Immediately added to my wishlist

The title alone of this book convinced me to add it to my Amazon wishlist (aka my books I want to read but probably won't buy list): The Pale Assassin (Pimpernelles) by Patricia Elliott. It's the female league of the Scarlet Pimpernel!

Here's the description: "Eugenie de Boncoeur is growing up in Paris, unaware that her guardian has contracted her to marry the sinister spymaster known as 'le Fantome' when she turns sixteen. She finds herself falling for the handsome lawyer, Guy Deschamps, but there is little time for romance; France is descending into chaos as the Revolution takes hold. Soon Eugenie is fleeing for her life. Her brother Armand has become involved in a plot to save the King from the guillotine, the mob is searching for aristocrats, and le Fantome, the pale assassin, is on their trail - desperate for revenge."

Sounds like fun! Is it sad I'm already rooting for her to end up with le Fantome? I bet he'll turn out to be a good guy.

A bit different from the usual

On a whim, several years ago, I picked up Suzanne Strempek Shea's Becoming Finola. The cover was pretty and the plot sounded interesting. I ended up loving the book and went on to read most of Shea's other novels. Sheas' Hoopi Shoopi Donna made me cry--and I don't cry easily while reading. So I went into her Lily of the Valley expecting tears. Instead, I ended up not caring about the narrator, Lily, or her story.

Lily is an artist who chose to stay in a small town, not doing much. Her big break comes when the richest lady in town asks her to make a painting of her family--but her family is all dead and Lily has to use old photographs to create the portrait. So the book goes back and forth, into Lily's past, as well as the rich old lady's. There isn't much of a plot to the book, other than Lily working on the painting.

One Amazon reviewer sad the book made her slightly depressed--and I can see why. Lily is 39, divorced, living in a little apartment in a small town, mainly doing grunt artwork to survive. She doesn't appear to have much ambition to do anything else, so my pity was pretty darn low. At the end, the "moral" of the book is that you choose your family, blah blah blah (can you tell I thought it was a bit preachy and overdone?). Evidently that makes poor, single Lily feel better--yeah, so it's clear I didn't think much of Lily or her art. At least no tears were shed.

Rating: 6/10

Weekend = No Reading

I started a new book this weekend but after a hundred pages or so, I said, "Rachel, do you really want to read this book or are you just reading it because you like the cover and think you should read it?" At that moment in time, the answer was a resounding "no, I don't want to read this book." Honestly, the book itself isn't that bad--I just didn't care about the topic matter--so I don't want to mention it by name. Maybe someday I'll give it another read.

I decided to pick up Mary Stewart's Madam, Will You Talk? instead. I first read this about a year ago and in re-reading my blog post about it, yeah, my opinion remains the same. It's a fun, action-packed story featuring numerous chases and a woman who can really drive. Lovely reading.

Was just the sophomore slump?

I'm wondering if Erynn Mangum's Rematch was just a case of sophomore slump, because her third book, Match Point, didn't irritate me at all.

For the following illustration, you should know my parents have two Jack Russell Terriers: Jack (clever name, eh? he's a Humane Society dog, so we didn't name him) is crazy and NEVER STOPS moving/barking/playing while Penny is old and likes to eat and sleep. While Rematch felt as if Jack wrote it, the third book felt as if Penny wrote it, with a few paragraphs written by Jack thrown in.

The third book has the tables turned on Matchmaker Lauren Holbrook: suddenly she's finding herself being set up for looooooooove. Everything turns out fine, with almost more resolution than I needed (for example, two people in the book need a house. They look at one house, decide it'll do just fine and boom! They bought it. Wow.)

Anyway, if you like chick-lit, you'll probably like this book.

Rating: 7/10

Lastly, let's give props to the cover designer. The colors just pop and the designs suit the books perfectly:

Couldn't accept

I read Erynn Mangum's Miss Match about two years ago and remember really enjoying it. It was cheery, bopped along and was pretty relatable to my life: the main character, Lauren Holbrook, is in her early 20s, living at home, loves chocolate and coffee and believes her calling is matchmaking. While I'm not a matchmaker, it was fun reading.

Fast to my present day reading of the second book in the series, Rematch, which didn't enchant me; it bugged me. It was many little things...Lauren only drinks coffee (and the occasional pop) and eats chocolate or junk food. For lunch, she'd have cheesecake. For dinner, it'd be a brownie sundae. AND YET SHE'S STILL SKINNY. Gaaaaaaaaahhhhh. Seriously, if anyone ate like that in real life, they'd weigh 250+ pounds. Perhaps it's because I work so hard to stay in shape and know that I can't overindulge, but I hate reading about people who eat a ton of crappy food and still are so thin. Maybe it's because I've moved on in my life and Lauren hasn't but I think our similarities have ended.

The book just felt like a Jack Russell Terrier wrote it--hyper, hyper, hyper. The dialogue was snappy and the book never seemed to drag; in fact, I wanted it to slow down at times. But again, one aspect that bugged me was that everyone--including people they just met--called each other "honey," "sweetheart," "dear," etc. Random guys would call their female friends "honey"--and they were honestly just friends. Um, that's abnormal. If it was just one person, I could've handled it. But seriously, EVERYONE did it.

And one last complaint: Lauren's dad's new girlfriend, in discussing marriage, says that she didn't meet her first husband until she was 25. In context though (and perhaps I'm just a bit sensitive on this subject), the girlfriend made it seem as though 25 was kind of old to find your mate and that Lauren still had plenty of time, as she was only 22 or 23. GAAAAAAHHH. I'm just praying I'll get married by my late, late 20s. I also read this weekend that a woman's fertility starts to decrease by age 25, so yeah, I'm screwed--old and infertile.

I know the author is young (I think she was 22 or 23 when she wrote the book) so I'm sure that as she matures, her writing and aspects of the plot will, too.

On a positive note, any elements of faith were extremely natural and woven in quite well. Her faith was part of the story. So props on that, Mangum.

I checked out book two and three at the same time, so I will read the third book.

Rating: 6/10

Chemistry? Yeah, Chemistry!

Sometime last year I read a review on The YA YA YAs about Perfect Chemistry. In their words, this is the book: "Simone Elkeles’ Perfect Chemistry is a teen romance full of clichés, melodrama, an unrealistic denouement, and a completely over the top epilogue. And I freaking loved it. Ate it up with a spoon like it was an ice cream sundae."


Perfect Chemistry is about Alex, a Latino gang member, and Brittany, the "perfect" blond cheerleader. Forced to partner in their high school chemistry class, their very-different worlds collide and yes, it's chemistry.

The story is obviously unrealistic but so addictive. The short chapters switch between Alex and Brittany's point of views, which didn't bug me, suprisingly enough. You see their lives and their secrets and how they're meant for each other. And while the epilogue is completely over the top, I adored it.

Basically this book is sheer fun--don't take it seriously and enjoy the chemistry.

Rating: 9/10

What I've been reading

I have been a reading roll, checking off my TBR list. First, it was Snow Angel by Jamie Carie and then The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt (which I bought at a library book sale either this summer or last year? I'm sad that I have no idea).

Snow Angel is Carie's first book and isn't it a pretty cover? Gorgeous colors. Anyway, the story follows Elizabeth, who is determined to mine for gold in Alaska. After being caught in a freak snow blizzard, she's about to freeze to death when she sees a lighted cabin. The cabin belongs to Noah, a hardy (and attractive) farmer/but-how-can-you-be-a-farmer-in-Alaska-so-yeah-I-don't-really-remember-but-he's-not-a-miner. Noah ends up falling in love with her but Elizabeth's secrets and her past hold her back.

The story had a nice faith aspect woven in, too. Connected with Elizabeth's struggle to trust Noah is her struggle to trust in God.

I didn't like it as much as Wind Dancer but Carie has restored some of my enjoyment in the Christian fiction department. I'll definitely read more of her books.

Rating: 7.5/10

I was randomly in the mood for nonfiction, which never happens, but I didn't have any checked out from the library. Thankfully I remembered I had The City of Falling Angels, which I bought because I loved Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Seriously Midnight was one of the first for-fun nonfiction books I ever read and it changed my thinking--nonfiction could be interesting, I realized.

I didn't love City like I did Midnight. It had one problem that I've noticed in nonfiction: a lack of a unifying theme. (And no, I didn't count "Venice" as a theme.) It rambled, examining different incidents and characters of Venice. There was a sort of "theme" in that he followed an arson case but that was truly scattered throughout. Anyway, it's an interesting look at a European city and unlike Savannah, I have no desire to visit it.

Rating: 7/10

Took only two years

I am so excited right now. Scarily excited. On March 25, 2007, I added How I Fell in Love with a Librarian and Lived to Tell About It by Rhett Ellis to my Amazon wishlist. Today, March 25, 2009, I will remove that book from my wishlist---and I didn't even plan it out this way! I did realized that it had been about two years since I added How I Fell and I did want to finally get it off my wishlist. But still, it's a bit sad how excited this random coincidence makes me. However, I have to admit this book wasn't worth waiting two years to read.

If you want to see the cover, go here. It's so cartoony and I hate cartoon covers. The book is more of a novella and is probably self-published (or maybe independently published), which explains the cover. However, it had rave reviews on Amazon and I loved Ellis' novella The Greatest White Trash Love Story Ever Told. Seriously, that story rocked. It was truly examined redemption--yet was sweet and utterly shocking/surprising. I'd probably give it a 10. So you can imagine that I went into How I Fell with high expectations.

Here's the plot: basically, this 37-year-old pastor falls in love with a 24-year-old librarian who has just moved to his town. Oh yeah, she's a bit crazy. Like take numerous-pills-a-day, can't remember hours of her life, seriously crazy. There's also a subplot of this "bad" councilman who wants to shut down the town's library. But don't worry--love conquers all!

Here's what really got me: the writing. It focused on random details that didn't add to the plot (ex.: they had chips, slaw and pop for dinner and then sat on the couch...) and had much awkward telling, but not so much showing. And the pastor seemed hardly concerned about being in a relationship with a CRAZY person--someone who would randomly flip and start talking in rhymes, break the law with a "wild" car chase, etc. The whole major age gap wasn't really addressed either; speaking for someone who is in her mid-2os...um, that guy is almost 40...that's a 13-year gap. Yikes.

So I had issues with this book. But at least it's finally gone from my wishlist!!!

Rating: 5/10

A week's worth

Evidently I haven't been in a posting mood. Ah well, inspiration comes in waves. So here's what I've been reading this week:

Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda

Plot, courtesy of Amazon: An ambulance driver during WWI, Jade del Cameron promises a dying soldier that she'll track down his brother. The only problem is that the soldier's mother, whom Jade goes to visit in London, insists that she had only one son. Jade reasons that the missing brother must have been born to another woman, conceived when the now deceased family patriarch was exploring East Africa. So off she goes to Nairobi, where she mingles with the colonial elite, kills a hyena, learns Swahili, fingers a drug smuggler, romances a man twice her age, uncovers a murder and attracts the attentions of a local witch.

My thoughts: Kind of dark with a mystery I wasn't a huge fan of, interesting setting, I'll probably read the next one...

Countdown by Michelle Maddox

Again, courtesy of Amazon: Kira Jordan wakes up in a pitch-black room handcuffed to a metal wall. She has 60 seconds to escape. Thus begins a vicious game where to lose is to die. The man she's been partnered with--her only ally in this nightmare--is a convicted mass murderer. But if he's so violent, why does he protect her? No one to trust. Nowhere to run. And the only hope of survival is working together to beat the COUNTDOWN.

My thoughts: Action-packed, fun, quick reading...it's a SHOMI book and I think I may like the genre.

As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleason

My thoughts: The last book in the Gardella series...and it had an excellent ending. I am thoroughly satisfied with how Gleason ended the love triangle.

My first did not finish of the year (I think)

I wanted to like Celia Rees' Sovay but after 50 or so pages, I just gave up.

Here's why: the point of view switched intermittently, I had no sympathy with the main character and I didn't like where the book was headed. Also, I didn't understand really why Sovay became a highway robber. Was she just on the outlook for a certain document that could incriminate her father? I don't know...

I liked Rees' Pirates but something happened to the writing in this book. It was painful but yet dull. I had read negative reviews of the book but wanted to give it a chance. Yeah...sometimes it pays to listen to advice.

Another classic Goodman

I like that I can pick up any Carol Goodman novel and have my expectations met. Her The Drowning Tree is a classic example; it's peppered with water imagery, poetry, an "other" woman and twists.


The book has a dual story, following a modern-day woman, Juno, whose husband was put away for insanity. After something horrible happens to Juno's best friend, Christine--who also was a good friend of her insane husband--new twists and turns reveal a connection to the past. Juno's life begins to reflect the story of two Victorian women who may also be connected to Christine. It's an interesting contrast between the two eras and stories.

I like how Goodman examines a theme in her works. This time, the theme was on art and madness. Can a deep obsession with art--and creating art--drive you to madness? What is the relationship between the two?

Goodman is smart and it shows it in her writing. I feel more intelligent just reading her work.

Rating: 8/10

Not envious of a love triangle

Anna Godbersen, your latest Luxe novel, Envy, was strangely addictive. I'm not sure why, either. I wasn't sure I was in the mood for drama but your story sucked me in even though the book focused way too much on Penelope, who everyone hates. She's a schemer, a liar and to be honest, I think she deserves Henry, who is pathetic, weak and a drunk. I know, I know, he only married Penelope to save Diana's reputation but since that clearly didn't lead to anyone's happiness, since now all he does is drink and long after Diana. And Diana wavers between hate and love for Henry and being a slut with Penelope's brother. Ah, love triangles, where no one is happy.

Let's talk about Diana's sister, Elizabeth. All Elizabeth did was puke throughout the entire novel (hello, morning sickness!). She was so faded in the story, letting life roll on by but I was truly surprised by her ending (and Diana's, too).

Carolina's story was fine but I'm not a whole-hearted fan of hers. I still think she's going to end up with Tristan, since she's also a major liar.

The Palm Beach setting was a nice change and kept the action rolling along. I'll definitely read all the books in this series because they're freakin' addictive. Also, all the covers in the series are amazing.

Rating: 7.5/10

Tom Vanderbilt's Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) scared me.

As you likely deduced, this book is all about traffic. It's about merging, signs, pedestrians, danger, death and scared the crap out of me. Basically, no one quite understands how to best control traffic because humans are unpredictable. Scary, yes.

Anyway, the book is well-researched, with tons of footnotes, which I appreciate. Also, his writing style is easy to follow and understand. All in all, a good nonfiction read, regardless of how it scared me. I think I'm going to work on my driving skills...

Rating: 7.5/10

Not related to books at all...

...but happy 03/06/09!

Still chugging

I'm still chugging away at Traffic. It's interesting reading that's freaking me out about my own driving but I just can't read nonfiction as quickly or as intensely as fiction. Thus, it takes me longer. Also, when I'm reading something more serious, I have to interperse my reading with something light. And since I don't want to begin one book while reading another, I usually pop open one of the 30 magazines I have on my table, just waiting to be read. I'm getting toward the end of Traffic though, and once I'm through it, I'm thinking it will be a Carol Goodman weekend...

Hello again

So I haven't been reading any new books lately. I'm just in a re-reading mood. This week, it's been Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (which was just as charming and adorable as the first time I read it) and...one other book. Hmmm. Oh! I remember: When Twilight Burns, in preparation for the final book in the series, As Shadows Fade.

Currently I'm reading my one nonfiction book of the month, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us). So far, so good...except it's convincing me that I'm a bad driver...

And the point was?

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes left me saying "umm, what just happened and what was the point?" So it won my "wtf" award this month.

Well, it's British, so maybe that explains it. (Sorry, lame joke.) I read this book for 1) the gorgeous and gothic and suck-you-in cover, 2) decent-sounding plot and 3) mixed reviews on Amazon. I wanted to see why people hated it or loved it. Also, numerous reviewers mentioned A HUGE TWIST and I was curious. (For the record, it wasn't a huge twist and it didn't impact the plot much.)

Ok, honestly, I don't even know how to sum up the plot. It's set in late Victorian England. The story basically involves an aging magician/detective named Edward Moon and his silent assistant, The Somnambulist. They are presented with a mystery...first two odd murders, bizarre assassins and warnings about something bad that's going to happen to London in a certain amount of days. Stuff happens; people randomly show up/disappear; and Edward gets lucky in solving the mystery...but that doesn't prevent the bad thing from happening.

Let me be upfront: the book is weird. It could've been weird-yet-enchanting but as the book progressed, it just became um-I-feel-slightly-uncomfortable-weird. The late one-fourth of the book spirals into a bizarre, end-of-the-world fight that just doesn't make sense. Seriously, characters suddenly showcase the ability to disappear into thin air and I won't even get into details about who the sleeping person is and what happens to his body...bleh. Also, the ending itself is so unclear. I have no idea if it actually happened, and to be honest, it's basically a "yeah, who cares?" ending.

I didn't really gain much by reading it. Maybe if it hadn't spiraled into a crack-fueled world, it could've been better.

Rating: 5.5/10

Yeah, definitely going to re-read this one a few times...

Last January I fell in love with Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series. So let me just say, after a year of waiting, I was EX-CI-TED that the third book, Silent on the Moor, finally came out. So excited I read it in one day.


Let me just air this tiny complaint: the cover! It's eye-catching but is a commmmmplete change from the earlier books in the series. The previous covers were tasteful, gorgeous and accurately reflected the mood of the books. This cover makes Silent on the Moor look like a bodice-ripper, which it isn't at all. Why, publishers, why? Why do you do this?

Ok, now on to the book: just as good as the others. Moor focused less on the various mysteries, or at least on solving them, and more on Julia and Brisbane's relationship.

In some ways, their relationship concerns me. Brisbane won't let anything happen between them until he can support her financially but at the same time, he seems so willingly to let her just walk out of his life--he doesn't contact her and after she shows up at his new manor, he consistently tells her to leave. At one point, Julia is told by a wise woman to ignore his words and just read his body language; once she does that, his feelings are pretty darn clear. After I re-read the book, maybe I'll understand his motives better. I know "if it's love, it will wait" but he just seemed so okay with waiting while Julia wasn't content with that at all.

Anyway, the mystery tied nicely to the other books and helped clear up Brisbane's character even more. However, the ending completely surprised me. I knew from the author's blog that this wasn't the last Julia Grey novel, so I wasn't expecting the ending that did happen--but I am so happy with it. I'm thinking book four may be a sort of Busman's Honeymoon-esque book.

I love Raybourn's style of writing. It's the kind that should be savoured, sitting in front of a warm fire, sipping hot tea. Seriously, go read this series.

Rating: 9/10

A love song to reading

I've been in a re-reading mood this week...first Rites of Spring (Break) and then M. M. Kaye's Death in Cyprus. Kaye's writing is so familiar and comforting. Seriously, there is such a joy to re-reading a book, knowing exactly what is going to happen and yet noticing new details or reinterpreting a phrase or a character's action. Anyway, after I finished Death, I wanted something sweet and short to occupy my time until I could get to Borders to buy Silent on the Moor. I found the perfect little read at my library.

Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader is truly an ode to reading. I had heard excellent reviews of this book in many different places and can see why Reader is earning acclaim.

The novella is about the Queen of England, who toward the end of her life, discovers she loves reading. She really, realy LOVES reading. She begins to ignore all her duties in favor of reading--much to the dismay of her subjects. The novella is sprinkled with all sorts of observations about reading and those who love books. The ending was perfect and I may have even laughed out loud. If you love reading, you'll probably enjoy this short story.

Rating: 9/10

Re-reads

I had to return Rites of Spring (Break) to the library yesterday...but first, I had to re-read it. Glad to report it was just as enjoyable the second time around. You know it's a good book if you want to immediately re-read it!

In other news, Deanna Raybourn's Silent on the Moor has been released early--at least, it appears to be available on Amazon and Borders.com. I placed a hold on it at my local Borders but can't get to there until Friday. Sigh. At least I'll have all weekend to devour it. And if it's anything like Silent in the Sanctuary, it'll be an immediate re-read, too.

Trends

This winter is my Carol Goodman season, where I'm going to devour everything she's ever written. Yay for favorite new authors. Up next is the one that made her name: The Lake of Dead Languages.

The reviews for this book are accurate: it is fast-paced, with creepy atmosphere and secret after secret being revealed. Honestly, I was a bit surprised because I was able to pretty much figure everything out before Jane, the main character, did. Perhaps Goodman wanted us to know before Jane did? Because I'm honestly not that clever at mysteries.

Here's the summary, from Goodman's website: "Twenty years ago, Jane Hudson fled the Heart Lake School for Girls in the Adirondacks after a terrible tragedy. The week before her graduation, in that sheltered wonderland, three lives were taken, all victims of suicide. Only Jane was left to carry the burden of a mystery that has stayed hidden in the depths of Heart Lake for more than two decades. Now Jane has returned to the school as a Latin teacher, recently separated and hoping to make a fresh start with her young daughter. But ominous messages from the past dredge up forgotten memories. And young, troubled girls are beginning to die again--as piece by piece the shattering truth slowly floats to the surface..."

Seriously, the atmosphere just drips in the this story. I had the shivers by page 10 or so, when Jane starts discovering literal pieces of her past showing up, haunting and taunting her. While I think Goodman's writing has improved and I still like The Night Villa the best, The Lake is definitely a good read.

In good English major fashion, I've noticed a few trends in Goodman's writing. These includes: water as a major player, myths/fairy tales, a slightly older woman (think early 30s or so) and a younger woman who generally turns out to be trouble. And yet she manages to create a completely different story each time with these favorite themes. I'm intrigued to see if her other three books do, too.

Rating: 9/10

I now know where Kiev is

The last geography class I remember taking was in fourth grade. Scary. Well, thanks to Conspiracy in Kiev by Noel Hynd, I now know where Kiev is (Ukraine!).

I picked up this book because it was about Russia and Ukraine. It's a thriller--think Robert Ludlum or someone along those lines. As such, the characters tend to be a little flat, with more telling than showing. Sure, there's action, but I think I'm more of a character girl. The book is also a bit long and since I wasn't in love with like Rites of Spring (Break), it took me several days to finish off.

Alex is an agent with the Treasury...but somehow gets involved with the CIA. Anyway, she's sent over to Kiev to act as an emissary/bodyguard to a major Ukrainian mobster, because the U.S. president is coming over for a visit and the CIA doesn't want any trouble. Well, there's trouble and people die and Alex's mobster disappears. Everyone thinks he's behind the shootings.

So...about that mobster...Alex is repeatedly told to STICK LIKE GLUE to the mobster, Yuri FedersomethingRussian. It's repeated numerous times; one CIA guy basically tells her to seduce him so she can spend even more time with him. So what does she do? She spends like three hours a day with the mobster, if that. How is that like GLUE, Alex??? And why did no one call her out on that?

Anyway, fast forward a few months and Alex is randomly off to South America for a totally different job. SUPPOSEDLY these two jobs end up tying together but I literally was thinking "what is this? this plotline is weak!" while reading it. Yeah, more shootings happen and then she's taken back to Europe where more shootings occur because she's a target or something. People want her dead. And since there's more books in the series (yet to come out), my guess is that they'll keep after her.

***Spoiler alert***
Can I just say that I knew her fiance was going to be knocked off? I knew it! I kept on waiting for him to die at any moment. And why did Alex almost die at the end? The bullet evidently didn't even really penetrate that far.
****

Rating: 6.5/10

Up too late

I stayed up too late to finish Diana Peterfreund's Rites of Spring (Break) because it was so freaking delicious. Seriously, it just made me happy. And after I finished it, I may have gone back and re-read certain parts. Rites is definitely my favorite book of the series so far and not just because of one certain character (Poe!!).

After a winter semester filled with pranks against other secert societies, the Rose & Grave class of D177 is going on vacation. They're off to their own secret island, where a few members of past classes are there, too, including Amy's nemesis-turned-maybe-friend Poe. Trouble follows the class to the island, where pranks begin to spiral out of control....and a certain romance starts brewing.

The last book in the series, Tap & Gown, comes out in May. Yay!

Rating: 9/10

Entertaining enough

Perhaps Ally Carter has ruined me for other teen spy series. That could be why I found Shannon Greenland's Model Spy entertaining but not that plausible. (Which I fully accept as a ridiculous statement. Any book about a 15- or 16-year-old person being a spy is going to be somewhat hard to swallow. Still, Carter did such a good job of making me believe in her world.)

Here's the basic gist: Little orphan Kelly is a computer genius but don't worry, she's not geeky--she's so beautiful she could be a model (which may come in handy later on...). She's about to finish college, having skipped years and years of schooling. A cute boy asks her to break into a government site and Kelly, like a sap, does it for him. And then she winds up arrested and forced to make a decision: join an elite group of teenage spies or go to jail. She becomes a spy--and surprise, surprise, that cute boy who asked her to break the law is also a spy, too! Basically, he set up her up to be recruited. I do have some issues with that, since they didn't really give her a choice (be a spy or die!!! ok, just kidding), but whatever.

So Kelly thinks she's going to be a a stay-at-home spy, tapping away at a keyboard but suddenly she has to pose as a model in order to complete this mission that I don't feel like going into detail about. Oh, and one of her partners is the cute boy.

It's not like this was a bad book. It was short and tiny. (Seriously, the book was oddly small-sized.) I just didn't love it. I'm sure there's some teen girls out there who love, love, love this book. But I just like Ally Carter's spy series better.

In a positive note, deleting this book off of my TBR list on Amazon now means I only have 25 books on the list! And six of those books haven't even been released yet.

Rating: 6/10

It seduced me

Carol Goodman's The Seduction of Water sucked me in within the first few pages. The story's atmosphere, the lyrical quality of the writing, the simple story that slowly expands...I'm not sure what it is, but I just really, really like Goodman's writing. Her books are the sort that I'd be proud to be caught reading, one that I'd recommend to my mom.

The plot goes along these lines: Iris Greenfeder is in her mid-30s. She's a teacher, sometimes writer and almost has her Ph.D.--she just needs to write her disseration. Actually, everything in her life is an "almost." She has a boyfriend (of 10 years) but they have no plans to marry. She's a writer, with just a few publications. Basically, she hasn't accomplished all that much. While thinking about her mother, a famous writer herself, Iris writes a small story that ends up spinning itself into a book offer. All she has to do is go back to her childhood home--a hotel in the Catskill Mountains--and solve a few mysteries.

The story is a bit slow in parts but that allows you to savor it, too. It's a mystery but the action doesn't pick up until the last third of the book or so. However, compared to The Night Villa, there was more romance. I really liked the male lead--from the first instance of his mention, I was hoping he'd be involved in the book. (And I may have peeked ahead just to see if he was.)

Basically, I'm a Carol Goodman fangirl. And I've yet to read her most popular book, The Lake of Dead Languages. So perhaps the best is yet to come...

Rating: 9/10

Another shining example

Here's my (one of many, haha) issue: I like Christian fiction but I have trouble finding books that are actually 1) well-written, 2) not sappy/ridiculous and 3) actually deal with faith in a deeper way. Jamie Carie, your Wind Dancer is a shining example of how Christian fiction should be.

I love the cover, too. The woman is fierce, beautiful and exactly how I picture the main character, Isabelle Renoir.

The story is set in the 1700s, during the time that America was struggling to break free of England's chains, particularly the war to gain the wild frontier. American scout Samuel Holt, while on a mission, meets up with Isabelle Renoir, her brother and their Indian guide. They end up traveling together and get mixed up in the fight for American independence--and their own freedom.

Isabelle is wild--she dances for God, wears the color red and basically just marches to her own beat. However, she knows that Samuel Holt is her destiny within seconds of meeting him. A few issues hold up their happiness--like being captured by Indians--but both characters firmly believe that God will bring them through.

I loved how real and deep their faith was--there was no pettiness or simple messages in this book. It was true, life-sustaining faith. It was real and vibrant and inspiring--yet never preachy. The story itself is action-packed. I started reading it before going to bed...and had to force myself to stop so I'd get enough sleep.

I definitely recommend this book. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and I've already added Carie's other novels to my TBR list.

Rating: 9/10

Sweetly realistic

It's not a secret that I'm a huge Lauren Willig fan. A new book of hers comes out, I buy it--in hardcover. Her newest book, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, has been eagerly anticipated by me for, oh, about a year now.

I don't want to do a full-out review on this book because I devoured it...which means I read it so quickly (because I was! so! excited!) that I didn't have time to fully savor it.

Anyway, here's an abbreviated summary of the book, courtesty of Willig's site:

"After 12 years in India, Robert, Duke of Dovedale, returns to his estates in England with a mission in mind-- to infiltrate the infamous Hellfire club to unmask the man who murdered his mentor at the Battle of Assaye. Intent on revenge, Robert never anticipates that an even more difficult challenge awaits him, in the person of one Lady Charlotte Lansdowne. Throughout her secluded youth, Robert was Lady Charlotte’s favorite knight in shining armor, the focus of all her adolescent daydreams. The intervening years have only served to render him more dashing. But, unbeknownst to Charlotte, Robert has an ulterior motive of his own for returning to England, a motive that has nothing to do with taking up the ducal mantle. As Charlotte returns to London to take up her post as Maid of Honor to Queen Charlotte, echoes from Robert’s past endanger not only their relationship but the very throne itself."

In some ways, I think this is Willig's most well-written book. She's definitely grown as a writer and has shifted into more of a historical writer--which I like. The sensuality in her books has decreased as well; in this one, the couple share just a few kisses. However, that suits her characters--Charlotte is certainly no Amy or Henrietta; she's a dreamer and much more reserved. Her actions suit her character.

A major theme underlying the novel was the reworking of the hero and heroine's perceptions of each other. They had to cast away their romantic ideals and see each without their own perceptions clouding their view of the other person. According to my mother, this is something I need to do...bleh.

There wasn't much (ok, any) action from the Pink Carnation but from interviews I've read with Willing, this book's plot helps set up future plots that do involve the Pink Carnation. Yay for spies.

On a last note, I really liked the French spy. I'm not sure who he is but I hope he'll show up later on! His interactions with Charlotte and Henrietta were hilarious and delightful. In my mind, he's a good mate for Jane...there's only the little issue of him serving France and her England...

Rating: 8.5/10

Labyrinth of the mind

Kristen Heitzmann does an excellent job of writing creepy, suspenseful novels. I've liked everything I've read by her and The Edge of Recall was no exception.

Tessa is a landscape architect, specializing in labyrinths. When she receives a phone call from an old friend/love requesting she join him on a special task, she reluctantly agrees to at least check out his offer. The project ends up being a unique labyrinth that she can't resist. So, she and the friend, Smith, end up working together...and possibly end up as more.

There's also a huge psychological aspect to the story. Tessa is haunted by nightmares of monsters and labyrinths. In a way, I was reminded of Susan Howatch's work (which is a compliment). There were deep-seated issues that she had to address and conquer in order to be a whole person again. Sometimes I did think she was a little crazy but it all works out in the end.

The story tied together nicely and yeah, creeped me out at parts. While this is labeled as Christian fiction, that shouldn't scare anyone away. It was part of the story and part of Tessa's healing, but there definitely was no preaching. And the labyrinth part was actually very interesting, too. I like learning about new topics and now I know a little bit more about mazes vs. labyrinths.

Rating: 8.5/10

No sympathy

You know how there's certain books you just think you should read? Well, after watching The Talented Mr. Ripley, with my boy Matt Damon in it, I told myself that I should read the book. After all, generally the book is much better than the movie and since I had liked the movie, I'd like the book, too. Yeah, not so much.


Patricia Highsmith wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley and numerous sequels. According to the book's description, Tom Ripley is a sociopath. After looking up the description of a sociopath, yeah, he is one. Manipulative, parasitic, a liar...again, I just didn't like him.

***Spoilers ahead****
The movie actually is pretty true to the plot, but if anything, the movie is better. It's more suspenseful, believeable and convincing. You kind of like/empathize with Tom Ripley of the movie--in the book, Tom isn't as likeable. He's never fully understood.

Most of the book I can believe; Tom is a murderer and gets away with two murders, including his friend Dickie Greenleaf. What I couldn't swallow was the ending--he fakes a will, leaving EVERYTHING of Dickie's to himself, and presents it to Dickie's father, WHO BELIEVES IT. For me, that will just screamed "I murdered Dickie for his money. I'M GUILTY." I wanted him to get nailed for the murder, too, but no luck.
***

I didn't really like the book at all and struggled to finish it. Honestly, the movie was richer and more interesting. This is the very rare occasion where I say see the movie and skip the book.

Rating: 5/10

Hope springs eternal

Veronica Mars may still end up being a movie...If this ends up being true, I am such a happy girl.