Fallen's Book Life

Black Mass Review

2012-02-27T19:48:00.001-08:00

I thought I had this review written and posted, but it must have been eaten by the internet. This book was a Christmas present from my boyfriend. I love anything Irish and since I study criminal justice it calls to me.

Synopsis: Story is about the notorious gangster James "Whitey" Bulger. He ran his own gang as well as memeber of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston, MA. The book is about the relationship between the FBI and Whitey Bulger and Steven Flemmi.

Review: I enjoyed this book. I remember reading the news about Whitey getting capture after being on the lam for about 20 years. I was interested to see what it is he did to be so hated by the people of Boston. Since I have no idea of what it was like growing up in an atmosphere like this.

The one issue I have with some true crime and history novels is it takes me twice a long to read a chapter because they are longer and they have a lot of details that you cannot just skim over. I also was not familiar with a lot of names so I had to reread parts to make sure I wasn't confusing two people.

I gave it only 3 stars because while I enjoyed the book, it wasn't my absolute favorite true crime. I liked it, but I am sure there are better true crime books out there.

My Rating:

Free Panam ID Card

2012-02-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

So if you didn't know I love the Hunger Games series and excited to see it come out on the big screen. I haven't followed all that is going on, but I saw something on facebook I thought I would share. If you go to the website for the movie and become a citizen of Panem they will place you in a district. Not sure how, but I got put in district 5 which is power. You can have your one little badge you could put up on facebook. Well now you can have an actual ID card. For free, well you have to pay for shipping which is under $2. They also show you items for your district and some you can have your name on it too!!. $32 for a women's fitted shirt with the district logo and your name on the back. So here's the link for it www.becomeacitizen.pn

Blogger Book Tag

2012-02-23T21:59:00.002-08:00

I saw this tag thing over at Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes and thought it would be pretty fun to do. Why not right? So here are my answers and to follow I will create my own ten questions for those I tag to answer.

1. What genre do you find yourself reading most? The least?

I have been really getting into dystopian novels lately. I really haven't read any contemporary novels. Really not my thing.

2. Where do you love to read the most?

I don't have a special reading spot, but usually I am sitting on my bed or a chair.

3. What book could you read over and over without getting tired of it?

Little Women. I loved this book growing up and I think I read it over and over again. I still could and still love it just as much.

4. What are your thoughts on graphic novels? Love 'em, don't love 'em?

I don't do graphic novels, but I see nothing wrong with them.

5. If you could see any book turned into a film (directly from page to "stage") which book would it be?

The Maze Runner. I think the series would make an amazing movie. I think people would want to see if on the screen and could make people read it as well.

6. What do you love most about blogging? (I know, Jennifer asked that, but I'd like to know, too!)

I get to give my opinion on books and inspire others to read books they might not have read originally. I know that is why I enjoy reading other book blogs.

7. Who helped encourage you to become the amazing reader you are today?

Probably my mom. We went to the library a lot when I was growing up and I think that had something to do with it.

8. Has a book (non-cookbook) ever inspired you to bake or cook something?

Nope. Either I see it on the web or a cookbook.

9. If you could go anywhere, whether real or fictional, where would you go?

Easy. Ireland or Germany. I have already been to Ireland, but I would love to go back. I also have always wanted to go to Germany, but haven't as of yet.

10. Say you are the heroine of a fantasy/adventure novel. What animal would you love/want to have as a companion?

Phoenix. I know it sounds odd, but there's something amazing about an animal that can be reborn.

Rules:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create ten new questions to ask the people that you have tagged.

3. Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.

4. Let them know you’ve tagged them.

Questions:

1. What is the worst book you've ever read?

2. A book that seems everyone else has read, but you haven't and why?

3. If you were any character from any book, who would you be and why?

4. What is your favorite drink?

5. If you could write a best seller what would the book be about?

6. Favorite travel destination?

7. Favorite genre and why you like it?

8. What about blogging do you hate?

9. Hunger Games, Twilight or Fallen?

10. Cake, cupcake or pie?

Tagged:

So I tag anyone who reads this. Leave me a comment with the link to your answers.

WWW Wednesday (2/22/12)

2012-02-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading: Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O' Neil. I've been reading this book since Christmas. I am almost done with it. Just a few chapters left.

Recently Finished: Fallen by Lauren Kate. I loved this book and want to read the rest of the series.

Reading Next: I want to read Besty Ross and the Making of America, but I also want to read Enclave. Maybe I'll read both.

Top Ten Books I'd Save If My House Was Abducted by Aliens (or Any Other Disasters Struck)

2012-02-21T21:33:00.000-08:00

This is a weekly meme by the Broke and the Bookish. So I think this for me should really be if a disaster took my house. I don't believe in aliens, yes I love the paranormal, but I don't do aliens. I don't know why, I just never have. I hardly even watch movies about them. Yes, this means I've never seen the Alien movies.

These books are my favorites and if they were lost I could replace them, but I wouldn't want to.

10. My complete works of Edgar Alan Poe. I haven't touched the book in ages and my dog decided to chew it after I first got it, but I still love the book and the hardbound of it is just beautiful.

9. The Historian. I bought this in hardback. I waited a long time to buy it and for it to be cheaper, but I finally caved in and bought it. So I loose it I would hate for that to happen. I think it could be hard to find it in hardback. I actually lost the dust cover for it so it stands out.

8. The Book Theif. I have the UK version of the book and I LOVE the cover. If I lost it I would hate to spend money buying it from some overseas store just to have this cover. I don't like the US cover with the dominoes and it just doesn't fit with the book. The UK one is simple and beautiful.

7. My Moleskin Journals. I have two, but one of them I have been able to use and kept for about 5 years now. I love it and it has a lot of diary entries and other information that if I lost I would be upset. I don't really go through it, but to loose it would be a slight heartache.

6. The Maze Runner series. So this is three books, but still I enjoyed them and I would hate to loose them. I loved them so much and I would hate to have to replace them.

5. Uglies. My secrete santa gave it to me and since I loved the book and she took the time to get it for me I would hate to loose it.

4. The Giver. This is one of my favorite books and while it would be easy to replace, this copy I have owned since I read it in 4th grade.

3. My American Girl Felicity kit. I loved these books a a girl and I have this kit with paper dolls, a cookbooks and something else. They are hard to find these days and I would hate to loose it.

2. Goodnight Moon. I bought this book for my son because I loved it so much as a little girl. I would hate to loose it since it was something I got for him to enjoy.

1. My Kindle. Yes I know this is not an actual book, but I have some good books on it as well as getting the Arizona Republic subscription. If I lost it I guess it's possible to get the books on a new one, but I don't really like the new models of the Kindle.

A decent list I would say. Let me know what is on your list.

Fallen Review

2012-02-20T13:27:00.000-08:00

This book I have seen at the bookstore and the name of the book caught me attention. Come on the book and the series is my nickname, how could I not read it? I wasn't sure actually if I would enjoy the book. This genre is a hit or miss for me. Also, since it deals with the supernatural and angels I wasn't sure I would like it. I like the show Supernatural, but lost interesting when the whole, Heave, Hell and angels became apart of the show. Maybe it's my Catholic upbringing that makes me shy away from the topic.

Synopsis: Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce’s boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, where every student seems to have an unpleasant—even evil—history.

It’s only when she sees Daniel, a gorgeous fellow student, that Luce feels there’s a reason to be here—though she doesn’t know what it is. And Daniel’s frosty cold demeanor toward her? It’s really a protective device that he’s used again . . . and again. For Daniel is a fallen angel, doomed to fall in love with the same girl every 17 years . . . and watch her die. And Luce is a fellow immortal, cursed to be reincarnated again and again as a mortal girl who has no idea of who she really is. (taken from GoodReads) .

Review: I did enjoy this book. It was a nice pace for events and I was right there with Luce trying to figure out what was going on. Nothing was too over the top or vague. This kind of book is written for teens and I am far from a teenager. I never know how I am going to like a book like this. We all know how I feel about Twilight. I think this book is great for those who enjoy supernatural genre, but aren't keen on books like Twilight.

I gave this book 4 stars because while I really enjoyed it and want to finish the series, I wish a little more information was given about the angels like Cam and Daniel. They have two chapters of his narrative and it was lacking in any information other than his love for Luce. I hope the other books do explain all the details because that is what having me hang on.

My Rating:

Lack of Everything

2012-02-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of posting. I haven't finished a book yet and I have started... 3 and yet to finish one. Hopefully here soon I will have one of them finished. Also, been kind of crazy for me with school. I did not get the internship and it looks like I will have to go back to history as my major since I have one class left and with criminal justice without the internship I have a year or more left. So it's not worth it.

I am happy about it and while getting ready for a 25 page thesis is a bit scary. I don't have to defend it like you do in grad school, but my school's list of topics never seem to inspire me very well.

TBC Challenge January Recap

2012-01-31T21:24:00.000-08:00

So this month wasn't very good for my fun reading. I finished 3 books, Death Cure, Down & Derby and Uglies. I have been busy with school starting and trying to get my internship underway. Hopefully next month will be better.

Down & Derby Review

2012-01-30T01:00:00.000-08:00

I finished this book weeks ago and haven't had the chance to review it with school starting and little time to do anything else. If you didn't know I am a fan of roller derby. I want to play roller derby, but I am not a good skater nor do I have the time for it right now. Though I do hope to practice my skating skills and be able to join a league. So this book as a must read to get my prepared and what I need to know before joining.

Synopsis: Basically, this book is the know all for anyone who loves derby, wants to play derby, and those who just want to know what it's all about. The books gives you the history of roller derby, the basics of the game, how to start and resources.

Review: I have been a fan of roller derby for a few years and have been going to local bouts here in Phoenix. I have wanted to play roller derby, but lack of skating skills kept me away. I finally bought my own skates and gear and have been wanting to start relearning how to skate and get into shape.

This book did a great job talking about the progression of the sport and balancing out between flat track and banked track roller derby. They gave a great chapter on whether yo have the time to do derby and other things you need to think about before wasting your time and others on dropping out. I gave a nice list of what you would need and what you can do to get involved even if you cannot commit to skating.

I gave this book 5 stars because it was a very well put together book and gave me a lot to think about.

My Rating:

Top Ten Tuesday:Top Ten Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book

2012-01-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's top ten is the top ten authors you wish would write another book living or deceased.

So I am not 100% sure on this one, but I am going to give it a try. I only been reading for fun for a year now and I am sure there are many more authors I could list after reading some more. Also, I am not up to speed with who is writing right now and who is done of those who are a live so if my answers don't fit I'm not to blame.

10. Elizabeth Kostova writer of The Historian and The Swan Thieves. While it took some time for me to enjoy The Historian I loved the Swan Thieves. Her writing of mystery and history are just amazing. I hope she has more books planned. I think there was many years in between these two books.

9. Tess Gerristen writter of the Rizzoli & Isles series. I am still on the fence with whether I like this series, I wish she would write more books for it because there aren't too many and if I get a chance to read up on all of them I'll probably be wanting more.

8. J.K. Rowling writer of Harry Potter. I enjoyed her books. I wasn't in love with them like I am with other series, but they were fun and interesting books. Hoping she can write more books that will be as good as Harry Potter.

7. James Dasher writer of The Maze Runner Series. I know he has another series out that I have not look into, but I hope he has more dystopian books in the future. The way he wrote the Maze Runner books was just so amazing and I wanted to see more about the world he created.

6. Jeffery Chaucer writer of Canterbury Tales. Yes, he's written other stuff that I have not read, but in high school I feel in love with this book and even read it in the old english language... there was a time I wanted to be a high school English teacher... So I would love to read other books buy him written today.

5. Louisa May Alcott writter of Little Women. One of my all time favorite books and we share the same birthday November 29th. I know she wrote a others, but I would love to see more and I probably should read her other books.

4. The Grimm Brothers. I think their stories are amazing and we still tell our children similar stories to scare them or make them behave. I think if they wrote more stories today I would just LOVE them.

3. Suzanne Collins writer of The Hunger Games Trilogy. I loved this series and I would love to see her write another dystopian series. She made me realized how much I love this genre and had made me look for more books.

2. Kathy Reichs write of the Temperance Brennan series. I believe she's actually working on the next book for this series, but I still want more. I love this series and hope she continues it for a long time.

1. Steig Larson write of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Series. I went to look to see what else he was writing after finished this series and was sad to see that he died in 2004. I think if he was still alive today he would write more great books.

WOW!! I actually came up with 10. Some a sort of cop-outs since I may not have read everything they have written, but still this is a pretty solid list.

Musing Mondays #12 Raved Reads

2012-01-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

Musing Mondays is a weekly event hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Each week MizB asks a book related question and bloggers answer with their thoughts about the given topic. This week's musings asks:

Are there any “raved reads” – books that everyone seems to be talking about– that you’re hoping to get read this year yourself? What books are they and why are you hoping to read them? Is it because you want to say you’ve read it? Or, would you have chosen to read it, even if you’d discovered it yourself, and no one was raving about it?

This is a really good question, but there as so many books I could list for this. A lot of the YA dystopian novels would fall under this. I am not so sure I really pay attention to what books people are raving about. There are a lot of books that fall under the paranormal romance that I have been seeing people rave about that I haven't jumped to get a copy. Though some after people have been talking about I have started to try to get samples of the book on my Kindle to see if I would enjoy it.

So books that I have to read this year that everyone has been raving about enough to get me to pick them up are Divergent, Enclave, The Forests of Hands and Teeth, and Uglies (which I just finished). I am sure there are more to list if I went through my GoodReads list, but I am not going to do that. All of these books I either was hooked due to reading the synopsis and then all the raves or visa versa. I think on all of these books if I hadn't read everyone raving about them and I just read the synopsis I still would want to read them.

Uglies Book Review

2012-01-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

Imagine if we lived in a world where everyone was ugly until they were 16 and then you became pretty. That is the question in this book by Scott Westerfeld. We are so concerned with looks that what if in our future we could make everyone the same so no one would be made fun of for not being pretty enough.

Synopsis: Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.
But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever. (Taken from GoodReads)

Review: I have been wanting to read this book ever since I read the synopsis of it. No I am not a teen or a woman with too much body image problems, but I wanted to see how this book was written. It sounded very interesting and it is. I was hooked on the book as soon as I started to read it. What I really like what the two completely different worlds Westerfeld created for this book, those who lived in the city and those who lived outside it. It was done nicely.

I also liked that while the underlining theme was how being pretty can be dangerous and not the best was not in your face. I wasn't sure if it was going to be thrown down my throat, but it wasn't. It was a fun read that kept me entertained. I want to read the rest of the series since the book was written so well and it ends with a cliff hanger.

I gave the book 5 stars because of how well it is written and how much I enjoyed reading it.

Rating:

In My Mailbox

2012-01-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

This is a weekly event hosted by The Story Siren.

I promised I wasn't going to buy anymore books after I bought Divergent and The Death Cure, but I just couldn't help it. I sold some books to Amazon got some story credit with them, and I found a few books I was having trouble getting my hands on so I gave in, plus school started on Thursday and I had to buy my text books.

After some how seeing the trailer for this movie on GoodReads and decided to look into this book. I was at Target buying... I don't even remember, but I saw the book and it was a decent price. So I gave in a bought it.

I found this book on someone's profile on GoodReads and after seeing mystery and Ireland I knew I needed to get this book. I was at Target for a different trip and day and I happen to see this book there. Again had to pick it up in case I had trouble finding it again.

Believe it or not, this is not a book for fun... it's for my statistics class I am required to take. Looks like I am in for a challenging semester...

Another textbook, but this one will hopefully be much better in terms of enjoyment.

Yes, I finally got this book on my shelf. I have credit over at Amazon and knew this was one of the books that I had to pick up. I have been wanting this book for a while now and was going to pick it up at B&N, but when I went there, they were all sold out.

Another book I have been wanting to get my hands on. Though I liked the cover that is black with what looks like a red flower better than this one. This cover looks... like nothing I would ever reads. Again, used my credit over at Amazon to get it since I never seem to find it in stores.

There's all my new books, that I probably won't have time to read, but really hope I can.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm Excited to Read in 2012

2012-01-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

This weekly event is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I'm Excited To Read in 2012

Well this list could be long... if I didn't have to limit it to ten. I have a huge to be read list on GoodReads and books piling up on my bookshelf. I need to rearrange my bookshelf so my books can fit on it with out being creative on how I put my books on the shelf.

10. The Last Gunfight by Jeff Guinn. I bought this book last year when I was still a history major and my research topic was on Tombstone and the wives of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. I still want to read it even though I am no longer a history major.

9. Irish Americans by Jay P. Dolan. It's not secret that I am proud of my Irish heritage and I am looking forward to learning more about those, who like my family immigrated to America from Ireland.

8. Betsy Ross and the Making of America by Marla R. Miller. Another history book I bought because it sounds very interesting. There seems to be little known about Betsy Ross and her importance to the US.

7. Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I love the other two books in this series and looking forward to seeing what happens. I would have read this sooner, but I forgot al about this book.

6. 2nd Chance by James Patterson. I am looking forward to continue on with this series. I love a good mystery with a female detective.

5. Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs. I need to catch up on this series. I have just two books until I am caught up. I am looking forward to find out what happens for Temperance.

4. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I have heard great things about this book and while I do not own it due to not being able to find it at my local bookstores I hope to get my hands on it soon.

3. Enclave by Ann Aguirre. I don't have this book yet, but I hope to by it soon. It sounds very interesting and I want to read it to see if it's worth the hype I have been hearing about.

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth. Another book I have been wanting to read for a while and will read it this year.

1. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I have been wanting to read this book since I read the plot line. It sounds like a very good book that I will love.

As you can see I have a very interesting list of books to read this year and I am sure there will be more that I have yet to discover or add to my list.

What books do you have plan to read this new year?

Book Blogger Confessions #1

2012-01-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.fwiwreviews.net/

Welcome to the very first Book Blogger Confessions, a meme co-hosted with Tiger from All-Consuming Books on the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month, to discuss some of the frustrations that are unique to book bloggers.

I saw this over at Hands and Home and I thought it was a very interesting idea. We all talk about the books we are reading, our opinions on books and other book related topics, but never about blogging itself.

Q. How has the "job" of book blogging changed your reading habits? Both pro and con.

I am fairly new to book blogging, but I have been keeping personal blogs since 2001. I never looked at it as a "job", but as something I want to do to share with others my ideas and feelings. While I try to keep some of my view points professional and not to give away too much personal information.

I decided in January of 2011 to try to read more books. I love reading and I felt bad that I was not able to read for fun like I use to do when I was a child. I use to always have my nose in a book, when I wasn't playing sports. That all changed when I got into college. I still bought books, but usually they were history books and had something to do with one of my classes or something historical I was interested in.

Since starting to blog about books I find myself trying to read more. Before I did not read as much even with my goal of reading 50 books in a year. I now think I can pace myself better for this year's challenge. I find myself looking for interesting books to read as well as trying to finish book series I have started. Before I just bought any book that look good. Now I read other blogs and go through GoodReads to find more books that may not be sitting on Target shelves, but is still a very good book.

Also, since book blogging I have discovered some more genre's of books that I enjoy and want to keep finding more books. One of those genre's is dystopian. I didn't realize that some of my favorite books as a kid fell under this genre. Since discovering it I have been looking for more and more books in this genre and I will not stop.

The bad is I feel that when classes start in two days I won't be able to read as often. I have only three classes while two of them shouldn't be too hard, one is statistics and I have a feeling this could be a challenge class for me. I need to spend time studying for this class. I also will hopefully (keep your finger) have an internship this semester, which will be 18 hours a week I will have to spend. So I might not be able to read all the books I want to. As you will see I have many great books on my to be read pile and I want read soon. I have two books just calling my name and a few more I plan on buying soon.

Overall, book blogging has introduced me to many great books, authors and other blogger. I look forward to what it brings to me.

Musing Monday

2012-01-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

This event is host by Should Be Reading

What is/are the first book(s) you’re reading for the new year?

I already started and finished The Death Cure by James Dashner. I am now reading Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill.

What are the first books you are reading this new year?

The Death Cure Review

2012-01-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

I read this book in a matter of a day or two. I got this book with money I got for Christmas and I wanted to see what happen in the series since this is the last book in the trilogy. I have been enjoying this series and I just want to see how it all ended.

Synopsis: The trials are suppose to be over, but WICKED still wants Thomas and his friends to help them save the world suffering from The Flare a deadly virus that is making humans go crazy and loose their sanity.

Thomas does not trust WICKED and will do what he can to save himself and his friends from helping this evil organization from using people as subjects.

Review: There is no secret that I LOVE this series. I was hoping that this book would be as good as the other two and there would be new ideas and threats for Thomas and his friends to face. I was not let down. Not only did we get to see the inside of WICKED's headquarters, but Denver, one of the few cities still standing. We got to see what people who were not past the gone lives were like and we got to know more about why Thomas and his friends were chosen to help save the human race.

I think the series could easily go on, but I think the way it ended was good. Left some questions, but only about their future and not what WICKED was up to. The questions that Thomas was looking for were answered throughout the book.

I will say that anyone who enjoy the other two books, will love this book as well. I will be adding this trilogy to my list of favorite series.

Rating:

2012 TBR Pile Challenge Has Started

2012-01-02T01:00:00.000-08:00

If you remember earlier in December... I think it was December, possibly could have been November, I posted about this challenge. All this year I am going to read books I have been meaning to read or were published in 2011 and further. This shouldn't be too hard since, I have tons of books waiting to be read and many more added to my list on GoodReads.

So my first book for this challenge is The Death Cure by James Dashner. It was published in 2011 and I have been wanting to read it since I read the first book, The Maze Runner. After that, since I have almost done with it already, I plan on reading the book my boyfriend got me for Christmas which is Black Mass, all about the Irish Mob and the FBI. I followed the story about Whitey Bulger being arrested due to going to Boston in September and was interesting in it since I study criminal justice.

After that, who knows what I will be reading, probably Uglies and Divergent to continue with the Dystopian theme I have been going with.

2011 50 Book Challenge

2011-12-31T19:56:00.001-08:00

Kimberly's favorite books »

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Here are all of the books I read in 2011. As you might be able to tell I did not reach my goal of 50 books. I read 49 in 2011, but I am only a little bummed about it. It would have been nice to reach 50, but to be honest I cannot tell you the last time I was able to read more than 5 books, that were not required for school. Yes, there are about 4 books I had to read for classes, but they were not typical text books.I discovered many great books and series that I have fallen in love with. I am glad that I had the chance to read them and hope to find many more great books in 2012 while I am trying to reach 50 books again and doing a To Be Read Challenge at the same time.

The Sinner Review

2011-12-31T15:33:00.000-08:00

As I write this I am one book away from reading 50 books this year. I added four books I read for school, but they were not your usual textbook so that is why I counted them. I am reading number 50 right now, but I am not sure I can finish it by midnight tonight.

Synopsis: Jane Rizzoli is the only female detective in the homicide unit. On her new case, she is faced with something that will forever change her life. Is she ready to face this new change? Maura Isles ex husband comes into the picture, but is there an alternative motive for his visit after three years of no contact.

Review: I am still on the fence on whether I like this series or not. It's not the best series I've ever read in the mysteries genre, but not the worse. This book hasn't given me ant help in figuring that out.

I did enjoy the book hence the 5 stars on GoodReads. It was a great story that had twists and turns that kept you engaged. Like any other mystery book that I enjoy I never saw the ending coming. I hate guessing who the killer is half way through the book. I was always surprised and happy to see where this book was going.

Rating:

In My Mailbox: Christmas Edition

2011-12-27T23:20:00.000-08:00

In my mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Story Siren.

This is my Christmas edition for In my mailbox because I got some boos for Christmas and with some of the money I got for the holidays I bought some others. Trust me I could have gone crazy with buying several books, but my to be read pile keeps getting bigger and bigger and I am getting close to the start of a new semester, which means less time to read.

Books Given as Gifts

Heat Wave by Richard Castle. It's the first book in the series and I read it earlier in the year on my Kindle. My mom knew I was looking for Heat Rises and that I had bought it, but wasn't sure if I had read the others.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It's a well established fact that I LOVE this book and the series. This summer I downloaded it on my Kindle and after reading it and falling in love with it I asked for it for Christmas. I was hoping for the collectors edition, but doesn't matter really I have the actual copy of the book.

Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. I love my Irish heritage and I read as much as I can about my people... okay I am also German, but I identify with my Irish side more. I also just took an Organized Crime class at school and the Irish mob was severely left out. I have actually been thinking about getting this book, but haven't gotten around to buying it. Thanks to my boyfriend I don't have to.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Another dystopian series that sounds interesting to me. I think most of this genre speaks to me and I was excited to get this book from my Secret Santa... but WHO ARE YOU?

Books Bought with Holiday Money

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Another YA dystopian novel I have been toying with getting. I honestly was hoping to get Enclave, but they didn't have so I went with this one instead. It was a toss up between this and the Scorpio Races.

The Death Cure by James Dashner. Yes, you all know that I have been loving this series and that I really want to find out what happens to Thomas and the Gladers. I'm in the middle of a book and I really want to start this one, but I know if I do I will forget about the book I already started.

So those are the books I got, what good books did you get for the holidays?

Top Ten Tuesday: Fallen's Top Ten Books Read in 2011

2011-12-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's top ten list is my top ten books I've read in 2011.

Like a lot of people I think this is going to be hard to list. I read some great books, but I am not sure I have read 10 great books. I also not sure how to order them because some books are equal in my mind so I am going to order them the best I can.

1. The Hunger Games- I read this book on pure accident. I saw it listed on Amazon's top books list and after reading the synopsis I decided I had to read it. I didn't expect it to be so amazing and just pull me into it.

2. The Maze Runner- Another book I wasn't sure about, but once I read it I was completely taken by it and instantly fell in love with it.

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- To be honest I thought this books and the others were crappy chick lit books based on the commercials I saw of the book with people reading it on the Kindle. I sampled the book on my Kindle and soon found out that it was not cheesy chick lit, but an amazing crime/mystery book.

4. The Scorch Trials- Just like with The Maze Runner this book took me under it's spell and I could not wait to see where it took me.

5. Mockingjay- While this book is the last of the series I thought it was amazing, not as amazing as The Hunger Games, but it wrapped up the story and had some amazing elements to it.

6. Catching Fire- Yes, the second book comes last for me, but I still found it interesting the story about the past Hunger Games.

7. The Girl Who Played with Fire- Since I loved the first book I had to read the other books in this series. I thought this one was pretty good.

8. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest- Same as the book above.

9. Swan Thieves- I enjoyed her first book The Historian, since that's what I studied in school before I switch to criminal justice. So when I saw she wrote a new book about a painting I had to read it. A very interesting story that I think was written just a bit better than The Historian.

10. Sin in the Second City- The history nerd in me had to pick up this book. It is interesting to see all the parts of Chicago that worked together or against each other. It's all about prostitution in Chicago and the Everleigh sisters who were on top.

So what is on your top ten books you read in 2011?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T20:57:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas or any other winter holiday if you do not celebrate Christmas. I had a nice holiday with my family and am not trying to figure out what to do with all of the toys my son got that we have no room for in our house.

I will be doing an in my mailbox post Christmas edition later, since I got some cash and want to buy some books that have been trying to jump into my hands for a while. So once I decide to brave the crowds of those who are returning items and using gift cards I will post what I got.

I will say that I got an amazing book from my boyfriend and two others that I have already read and had on my kindle, but got them in paperback because I love them that much.

Stay safe and enjoy the holidays

Book VS Movie: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011-12-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

American Movie Poster

Yesterday, I saw this movie with my best friend. I read the book and loved it, I've even watched the Swedish versions of the movies. So when I heard they were doing an American adaptation I was excited. I know the books are always better than the movies, but for me, there are some things I just can never imagine right so I like to see the movie so I can see possibly what others saw.

This... not sure what to call it other than Book VS Movie post will be mostly the differences between the book and the movie and my thoughts about those. This means there will be spoilers, so if you don't want to know what happens in the book and/or movie than do not read this post. I will mostly discuss the overall movie, what thoughts and then break down things I did or did not like about the movie compared to the book.

So the movie overall was pretty good. I will discuss this later, but I was very happy with it up to a certain part of the ending and that just made me not like it as much. The acting was good, the movie stayed true to the book for the most part. There was some minor details that was left out, but I honestly didn't think those would make it into the movie, since some of them didn't make it into the Swedish version either. The music was good, it was done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. If you are not familiar, Trent Reznor is the singer from Nine Inch Nails so the sound of the music fits him and the movie pretty well. The opening credits reminded me of a Bond Film, no parts of the movie just some crazy shit and a very interesting song.

So now we get to the part of this post about the movie compared to the book. I hope to explain everything, but it has been some time since I have read the book, so not all the details are fresh in my mind.

Book Cover

The movie started off very strong with being almost spot on with the book. I was very pleased to see that they started off with the retired police detective and Vanger on the phone talk about the present he keeps receiving. The movie like I said was very good and there was little that I did not like about it. The things I was disappointed with however left me feeling a little annoyed by it, because it seem like it made the ending... messy.

The first thing that has been bothering me about this movie compared to the book has since I've seen the trailer. Rooney Mara playing the female lead of Lizbeth Salander. I guess maybe Noomi Rapace is exactly how I imagine Salander and the way they have Rooney Mara's look at Salander just doesn't fit for me. Not sure how you can get a gothic punk loner image wrong, but it just doesn't work for me. Also, when I was reading the book and watching the Swedish movies I actually liked Lizbeth. They way Mara player her I just did not like her nor could I connect to her. I am not sure why, even the sex scenes between Mikael and Lizbeth did not help any. I didn't feel that lusting connection that the two have in the book.

The other thing that completely pissed me off. I tried not to sit there and shake my head when I saw it. If you have read the book and I hope if you have gotten this far in my post you have because this will spoil everything if you have no clue about the story. They find Harriet through her cousin who lives in London... now in the book her cousin calls Harriet who is living in Australia widowed with sons and running her own sheep farm. In the movie the cousin in London is Harriet who is a lonely investment banker. This maybe no matter to people who have not read the book, but I thought this part of the book was very interesting. In the movie, if felt like they just wanted to ended the search for Harriet and get to the part of Mikeal shutting down the man who sued him for libel and all. I felt it was sloppy and just put me in a sour mood for the rest of the movie, which was done close to the book.

What they left out. Now since I didn't reread the book, not all the details are fresh in my mind, but these are about stuck out in my mind. Most of them are nothing major in case you are wondering.

First there is no mention of Lizbeth's hacker chatroom, which isn't anything major, but still it explained a few scenes in the book. Second, they left out her ability to memorize everything. I cannot remember the term, but she didn't have to write things down or anything. Again, not major and there is a scene, but it's so short that I am not sure anyone got it.

Another thing left out is the prolong relationship between Lizbeth and Mikael. In the book, when Mikael is writing his article and all about Wennerstrom corruption. There Lizbeth realizes she is in love with Mikael and because they enjoy the holidays with Elvis she buys him a gift just to see him. In the movie she buys him a leather jacket. So the ending is right, just not the gift.

So overall I give the movie 4 stars. Just because of the two elements I mentioned that bothered me about the movie that took away one star. If you enjoyed the book, I think you will enjoy the movie as well, just be prepared to have some things omitted for the sake of... well probably time and for the audience that hasn't read the books.

The Scorch Trials Review

2011-12-22T01:09:00.000-08:00

People either love sequels or they hate them, regardless if it's a book or movie. So when I bought this book and started reading it I was excited to see what was going to happen next, but a little afraid like so many other sequels, it would fall short of the excitement the first book brought.

Synopsis:
Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.

The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED? (Taken from GoodReads)

Review:
Like I said above I was excited to read this book, but as afraid it would leave me feeling disappointed. For me the middle book or the second book of a series/trilogy are always the redheaded step child. They either are way over done, or too much like the previous book that you forget all about the book you just read. This is how I at least feel.

The Scorch Trials left me without much of a breath as I was reading through it. Everything about the plot and story was new without feeling like someone else wrote this book. The action and elements of the book were different and gave you the feel that they were no longer in the Glade or Maze, but someplace new.

The book constantly made you feel like Thomas, not knowing who to believe or what was going on. You feel like him that anything could be going on. You feel like for Thomas being alive and living through this is so hard, especially when he knows he has some big part of it. I honestly want to run out right now and the The Death Cure, but it's midnight here and none of the bookstores are opened.

I gave this book 5 stars on GoodReads, because trust me it's that great of a book. If possible I would give it 10 stars. I am not sure which book I like better between The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, but I am very glad I picked up these books and started to read them.

Rating:

My Video review

WWW Wednesday

2011-12-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Should be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading:

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. I started this book about a week ago and I have been really getting into it. I cannot wait to finish it because it is getting really good.

I recently finished reading:

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs. I have really enjoyed this series and I have a few more books until I am caught up in the series. I was happy this book was written better than the previous book.

What I think I will read next:

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I got this book from the secrete santa, but no clue as to who it is... I am hoping to read this one, but if not, I'll probably read The Sinner by Tee Gerritsen.

What are your answers to these questions?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Movie

2011-12-20T23:02:00.000-08:00

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Yes, I know this is not a book, but it's a movie based on a book that I LOVED. The movie is actually released today here in the US. I won't get to see it until Friday though, so I have to wait till then to go see it. So it fits the waiting part and it's released on Wednesday. I actually never seem to know about upcoming books so I will probably be mentioning movies based on books or books that are already release that I am waiting on getting either from the library (need to go there more often) or that I buy from the bookstore.

Synopsis: Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist who is hired by a wealthy man to find out who murdered his niece 40 years ago. Blomkvist hires an eccentric girl, Lizbeth Salander to help him solve this 40 year old mystery that holds an even bigger secret than they even realized.

I am not sure how true this movie version will be to the book or the Swedish versions of the films, but I am still very excited to see this movie. I think Daniel Craig is the perfect actor to play Blomkvist. I am not familiar with Rooney Mara, but I know that I loved the actress who was in the Swedish movies.

I'll include the 8 minute trailer that really gives you a nice summary of the story without ruining the twists this story has.

So what are you waiting on for the week? Comment below and let me know.

Top Ten Tuesday

2011-12-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am starting to do more of these events/memes and it's starting to be a lot of fun.

This one is done by The Broke and the Bookish, where each Tuesday they pick a topic and you list your top ten responses. I have been reading their responses and this one I really like.

What Ten Books I Hope Santa Will Bring

1. Enclave by Ann Aguirre

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth

3. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

4. Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs

5. The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl

6. 3rd Degree by James Patterson

7. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

8. Triangle: The Fire That Changes America by David von Drehle

9. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

10. 11/22/63 by Steven King

This is my list of top ten books I hope santa brings me. More than likely I will buy them myself with any giftcards I get, but still books I hope to get for Christmas. What books are on your list.

Musing Monday #1

2011-12-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

I saw this on a few other blogs and decided that this was the best way to keep posts on my blog. It's a weekly event by MizB over at Should Be Reading. Each Monday she asks a question and fellow readers and bloggers answer it.

This week's question: What's the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?

My answer for this is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Yes, I have both covers on here because I love the bottom one, because I bought my copy in Ireland and I think that cover is better than the US cover, which is the top one.

This book is about a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. Orphaned and raised by strangers the book tells her life with the people around her and how they all deal with the war. The book is told through Death's viewpoint, which is different and amazing.

This book has just about everything for someone. There's history, adventure, drama and possibly a little romance. It haven't found a person who has hated me for recommending this book to them.

Well there you have it, if you want to answer this question you may do so in the comments, either a link to your blog if you do this weekly event as well or just comment which book you would choose and why.

Book VS The Movie: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

2011-12-19T01:12:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to do a book vs their movie or tv show and I thought about doing this one once I saw the movie this Friday. Now, before I begin I will say that I have only read one Sherlock Holmes book and that was The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I enjoyed the book and plan on reading the others as well.

To be honest when the first movie came out a few years ago I wasn't sure what to think of it. Yes, we all know who Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are, but why make an action movie on the greatest detective? I don't know either, but It will say the movie surprised me. The only reason why I did not completely ignore this movie was because it was directed by Guy Richie, who I must say doesn't get enough attention here in the states other than the fact he was married to Madonna. He has made some amazing movies and I love this action scenes. Lots of drama, action and special effects that draw you in.

The movie to my knowledge has nothing to do with any of the cases in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes about. Basically, Watson is getting married and Holmes is fighting with his nemesis Mortiarty. There's a plot to engage the European countries into a world war. This takes place in 1891 several years before the start of World War I for those of you who know little of history.

I will say that I think this movie and the previous does a decent job of representing Sherlock Holmes. While I don't think it's exactly like the books, I do like how Richie kept Holmes keen eye for observation, which most people would not see. I like Richies way of storytelling and the way he does the slow motion scenes without it looking like it was ripped from The Matrix or over dramatic is just amazing. I love those scenes and in this movie when everyone is running from the Germans who are firing at them is just breathtaking.

So does this movie do the books justice... I'm not sure, but I must say this is at least a decent adaptation to one of the greatest fictional characters who never seems to die no matter what generation it is. It's a great movie for those who like the books and those who enjoy a good action movie

In My Mailbox One

2011-12-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

I've seen seeing other book bloggers do this and I did one on my youtube (which I know I have not updated. Been busy and no quite time to even record a video). I won't be doing it weekly like some people do, but maybe monthly or however often I get new books. This is a meme by The Story Siren. The goal is to share with others the books you have. They don't have to be sent from an on-line store or even come in your mailbox, they can be from the library or bought at your local bookstore. So my list is all the books I have gotten, which is a lot since my last video. Maybe not a lot to some people, but for me to have all these new books is nice.

The first one is The Scorch Trails by James Dashner. I loved the first book in the trilogy called The Maze Runner and once I had money from my birthday last month I knew I had to buy this one. I started it and so far I am just as interested as I was with the first. I hope to finish it soon and get The Death Cure, which is the last book and it just came out.

I bought this book with some more birthday money. Little known fact I have been making jewelry, mostly beaded since I was 14. I have tried to make items and sell on places like etsy, with no luck. The reviews on this one were decent and I figured it might help me get out there and not only make better items, but actually sell them.

I started this series months ago and have had issues finding the third book at the used bookstore. I finally bought it when I got The Scorch Trails. I enjoy the TV show this book is based on and the books are great reads as well. I started accidently on the last book The Silent Girl because when I was on Tess' website the site listed the books from recent to oldest and I thought it was the opposite order.

So this is book number 6 in the Sookie Stackhouse series, but when I was at the used bookstore I forgot the order and knew I didn't have this one. So until I get number 5 I will be hold out on reading this one. Though this will be the first physical book I have for this series the rest are on my Kindle.

I enjoyed the first book so much that I bought book number 2. I haven't had a chance to start it yet, but plan on it soon.

I love a lot of things, but a lot of people know that I LOVE Ireland. It's where my family originated from and I traveled there back in 2007 and have been in love with the country ever since. I also enjoy the paranormal. Yes, ghosts and the like. So you add these two together and you got my attention.

This last one is not for my, but a gift for my secret santa on one of the groups in GoodReads. Don't worry I don't think she knows of me or my blog, since I don't post much on there. I had a hard time trying to find a book on her list that I could get at the local bookstore. I finally found this one. I hope she likes it. I also have to send her a clue to my identity. I am not sure what I am going to do, but I thought of either cookies or sending a pin that I made that says Irish on it. I'll just have to wait and see what inspires me. Maybe if I could find some local southwest goodies that are not expensive to send.

That is it for my books. I hope to update here soon on either a review of The Scorch Trails or what my secret santa sent to me. If you go on my goodreads list of book, the tag that's says secret santa are all the books I put in that list to help my santa out. I hope they have fun with what they are sending me and am excited to see what I get.

If you feel like being generous and give someone a book you can look around for what people have on their list, or I know some bloggers have exchanges or random acts of kindness to give a stranger a book they want. I think it's one of the nicest things you can do. Also, remember I have the link for books for soldiers on the sidebar. Don't forget out service men and women who are away from their families this holiday season.

If I don't post before Christmas... yikes it's a week away, I hope all of you have a safe and wonderful holiday.

206 Bones Review

2011-12-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

Another book in the Temperance Brennan series done. I really do enjoy this series, but I think it's coming to an end here. She just released a book this fall and I am not sure when she's going to stop writing for this series. It's not like I won't have enough mystery/crime books to read.

Synopsis: Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist. She works for both the state of North Carolina and Montreal. In this book she is in Chicago to escort remains of a Chicago resident who was found dead in Montreal. Someone calls the women's father and states that Dr. Brennan made a mistake.

When she returns to Montreal she is faced with a younger co-worker who is walking over everybody to get in the limelight. Brennan is faced with trying to keep her status as an expert in forensic anthropology while trying to solve who is killing old women brutally.

Review: I was not sure how to write this review. The book as most of the series has a lot of other things going on besides the main case. I liked this book much better than the previous book. The story between Brennan and Ryan flowed much better, there was a reason for him to be in this book. The story line of the case and the drama going on was pretty decent. It was like the other books of the series.

An interesting thing Reichs does in this book that I do not remember her doing in the previous was doing some... not flash backs. She starts the book off a 1/4 of the way towards the end with Brennan in trouble. Then throughout the book she tells about Brennan's attempt to get out of her predicament. It is a thing that either doesn't work in a book or does work. In this one it worked without taking anything away from the story.

On GoodReads I gave the book 4 stars. It was a very decent book, nothing exceptional, but it was a fun read and was up there with the other books in the series.

Rating:

1st to Die Review

2011-12-06T01:20:00.001-08:00

I am a bit late in doing this review. I finished the book about a week ago, but it's finals week so I have been busy with my last two projects and a few final tests to take. Now that I am wrapping this up I have time to write my review.

I will state that I have never read any of James Patterson's books. Not a single one... I'm not even sure I have seen any movies his books are base on either... wait are there movies based on his books? I don't know, but either way you now know I am not like most mystery book fans, who have read this books. Maybe I will start to read more of his books.

Synopsis: Homicide Detective Linsey Boxer is one of San Francisco's best detectives. When she's face with a fatal illness in the middle of one of the biggest cases of her career, how will she fight to catch the bride and groom killer? She entrusts 3 other female friends who help catch the killer. Introducing the Women's Murder Club.

Review: Being that I have never read one of Patterson's books I wasn't sure what to expect. With this book being a crime/mystery novel and with a female main character it seemed right up my alley. I was amazed with this book. I at times thought I knew what was going on and Patterson always made me rethink my decisions on the book. He did an excellent job getting me to love this book and want to read the rest of the series.

This series has some mixed reviews and I guess Patterson himself isn't pleased with the books. While some may feel like fools to read this series I will still read them. I buy them used anyway so he already got his money and I just want a fun read after all the hard work I put into the say.

I gave this book 5 stars on GoodReads, for me it deserves that rating. I think it's better than some of the other crime/mystery books out there.

Rating:

100 Visitors!!

2011-11-28T22:20:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to thank everyone who has visited the blog. I've hit 100 visitors and that is amazing. I am finishing up 1st to Die by James Patterson and will review that, but it might be some time before I do too many updates since the semester is winding down and I have two large projects and a final to take. So please keep coming back and check out the youtube channel.

The Maze Runner Review

2011-11-24T20:12:00.001-08:00

WOW!!! This book left me with only the word wow. It was that kind of book. I am starting to feel like dystopian novels might be my genre of choice. I've only read 6 so far, but all of them have been good. I am sure there are some poorly written ones out there, but I haven't read them yet.

Synopsis: It's a bit hard to explain this book in my own words I tried on my video review so I am going to leave you with the synopsis goodreads has because I think it does a good job of it.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Review: As I mentioned before this book just left me with the word wow. I found it to be a great book about a group of young boys and a girl trying to solve a problem to escape the Glade. I am honestly that someone thinks that a group of teenagers could work together like this, but I am sure it is possible. I think the concept was really good I am looking forward to read the rest of the series.

This is one of the few books I have read with a male being the main character and it was easy for me to relate to him. I read most books it seems with a female main character so this change was not hindered for me. I enjoyed this book as is, though I do wonder if things would have been different if the Glade was girls only instead of boys.

I gave this book 5 stars on goodreads, because it is that great of a book in my mind. I could easily pick it up and read it again and still enjoy the story. I think it's a very interesting concept.

Rating:

Devil Bones Review

2011-11-19T15:10:00.001-08:00

Add another log to the fire I have finished another book. With mystery/crime books I never know how quickly I will get through them. Sometimes I get so into the book I read it as fast as I can, others I read for a few hours a day and it takes me a week or more to finish. This one only took me a few days.

This will be my first review on the blog of the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs. So I will give you a little synopsis of the series so you understand what's going on. This may contain spoilers if you have not read the series. Temperance Brennan is a 40 something forensic anthropologist. She teaches as a North Caroline University and works for the ME's office in Charlotte. She also works in Montreal for their ME's office as well. She is divorced, recovering alcoholic and always getting into trouble. She has an on again off again relationship with detective in Montreal name Andrew Ryan. I think that sums the series up.

Synopsis: This book is the 11th book in the series. The previous books mostly take place in Montreal, with a few exceptions. This is one of them. This book takes place in Charlotte, where Dr. Brennan spends half her time. Dr. Brennan is called to a house, where there is a skeleton found is a sub-basement. Further inspection shows that's not only is there bones, but two cauldrons and signs of some kind of ritual had taken place here.

As the story gone on there is a politician who is preaching about satan worshiping and how police cannot do their job and so on. Typical bible thumping speeches that gets Temperance in trouble. Then there's another body that is found without it's head that gives Temperance trouble in figuring out what happened to him.

There seems to be multiple stories in this book, but only one seems to flow. Also, her love interest comes to pay respects to a fallen officer, but had no real significance to the story.

Review: This book was alright. Not the best of the series. I had read a few reviews before reading this one, where people complained about how much description she did about who she was and the city of Charlotte and it's history. She does this in all the books, but I don't know if because the read some reviews that I noticed how long winded they were or if they they really were a bit over done. I like when she does this to a point. Once you got past that the book was good.

There was two cases that they kept trying to tie together, that ended up having nothing to do with each other. The first one took a backstory and really just ended. They did explain it all, but it was just done rushed I think.

I also wasn't sure what Ryan was suppose to be doing in this book. He shows up magically towards the last fourth of the book and nothing is resolved between him and Temperance. He does save her life and another detective's life, but other than that he seems kind of thrown in here. I was wondering in this book how Reichs was going to continue the break-up/romance between these two, but it was done poorly. I get that she wasn't sure how she felt, but they didn't even discussion what happened and how it made them feel. Nothing was done about it.

I gave this book 3 stars on goodreads. I think I have given the other books 4 or 5 stars, but with the lack of a strong case that was compelling, the long winded descriptions of Charlotte, her job and the history of the town, plus the lack of a need for Ryan, it wasn't her best work. Even with those bad points I still want to read the next book to see if Ryan and Temperance figure their relationship out, or if that keeps getting thrown back to get people to keep buying the books.

Rating:

Video review to come

2011-11-17T00:53:00.001-08:00

So I found tons of videos people have done with 6 question about The Hunger Games book and then tagged other people to do it. I couldn't pass it up. So here's my video and I will post the questions. If you do booktube videos go ahead and do this one, and if not you can leave me comments on here with your answers for the questions.

Questions:
1. How did you discover the series?
2. Favourite book?
3. Peeta/Gale?
4. Favourite character?
5. Least Favourite Character?
6. Character that's most like you?

After watching a few other videos I wanted to change some of my answers, but that's not really fair. I did forget about some characters until other people mentioned them. Eh it's okay. I hope you enjoy the video and try this out for yourself.

Rating System

2011-11-16T22:19:00.001-08:00

I have finally come up with a visual rating system for the blog. I will use nautical stars as my system. Yes, I know it's over represented, but I have to admit I love this symbol and love maps that have this star. So here is the chart of what each level means. Let me know what you think it took some time to get this together. I cannot put this on the side bar because I would have to shrink it and it would loose the quality of the image.

Kindle vs Book

2011-11-16T14:32:00.001-08:00

I did a 15 minute video on the pro's and con's for the Kindle, which can be used for other e-readers, but since I do not have nor have used the others it is very one sided on the Kindle.

I know a lot of people hold off on the e-reader because they love books and there is some talk that these e-readers will be the end to books, bookstores and libraries. I doubt that, but I know that there are people who just don't see the appeal. I personally didn't either, even though when the Kindle first came out I did not have time to read for fun. It was a few years later when I stated thinking that I might look into getting one to get me back into reading.

Christmas of last year I got one from my mom and along with a $25 giftcard to buy books for it. I had a blast finding all these free books and books I had wanted to read, but ever got around to buying them or reading them. I started to read more often and find time to read when I didn't have a huge load of schoolwork. I also decided to do the 50 books in a year challenge on GoodReads, which you can see on the side bar my progress. I started off real strong, but this last several months I haven't had a lot of time to read.

So here's my list of pro's and con's. Feel free to add to them or contact me with any questions you might have if you are considering getting a Kindle.

Pro's:
-lightweight
-Holds over 3,000 books
-Can subscribe to newspapers
-Adjustable font size (not mention in video)
-No glare while in use outdoors
-Tons of free books to download
-You can sample a chapter or several before you buy
-Long battery life
-Books are usually cheaper in the Kindle format

Con's:
- No backlight
-Some of the characters don't show up instead you would get %%%39304 for the sale.
-Doesn't look as nice as a book and the book cover

So those are my pro's and con's for the Kindle. Hope you like it.

Book for Soldiers

2011-11-15T19:04:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to point everyone's attention to a new button on the side bar. It's the Books for Soldiers button. I happen to see a friend post this link on facebook and because I do have current and former soldiers in my family I thought I would share this. What this is, is a site where soldiers will put in a request for books, but you can also send care packages with other stuff. All you need to do is register and then go through the form and find a request you can fulfill.

I always mean to do something for our service men and women and it is odd that today of all days I saw this link because today was my aunt's funeral and my cousin who's a Marine was there and I hardly ever get to see him. He served two tours in Iraq and it reminds me how little I do, when my family goes through what so many do as well.

So if you want to give back check out the site and register and try to give some soldiers some much needed reading material. I hope to find someone or books that I have I can give someone. They can be used if in good condition of you can buy the book and then send it to them. So please check it out!!
http://booksforsoldiers.com

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Review

2011-11-14T20:51:00.001-08:00

Yes, someone got the bright idea to take a classic Jane Austin book and invade it with zombies. I am sure a lot of classic lovers are outranged by this. I somehow missed the hype of this book and only found out about it when I passed by it in the store and had to do a double take because a zombified 1800th English Woman is not a common book cover.

Synopsis: The Bennent Sisters are train fighters. They know how to kill the zombies, but do they know how to fall in love and fight for it? The book is Jane Austin's masterpiece, but with one twist not only do the sisters have to figure out love and giving up fighting, but how to protect their beloved country from zombies.

Review: It's really hard to write a synopsis for this book and even harder to do a review. I have not read Pride and Prejudice all the way through, but I have seen the movie and various BBC renditions of it. So I know the basic plot line. It sort of seems like a slap in the face to rewrite a classic with zombies. I guess for some people it makes classics fun to read, but a horror to others.

I felt like the parts of the book where she's talking about her training and loyalty to her master was very forced. It was like having to hear someone brag about meeting the president or something. It just seemed unneeded.

I gave this book 3 stars on goodreads, but it probably should have been given 2 stars. It was an okay book, the zombies were basic brainless dead in search for brains. I haven't read too many zombie books, but this one is probably one of the lesser ones. It seemed more like a joke than a serious book.

One of the weirdest lines and I am going to paraphrase was about Jesus coming back to earth with Excalibur to kill the zombies..... WHAT?! Why would he use that sword? That line just seemed very random and had nothing to do with the rest of the book.

So it was an okay book. I am not sure if the other classics will be much better. Probably not. At least I have taken this book off my to read pile.

And this book is suppose to be turned into a movie. If I remember right Emma Stone is suppose to play the lead role.

Rating:

The Hunger Games Trailer

2011-11-14T12:58:00.001-08:00

So yes, I know this is a book blog, but this movie is probably one of the books I have been looking forward to see as a movie. While I agree that the book is always better sometimes I enjoy to see it in a movie because there are times my mind cannot grasp what is being described in the book. I am not sure why, but there are parts of this book I tried to picture, but it was hard.

I like some fans are a bit annoyed at it being compared to Twilight. I think what they are trying to say is that it will be as big as Twilight, but not the story lines. They are completely different in my opinion. Bella isn't strong or a fighter like Katniss is. I had trouble relating to Bella were as Katniss was a girl I would want to be.

The Hunger Games is a dystopia book about a society where each region is responsible for one resource. District 12 is coal and that is because it is located what was once known as Kentucky if I remember right. Every year all the children 12 to 18 have their names put in a jar to be selected as a Tribute to fight in the hunger games. Because there was a huge war and the Capital was unhappy with their citizens rising up against them as punishment one girl and one boy from each of the 12 districts will compete. I will leave it as that so as not to spoil the movie or the book.

Here's the trailer:

My reaction of the trailer was extremely positive. I woke up just to watch it debut on Good Morning America because I have been looking forward to this movie as I had mention before. I was not sure what they were going to put in the trailer, but from what I saw they are keeping very close to the book. I am sure there is some parts that will be left out, but I think this one won't stray too far from the books.

I was glad to see the reaping scenes, because that was one area I did have trouble imagining and now I feel like I understand it a bit better. To be honest I had a completely different image of District 12, I think my idea of it was more like small village in like 1800 England. I am not sure why I pictured it like this, but what I saw in the trailer was what I think how it was suppose to look.

I also liked that it gave us enough to be excited by, but not spoil too much of the movie. Even though those of us who read the books knows what happens it is still good to be surprised to see how the filmed it. I know I would have been made if they showed more of the games. They left out some of the romance out of the trailer, which I liked because while there is some, it is not as important I feel than others.

I think they gave a nice introduction to the main characters and anyone who sees this will feel like they know of what is going on without feeling like the trailer spoiled it. I know I hate to see movies after I realized that all the funny parts were in the trailer.

So watch the trailer and if you have read the book let me know if it met your expectations. If you haven't let me know if it got your attention to want to see the movie and/or read the book.

Oh and if you want to have it on your computer, the itunes movie trailer site has it for download!!! http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/thehungergames/

And here's my own video comments about the trailer

NaNoWriMo

2011-11-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

Anyone doing it this year? I had started and had a novel idea that I never tried to write years ago. I was about a week in and 10,000 words written, when I decided to stop. My aunt had passed away unexpectedly and my story deals with an angel, my aunt was very religious. It just didn't seem right to continue on with the novel. I have thought about trying to keep moving on, but the story is crap and there is not saving it. Plus, there's another book I was writing that to me had better potential so be a good book someday that was on my mind.

I have noticed that a lot of people who love to read also love to write. Well not all of us, I use to want to be a writer, but for a while my creative juices in writing has been dried up. I wonder who else is doing NaNoWriMo this year or does it at all and finds it satisfying? And yes, the title of this blog did come from the other book that has been on my mind. Maybe I'll post a excerpt of it on here one day, but when I feel it is right. If you would like me to do that just let me know.

For now I am content on trying to work on my crime analysis projects and finish Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!! Good luck to those of you who do try to write 50,000 words + in one month.

To Be Read Pile Challenge

2011-11-13T22:41:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine is doing this and I figured I might as well do this as well. While I do have my kindle,but I have loads of books sitting on my bookshelf. This starts next year and with the fact I still have some credit left at the use book store and both my birthday and Christmas coming up I am sure I will have lots of books to add. So here's the rules via the host's blog:

Welcome to 2012 TBR PILE Reading Challenge!!!

We all have those books. We buy them, win them, they're gifted to us.. Then we put them up on a bookshelf and there they stay, collecting dust, waiting for the time when we'll finally decide to pick them up..

Join us on a quest to dust off your TBR Pile and read all the books you've been telling yourself you'll read next time you'll get a chance.. This is your chance! And we've got PRIZES!!! :D

Challenge guidelines:

This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2012 - Dec 31, 2012.
As we would like to see quality reviews linked up to our monthly wrap-ups, only bloggers can enter. Sorry about that!
Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2011 and earlier! NO ARCs and 2012 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2012 TBR PILE Reading Challenge (You need to include the info + host list + challenge button. You can also grab the button code and add it to your sidebar!)
You can move up levels, but no moving down.
Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2012, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
At the end of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it'sunique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. It's open to INTERNATIONALS. For participating in the mini-challengeyou will get +1 entry.
If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;)
December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway - 12 books, 12 winners, INTERNATIONAL.
You don't have to follow all the hosts to join the challenge, but you do have to follow all of us to be entered in giveaways!

Levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

Hosts:
Evie from Bookish - http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com @SeoEvie
Nicole from All I Ever Read - http://www.nicoleabouttown.com/ @Nicoleabouttown
Bonnie from Hands and Home - http://www.handsandhome.ca/ @HandsHomeBlog
Donna from Book Passion For Life - http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/ @BookPforLife
Caitlin from WatchYA Reading - http://whatchyareading.net @caitlingss
Rie from Mission To Read - http://missiontoread.com/ @missiontoread
Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea -http://booksbiscuitsandtea.blogspot.com/ @alouetteuette
Christa from Hooked On Books - http://christashookedonbooks.blogspot.com @ChristasBooks
Jenna from Fans Of Fiction - http://fansoffiction.blogspot.com/ @fansoffiction
Angel from Mermaids Vision - http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com @mermaidvisions

Wrap-up POST Schedule:

January - Donna (Theme: Let It Snow + Book Cover Challenge)
February - Nicole (Theme: Un-requited Love/Love Gone Wrong + Advice Column Challenge)
March - Rie (Theme: Green or Pinched + Green Cover Challenge)
April - Bonnie (Theme: Easter + Mini Challenge)
May - Christa (Theme: MayDay - Disaster Books! + Cover Disaster Challenge)
June - Jenna ( Theme: Camping + Sentence Challenge)
July - Rie (Theme: International Day + Cover Comparison Challenge)
August - Angel (Theme: Summer Memories + Send Your Fav Character On Vacation Challenge)
September - Nicole (Theme: Life Changing Books + Mini Challenge)
October - Caitlin (Theme: Thanksgiving Theme + Share-A-Book Challenge)
November - Vicky (Theme: Spooky Halloween + Book Puzzle Challenge)
December - Evie (Theme: Xmas Bliss + Book Bachelor Challenge)

So what do I have on my list? Well it could always change, but here's what I know for sure I have just waiting to be picked up.

-Betsy Ross and the Making of America by Malra R. Miller

-P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

-The Irish Americans by Jay P. Dolan

-First to Die by James Patterson

I am sure more will find their way into my list. We'll see how I do since next year will include some crazy courses.

Discussion: What To Do With Unwanted Books?

2011-11-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

I am sure we all have a pile of books we either don't want anymore or after reading you don't want to keep. So what do you? One thing I do is take the books to Bookmans and trade what books they will take. They give you a dollar amount for store credit and you can buy anything in there store with it. I've boughten several books this way. The books that I just cannot get rid of is what I am not sure what to do with.

Some I wouldn't mind donating, but others I would like to make sure I get something for them or they find a good home. I know at one point there was some kind of website where you would register a book and then leave it somewhere and when the person found it they would make a note on the website that they found it. I am not sure if that still exists. There's also swap.com where you can swap with people, which is nice, but still doesn't help if you have books you just cannot get rid of.

I know some people recycle them into some kind of craft. Which is cool, but whatever you don't want to do that? I really do not have any suggestions, but maybe some of you do. Let me know what you do. You can e-mail me, comment or do a video if that works for you. Please let me know because I am sure there are plenty of others who are stuck with books they would like to free up your bookshelf for more books.

Bodies We've Buried Review

2011-11-10T23:10:00.001-08:00

So CSI is a big thing now. And yes, I do like to watch the shows and a part of me wants to be a CSI I know there's is little reality to what those shows portray. With that said this book is a nice introduction into some simple things a CSI does or needs to learn to be somewhat successful. I spotted this book at Bookmans while I was waiting for them to go through the books I brought in and I knew I had to read this. I am a criminal justice and criminology major and while I am not sure what area I would like to get into, forensics does interest me a bit. So I bought this book hoping it would help.

Synopsis: The National Forensic Academy trains law enforcement officials how to collect and analysis the evidence found at a crime scene. They spend 10 weeks learning how to process a scene, take photos, get fingerprints, how bombs work, and everything they will need to know in order to help their own investigations or start a forensic unit in their department.

The book is written by two of the employees who from the start has to come up with legal ways to recreate crime scenes so the students will get actual hands on experience and know what to look for. Their story tells us how the pros really do it and why it's not as simple as TV makes this job to be.

Review: After reading this book, I am pretty certain forensics is not for me. While I understand it's importance I am not a scientific mind, even though I work with plenty of people who are. I think it was a great idea for me to pick this books up.

My favorite thing about the book was reading about how the two authors went about getting enough blood for recreating murder scenes, house fires and other scenarios their students are likely to experience. You can tell that this training course is well worth it, when some programs on just one topics just lecture their students.

I gave this book 3 stars. The reason for it that some of the science was a bit over my head. They did try to explain it and neither author has a science background. I just did not understand it all. Though if they did spend the time to explain ever little thing, that would take away from the book itself.

So it was a good book, a nice read and I think is a must for anyone even thinking about forensics or crime scene investigation.

Rating:

World War Z Review

2011-11-10T16:52:00.001-08:00

If you are a fan of zombies or just want to survive that zombie apocalypse, then this book is a must read. The man who taught you how to survive those nasty zombies now gives us survivors' account of the events leading up to, surrounding and after World War Z. Who knew there would ever be an oral history about a zombie war?

Synopsis: This book is several first hand accounts about the war with zombies. When people first noticed something was wrong, how we fought, and how we rebuild. It has survivors from all over the world of different economic class or jobs telling the main character their stories.

Review: I am not big on zombies. Or at least I never was until I started to watch The Walking Dead. I have a lot of friends who are obsessed with zombies and have Max Brook's other book practically memorized. I honestly never thought about reading books like this one until I heard this was being turned into a movie. As I was looking at some of the images I decided that it was time to read this book.

Since I was a history major I enjoy history books. Yes, but not all of them are boring. Since switching majors I haven't read too many recently. This book was written like some of the WWII narratives I have read. It's a very interesting concept and done very well. The only issue is he does mentioned some people without much reference to them, except in notes in the back of the book. And since this is a fictional book, even though you feel like it's all real by reading this, it's a bit hard to understand all that is going on. We know what happened at Pearl Harbor so when we read a book about it we can visualize it well. With this book I found it a big hard.

What I loved about this book is how it takes a fear/excitement people haven been obsessing over and shows us what could happen if it did come true. Kind of like movies about the bird flu.

I gave this book 4 stars because like I mentioned the story was good, but some of it I had trouble following what was being discussed since it was written like the audience knew everything that had happen before reading this book.

Rating:

My Top 10 Favorite Books

2011-11-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

Since my interests in books is all over the place here's my top ten list of my all time favorite books.

1. Little Women

2. Johnny Tremain

3. The Giver

4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

5. The Book Thief

6. Number the Stars

7. The Phantom of the Opera

8. The Hunger Games

9. The Swan Thieves

10. A Separate Peace

Intro Video

2011-11-09T02:19:00.001-08:00

I decided to do an intro video since to do video updates as well as blogs. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Review, Contest and Giveaway Policy

2011-11-09T01:56:00.000-08:00

If you are an author and would like me to review your book please send me an e-mail at FallenMurphy@gmail.com. When you e-mail me please include the book tile, number of pages, genre or genres of the book, when you would like the review done by. Please follow the guidelines below

What Books I Will Review

I will read just about anything I enjoy mystery, crime, paranormal/supernatural books, but those are not my only likes. If you have a book that seems up my alley then please contact me. I will even review children books since I have a son and I think moms would like to know what books to buy for their children. I am not into books that are like Twilight, but if you think I am judging too harshly then let me know. I am willing to try to read through your book and maybe you can change my mind about paranormal romance. I will not read and review erotica. It's not my thing and I can handle it in books if it's like here and there, but not if the entire book is about it. That encloses those smutty grocery store romance novels. Not my thing.

I have a Kindle, but not sure how you can send your book to me via that so an actual copy of your book is probably the best method. While I have mostly switch to the Kindle for doing a review for you I would like to have the actual book so I can comment on the cover and layout of the book, since not everyone has access to an e-reader.

What You Can Expect From Me

Since I am a college student and a single mom my time to read books is very limited. With that said I will try to read your book in 30 day from when I receive it and it will be put on the top of my to read pile. Once I have read it I will type my review for you in an e-mail and on my blog. I will also at some point will try to include it in a video review unless you prefer I don't.

I will give an honest review of the book. What I liked or didn't like about it. How many stars I rate it and other important aspects of the book I think my fellow readers or those who are interested in the book may want to know. It doesn't matter how much you beg me I will give it my opinion. Just because I did not like the book, doesn't mean your book is horrible. It just might not be a that speaks to me.

If you have a book or books you want to be give away to my readers send me an e-mail letting me know how many books you have. I would prefer that I have read the book first, but if that is not possible I will give the books away and save one for myself to read and review.

When you do e-mail me I will send you my address so you can send the books to me. Please use my address to only send books or other items that you let me know ahead of time. Do not sell or give away my address to others without my permission.

Giveaways

Everyone loves getting free stuff or wining. With that send each giveaway's rules will be post on the blog entry since the rules could be different. It could be a contest to see who has the best answer, a random comment selection or the first people to comment. So read the rules. If you do not follow them you are disqualified from that giveaway/contest only. If your actions are rude, insulting or in anyway not positive you will be banned from any giveaways on this site. I don't want to be mean, but there's no reason to be mean over a giveaway. So be polite and on your best behavior.

If you are a winner I will announce it on the blog entry of the giveaway. Please make sure you have a link to your e-mail address so I can e-mail you and not only let you know you have won, but that I need your address to send you your prize. You will have one week from when I notify you about wining to send me your address. If you fail to send it to me, or respond I will select a new winner. I will try to get your prize to you in one week from when I receive your address, but if an issue arrises I will contact you and let you know the situation and when you can expect the book. I will insure the book and have delivery conformation, but I am not responsible if the USPS or who ever I have send the prize looses your package.

Notes

Rules are subject to change so please check here often to make sure you know them.

Review: Dead to the World

2011-11-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

Let me start by telling you all that YA paranormal romance is one genre I stay as far away as possible. I only started reading these books because I started to watch the show True Blood and I was curious on how similar the two are. I started reading both Temperance Brennan and Rizzoli &Isles series because they are based on TV shows I like to watch.

I'm not a huge fan of True Blood, I just find it interesting how the situation of the vampires are how it is different from a lot of other vampire books. I do not like Twilight and I find that series has ruin vampires for me. I always enjoyed the Dracual version of the myth and how people feared vampires and wanted to kill them. Not wanting to have sex with them. So with that said take note when I review any book about vampires.

Synopsis: Sookie Stackhouse is not like everyone else, she's a telepath. She can heard people's thoughts and it makes her an outcast. She has had bad luck with being a pawn in vampires and the supernatural community in Louisiana, which she seems to get beaten up or nearly killed. On her way home from work she encounters a half naked man running. It ends up being Eric Northman, a vampire she knows. She tries to get him to get in her car, but there's one problem, he's lost his memory. Sookie now has to hid Eric in her house because Wiccans, who put the memory loss spell on him, are after him.

Sookie now has gotten herself into trouble and not only has to hide Eric, but her brother, Jason has gone missing and she is trying to find out what happened to him and if the two events are related.

Review: This is the 4th book to the series and since I just started this blog I will tell you that this series is good. I like the books better than the TVshow, but I've always like the books better than the movie or show with a few exceptions. These books are very easy to read and do a much better job at creating this world of vampires who like along side with humans. I also like how they make you think if vampires really exists what else is really out there as well.

This book is like the others. Easy to read and the story line does not disappoint. Even when you know not every issue has been solved you are still surprised to see the book does not end until ever piece of the puzzle is in place. There's not cliff hangers at the end of the book nor are you screaming at how quickly things get wrapped up. There's a decent timeline and you are thankful for it.

I enjoyed this book and I gave it 5 stars on goodreads. Which I seem to either rate books too high or too low for most people, but I think it deserves those 5 stars. It was a good book that told a great story.

Edited to Add Video: I added a quick video review as well. Enjoy and do subscribe to my channel. You'll get both book reviews and horror movie reviews.

Rating:

My Genres of Choice

2011-11-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

It's really hard to classify what kind of books I enjoy reading. I look more at the individual book or series than the genre it belongs to. I have enjoyed the Millineum Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and The Girl Who Played with Fire), The Hunger Game Trilogy, The Da Vinci Code, Kathy Reich's Temperance Brennan Series, Jane Rizzoli & Maura Isles Series, the classics, Sookie Stackhouse Series, The Giver, history/biography books and that's probably a decent list.

I am not one who will completely ignore a genre, but there are books I will refuse to read ie. Twilight Series. I know a lot of people love the series, but as a horror fan it makes me want to vomit. I only got half way through the book when I had to stop reading.

On Reading

2011-11-08T18:37:00.000-08:00

I use to spend my free time reading. Once college started I lost time to be able to read for fun. I have tried to get back into reading, but sometimes it just did not work out. For christmas this year I got a Kindle. I am in no way getting rid of books. I still love them and won't completely switch to ebooks. What the Kindle does help me is read books faster. I am not sure why, but when I read on my Kindle I sometimes feel like I am flying through a book. When I read a book I sometimes feel like the book or chapter is dragging. I am not sure why this it, but it's true.

This is my attempt at doing a book review blog. I say attempt because I have several blogs I have tried to start and most of the time I give up. While I am finding more time to read and I am trying to read 50 books this year, to date I have finished 33 book. Most of what I have been reading are crime, mystery books, but I have read some YA books and others that do not fit your typical genre.

So feel free to give my suggestions on books to read. I have a goodreads account you can add me and I am thinking about doing videos like I do on my horror movie blog. Let me know if you like that idea or not.