Last Wool and Testament

#1 Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Signet
Genre: mystery (cozy)
Pages: 352/DNF
My rating:  DNF


Simple Description:
Kath heads back to the foothills and the small town where she grew up for her Grandmother's funeral.  While there she realizes that her Grandmother was the prime suspect in a murder investigation.   Kath can't just leave this to rest so she takes matters into her own hands.  Of course she has the help of the ladies who formed a close kinship thanks to her Grandmother's store, The Weaver's Cat, and their love of yarn and fibers.


 My Thoughts:
I didn't finish this book. I wanted to, I really did.  The story itself was moving along ok.  I had issues with Kath, the main character. I just didn't like her.  She rubbed me the wrong way.  I think I could have kept going and chances are I would have ended up enjoying the story, but I didn't.  I've found that with my reading time being so short these days, if I'm not in love with a book, I have a hard time putting in the effort to finish it.   The book seems to have gotten good reviews though, so don't just go off of mine. 

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

#2 Fifty shades of gray trilogy
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Vintage
Genre: fiction
Pages: DNF
My rating: 1/5


I just couldn't do it ladies!  The writing is HORRIBLE.  I tried to just read it for fun, I went in to it knowing the writing was probably as bad as the first one.  I was hoping the story would keep my interest.

I struggled through it. I found myself not even wanting to read because it just bothered me.   So I finally said that enough was enough and closed it for good. 

How to be Good by Nick Hornby - DNF

I hate to say it, but I had to give up on this book.    I didn't like it much from the beginning, but thought I would give it 100 pages.  When I got to around 100 I still didn't really like it, but had decided I would continue with it.  Then the author just put something into the story that made me sit back and say "ok..this is just too far fetched and out there.  This isn't worth my time."  So I put it down and picked up something else.

The story is basically that of a husband and wife who have grown to hate each other.  They have two kids, the wife is a Dr, they live in a nice house and a good area, everything should be fine, but they really don't like each other anymore.  The husband is always angry, rants about everything.  The wife has this complex where she feels she is good, because she's a dr, and yet she's unhappy and has an affair.    Then the wife asks for a divorce, but the husband says he refuses to give it to her..just to spite her.   Then he suddenly changes and becomes all nice and caring, nothing bothers him and he wants to do good deeds...such as giving food to the homeless.  While this is what the wife tells herself she wants, once her husband changes she realizes she doesn't like this version of him either.    Then the guy she was having an affair with (she called it off when her husband started to act different) shows up at her door one Sunday evening and the three of them sit down to talk.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where I stopped reading.  

Personally..I disliked all the characters in the book.  The husband annoyed me because he was always so angry and did things to annoy the wife.  The wife annoyed me because she thought she was wonderful because she was a Dr. and everything was the husbands fault, and she did things just to annoy the husband too.  The last straw was when the guy she was having the affair with shows up at the door to talk, and while the wife is upset about this, her husband isn't.  They all sit around to chat and the husband is as nice and calm as can be.  This just doesn't happen in real life folks.  Or maybe it does, I don't know.  It just wasn't believable.

Conspirata: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris - DNF

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, so that's why my review format will be different for this one.

I copied the following book description from amazon.com:
Beginning in 63 B.C.E. and told by Cicero's slave secretary, Tiro, this complex tale continues to chronicle Cicero's political career as he charms, co-opts, and bribes his way into the exalted position of consul, ruler of Rome. Although Cicero is known as a brilliant politician and philosopher, he was also a slick manipulator and shameless schemer, competing with equally sneaky rivals Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. Cicero realizes that as the empire expands, the greatest threat to Rome comes from within, plotted by well-financed conspirators bent on turning the republic into a dictatorship. With fabulous oratory and trickery, Cicero uncovers and crushes an insurrection, exposing himself to great danger and possible assassination. Riots, murder, civil unrest, corruption, treachery, and betrayal mark Cicero's political legacy, resulting in a battle between him and Julius Caesar. Throughout, however, Tiro remains loyal and remarkably astute, recognizing that it is an act of madness for a man to pursue power when he could be sitting in the sunshine reading a book. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


So my thoughts and why I didn't finish it:
I actually didn't put much effort into this one.  I think I made it close to 50 pages and put it down.  Here's the thing, it just wasn't the book for me at this moment.  I actually think that I will pick it up at some point in the future.  I think if I finish it I will end up enjoying it and liking it.  I just wasn't enjoying it right now.    Usually when I don't finish I book I have strong reasons why, something usually annoys me.  This one is different.  I can't say that anything annoyed me, I just wasn't really interested.


There are a bunch of good reviews on Amazon though, so if it sounds interesting and you want another opinion I recommend looking there or doing a blog search online.


I did receive this book from Simon & Schuster to review, and I thank them for that.  I will return to this book, at some time, unfortunately that time isn't now. 

Dust and Shadow: an account of the Ripper Killings by Lyndsay Faye

This is my first DNF of the year (hopefully it's not a sign of things to come!)

Here's a link to the author's website.

Honestly, I didn't get very far in the book. I actually put it aside weeks ago with the intent to read one or two books and then pick it back up. However, each time I see it on my bedside table I cringe a bit. I really don't want to pick it up again. That was all the sign I needed to say "Life it too short to read books that just don't keep my interest, time to let this one go."

Here's the thing, I've read the official Sherlock Holmes books, not all, but several. I used to watch the television series with my Dad. I started reading this one and was totally turned off of Holmes. He comes across as such an ass. (pardon my language). Really though, he does. I want nothing to do with him. I have no idea if this is how the author wrote the character of this is really how the character is. I don't remember feeling that way about him when I read the books before. I would re-read one of my favorites, The Hound of Baskervilles, but I'm not going to. Why? Because I'm afraid he really will be an arse! lol! I would rather think he wasn't and remember the story is being great, than to re-read it and find out that these days I don't care for him.

The idea of this story really peaked my interest and I grabbed at the chance when it was offered to me for review. The idea is that Holmes is investigating the Ripper killings. Ok...I'm fascinated by the Ripper killings and I used to love Sherlock Holmes, combine the two and it's got to be awesome right? Wrong..at least for me.

There are several very positive reviews on Amazon, so if the book sounds interesting to you, I suggest checking out those reviews and any others you find.

Thanks to Stepfordmomfor2 for posting her link in a comment. She enjoyed the book! So, click HERE to read her review.

Thanks to (somebody...forgot who sent this to me and can't find the email) for providing this book for review.

Genesis Beach by Susan Whitfield

Copyright: 2007
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 172
Challenges: none
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:

I copied this from Amazon, I looked on the author's website but didn't find a description.

I craned my head around the corner and pulled back again. There was someone there. I inhaled deeply and swung my body around into the room, coming face-to-face with my own image in the mirror. The hair on my body bristled …

When the lifeless body of millionaire Rick Teater is discovered, no one suspects he was beaten to death with a sock, least of all inexperienced Logan Hunter, an intern for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. But the high-profile crime scene—and the need to prove herself—propel her to embark on a quest for justice. During the investigation, she befriends Pepper Ellis, the victim’s chef, and the two form an emotional attachment, something Logan does not expect.

After several intense searches, complicated by a hurricane and a recurring nightmare, Logan finds the body of her prime suspect, Lincoln Tumu. Her investigation comes to a frustrating standstill. Trying to cope with demons of her own, Logan begins to unravel the tightly woven plan that implicated Tumu and discovers she pursued the wrong person from the beginning. Now she suspects the one she counted on for guidance has been deceiving her all along.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
Honestly, I only got a little over 50 pages in this book before I decided to put it down and mark it as DNF. Here's the thing, the writing just wasn't good enough for me. You can tell it's the first in a series, the first book by the author, so I was willing to forgive some things. However, the story itself didn't grab me enough for me to continue reading it. I thought the main character made some huge mistakes that somebody in her position shouldn't have made. None of the secondary characters grabbed me either. So...I just decided not to continue.

I noticed the reviews on Amazon were really good though, so I encourage you to check them out.

Thanks to Susan Whitfield, the author, for providing this book for review.

Deadly Charm by Claudia Mair Burney -DNF

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Howard Fiction
Genre: Mystery
Pages:DNF
Challenges: None
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website

I didn't even make it to 100 pages in this book, made it to chapter 7 and had to stop. Here's the thing, it's not the first book in the series. So I was rather confused by everything going on. Now, if that had been the only issue, I would have continued with it and I'm sure all would have been ok. However, there is one other detail that kept bugging me. It seems like the author is preaching to me. I really don't like that. I'm ok that that book dealt with a pastor's son being killed and knowing that there would be some religous aspect to it. But, it doesn't stop there. The main charactor is very religous and it's just a major part of the story. There are a lot of lines like this: "I had a lot to talk to God about when we had our private time..." pg. 72

If those weren't so common, ok, maybe I would have kept going, but they were constant. I'm just not somebody who enjoys that. It seemed way over the top for me and turned me off. I'm not a follower of Christian lit but imagine this is similar to that. So if you like that genre, then you might be interested in this series. It's just not the thing for me and I felt like I was wasting my time reading it.

I did look up this book on amazon to see what others thought. There were a lot of positive reviews, glad to see that. There was one review that only gave it one star, and the user didn't finish the book. The user pointed out a lof of other things that bothered me about the book that I didn't address here. So I wanted to include a link to the Amazon page for this book, click HERE. This way my readers can get others reviews.

Harmony by Joanna Goodman

I have to admit ladies and gentleman, I didn't finish this book. I really just couldn't relate to the main character and I think that kept me from being able to really get into the story, since the book revolves around her. Let me tell you a bit about the story and then you can decide for yourself.

Anne has been married for about 5 years. She had her son 6 months ago and he was born with club feet. She is having a very hard time dealing with this. She has joined a support group for other parents of children with club feet. She has also decided to have her son go through surgery since the casts weren't working. Through this she is also struggling with the issue of not knowing anything about her family - other than her Mom. When she was 5 her Mom moved from their community in Harmony and has not been in touch with anybody since. Anne wants to know about this community and why they left. She also wants to meet her father, somebody she hasn't seen since they left Harmony.

Anne is also having trouble at home, her husband owns a coin business - where he deals with the sales and purchases of rare coins. He seems to be disconnected from his family.

What got to me was that Anne couldn't get past the fact that her son at club feet and he wasn't perfect. She also mentioned several times about how she couldn't stand it when others would say stuff like "At least he doesn't have cancer", etc. See...I was thinking the same thing..It's club feet...he isn't going to die from it...it could be worse. I admit, though, that I currently don't have kids and of course haven't experienced this myself. I think that I wouldn't be as upset as her though..I would be thankful it wasn't a terminal illness and do what I could to get my kid help. But again...that is coming from a person who is not a mother - my thoughts and feelings could very well change once I do have kids. So right away that is what turned me away from the character. To me she seemed to whine too much about things. I read as much as I did though because I was interested in why her Mom left Harmony and won't talk about it. However...because I didn't connect with the character....the book just didn't keep my interest so I had to put it down.

I do suggest you look at other reviews on Amazon or other websites. I think the story has potential and could be good. Maybe one of these days I'll pick it up again. Maybe after I become a Mom.

new author/fiction/dnf/read 175 out of 345 pages.