Review: Life Sentences by Laura Lippman

With two highly successful memoirs under her belt author Cassandra Fallows latest work of fiction falls flat. Knowing that there is nothing else in her life to write about she is left contemplating her next step as a writer when she hears a news story that she believes could be the subject of her next non-fiction bestseller.

In New Orleans a child has disappeared and his mother refuses to tell anyone what happened to him. The news story compares this case to a case in Baltimore where Calliope Jenkins once spent seven years in prison for failing to reveal what happened to her missing infant son. As it turns out Cassandra and Callie where once friends beginning when they met elementary school along with a group of girls including Donna, Tisha and Fatima.

Returning home to Baltimore to investigate the story Cassandra faces resentment and bitterness from Tisha, Donna and Fatima each for a different reason but all of it having to do with her first successful memoir and Cassandra’s recounting of their experiences. Finding Callie and learning the truth about what happened all those years ago is a lot tougher than she originally thought but she’s determined to make it happen.

I was hoping for more of a mystery read similar to What the Dead Know but Life Sentences is more a book about relationships and dealing with memories than it is a suspense story. It takes a long look at family interactions, racial issues, friendship bonds and how each are dealt with by different characters in the story.

I enjoyed the book overall but was a little disappointed by the ending. The book was about 2/3 complete before Callie’s story starts to be told and by the time the truth about her missing son is revealed it’s more of a let down than a satisfying ending. I recommend it more for general fiction readers than suspense lovers.

Review: Life Sentences by Laura Lippman

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2009/04/review-life-sentences-by-laura-lippman.html

Review: In Quest of Theta Magic by Enid Wilson

Book Website

Audio Excerpt

To fulfill his dead mother’s prophecy, Dean Williams has to find and marry a woman that possesses Theta Magic who will give birth to a baby girl that can save his dying sisters life. Since his sister was the first woman born to the Williams family in 100 years he narrows his search down to a family of five girls that all posses Theta Magic in order to improve his odds.

When Mrs. Bailey learns that Dean is willing to pay handsomely for a wife she has no qualms offering up all five of her daughters for the interview and selection process. That is until she sees Dean in person. Upon seeing that Dean is horribly ugly she tries to shield her most beautiful daughter, Lara from him and offers up Elana, the smart daughter. To her relief Dean chooses Elana but for his own reasoning not hers. Within days of the marriage Elana and Lara are caught up in treachery and betrayal. Will she be able to help Dean save his sister and her own before it’s too late?

This book was so good I sped through it in one sitting. The futuristic story was unique and intriguing with great characters. I enjoyed the banter between Dean and Elana. It was witty and natural making the whole story seem genuine and it led to some pretty steamy love scenes.

The book has a great epilogue which surprised me. I thought that the storyline could be carried over into a Theta Magic series but the epilogue wraps everything up without leaving the type of cliff hangers that lead to more books. Hopefully I’m wrong and more books filled with these characters are in the works. Highly recommended for fantasy readers.

Review: In Quest of Theta Magic by Enid Wilson

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2009/04/review-in-quest-of-theta-magic-by-enid.html

Review: The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Courtesy of Hachette Audio

Upon arriving in Hampton, North Carolina with his dog Zeus, Logan Thibault finds that his cross county walk which began in Denver, Colorodo is now over. He’s found the woman he’d been searching. His real life lucky charm.

While serving a tour in Iraq Logan found a picture of a beautiful woman. He posted it on a bulletin board and after it went unclaimed for weeks he felt a strange pull towards it and put the picture in his pocket. That same night he won more money in his poker game than he had earned as a Marine. On several more occasions Logan got lucky including being spared in a fire fight where his two best buddies were killed. Convinced the picture is what saved his life, when he returns home he is convinced that he needs to find her and begins search for her using clues gleamed from the picture.

Beth Green and her son Ben live with her grandmother Nana on the ranch where Nana runs a successful dog training facility. When the mysterious drifter applies for the low-paid job opening Beth is hesitant about the stranger but Nana hires him anyway. Little by little Logan becomes a part of their lives but when Beth’s ex-husband finds this out he does his best to run Logan out of town.

For me Nicholas Sparks’ writing is along the same lines as Danielle Steel. After you read a few books from the author the stories seem too similar to enjoy but this one really was different. The characters have much more back story than the usual Nicholas Sparks read and I enjoyed listening to this book. The way everything weaves together to the thrilling conclusion works well to make a difference in the typical boy meets girl/boy gets girl scenario.

The only reason its four stars instead of five is the forced happily ever after ending but I enjoyed the path to it. A must read for contemporary romance lovers.

Review: The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2009/04/review-lucky-one-by-nicholas-sparks.html

Review: Retail Anarchy by Sam Pocker

Book Website

Amazon Product Description:
Why does no one blink when they are charged three dollars for a cup of coffee?

Why do grown men sleep on the street overnight to buy video game systems?

How do Dollar Stores cheerfully charge a dollar for a 25 cent pack of gum?

What are the pitfalls of Brand Name Loyalty?

And how do you get an entire car-full of pudding for free? “Stand-up economist” Sam Pocker delves into these hard-hitting questions—and the result is a fascinating, wry, and amusing account of consumers’ non-sensical habits and the stores that prey upon them. With a dash of vitriol and a dose of sarcasm, Pocker exposes the sheer inanity of marketing schemes, the plague of rude cashiers, and shows how the “little guy” can rise up and beat the system by outsmarting the stores with their overly-complicated rules for rebates. Retail Anarchy is a satirical look at the self-imposed consumer coma that America has fallen into—and Sam Pocker’s mission is to wake readers up!

My Review:
I’m really not sure how to describe this one. The book is listed under many headings on Amazon including both Business and Humor so I don’t know if it’s all tongue in cheek or just plain mean. There is a ton of great information to be found within the pages that I’m grateful to have learned but the delivery was at times offensive. To be fair the author does offer a disclaimer which reads, “This book is full of opinions; some are nice and some are not so nice, just like your own.” but I was still a little insulted by some of his remarks.

The book is Pocker’s way of showing us how to find a much better deal but do we have to be called stupid because we’re not as enlightened as him? And he doesn’t stop there. If you’re an employee at Target, Pocker is of the opinion that not only are you stupid but lazy too.

Another annoying thing is that Pocker writes about deals as if they are set in stone. If you happen to have a coupon for $1 off an item, your store WILL double it and the item WILL be on sale for $1.00 so you WILL make a profit of $1.00 on the deal. I don’t know about your area but all my local grocery stores only double coupons up to $0.55 and I guess if I hang on to the coupon for long enough the item will go on sale but more than likely I’ll be a stupid sheep and pay much more than he does.

The bottom line is that I like learning about how to take advantage of the many opportunities to save but the delivery prevented me from rating it higher than 3 stars.

Review: Retail Anarchy by Sam Pocker

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2009/04/review-retail-anarchy-by-sam-pocker.html

Review: The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

Courtesy of Hachette Audio
In a letter written to her granddaughter sixty years later, Sarah Carrier recounts the story of her mother Martha Carrier’s death by hanging during the Salem Witch Trails of 1692.

Just nine-years old when her family moved to Andover, Massachusetts the beginnings of Sarah’s tale are little more than observations of her family and their lives. As the area, including neighboring towns, are overcome by a devastating small pox epidemic, hysteria begins to escalate that there are witches in their midst which are causing their misfortunes.

Soon the fingers start pointing towards Martha Carrier and she is accused, tried and found guilty. Shortly thereafter Sarah and her three older brothers are also questioned and imprisoned. Foreseeing this, prior to her arrest Martha extracted a promise from Sarah that still weighed heavily on her as she recounted her tale so many years later.

The author, Kathleen Kent, is actually a descendent of Martha Carrier. She spent five years researching and writing this book and it was well worth the wait. Prior to listening to this I didn’t know much about the Salem Witch Trails but now have a better understanding of how easily people of that time were overcome by fear and paranoia. Even family becomes the enemy when jealousy and greed are thrown into the mix.

What so many innocent people had to endure was shocking and Kent captures every detail with painstakingly clear descriptions. The book was truly well-researched and although the story is fiction you have to imagine that this story is probably tame compared to what hundreds of people lived through during that dark point in time. I highly recommend this book to historical fiction readers.

Review: The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2009/04/review-heretics-daughter-by-kathleen.html