Laura Lippman Giveaway - Winners

Sorry for the delay but I'm happy to finally announce the winners of the Laura Lippman Giveaway.  Thanks to all who entered and Congrats to all the winners.

The winner of Baltimore Blues is Sandie K!

The winner of Hardly Knew Her is Susan H of My Round File!

The winner of I'd Know You Anywhere is Kate G. of The Everyday adventures of SuperKate!


Congratulations again winners!  I'll notify my contact with the publisher and they will take care of sending out the books.

A Glimpse of Evil by Victoria Laurie

#8 Physic Eye
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Obsidian
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 326
Challenges: off the Shelf, Series challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description: 
Abby and Dutch have moved to San Antonio, Tx.  They will both be working for the FBI, Dutch as the agent that he is and Abby has a civilian profiler.  The first day in the office Abby whips through a lot of cold cases using her psychic abilities and Dutch is able to solve several.  The other agents are still not sold on Abby's ability.  She has a run-in with a specific agent and when she is asked who should investigate a case that involves finding a car in a drainage ditch, he's the one she suggests.  Little did she know she would be tagging along.  this innocent trip ends up being so much more though and Abby's life ends up in danger.

While going through the cold cases Abby feels there is a link between a couple of missing kid cases.  Due to the incident that put her life in danger Abby is on leave from the FBI for now but before she leaves she grabs the kid's files.  She ends up talking to her PI friend Candace and is then convinced to help Candice look into these.

Along with Abby's life being in danger more than once and the mystery and physic aspect of the story, there are also side stories that involve Candice's person life and Abby's personal life.  That's a good thing though.


My Thoughts: 
As any series reader is aware, there are  some series that seem to fizzle by the time you get to book 8 and some that are still going strong.  I'm so happy that this is a series that is still going strong.  I love this series.   Not only do I love the psychic aspect of it, I love the characters.  Dutch and Abby are both such strong characters and they butt head sometimes.  Yet, they love each other and end up being there for each other. Candace and Brice, two important secondary characters, are both great too. It doesn't hurt that I love the mystery aspect of the book too.

Definitely a series I recommend to others.  This is one of my favorite series and I'm looking forward to book #9 coming out in July.

Gone by Lisa McMann

#3 Wake trilogy
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Brilliance audio
Genre: young adult
Pages: audio
Challenges: young adult, audio book
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description:
This is the final book in the Wake Trilogy.  In this one we are really getting a wrap-up for Janie.  Her and Cabe have graduated from High School and she needs to decide what to do about her gift.  Does she still help out the police and user her gift even though she knows the physical risks.  Or does she decide not to do this anymore and save her sight and her hands, etc.

Things get even more confusing for Janie when she finds out who her father is.  He ends up in the hospital in a coma. Even though Janie can't talk to him she finds his home and learns that her ability is hereditary.  She also learns what the complications are if she decides to isolate herself and never use her gift.

What will she decide?  What will happen to her father?  What will happen between her and Cabe?


My Thoughts:
I thought this one was good but didn't like it as much as the others.  I think I wanted Janie and Cabe to be involved in another investigation and have more of a mystery aspect to it.  So I was a bit disappointed in that.  However, I think it was a great ending to the trilogy because it does tie up some loose ends and comes to a conclusion in a way.  If there had been a mystery in it I'm not sure the trilogy would have wrapped up as nicely.

All-in-all I think it's a good trilogy and think others will enjoy it.  A word of warning:  There is some cursing in the story (all three actually) and there is a physical relationship between Cabe and Janie.  While I don't have kids yet I feel this is not something that would keep me from letting my kids read this. I know these can be a concern for some though, so you've been notified.

Audio Review: 
Ellen Grafton was the narrator for this audio version.  She has actually narrated all three of the books in this trilogy and I think she did an excellent job.  She included just enough emotion and changed her voice for the different characters to make it a great experience.

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

#4 Harper Connelly
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: mystery
Pages: 274
Challenges: Paranormal/Fantasy Romance Challenge, Buy 1 book and read it
Author's Website
My rating: 2/5


Simple Description:
Harper Connelly and her boyfriend/partner Tolliver make a living talking to the dead, thanks to a lightening strike Harper suffered when she was a teenager. This left her with the ability to "hear" the dead and be able to find buried bodies and tell how they died.

Harper and Tolliver work a case for a rich family where Harper gives them more info than they expected.  They then take some time off to visit their younger siblings (Harper and Tolliver are step-siblings).  This visit makes a turn for the worse when they find out Tolliver's father is out of jail.  Then it makes another turn for the worse when Tolliver is shot and then the police man guarding Harper is shot.

Mix into this the fact that Harper and Tolliver are still searching for their missing sister and they are getting closer.

My Thoughts:
Hmm..what to say about this one.  I had actually thought I would stop with the series after book #3.  I just didn't feel the relationship change between Harper and Tolliver. Sure..they aren't blood related but it was still weird.   I decided to give the series another chance and read this one.  While the relationship between the two didn't bother me..I didn't like the book any more than I did the last one.

One of the issues I had is that it seems the author is forcing the relationship between the two.  Sure..it's weird for them still and weird for their family but it's constantly brought up and constantly talked about. That's not needed.  Then the author adds in some sex..nothing graphic, just enough so you know they did something. However it doesn't flow. It totally feels forced and out of place.    After each time I was left going..ok..that seemed really odd and out of place for the story.

As for the rest of the story, I don't know. I just didn't feel it. I wasn't totally in to it.  I did finish it, I did want to know what happened, but I didn't like it enough to plan on continuing with the series (if the author writes more).  I think the series could have promise, but for me the writing needs to really improve before I give it another chance.

I've read several positive reviews of this one though, so don't just take my review.

A Perfect Evil by Alex Kava

#1 Maggie O'Dell
Copyright: 2000
Publisher: Mira
Genre: mystery
Pages: 466
Challenges: 1st in a series, new author, Mystery and Suspense, Buy 1 book and read it
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5


Simple Description: 
Sixth months after Ronald Jeffrey's is executed for the murder of 3 boys another boy has been found dead and it matches two of the murders.  Nick Morrelli, the sheriff, believes it's a copy cat.  Since Morrelli is inexperienced to deal with a murder investigation the FBI is called in. Maggie O'Dell is their top profiler and even though she is dealing with the after affects of her last case she agree's to help out.

Maggie and Nick soon believe that it's not a copy cat killer.  They believe the correct killer was never caught and is still on the loose.

Maggie and Nick need to figure out who the killer is soon because more boys have gone missing.  Of course, their attraction to each other doesn't help matters.  Nick is a bit of a playboy and Maggie is married.

My Thoughts: 
I thought this was an excellent book!  I was able to get through it in no time.  Once I started it, I didn't want to put it down.   I had pretty much figured out who it was but was never 100% certain.  There are enough clues that you can figure it out but there are enough red herrings in place to throw you off and think it's somebody else.   I thought it was executed very well.

I do believe that a lot of you mystery readers will enjoy this one.  In fact, I'm looking forward to continuing with this series myself.

Friday Smile - Welcome baby Cole!

Last week my sister gave birth to her 2nd child, another son.  This makes 5 kids between my two sisters...and 5 boys.  Oh boy...this is going to be interesting watching them all grow up.

Here's the big brother, anxiously waiting for his baby brother to be born.

And here's Baby Cole!   I'm happy to report that Mom and baby are both doing great.

Flowerbed of State by Dorothy St. James

#1 White House Garden Mystery
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 307
Challenges: Cozy Mystery Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description:
Casey hasn't been at the White House long but she already loves her job.  She's an assistant gardener and has plans to put the White House on an organic gardening plan.   However, just hours before she is supposed to give her proposal to the first lady and the committee, she is attacked while weeding a flower bed.  She doesn't remember much, other than seeing a man in a baseball cap and very distinct shoes.

When the secret service show up to help her, they soon find a dead body.   Casey reads a lot of mystery novels and believes she could be a really good sleuth.   When one of her co-workers is brought in for questioning she promises him she will find the murderer.

Casey knows she needs a sidekick and thinks one of the secret service men she has been in contact with could help her, only he doesn't give up any information.   Soon more people are attacked and Casey knows the police and FBI are missing something important, but just exactly what that is she doesn't know. yet.

My Thoughts:
At first I wasn't sure about this one.  I loved the idea of it, I'm a big organic person myself and am working on growing some veggies using organic soil and methods myself.  So the organic gardening part of the mystery is what first drew me too it.  However once I started I wasn't so sure how I would like it.  I'm happy to report that I was soon caught up in the story and ended up really enjoying it.  I cant' say exactly what kept me from liking it from the very beginning, first book in a series jitters perhaps?  Whatever it was, I'm glad I stuck with it.

I ended up really liking Casey.  Sure..she does some snooping on her own but not a whole lot. I liked that the story followed her on her normal duties and she got the snooping in when she saw the chance come up. I also like that her sidekick didn't blab all the details about the investigation.  He didn't really give her any clues and that was a welcome change.  I can't imagine investigators do talk to just anybody about the details yet in most cozies they seem to open up without any problems.  So the fact that that wasn't the case with this book was nice.

This was a great start to a new cozy series, definitely one I'll be following.


Thanks to the publisher for providing this book for review.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

#1 Wicked Lovely

Copyright: 2007

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Genre: young adult

Pages: 328

Challenges: young adult, 1st in a series, New Author, Strong Heroine, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy Romance, Buy 1 book and read it

Author's Website 

My rating: 3.5/5

Simple Description: 

Aislinn has always been able to see the Fae.  From when she was very young her Grandmother, who raised her, taught her how to act like she didn't see them. It would be dangerous for them if the Fae knew that. 

Normally the Fae don't bother Aislinn and she's able to stay away from them.  Until now that is.  Keenan, the Summer King, has noticed Aislinn and he feels she is the one.  She is the one that can be his queen.  He must convince her that she loves him and to pick up the winter staff in order for this to happen.  He needs his queen in order to gain his full power and save the summer fae from the winter queen, his Mom.

Unfortunately for Keenan, Aislinn is different from all the girls.  She knows what he truly is and she wants nothing to do with him. Keenan gets frantic though because all signs show that Aislinn is the one. He must convince her. 

My Thoughts: 

We all know that I love books with a paranormal aspect to it. I love books with vampires and witches and ghosts.  However I was skeptical I would like a book that is about the Fae, faeries.  I'm not sure why, but I didn't think I would like it.  Color me happy..I loved this one!  I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed it and how fast I was captivated by the story.  I like Aislinn and I wanted to know what was going to happen.   I admit that it took me a bit to get into it, think I just had to get used to the whole Fae thing.  Once that happened though, I couldn't put the book down.

That's not to say I didn't have some issues with it.  Sometimes the writing was off and it just didn't make sense. I would have to re-read sentences to figure out what was being said and what was going on.  I also don't like it when the point of view of the narrator changes within the same chapter.  This happened a lot.  the story would be told from, say Aislinn's point of view and then in the next paragraph it would be from Keenan's point of view. I just don't like this and never think it flows well.  

If you can get past those though and you enjoy fantasy stories, I definitely recommend this one. 

The Sixth man by David Baldacci

#5 King and Maxwell
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Grand Central
Genre: Mystery
Pages: audio
Challenges: Strong heroine, Mystery and Suspense, audio book, Pub Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description: 
Edgar Roy works for the government in the intelligence field. His life is turned upside down when he is found in his barn with 6 bodies.  King and Maxwell are called in by his lawyer to help out with the case.  Before they can talk to the lawyer though, the lawyer is found dead.

As you might be able to guess, King and Maxwell don't let the case dropped just because of that.  Unfortunately by doing this they are putting their lives in danger.   They meet with Roy but are unable to get any information from him.  Then they have trouble figuring out who is even paying for his legal services.  Then when they do, they get some info but not a lot. It seems everyone is holding something back.  They don't believe Roy was the murderer, but if not him, then who. And why?

My Thoughts: 
I thought this was a great follow-up to the last book in the series.  I just adore King and Maxwell, they are both really strong characters.   This book had a lot of twists and turns and just when you think you figured it out, you are thrown for a loop.   I'm now caught up on the series and while I'm happy with that, I don't want to have to wait for another book to be published. I want another one..now. lol

Audio Review: 
I did listen to the audio version of this book.  Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy are the narrators. I think they both do a great job.  Even though I think they did good and I enjoyed the audio, I don't think I'll listen to more of this series on audio. I find that I miss things because I don't always pay 100% attention to the story since I listen while I'm driving.  I think this is fine with most fiction books because you can follow along, but with this one I felt like I missed things sometimes.   So the audio was good..I just don't think it's right for me.

Eon by Alison Goodman

#1
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Firebird
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: audio
Challenges: young adult, 1st in a series, audio
Author's Website
My rating: 2/5


Simple Description:
This is an Asian fantasy novel. It doesn't ever say when it takes place but it seems like it was awhile ago, such as the 17th century or something along those lines.   It starts off with some boys trying to learn the proper moves in order to compete to become the next Rat Dragon dragoneye.  The dragoneye is able to communicate with the dragon and help their country.  

Eon is the least likely candidate.  Eon is really a girl posing as a boy and she's lame.  However she has a lot of stress because she is the last hope for her master.

When the time comes Eon is not chosen by the Rat Dragon however she is chosen by the Mirror Dragon. The Mirror Dragon is believe to have been lost centuries ago.  Soon Eon is made a Lord and also asked by the Emperor to support him. There is trouble brewing and the Emperor needs the support of a powerful dragon eye.


My Thoughts:
Honestly, I didn't really like this book.  The main reason I listened to it and continued with it is because I was sent the 2nd in the series and I was determined to finish this one so I could attempt that one and know what was going on.   I should say that the copy of the 2nd one that was sent to me was a surprise, I wasn't expecting it.  Not sure I would have picked this one because it's exactly my cup of tea.

However, that's not really why I didn't like it.  One of the main issues I had with it is that I did not like Eon. I felt she was whiny immature.  I could not connect with her.   Another thing that bothered me was that the book reads like it took place centuries ago, yet there were common phrases in it. Phrases that I felt were really out of place for the time frame of the novel.  To me, they stuck out like a sore thumb.

Even though I didn't really like this one I do plan to give the 2nd one in the series a try.  If I don't like it any better I will DNF it, even though I don't like doing that.

Audio Review: 
I did listen to the audio version of this novel.  Nancy Wu is the narrator and over-all I think she did a pretty good idea.  She changed her voice to show emotion and to separate the characters.

Friday Smile - Slides to digital - The Dog Edition

Earlier this year I sent off some slides that my Mom has from when I was young and from before I was born to be scanned and the digital copies put on a CD.  It's the first time we've done something like this and so I randomly picked some slide packets, held slides up to a light and selected some I thought were promising.  I figured if we liked how they turned out, we could eventually do this for all the slides.  I finally got the CD back mid April and some of the photo's are awesome!  I'm so glad I decided to do this.    I thought I would start sharing some of my favorites with you.

This is the dog edition.   Enjoy!

What a picture!  Those two look so miserable.  They had so much fun playing in the mud but now want to come in and nap and they can't because they are messy!  This picture was taken before I was born.  I can't remember if Mooger, the black dog, was alive still when I was born or not. I want to say yes, but I can't remember.  I'm pretty sure the St. Bernard is Baroness and I did have the pleasure of knowing her.

This is me with the first dog we had named Kelsey. I've shown you pictures of me with Kelsey before. I loved this dog, so super friendly and cuddly. 

This is my Dad with Kelsey. I just love this picture.  I'm not entirely sure why, I just do.  It must be his expression. 

Oh, and if you are interested in what company I used for the slide to digital conversion here's the info.  I used ScanDigital. It was $0.68 per slide.  I had a Groupon so I got it at a pretty good price. I can't remember what I paid but I think it was $50 for $100.  I was nervous about sending off our slides and not ever having used the company before but I worried for nothing.   The slides came back great, the product is awesome.  I'm very happy with the results.  My only complaint is that I sent in the slides the end of January and just received the finished product on April 18th.  However, the groupon expired the end of January and I would imagine a lot of others procrastinated like I did and send in their goods in January.  So they must have had a pretty high volume.  Of course, I had to pay for shipping both ways..but I guess that's to be expected.

Laura Lippman Giveaway

As many of you probably know, Laura Lippman’s latest book I’d Know You Anywhere was released in trade paperback earlier this month. As a way to promote the author and her new book I’m happy to have the opportunity to host a giveaway for 3 of the author's books.

I haven’t had the chance to personally read any of Laura Lippman’s books yet but I’ve been wanting to for awhile. In fact, I know I’ll be reading Baltimore Blue’s later this year.

For those of you who haven’t read anything by her yet, here’s some info for you:
I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE is a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award (mystery category) and for the 2011 Edgar Award in the Best Novel category. The book was also nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award. I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE was included on numerous “Best of 2010” lists, including Stephen King's list in Entertainment Weekly. Lippman has previously won Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Gumshoe and Quill Awards for her work. The Washington Post calls her “One of the best novelists around, period.”






Here’s some info about I’d Know you Anywhere:
More about I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE (Morrow; Trade Paperback; On-sale May 3, 2011):

There was your photo, in a magazine. Of course, you are older now. Still, I'd know you anywhere.
Suburban wife and mother Eliza Benedict's peaceful world falls off its axis when a letter arrives from Walter Bowman. In the summer of 1985, when Eliza was fifteen, she was kidnapped by this man and held hostage for almost six weeks. Now he's on death row in Virginia for the rape and murder of his final victim, and Eliza wants nothing to do with him. Walter, however, is unpredictable when ignored—as Eliza knows only too well—and to shelter her children from the nightmare of her past, she'll see him one last time.
But Walter is after something more than forgiveness: He wants Eliza to save his life . . . and he wants her to remember the truth about that long-ago summer and release the terrible secret she's keeping buried inside.

“Laura Lippman is among the select group of novelists who have invigorated the crime fiction arena with smart, innovative, and exciting work.” —George Pelecanos
“This is a story that grips you not with suspense but with its acute psychological autopsy of a survivor. Lippman’s knack for elucidating the horrors humans can inflict on one another through violence and manipulation — while telling a compelling story —is disarming and fascinating.” —USA Today
“Lippman’s taut, mesmerizing, and exceptionally smart drama of predator and prey is at once unusually sensitive and utterly compelling. —Booklist
“Lippman’s dedicated fans will find themselves well rewarded with I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, an exceptional novel in every way, which is sure to gain her many new followers.” —San Diego Union-Tribune


You can read more about the author at her site with Harper Collins or on her own website.


Now..I did mention a giveaway didn’t I? I’m able to offer 1 copy of each of the following books:
Baltimore Blues
Hardly Knew Her
I’d Know You Anywhere

To enter, just fill out the form. Anybody with a US or Canadian address can enter. You can choose all three books or you can choose just one or two. I’ll do a separate drawing for each book. The giveaway will end at midnight (central time) on May 27th . Good luck!

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Crown
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 440
Challenges: 2011 Pub Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description:
Madame Tussaud is the story of the French Revolution as told from Marie Grosholtz. Marie is Madame Tussaud later in life.  The French Revolution happened before she was married and her last name was changed to Tussaud.   Marie lived with a man she called Uncle, along with her Mom.   He owned a wax museum and since Marie grew up living there she learned the trade.  She was a gifted artist and she did the sketches, plaster molds, etc.  She also then painted and put the wax heads together.

At first they had exhibits showing the royal family.  However as the revolution started and continued the displays were constantly changing in order to show the people who were popular at that time.  Marie's goal was to show the people what they wanted in order to bring in more business.

The salons held at her Uncle's house once a week were often places for some of the heads of the revolution to get together and speak.  Marie knew many of them and tried to balance this along with her new friendship to the King's sister.

At several times Marie had the chance to flee but she didn't want to leave her Mom and brother's.  She gave up true love in order to stay.   There also came a point when she wasn't willing to do what the revolutionists wanted and she paid for it.

My Thoughts:
I thought this was a very interesting approach to the French Revolution. I think we have all heard of Madame Tussuad  regardless of if we have visited one of the museums or not. I never really knew much about the person behind the store.  I also don't know much about the French Revolution.  Combining the two made for an interesting read.

As with all historical fiction novels we have to remember that not everything is accurate.  I did read the afterwards where Michelle gives a history of what happened to some of the key players and also she described some of the changes she made.  I found this part just as interesting.   Even though I know it's fiction based on real events, I feel like I did learn something and I walked away knowing a bit more about the French Revolution and Madame Tussuad herself.

I did enjoy this novel, I felt the story was interesting and it moved along pretty well.   I've been a fan of Michelle Moran's since her first book and she doesn't disappoint.  I have to admit that I think I liked her other novels better however that could be the subject line. Her other novels have been placed in ancient Egypt and that's a period that fascinates me.  So those stories have my interest before one of the French Revolution any day of the week.   All in all - I enjoyed this novel and definitely recommend it.

Friday Smile - The long awaited bookcases!

It has finally happened.  I FINALLY have bookcases in my library!  In October Husband finally agreed that it was time to get them.  We knew that they needed to be custom built and Husband gave me a set amount for the project.  Lucky for me a friend's Dad does cabinetry as a hobby and I've seen his work and he was the first (and only) person I contacted.   I met with him in November and explained my idea and gave him pictures.  He came up with something and came out to the house to see the location and show me what he had in mind.  I agreed with a lot of his suggestions and he got to work on them.  

test run to see if they really did fit

In February the (almost) finished pieces arrived at my house.  I was so freaking excited!  The pieces were put in the library and a test fit was done.  Some things needed to be fixed, but for the most part it was going to work.

Now the hard part (for me) started. I had to stain everything.  The price to have the bookcases built came in just under the amount Husband agreed on for this project. It would have been another $500 for him to stain the wood.  Therefore, it was determined that I would do that.  What a project that ended up being.

The unfinished pieces were dropped off February 27th.  I spent every weekend in March, Saturday and Sunday, in the garage staining the shelves and putting the polyurethane on them.   The weekends where I was staining I was spending 6-7 hours each day working on these.  Doing the poly didn't take as long, but it was still several hours.  The thing is..while it took up most of my day it wasn't too bad.  Do I want to do it again? No.  Would I do it again? Yes.  I like knowing that I did it. There's a feeling of accomplishment.  I also listened to audio books almost the whole time.  Now you know why I have finished so many audio books the last couple of months and not a lot of paper books.

TA-DA!

Once the big pieces were stained and had the poly on them my friend's Dad came back out to install them.  I had everything finished but the shelves themselves.  There are something like 35 shelves and since I had to do both sides, they took a long time.  Once he installed them I then got to work finishing the shelves so I could use them.  I worked every night after work on this until they were done. I was finally finished and ready to start using them April 27th.  I then spent my evenings after work taking my books out of their boxes and arranging them in alphabetical order by Author (just grouped all the A's together, the B's, etc).  Then I took each letter and alphabetized them by author last name.  I finally finished getting the books on the shelves on May 2nd.     I did end up setting aside roughly 4 boxes of books to get rid of however I still have 10 boxes of books in the basement because they didn't fit on the shelves. I'm just not ready to part with them yet.

Oh..it feels so good to be done.  The library looks so nice now. It's great to walk in that room and finally see it come to life.   This is what I wanted since we bought the house.

Since you might want to know, I'll tell you.  I did group most of the books together but I did separate some genre's.   The young adult, non-fiction, and classics are by themselves.  The rest are all together.  The non-fiction is then organized not alphabetically but by type. War, true-crime, memoir, paranormal, etc.  I also left room on almost every shelf for more books to be added, because I know there will be more.

I have a library case, I've shown pictures of that before.  The left side of that is for the books I'm attempting to read for challenges this year.   The middle section are the young adult books, alphabetical by author last name, and the right side holds review books and books I've borrowed from others.

I was taking pictures of the room last night so I could share with people and Husband came over and decided to pose for me. haha!

Right now that's where the couch is but I'm not loving the location. I'm not loving the couch actually.  I won't be able to do anything else to this room for awhile, we're re-doing a ton of landscaping.  However I hope to get a rug, an over-sized chair or chaise lounge or something.  We might try and hang a light instead of using a floor lamp.  Who knows what we'll do!  All I know for now is that I have my library and it puts a smile on my face every time I walk into it now.

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

#4 Outlander
Genre: Fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: Audio Book
Review
Author's Website

Once again I'm not going to do my typical review for this blog.  The reason behind this is because this is the 4th in a series that needs to be read in order.  I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't read it yet.  I also don't think anybody would willingly pick this one up without reading the others first.

This book takes place mostly in the US.  What made this one interesting for me was the addition of Bri and Roger.  While they were in the last book, they each played a big role in this one and I liked that.

I can't say that anything crazy happened in this one..nothing major like we have had in previous novels.  Yet, it moved along well for me and it kept my interest.  I was a bit worried since some reviews on amazon said this was the slowest in the series for them so far.  I thought the 2nd in the series was really slow.  Therefore, I was happy with how much I did like it.  Unfortunately, I read reviews for the next in the series and that one gets some really bad reviews.  So..we'll see what I think of the next one when I get to it.



 Audio Review:
Davina Porter is the narrator for this book, as she has been for previous books in the series. I think she does an excellent job!  I look forward to listening to the rest of this series on audio..as long as she's the narrator.

April 2011 Reads

Total books read: 6

Pages: 1,198
New Authors: 1
Mystery: 2
Non-Fiction: 0
Fiction: 2
Young Adult: 2
Audio:  4
Own: 3
Bought: 1
Review:  0
Borrowed:  4
DNF: 0




The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen
Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (not reviewed)
Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins


Challenges
I'm surprised that I'm so close to finishing some challenges!  Perhaps I'll complete all of them this year. (knock on wood)
Off the Shelf: 12/30
New Author: 9/50
Hometown Challenge: 0/4
Gothic Reading Challenge: 0/1
Strong Heroine Challenge: 4/12
Urban Fantasy Challenge: 6/15
I want More Book Challenge: 2/4
What’s in a Name?4: 3/6
Paranormal/Fantasy reading challenge: 4/12
Series Challenge season 5: 0/2 series, 1/7 books
1st in a Series challenge: 9/12
War Through the Generations: 2.5/10
Young Adult challenge: 7/20 
Mystery and Suspense: 6/12
Cruisin’ Through the Cozies: 11/13
Buy 1 book and read it: 2/12
Audio Books: 15/20
2011 Pub Challenge: 10/11