Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Bubba to the Rescue by Jennifer Walker (Book Review and Giveaway)


Bubba to the Rescue
by Jennifer Walker
Blog Tour March 1 - 15

What starts out as a leisurely trail ride turns into a terrifying afternoon when Alex and Leslie see a plume of smoke rising in the trees. After saving the neighbor's horses from a horrible fate, the two teens must run through the burning woods and get back to Green Meadow before it's too late. 

On the way, they encounter a strange horse wandering through the woods by itself, and it follows them home. Leslie soon becomes attached to "Spark", when she can't find his owner... but will she get to keep him, or will someone come forward to claim the horse she has come to love? Bubba to the Rescue is the second book in Ms. Walker's series of Green Meadow Riders fiction teen, tween and children's books.




About the author: Jennifer Walker is the author of Bubba Goes National and Bubba to the Rescue, and her stories appeared in the anthologiesElements of the Soul and The Ultimate Horse Lover. A full time freelance writer and editor, her work has appeared in numerous magazines and websites. She resides in Northern California with her husband, cat, dog, and Arabian stallion.

She is donating $1 from the sale of each book to send a deserving young lady to Arabian Horse Youth Nationals.



Title: Bubba to the Rescue
Author: Jennifer  Walker
Publisher:  Twin Trinity Media

My thoughts: This book starts out with the thrilling forest fire and race home for Leslie, Alex and their horses.  We learn alot about the teens and their love for animals in this opening scene as they risked their lives to save the neighbors horses from being burnt up in their barn.  Once home though, they discover that Lucky, Leslie's championship horse, must have been hit by a burning branch and has a pretty bad wound on one of her legs.

I don't think Leslie is your typical teen.  I believe she was a freshman in high school, but she was very responsible.  Her dad has just remarried her riding instructor (Leslie's mom had died a few years before).  She has accepted this woman very easily in her life and even calls her mom from the beginning.  Even though she has known her for a very long time, I am not sure that there wouldn't have been a little more trauma involved in accepting her as a mom. Leslie keeps up her grades at school and also works every day in the stable with the horses.  She is also in a relationship with Alex, a fellow freshman and stable employee.

A horse, who they have named Spark, followed them out of the fire.  He wasn't really hurt from the fire, but appeared as if he had been on his own for quite some time.  He was malnourished and they could tell his coat had not been groomed in quite awhile.  Leslie adopts him as her own, as Lucky is recuperating from his wound and can't really be ridden.  She knows though, that the real owner could claim him at any time.  This does not stop her from becoming attached to him though.

I liked learning about the care of horses and some of the things that go on at horse shows.  I think at some time in every little girl's life they would like to have a horse.  There is something romantic about them.  This would be a great book/series for any tween/teen who has a love for horses.

~I received a complimentary ecopy of this book from Jennifer Walker and Walker Tours in exchange for my review.~

Bubba to the Rescue
Publisher/Publication Date: Twin Trinity Media
ISBN: 978-0984209569
240 pages
Reading level: 9-14 years old

Free Preview available at Amazon


Giveaway!

Leave a comment for a chance to win an e-copy of Jennifer's short story, Leslie and the Lion.  This is open internationally and the winner will be announced on the 15th when I have Jennifer back with a guest post!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The Priest and the Peaches (Book Review)


by Larry Peterson
Blog Tour Jan 2 - Mar 31

Historical fiction novel set in the Bronx in the mid-1960s

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.



Larry Peterson's Bio: Larry Peterson was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. A former Metal Lather/Reinforcing Iron-worker, he left that business after coming down with MS. He, his wife and three kids moved to Florida 30 years ago. Larry began doing freelance newspaper commentary after graduating from Tampa College in 1984.

His first children's picture book, Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes was published in 2011. In 2012, his full length novel, The Priest and the Peaches was released and he is presently working on the sequel.

He also has a blog (http://www.ThePriestandthePeaches.com) where he posts weekly commentary. He lives in Pinellas Park, Florida and his kids and six grandchildren all live within three miles of each other. 

You can also find the author on Facebook and Twitter.
Something really weird - It has been a year and 1 day since I reviewed Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes.  What a coincidence!


My thoughts:  I am only halfway through this book, but wanted to get my post up today for the blog tour.  I am loving this book.  These five kids are dealing with a tragedy with the loss of their father within years after losing their mother to leukemia and their grandmother to a stroke. 

Teddy is the oldest and is just barely out of high school. Together with Joanie, his 17 year old sister, they are trying to help their three younger brothers, Dancer, Beeker and Joey deal with their father's death.  While they saw their absentee father as an alcoholic, they are finding out that in the neighborhood he was much loved.  He had a saying that he used as a greeting, L-Y-N, Love Your Neighbor, and they are finding out that he was known for doing exactly that.

I can't wait to finish up this book and will post a recap when it is done.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tribute Books in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Tribute Books can be found online at their website, Facebook and Twitter
The Priest and the Peaches
Publisher/Publication Date:  Tribute Books, Jan 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9837418-4-8
285 Pages

Buy it now for your Kindle or Nook!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

It's Monday! What are you reading? (March 5, 2012)



What are you reading on Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too! 

I don't know about you, but I think this year is already flying by. I didn't have a post up last week due to some computer gremlins, so this post is covering the last two weeks.


Currently reading: 




Books up this week:
Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream
The Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs
Being Lara by Lola Jaye
You're Already Amazing: Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You to Be by Holly Gerth




Audio Book:
Graceling by Kristin Cashmore



Bathroom Book:

Books finished and reviewed since last post:


Children's Books read and/or reviewed since last post:
Little Toot by Harold Gramatky
Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Buildings: Community Helpers by Jordan McGill
DK Readers: Big Machines by Karen Wallace
Let's Do Nothing by Tony Fucile




Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!


Frantic by Mike Dellosso (Book Review)


Title: Frantic
Author: Mike Dellosso
Publisher: Realms

About the Book: Can a deranged serial killer be stopped before it’s too late?

For gas station attendant Marny Toogood it’s just another day on the job when an urgent message from a young girl in the backseat of a car draws him into a daring rescue attempt. Now on the run with the girl and her brother, Marny begins to realize he must conquer his own past and surrender all to Christ.

As they face kidnapping, underground cults, and other evils, can Marny trust the simple faith of a child and stand his ground against a power so twisted?

My thoughts: This is a great thriller, and just when you think Marny, Esther and William are safe, an evil even worse appears!  

Marny is kind of a tragic hero.  All of his life, the people around him seem to die in somewhat freak accidents.  He feels he is cursed so doesn't really understand why he felt compelled to chase after this random girl who dropped a piece of paper at his work that implied she was in danger.  No sooner does he find where her assumed kidnapper (Gary) has taken her, when he is captured himself.  

Well, they manage to escape from Gary, but Marny soon discovers what Esther already knows.  Gary will do anything and everything necessary to keep William with him - including killing those he deems necessary.  Gary feels it is his mission from God to keep William safe.  He thinks William is a chosen child, all stemming from a tragedy that happened when he was just a boy.  

The story is told from the points of view of mainly Marny, Gary and Esther.  You learn each of their stories over the course of the book and learn what has molded each one of them to believe as they do in the present.  William has a child like faith in God and it is this faith that is able to sustain all of them at some point in the book.  His faith in God helped out with some miracles that happen over the course of the story.  

This was definitely a quick moving book, as a thriller should be.  There wasn't much "down-time" either for the reader or the characters!  There is a subtle message about faith, and I can imagine the non-believer being a little skeptical by the ending of the book, but to think what would be possible, if we all had the faith of a child.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Charisma House and First Wild Card Tours.~

To read the first chapter, please visit my First Wild Card Tour post.

Frantic
Publisher/Publication Date: Realms, Feb 2012
ISBN: 978-1-61638-480-7
304 pages



Challenges:
Find the Cover/Coversuch
Mystery and Suspense Challenge
ARC Reading Challenge (2)
Free Reads

What Happened to Hannah by Mary Kay McComas (Book Review)

Title: What Happened to Hannah
Author: Mary Kay McComas
Publisher: William Morrow


About the BookAs a teenager, Hannah Benson ran away from home in order to save herself. Now, twenty years later, the past comes calling and delivers life-changing news: her mother and sister have passed away, leaving Hannah the guardian of her fifteen-year-old niece.
Returning home to bitter memories and devastating secrets, Hannah must overcome her painful past to pave a future with her niece, the last best chance at a family for both of them. She begins to create a new, happier life with her niece and rekindles a relationship with Grady Steadman, one of the few people she's ever called a friend.
But she can't forget what she cannot forgive, or lay to rest those ghosts that will not die. Will love and trust--and the truth--give her the strength to stand her ground and fight for what she deserves?
My thoughts:  It was twenty years before Hannah had a reason to return to her hometown, and she didn't think she would ever have a reason good enough to return to that place.  When Grady calls her to let her know that she is the guardian of her niece, Anna, she reluctantly agrees to go back.  Though she tells Grady that she doesn't think this will work out, beneath the surface, she is excited by the fact that she might actually have a chance to be a family.
She let everybody think that she had probably been killed twenty years before, including Grady, whom was the only boy she had ever trusted or loved.  He knew more about her that anyone else in town, but there was a side she had kept hidden even from him.  When she does the unthinkable, she leaves town, believing it is her only option.  
She was lucky enough to be taken in by a kind man who gave her a job and eventually taught her the business, a business that she now owns.  Grady has known for a few years that she was alive, and where she was, and had even considered calling her a few times.  Now he didn't have a choice and wishes that he could reconnect with her under better circumstances.  He still doesn't know what caused her to leave that night without even telling him goodbye. 
It didn't take long for Hannah to fall in love with Anna, and it surprised even her the depth that her feelings where able to go.  As she learns more about Anna, she also learns how her mom was able to survive after she left town, and that maybe Hannah's final act there is what gave her mom the ability to survive and change after she was gone.  She was finally able to begin to shed some of the fears and resentments that she had harbored for twenty years and with the shedding of the past, finally able to dream some new dreams.
I really liked Hannah - how she was so tough to the outside world, while she was really yearning for acceptance and love.  It didn't take much for her to open up and let someone else in. The author did a great job in revealing the story slowly.  As Hannah begins to clean out her childhood home, and it starts to see new light and life - so does Hannah.  It was a nice correlation between the physical and the mental "housecleaning" that needed to be done to allow Hannah to finally move on.
The back story here is one of child abuse, which can be disturbing at times.  I found it shameful that an entire community most likely knew what was going on and turned a blind eye so as to not have to deal with Hannah's family.  Makes me wonder how many children in my life might be suffering from a similar situation and what I would do if I knew.  I most highly recommend this book.

~I received a complimentary copy from William Morrow in exchange for my review.~

Publisher/Publication Date: William Morrow, Feb 2012
ISBN: 9780062084781
352 pages


Challenges:
New Author
Location Specific
Southern Literature
A to Z Reading Challenge
ARC Reading Challenge (2)
Free Reads

Mailbox Monday (March 5, 2012)


 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in March by Anna at Diary of an Eccentric.  In My Mailbox is hosted Sundays at The Story Siren. Please visit these posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week! 





Out of Sight, Out of Mind
by Ally Carter

The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan -- an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year.  But when Cammie wakes up in an Alpine convent and discovers that months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole.  The only traces left of Cammie's summer vacation are the bruises on her body and dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers.  Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind.  It's a race against time.  The Circle is hot on their trail and will stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer. 




Before the Poison
by Peter Robinson

Chris Lowndes built a comfortable career composing scores for films in Hollywood.  But after twenty-five years abroad, and still quietly reeling from the death of his beloved wife, he decides to return to the Yorkshire dales of his youth.  To ease the move, he buys Kilnsgate House, a rambling old mansion deep in the country.


Although Chris finds Kilnsgate charming, something about the house disturbs him, a vague sensation that the long-empty rooms have been waiting for him -- feelings made ever stronger when he learns that the house was the scene of a murder more than fifty years before.  The former owner, a prominent doctor named Ernest Arthur Fox, was supposedly poisoned by his beautiful and much younger wife, Grace.  Arrested and brought to trial, Grace was found guilty and hanged for the crime.

His curiosity piqued, Chris talks to the locals and searches through archives for information about the case.  But the more he discovers, the more convinced he becomes that Grace may have been innocent.  Ignoring warnings to leave it alone, he sets out to discover what really happened over half a century ago -- a quest that takes him deep into the past and into a web of secrets that lie all too close to the present. 




Voyagers of the Titanic
by Richard Davenport-Hines

Late in the night of April 14, 1912, the mighty Titanic, a passenger liner traveling from Southampton, England, to New York City, struck an iceberg four hundred miles south of Newfoundland.  Its sinking over the next two and half hours brought the ship -- mythological in name and size -- one hundred years of infamy.

Of the 2,240 people aboard the ship, 1,517 perished either by drowning or by freezing to death in the frigid North Atlantic waters.  What followed the disaster was tantamount to a worldwide outpouring of grief:  In New York, Paris, London, and other major cities, people lined the streets and crowded around the offices of the White Star Line, the Titanic's shipping companay, to inquire for news of their loved ones and for details about the lives of some of the famous people of their time.

While many accounts of the Titanic's voyage focus on the technical or mechanical aspects of why the ship sank, Voyagers of the Titanic follows the stories of the men, women, and children whose lives intersected on the vessel's fateful last day, covering the full range of first, second, and third class -- from plutocrats and captains of industry to cobblers and tailors looking for a better life in America.

Richard Davenport-Hines delves into the fascinating lives of those who ate, drank, reveled, dreamed, and died aboard the mythic ship:  from John Jacob Astor IV, the wealthiest person on board, whose comportment that night was subject to speculation and gossip for years after the event, to Archibald Butt, the much-beloved  military aide to Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft, who died helping others into the Titanic's few lifeboats.  With magnificent prose, Voyagers of the Titanic also brings to life the untold stories of the ship's middle and third classes -- clergymen, teachers, hoteliers, engineers, shopkeepers, counterjumpers and clerks -- each of whom had a story that not only illuminates the fascinating ship but also the times in which it sailed.  In addition, Davenport-Hines explores the fascinating politics behind the Titanic's creation, which involved larger-than-life figures such as J.P. Morgan, the ship's owner, and Lord Pirrie, the ship's builder.

The memory of this tragedy still remains a part of the American psyche and Voyagers of the Titanic brings that clear night back to us with all of its drama and pathos.




Banana Split
by Josi S. Kilpack

Welcome to Paradise!
We hope you enjoy your stay here in Hawai'i.  If you've never visited the islands before, treat yourself to a delicious slice of grilled pineapple, take a walk along the beach, or sample the tasty cuisine offered at one of our famous luaus.  And you simply must go snorkeling in the waters around Kaua'i.  There is a reason why we call it the Island of Discovery -- you never know what you might find!

Sadie Hoffmiller has survived eighteen months of nonstop adventures filled with murder, deceit, and danger.  She could really use some rest -- and maybe even some time to heal -- relaxing in the tropical paradise of Kaua'i.  However, palm trees and sunshine are not as effective a medication as Sadie had hoped.  And when she finds herself entangled -- literally -- with a dead body, she is forced to face the compounding fears and anxieties that are making her life so difficult to live.

Her determination to stay out of danger and to focus on overcoming her anxieties soon takes a backseat when she meets eleven-year-old Charlie, the son of the woman whose body she discovered near Anahola Beach.  Charlie has some questions of his own about what happened to his mother, and he is convinced that only Sadie can help him.  If only Sadie were as confident in her abilities as Charlie is.

With the help of her best friend and a local social worker, Sadie dives into another mystery with the hope that, at the end, she'll be able to find the peace and closure that has eluded her. 




The Second Time We Met
by Leila Cobo

Adored and nurtured by his adoptive parents in California, Asher Stone has moved effortlessly through a nearly perfect life.  He is on the verge of a professional soccer career -- when a car accident throws his future into doubt.  Suddenly, Asher begins to wonder about his past and about the girl who gave him up for adoption in Colombia two decades ago.  And so begins his search for a woman named Rita Ortiz.

From the teeming streets of Bogota to a tiny orphanage tucked into a hillside, Asher untangles the mystery of Rita's identity, her abrupt disappearance from her home, and the winding journey that followed.  But as Asher comes closer to finding Rita, his own parents are faced with fears and doubts.  And Rita must soon make her own momentous choice:  stay hidden in her hard-earned new life or meet the secret son who will bring painful memories -- and the promise of a new beginning. . . 




The Girl Next Door
by Brad Parks

When a delivery person for the Eagle-Examiner ends up in the paper's obituaries, investigative reporter Carter Ross decides to write a human interest piece on her.  But at the funeral, he learns that this kind-hearted victim of a hit-and-run may have had a few enemies -- including the publisher of their own paper.  Suddenly Carter's little story is big news.  And the deeper he digs, the deadlier it gets. . .




The Book Lover
by Maryann McFadden

When Lucinda Barrett's husband destroys her life in a shocking betrayal, she's left with nothing but one last dream -- to be an author.  Alone and broke, she sets out on a thousand-mile journey to get her novel into the hands of readers -- one bookstore at a time.

Ruth Hardaway knows all about shattered dreams.  For the last thirty years she's devoted her life to her store, The Book Lover, trying to bury her painful past.  But now the store is in jeopardy, and the past is catching up with her.

When Ruth discovers Lucy's novel, she takes Lucy under her wing, even offering her the haven of an unused lake cabin.  She asks one small favor in return -- for Lucy to keep an eye on her son, Colin, who's recovering from an injury in the Iraq war.  As the two women grow closer, Lucy begins to think of Ruth as the mother she's always wished for.  For Ruth, Lucy is the one person she can fianlly confide her secrets.  Or so she thinks.

As each woman begins to face her past, happiness finally seems within their grasp.  But neither has any idea that their toughest decisions lie ahead.  Or that their friendhsip is about to fall apart -- because of a little white lie. 





Ship of Souls
by Zetta Elliott

Set in New York City, Ship of Souls features a cast of three African-American teens: D, a math whiz, Hakeem, a Muslim basketball star; and Nyla, a beautiful military brat.  When D's mother dies of breast cancer, he is taken in by Mrs. Martin, an elderly white woman.  Grateful to have a home, D strives to please his foster mother and succeeds -- until Mercy arrives.

Unable to compete with a needy, crack-addicted baby, D disappears into the nearby park and immerses himself in bird watching.  At school, he unexpectedly makes friends with Nyla and Hakeem, but just when D thinks he has fianlly found a way to belong, an unexpected discovery in the park changes everything.  A mysterious bird leads D and his friends on a perilous journey that will take them from Brooklyn to the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan, and into the very realm of the dead.  Their courage and loyalty are tested every step of the way, but in the end, it is D who must find the strength to fulfill his destiny.

Steeped in history and suspense, this inspiring urban fantasy provides an enriching experience that readers will find hard to forget. 



Saturday, March 3, 2012

February Challenge Update Page

Here is the monthly update for all my reading challenges:

Miscellaneous Challenges:
Excellence in Reading  - 2 books (off of list of 60)
Speculative Fiction Challenge - 3/6
New Author Challenge - 11/15
Read to Me Picture Book challenge  - 13/400

Library Centered Challenges:
Dewey Decimal Challenge 0/5
Non-Fiction (Non-Memoir) Challenge 0/5
Library Challenge 2/12
Around the Stacks Challenge 1/20 Genres

Location Specific Challenges:
Reading the Winter Olympics 2/15
Southern Literature Challenge 1/4
Where Are You Reading Challenge 10/50 states

Title and Cover Specific Challenges:
Antonym Reading Challenge
Find the Cover/Coversuch 9/17
Read Your Name Challenge 0/8
What's in a Name Challenge 2/6
Color Coded Reading Challenge 1/9
Rainbow Reading Challenge 2/12
A to Z Reading Challenge 12/26

Prizewinners or Lists Reading Challenges:
1001 Books to Read 1/5
Alex Awards Challenge 0/3
Reading the Awards 0/5
That's What You Think Challenge 1/6

Cozy, Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenges:
Cruisin Thru the Cozies 2/6
Cozy Mystery Challenge 2/6
Mystery and Suspense challenge 6/12

YA Reading Challenges:
YA Reading Challenge 3/12
YA Contemporary Challenge 1/?
YA Audiobook Challenge 0/12
Just Contemporary Reading Challenge 1/6
Completely Contemp Challenge 1/3

Dystopian and Paranormal challenges:
Vampire Reading Challenge 0/5
Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge 2/5
Paranormal (No Vamps) Reading Challenge 3/5
Witches and Witchcraft 0/5
Immortal Challenge 1/?
Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic 0/12
Read Dystopia Challenge 0/3
The Dystopia Challenge 0/5

Series Reading Challenges:
TV Addict Reading Challenge 0/4
1st in a Series Challenge 4/6
Welcome to Cedar Cove Challenge 0/12
The Dark Tower Reading Challenge 0/8
Stephani Plum Reading Challenge 1/?
Sookie Stackhouse Challenge 0/4
Rizzoli and Isles Reading Challenge 0/9
Kinsey Millhone Reading Challenge 0/?
Dean Koontz Reading Challenge 0/3

TBR Reading Challenges:
Mount TBR Challenge 1/12
Unread Book Challenge 2/?
TBR Pile Challenge 2/10
Read Your Own Books Challenge 1/5
Off the Shelf Challenge 2/5
Free Reads Challenge 13/5
Ebook Challenge 6/10
Ebook Reading Challenge 6/10
Books Won Challenge 0/3
ARC Reading Challenge (The Eclectic Bookshelf) 12/21
ARC Reading Challenge (So Many Precious Books) 12/24

Romance Reading Challenges:
Speculative Romance Challenge 2/6
Romantic Suspense Challenge 1/4
Romance Reading Challenge (Eclectic Bookshelf) 3/?
Romance Reading Challenge (the bookworm) 5/5
Reading Romances Challenge 5/?
Harlequin Silhoutte Reading Challenge 1/6

Friday, March 2, 2012

Read to Me Picture Book Challenge February Wrap-Up



Since I am not reviewing the books that I read with my son for this challenge (or at least not reviewing the majority of them) I will be doing a wrap up post each month listing the books that we read together during the month.  You can see the full list of books we have read here.  We better get reading if we are going to hit our goal of 400 books!

  1. Schnitzel's First Christmas by Hans Wilhelm
  2. Garbage Trucks by Terri DeGezelle
  3. Street Sweepers by Terri DeGezelle
  4. Pigs (Animals Are Not Like Us) by Graham Meadows
  5. Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
  6. Snow Dude by Daniel Kirk
  7. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback
  8. Little Toot by Harold Gramatky
  9. Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve by Janet Morgan Stoeke
  10. Buildings: Community Helpers by Jordan McGill
  11. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
  12. DK Readers: Big Machines by Karen Wallace
  13. Let's Do Nothing by Tony Fucile

One For the Money by Janet Evanovich (Book Review)

Title: One For the Money
Author: Janet Evanovich


About the book: Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash--fast--but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family.

Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water--wanted for murder.

Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight--and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man.


My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book.  Of course, the whole time I was reading it, I couldn't get the image of Katherine Heigl out of my head.  I wonder how I would have pictured Stephanie Plum before the trailers for the movie came out?  Anyway, I loved Stephanie and how hard headed she could be, yet sort of ditzy at the same time.  Even though she has fallen on hard times, she seemed to have her share of good luck in getting herself out of sticky situations with out too much personal harm. This isn't to say that she didn't get knocked around a little during some of her more "careless" exploits.  I can't wait to continue reading this series and see if anything more develops between her and Morelli.  

Upon visiting Janet Evanovich's website, I discovered that yesterday, March 1, was Morelli's birthday - so Happy Birthday Joe!

Publisher/Publication Date:  Scribner, 1994
ISBN: 9780312362089
352 pages

Challenges:
New Authors
Library  Challenge
What's In a Name?
Cruisin thru the Cozies
Cozy Mystery Challenge
Mystery and Suspense Challenge
Stephanie Plum Reading Challenge
1st in a Series


Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Book Review)

Title: The Color Purple
Author: Alice Walker
Awards: 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award


About the book: Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister's letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self.


My thoughts:  This is one of those books that I have wanted to read forever, but just hadn't made the time.  I picked it up to read this month in honor of Black History Month, as well as for a Goodreads read-a-long. If you haven't had the chance to read this one yet, you need to make the time.


The story is told in a series of letters - starting out with letters from Celie to God, then later including letters from Nettie (Celie's sister) to Celie and her return letters to Nettie.  In the beginning, Celie is a young black girl, raped by her own father, birthing two of his children - which he takes from her and does who knows what with, and then sold off to be a wife to a man who only wants her for her ability to take care of his own children and home after his wife dies.  


For years Celie lives this existence, with the only bright spot being the short period when Nettie, her sister, stayed with them.  It isn't long before Mister sends her off though (as she is the one he wanted for a wife) as she doesn't want to have anything to do with him. Celie's days don't really change much until Shug, Mister's mistress,  comes to stay with them when she is very ill.  Even though Celie knew who she was, she takes her in and nurses her back to health without any thought about herself or her husband's cheating ways.  Shug and Celie hit it off and because of their friendship, Celie is able to start to live and recognize that she matters, regardless of what has happened in her past.


Many years pass before we hear from Nettie, who has ended up in Africa as a missionary.  The difference in the prose between the two women speaks volumes as to what kind of education they have each had, and how they each view the world around them.  Being able to communicate with Nettie continues the spark in Celie and helps her to begin to transform into an independent black woman.  


This was a wonderful book and because of the language and dialect, I felt myself immediately immersed in the culture and the setting portrayed.  I wish that I would have had the opportunity to read this in school or in a F2F book club as this would be a great book to discuss.  

Commercial interruption

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days.  Many of you who use google chrome (myself included) received a "something's not right here" warning when trying to visit my blog.  It went on to list a blog, that I had on my blogroll, as to be distributing suspicious malware.  I finally figured out who it was (as the blog name did not match the url, and upon trying to go the url to see who they were, discovering that the site had been taken down.)

Couple that with the fact that I have too many blogs in my google reader to be able to "manage" them and delete blogs that way, and I found myself getting very frustrated!  Well, last night, I sat down with a clear head and was finally able to get them off my blogroll (YEAH!).  I am still getting the warning from google chrome, but I believe that just takes time to flush back through the system to show me as being "clean".  I have sent them a reconsideration request to try to help push it along, but I have no idea how long that will take.

So now I am at least 4 reviews behind as well as one guest post, and feel like I am coming down with strep.  (I should be able to write the reviews feeling like this though, because I tend to not over think them and they come out easier - just forgive me if they don't make sense!  lol)

So now I am done with my rant and will return you back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Not in the Heart by Chris Fabry (Book Review)

Title: Not in the Heart
Author: Chris Fabry
Publisher: Tyndale House

About the book:  Truman Wiley used to report news stories from around the world, but now the most troubling headlines are his own. He's out of work, out of touch with his family, out of his home. But nothing dogs him more than his son's failing heart. With mounting hospital bills and Truman's penchant for gambling his savings, the situation seems hopeless--until his estranged wife throws him a lifeline.


My thoughts:  Even with all of Truman's faults, I found him very easy to like and was pulling for him from the beginning.  He heads home to write the story of a man who is on death row.  A man who claims innocence (Terrell), but knows there is too much riding against him to ever be set free - so he wants to donate his heart to a young man who will die if he doesn't receive one.  That young man happens to be Truman's son.  


As Truman starts to piece together the story, he also starts to build some  bridges with his family.  His daughter takes on the job of his assistant and begins to help him gather some of the background info while also doing a little investigative work on her own.  Truman begins to believe that Terrell may, in fact, be innocent.  But if he is able to prove his innocence, what will become of his son?  


Truman also is struggling with his wife's faith as well as Terrell's.  He doesn't understand how Terrell claims to feel freer than he has ever felt, even though he is in prison.  His wife and Terrell model what it means to have Christ in their lives, and Truman begins to think they might be on to something.  


I really enjoyed this book and the religious message about Christ's redemptive power and love.  It wasn't really pushy about it, but just kept showing how lives had been changed and what was possible with God holding the reigns. In all the ways that I though it could end while I was reading it, the real ending was not one that I had considered.   I liked that I wasn't able to figure it out until I was right there in the midst of the action.  I would really recommend this one, as well as June Bug, another Chris Fabry book that I have had the opportunity to read.


For the first chapter, please go to my First Wild Card Tour post.



Special thanks to Audra Jennings – The B&B Media Group – for sending me a review copy.


Publisher/Publication Date: Tyndale House, Jan 2012
ISBN: 978-1414348612
432 pages



Thursday, February 23, 2012

YA Paranormal Activity Giveaway Hop (Feb 24 - Feb 28)



Young Adult Paranormal Activity Giveaway Hop

Thank you to I am a Reader, Not a Writer and vvb32 Reads for hosting this awesome hop!  There are over 100 blogs participating and all prizes are for a paranormal book of some sort! 

The book I am giving away is an arc of Hades by Alexandra Adornetto.



Even the love of her boyfriend, Xavier Woods, and her siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can't keep the angel Bethany Church from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell.  There, Jake Thorn bargains for Beth's release back to Earth.  But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well.  Can he be trusted in this wager?



To enter my giveaway, please fill out the rafflecopter form below.  This giveaway is open to US entrants only. 



a Rafflecopter giveaway



Now go on out and enter all those other giveaways! I know I am going to!



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