Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.
Showing posts with label Chunkster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chunkster. Show all posts

Friday, July 3, 2009

Chunkster Challenge WrapUp

I kicked butt on this challenge - and considering I had chosen Mor-book-ly Obese - there was a lot of book booty to kick! I read 7 chunksters (over 450 pages - okay, Frederica only had 446 but I counted it anyway!) My favorite was probably Scream for Me or Miranda's Big Mistake - but at 668 pages, Holly's Inbox was probably the quickest!

  1. Scream for Me - Karen Rose -- 569 pages
  2. The Four Corners of the Sky - Michael Malone -- 544 pages
  3. Holly's Inbox - Holly Denham -- 668 pages
  4. The Kingmaking - Helen Hollick -- 563 pages
  5. The Stones - Eleanor Gustafson -- 593 pages
  6. Frederica - Georgette Heyer -- 446 pages
  7. Miranda's Big Mistake - Jill Mansell - 488 pages

Chunkster Challenge

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Miranda's Big Mistake by Jill Mansell (Book Review)


Title: miranda's big mistake
Author: Jill Mansell
Publisher/Publication Date

First sentence: It was the first day of April.

About the book: Even the worst mistake of your life can lead to true love in the end. . .



Miranda's track record with men is horrible. Her most recent catastrophe is Greg. he seems perfect - gorgeous, witty, exciting. And he and Miranda are in love. . . until Miranda discovers he left his wife when he found out she was pregnant.



With the help of her friends, Miranda plans the sweetest and most public revenge a heartbroken girl can get. But will Miranda learn from her mistake, or move on to the next perfect man and ignore the loveof her life waiting in the wings.
(from the book cover)



My thoughts: This was another fun read from Jill Mansell. Again, her cast of characters are so loveable that you want them to be your friends! Miranda's life seems to be a mess - but she is surrounded by many friends who love her and care about her - from her landlady Florence, her boss at the hair salon, Fenn and her best friend Bev. Even though she seems to have her share of bad luck when it comes to men, it seems that everyone who comes in contact with her is instantly taken in by her warm and giving personality.



Miranda befriends a homeless man who sits outside the salon - she gives him half her lunch whenever she sees him - and even goes so far to give him money for tea and a scarf and gloves. Of course, the gloves were left at the salon by a client, and after waiting weeks to take them and give them to this homeless man, the client phones up and wants them back! This sort of tells you how her life in general seems to go. How would you feel if you had to go back to a homeless man just minutes after giving him a warm pair of gloves and tell him that you needed them back?

After Miranda finishes with Greg, the soon-to-be ex-husband baby-daddy of her new flatmate, she decides that she is happy just as she is - until, of course, she catches the eye of a very handsome, very well-known race car driver. How fast can she fall for him?

I have really been enjoying Jill Mansell's books. If you missed my review of An Offer You Can't Refuse you should really go check it out too. I also did an interview with Jill Mansell - just click on her name. I am really excited to tell you she is going to have a fall release also - Millie's Fling! Watch for details.

Miranda's Big Mistake
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks, June 2009
ISBN: 9781402218323
488 pages

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham (Book Review)


Title: Holly's Inbox
Author: Holly Denham (Bill Surie)
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks, June 2009

First sentence: Holly, Exciting news about your job, are you enjoying it?

About the book: (from the back cover) - Dear Holly, Are you sure you know what you're getting into...?

It's Holly Denham's first day as a receptionist at a busy corporate bank, and frankly, it's obvious she can't quite keep up.

Take a peek at her email and you'll see why: what with her crazy friends, dysfunctional family, and gossipy co-workers, Holly's inbox is a daily source of drama. Laughter, friendship, and romantic interludes keep her going, until one day, Holly's secret past begins to catch up with her. . .

Written entirely in emails, this compulsively readable UK smash hit will keep you laughing and turning the pages all the way to its surprising and deeply satisfying ending.

My thoughts: Who would have thought that you could learn so much about someone from reading their email? This book was hilarious - and very believable. Even though I have not been in the work force for 5 years - I remember how people would email me rather than just picking up the phone! I am sure that email has only gotten more prevalent since then. The entanglements and problems that Holly gets into are pretty common - but the presentation of those situations - learned entirely through email is very original! I flew through this book quicker than I ever though possible. It was very clever the way it was laid out - 5 months - week by week - day by day - mainly being Holly's inbox with the occasional detour to one of her friends. There is Trish - the other receptionist - who at first you think is going to be really tough to work with, but that soon changes. Then there are her friends Jason and Aish - Jason being more of her confidente and problem solver while Aish gets into a lot of trouble on her own that she needs help getting out of. Charlie, her brother, who is trying to open a fetish club and always seems to need Holly's help. Alice and Matt, her sister and husband, who have the interesting occupation of raising snakes. . . And then of course Holly's Mum and Dad and dear old Granny - who seems to get into as much trouble as Holly - w/o even trying! You can begin to get an idea of what the book is alike by visiting Holly's Inbox online. Warning - You will be addicted!

Holly's Inbox
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks, June 2009
ISBN: 9781402219030
668 pages

Saturday, May 16, 2009

The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone (Book Review)


Title: The Four Corners of the Sky
Author: Michael Malone
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: May 12, 2009
ISBN-13: 9781570717444
Genre: Fiction


First sentence: In small towns between the North Carolina Piedmont and the coast the best scenery is often the sky.

Jack Peregrine was a con man - not just any con man - but one with a six year old daughter, Annie. When danger gets too close, Jack takes Annie to Emerald and Pilgrim's Rest (his childhood home) and leaves her with his sister Sam and her friend Clark. He promises to return for her, but in the meantime, as it was her 7th birthday, he gives her an airplane, The King of the Sky. This plane has been housed in Sam and Clark's barn since Annie was just a baby.

Sam and Clark have shared a residence for many years - but Sam is gay and Clark is once widowed and once divorced. They raise Annie as their own, eventually adopting her. Annie only sees her father once, briefly, while she is in high school. She has raced through life at top speed and continues when she heads off to Annapolis to become a Navy pilot. At 26, she finds herself headed back to Pilgrim's Rest for her b-day, having even raced through her first marriage - now headed for divorce. I believe when she arrives back at Pilgrim's Rest, that this is where the story really begins. She is greeted with a FedEx from her father, balloons from Sam and Clark, and a tornado (which will symbolize her next few days!) The FedEx from her father states that he is dying and would like her to fly The King of the Sky to St. Louis and meet him there.


This book started out great for me. I flew (no pun intended) through the first 100 pages and couldn't wait to keep going. Then I hit the middle and felt like the air went out of my balloon. It picked up speed again though and I soared to the end. (ok, I'll stop with the puns. . .) I am glad that I finished it.

My favorite character was probably Dan Hart, even though we do not get to see much of him. He is the Miami detective who has been tracking Annie's father. I enjoyed his instant rapport with Annie and their attraction. I also enjoyed steadfast, no-nonsense Clark. He was always there for Annie and even though his puns were corny, you knew you could always count on him (like the one that went something like this "It is better to have loved a short man than not a tall.")

I am not sure how I felt about Annie. I don't really felt like I really got to know her - that I never really got below the surface. Now maybe this was the point - because of her dad "abandoning" her and never even knowing who her mother was - she kept everyone at arm's length.

I can say that I liked this book - I didn't love it like I thought I would, but I am glad that I stuck with it all the same. The thing that bothered me from the beginning - was that in 1982 one of Annie's favorite movies was Top Gun - and the movie didn't come out until 1986. (I remember where I was when I saw it the first time - only because I was a later Navy wife and was in the bathroom at NTC, San Diego where the "famous" bathroom scene was filmed - there is even a plaque in it!) Now I was reading an uncorrected advance copy, so maybe this has been changed in the final version. . . Michael Malone has won the Edgar, the O. Henry, the Writer's Guild Award and the Emmy - so I am sure that I will give him another try! (As an aside - I will say that I have struggled with a headache all week as I was trying to read this, so that may have had an effect on my perceptions!)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Stones by Eleanor Gustafson (Book Review)



Title: The Stones

Author: Eleanor Gustafson

Publisher: Whitaker House

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Available: Now

Reading for: First Wild Card Tour



First sentence: I dreamed of Goliath last night, strangely enough, considering it was Joab, David's general, who died yesterday.



From the book cover:

With comprehensive detail and flowing prose, Eleanor Gustafson crafts the retelling of King David's life--from his teenaged anointing to his death--as seen through the eyes of Asaph, a Levite musician.



Fictional in scope, yet with amazing scriptural accuracy, The Stones provides a revealing, behind-the-scenes glimpse into biblical history with all the twists, turns, thrills, and romance of the world's great drama.



You will be there as:


  • A young teen collects stones to take on a giant.

  • A prideful rebel takes count of his fighting men.

  • A fallible leader succumbs to lust, temptation, and deceit.

  • A poet and musician grows closer to God through prayer and worship.

  • A man after God's heart discovers the unfailing love and forgiveness of his Creator.

The Stones is an epic adventure of man's innate need to worship God and rely on Him for strength--and how badly it can go when he fails to do so.


I loved reading this book and am glad that I had this opportunity. It was wonderful to be able to read about King David in a chronological fashion. Even though the details and possible motivations for some of the story has been created to fill it out - you can trust that it still followed scripture. The fact that David was a 'man after God's heart' was evident, but it also showed David as a man with struggles much the same as you or I.


Sometimes I find it hard to read the Bible because the chronology often isn't there and, depending on the translation, it can be hard to understand. It is fun to read about it as if it were a fictional drama - knowing that it was not! I am in a study of Psalms 119 right now - this Psalm is thought to have been written by David because of some of the verses. After reading The Stones, I was able to see some different instances in the Psalm were I think it absolutely sounded like something that David was going through - like in this instance with this passage from page 91:


Hear my prayer, O God;


Listen to my words.


Strangers attack me;


Ruthless men seek my life.


Surely God is my help,


The one who sustains me.


Friday, March 6, 2009

The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick (Book Review)


Title: The Kingmaking
Author: Helen Hollick
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Genre: Historical Fiction
Available: Now

First sentence: He was ten and five years of age and, for the first time in his life, experiencing the exhilaration of the open sea and, for this short while, the novelty of leisure.


So begins the book, The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick. We join Arthur at 15 on a ship bound for Caer Arfon and Gwynned - home of Cunneda and his daughter Gwenhwyfar. He has been brought on the voyage by Uthr Pendragon - much to the chagrin of Uthr mistress, Morgause. She cannot understand why Uthr favors the boy. She sees him as the bastard child of one of the servants - being raised as a foster son by Uthr's brother.


As the story unfolds, Uthr is killed in a battle with Vortigern - fighting to be the rightful King of Britain. Arthur is devastated until Cunneda announces that he - Arthur - is the rightful heir of Uthr Pendragon. His identity had been kept hidden to protect his life from Vortigern.


When I first picked up this book - I wondered what I had gotten myself into. I was not a big King Arthur fan - and knew little about that era. However, Helen Hollick's book drew me in from the beginning. I loved that she gave the pronunciation of the names and after awhile I found myself reading them "correctly". It gave me a sense of authenticity. The book was not hard to read (like I thought it would be) due to the era, but instead was very engrossing. I even carried it with me to my son's bus stop - and it is a HEAVY book at 563 pages.

This is the first book of her Pendragon's Banner Trilogy. The other two books are Pendragon's Banner and Shadow of the King!

And now - the description from the back cover:

It is the Dark Ages of Britain, 450 AD. The Roman Empire is falling apart, leaving the British under the rule of the evil tyrant Vortigern, who stole the crown years ago from Uthr Pendragon. When Uthr dies, Arthur Pendragon is left as rightful heir to the throne, if he can win it back from Vortigern.

As the men pledge an oath of loyalty to the Pendragon Banner, a feisty and beautiful Gwenhwyfar, captivated by Arthur from the moment they meet, pledges to Arthur and even greater gift: her undying love and unborn sons.

Determined to fulfill his ultimate goals of regaining his kingship and marrying Gwenhwyfar, Arthur must first endure a difficult apprenticeship in his enemy's army. When he and Gwenhwyfar become pawns in a political triangle, Arthur is put to the test: he must choose between his kingship and the woman he loves.



Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Scream for Me - Karen Rose (Book Review)


Title: Scream for Me
Author: Karen Rose
Genre: Romantic Suspense Fiction
Publisher: Hachette Books - Thanks Renee and Hachette!


First sentence: A bell dinged.




This was book 2 in a series with Agent Daniel Vartanian, but it read well as a stand alone. The first book, Die For Me, I have on reserve at our library, so that should tell you that I really enjoyed this book!


Daniel Vartanian is a Special Agent with the GBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He has just returned from a case which involved his parents and his brother (I have a sneaky suspicion that this is what Die For Me is about...) He isn't even home a day before a murdered girl is discovered in a ditch and the investigation lands in his lap. It appears to be a copycat murder from 13 years earlier.


Alex Fallon is the twin sister of Alicia Tremaine, who was killed 13 years ago. She has received a call that her stepsister, Bailey, is missing and she is listed as the emergency contact for her 4 year old niece, Hope. This comes as quite a shock, as she didn't even know she had a niece. The last time she saw Bailey was to get her into a rehab program 5 years earlier.


Daniel's investigation and Alex's missing stepsister lead them on a collision course to each other - and the sparks start to fly. As the bodies pile up, will Alex ever find Bailey? Can Daniel catch the murderer? And can they both confront the ghosts of their past so that they can move into a better future?


This was a quick read for me, even at 569 pages! It was great the way all the suspects fell into place one-by-one. It was like watching dominoes fall in slow motion. I almost just typed a spoiler here - so I will just end on that note! Great book!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Chunkster Challenge 2009


Ok - I had been holding out signing up for this challenge, but seeing that I have some "chunksters" coming up in some of my arcs - I didn't feel that I could avoid it any longer! And the sign up is ending March 1!
Here are the rules:
*A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) Don't complain folks, I read all thousands of pages of the Twilight series and they were good, but not a challenge. A chunkster should be a challenge.
*If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more I asked around and the average LT book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.
*No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn't seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.
* You may start any time after signing up. You must complete your reads before or on Nov 15th.
*Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted.
*Books may crossover with other challenges (see option 4 for a collaborative effort with TBR challenge)
*Only option 4 requires that you make a set list of books to complete the challenge
Those are the basics. Here are your options:
*The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a large tome or two to read, but really doesn't want to commit to more than that. 2 books is all you need to finish this challenge.
*Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 3-5 Chunksters over the next ten months.
*Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 6 or more chunksters OR three tomes of 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

And lastly, in an intriguing collaboration with the wildly popular Miz B of the TBR Challenge we have:
*Too Big To Ignore Anymore - this option is for those chunksters on your TBR list. You may select any number of books over 450 pages but you must LIST THEM to complete the challenge and they must be on your TBR list as well (honor code folk, I don't have time to be the challenge police)
I think that I am going to have to go for the Mor-book-ly Obese - Starting with the following books:
  1. Scream for Me - Karen Rose
  2. The Four Corners of the Sky - Michael Malone
  3. Holly's Inbox - Holly Denham
  4. The Kingmaking - Helen Hollick
  5. The Stones - Eleanor Gustafson
  6. Frederica - Georgette Heyer
  7. Miranda's Big Mistake - Jill Mansell

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...