March 1, 2014

Review: Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man by Brian McGrory



Product Description:
Brian McGrory thought he had it all figured out: a great job, a condo in Back Bay, and his beloved golden retriever Harry by his side. But after Harry’s death, McGrory's life as a bachelor takes quite the turn. He falls in love with Harry’s veterinarian Pam, and leaves the city for life in the suburbs with Pam’s family and their two dogs, two cats, two rabbits, and Buddy—the self-assured family rooster who hates Brian’s guts.
   
These things never go as easily as they should. The commute is long, the kids were wary, and Buddy was constantly poised to attack. But rather than accept defeat, Brian eventually sees that Buddy shares the kind of extraordinary relationship with Pam and the girls that he wants for himself. Funnily enough, it’s the rooster’s tenacious devotion to the family that encourages a change in Brian’s perspective, and before long, the archenemy becomes his inspiration, helping Brian evolve into a true family man

With luminous writing and expert comic timing, McGrory brings to life a classic story of love, acceptance, and change as one man’s nemesis becomes his madcap mentor. 


My Thoughts:
Buddy is a sweet story about how Brian comes to terms with moving out of his comfort zone, living with a dog in the city, to entering the world of suburbia with his fiancée and her young kids, multiple pets and the drama that comes with this huge adjustment.

 The first part of the book is all about Brian and his dog Harry. Next is about Brian's relationship with Pam. This is where we meet Buddy and all the terror that he brings. It's a hilarious story of love and learning to change.

My Recommendation: 
I recommend this one for anyone who loves animals and heart-warming stories. 


1 comments
Labels: 3 stars , humor , non-fiction , review

February 16, 2014

Review: The Finisher by David Baldacci





Product Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author David Baldacci as you've never seen him before. 

 Why would Quentin Herms flee into the Quag? There was nothing in the Quag except certain death. 

 Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. But this isn't unusual -- nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. 

 Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave -- he was chased. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. 

 The Quag is a dark forest filled with terrifying beasts and bloodthirsty Outliers. But just as deadly are the threats that exist within the walls of Wormwood. It is a place built on lies, where influential people are willing to kill to keep their secrets. Vega is determined to uncover the truth -- but the closer she gets, the more she risks her life. 

 With THE FINISHER, master storyteller David Baldacci conjures a thrilling, imaginative world where things are as wrong as wrong can be -- and introduces us to an unforgettable heroine who must think fast, look close, and defy all odds in her fight to do what's right.
My Thoughts:
Most avid readers have a few authors whose books are always must reads. David Baldacci is one of those authors for me.  When I had a chance to read an ARC copy of The Finisher I didn't hesitate to snap this one up and boy was I surprised by the story that unfolded.

Baldacci is most notably an author of suspense thrillers and with a title like The Finisher I was expecting an action packed adrenaline ride. What I got instead was a YA dystopian novel about a young girl, Vega Jane, who works as a finisher in a factory called The Stacks and the odd world she lives in, Wormwood.

Initially I almost gave up on the book because it wasn't what I expected. Also what was frustrating to me was that some of the names for common items in Wormwood were made up and some words are the same words we use. So if people are Wugs, horses are sleps and years are sessions why are there such a things as ceramics or even a pub crawl (with only one pub in the village).  It just seemed to me that there was no consistency. After I got over this, the story grabbed me and I'm very glad I stuck through to the end.

Vega Jane has had an awful lot of adversity in her young life but she comes through stronger than ever and she uses this strength to find out more about the world around her.


My Recommendation: 
I recommend this one for anyone who loves dystopian YA and I'm thinking The Finisher will be a series because of the ending. I certainly hope so.

1 comments
Labels: 4 stars , dystopian , review , sci-fi , YA

January 5, 2014

Books I've Read in 2014

My grand total for 2013 was 84 books which is down from 113 books in 2012. This includes standard books, ebooks and audio books. 

 BOOKS

January
  1. 419 by Will Ferguson
  2. Kinsey and Me by Sue Grafton
  3. Real Vampires Know Size Matters by Gerry Bartlett
  4. Parlor Tricks by Jennifer Estep
  5. Glitches by Marissa Meyer
  6. A Cat Was Involved by Spencer Quinn
February
  1. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
  2. The Finisher by David Baldacci
March
  1. Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man by Brian McGrory
  2. Feedback by Peter Cawdron
  3. Far Gone by Laura Griffin
April
  1. The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
  2. The Wife of John the Baptist by K. Ford K.
  3. Missing You by Harlen Coben
May
  1. Orphan Train: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline
  2. And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman
June
  1. The Wizard of Oz FAQ by David J. Hogan
  2. Inkslingers Ball by Sheila Lowe
July
  1. A Woman of Fortune by Kellie Coates Gilbert
August
  1. How to Fall by Jane Casey
  2. The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani
September
  1. Poison Promise by Jennifer Estep
  2. Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician by Daniel Wallace
October
  1. How to be Death by Amber Benson
  2. The Case of the Killer Divorce by Barbara Venkataraman
  3. The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
November
  1. The Murder of Adam and Eve by William Dietrich
  2. No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige
December
  1. Murder at the Book Group Maggie King
AUDIO BOOKS

January
  1. The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls
  2. Taken in Death by J.D. Robb
  3. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
February
  1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  2. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
  3. Ill Winds by Rachel Caine
March
  1. The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn
  2. Working Stiff by Rachel Caine
  3. Big Jack by J.D. Robb
  4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
  5. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
April
  1. The Martian by Andy Weir
  2. Flight of the Silvers by Daniel Price
  3. The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
  4. Heat Rises by Richard Castle
May
  1. Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan
  2. The Goldfinch by Donna Tart
  3. Storm Surge by Richard Castle
  4. 14 by Peter Clines
  5. Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
  6. The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd
June
  1. Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand
  2. Saucer: The Conquest by Stephen Coonts
  3. The Lincoln Myth by Steve Berry
July
  1. The Passage by Justin Cronin
  2. What a Ghoul Wants by Victoria Laurie
  3. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
August
  1. The Twelve by Justin Cronin
  2. Death by Didgeridoo by Barbara Venkataraman
  3. Demons are Forever by Julie Kenner
  4. The Giver by Lois Lowry
  5. Bristol House by Beverly Swerling
September
  1. After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman
  2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
October
  1. Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith
  2. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore
  3. Pros and Cons by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (short story)
  4. Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich
  5. How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back By Diana Rowland
November
  1. Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb
  2. The Ghoul Next Door by Victoria Laurie
  3. Cyberstorm by Matthew Mather
  4. The Little Android by Marissa Meyer
December
  1. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Grand Total for 2014 - 73
Here's what I read in previous years:


0 comments
Labels: 2014 , read

June 24, 2013

Review: Exposed by Laura Griffin



Product Description:
With the click of her camera, Maddie Callahan inadvertently added herself to the hit list of a criminal mastermind the FBI’s been investigating for months. Agent Brian Beckmann is determined to protect the sexy photographer, but she may be his only lead.

As a forensic photographer, Maddie is used to seeing violence up close, but she’s never before been a target. When a freelance photo shoot goes awry, she realizes she may have seen, and perhaps photographed, the kidnapping of a key witness in a federal probe. And although her camera was stolen, Maddie has something that could be even more valuable to investigators. With the help of her colleagues at the Tracers crime lab, Maddie uncovers DNA evidence that provides a desperately needed break in the case.

Although Brian is reluctant to involve Maddie, she’s determined to help with the investigation and the two set out to track a vicious criminal known as The Doctor, whose far-reaching violence has led to multiple deaths. But as the task force gets closer to catching the deadly Doctor, Maddie is in more danger than ever.

 My Thoughts:
My favorite part of reading Laura's books is how realistic they are. The investigating and crime solving always makes me think that Laura has got to be some sort of forensic investigator herself. The plot line of Exposed was something I could see playing out on my favorite TV crime show.

 Another aspect I look forward to is how characters from other books in the Tracers series make cameo appearances through The Delphi Center where Maddie works.  In my opinion each book in the series is a stand alone so when I recognize characters from the other books I get a thrill thinking I know something that stand alone readers don't which adds a bit of fun to my read.

 My Recommendation: 
I recommend Exposed and truly the whole Tracers series to anyone who loves a good romantic suspense read with believable characters and story lines. 

0 comments
Labels: 5 stars , review , romantic suspense

May 26, 2013

Review: Status Quo by Mark Rosendorf



Blurb:
College student Alexander Copeland worked as an assistant for astronomer Gordon Maxwell. Alex was offered the opportunity of a lifetime – to join a small civilian crew and travel to outer space to investigate a mysterious wormhole presumed to have been created by an alien species. But the top-secret government division sponsoring Dr. Maxwell’s research abruptly canceled the expedition and closed down the entire project.

Seven years later, twenty-five-year-old Alex, working as a New York inner-city junior high school science teacher, is contacted by the same arrogant government project director who tells him the original space expedition has been revived. Alex is offered a seat on an advanced space shuttle christened Status Quo, set to go through the wormhole. But Alex is immediately suspicious. After seven years, why is the project suddenly on again?

Alex’s new shipmates only add to his anxiety. Sara Maxwell, gifted daughter of the late Dr. Maxwell, has spent the last seven years in a mental institution. The ship’s pilot is a teenage boy whose only flight experience is on a simulator. The pilot’s mother, also chosen as a crewmember, is supposedly psychic. The ship’s doctor is a novice who wants nothing to do with the mission. A troubled teenage girl on the brink of suicide is also accepted as part of the crew. There’s even a convicted murderer and a cat aboard. Absolutely no one chosen for this mission has any sort of astronaut training or experience. And worst of all, the project director’s agenda appears to be making sure that the ship and all aboard never return to Earth.

It’s a conspiracy that leaves these lost souls stranded in a strange galaxy with a damaged ship surrounded by threats both human and alien. Even if this group worked together and managed to survive, could they – would they – return to the uncaring world that sent them to space to die? With the alternative looking exceedingly grim, the journey of Status Quo seems doomed. Or is it?

My Thoughts:
Status Quo was quite a bit different from what I've previously read by Mark Rosendorf. Where The Rasner Effect series was full of action and adventure, Status Quo is more of a thought provoking book. But don't get me wrong, there is plenty of adventure. Most of it just happens to be through a wormhole in space.

Really and truly the storyline was way out there and super cheesy but it was pretty fun. In my opinion Status Quo is more of a YA book because of that.  What I really enjoyed is that I could clearly picture my 15 year old niece as Gilda (without the terrible home life) so I was quickly pulled into the story. 

The ending was very unexpected and I thought it really worked. It was a typical happy ending with a twist I never saw coming. 

My Recommendation:
I recommend Status Quo for both YA readers or anyone who loves sci-fi and intriguing adventures in space.  


1 comments
Labels: 3 stars , review , sci-fi
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