As I read the last word in this book I had two successive reactions:  1.) no, she didn’t and 2.) um, excuse me, where was Eric in this book?

That’s right, mama wasn’t happy.

Technically speaking, the writing was great. It’s typical Sookie standard.  There was some laughs, some banter, some action – it’s just the plot was boring, it didn’t light my fire.  I also wasn’t pleased with the direction Harris took the story. More specifically, who Sookie will end up with. While this may seem trite, you know this is one of the only reasons we read this series. It’s all about the ‘teams’ and whose side you’re on.

Now I know Harris has been preparing us fans for years, saying things like Sookie will do what’s best for Sookie, she will live a nice long normal life and she will not be turned   – y’all, it’s one thing to be told this, but it’s quite different to read them in action.

I basically view this book (and Dead Reckoning) as filler books. Harris is tying up storylines and, unfortunately closing off much loved relationships. I’m not just talking Eric, I see her separating from all her supe friends sans Jason and Sam, and maybe Bill.

To wrap up my thoughts I will leave you with a few possible outcomes for book 13:

1. Using the cluviel dor has consequences, therefore causing someone Sookie loves to die. Eric. Sookie is distraught and falls into the arms of Barry the Bellboy, I mean Quinn. And they have beautiful, bald-headed babies together.

2. Eric will man up and kick the Oklahoma Queen to the curb; it will be fraught with actions and blood spillage. The body count will be high. The only down fall is the cluviel dor consequence will be Eric becomes mortal and Sookie will have to protect him with her killer survival skills the rest of their lives.

3. Eric marries the Queen of Oklahoma, Bill continues to pine for Sookie, Pam refuses to move to Oklahoma and opens up a women’s pant suite store all while Sookie and Sam hook-up. Eventually, they get married.  Sadly, the consequence of using the cluviel dor is that Jason is no longer handsome and Michele leaves him.

4. The consequence of using the cluviel dor is that one by one each of Sookie’s former lovers and friends die in a freak accident (Eric while racking leaves, Bill explodes while pumping gas while talking on his cell phone, Tara asphyxiates putting on spanx etc). However, a la Dallas and Bobby Ewing she wakes up one morning and hears the shower running, she quickly pads to the bathroom to find Gran lathering up. Everything was a dream.

If you’ve read this book, please let me know what you think! Did you like it? Am I in the minority?

XOXO, Stacy

Somebody to Love

goodreads description – After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon’s Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father’s wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she’s not thrilled even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox. Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist’s assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn’t the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn’t the only thing that needs a little TLC.

my take – This is a great book for the beach or one to have in your car that you can pick up when you’re unexpectedly delayed and jump right in – it’s easy and breezy.

I instantly connected with Parker Welles; I have a thing for the emotionally neglected. While she may be a successful author and a trust fund baby, her life is far from perfect. Her dad treats her with indifference and her extended family our downright mean (spiteful) to her. Besides, her only friends are Ethan (her son’s father) and his wife Lucy. She is the epitome of loneliness.
James, the love interest, is one of those good American guys. He’s from a blue collar family, and worked hard for his education – he is handy with the tools, smart and successful. While he’s not squeaky clean, he is honorable and respectable. Plus, he has emotional baggage too. What’s not to like?

The relationship between Parker and James is a slow burn and eventually their chemistry is undeniable. Parker is pretty tough on James and a little judgmental (matter of fact I wanted to have a sit down with her a few time, but then I remembered her family and gave her a pass), but James handled her well.

The secondary characters and the small town setting were fun. Aunt Lavinia was a hoot, and we seriously need a Chantal book, and possibly a Malone one too.

However, I did find a few things unrealistic:
1. Her book about the Holly Rollers (which was A+ with me!) was made into a movie; however she didn’t go to the premier, or remember its opening weekend? Umm, is there really an author out there like that?
2. Her flower arrangements skills. Does a summer camp class really make you a better florist than your aunt who has been doing it for 30 years?
3. Again, with the flowers – this time her new business. As a small business owner I know how hard it is to open a small business, how was she able to open one so quickly after that summer in Gideon’s Cove?
4. After her and her son’s trust funds were lost, she had to move was left a small cottage with $11,000 to her name she never once had an emotional breakdown – you know, the kind with lots of tears and snot.

Overall, this is a good choice for a lazy summer day!

XOXO, Stacy

First of all, we just adored this book!!  We love fun mysteries!
Ooo, thank you!  I’m so glad.  The Lola series is SO much fun to write!

Where do you get your mystery ideas from? Is it ripped from the headlines? CSI? News?
TOTALLY ripped from the headlines, then mixed and mashed up until it’s not recognizable anymore J   There is a nudist resort REALLY close to where I used to live, so that, of course, planted a nice seed.  What fun to have a mystery centered there!

We hear you are a fan of Nancy Drew.  So we have to ask, Ned Nickerson or Edward Cullen?
Um, Jack Callaghan.  Sorry, I gotta be loyal to my favorite hero.  J  I do love me some Manny Camacho, too.  Ned or Edward… bah, just boys.

Tell us about Lola in 5 words.Salsa-dancing, black-belt, smart, sexy PI.   (note how I hyphenated to make it work)

How much of you do you put in your books?  Even if it’s none, we still want to be BFF’s because we think you‘re cool.
LOL, well, thanks!  Lola is a lot me, and vice versa.  She’s who I want to be sometimes, and I definitely infused her with my values, dreams, love of family, sexiness… Haha!  Just kidding.  Honestly, every lead character I write has a bit of me in them, and in return, they give me a bit of themselves.

We think Lola is hilarious! Do you ever laugh out loud while writing for Lola?
I do!  And I blush, sometimes.  And I cheer.  I LOVE Lola!

Tell us there is another Lola book in the works?  *crosses fingers*
Can I just say, I love you!  Yes, working on book 4 (no need to have read books 1 and 2 before you jump into book 3.  You can always go backwards).  Drop Dead Lola, or maybe What Lola Wants.  Not sure, still working on the title, but the story’s coming along.

What are you reading these days?
Finishing Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cuxnin, and it is SO good and So fascinating!  Love it.  It’s a book club choice, of course, because my free time is spent reading things like Obsidian, by Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Marriage Bargain, by Jennifer Probst, and other hot and steamy reads. **blushing**

Lightning Round, Holly Black Style!

Mountains or Beach - Beach

A book that made you cry - Mao’s Last Dancer, most recently.  Before that, Night Road by Kristin Hannah.  Oh my God.

A book that scared you - Silence of the Lambs

A la Barbara Walters, if you were a tree what kind would you be - ROFLOL!  Lilac

All-time favorite movie - Joy Luck Club.  Or Gone With the Wind.

Harry Potter, Hunger Games, or Lord of the Rings - Harry Potter.  Total comfort movie, like pot roast.

Love Triangles or Soul mate - Soul Mate!  Did I mention Jack Callaghan?

You’re the bomb, thank you for having me and loving Lola and Bare-Naked Lola!

—-

*Finishes downloading The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst on Kindle* *blink blink* Melissa is quite witty if you ask us and has some worthy book recommendations. Oh, and we recommend the title Drop Dead Lola for the next book!

Make sure and follow Melissa on twitter, goodreads, facebook, and check out her website. Oh, and don’t forget to add Bare-Naked Lola to your goodreads account.

*****GIVEAWAY!!!********

We get to giveaway one e-book of Bare-Naked Lola! Read the rules and fill out the form. It’s that simple!

The Rules
*Open Internationally
*Must fill out the form correctly
*Open to those 15 years of age or older
*Winner will be notified via email, and will not be announced on the blog
*Winner chosen by Random Number Generator
*Giveaway ends May 10, 2012 at 11:59PM CEN

 GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

about: Yesterday’s News is one of the greatest bestsellers of all time in Sweden with more than 800,000 copies sold – 1 in every 4 Swedish woman has already read it!

The main character Agnes has most things in life: a family who is always there for her, a good job at a fancy restaurant, a boyfriend who loves her, and a best friend whom she knows inside out. Or does she? All of a sudden things begin to crumble, one by one, and soon nothing is as it was. Her boyfriend Tobias leaves her for a big busted singer, and she is fired by Gerard, the sexist and abusive owner of the restaurant where she works. She gambles everything she has on the success of the newly opened restaurant, but the road to the glowing review which will open the door to fame and fortune has, to say the least, unexpected twists and turns.

my take:  Yesterday’s News is a huge hit in Sweden and when given the opportunity, I was anxious to see if what was popular in Sweden would interest me. (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, that hails from Sweden, may have made me a little more than anxious to see what this book beholds.)

Let me tell you though, there is nothing similar about this book and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  This is an easy chick-lit read. I read it in an afternoon while the kids were home.  The story follows the struggles of Agnes when it seems all was going well in her life. She develops some nice relationships, goes through some peculiar situations, and we get some interesting behind-the-scenes of the restaurant business.

It’s all about A, her family and her friends in a few months of her life. It’s really just a story. Things happen but aren’t built up where I cried or anything. I felt for Pablo my favorite character in the book followed by Maddie. I liked Agnes and her work ethic. I thought she was kind and makes stupid and smart decisions like all of us do.  She was definitely real. Her BFF was a good story to follow also. I liked her part and revelations about her own life.

The translation needs some work, but I was reading an advanced copy and I’m sure all those kinks will be worked out for the final book.  Overall, Yesterday’s News is a good chick-lit read where you get to see a moment in time of Agnes, how she handles her work, her relationships with her friends, and her love for her family.

Shannan

Do you agree with our assessments? Think we’re off base? Let us know in the comments!

What potential do Elizabeth, Renata, and Grant see in Victoria that she has a hard time seeing in herself?

Amanda – Her ability to love and be loved.  This central theme in so many works of literature just shows how vital being loved is and what can happen to a person’s self-worth when they believe that they cannot be loved or love in return.

While Victoria has been hungry and malnourished often in her life, food ends up meaning more than just nourishment to her. Why?

Stacy – Food means survival.

Amanda – I’m going to have to agree with Stacy, and say that for someone like Victoria, who has been denied even the simplest pleasures, food becomes part of her experiences and memories.  In the chapters about her life with Elizabeth, details about the food she was cooked, what smells she encountered, and what she saw and touched are all key visual stimulants for the reader; seeing the world through Victoria’s eyes is key to the reader understanding, deeper than a base level, who Victoria is.  Without key components like this, Victoria could be an unsympathetic character.

Victoria and Elizabeth both struggle with the idea of being part of a family. What does it mean to you to be part of a family? What defines family?

Stacy – A family means unconditional love. It also means forgiveness, guidance and trust. Does a family have to be blood relations? Frankly, no.

Amanda – I learned a long time ago that family isn’t necessarily blood.  Knowing that I have people I can depend on, trust, talk to, and build great memories with beats “blood ties” for me any day.  When you can’t trust your own blood, who do you turn to?  This is why I understood, at least on some level, why Victoria struggled to understand family.

One of the major themes in The Language of Flowers is forgiveness and second chances — do you think Victoria deserves one after the things she did (both as a child and as an adult)? What about Catherine? And Elizabeth?

Stacy – Everyone deserves forgiveness, Victoria is no exception. However, second chances? I say yes because I was emotionally invested in her story and wanted her to have a happily ever after. At the same time, I realize that Victoria made some very poor choices that severely affected and hurt several people. I think Victoria should count herself lucky.

What did you think of the structure of the book — the alternating chapters of past and present? In what ways did the two storylines parallel each other, and how did they diverge?

Amanda – The way the stories diverted made me want to care for a character (Victoria) that I was already emotionally invested in.  Because only bits of her past were revealed at a time and then you were shoved into the present-day narration, I needed to know what had happened that made Victoria who she was as an adult.  You can easily see that Victoria’s emotional instability started early and affected decisions across her childhood and into her adult life.

The novel touches on many different themes (love, family, forgiveness, second chances). Which do you think is the most important? And what did you think was ultimately the lesson?

Stacy – Forgiveness and love, they go hand in hand. If you truly love someone, you forgive them. This doesn’t mean you give them second chances, but it does mean that you’re not carrying around that heavy yoke.

As for the ultimate lesson – family. When you have a “true” family you will find that love, forgiveness and second chances are natural components.

At the end of the novel, Victoria learns that moss grows without roots. What does this mean, and why is it such a revelation for her?

Stacy –  Sadly, Victoria’s life is without roots. When she learns that moss grows without roots, she realizes that’s her as well. It’s at this moment that she understands that she can have a wonderful life and flourish, despite her horrific beginnings. That life is about choices, not always just circumstances.

Based on your reading of the novel, what are your impressions of the foster care system in America? What could be improved?

Stacy – Let’s hope the foster care system isn’t as dire as the novel makes it out to be, that Diffenbaugh took some literary liberties. However, “aging out” is not fiction and to me that is heartbreaking. Can you imagine moving out at 18 with nobody to rely on but yourself?

Thankfully, Diffenbaugh is co-founding a non-profit that strictly address this issue, The Camellia Network.

Amanda – Based strictly on the novel, I would be scared to death of the foster care system.  And I would also want to adopt a whole of bunch of kids to protect and love!

Bent Road by Lori Roy
publisher: Dutton Adult
release date: March 31, 2011
book info: goodreads author site

from goodreads: For twenty years, Celia Scott has watched her husband, Arthur, hide from the secrets surrounding his sister Eve’s death. As a young man, Arthur fled his small Kansas hometown, moved to Detroit, married Celia, and never looked back. But when the 1967 riots frighten him even more than his past, he convinces Celia to pack up their family and return to the road he grew up on, Bent Road, and that same small town where Eve mysteriously died…

my take: I was so excited for the girls to ask me to review this book!  I have been campaigning for months to be a guest reviewer and was equally excited to have a debut author as my first book.  However, I have mixed reviews about Bent Road by Lori Roy.

While I don’t regret reading the book, I hope there is a sequel to provide closure to what happens to all the characters.  I did not see great character development in the story.  I’m left wondering if Daniel and Eviee ever adjusted to life in Kansas.  I wonder how Elanie’s wedding played out with the dress she spent most of the novel sewing.

There are several supporting characters that I’m emotionally involved in that I would like to see what happen to them too.  I also wondered about the state of Arthur and Cecila’s marriage.  It seemed very flat during the story.  However, I loved Ms. Roy’s description of the setting and time.  I did feel like I was a part of rural Kansas in the 1960’s.

The story ran the gammet of social ills’ — from the civil right movement in Detroit to murder in a small town in the MidWest.  I was left wondering if all the social ill’s were intentionally under-developed to be reflective of the actual time period or were they under-developed by a rookie novelist.

There was definitely solid story development and I look forward to Lori Roy’s growth as a novelist.

Amanda - I will definitely read Ms. Roy’s next novel. 

I’m really digging these covers, especially the one for A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink.  And so far, the book is living up to its gorgeous cover!

Jane

my thoughts: What a wonderful modern re-telling of the classic. I loved this updated version of Jane.  I think it followed the classic beautifully and kept the original intent of the story intact.

Jane (as the character) seemed real.  I felt her pain, loneliness, hopelessness and isolation. Despite her misgivings, she is honest, trustworthy and honorable. I just wanted to hug her. If you can’t tell, I love underdog characters.

Having Nico as an aged rock star was perfect. His eccentric lifestyle fits the part perfect. I found him handsome, sweet, egotistical, moody, melodramatic and pitch perfect.

The relationship between Jane and Nico naturally progressed. I almost found it better than the classic. I could feel the heat radiate. The intensity was, well, intense. Plus, this version had more “passion,” if you know what I mean.

One of the differences between this and the classic was that of Nico’s friends. In this version, the friends seemed like real, true friends and not people just hanging around to better their position in society. I liked this version better. The friends in this book treated Jane with respect and were nice to her, which was so unlike the friends in the classic.

If you love classic literature re-telling’s than this is a must read. It’s modernized in every sense of the word, yet keeps the integrity of the original. Plus it was easy to read, no French to English dictionary needed.

Stacy

From Goodreads:  A daring new departure from the inspired creator of The Vampire Chronicles (“unrelentingly erotic. . . unforgettable.”), the Lives of the Mayfair Witches (“Anne Rice will live on through the ages of literature”), and the angels of The Songs of the Seraphim (“remarkable.”). A whole new world—modern, sleek, high-tech, and at its center, a story as old and compelling as history—the making of a werewolf, re-imagined and re-invented as only Anne Rice, teller of mesmerizing tales, conjurer extraordinaire of other realms, could create it.

The time is the present.

The place, the rugged coast of northern California. A bluff high above the Pacific. A grand mansion full of beauty and tantalizing history set against a towering redwood forest.

A young reporter on assignment from the San Francisco Observer. . . an older woman, welcoming him into her magnificent, historic family home that he has been sent to write about and that she must sell with some urgency . . . A chance encounter between two unlikely people . . . an idyllic night—shattered by horrific unimaginable violence. . .The young man inexplicably attacked—bitten—by a beast he cannot see in the rural darkness . . . A violent episode that sets in motion a terrifying yet seductive transformation as the young man, caught between ecstasy and horror, between embracing who he is evolving into and fearing who—what—he will become, soon experiences the thrill of the wolf gift.

As he resists the paradoxical pleasure and enthrallment of his wolfen savagery and delights in the power and (surprising) capacity for good, he is caught up in a strange and dangerous rescue and is desperately hunted as “the Man Wolf,” by authorities, the media and scientists (evidence of DNA threaten to reveal his dual existence). . . As a new and profound love enfolds him, questions emerge that propel him deeper into his mysterious new world: questions of why and how he has been given this gift; of its true nature and the curious but satisfying pull towards goodness; of the profound realization that there are others like him who may be watching—guardian creatures who have existed throughout time and may possess ancient secrets and alchemical knowledge and throughout it all, the search for salvation for a soul tormented by a new realm of temptations, and the fraught, exhilarating journey, still to come, of being and becoming, fully, both wolf and man.

WARNING:  SPOILERS ABOUND!!!

My Take:  Good enough story but not as gripping as I’d hoped. I’m always hoping for another Interview with the Vampire, but I have not really enjoyed anything of hers since 1990’s The Witching Hour. Another reviewer likened it to looking up an old ex to rekindle the flame …and sadly, that’s what I wanted but didn’t really get.

We begin with Reuben, a 23-year-old incredibly handsome and obscenely rich budding reporter whose mother nicknamed him “Sunshine Boy”. Oh, mommy. Well, Rice writes Reuben as a basically decent person, even with his sexual shennanigans (more on that later).

The juxtaposition of handsome, poetic, cerebral Reuben with the very visceral, bloody and avenging “Man Wolf” is striking. As a wolf, Reuben retains his intelligence and also had a cool new spidey-sense, the ability to smell evil. Rice comes up with a new mythos for werewolves – one that doesn’t need a full moon to shift, and that makes them look more like a hairy bigfoot than a wolf.  Reuben coins the name “Man Wolf” in the newspaper articles he writes about himself, but if I had the chance to name my alter ego, I don’t think “Man Wolf” would make the top 10 list.

So, now we get to the shenanigans part: While writing a story about a mysterious mansion, Reuben falls into bed with the woman who owns it (despite the fact that he has a girlfriend). That night, the woman is murdered (by her brothers, we learn later) and Reuben is bitten by the “animal” that killed the attackers.  But before the attack (and after the sex), the woman called her lawyers and left Reuben the house in her will. Reuben must be a stud!

Reuben also wanders as a werewolf and meets a woman who lives in the forest and, ahem, seduces her in wolf form. My bs meter went off about then – one: what woman in her right mind would not scream or at least run when confronted by a beastie covered in blood, and two: then have sex with him? Whaaaa? I wondered if maybe she’d seen one before, knew about them somehow, something … but no, as we learn later on, she just digs nature, no previous werewolf experience.  And she does this twice before even seeing Reuben in human form.  Oh, ick.

Okay, so far we have lots of people who are really smart and they all like to wax philosophical. Rice likes her characters to talk and talk and ponder and think about the why of things, and I really like just a tiny bit of that in between the action, not the pages and pages we get. Nearer to the end we meet Stuart, a modern San Francisco teenager (and gay-rights activist) who gets pulled in to this mess when Reuben saves him from being beaten to death (but unfortunately too late for his boyfriend). Reuben accidentally turns him into a werewolf.  When Stuart speaks, he sounds like a 65-year-old philosophy scholar instead of a 16-year-old boy. The last 65 pages of the book are after the climax, and are all discussion of the history of werewolves and, again, Stuart and Rueben sound like twin professors instead of young guys who live in California.  Just a little too out of touch for me.

The action in this book is pretty exciting when we get to it;  the mystery of the house, and Uncle Felix, kept me interested enough to read this book all the way through.  Just my previously mentioned disconnects kept a good story from being great.

See you in the STACKS,
Nancy

My Sweet Saga

from goodreads – At nearly 30 years old, Brandon is barely able to make it through life, much less enjoy it. He is weeks away from what should be one of the happiest days of his life, his wedding day to his fiancée, Clarissa, but his attention is distracted when his estranged, erratic and oddly eccentric father suddenly reappears with a bizarre demand: to accompany him to Stockholm, Sweden, where they will meet a man who he claims will change their lives.

Desperate for even a brief escape from his reality, Brandon reluctantly goes with his father, ready for a disaster. But his life changes completely the moment his eyes meet the mysterious Swedish man’s daughter, Saga. On a cobblestone street in the middle of Stockholm, Brandon reawakens to life, though struggles to navigate the messy love triangle with Saga and his fiancée, which includes multiple arrests, hospital stays, terrorist bombs, acts of heroism and foolishness, family secrets and even a bit of public nudity.

my take – Brett Sills has written a taut debut that showcases his ability to weld a pen and entertain.

My Sweet Saga is what I refer to as ‘every males fantasy.’ An overly average “Joe” (in this case Brandon) who’s dead end career, coupled with his nagging fiancée leads him to an overseas adventure with a European hottie, where fun and Scooby Doo type mayhem ensues.

One of the best characters is main character Brandon’s lottery-winning, eccentric dad. At first he seems a swarthy, Tommy Bahama wearing, selfish bastard, but in the end he is applaud worthy.  His ability not to be forth coming is, in the end, a noble gesture.

While this is an extremely well written novel with a cast of unlikable, but realistic, yet over the top characters, this one wasn’t for me. Brandon is at times a racists (and a bigot) and a selfish, weak willed male who let’s his circumstances dictate his life instead of standing up for himself and taking a stand. On the outside he seems like a good guy, but his thoughts are perverse and ugly. By the end of the novel he did figure out that he had to fight for what he wanted, but his selfishness still reigned.

Over all, this is a solid book and a perfect choice for those looking for a read with lots of themes and a plethora of characters for in-depth character studies.

Stacy 

Publisher

from Goodreads - An unflinching portrayal of the Korean immigrant experience from an extraordinary new talent in fiction.

Spanning Korea and the United States, from the postwar era to contemporary times, Krys Lee’s stunning fiction debut, “Drifting House,” illuminates a people torn between the traumas of their collective past and the indignities and sorrows of their present.

In the title story, children escaping famine in North Korea are forced to make unthinkable sacrifices to survive. The tales set in America reveal the immigrants’ unmoored existence, playing out in cramped apartments and Koreatown strip malls. A makeshift family is fractured when a shaman from the old country moves in next door. An abandoned wife enters into a fake marriage in order to find her kidnapped daughter.

In the tradition of Chang-rae Lee’s “Native Speaker” and Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies, Drifting House” is an unforgettable work by a gifted new writer.

my take: I am in love with short stories lately.  I think it is because I don’t freak out if I have to put down the book to cook dinner or listen to my kids talk about their day.  It also brings several stories, ideas, and characters to me within a 250 page book.  I like it.  Also, if I am not entirely excited about a story, I only have 10 pages to read and then I get another chance to be enthralled with a new one.

Krys Lee challenges my boundaries and what I am used to reading in these beautifully written yet sometimes not entirely relatable pieces.  With that said, the struggles of the Korean people within the pages of Drifting House are heart-wrenching.

Drifting House made me dig into my Korean friends history and I asked about their life and that of their parents.  I also asked why they moved to the United States as I wondered if it was anything close to anyone in the stories in the book.  (It wasn’t.)

There really is a story for everyone in Drifting House. I just love the name of the book and the cover is so inviting.  I feel like I am looking into the window of their lives.  I don’t see the whole picture but I see one tiny section and I get transformed to a different character and more importantly, a different journey with every story I read.  Although the short story titled Drifting House came close to making me change my mind as my favorite story in the book,  At The Edge of the World really pulled my heart strings.   The young boy Mark, as he is called at school and Myeongseok as he is called at home made my heart cry and I wanted to adopt him.  I’m anxious to know if you feel the same.

Lee shows a beautiful collection of stories that bleed with sorrow, grieving, and heartache from the beginning of the book until the very end.  Although there is hope within the book, it shows the struggles of the Koreans with blinding pain.

Love, Stackgirl Shannan

150 Pounds

from goodreads – A smartly-written novel of two women starting at opposite ends of the scale–and finding compromise and friendship in their journey towards 150 pounds In the fast paced life of blogging, two women stand out: Alexis Allbright, of Skinny Chick, and Shoshana Weiner, who writes Fat and Fabulous. Both have over five million loyal readers. Both are hungry for success. But the similarities stop there. 

With over 100 pounds on the scale separating them, weight isn’t their only difference. Alexis is a loner who is so bitchy the only person who can stand her company is her gay best friend Billy. She gives neurotic New Yorkers a run for their money with her strict daily workout routine, and weighing of food. Shoshana is Alexis’s opposite. Living in Jersey with rowdy roommates, she is someone who “collects friends,” as her mother puts it; and treasures a life of expanding circles…and waistlines.

When both appear as panelists on a popular talk show, their lives intersect in ways neither could have imagined. In turns comedic, heartwarming–and familiar to any woman who’s ever stepped on a scale–Alexis and Shoshana realize they have far more in common than either could have possibly imagined, and more importantly, something to offer.

my take – When I picked up this book I was expecting a fun, but very predictable read.  Fortunately, this one had a few unexpected surprising elements that were smart and utterly charming.

This book is written in third person, with alternating perspectives from Shoshana and Alexis.  Rockland did a great job giving each girl an engaging story line. It’s funny, I would get so engrossed reading one girls section and then moan when it changed, but yet would groan again when perspectives changed again.

Shoshana and Alexis each had their own battles to fight, issues to overcome, and their story reflected that. Shoshana, the heavy one and by far my favorite character, had one of those infectious personalities that automatically lifts your spirits and brings a smile to your face. She’s one you’d want to be BFF. Her weight isn’t a barrier, she embraces it and you can’t help but respect her.

Alexis, the skinny one, is the total opposite. She may have the perfect hair, clothes and body, but she has a closed off personality. She puts up a wall that very few can climb, and has an elitist attitude. Watching her metamorphous was a definite highlight of the book, though it wasn’t without lots of eye rolling.

Oh, and I just have to mention the adorably cute cover. It fits the tone and mood of the book perfectly. Seriously, is there anyway one could walk by those scrumptious cupcakes without picking the book up?

Overall, this is a cute read!

Stacy

THREE FEMALE FRIENDS FACE MIDLIFE CRISES IN A NO-HOLDS-BARRED EXPLORATION OF SEX, MARRIAGE, AND THE FRAGILITY OF LIFE.  Holly: Filled with regret for being a stay-at-home mom, she sheds sixty pounds and loses herself in the world of extramarital sex. Will it bring the fulfillment she is searching for? Andrea: A single mom and avowed celibate, she watches her friend Holly’s meltdown with a mixture of concern and contempt. Holly is throwing away what Andrea has spent her whole life searching for—a committed relationship with a decent guy. So what if Andrea picks up Holly’s castaway husband?  Marissa: She has more than her fair share of challenges—a gay, rebellious teenage son, a terminally ill daughter, and a husband who buries himself in his work rather than face the facts.  As one woman’s marriage unravels, another’s rekindles.  As one woman’s family comes apart at the seams, another’s reconfigures into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman’s up is another one’s down, and all of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness.  Unflinchingly honest, emotionally powerful, surprisingly erotic, Triangles is the ultimate page-turner.  Hopkins’s gorgeous, expertly honed poetic verse perfectly captures the inner lives of her characters.  Sometimes it happens like that.  Sometimes you just get lost.  Get lost in the world of Triangles, where the lives of three unforgettable women intersect, and where there are no easy answers.

my take:  Ellen Hopkins has a successful career as a young adult writer, with a fiercely devoted fan base and lots of accolades (as well as controversy).  Triangles, her first foray into adult fiction, is just as mesmerizing and remarkable as her YA fiction.  It’s written in her signature verse novel format, which makes the pages fly by. 

What I love about Ellen Hopkins is her ability to capture the emotions of her characters, and to dig deep into their psyche to get to the heart of what drives them.  The entire human experience is fleshed out in her writings – some I can identify with, some I cannot, but I always gain understanding.

As an adult reading Hopkin’s YA novels, I sought to identify with characters very unlike me.  As an adult reading Triangles, I felt the book hit disturbingly close to home.  These women were just like me, or my friends, or people I know - dealing with midlife, children, divorce, death, serious problems.  These characters resonated with me and made me look at certain issues differently - is this how some of my friends may feel about these issues?  Would I have behaved in the same way as these characters in that situation?  Would I have had more sympathy for a friend if I had an inkling of what she was really going through? 

The narratives from the three women are skillfully intertwined and absorbing.  Of course, this book is for adults and it does cover some very adult situations frankly and honestly.  Sex is a large part of the lives of these women, and for the character of Holly it’s not vanilla.  But if you have read any of Hopkins’ work, you know that she doesn’t shy away from taboo topics. 

I’m so glad Ellen Hopkins decided to begin writing novels for the adults in her fan base – she has another one coming in the fall of 2012 titled Collateral, about deployment and what that means to those left behind.  I recommend this book for adult women of all ages who appreciate frank and honest depictions of their lives – warts and all.

See you in the STACKS,
Nancy

Austentatious

from goodreads: In this quirky, sexy novel set against the lively, music-filled backdrop of Austin, Texas, a young woman learns that romance can wreak havoc with even the best laid plans. . .

It started innocently enough. While browsing in one of Austin’s funky little shops, Nicola James is intrigued by a blank vintage journal she finds hidden among a set of Jane Austen novels. Even though Nic is a straight-laced engineer, she’s still a sucker for anything Austen-esque. But her enthusiasm quickly turns to disbelief once she starts writing in the journal–because somehow, it’s writing her back. . .

Miss Nicola James will be sensible and indulge in a little romance. Those twelve tiny words hit Nic like a thunderbolt, as if her diary was channeling Austen herself! Itching for a bit of excitement, Nic decides to follow her “Fairy Jane’s” advice. The result: a red-hot romance with a sexy Scottish musician who charms his way into Nic’s heart in about five seconds flat.

Sean MacInnes is warm, funny, and happens to think Nic is the most desirable woman he’s ever met. But a guy like Sean doesn’t exactly fit into her Life Plan. With no one but Fairy Jane to guide her, Nic must choose between the life she thought she wanted–and the kind of happy ending she never saw coming…

my take:  What a lovely romp of a read!!! I easily devoured it in one sitting – laughing and smiling.

I absolutely adore this Jane Austen-esque book. It is full of wit, comedy, magical journaling and utterly cute and ahhh worthy romance. Goodnight has done an excellent job capturing the essence of Jane Austen and her characters – creating a modern world for them to live. While there aren’t direct correlations to Austen characters (well, except for Nicola and Sean), there are plenty of references to them for Jane Austen fans to devour.

Nicola, our dear Lizzy Bennet, is a definite kindred spirit character. The reader can’t help but to smile at her sensibility and her simple, but realistic and very safe life plan. And then we smile even more when whimsy and magic interfere and she is reluctaly nudged into a whirlwind romance. Her wit and comedy are on par with her Austen escapade.

Sean is the swoon worthy Mr. Darcy. He is (borrowing from the book) ‘the perfect mix of charming and presumptuous.’  Not only is he the sexy rocker, he’s also thoughtful, has an adventurous spirit and (this is the biggest) he has an accent. He is modern Mr. Darcy through and through, without the stubborn pride! His romance with Nicola is every girls dream.

The side characters are a big highlight to the story; my favorites are Nicola’s neighbors, Leslie, and her partner Laura. Where one is snarky and pulls no punches the other is sweet. The story would not be the same with out them. They add sizzle, spice and laughs.

Favorite scenes: The infamous ‘mushroom extraction,’ Leslie and Laura’s Friday night karaoke parties, and Nicola’s attempt at karaoke and the aftermath.

If you’re a fan of Jane Austen modern re-telling’s, then this is a MUST read!

Stacy - who thinks that the Austin, Texas setting is perfect and licked her lips when Hey Cupcake was mentioned!!

publisher: Ace Hardcover
release date: May 3, 2011
book info: goodreads author site

Nancy’s thoughts - Let’s just say this is not my favorite out of the series. Honestly, this book was slow to start, meandered around a bit and had an unsatisfying ending that left me irritated. Yes, we did get some resolution of various plot threads, and the main plot mostly revolved around the relationship between Eric and Sookie, which made us Stackgirls very happy. However, it was not my spunky Sookie, but a harder and morose Sookie. And the ending was one of those ‘things that make you go hmmmm’. Or in my case, “Really?”

I give this book 3 STACKS!

Stacy’s thoughts - Give me a minute…*trying to wrap head around this one*

Well, I can certainly say that I see a definite path that Charlaine has set out for Sookie. Storylines are coming to close as well as key relationships. Yes, key.

As much as I want to see character growth in Sookie (I mean, who wants a stagnant character) I’m not happy. Though, I guess I should be. She is making decisions that are best for her. Guess I’m just upset she didn’t consult me, haha.

Team Eric or Team Bill? Guess again.

I give this book 3 STACKS!

From Goodreads:  Deeper Than the Dead introduced Tami Hoag’s millions of fans to Oak Knoll, a small California town that, in the mid-eighties, seemed as idyllic as any . . . until the See-No-Evil killer shattered that notion. It took FBI agent Vince Leone and a new technique called “profiling” to put an end to the trauma.

Secrets to the Grave brought Leone’s teacher-turned-child- advocate wife, Anne, into a central role. Together with Vince and local sheriff ‘s deputy Tony Mendez, she solved an Oak Knoll murder with a particularly challenging mystery: The victim never existed.  And now Hoag returns once more to Oak Knoll for the third installment of this bestselling series. Through Leone’s pioneering, science-based investigatory skills, Hoag explores the early days of forensic police work. And through the chilling case at the heart of Down the Darkest Road, she hooks ever more readers into the meticulously crafted, all-too-terrifying world of Oak Knoll, where the scariest secrets of all can be found . . . Down the Darkest Road.

My Take: I am a mystery newbie.  My mom would kill me to know that.  She reads a mystery a day.  Cross my heart.  She may wonder why her adult daughter is in love with young adult books and can’t get enough of paranormal romances and dystopian novels.  Well, she shall wonder no more.  I am now hooked on mysteries. Holy cow!  Hoag freaked me out with this thriller!  Everything seemed so real.  It has changed the way I think about security in my house.  I am 1. getting put on anxiety meds 2. installing an alarm & 3. getting a dog.

As the mom of a daughter, the story of a child abduction couldn’t have drawn me in any faster.  I stayed up until 4 in the morning finishing the book.  Then I proceeded to check all the locks in my home and check on my kids.  It’s so sad to know that this story, although it is fiction, is really happening in this world.  There are so many children that are taken from their families and I cannot fathom what heartache those families live with.  I can’t say that I would act much different than the mother, Lauren.  Although she emotionally neglects her younger daughter while searching for her older, missing daughter, who knows how one would really act unless you are thrown in that nightmare of a case.  After four years of missing a daughter and then losing a husband, let alone being stalked by the person who probably took your child, I think I would be on a rampage for justice even if I had to take it into my own hands, like Lauren.

The police departments in Down the Darkest Road were so interesting.  Yes, this was in the early 90′s when computers and analyzing DNA wasn’t as sophisticated as it is now.  I can’t believe how far we have come!!

I loved getting to know Tony and Anne!  I wish I really had them as friends.  And something I loved about Hoag is her writing.  I’m telling you, she scared me with her suspenseful writing and the way we got to know the characters with Hoag changing the point of view throughout the whole novel.

As this is my first adult mystery that I have read,  I am thankful that is was written by  a talented author who tells a suspenseful story while still maintaining heart and hope.

If you would like to meet Tami Hoag on tour (we are excited to meet her!), check out these dates:

December 27^th 7pm
Barnes & Noble Apache Mall
Rochester, MN

December 28^th 7pm
The Poisoned Pen
Scottsdale, AZ

December 29^th 6:30pm
Murder By The Book
Houston, TX

December 30^th 12pm
Hastings
Waxahachie, TX

December 30^th 7pm (We are going to this one! We love A Real Bookstore!!)
A Real Bookstore
Fairview, TX

January 4^th 7pm
Murder on the Beach
Delray Beach, FL

January 5^th 7pm
Barnes & Noble
The Shoppes at Wellington Green
Wellington, FL

January 7^th 3pm
Vero Beach Book Center
Vero Beach, FL

January 10^th 6:30pm
Sho Clothes Equestrian Boutique
Wellington, FL

The Bird Sisters

from goodreads - When a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds’ heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can’t, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who’ve brought them. These spinster sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health.

But back in the summer of 1947, Milly and Twiss knew nothing about trying to mend what had been accidentally broken. Milly was known as a great beauty with emerald eyes and Twiss was a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. That was the summer their golf pro father got into an accident that cost him both his swing and his charm, and their mother, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, finally admitted their hardscrabble lives wouldn’t change. It was the summer their priest, Father Rice, announced that God didn’t exist and ran off to Mexico, and a boy named Asa finally caught Milly’s eye. And, most unforgettably, it was the summer their cousin Bett came down from a town called Deadwater and changed the course of their lives forever.

Rebecca Rasmussen’s masterfully written debut novel is full of hope and beauty, heartbreak and sacrifice, love and the power of sisterhood, and offers wonderful surprises at every turn.

The Bird Sisters is a lovely book about two sisters who sacrificed their own happiness for their cousin and each other. The story is told through the two sisters who live together and are known for nursing wounded birds back to life (metaphor, anyone?). They are living in the present day, but after a woman brings a bird to their doorstep, her comments to them trigger each sister to reflect back on the summer their cousin came to stay with them, and the havoc (and clarity) it brought to their lives.

Author Rebecca Rasmussen is clearly a lyrical poet with her prose, and this book has several bookmarked pages where I just loved her turn of phrase. The story itself dragged a bit, unfortunately, as the end of the book delivers punches that have to be built up, but seem less meaningful during the reading. The sisters’ reflections throughout the day reveal the flaws of all the characters-from family members to eccentric townspeople – so it was hard to really root for any one specific character. However, in the end, the sisters’ love for one another triumphs over all the ugliness of their parents’ unhappy marriage and subsequent actions and that was a nice redemption after being rather frustrated with most people in the story.

For a finally developed story focused on revealing the beauty in the midst of unhappiness, The Bird Sisters is a finely honed and beautifully written novel. Clearly a labor of love, Rasmussen revealed on her site for the book that the characters and plot were based on her own family’s background, and I’m intrigued to know what facts specifically have been embedded into this fictional story, although it seems a bit of a depressing one.

Sarah

If you would like to join us, check out our discussion schedule below:
 January 6, 2012 – we’ll tackle those scholarly discussion questions
January 8, 2012 –listen in to our podcast for our candid thoughts and opinions

And make sure to join in the discussion on twitter, just use the hashtag #LHJbookclub . We’re always open for academic debate!

We had so much fun participating with Ladies Home Journal for their August book club pick, Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong that we have decided to join them again and read their December/January pick, The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen.  Again, this is not a normal genre read for us, but we are nothing if not adventurous. Plus, we think it’s good to branch out and stretch our brains.

Find more information here about Ladies Home Journal book club and The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen.

The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
publisher: Crown
release: April 12, 2011
book links: goodreads author LHJ twitter

from goodreads - When a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds’ heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can’t, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who’ve brought them. These spinster sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health.

But back in the summer of 1947, Milly and Twiss knew nothing about trying to mend what had been accidentally broken. Milly was known as a great beauty with emerald eyes and Twiss was a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. That was the summer their golf pro father got into an accident that cost him both his swing and his charm, and their mother, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, finally admitted their hardscrabble lives wouldn’t change. It was the summer their priest, Father Rice, announced that  God didn’t exist and ran off to Mexico, and a boy named Asa finally caught Milly’s eye. And, most unforgettably, it was the summer their cousin Bett came down from a town called Deadwater and changed the course of their lives forever.

Rebecca Rasmussen’s masterfully written debut novel is full of hope and beauty, heartbreak and sacrifice, love and the power of sisterhood, and offers wonderful surprises at every turn.

If you would like to join us, check out our discussion schedule below:

December 13, 2011 – we’ll provide a detailed review of the book

January 6, 2012 – we’ll tackle those scholarly discussion questions

January 8, 2012 –listen in to our podcast for our candid thoughts and opinions

And make sure to join in the discussion on twitter, just use the hashtag #LHJbookclub . We’re always open for academic debate!

Children of Paranoia

from goodreads – ALL WARS HAVE RULES

Rule Number One: No killing innocent bystanders.

Rule Number Two: No killing anyone under the age of
eighteen.

BREAK THE RULES, BECOME THE TARGET.

my take – The rules, the cover and all the postcards I got in the mail (marketing  from publisher) made me think this was a YA book. I. WAS. WRONG.

This book is a heart-pounding adult thriller, a la James Bourne. And it was good, real good.

The first chapter is a bit macabre; the main character is killing someone. I know what you’re thinking, how can you relate to a killer? Well, you can. Joe is a solider not a murderer, following orders that he thinks will help bring peace between the two warring factions. It’s the eventual unraveling of the story, his personal realizations and his insight that cause almost immediate liking to his character and his plight.

I loved Joe. I loved his loyalty to his friends, I loved his passionate relationship with Maria and I loved his fierce protectiveness. He’s a good guy with morals, one who’s been brainwashed into killing. He does the best he can where others are calling all the shots.

Like I mentioned earlier, this book is like the Bourne Identity.  The story is full of action, secret agencies and lies. It’s pure adrenaline awesomeness. While we never get the full backstory of “why” things are the way they are, it’s a full ride to the end that leaves us begging for more.

bottom line - I’m not gonna lie, the ending was not my favorite. Shane pulled no punches, but he did give us a realistic story in an alternate reality world that is believable. Good for you Shane!

Stacy

The Night Circus

from Barnes & Noble.com -  The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart. 

all me - How many adjectives can I use to describe this story?  Magical, wondrous, enchanting, mysterious!  I really don’t think there are enough.

Truly, this book charmed me.

I’ll start with the writing.  Yes, it says “rich, seductive prose” in the blurb above, and I say BINGO!  Morgenstern paints pictures with her words, incredibly detailed descriptions of amazing sights and wonders.  Intimate and revealing moments are lushly written, and scenes where you gradually realize something horrible is about to happen are especially appalling because it surprises you.

I liked that the viewpoints change throughout the book – some chapters are Celia, some Bailey, some are other characters.  I had to read the dates at the top of each chapter carefully because they shift back and forth, and sometimes by years, sometimes by weeks or even days.  Sometimes you learned something about the future that made you tie it in with the past (and vice versa) as you read along.

Celia is our heroine – and the sad scene where she meets her father (Hector, aka “Prospero the Great”) sets the tone for the rest of the book.  Hector, who only is interested in his daughter for her magical abilities, and Celia – strong willed and her own person, even though she is dependent on her father and bound by the strange competition.

At first I did not like Marco because I felt he was a very self-centered character.  He used Isobel and Chandresh to further himself in the competition.  By the end, I softened somewhat; one, because of his poor upbringing by the mysterious Alexander (aka the man in the grey suit); and two, because his love for Celia and willingness to sacrifice for her.

The rest of the characters felt like my friends – Bailey and the twins born at the circus, Poppet and Widget; Isobel and Tsukiko, both circus performers; Chandresh, Marco’s employer and the circus owner, and his circle of friends - the Burgess sisters,  Mr. Barris, and Mme. Padva; and finally Friedrick Thiessen, the clockmaker who built the wonderous clock that stands at the entrance of the circus and founder of the Rêveurs.  Each character is fully fleshed out, and they all have an important role to play in the circus (and thereby the competition).

Even the cover is perfectly suited for the story – a black and white circus with red (echoes of the group of circus fanatics, called Rêveurs, who wear black and white with one red accent).  I feel a little bit like a Rêveur myself – a fan of the magical, wondrous, enchanting, mysterious circus that comes and goes without warning.  I would follow it today if only I could find it.  I highly recommend this story!

See you in the STACKS,
Nancy

From Barnes and Noble.com:  A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.

Now eighteen and emancipated from the system,Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.

My Take: This book we picked up at BEA and I was unsure what to expect since it was not our usual genre (what? no werewolves, vampires, or fairies?).  But once I started reading it, I fell in love with the shy, damaged Victoria, who speaks to people using the language of flowers.

Victoria is not always a lovable character though – an abused & neglected product of the foster system, she is broken and untrusting.  When she is taken in as a child by Elizabeth, the woman who teaches her the meaning of the flowers, she constantly tests that love.  Will she get stop loving me if I do this?  It broke my heart, every time she sabotaged herself.  Elizabeth dealt with it patiently, until a final horrible event severed the relationship.

I loved the way Victoria and Elizabeth’s story was interwoven with her current story.  Her talent with flowers gets her a job, and her boss Renata carefully walks the minefield that Victoria has laid between boss and friend.  She meets Grant at the flower market, who understands the meaning behind her reply of rhododendron (beware) to his first clumsy offering of a lilly; his reply is mistletoe (I surmount all obstacles).  Grant is familiar with the language of flowers, but his definitions are slightly different than hers.  Drawing Victoria out to talk about the meanings of various flowers leads them to attempt to make their own dictionary so there would be no misunderstandings.  But being in a relationship is difficult for Victoria, who does not like to be touched and has major commitment issues.  Victoria always hoped for love, and actually getting it is a scary prospect.  For her, it is not only difficult to learn how to love and receive love in return, it is terrifying.

I’m in love with this novel.  It is a powerful and moving story about forgiveness and second chances.  No werewolves, vampires or fairies needed.

I give this book 5 STACKS.

See you in the STACKS,
Nancy – who will pretend to give you a bouquet with Cosmos (joy in love and life), Freesia (lasting friendship), and Olive (peace).

——

Describe your book in five words.

Epic, dark, dangerous, tragic, and sexy. What would your five words be?

Scott Westerfeld said of The Taker, “…thinking person’s guilty pleasure.” You have some pretty high praises from some amazing authors, plus The Taker got a starred review from Booklist. Seriously, what was going through your head when you read all those reviews?

At first, I thought they either wrote that out of pity or were kidding with me. Seriously, when I read the good stuff, it seems to be about someone/something else, like I’m distanced from it, but the bad reviews hit me like a line drive to the gut. Weird, isn’t it? And what you hear people say–you can have all good reviews and one bad one and that’s the one you remember–is true. And I’m getting my share of really mean, snide reviews, like everyone else. I’m working on thickening my skin.

YOU WENT TO COMIC-CON AND WERE ON A PANEL!!!  Were you freaking out? How was it rubbing elbows with Michael Cassutt, Heather Brewer and Drew Magary? Were you in just complete awe?

Luckily I was heavily medicated so I kept it together. (I had a bout of vertigo so I was actually medicated.) I was so grateful to be on  that panel and every one else on it was so generous to me, the newbie, I can’t tell you. Maryelizabeth Hart, co-owner of Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore and moderator of the panel, is like a god to me now. She did fifteen panels in three days, didn’t miss a beat, kept everything flowing perfectly. I also got to meet the author Rachel Caine, who is a consummate pro and so generous. Yes, I was in complete awe of everyone. Add to that, the people who attend Comic-con are so nice. I had lots of great conversations with readers who stopped by the  Simon & Schuster booth, standing in lines, sharing tables in the food court. And I’ve watched G4′s Attack of the Show coverage of Comic-con for a couple years now, so I hung around the G4 booth like a total fangirl. I’m sure they were wondering why this middle-aged woman was stalking them.

The next book in the series is titled The Reckoning, is there anything you can share with us? Maybe share some Lanny and Luke insight??

Many characters from The Taker are back in The Reckoning–even some you might not expect. The Reckoning is poor Lanny’s worst nightmares come true, but there’s one character who gets treated even worse than Lanny, is really made to run the gamut of emotions. I hope it’s half as much fun to read as it’s been to write. We don’t have a pub date yet for either the US or UK, but hopefully will soon.

How many books will be in the series? Please say a million. Or five. Five works too.

You are too kind! Right now there are three books planned (the third one is titled The Descent, at least for now.) There’s also a spin-off book that’s half-written but I haven’t talked to my publishers about it yet. If The Taker trilogy does well, maybe it will see the light of day. I have ideas for some non-Taker books, too. I’m lucky in that I haven’t had a problem yet with writer’s block.

We love to know what authors are reading (especially ones we love to read!); it helps us determine our STACKS. So, what are you currently reading?

Since I’m on deadline with The Reckoning, I’m not reading as much as usual (sadly.) I’m about one-third into THE HANGMAN’S DAUGHTER by Oliver Potzsch. It reads like a fairy tale-murder mystery, very fun. After that I’m going to read THE NIGHT COUNTER by Alia Yunis, my roommate at Squaw Valley writers conference. The excerpt she read at the conference was so sharp, so witty, and so well done, I can’t wait to read the entire book. My TBR pile is about 20 books high right now, and growing.

The Ideal Man

from goodreads - Dr. Ellie Sullivan has just completed her residency at a large urban hospital. While jogging in a park nearby, she witnesses the shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of wanted criminals, a couple identified as the Landrys. The only person to see the shooter’s face, Ellie is suddenly at the center of a criminal investigation.

Agent Max Daniels takes over the Landry case. A no-nonsense lawman, he’s definitely not the ideal man that Ellie has always imagined, yet she’s attracted to him in a way she can’t explain…

my thoughts - I typically don’t read romance books, but the tough looking, black wearing, badge holding hunk of a man on the cover swayed me to pick this one up. (And yea, he was IDEAL!)

Garwood is a seasoned romance writer. She writes good, interesting stories that are plausible and creates an air of suspense to keep you on your toes. Oh, and she knows how to throw in the spice that brings on the heat.

However, as tight as the mystery /plot and sizzle were the characters were just a bit to ‘ideal’ for me. Ellie, is a doctor who is beautiful, caring, selfless, easy going, looks good in sexy dresses, likes football and oh, yea is a prodigy.  I could not find one thing in this book to make her seem real. I would have settled for a clubbed thumb, or frizzy hair.

Agent Max Daniels wasn’t much better.  He was tough, rugged, carried a gun, confident and ultra-hot. I almost forgot, he was a super smart too. Though, he did let his temper flare up from time to time, but then only when it came to protecting Ellie.

The mutual attraction was too immediate and the need for Max to protect Ellie almost from the beginning was unrealistic.  Then again, that could be normal for romance books

I give this book 3 STACKS

Stacy

The Twelfth Enchantment

from goodreads - Lucy Derrick is a young Regency woman of good breeding and poor finances: after the death of her father, she is forced to maintain a shabby dignity as an unwanted boarder with her unpleasant uncle, fending off marriage to the local mill owner, Mr. Olson. But her prospects of even that unwanted match are complicated by the appearance of a beautiful stricken man who appears on the family doorstep begging her not to marry Mr. Olson just as he collapses. This appearance seems to open the door to a series of increasingly strange occurrences surrounding Lucy. Soon it becomes clear that there is more at stake than her own happiness — and that she is caught between two forces, one ancient and one modern — and that the soul of her very country is at stake.

my thoughts – This is a charming, quick-witted novel that I couldn’t help but read while sitting at the dinner table. I love the paring of the Regency era with urban fantasy (my ideal read!). It’s a story of Luddites versus the Industrial Revolution, with a fantasy twist full of revenants, a golem, an order of Rosicrucian’s and Lord Byron.

When we first meet Lucy she is an amiable creature ready to please. She is quite reserved and willing to marry the awful Mr. Olson. Enter Lord Byron with a cryptic message and the magic and entanglement of betrothal with Mr. Olson (and sleuthing) begins.

Lucy is an ideal character. She is quaint, humble and so very naïve. Yet, she is determined, brave and just a bit magical to uncover a plot of the worst kind. I loved her sleuthing, her inner-thoughts and her ever constant worrying over her reputation.

If I could give Lucy a bff charm I would!

Not only has David Liss given us an interesting and unique plot, but he has created some very colorful characters that are, quite frankly, charming. Some of the best lines came from Lord Byron, which added great comical elements to the story. Then there was the ever elusive yet so knowledgeable Mrs. Emmett and my personal favorite, Mr. Morrison who made a perfect partner for Lucy.

I totally, without a doubt give this novel 5 STACKS

Stacy

*SPOILERS and as always you can download us from itunes*