out the new year with a bang..as far as reading challenges are concerned. I finished one challenge, just in the nick of time! Glad to have at least one of the 17 finished. Haha! I have another that will be ending in March that I haven't read any books for, I need to get cracking.
So far I'm enjoying all the challenges, I put all the books I own that I'm reading for a challenge in the same area and I love browsing that collection looking for my next read.

This month I read at least 1 book for the following challenge(s):
Pages Read (1,951/31,000)
100+ Reading Challenge (8/100)
101 Fantasy Challenge (3/7) Blood Bound, Trickster's Choice
Series Challenge (1/7 books, 0/3 series) Blood Bound
New Author Challenge (2/15 completed) Trickster's Choice, Prime Time
Young Adult Challenge (1/12 completed) Trickster's Choice
Thriller and Suspense Challenge (2/12 completed) The Witch's Grave, The Last to Know
TBR Challenge (3/24 completed) The Witch's Grave, Blood Bound, Trickster's Choice
Audio Book (2/20 completed) Bones to Ashes, Trickster's Choice
Chick Lit Challenge (1/8 completed) Everyone Worth Knowing

Challenges I didn't read a book for:
Arthurian Challenge (0/2)
What's in a Name?3 Challenge (0/6 completed)
Year of the Historical (0/12 completed)
War through the Generations (Vietnam) (0/5 completed)
Stephanie Plum Challenge (2/5 completed)
Buy 1 Book and Read It (0/12 completed) (only 1 book bought so far!)

Completed Challenges:
Reliquiae Challenge - Finished in January

Reads for January 2010

Total books read: 8
New Authors: 2
Mystery: 6
Non-Fiction: o
Fiction: 1
Young Adult: 1
Audio: 2
Pages: 1951
DNF: 1

A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
The Witch's Grave by Shirley Damsgaard
Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce
The Last to Know by Wendy Corsi Staub
Dust and Shadow by Lindsay Faye (DNF)
Prime Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger