The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - mini review

What in the world kept me from picking up this book till now? I absolutely loved it!

I started this book yesterday afternoon and I'm already finished with it, 24 hours later.  Now that's a sign of a good book.

The Hunger Games takes place in a a post apocalyptic world where North America isn't what it used to be and the new nation is known as Panem.  The people live either in the capital or one of 12 districts.

This book starts with the start of the current Hunger Games.  Each year a boy and a girl are selected from each district and made to fight against each other. These games are televised until there is only one participant left alive.  Katniss Everdeen is the girl who is going to fight for district 12.  She's poor and not the most likely victor, but she has spunk and something else. She has smarts and a reason to live.

This book takes us through the Hunger Games where we learn more about Katniss and what her life is like and what she does in hopes of surviving the Hunger Games.

I just adored this book. I think the story moved well, very fast pasted for me. I loved Katniss and was rooting for her the whole time.  I'm anxious to get to the next book in the trilogy but know I'll be waiting a month or so.  I have refrained from reading any reviews about all the books in this series in hopes of not being given any spoilers.  I read just enough to know if those whose blogs I follow liked the books or not, but that's about it.  I think it worked well in my favor because I really had no idea what to expect. I knew it had to deal with a game where only one person would survive but that's it.  I tried to keep any spoilers out of my review too.   This also means that I have no stinking clue what the story lines are like for the next two books. The anticipation just might be the end of me. haha!

Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson - mini review

I feel a bit rushed to get in two reviews today since it's the end of the month. Therefore I'm just going to do two mini reviews and not my normal format. I finished this book yesterday and another book today.

Pretty in Ink is the 2nd book in the Tattoo Shop mystery series by Karen E. Olson. I loved the first one, The Missing Ink, and I'm happy to report that I loved this one too. Brett is a great character. In this book she goes out on a limb to help find a girl who works for her and who she feels is in a lot of trouble.

This book starts out at a drag queen show. Nothing like that to get your interest right from the beginning is it? Of course, this does take place in Vegas and as well all know, anything goes in Vegas.

Brett witnesses somebody attacking one of the drag queens and while she didn't see the attacker's face, she did see the queen of heart tattoo on his forearm. She tries to tell this to the investigating officer but he seems more interesting in making Brett's life miserable than actually finding the killer.

One thing I love about this series, so far, is that there aren't any characters to hate. Sometimes this can be a bit much in cozies and you hate a character or find them annoying to the point that you don't want to continue with the series. I'm so glad that isn't the case with this one. I love Brett and I love most of the supporting characters as well.

I already have the 3rd in the series and can't wait to get to it. Even though this cozy series does revolve around tattoos (something I like) I don't think it's something that will turn some away and I think it actually makes for a fun cozy.

Friday Smile - Haunted Houses are just the thing..for this 32 year old

This past Wednesday 4 co-workers and myself went to a local Haunted House, er, Haunted caverns is more like it.   It's been years since I went to a haunted house, sometime in High school was the last time for me.  I don't like to watch horror films, I get nightmares.  So why would I want to go to a haunted house and pay to be scared?  Who knows, moment of weekness I suppose.

I actually picked the location we went to, We went to The Lemp Brewery Haunted House. I picked it because it's supposed to be haunted, for real.   Nothing like knowing that bit of info to make me even more scared to go.

I don't know if any of you watch Ghost Hunters, I rarely do even though I love paranormal stuff.  However last month they did an episode at The Lemp Mansion here in St. Louis.  It's suppose to be one of the most haunted places in America.  The Lemp family owned a brewery (IE The Lemp Brewery) and were fairly well off.  The only problem is that they kept committing suicides in the house.  One guy even killed his dog before taking his own life.  I suppose this didn't make them any happier though because they are said to haunt the house. and the brewery.  

The area of the city that the house and brewery were located in has underground caverns/caves.  The brewery was built over some of these and they store beer and other things in the caves.  It's even been said that the family held parties in these caves.  

Overall I have to say that it was a lot of fun.  There was a lot of giggling and some screams.  I was in the back of the pack, how that happened I have no idea. So I didn't get all the people jumping out at me, but they kept following me and that was freaking me out.  Especially when they would bang something on a beer barrel or the wall, that got my heart jumping.  I think the worsts were the places where it was pitch dark and you couldn't see anything, not even the person in front of you.




Next year, I might try to convince my husband to do the Lemp experience where you actually get an infrared camera and get to go around the mansion on your own ghost tour.

Buy 1 Book and Read it 2010 - Challenge complete

I officially completed this challenge too. Woohoo!  The Buy 1 Book and Read it challenge for 2010 is hosted by My Friend Amy.   I selection option 3 which was to buy 12 books and read them.  I did buy a lot more than 12, but at least I read 12 of them! haha!  I'm happy that most of the books I did buy were from used book fairs, although unhappy that those are most that have gone unread.  Most of the books I bought new or used online I have read or am scheduled to read within the next several months.

Honestly, I have to admit that I think this year I have bought less than in years passed. I'm happy because that means I read more of what I already owned, but at the same time sad because I do like to support authors by buying their books.

Here's a list of the books I read for this challenge, the reviews can be found HERE.

The Cougar Club by Susan McBride
The Things They Carried by Tim  O'Brien
Paco's Story by Larry  Heinemann
One Wore Blue by Heather Graham
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
The Excalibur Murders by J.M.C. Blair
The Barracks Thief by Tobias Wolff
Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
Sprinkle With Murder by Jenn McKinley
Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
A Match Made in Highschool
Hour Game by David Baldacci

Young Adult Challenge - completed

I officially completed the Young Adult Challenge 2010 being hosted by J. Kay. I'm happy to be able to cross off another challenge finished for this year.  I didn't read all the books I wanted to read or had planned to read for this challenge, but I did read 12 which is the required amount (at least for me since I signed up for the mini version of this challenge).

Here's the list of books I read.  To read reviews for all of them, click HERE.

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Trickster's Choice by Tamara Price
Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer
Black Horses for the King by Anne McCaffrey
Defenders of the Scroll by Shiraz
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer
A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker
The Golden Spiral by Lisa Magnum

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

Copyright: 2007
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: mystery/thriller
Pages: 311
Challenges: Buy1 Book and Read It 2010
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5


Simple Description: 
20th Century Ghosts is a short story collection.  I always find it hard to review short stories, not that I do it very often.

Here's what the back of the book says, it fives an example of 4 of the stories:
Imogene is young and beautiful.  She kisses like a movie star and knows everything nabout every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon one afternoon in 1945...
Arthur Roth is al onely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when your the only inflatable boy in town...
Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then.  Now he's an eight-foot tall locust and everyone in calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing...
Johnny Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half  a dozen other murdered children.  In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls form the dead...




Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I was expecting ghost stories, that's not really what I got.  I hadn't read the back of the book or anything online to tell me what it was about, I made that assumption based on the title.  So at first I was a bit disappointed, the stories were different that what I expected.  The stories were a bit weird.  Then, I started to like the stories.  The stories were still a bit weird, but I liked them.   I liked some better than others, I liked the on about the boy who turns into a huge locust.  I liked the one titled The Cape.

Some of these stories felt like they ended before they should have, it felt like there was more to the story. However I wonder if that's true, or if I just didn't pick up on something.  Or maybe I walked away feeling exactly what I was supposed to.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and think several of you will. I admit I'm not a huge short story fan, but I did like these.  I hear his other book, Heart-Shaped Box, is really good. I'm looking forward to reading it one of these days.


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

Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

#1 House of Night series
Copyright: 2007
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: audio
Challenges: Young Adult Challenge, TBR challenge
Series website
My rating: 4.5/5

Simple Description: 
Zoey Redbird is a normal 16 year old, until she is marked.  Marked to be a vampire that is.  The tracker finds her at school, luckily it's towards the end of the day and she can go home without too many people seeing it.   Her Mom and step-dad don't like it and believe she needs to talk to a therapist and they call the prayer group together.  Zoey tries to get them to see that it's not something she asked for, but something that was done to her.   Luckily she is able to escape and go to her Grandma's house. She knows her Grandma will understand.

Before she can see her Grandma though, she falls and has a vision.  She wakes up in The House of Night, the place where all new vampires go.  Here she will go to school and learn about being a vampire.  Luckily her roommate is pretty cool.  Zoey hopes she can fit in here and make friends, but that's a bit hard.  Her mark is already colored in, something that doesn't happen for several years after being marked.  Soon Zoey finds there are other things different about her than the other fledglings. Before the story ends Zoey is going to find out just how different she is.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I loved loved loved this book.  What a great start to a new YA series for me.  Sure, this is another vampire book, but I like that it's a different take on it.  You don't get bitten and become a vampire. Instead, well, they don't really know how one becomes a vampire or what causes one to become a vampire.  They just know that you are and somehow it's known and a tracker finds you and marks you.  

I think Zoey is a refreshing character.  She isn't totally ok with being a vampire, but thinks it's better than death which is her only other option.  She becomes more comfortable with the idea but still doesn't like everything about it.   I liked the character of Zoey, you can't help but feel sorry for what she deals with before she's marked and after she's marked you can't help but root for her.

I liked those who Zoey becomes friends with too.  They are a fun mix of characters, don't totally love them all, but I do like them.  Of course there is going to be one character that we aren't supposed to like, but even she isn't too bad.

This is definitely a series I'll continue with.

I do own this book, and while I did read part of it, I listened to the audio book for the majority of the story.  The narrator is Edwina Wren.  I had heard great things about this audio book, which is why I chose to listen to it instead of reading the whole book even though I already owned it.   The audio version didn't disappoint. Wren changes her voice and her tone and really makes it work for the listener.  If you like audio and these types of books, definitely think you should try and get your hands on a copy of this audio book.    In fact, I've already reserved a copy of the 2nd book in this series on audio from my library.



This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me. This audio book was rented from my local library.

A Cast-off Coven by Juliet Blackwell

#2 Witchcraft Mystery
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Signet
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 336
Challenges: Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description: 
Lily gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to look into the sounds and ghostly happenings at the Art School in exchange for some vintage clothing.   The first time Lily shows up at the school with her assistant, Maya, they find a dead body.  Lily also realizes that the sounds and happenings aren't due to a ghost but something worse, a demon.

Lily has never had experience with a demon before and she knows she needs help.  The problem is that Aidan, a powerful witch in San Francisco, refuses to help her.

This book finds more of Lily struggling with her past and being loved for who she is.  Max doesn't like that she's a witch and doesn't believe it, but can their relationship still stand a chance?  Luckily Lily has Maya and Bronwein, who both love her as she is.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
Unfortunately I had the same reaction to this book that others had. I liked it, but not as much as I liked the first one in the series, Second Hand Spirits.  I don't know what exactly causes me to feel that way though. I really like Lily, I like most of the other characters.  I don't really see an annoying character in this series yet, fingers crossed it stays that way.

Even though I didn't like it as much as the first one, I still enjoyed it. I still highly recommend this series.  Heck, there are only two in the series so far so it wouldn't take you long to catch up. Bonus!

If you like cozies and you like a bit of paranormal, then give this series a try.


 Thanks to the publisher for providing this book for review.

The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Harper Audio
Genre: fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: Chick Lit
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description: 
Dempsey Killebrew is a lobbyist in DC. Or, rather, she was.  Her boss is accused of bribing a congress man, and her boss is putting all the blame on Dempsey.  She soon realizes that while she did hire the prostitutes, she didn't realize that's what she was doing at the time.  Unfortunately, the damage is done.  She is out of a job and has no hopes of getting another one in DC.

Her father, Mitch Killebrew, recently became the owner if a family home in a small town in Georgia.  He sends Dempsey there to clean up the house and make some necessary repairs so the house can be sold.  He thinks this sounds like a win-win situation, he doesn't have to do the work or pay somebody to do it and Dempsey will have a place to stay while the fiasco in DC is cleared up.

When Dempsey arrives at the house she realizes that it's going to need a lot more than just some elbow grease to make the house in selling condition.  She also finds that while she can run, she can't hide.   She soon finds that her past is coming after her and she doesn't know what to do.

Luckily she meets some great residents of this small town and they  help her with her troubles.  Not to be left out is Ella Kate and her dog, Shorty. She might not like Dempsey and she might be living in the house, but you can't help liking her.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I liked the book, but I didn't love it. I  had a really hard time connecting with Dempsey.  She went to Georgetown and graduated at the top of her class, but there were so many times I wanted to shake her.  I suppose she's what you would call book smart but not street smart.   She finally came around towards the end of the book and seemed to wise up and take action with her life.  That's when I started to like her more.

I thought most of the other characters were fun, I adored her lawyer and his son.  I didn't like her father, but then I don't think I was supposed to.

This was only my second book by this author and while I didn't like it as much as I liked the other I read, I still liked it enough to plan on reading more by this author.

Isabel Keating is the narrator for this audio book.  I think she did a great job with it.  She changed her voice enough to separate the different characters but not to the point where it was annoying.

This audio book was rented from my local library.

One Wore Blue by Heather Graham

#1 Civil War Trilogy
Copyright: 1991
Publisher: Dell
Genre: fiction
Pages: 444
Challenges: Year of the Historical, buy 1 book and read it
Author's Website
My rating: 4.5/5

Simple Description: 
It's the 1860's, at the start of the Civil War. Kiernan McKay is unmarried and getting older.  She knows she must decide on a marriage and soon.  The problem is that Anthony Miller keeps proposing and while she likes him, she doesn't love him.  She soon realizes that her love lies with Jesse Cameran.  The problem is that he decides to stay with the Yankee army and fight against the South. Kiernan is a Southern lady and very much a believer in the Confederates and what they are fighting for.  Kiernan knows she can't marry Jesse, even though he has asked, it just wouldn't be right since their views on slavery are so different.   However, could she marry another and love him?

Throughout this book we are shown the struggle between the two lovers as they are torn apart and reunited several times. Both characters are proud and firmly stand behind their belief.  Neither one is willing to back down even if it means losing the love of their life.  

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I'm not a big romance reader, and this is definitely a romance book. I would normally say that I don't really read romance, except that in talking with some friends I realized that the Virgin River series I'm in love with would be considered romance books.  So I have to admit that I do read some romance, but not many.   This book, you can't argue that it's not romance.  There are several "love" scenes and one of the main themes is the love between Jesse and Kiernan.  Will love be enough to bring these two together despite their beliefs regarding slavery?  That, my friend, you'll have to figure out my reading the book.

Kiernan is a very strong, female, character. I adored her.  I couldn't always agree with her, I mean she does think that slavery is ok and I most certainly do not.  However I loved that she was so strong and willing to stand up for what she believed, even if it meant losing her true love.  Kiernan had a lot of spunk and fire, you gotta love that.

Jesse is another strong character.  He loved Kiernan but wasn't willing to back down and change sides. He had to fight on the side he believed was right.  However, this didn't keep him from helping men who were hurt on both sides of the war.  (Jesse is a medical doctor)

While I don't read much about the Civil War, I keep wanting to and it is an interest to me.  This book revolves around the Civil War and I think the author did a great job with it.  She showed how families were torn apart by war, when family members fought on both sides and risked fighting against each other in the same battles.

I have to admit that I loved this book and I can't wait to get to the next one in the trilogy.  Again, I'm not a huge fan of romance, but this one has a great story line and great characters. That's what kept me reading it.
It might be hard to find this book, my local book stores didn't care it and I ordered it online, but I definitely think it's worth hunting down a copy.  I don't want to give too much away, so my description of the book isn't the best.  I went into it knowing it was a romance book revolving around the civil war and that was it. That might be the best way to do it with this one.  I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I loved it.

I am buddy reading this trilogy with some friends, so stay tuned for reviews of the next two books, we plan to read them within the next couple of months.



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

In memory of Brandon Styer

A year ago today, Oct 15th 2009, Brandon Styer lost his life fighting for our country.  A year ago today, my friend lost her son.

Today my heart goes out to my friend and her family.  I know this is an incredibly hard time for them and I wish I could be there to comfort them.

Thank you Brandon, for giving your life for us.  We'll always remember you.

(picture from PennLive.com)

CSN - product review and giveaway

I know I promised this awhile ago, but alas I'm finally getting it out there.

I recently had the opportunity to purchase an item from CSN.  I was looking at all the baking items and had several in my cart, then on a whim I decided to look at the doormats since I wanted a new one for our front door.   I found the perfect one right away. I immediately added it to my cart and removed everything else. haha!

When I got the item (super fast shipping by the way), I took it out of the box and showed Husband.  He just gave me the look that said "Typical..I wouldn't have expected any other doormat from you".  You ready?  Here it is:

It's the perfect item for me! I'm such a big supporter of recycling and re-using and everything else in between. Now, any strangers who show up at our door gets a reminder to make an effort and any friends who see it comment that it's perfect for me.

Giveaway!
Now, what you are most interested in, the giveaway!  I am able to offer one of my readers a $30 credit with CSN.  CSN has over 200 stores and a wide variety of products, I'm sure you could find something you needed or wanted.

The giveaway is open only to those in the US and Canada.   There may be international shipping charges in the case of Canadian addresses (CSN only ships to the US and Canada).


Please fill out the form (below) entirely.  I'm asking for your email address because once the winner is picked, I'll forward the winner's email address to my contact with CSN and they will email the winner the gift code.  Therefore, the email address must be a valid email address.


I am mentioning this giveaway on both my blogs, to give all my readers an opportunity to win this.  Please only enter once, since all submissions will show up in the same document.  


This giveaway is open until midnight (central time) October 31st.    Good Luck!

Temptation Ridge by Robyn Carr

#6 Virgin River Series
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Mira
Genre: fiction
Pages: 416
Author's Website
My rating: 5/5

This is the 6th book in the series and it would be really  hard to review it like I normally do, so I won't.  The thing with this series, so far each book has focused on two different characters, however the characters from other books always show up.  While you can read this as a stand alone and probably be ok, I think you would be missing a lot of it if you did it that way.  

This book focuses on Shelby and Luke.  Shelby we have met in a previous book and we know she recently went through some things (I don't want to say what in case you decide to read this series).  She heads to Virgin River to live with her Uncle for a couple months while she decides what to do next.  She knows she wants to travel and go to school, but first she needs to rest.

Luke is a newcomer to the series.  He bought some land with some cabins and a house awhile ago and is now moving into the house in hopes of fixing up all the places and either selling them or renting them out.  He has that bad boy imagine and doesn't seem to have any ties other than his Mom and brother's.   He seems to fall head over heals for Shelby though.  Luke doesn't want to admit he is falling in love with her though, and while they get together, he tries to not get too attached.   It proves hard to do.

Mixed in with the story of these two characters, there is more that happens with the characters from Virgin River that we already know and love.  I don't want to give anything away so I won't say more.

You already know how much I love this series due to this post.  I absolutely love this series and I think this just might be my favorite book so far.   This series touches on some subjects that are very personal and emotional for me.  This makes the books hard to read sometimes, yet I keep coming back for more.  I can't help it, I'm in love with the town and the people.  If I could, I would pack up and move to Virgin River today. I'm sure they need tech support in that small town.



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

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

#16 Stephanie Plum
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: mystery
Pages: audio
Challenges: Stephanie Plum Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: can't decide, ranges from 2/5 to 3/5

Simple Description: 
In the latest Stephanie adventure we get a bit of a different story.  While she is still chancing after some skips and having trouble catching them, the bigger story is that Vinnie has been kidnapped.  He's being held by his bookie for a $700,000 (and growing) ransom.   His bookie is one mean guy.   Connie, Stephanie, and Lula must find him before he is killed.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I recently listened to #15 in this series and my thoughts on this one are pretty much the same.  Too many things are being repeated, yet I still find the story fun at parts.  I did find myself smiling sometimes with this one.  Yet, I found that in the beginning I was more annoyed than anything else.

I do like that Connie plays a bigger role in this one, she has a great character.   I also like that it was different in that they were trying to rescue Vinnie and it wasn't just Stephanie accidentally getting caught up in something dangerous.

Will I listen to #17 when it comes out (assume next year)?  I don't know.  Jury is still out on that one. I might just give up and say I'm done with the series, but I might just rent the audio out of habit.



This audio book was rented from my local library.

Friday Smile - Favorite vacation photo's

Since I haven't been on vacation in awhile.  Since I have been wanting to get back to Europe but can't get Husband to agree to it.  Since I'm feeling nostalgic, you are being treated to some of my favorite vacation photo's.  You might have seen these before since I usually show pictures from trips after I get back, but it's been awhile since I showed these.  Plus, they make me smile, and that's what this post is all about.

Ireland - Kells Priory

London

Neuschwanstein Castle - Germany

Trevi Fountain - Italy

Tetons - Wyoming

Books that bring on emotions

This morning I was away early enough (before 5am..ugh)  to go for a run but am currently resting my leg since it's hurting, so instead I took a bath and read.  Perfect start to a new work day.    So I got in the tub to soak and grabbed Temptation Ridge by Robyn Carr since it's my current read.   I'm reading along, happy as a clam, when something happens in the book that caused me to get emotional.  Emotional as in I was crying a bit and sniffling and put the book down for a minute.

The Virgin River series by Robyn Carr often has me doing this.  To met this is a sign of a great book/series.  I'm so invested in the characters and feel so close to them, that when things happen I feel the same emotions they do.  I often find myself smiling while reading these books, sometimes I'm also sniffling and reaching for the tissues.

There are some tough topics in these books, one in particular that is hard for me to read.  Yet, I keep coming back for more.   I just adore these books.  I can't tell you that the writing is the best out there, I find fault sometimes with it, but the characters make the book.  You want to move to Virgin River and go to Jack's bar for dinner.  You want to talk to Mel and the other ladies and become instant friends with them.  You want to be surrounded by all these men that would protect you in a heartbeat.

It's books like these that make me fall in love with reading all over again.

Do you have a book like this?  Or a series that does this for you?

In the Shadow of the Crown by Jean Plaidy

or otherwise titled: Kris actually finished a book!  Woohoo!

#6 Queens of England series
Copyright: 1988
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Genre: fiction, historical
Pages: 386
Challenges: Year of the Historical
My rating: 2/5

Quick note on the series info:  While this is part of a series, you don't have to read these in order.  From my understanding, each book is about a different Queen's life and therefore it can be read independently.

Simple Description:
This is the story of Bloody Mary, or Mary Tudor.  It starts when she is very young, just a child, and continues to when she is near death.  The story is told from Mary's point of view.  While we don't get tons of details regarding her life, we do get some details.   We learn about her feelings towards her father, we learn about her feelings regarding the several engagements to other princes, and we learn about what was behind her being titled Bloody Mary.

Mary was the first born to King Henry Tudor.  However, Mary was a girl.  I believe most of us are aware that in his quest for a son Henry ended up divorcing his first wife, be-heading his second wife, etc.  It goes on and on.   Eventually he ends up with a son, who is sick.  He makes the son heir to the throne and just before he dies he makes Mary the second in line.

Mary goes from living a life of luxury.  Then her mother is out of favor with the king and she lives a life close to poverty.   Then, she slowly gets back on her father's good side and soon she's fighting for her rightful chance at the throne.   Once there, she makes what she considers the necessary change to bring England back to Catholicism.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
Here's the thing..I can't say I really liked this book, yet I liked it enough to continue reading it.  I liked it enough to say it was worth finishing, but not enough to continue reading more books by this author.  There was something about the writing style that I didn't like.  I think I wanted it to be told "present day" as in..as these things were happening.  Instead, the book is told as if Mary is looking back on her life.  Something about that just didn't work for me.  I also think I wasn't in the mood for it.  I did read this as a buddy read, which is the only reason I picked up this book when I did.  The others who read it with me liked it.  One loved it and considers it one of her top reads of the year.  The other person liked it more than me, but not as much as the other person did.

Most of Mary's earlier life I was already familiar with, thanks to showtime and The Tudors (ok fine..and other books I have read on the royal family).   The book finally picked up for me once Mary was crowned Queen. I knew the gist of what happened, but wasn't too familiar with it.  So maybe I was just more interested in the book at this point.  I'm not too sure.

I had heard great things about this author before reading this one, saying she was such a good historical fiction author.  I agree that it seemed she had her info correct and did great research, but the writing part was lacking for me.

What about you?  Have you read others by this author?  Have you read this one?  Is this a good example of the authors work?



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

Audio Book Challenge - Completed!

(Now being hosted by Queen of Happy Endings)

I completed the audio book challenge in September.   I can't believe I've listened to 20 audio books this year.  That seems like a ton!  Most of the time I have a couple audio books from the library and I'm able to complete one audio book and immediately start the next one.  However every once in awhile I'll finish one and my holds won't have arrived yet and I start freaking out.  What do I do?!   Well, duh, what I used to do before I started listening to audio books, listen to cd's.  But here's what I found out, I don't want to listen to music in the car anymore.  I want to listen to an audio book. I get so much more enjoyment from audio books rather than music. Call me crazy, but it's the truth.  Hello.  My name is Kris and I'm an audio book addict.  Please, no help yet, I'm enjoying this way too much to join a 12 step program for it.  Oh wait..that's right..there is no 12 step program, us audio book junkies disbanded that because there is now way this is an addiction.  Right?  Right.  I thought so.

I've found that I enjoy some books over others in audio book format.  There are some books that are sooo good I want to own the book as well.  There are some audio books I feel are best read and not listened to.  There are some audio books I feel I would have given up on had I read them, but ended up enjoying them over-all because I listened to them.

I have found that while I prefer to listen to books that I already own in print form because it makes me feel like I'm getting through my TBR stacks faster, I also use audio books as a way to "read" some chunksters I wouldn't normally take the time to read.   On a couple of occasions, I even used it for buddy reads instead of buying books (something Husband would be happy about if I bothered to tell him...which I won't because then he would expect me to do it for all future buddy reads and never buy a book again and that's just not gonna happen).

Here's the list of audio books I read for this challenge (in chronological order of when I listened to them):
(you can also see the list and all reviews by clicking HERE)

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce
Blood Brother's by Nora Roberts
Twenties Girl by Sophia Kinsella
Size 14 is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot
Fearless Fourteen by  Janet Evanovich
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
Best Kept Secrets by Sandra Brown
The Hollow by Nora Roberts
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

September 2010 Reads

Total Books Read: 6

New authors: 2
Mystery: 5
Fiction:0
Non-fiction: 0
Young adult: 0
Pages:  1,696
Audio: 2

Hour Game by David Baldacci
Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
Chosen to Die by Lisa Jackson
Ghouls Gone Wild by Victoria Laurie
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich


2010 Challenge Update:
I am happy to report that I did finish one challenge this month.  I was able to complete the Audio book challenge..completed post coming on that (I forgot to do it earlier).
Series Challenge Season 4 - 5/7 books, 1/3 series
What's in a Name?3 Challenge - 5/6 completed
Chic Lit Challenge 2010 - 4/8 completed
Year of the Historical - 9/12 completed
War Through the Generations - 4/5 completed
Stephanie Plum - 5/6 completed
Young Adult Challenge - 11/12 completed
TBR Challenge - 8/24 completed
Buy 1 book and read it - 10/12 completed


Overall this is my worst month so far.  I'm actually happy that I ended up with 6 books completed because I honestly didn't even think I would finish that many.  As you know I was getting upset about my lack of reading but thanks to your comments I actually got better about it.  It really isn't about the numbers, it's about the enjoyment of reading.  That being said, I still hope that in October I'm able to get out of my funk and read some more books.  I think I might need to focus on some paranormal reads..in honor of Halloween of course.  Although, I am close to finishing several challenges so I might try to work on those too.  Who knows what's going to happen! I never know what I'll read next until I finish a book and have to decide (except for the couple of buddy reads I have scheduled that is. haha).

Friday Smile: Banned book week and birthdays

In honor of banned book week, I wore this t-shirt to work today.

Last weekend I helped celebrate another nephews 2nd birthday.  As he proves, you can have your cake..and eat it too.

But beware trying to open gifts when other kiddo's are around, they are bound to want to help out.

And what's not to love about great-grandparents holding the newest grandchild?