Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

#4 Night Huntress Seies
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Avon
Genre: mystery
Pages: 385
Challenges: Series Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description:
This 4th book in the series finds Cat and Bones on a much needed vacation.  Unfortunately, it seems the two of them can't go long without there being some kind of crisis.  This one begins when Cat has some disturbing dreams and soon realizes that they are being caused by another vampire known as the Dreamsnatcher.

This dreamsnatcher, aka Gregor, is after Cat and says she is his wife, not Bones.  Cat doesn't remember anything but soon that mystery is revealed too and it doesn't leave her very happy.  She doesn't like having her memory played with.

Soon it becomes clear that Bones and Cat will not have peace until Gregor is stopped, but how to do that?  It's bad enough that Cat has Gregor after her but when she finds that the ghouls are after her and worried she is trying to be some kind of half-vampire, half-human, half-ghoul, her life is in even more danger than it was already.  When she takes matters into her own hands, things go from bad to worse.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I loved this book too!  At this point, I just want to say how happy I am that the three books I finished during the Thankfully Reading Weekend were all great reads and I highly enjoyed them all.

Now, regarding this book.  This series is one of my favorite paranormal series.  It's so much fun.  I just love Cat and Bones.  They are both such strong characters and while it means they get along well, they also take matters into their own hands which causes issues in their relationship, which just makes for an interesting story.  If you like paranormal books, books dealing with vampires and the un-dead, then I highly recommend this series..but it is best to read them in order.


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

Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans

Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 334
Challenges: Holiday Reading Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description:
Beth believes she has everything she could ever want in life.  She has a loving husband and a wonderful 6 year old daughter.  Then her perfect world starts to crumble.  First her daughter begins to feel sick and the Dr.'s don't really have a diagnosis.   Then she finds that her husband has been cheating on her.  She kicks her husband out of the house but deep down she loves him.  She decides to take him back and feels they can move on, only to find that he is dying from cancer.

She feels like things won't get better but then she meets a handsome young man Christmas morning.  He seems too good to be true.  Some things are a little strange though, just some things he says.  He is able to diagnose what is wrong with her daughter and he sometimes knows things that he shouldn't.

When she finds out what is going on, she has to make the toughest decision she has had to make so far.  Does she let this love go or does she hang on to it?

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I've been a fan of Richard Paul Evan's books for awhile.  This book did not disappoint.  I was captivated with Beth's story from the beginning.  I wanted to know what was going on with this handsome stranger.  I was hoping Beth's life would make a turn for the better.

I don't know how the author does it, but he does have a way with writing Christmas stories that warm the heart.  The characters usually go through some kind of heart ache but of course it all works out in the end, which is exactly what I want with a Christmas novel.

If you have been a fan of the authors work in the past, I don't think you'll be pointedness with this one.  It was a great start to the Christmas reads for this year.

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

Pretty Little Things by Jilliane Hoffman

Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 358
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description:
FDLE Special Agent Bobby Dees has a tough job.  His expertise is searching for missing children.  It would be a tough job for anybody, but for Dees it's been especially tough for the last year.  His 16 year old daughter went missing a year ago, assumed to be a runaway but there has been a lot of searching and no clues.    When 13 year old Lainey Emerson goes missing, her Mother waits a couple days to report it.  At first it all seems like this is a classic case of a runaway, but Dees thinks differently and over the years he has learned to trust his gut.

The case gets even more intense when the killer starts to contact a local news reporter and includes Dee's name.  It seems the killer is reaching out to Dees and taunting him, leaving clues as to where to find the next body but not making it easy.  It seems like the killer didn't just take Lainey, he's taken several runaways before her.

Things go from bad to worse when it seems like his daughter could possibly be a victim of this killer.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought this was a great book!  The storyline kept my interest almost from the very beginning.  There is so much going on that you want to know the answer too.  Will Dees find his daughter, will it having something to do with the serial killer?  Will he find Lainey before she is killed by this person?

The story is interesting because we get it from several different view points.  Dees is a main character so we do get a lot of the story from his view point.  We get the story from the killers view, although his identity isn't revealed until the very end.  We also get parts of the story from Lainey's view.

Speaking of the killer...I didn't have this one figured out at all!  It kept me guessing until the very end when Dees figured it out.

The subject matter could be hard for some, it does deal with pedophiles praying on young girls via the internet. It's one of those topics that for me, I've read a lot about, so to read fiction about it wasn't too hard for me because I distance myself from it, but I know it could be hard for a lot of people.

 Thanks to Anna with FSB for providing this book for review.

Thankfully Reading Weekend - wrap-up post

This was my first jump into a read-a-thon or reading weekend.  I didn't come into it with any sort of expectations.  Being brand new with it, I just wanted to see what would happen and how much I could read.

I'm excited with the results!  Friday I was able to read a tad more than I thought I would. I knew I would have some down time but also knew I would be busy decorating the house.  Fortunately, it didn't take me as long to decorate the house this year as it has in the past.  Mostly this is because my sister and her husband both have to work Christmas so she'll be dropping off my nephew Christmas morning and Husband and I will be in charge for awhile.  This means I didn't want to have a lot of things out that he could find and play with. 

Saturday I had hoped to read a more than I did, although I knew I wouldn't be able to read much.

Today, I was able to read as much as I wanted to!  I ended up getting up earlier than I had the previous two days.  I knew there was some stuff I had been needed to do on the pc so I sat down to watch Eat, Pray, Love and do that.  Plus, heck, that movie kinda counts since it is adapted from a book right? 

Then I ended up working out with Husband before finally getting back into bed close to 1pm.  I finished the book I was reading a little before 5pm.  I call that success.

I completed 3 books this weekend!  I'm so happy with that!  I finished Pretty Little Liars, which I had started earlier in the week.  I started and finished Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans. I had assumed I would finish this one since his books are usually fast reads for me.  I think started and finished Destined For an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost. I wasn't sure I would get this one finished since it's over 300 pages, but so glad I did!  Reviews for all three will be coming this week.

Fingers crossed there will be a Thankfully Reading Weekend 2011, because if there is I would love to join in on the fun.

Now I'm off to my sisters for dinner. Husband is already over there watching the football game so I might as well head over and eat dinner so I don't have to cook anything. 

Thankful Reading Weekend - mini-challenge 3

The third and final challenge is about the reading community and being thankful. Namely, what reading community am I thankful for.  I don't use twitter, so I can't say that one.  I would have to say that the one I'm most thankful for is the book blogging community and some close friends I've met via reading yahoo group.  Without all of you, I would be a bit lost.  While some in my life do read, I read more than most of them. In fact, the only person why might read more than me is my  Mom and I think that's because she's lucky enough to be retired while I'm stuck at work at least 8 hours five days a week.   Since not many around me read a bunch, as you can imagine I don't really have anybody to talk to about reading.   

I've been part of a yahoo group for over 6 years now. I don't even remember how long I've been a part of it, but I know it was before Husband and i married.  I've become close friends with them and they are the ones I get to talk to about books.  I think I would go crazy if I didn't have that outlet.  I love that some of us have ended up having similar tastes and I can usually figure out if I should attempt reading a book based on their thoughts.  I love that I'm buddy reading so much with some of them because it's a great way to push myself to read some books I would keep putting off but also because I can gush over the books with people who have read them and still have the stories fresh in their minds.

The book blogging community is wonderful!  I love all of you.  I haven't had time to check out as many blogs as I would like on a regular basis. I have a ton in my google reader but no time to read them all. I'm really hoping that the laptop will help me read more blogs and comment more since I can now do that in the evenings while watching tv with Husband.   You all make me feel like I'm not crazy.  You all love books as much as I do! Woohoo!  I love seeing what others are reading, I love that while I don't talk to most of you outside of commenting on blogs, I still feel a connection and want to call several of you friends.  I know things in life won't always be as relaxed as they are for me right now, but I hope that no matter what happens I can continue to be part of the book blogging community. 

Thankfully Reading Weekend - mini-challenge 2

The 2nd mini-challenge is to show either you tbr pile or at least one bookshelf.  I believe I've shown my bookcase before, but I'm going to show you again.  This bookcase has most of my mysteries.  Several are read, but unfortunately several are still waiting around for me to read them.    The middle section is actually where they mysteries are.  The section on the right side has books that I either love and don't want to put back into a box or ones in a fictional series that I'm working on.  The section to the left is where I house the books I'm planning to read for challenges throughout the year.  This section is rather scary in January.

To the right, you see a bit of another bookcase.  Well, that entire wall will soon be one huge bookcase!  I can't wait!

Thankfully Reading Weekend - update 2

It's day two. It was off to a great start, I finished a book this morning since I woke up incredibly early. I stayed in bed and read until I finished Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans.  It's another great Christmas/Holiday read from Evans.  I'll, of course, get a review up soon...sometime this coming week probably.

I've started reading Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost.  So far it's good, but I'm only 43 pages into it.

I did have an almost 2 hour drive this morning (I say almost..the estimated time to get from my house to the race this morning was around 53 min per google, but I do tend to speed. haha).  Husband decided not to go with me (sniff sniff) and therefore I was able to listen to an audio book for the commute. I"m listening to The Temptation of the Night Jasmine.

Once I got back from the race, I did chill for about an hour and read, but then decided to go to the bookstore (of course!!!) and a craft store (supplies for Christmas presents..I swear!) since they both had good coupons and I wanted to take advantage of them.  Luckily, no major crowds and I got some great deals. I even found a book to give Husband for Christmas...one that I'm really excited about I think he'll actually enjoy it..it has pictures. 

Now I'm off to read, but Husband is with his parents and I'm expecting a call telling me where they will be going to dinner so I imagine I'll be going to dinner with them tonight.

Tomorrow..I might work on making some Christmas gifts and my cards, but since I'll be listening to an audio book, that has to count right?  I imagine I'll wake up early and spend several hours reading in the morning though.  I'm actually really enjoying that, instead of getting up right away.  It's so relaxing.  Usually the dog knows I'm awake and she comes over and puts her nose on the book, so I let her up in bed and she snuggles with me (ok, fine, I'll admit it she just lays near me and I pull her close and hold her). It's the perfect start to a new day. 

Thankfully Reading Weekend - update 1

Thankfully Reading Weekend is well underway in my household.   I woke up a little before 6 am and instead of getting up to do stuff around the house, I stayed in bed to read.  I read until I finished the book I was reading, until around 8:30.  woohoo!  I've already finished one book!  I finished Pretty Little Things by Jilliane Hoffman.  I really enjoyed it.

I then went for a very short run, in preparation for my 10 mile race tomorrow, and then showered and read a bit more.  I think decorated the house and tree with Christmas decorations.  I started to listen to my current audio book while doing this but the husband wanted to watch tv so I turned it off.

I've just finished lunch and after I type up this post I'm off to start transferring files from one computer to another, and of course I'll be reading while the pc's are working hard.  

I asked Husband what he was doing today and he didn't know.  I said..were you wanting to go out, are you going to be bored later?  He said yeah, but this was my reading weekend so I didn't want to go out.  The nice, cough cough, wife that I am, I said I would go out later with him if he wanted.  That won me a big grin. lol!

I'll update again when I finish another book.  I'm currently reading Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans.  His books are usually pretty fast reads for me so I'm hoping to finish it today or tomorrow.

If you are participating in this weekend, how are you doing?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving: from my house to yours

(yes...even to those international readers. I realize you don't celebrate Thanksgiving but it's still good to take a day and just be thankful for the people in our lives and the things that make us happy)

I'm incredibly thankful for all my followers, those who take the time to read my blog.  A special, hearty, thank you goes to those kind soles who take the time to comment.   I think I speak for most of us when I say I'm thankful for my family and friends too but I want to touch on something else I'm thankful for.

This year I'm super thankful that I'm finally getting my bookshelves!!!!!   That's right, after moving into this house 3.5 years ago, I'm now going to be getting my bookshelves.    The husband and I decided on a price we could afford, and then I went in search of a carpenter. Good thing I remembered that a friend's Dad does stuff like that on the side. I've seen his work and it's really good.  Armed with a picture of a bookshelf I liked I headed to his house a couple of weeks ago.    This past weekend he came to my house to look at the room and get his own measurements. He showed me a couple of drawings he came up with.  We discussed it a bit further and then he gave me his price.  His price was $50 less than the budget I had to work with.  Woohoo!
Husband came up with another idea (regarding our crown molding and blah blah blah) and my friend's Dad is going to work on seeing if he can get that idea to work and what the new cost will be (it's more labor intensive).  Depending on cost, we might go that route even though it would be a bit more.  

The end result, though, is that after 3.5 hours and lots of patience I didn't realize I had, I am finally going to get the custom bookshelves in my library!  My poor books will be able to come out of their boxes and have a home!   I'm super excited!   The estimate at this point is that he might be finished building the end of January.  It just depends on the weather though.   The bookshelves will be over 8ft and he said he'll have to do some of the work outside, and of course we're in winter and December and January brings the possibility of snow.  I told him that was fine, I've waited this long, what's a couple more months.    What I'm not looking forward to is having to do all the staining myself.  yuck!  That is going to be super labor intensive but if we had him do it it would be an extra $500.   That also means that once I get the bookshelves installed, it will be another 1-2 months before I can actually use them since I'll have to stain them and finish them and let it dry really good before putting books on it.

However, the end is near.  I'm incredibly excited and happy and THANKFUL to finally be getting something I've desired for a long time, custom bookshelves in my own personal library.

psst...it's challenge sign-up time for 2011

Yup..you heard me right, it's that time of year (although I'm guessing most of you already you knew that).  Time when people start putting up posts announcing the 2011 challenges.   It's only begun, and already there are several new ones (at least new to me) that I'm interested in and planning to sign-up for.  From now until the end of the year I'll be posting about the challenges I'm signing up for.  I'm going to try and spread them out so I only have one post per day so you aren't bombarded with tons of posts from me each day as you we move into the busy holiday season.

Part of me says "Kris, why oh why do you do this to yourself?  You know you haven't been reading as much as you have in past years.  You know you never finish all the challenges you sign up for. Why must you sign up for so many again next year.  And new ones!  Why oh why are you going to join new challenges when you can't even finish the ones you love to sign up for year after year."

The other part of me, the part that is more fun (let's just be honest) says "Go for it!  You know you love challenges.  You know you feel good when you complete one.  It doesn't matter if you don't officially complete a challenge, it's the effort that matters. It's the fun of finding books for a challenge that matters. It's going out of your comfort zone that matters."

As you will soon see, as the end of the year draws near, I'm going to be listening to the side of me that's more fun (the side that always gets me in trouble).

Great Blog Neighbor Award

Thanks so much to one of my newest readers for gifting me the above award.  I'm tickled pink!  Alison write the blog, Welcome Sunshine Home, and I strongly recommend you check it out.   Not only do I think we could be the best of friends if we lived in the same city (we both read, scrapbook, and are making an effort to be green) but she has a beautiful Saint Bernard too. 

Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

#2 House of Night
Copyright: 2007
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: young adult
Pages: audio
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description:
In this 2nd installment, we start off with Zoey being nervous regarding the Dark Daughters.  She wants to change how the club is run but is nervous about what exactly to do and how the changes will go over.   She decides to do some research in the computer lab, where she meets the most beautiful teacher ever, and he flirts with her.  This further complicates her relationship with Eric, as if that wasn't complicated enough.

Then she finds out that a local, human, football player is missing.  This is a boy she had met before.  Soon the police stop by the school to talk to her.  Then another boy is missing.  Another boy that Zoey knew.  All signs point towards vampires but Zoe knows that isn't the case.

Plus..what are those weird ghosts things she has seen?  And why is the high priestess taking credit for things Zoey came up with, regarding the changes to the Dark Daughters and Sons?

And now Heath is missing?  Will the bad stuff ever end?


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I'm sure my description doesn't really do the book justice.  The problem is that I don't want to give anything away so I have to leave out some details about a couple of big things that happen.

You'll just have to trust me when I say this was a great book and an excellent follow-up to the first one, Marked.  I've really enjoyed this series so far and I can't wait to get to the third.   Zoey is such a strong female character.  I think she's a great role-model for younger girls.

The audio book was narrated by Edwina Wren, the same narrator who did the first book in the series.  Once again I think she does an excellent job reading these books.  She is the perfect Zoey.  I highly recommend this series in audio.


This audio book was rented from my local library.

Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett

#3 Booktown Mystery
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Berkly Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 296
Challenges: Series Challenge 3
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5

Simple Description:
Tricia has had an unwanted house guest for the last two weeks, her friend Pammy from college.  Pammy stopped in just for a day or two, and two weeks later Tricia finds herself throwing Pammy out of her house after she found out Pammy stole $100 from her.    Unfortunately, Tricia finds Pammy later that day, dead.  While Tricia can't say she was great friends with Pammy, she doesn't like that she has been murdered.

Tricia doesn't look forward to be involved in yet another murder investigation, good thing the sheriff who hates her isn't the one investigating this time.

As we can  guess, Tricia decides to do some digging on her own.  This involves learning about the freegans and what they do and, more surprising, who they are.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
This is the 3rd installment in the series and I'm still enjoying it. I actually liked that the sheriff wasn't in this one, since she was a bit on my nerves in the last two.  Angelica, Tricia's sister, is still one of those characters that's supper annoying, yet I didn't think she was as bad this time around. I still think she could be toned down a bit though.  I enjoyed the side story with Mr. Everett too.  That's one of the things I love about the cozies series, the other things that happen in the books to the characters that we know and love.   Now, I'll also admit that this one seemed a bit rushed at the end and I never really figured out who did the dirty work, that was a total surprise (and I'm still not sure what I think of it).  Will I read the 4th one?   You bet!   I still think this is a fun cozy series and I love the idea of a town with several specialty bookstores.


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

Thankful Reading Weekend 2010

I've decided to participate in the Thankful Reading Weekend this coming weekend.  This event is being hosted by Beth Fish Reads, Jenns Book Shelves, and Devourer of Books.

So what is Thankfully Reading Weekend? First let me assure you that you don't need to be from the USA to set aside a weekend to read--so don't be shy join right in.

There are no rules to the weekend and no prizes (well, except one!); we're simply hoping to devote a good amount of time to reading, and perhaps meeting some of our reading challenges and goals for 2010. We thought it'd be fun if we cheered each other on a bit.

If you think you can join in, head on over to Jenn's Bookshelves, grab the button, and sign on to Mr. Linky (available NOW). If you don't have a blog, use the comments!

On Friday November 26th, stop by Jenn's Bookshelves where you'll find a Mr. Linky. Feel free to link as many posts as you'd like. On Sunday there will put up another Mr. Linky (at Jenn's) for your wrap-up post.

Remember - no rules! Read as much or as little as you want. You can participate in the weekend even if you have time to read only 50 pages.

There will be a small giveaway open worldwide. You'll have to visit Beth Fish Reads on Friday (Nov. 26) for information.




Normally on the Friday after Thanksgiving Husband and I decorate the house for Christmas, we put up the tree and any other decorations.  I'm sure we'll be doing that again this year.  The only other, non-reading, activity I have planned is the Great River Road Run on Saturday, which will take up all of my morning and possibly part of the afternoon.   Other than that, Husband has already been warned that I plan to read the weekend away. 

Friday Smile - Where Kris joins the 21st century

I have no pictures for todays post, mostly because I didn't have time last night.  However I didn't want this weeks Friday Smile to pass me by without posting what's really making me smile.   I, finally, have a laptop!!!!!  Woohoo!  Jump for joy!

I've been wanting a laptop for a really long time but Husband didn't see the need for it and we already have a working desktop, so wouldn't agree to spend the money.  I finally started saving for one myself towards the beginning of this year.  Let me tell you, that's hard to do when my only income is my work check and that gets used towards bills and savings (aka - the money Husband didn't feel should go towards a laptop since it wasn't "needed").  Finally, though, I was able to save up enough for a laptop (ok...I admit...I wanted a gaming laptop so I had to save up a lot of $$$$) and was able to get an awesome deal on one last weekend.

The new love of my life arrived safe and sound at my house yesterday.  All I had time to do was set-up windows 7, install an anti-virus program, verify the router I set-up the day before worked, install Google Chrome, and password protect the laptop.

Tonight I'm looking forward to sitting on the couch and playing with the laptop while Husband watches tv.  From now on, you can expect that some of my blog posts will be created in random places around the house.  The library? You never know.  Pool side?  Perhaps.  Family room couch? Most definitely.  Bedroom?  I'm sure I'll have some lounging in bed and typing posts weekend afternoons.

Year of the Historical - Challenge completed

I was able to finish this challenge too!  Yippy, give myself a pat on the back. lol!  This challenge was hosted by Lurv A LA Mode, however the blog is now marked as private. I'm not sure if the challenge has moved and I just haven't updated my info or what.  Either way, I can't link you to the challenge owners blog, sorry.

I read the following 12 books for this challenge, to read the reviews for all books read, please click HERE:
The Queen's Fool by Phillipa Gregory
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig
At the King's Command by Susan Wiggs
The Excalibur Murders by  J.M.C. Blair
Black Horses for the King by Anne McCaffey
In the Shadow of the Crown by Jean Plaidy
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Girl Mary by Petru Popescu
Wuthering Heights by Emile Bronte
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
One Wore Blue by Heather Graham

What's in a Name?3 - Challenge completed

I have officially completed the What's in a Name? Challenge hosted by Beth F. at the dedicated challenge blog. I'm really excited to have finished this one because the challenge was, well, challenging and I think part of the fun was finding books that fit the categories.

Here are the categories and the books I read:
Food: Carbs & Cadavers by J.B. Stanley
Body of Water: Virgin River by Robyn Carr
Title: The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory
Plant: Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig
Place: Looking for Alaska by John Greene
Music Term: Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

Click HERE if you care to read reviews for the above books.

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Copyright: 2000
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks/Simon and Schuster
Genre: young adult
Pages: 251
Challenges: Year of the Historical
Author's Website
My rating: 2.5/5

Simple Description: 
It's the summer of 1793.  Mattie Cook lives with her Mother and Grandfather in Philadelphia and helps her Mother run a coffeehouse.   It's the middle of August when the rumors start and the first cases are reported.  Yellow fever has struck the city.   When Mattie's Mother becomes ill, Mattie and her Grandfather leave the city to go live with friends who own a farm.  They never make it there though.  Matti's Grandfather is expected to have yellow fever and they are dropped off in the middle of nowhere.  When Mattie is out searching for food, she becomes ill herself.    Just when you think things couldn't get any worse, they do.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I hate to say it, but this is yet another book that was just ok for me.  At first Mattie got on my nerves a bit, but I think it's because she was being portrayed as a normal teenage girl, when I wanted her to act more grown up because of the time period.   Towards the end of the book Mattie really shined and that's when the book picked up for me and when I started to enjoy it more.  

I think the author did a great job of portraying the times and what it was like when there was an outbreak of yellow fever.  I thought the story itself was good.  I just didn't like Mattie right away and since she's the main character, I just didn't like it as much as I had hoped.

That being said, I definitely plan to read more by this author. I've heard such wonderful things about Wintergirls and Speak.  If I remember correctly, those I've talked to who have read several by this author list Fever 1793 as their least favorite. I have my fingers crossed that that means I'll enjoy her other books a lot more.


 Thanks to ????? for providing this book for review. This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me. This audio book was rented from my local library.

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman

Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Fiction
Pages: audio
Author's Website
My rating: 2.5/5

Simple Description: 
Meg Rosenthal and her daughter Sally are headed to Arcadia Falls.  Meg is a recent widow and due to some financial issues she is forced to take a job.  She feels lucky to find a job teaching at this school because housing is provided and she is working on a thesis for her PH D and the individuals she is researching formed this school.

This school has a strong focus on the arts but of course teaches the normal high school subjects as well.  Meg is doing a thesis on Lily Eberhardt and Vera Beecher. Lily and Vera were lovers back when this was not as common.  While Lily's death in 1947 was ruled an accident, there seems to be more to it.  Meg finds a journal that Lily left behind and this opens up even more questions and surprises.  When a student goes missing and is found dead in the same raven that Lily was, things get even more mysteries.

Meg not only deals with the new mysteries she is find, but also deals with the loss of a husband and a teenager daughter who seems to be pushing her away.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
Unfortunately this is another book that I found to be ok bordering on good.  The book definitely got better towards the end, but it took me awhile to really get into it.  Once the mystery aspect of the book was revealed and more details about Vera and Lily's life were given I started to take more of an interest in it, but before then I could take it or leave it.   I don't want to give you too much info because I don't want to give anything away though.   Let's just say that when I thought the book was over, it wasn't, there were more surprises in store for me.   I not really sure what makes me say this book was just ok bordering on good, I can't put my finger on it.  I've heard really good things for this one though and I still think it's a good read, I just wouldn't rush out to read it.

I did listen to the audio version of this book and the narrator was Jen Taylor.  She did a good job for the most part but some of the voices she used rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't like.  This could be what kept me from enjoying the book more too, now that I think about it.

This audio book was rented from my local library.

Carbs & Cadavers by J.B. Stanley

#1 Supper Club Mystery
Copyright: 2006
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 300
Challenges: What's in a Name?,  TBR
Author's Website
My rating: 2.75/5

Simple Description: 
James Henry is not where he thought he would be in life.  He's divorced and living at home. To be fair, he moved back to his small home town and into his childhood home after his Mom passed away, in order to take care of his Dad.  Still, he thought he would be somewhere else in life.  He's a shy man, a bit socially awkward.   He's also the town librarian.  He's also a bit over-weight.

Things begin to change for James when he joins a Supper Club.  They call themselves the Flab Five.  There are 5 of them, 2 men and 3 women. All of them have one goal, to start eating healthier in order to lose some weight.

The 5 of them really come together when a young man dies, and it's murder.  This sort of thing doesn't happen  in their small town.  When a girl they believe is innocent is arrested, the Flab Five begin to make some inquires into the murder themselves.  Lucy works in the Sheriff's department and wants to lose weight in order to take the Deputy physical (and pass).  Lucy wants to show the Sheriff and the other Deputies that she does have what it takes.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I thought this book was just ok.   I had a hard time relating to James, and he's the main character. I think because his character is supposed to be socially awkward, which means he was socially awkward to me. I just couldn't really connect with him.  I thought he got better towards the end, but still.

The story itself is good though. I liked the idea of the 5 people coming together, all are different, but they come together and decide to investigate this murder on their own in order to help one of their own supper club members and to help a young girl in the community.    The investigating wasn't over-the-top, I thought it was just right for a bunch of amateurs.

I also have to admit that one thing that bothered me about the book was the diet the members go on. I know, I know..it's really not something that should bother me, but it did.  As I've made changes to diet myself over this last year, as I've read more about processed foods and aspartame, etc, I've really educated myself on what is healthy and what people think is healthy but isn't.  Sugar-free items, low-fat, and diet soda are not healthy items.  These members start to eat more of that in their food and I just wanted to yell "Stop!" and take the items away.  I have no idea if this is something that kept me from liking the book more or not. I cringed every time I read it and it was very noticeable to me, it was something that jumped out at me.  I really don't think this is something that would bother others but I mention it here because I'm just not sure if it's one reason I didn't like the book as much or not.

I've talked to a friend who has read the first two books in this series and she said she liked the 2nd one more than the first.  I had planned to read the 2nd anyway and that just makes me much more interested in reading it.


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

Snowflake Ornaments for sale on Etsy

I was finally able to get some of my snowflake ornaments for sale on Etsy.  I would love it if you took the time to take a peak at the different items.  If you know of anybody who might like to purchase them either as a gift or for their own house, I would appreciate it if you passed the link.

My Grandma showed me how to do quilling when I was pretty young and I've stuck with it throughout the years.  Making snowflakes are my favorite thing to make, and about the only thing I make anymore.   This year I went out a limb and also made a tree, star, and poinsettia.

Thanks for taking the time to look!   If you want to make a purchase, feel free to send me a message on Etsy and mention this post.  I'll give you 10% off your order!

Thanks to Lisa for letting me know the widget doesn't show up in google reader!  For those of you also using Google Reader or a similar program, here's a LINK to my etsy shop.   Thanks!

Please help my school district

While this idea was put forth by Parkway North and I'm a Parkway South alumni, I love that the idea is to first convert their school with the funds, and then convert each school in the district.    I might also add that while I'm a Parkway South alumni, I did move back into the district and my future kid will also attend Parkway South.  I would love for the schools to be run by solar energy by the time they get to high school (and middle school!).

If you have a minute, please take the time to vote, I would greatly appreciate it. (voting is open till Nov. 30th, so there's plenty of time to vote more than once if you want to!)

War Through the Generations - Vietnam War - challenge completed

I have officially completed the War Through the Generations challenge for 2010.  This year the focus was on the Vietnam War.  This is a war that I've long been interested in reading about but needed the push this challenge gave me to actually read about it.   While I have completed 5 books, I have a couple more that I still plan to read, probably next year.  This is, by far, one of my favorite challenges.  I'm challenge to read about topics that, while interest me, I don't normally read about.  This year I focused on books that dealt with Americans.  Sure not every book was non-fiction, but the characters were still American, and that's what I wanted.  I feel very un-educated when it comes to the Vietnam war and I want to change that. While my interest lies more with the human interest side of things and not the technical, war theory, etc side of it, I still feel like I'm learning about the War and what it did to our men who fought and served for our country.

Here are the books I read for this challenge, click HERE to see reviews for all of them:

The Barracks Thief by Tobias Wolff
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
In the Wake of the Boatman by Jonathon Scott Fuqua
Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann
Dear American: Letters Home from Vietnam Edited by Bernard Edelman

Friday Smile - Soccer Time!

My oldest nephew has been playing on a soccer team.  It's only to be expected, my sisters and I each played soccer throughout school (and I currently play on an indoor co-ed team). He's only 4, so while they do scrimmage at the end of practice, most of the practice is just doing drills and trying to learn how to handle the ball.  I've been to his practice twice now, the first time it was rained out but this second time was nice and sunny.  I just love watching the little ones play soccer, they are so darn cute!

 He looked like he had a ball! (no pun intended!).  My nephew is in the orange shorts.

Holiday Reading Challenge 2010

You know me..I'm all about the challenges, so how could I possibly pass up on a Holiday one?   The Holiday Reading Challenge is being hosted by All about {n}. 
Here's the info on this challenge?

1- Challenge will start Monday, November 15 and will end Friday, December 31.

2- You can read anywhere from 1 to 5 books for the challenge and, of course, if you're like me, you are more than welcome to surpass that number.

3- And now, here's the clincher... they must be holiday related books. That's right, the holiday doesn't really matter, but it would be more "jolly" if your choices were Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.

4- The size of the book does not matter, nor does the genre. It is also okay for the book to overlap with other challenges. The only thing I ask is that they are not children's books. YA is okay. And so are re-reads. I for one tend to read the same books every Christmas - they are tradition.

5- To sign up - leave a link back to your challenge post. There will also be a post for review links as well as one for challenge wrap-ups.

6- And.... there will be goodies. That's right, we'll call them presents. At the end of every week that the challenge is running I will choose one winner from the review links.  Meaning the more books you read, review and link up, the more chances you have at winning a "present".

I already know of two books I'll be reading for this challenge (and of course I'll be reading all Christmas books):

Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans

A Magical Christmas by Heather Graham

I'm sure I'll read more than that, but for now I know I already own those and I'm buddy reading them with a couple others for some extra fun. 

Have you thanked a Veteran today?

Today is Veteran's day, if you haven't already please take the time to thank a veteran today.  For me, be thanking my Grandpa.  My Grandpa served in the Navy during WWII.  He was one of those who signed up soon after the Pearl Harbor bombing.


The picture below shows my great-Uncle (he served in the Air Force during WWII and was then career Air Force), my Grandma (Uncle Joe's sister), and my Grandpa (best friends with Joe and future husband of my Grandma).

FictFact - Book series database

I first heard about FictFact when reading Lesa's Book Critiques last month.   I knew I immediately had to check it out.   I soon fell in love and had to share with several of my reading friends and immediately got them hooked too.    Now that I've been using it for awhile, it's time to talk to all of you in blog land and get you hooked.

The great thing about fictfact is that you can easily follow any series that you want. It isn't just for mysteries, like one of my other favorite sites Stop, You're Killing Me!.  It's not specific to a genre, it covers them all.  I've followed series that range from mysteries to romance to fiction to young adult.

Directly from the horses mouth, here's how fictfact describes themselves (taken from their about me page):

• You read books in series.
• You want to keep track of what to read next.
• You want recommendations on what to read next.
• You want to know when new books are coming out.

If you are like me, you get confused as to which book you need to read next in a series.  This site keeps it all organized for you.  You can follow a series, then mark books as read.  Then when you want to know what book is next in the series, you just look it up on their website and it tells you which one you need to read. Or, and I just found this out playing on the website, you can print off the list of books you have to read next in a series.  Now..how freaking cool is that!  I need to hurry up and add all my series so I can print that list out and keep by my books!

I like that my home pages shows me a brief snapshot of which books I need to read next, and which series have books being released soon.  I also like that I can get recommendations on other series.

I'm already following 80 series.  I know I have a lot more to follow, so far I've been slowly adding the series as I read a book in a series or as I stalk my contacts/friends on factfict and see what series they are following. However now that I found I can print the list of books to read next, I need to hurry up and add all my series.

Sound interesting?  Don't just take my word for it, check out the website for yourself.   And once you sign up, feel free to add me as a contact:  http://www.fictfact.com/user/escapingjourney
(Don't worry..I know you are going to click on the link just to stalk my profile and see what series I'm currently following.  I know, because I would do the same to you. haha)

There's an APP for that....

I don't have a smart phone (although I want one) but my Mom does. She recently downloaded an App to help keep her books organized.  One of the reasons she wanted a smart phone was so she could keep a list of books she owned handy, that way when she was at the store she could look up a book to know if she already owned it or if it was one she wanted to purchase.

The app she has is called Bookworm (not to be confused with the game of the same name) and I'm pretty sure it was free (she's with Verizon).   I had a chance to play with this app over the weekend.

You can manually enter book info or, and my favorite, you can scan the barcode!  Then the book will be added to the database.  You can sort the database by author or title (and other things I think but I can't remember).  You can mark the book as read and I believe you can rate it also.

I think this app would be a ton of fun!  If you see a book you are interested in at the bookstore but don't plan on buying it, just scan the barcode and save it for later.   Read a lot of series and sometimes get confused on which books in the series you have read, just add it and next time you get ready to buy a book in that series, you'll know which ones you have already read. 

If I didn't already want a smart phone, this would really make me want one (and the game Angry Birds..don't get me started on that game...talk about addicting).

Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam edited by Bernard Edelman

Copyright: 1985 (original) 2002 (my copy)
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Genre: non-fiction
Pages: 316
Challenges: War Through the Generations - Vietnam
My rating: 5/5


Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam is a collection of letters written home from soldiers and other personal serving in the Vietnam War (with the exception of a couple letters being to a soldier).  After each letter you also get the writers name, what area they served in, if they were KIA or, if not, what they are currently doing. The book is divided into several chapters or sections.  You start with "Cherries": First Impressions and end with Last Letters.  Some of the letters are uplifting, others aren't.  Some are of the soldiers giving details about a fight they were in or how they were wounded and some didn't focus on that but on how they are helping the orphans and about Vietnam itself.  Some letters express a soldiers wish to come home yet others describe why the soldier wants to be there.

I think a quote on the back cover sums this book up pretty well:  "Not a history book, not a war novel,...Dear America is a book of truth." - Boston Globe

It's hard to describe this book.  You are reading letters from real people as they were serving in a war that causes such turmoil on our country.   It was a hard book to read yet a book I'm glad I read.  I did give the book a 5/5 rating because I think it's pretty powerful.  What better way to learn what the soldiers went through than to read letters where they talk about it openly?  There's no Hollywood glorification that you would see in a movie.  It's not just facts like you would read in a history book.  The emotions are raw, the emotions are real.  This book would be hard to read for some, if not all of us.  This is a book that I had to read in short dosages because I found myself pausing after most letters and just thinking about these men and women (mostly men) and what they went through.  Emotionally I don't think I could have read this book for a long period of time.

To give you an idea of what is in this book, I'm going to end this review with several examples that caught my attention.   This will give you an idea of what is in the book and if it's something you are interested in reading.

"He's going home to his wife in one piece, with his eyes and all his limbs, and will probably not even have a limp, while we'll be going back out until either our time or luck runs out.  He'll never take tot he field again.  he's home safe - we're not.  In that distinction lies the difference between those who have luck, and those who aren't yet sure [if] they have it or not"  pg 65

This next one was after the soldier tells about a recent patrol where several people were wounded and killed. I was surprised by the amount of detail included, suppose I expected the government to monitor letters and not allow soldiers to give such detailed information (as happened in WWII).  Regardless, after writing about several individuals and their wounds the letter writer wrote this:

" It was the most disturbing experience I've yet come across out here. You really wonder what the fuck this is all about.  Needless to say the guys on 112 were reallly down in the dumps after it happened.  They were the ones who pulled all the people out.  Mead went back into the smoke three times to try and get Goldy out of the coxswain flat.  you can imagine what a phsychological shick it was for them to see these people so torn up. They are better now, but all of them need some R&R" pg 91

"Getting back to a completely English-looking and -speaking country made me feel kind of ashamed of the way I've thought and acted over hear.  I realize that I've actually enjoyed some of hte things I've done which would be repulsive to a healthy mind. This place does make you sick in the head. When one starts to enjoy the sickness of war, he is sick..."  pg 95

"After seeing the patients around me, I consider myself very lucky.  There are many who have lost legs, arms, eyes and other parts of their bodies, which leaves them in worse shape than I am. I'm really very anxious to know how you feel abut me losing my arm because naturally I don't know how you will react when you see me.  With my new arm they will give me, I'll be able to act like I normally did, which was always a little crazy. I haven't been depressed or anything like that, so I don't want you to feel bad either. I just paid the price that many soldiers pay defending our country." pg 187

"...Some people wonder why Americans are in Vietnam. The way I see the situation, I would rather fight to stop communism in South Vietnam than in Kincaid, Humbolt, Blue Mound, or Kansas City, and that is just about what it would end up being.  Except for the fact that by that time I would be old and gray and my children would be fighting the war.  The price for victory is high when life cannot be replaced, but I think it is far better to fight and die for freedom than to live under oppression and fear." pg 205

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

Gothic Reading Challenge

It's that time again..time when people put together the challenges they are hosting for the next year and I start browsing them and signing up for more than I can handle, thinking that next year will be the year I complete them all!

This one is definitely going to be a challenge for me, and I'm only signing up for the lowest level, 1 book.  Why is it going to be hard, because most of the gothic reads are classics (although not all of them). What do I often run screaming from when I see them? Classics.    Why oh why am I doing this challenge then?  Because I want to like classics and there are some I tell myself I want to read.

Onto the challenge...

Susan B. Evans is hosting this challenge with it's own blog, Gothic Reading Challenge. 

The challenge is to read at least one book with a gothic element to it.  Her blog lists some books and also some of the elements if you want to take a peak at them and find a book on your own.   There are three levels, the highest being "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know" with 20 books or more and the lowest being "A Little Madness" with 1 book.  I'm only going to go at this challenge with "a little madness". 

The challenge runs January 1st through December 31st 2011.

Here are the books that interest me for this one, not sure which one I'll end up reading yet, guess it will be a surprise for all of us:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Haunting of Hill  House by Shirley Jackson

The Legend of Sleepy  Hallow by Washington Irving

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Friday Smile - Halloween's frightening characters

I'm lucky that I get to see 4 of my nephews on Halloween. It's always a lot of fun seeing them dressed up.  My one sister and her husband bring their son to our house and we all go trick or treating in my neighborhood.  4 adults, 1 dog, and 1 kid.   I do believe our neighbors consider us the crazy ones.

My other sister goes to her in-laws on Halloween every year.  Luckily Husband and I live close to her in-laws and it's not really a problem for her to stop by so we can see her kids.  

Let me introduce you to a soccer goalie, a soccer player, and a soccer ball.  My sister said the only rule was: no kicking the soccer ball. 

Let me introduce you to a train conductor (and his Dad but of course his Dad wasn't dressed up)

Myla wanted in on the action this year and she went as Super Dog (ok fine, I didn't have a kid to dress up so I made my dog a cape, sue me)

Towards the end of the night nephew decided he wanted to hold Myla's leash.  Luckily she's a pretty calm dog and we were able to drop the leash so he could walk her by himself for a little bit.

The Lottery by Patricia Wood

Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Genre: fiction
Pages: audio
Author's Website
My rating: 5/5

Simple Description: 
Perry L. Crandall is not retarded, he scored a 76 on an intelligence test.  Perry L. Crandall is just slow.   Perry lives with his Grandma and works at a local marine supply shop in their town.  They have their routine and tend to do the same things every day.  When his Gram dies, Perry continues to follow the same routine as much as he can even though he has to move.   He still plays the lottery every week until the week he wins 12 million dollars.   Up till this point his brothers and his Mom have not been an active part in his life.  He knows who they are, but they don't care to spend time with him.  That all changes once they realize Perry has won the lottery and they try and figure out how to get Perry to give them all the money.

Perry has some close friends, Gary who owns the supply store he works at and Keith.  As Grandma would say, Keith is rude and crude.  However, that's ok, because it turns out that Keith is a great guy.  Perry also likes Cherry, a cashier at a local store he shops at and soon they form a closer relationship too.

While Perry is not the most intelligent guy according to an IQ test, he ends up being an amazing business man, something he thinks is "So cool!".

While his family begs for money and tries to take advantage of him, his friends don't ask for anything and try to protect Perry from his greedy family.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
As you can see from my rating, I loved this book.  I was torn with giving this book a full 5/5 but in the end decided it was worth it.  This is the type of book that makes you feel good.  Some of the characters are horribly and you want to kick them (or worse).   Those would be Perry's family, other than Gram and Gramps.  However you can't help loving his friends.  His friends never once tried to take advantage of him or get him to spend money on them.  They also tried to protect him from his family and help him do w hat was best for him.

In the end, after being involved in Perry's life for a bit, you start to question what one needs in life.  Do we need all the material items? Do we really need 12 million dollars? Is working for what you have more important?  These are all things you end up thinking abut while reading this book.   This is mostly why the book gets such a high rating.  It really makes you think about what is important in life.  

I also can't help loving Keith. Keith is not the type of person I would normally love and think was great, but he really grows on you and deep down you know he's a great guy.


I listened to the audio version of this book based on a recommendation from my Mom.  The narrator is Paul Michael.  I think he does an excellent job with this one.  He does change his voice for the difference characters and it works well.  I would definitely recommend the audio version for this book.


 This audio book was rented from my local library.

CSN Giveaway - Winner

Thanks to all who entered the CSN giftcard/code giveaway I hosted on my blogs!

The winner is: Krista B.

Congratulations Krista!  I'll be emailing my contact your email address, and they will contact you with the giftcode.

October 2010 Reads

Total Books Read: 10

New authors: 3
Mystery: 4
Fiction: 4
Non-fiction: 0
Young adult: 2
Pages:  2597
Audio: 3

In the Shadow of the Crown by Jean Plaidy
Sizzling Sixteen by  Janet Evanovich
Temptation Ridge by Robyn Carr
One Wore Blue by Heather Graham
The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
A Cast-Off Coven by Juliet Blackwell
Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
20th Century Ghosts by Joe  Hill
Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2010 Challenge Update:
I was somehow able to finish 3 challenges in October!  I'm pretty stoked about that.  It still leaves me more than I would like to admit to finish in 2 months. I'm not sure that's going to happen, but we'll see. I might just surprise myself.

Series Challenge Season 4 - 5/7 books, 1/3 series
What's in a Name?3 Challenge - 5/6 completed
Chic Lit Challenge 2010 - 5/8 completed
Year of the Historical - 11/12 completed
War Through the Generations - 4/5 completed
Stephanie Plum - 6/6 completed
Young Adult Challenge - 12/12 completed
TBR Challenge - 9/24 completed
Buy 1 book and read it - 12/12 completed