New Author Challenge 2011

Jackie from Literary Escapism is once again hosting the New Author Challenge.  I actually did this challenge in 2009 and loved it, then decided not to do it in 2010 because I wanted to read books I already owned..which meant a lot of series.  That didn't work out as well as I would like and I still ended up reading a lot of new authors.  So, I figured, why not.  Why not do this challenge again in 2011.  It should be fun and I look forward to read a ton of new authors!

Here are the guidelines:

1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.
2. Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels.  Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies.
3. I want this to be an easy challenge, so you can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors.  It all depends on how fast you read and how adventurous you want to be.  For me, I’m trying another 50 new authors.  If you reach your goal halfway through the year, don’t stop.  Any new author you try can be added to Mr. Linky.  We all want to know about your new experience.
4. After reading your new author, write your review and then come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky.  Make sure you include your name and the author, but adding the title is completely up to you.
5. Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome

I won't be listing books that I plan to read for this challenge, however I know that I have several knew authors already on my lists for other challenges so I'm looking forward to being able to kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. 

New Author Challenge - Completed

I'm excited to share the news that I have finished another challenge this year.  Hip Hip Hooray!

The New Author Challenge is being hosted by Literary Escapism.  The goal was to read either 15, 25, or 50 new authors in 2010.  I had wanted to focus on books I already owned, so figured I should go with a low number and signed up for 15.  I'm surprised I finished it this fast!

Here's a re-cap of what I read for this challenge:
Trickster's Choice by Tamara Pierce
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Prime Time by Hank Phillippia Gregory
Girl Mary by Petru Popescu
Spinning Forward by Terry Dulong
Defenders of the Scroll by Shiraz
The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Excalibur Murders by J.M.C. Blair
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Fireworks over Toccoa by Jeffery Stepakoff
Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
In the Wake of the Boatman by Jonathon Scott Fuqua
Farm Fresh Murder by Paige Shelton
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

You can see all reviews HERE.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking-Penguin
Genre: Fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: 
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website 


Simple Description: 
CeeCee is a 12 year old girl when her mother dies.  The thing is, her mother suffered from mental illness and caused a lot of issues for CeeCee, but she still loved her and feels her loss.

Her father is a traveling sales man (it is the late 60's) and has never been around much for CeeCee.   After her mother's death, CeeCee meets her great Aunt Tootie and moves to Savannah Georgia to live with her.
Living with Aunt Tootie opens up a whole new world for CeeCee.  She quickly finds love and wisdom in both Aunt Tootie and her cook Oletta.  She is taken care by these woman, whereas in the past she has had to take care of her Mom.   There are also some eccentric neighbors and friends that CeeCee meets too.

Throughout the story you grow with CeeCee as she comes to terms with her childhood, her Mom, and possibly even her Dad.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
This book has been getting a lot of exposure in the book blogging community.   Part of me was really excited to read it and part of me dreaded it because I was afraid of disappointment. I'm here to tell you that I wasn't disappointed.   I just loved this book, adored it, didn't want it to end.

You can't help feeling sorry for CeeCee because of what she has experienced.  Then when she moves to Georgia and is taken in by her Great-Aunt Tootie and her Cook, Oletta, you see her finally getting the love she  needs.  

There is also this concept of a life book.  This is something that CeeCee's neighbor, before she moved, told her about and it shows up in the story several times.  I won't describe it here for you, but let's just say it's one of the main things that really stuck out in this book and made me like it so much.

I actually read several reviews on Amazon where this book received poor reviews.  Mostly the problem was that people thought CeeCee was too mature for her age, thought the story was predictable and had been done before, and thought Oletta should have sounded more educated than she really did.   Sure..I could agree with all of those, but I could also argue with all of those.

I for one, am going to give this book a 4.5/5 stars.  Yup..I liked it that much.

I did listen to the audio version of this book.  jenna Lamia is the narrator and I think she did an awesome job.


 This audio book was rented from my local library.

Farm Fresh Murder by Paige Shelton

Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Berkley Prime crime
Genre:  Mystery
Pages:  281
Challenges:  Cozy Mystery, New Author
New-to-me Author:  yes
Author's Website 

Simple Description:
Becca is running late, as usual, for the local farmer's market where she sells jelly.  When she arrives she finds more activity than usual, the type of activity involving the police.   A new seller to this farmer's market was found dead, murdered.   Becca's friend, Abner, found the body and is currently mia and the police's top suspect.  Becca doesn't think Abner is the murderer, but he is acting funny.  Becca decides that she'll do some investigating on her own, even though everyone warns her not to.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:

I thought this was a good start to a new series.  You can't help liking Becca, even though she is very blunt about asking questions and not very smooth at it.  You know she has the best intentions, even though sometimes you question her choices.

I couldn't help but love the setting.  The story mostly takes place at different farms and farmer's markets. I think I'm not alone when I say that I can't help wish I worked on a farm (even though I know that in real life I would probably go nuts) and therefore reading about it appeals to me.

I think there's a lot of room for Becca to grow and for the series to turn into a great one.  I definitely plan to read the 2nd in the series, whenever it's published.


Thanks to Meghan with Penguin for providing this book for review.

In the Wake of the Boatman by Jonathon Scott Fuqua

Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Genre: fiction
Pages: 307
Challenges: War through the Generations Challenge, New author challenge
New-to-me Author:  Yes
Author's Website 

Simple Description:
Puttnum (or Putt) was born during WWII.  His father didn't want him, mostly because he felt sick that he couldn't fight for his country and is therefore stuck at home having to provide for yet another mouth to feed.  After WWII his father goes into business for himself and slowly the family becomes somewhat rich.  This, however, does not cause Putt's dad to like him anymore.  It seems his son can't do anything right.  Even when he tries.

Putt knows that his father prefers his older sister.  It seems that no matter what he does, he disappoints.  He tries to be tough at the country club pool and ends up causing a kid to lose an eye.  Later as a teenager he  is put in jail for stealing  car.  When it's time to go to college, Putt rebels in a way. He gets a scholarship and joins the ROTC program at the University of Virginia, his Dad flunked out of this school.

Putt has trouble in school though.  Well, not so much with school, but rather in dealing with people.  He has a lot of personal struggles going on.  There is one struggle that becomes too much for Putt.  He feels like he would have been better if he had been born a woman. He feels complete when he wears woman's clothing.  In an effort to deal with this, Putt asks to be sent to Vietnam after he graduates college.  He serves 3 tours in Vietnam and only come back to the states for good when he is injured.  He then gets asked to break up a spy ring and ends up being a hero for America.  Well, at least in the eyes of the army and most American citizens.  Putt knows he doesn't deserve to be a hero.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I struggled with this one.  That's probably (in part) why it took so long to write the review, I finished this book on Wednesday.  While the idea of the story intrigues me, the delivery didn't live up to my expectations.  I was interested in the struggle between Putt and his true feelings and how he reacted to Vietnam and coming home after serving in Vietnam.  While this was part of the story, there wasn't as much attention to it as I would want there to be.  For the most part Putt seems like an angry and lost man.  The reader doesn't really get as much info as I would have liked regarding him liking to dress in woman's clothing, his issues with his Dad, etc.  You seemed to always be on the outside, getting some glimpses of his thoughts and feelings but not enough for me.

Unfortunately, I think the book was just ok.  It held my interest enough that I did finish it, but I can't rave about this one.  There were several things I thought were interesting, I like the personal struggles Putt went through, it just wasn't delivered in a way I thought worked.  Lucky for you readers, I looked this one up on amazon.com and there are 4 reviews, 2 gave it 5 stars and 2 gave it 4 stars.  So it might be worth reading those to get a better idea if this book is

If I'm going to rate it, which I keep saying I'm going to set up a system and still haven't, I would give this one 2.5 out of 5 stars.



 Thanks to Harrison at Bancroft Press for providing this book for review.

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

Copyright: 1999
Publisher: Speak (division of Penguin)
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 228
Challenges: New Author, Young Adult
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website

Simple Description: 
Colie and her Mom used to each be over-weight.   Then her Mom found her calling..in fitness of all things.  Now they are both skinny, athletic, eat right, and her Mom makes enough money for them to be very comfortable.  This doesn't mean that the fat years (as they call them) don't effect Colie's life now.  

They do live in the same town they have since her Mom found fitness.  This is the longest they have been in one place but it doesn't matter, nobody likes Colie.  The really  mean girl at school calls her a slut and tells everyone how easy she is.    Colie has no friends yet that doesn't mean she's excited to be sent to live with her Aunt Mira in the small town of Colby, North Carolina for the summer.

The first day there Colie realizes that Mira is the eccentric in the small town.  She is overweight, she wears loud clothes, and rides a beat up bicycle everywhere.  She also tends to buy objects for the house that don't work 100%.

Colie gets a job waitressing at a local Bar and Grill and there she becomes friends with Morgan.  The other waitress, Morgan's best friend, Isabel, doesn't like Colie and doesn't hide it.  That's ok though, Colie is used to that.  Then one day the evil girl from school shows up and Isabel see's how Colie is treated and her opinion of Colie changes.  She ends up giving Colie a make-over and starts trying to convince Colie that she is special and she is pretty and she is deserving.

Here's a quote from the book (pg 171) that I just adore.  It's Mira's response to Colie when Colie confronts her about how the towns folk talk about her and treat her (Mira) poorly.

"I've always known who I am.  I might not work perfectly, or be like them, but that's okay.  I know I work in my own way."

Here's another quote from earlier in the book that I also liked, although not as much as the one above (this one from page 119).

"For Mira, there were no lost causes.  Everything, and everyone, had its purpose.  The rest of the world, too often, might have missed that.



Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
Loved this book. I thought it was great, not just for a 30 something enjoying a YA book but for teenage girls (and boys).   We all know that teenagers (especially girls!) can be very mean.  There are always the mean and popular kids and then there are the outsiders.  This book deals with that issue.  This book is about Colie finding herself and realizing that she is special and she doesn't deserve to be treated as poorly as she is.  I just love books like that, don't you?   Of course, with a wacky Aunt Mira thrown in, how could you not like this one?  I think Mira was a great character.  The book didn't focus on her, but it showed a grown woman who was very different and ok with that.

This is definitely a book that I recommend to others and I think it would be great for teenagers.

Since I'm planning to go to a star (of sorts) rating (still being lazy about finding the pictures I want to use), I would rate this one 4/5.



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

Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffery Stepakoff

Copyright: 2010

Publisher: Thomas Dunne 

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 272

Challenges: New Author Challenge

New-to-me Author: yes

Author's Website


Simple Description:
It's the summer of 1945.  WWII has ended and our boys are coming home.  Lily's husband of over 3 years will be back home in a couple of days.  They married before he left to join the war and only had 2 weeks together.  The excitement in town is that there will finally be a fireworks display.  When Lily is driving to her house one afternoon she stops and walks out into a field where the pyrotechnics man is setting off fireworks.   She doesn't realize she is in any danger until he tackles her and protects her from the debris.    He takes her to his truck to clean her scratches and things just go from there.  She is attracted to this man. He is different from any man she has known before.   So starts an affair.  It only lasts a couple of days but it's life changing for Lily.    She has to decide if she is going to forget this man, the one she just met and believes is her soul mate, or forget him and go back to the man she is already married to.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I was excited to get a copy of this book for review.  I've read a bunch of positive reviews regarding this book and I'm happy to report that this book did live up to my expectations.  It's a love story. It's about a girl who married young, maybe too quickly, and after spending over 3 years apart from her husband, she's having second thoughts.  Then comes this man who seems to be different from all the other men she knows and he seems to get her.   I can't say that I loved Lilly, she seemed rather immature at times, but at the same time I couldn't help loving her free spirit.

I definitely recommend this book.  It's a great story, one that kept me coming back to it and wanting to know exactly what was going to happen.  


Thanks to Sarah at St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Genre: fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: New author, audio book
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Jacob Jankowski is just finishing his degree at Cornell, he's going to be a vet and work alongside his father.  Then the unthinkable happens, Jacob's parents are run off the road and killed.  When he goes to their town to take care of things and figure out what to do next, he finds out that the bank is taking the house.  He tries to take his last exam but can't do it and blindly starts walking.  He ends up jumping a circus train and being offered a position.  

While working for the circus he comes to fall in love with Marlena, one of the performers, who happens to be married.  Her husband is a nasty man and abuses her.   Jacob has to find a way to get her away from him.

Along the way Jacob learns what circus life is really like.  He makes some friends, and some enemies.
You meet Rosie, a circus elephant who doesn't appear to know how to actually perform. You can't help but like Rosie though, especially what she does at the end (and no, I'm not going to tell you what she did..that would be a spoiler).

The novel is told from the point of view of Jacob, as the story happens in the early 1930's as well as Jacob, in present day as an old man in a nursing home.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
This is another case of "I expected the book to be better because of all the hype".  I did like the book, I thought the story was good and very interesting. I've never read a book about a circus. So that aspect was interesting.  However I don't think it was as good as I was lead to believe.  I know too many people who told me it was the best book of the year or how the just loved it.  I think it was good, but not that good.  I do think it's worth reading, I just caution you to not get your hopes up.

I did listen to the audio version of this book. I liked how they used two different narrators for Jacob.  There was a younger Jacob and an older Jacob.  I think it worked very well for this book.


This audio book was rented from my local library.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Copyright:2009 (original pub date is 1990)
Publisher: Mariner
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 233
Challenges: War Through the Generations - Vietnam, New Author Challenge, Buy 1 book and read it
New-to-me Author: Yes



This is a short story collection.  Each of the 22 stories deals with the Vietnam War.  The stories are either about things that happened while fighting the war, being drafted, or what happened after the war.

I always find it hard to review a short story collection because I don't want to write about each story, yet if I don't how do you get an idea about the book?  I think if I do write about each story, I end up giving too much info, because it is a short story and not a full length novel.   So I'm just going to generalize about the collection as a whole and not focus on individual stories.

There were some stories I liked more than others, yet I still liked them all.   I like this book because the author says it's fiction, yet the main character is named Tim.  The stories read like it's a memoir or some other non-fiction book.  You can picture the stories happening.   I liked that the characters were the same from story to story.  No, not every character was in every story, but they all showed up more than once.  I think it helped the book flow.  It gave the book the feel that it was a full length novel and not a short story collection.  Although, I will warn you that even though it flows well, the story line does jump around.  This doesn't cause an issue with the story though.

This is only the 2nd book I've read for the War Through The Generations challenge and I'm so glad I read this one.   Even though it's fiction, I think it gives the reader a good idea about what it was like.  What it was like getting a draft card for a war you don't believe in.  Going to war and having to find a way to cope with the death and the things you have to do and the people you have to be with 24/7.  Then you have to come home and try to go back to "normal" life.

I actually finished this book on Thursday, but I wasn't ready to review it just yet.  I kept thinking about it.  In my mind, that's what makes a book stand out, one that you can't review right away because you are still trying to wrap your mind around it.

This is definitly a book I recommend to others.  Whether you are participating in the War Through The Generations challenge, interested in the Vietnam War, or none of the above, I think this would be a good book to read and ponder over.

Since my reviews of short story collections always seem to be lacking as a proper review, click HERE to go to the review page for this book at the War Through The Generations Blog.  This book has also been reviewed by several others and you can read a snippet and also click through to the individual blogs to read the full review.




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

The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski

Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Putnam
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 495
Challenges: New Author Challenge
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
I'm being lazy and copying the info about the book from the author's website.  Actually, it's part lazy and part "I really don't know how to describe this book".  Here it is:
Carved into the towering cliffs of central Greece, the Metéora
monasteries are all but inaccessible. Holy Trinity is the
most isolated, its sacred brotherhood the guardians of
a secret that has been protected for centuries.

In the dead of night, the holy retreat is attacked by an
elite group of warriors carrying ancient weapons. One by
one, they hurl the silent monks from the cliff-top to the rocks
below ― the holy men taking their secret to their graves….

Halfway across Europe, Richard Byrd fears for his life. He
has uncovered the location of a magnificent treasure. But
there are those who are dedicated to protecting it,
and they will stop at nothing to prevent its discovery.

Hoping to save himself, Byrd contacts two colleagues,
Jonathon Payne and David Jones, and begs for their help.
The duo rushes to his aid and quickly find themselves caught
in an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I'll say first that I had some issues with the book but that in the end I really did enjoy it.
Right off let me say that I had a review copy of this book, an uncorrected proof, not for individual sale, etc.
I had some issues with the writing.  Things that I don't think were changed for the official print but I don't know that for sure.  One of the things that bothered me was that you would be getting the story from one guys point of view, this guy would call somebody on the phone, and while they were talking, you would start getting info on the person who was called.  Things such as the person moved their hair or put their feet up on a desk, something that shouldn't be known since the story was being told from a persons point of view who couldn't see them.  See what I mean?  stuff like that.

However, the story itself kept my interest.  So even though there were things that bothered me, I wanted to figure out how the story was going to end and had enough interest in it to continue reading it.

I liked it enough to consider reading one of the author's other books.



Thanks to Nicole from Authors on the Web for providing this book for review.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Genre: fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: audio, new author
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
I'm having a hard time even wanting to give a description because I know this book made it's way into many blog reviews.  I feel like most of you have either already read the book, plan to read the book, or know what it's about but don't have an interest in reading it.

So for those of you who maybe haven't heard of this book yet here's some info ( because I'm sure there are some of you, I can't possibly be the last one to read it can I?).

Guernsey is a British Island that was occupied by the Germans during WWII.   This book is a story of those islanders as told via letters and telegrams.  It's after the war, 1946,  and they talk about things going on now and things that happened during the occupation.   There is one outsider, Juliet, she befriends the Islanders and they are telling her their stories and she's working on a book about the island and what they islanders went through and how they coped.

Sounds interesting but not enough to make you  run out and buy it though right?  This is a really hard book to describe!

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
Following the above comment, you must go out and buy it!  I am!  I actually borrowed this as an audio book from the library but I know it needs a spot in my library and I know I'll buy myself a copy.   You get so wrapped up in island life and what they islanders went through and learning about the different individuals through Juliet's eyes.  You don't want it to stop.   This is an excellent book, I can't recommend it enough.  Since I can see into the future (snicker) I can tell you that this will make it as one of my top reads for the year.

Now, you might say that you don't usually read books dealing with WWII so of course this isn't for you.  But it could be!  See, WWII is definitely an important part of the book but it's not the whole book.  The book is about the people.  You want to meet Darcy.  You want to play with Kit.  You want to go to one of the literary meetings and talk about your book, you want to meet all these people and have tea.

Of course, you also want to visit Guernsey.   I think it's funny that last weekend I was in my car headed home after a run, and the current letter being read was about the island.  It's something like 7 miles long and 5 miles wide (that's what I think was said and I'm too lazy to actually look it up) and the only thing I could think of was "Wouldn't it be cool to run across the island?"  Now yes, I know there wouldn't be a road or path that went straight across the island, but I still think it would be cool to go running on the island, take a long run and start at one beach and run across to the other.  Sounds like fun right?  yeah yeah..I'm nuts, I know.

However, I still can't help be want to visit Guernsey and go to the museum of the underground hospital, visit the castle, stay at a manor house.  I did actually look to see how expensive a stay would be.  I found the Hotel Fleur du Jordin which is restored farmhouse and rates start at 46 pounds per person per night. I can handle that.  Let's be honest, who wants to go to an island like this and stay in a modern chain hotel? Where would the fun be in that?

I also found this article at at Boston.com with an article about Guernsey and a video that somebody took visiting it, talking to some of the islanders, etc.  I didn't read the article, but loved the video.

Don't worry, I found pictures for you too.  Who wouldn't want to visit after looking at these pictures?
I just need to figure out how to convince the husband he wants to travel for 10 hours on a plane so we can visit this island and take a Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society tour!  Better yet..why bring the husband when he wouldn't enjoy the tour like we would, what say you and I make plans to meet there? We can spend our afternoons reading on the beach and our evenings blogging about it.  Where do I sign up?


This audio book was rented from my local library.

Defenders of the Scroll by Shiraz

Copyright: 2008

Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: YA
Pages: 248
Challenges: New Author
New-to-me Author: Yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Alex has to face the toughest decision so far in his young (16 years) life, does he go to school and take his last final tomorrow or go to the audition his band member got with a music executive?  As you can guess, the dream of being a rock star won.

Thins soon change and Alex realizes that the decision he made wasn't that tough, not life or death tough.  Because, you see, during the audition he trips and falls and walks up in another world.  Or maybe it's the same world but a time in the past.  It's never clear.   His mission is to protect a young wizard princess named Dara.  Her father is the King and one of the most powerful Wizards in the kingdom. He has been captured and put all his wizardry power into a scroll that Dara has.  She uses the magic to bring Alex to her.  She was really trying to get the leader of the warriors that protect her kingdom, the Axeman, but did something wrong to get Alex instead.

Early on Alex realizes he can summon warriors from one of the books that went with him to the current world/time that he is in.  Together these warriors help Alex keep Dara save from pirates and evil shadow warriors.  At least, we assume they do, the story doesn't end with this book.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
hmm what to say about this one.  Overall, a very enjoyable book that kept my interest.  Why am I uncertain about it then?  Well, the writing was a bit off to me.  Sure, I know Alex is a teenager from present day, but sometimes he annoyed me.  I think they tried to write in some of the things that kids do and say but it was so incredibly obvious and didn't flow with the story that it was annoying.  Then there was my major pet peeve, the story doesn't end.  Sure..the book ends, but he story doesn't.  They don't even find the King, which is what they set out to do.  Nope.  They survive the latest attack and them boom..end of book.  I hate that!  I realize it's done so that people will buy the next book but it tends to piss me off and make me refuse to buy the next book.   You guys know me, I love a good series, but I like the story to end and the next book to feature the same people and have another adventure.  Don't keep me hanging.   Of course, I do sometimes buy the next book because I liked it enough, but it still annoys me.

So yeah, the story was decent, kept moving, kept me guessing on what was going to happen next, but there were still things that bothered me and keep me from raving about this one.

I recommend, if you are interested, checking out the blog.  The prologue and I think the first 3 chapters are available online.  That should give you and idea on if you want to read the entire book or if it's not your cup of tea.


Thanks to the author(s) for providing this book for review.
I am an amazon associate.

The Excalibur Murders by J.M.C. Blair

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

Spinning Forward by Terri Dulong

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Girl Mary by Petru Popescu

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prime Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 280
Challenges: New Author
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Charlotte McNally is a tv reporter and she's worried about being cut. She might be good at her job, she might have won several Emmy's, but she is in her mid 40's and older women seem to be let go in order to make room for younger women.

It's November and she needs a big story in order to make the ratings for the sweeps. She is looking for her next big story when it happens to fall in her lap. She has to step in for the news anchor that doesn't show up and reads a story about a man who was killed in a car crash earlier in the morning. Something about his employer's name seems familiar. Later when she is back at her desk she finds that the company is rumored to be in trouble soon due to a whistle blower and she thinks the dead man was the whistle blower. She delves deeper into the story with her producer Franklin. They might not get the story they starting out looking for, but they do uncover a killer of a story.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I'm not usually a big fan of mysteries where the main chracter is a reporter (tv or newspaper). Usually the characters are so self-centered and it's all me me me me me. However, I did accept a copy of this book to review because it sounded good and I had heard positive things. Let me just say that it didn't bother me in the slightest that the main character was a reporter. I actually really liked her. There was just something about her personality.

This book was great, an awesome start to a new series by the author. It kept moving for me, I wanted to know what was going to happen and how it would all end up. I didn't figure it out at first, who the main bad person was, although I did have my suspicions.

I can tell you that I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series (currently there are already 4 published..or at least three..can't remember if the 4th was published this month or will be published soon). I think a lot of my blog readers will enjoy this mystery series and recommend reading it. Heck, it would qualify for the cozy mystery challenge that I'll be hosting again starting in April. hint hint

Thanks to Kim at Nancy Berland Public Relations for providing this book for review.

Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce

Copyright: 2004
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Young Adult
Challenges: Audio Book, Young Adult, TBR, 101 Fantasy, New Author

(wow...I can't believe one book can help me in 5 challenges. haha!)
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Ali isn't sure what she wants to do in life, well, kinda. Her mom is The Lioness, the best female fighter in her country. Her Dad is a spy. Ali wants to be a spy, a field agent, but her parents forbid it. If she can't be a spy, what else can she do? When her Mother comes home for a rest and makes Ali her project, Ali decides to take an unexpected trip to a city close by. She leaves a note for her parents and leaves early in the morning before anybody is awake to stop her.

Unfortunatly things don't go as planned. Ali is captured by pirates to be sold as a slave. Luckily she made herself seem like a "fighter" and when nobody wants her she is given to a family for free. Luck is with her because this is a very nice family who treats her well. They are royalty and forced into exile by the current king.

Ali has plans to escape but before she can the Trickster god comes to her with a deal. If she agrees to stay with this family through the summer and keep their daughters safe, the god

will deliver her safely to her home and make sure her parents let her become a spy. Ali takes the deal.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought this was a great young adult book. One thing I love is that Ali is such a strong female character. Not to bash the Twilight books (heck..I did love them) but Bella is so weak. I've read several blogs where that's a concern or a complaint rather. But Ali, she is so freaking strong! She's a great role model for young girls, in my opinion anyway. Ali is super smart and courageous.

The story itself kept my interest. I wanted to know what was going to happen to each of the characters and how the book was going to end.

This is definitely a book I recommend to others who like young adult and a bit of the paranormal. Well, do I call it paranormal? I suppose. Maybe Urban fantasy would be a better genre to put it in. Ali has some "gifts" that are passed down from parents to their children. One of the characters, Nowat, is a crow who becomes a Man so he can help Ali in her attempt to keep the royal family safe.

I did listen to this book. I thought the reader did a very good job. I admit to be confused at times but think that I probably would have been even if I read it, there were a lot of people mentioned in this book. Also, my mind kept drifting while I was driving. I don't think this had anything to do with the book though, rather just with things going on in my life right now.

This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me. (I did read the very end of the book last night at home. I knew I was close to the end and couldn't possible wait till the next day to finish the story. haha!)

This audio book was rented from my local library.

2010 Author Challenge

I've decided to join in this challenge next year. I tend to read a lot of new authors, so it seems perfect for me.

I'm going to pick the lucky number of 15, meaning my goal is 15 new authors next year. I realize that I've read more this year, but I'm actually thinking I need to read more of th books I already own and authors I already love, and accept less review books - so I'm anticipating that I won't have as many new authors but still want to make sure I read some new authors.

The New Authors Challenge is being hosted by Literary Escapism, click HERE to go to the challenge post and sign-up page.

Here are the rules for the challenge:

1. J anuary 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010.

2. Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels. Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies.

3. I want this to be an easy challenge, so you can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors. It all depends on how fast you read and how adventurous you want to be. For me, I’m trying another 50 new authors. If you reach your goal halfway through the year, don’t stop. Any new author you try can be added to Mr. Linky. We all want to know about your new experience.

4. After reading your new author, write your review and then come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky. Make sure you include your name and the author, but adding the title is completely up to you.

5. Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome