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Review: Defending Jacob by William Landay

03 Feb

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow.

This book works as a mystery, as a courtroom thriller, and as a family drama.

Summary via goodreads.com:

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.The writing was absolutely perfect to draw me in and deliver the story.

This story would have worked well simply as a mystery– a father trying to prove his son innocent of murdering another boy.

The courtroom aspects were a great added element. It was clear that William Landay understands how the system works, and he wove that into the book, adding an extra layer to the story.

What pushed this book to amazing, that will make a great read for a wide audience, is the family drama. What happens to a family with a child accused of doing something terrible– particularly when one parent believes it is possible, when long-buried secrets are unearthed, when every piece of the past is called into question. Andy Barber is absolutely convincing as a father prepared to stand behind his son, no matter what.

I’ve been debating how much more to say, but I think the rest is best discovered by reading. I’d recommend picking this one up and finding out for yourself.

I picked up this book for review at NCIBA.  Thank you to the publisher for providing it and to NCIBA for inviting us to attend.

 
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Posted by on February 3, 2012 in books, reviews

 

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Review: The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

24 Jan

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Summary via Goodreads:

“The body you are wearing used to be mine.” So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.

In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

My Top 10 Reasons for Liking The Rook:

10) It’s a good thriller, with secret agents, characters with questionable loyalties, and multiple action sequences. Myfanwy (she explains that it rhymes with Tiffany) can really kick butt!

9) The world building was very complete, and although the basic concept isn’t at all new (people among us with special powers, and a secret branch of government to deal with the problems among them), I did feel like this was a new approach.

8) Crazy cool bad guys. Having special powers helps make more than run of the mill evildoers.

7) The setup (Myfanwy waking up unaware of who she is, and making sense of the life her body had been living) was quite clever, and I felt it pulled together through the book.

6) The method of communicating Myfanwy’s back story worked well for the characters in the book and me as a reader.

5) I loved Myfanwy and I love the person that wakes up in Myfanwy’s body, trying to figure out who she is and what happened to her. And when you have someone that starts out as a blank slate, character growth is practically guaranteed!

4) The supporting characters were a great part of the book. Myfanwy’s assistant Ingrid was so unflappable, and reminded me of someone that I used to work with. The other members of the Checquy, their American counterparts, the people Myfanwy meets outside of work… they all contribute to the book.

3) Humor that made me laugh out loud because it popped up in the most unexpected places.

2) All the pieces came together into a darn good story.

1) Superheroes, acting like adults! Complete with politics, personalities, job conflicts, and (don’t forget) butt kicking! What’s not to like?

I really enjoyed reading this book, and hope there are more to come.

Thank you to Little, Brown for sending me this book for review.

 
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Posted by on January 24, 2012 in books, reviews

 

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Review: Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

20 Jan

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This was a cute piece of Jane Austen related fluff. I went into it looking for nothing more than that, and at first, I thought I wouldn’t be disappointed. And perhaps I shouldn’t have been disappointed in the last half, either.

Summary via Goodreads:

Fledgling illustrator and Darcy fanatic Kay Ashton settles in the seaside town of Lyme to finish her book, The Illustrated Mr. Darcy, when a film company arrives to make a new adaptation of Persuasion. Kay is soon falling for the handsome bad boy actor playing Captain Wentworth, but it’s the quiet screenwriter Adam Craig who has more in common with her beloved Mr. Darcy. Though still healing from a broken heart, Adam finds himself unexpectedly in love with Kay, but it will take more than good intentions to convince her that her real happy ending is with him.

Certainly, the Jane Austen references were lots of fun. Since the book revolved around the production of a movie version of Persuasion, those are the ones that I was expecting, but many more elements were borrowed from Emma, which I am immensely more fond of. These aspects are responsible for lifting the book from 3 to 3.5 stars, and were enough to leave me happy that I read the book.

I’m satisfied with the plot, which primarily needed to frame the Jane Austen references and the characters themselves.

My problems with Dreaming of Mr. Darcy are all in the characters, which are really what I read books like this for.

All of the characters were somewhat flatter than I’d like– not enough to be fatal to the book, but not well rounded enough for me to care what Gemma decides to do about her movie career, or to be surprised by the twist near the end (which I did see coming, there was no other reason for some of the material setting it up to be there).

But really, I just didn’t like Kay. Granted, many of her flaws were patterned after Emma, but Emma had a little more texture to her, and just never felt quite so clueless to me.

Kay is star struck, and when she meets the actor playing the object of her dreams, the fantasies fly. That’s not a problem, although the direction her fantasies went didn’t resonate with me. It’s where she goes with them that doesn’t work for me. If she’d pursued them with a real sense of laughing at herself while doing so, I could have loved her for it. But as it was (and I don’t want to give too much away)she just wasn’t my kind of heroine.

Beyond that, I never felt the chemistry between Adam and Kay. I liked him well enough, but just didn’t feel what he was feeling for her,in spite of being told it was happening.

I can see this book working much better for someone else, someone that values following your dreams, wherever they take you.

I received this book for review from the publisher.  Thank you, Sourcebooks!

 
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Posted by on January 20, 2012 in books, reviews

 

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Review: Wish Upon A Star by Sarah Morgan

14 Jan

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The two novellas were both fast fun reads.

Summary via goodreads:

Love is in the air this Christmas!

Christy was hoping to skip Christmas this year. Her kids have other ideas – they’ve put their dad’s name at number one on their Christmas list. So it looks as if Christy will be hightailing it up to the Lake District to play happy families with her ex!

Snow-capped mountains and roaring log fires – Alessandro’s home is like walking into a Christmas card. Is it really safe for her to spend Christmas with her dreamy, funny – no! – entirely infuriating ex-hubby?

Miranda has completely the opposite problem. Being single and pregnant at Christmas was certainly not her wish come true. She doesn’t believe in miracles, but then resident hunk Jake sweeps her off her snow-covered shoes. Come Boxing Day dare she dream that Mr Sex-on-Legs might be for more than just Christmas?

The first was a romance within an on-the-rocks relationship, and (taken as fluff) it was very entertaining. A highly volatile couple, a precocious kid, and a heavy dose of wish fulfillment to top it off.

I admit, I was more interested in the characters in the second story. Jake was introduced in the first story, and this good looking guy (who is very in tune with women and what they want) is my kind of romance hero. I liked the wounded (but recovering) Miranda as well, and I enjoyed getting to know them as they got to know each other.

Both of these stories were perfect as novellas, which gave just enough time to get to know the characters and the situations, then have them resolve without unnecessarily complex obstacles. Whether in front of a winter fire or as an escape from a hot summer day, these winter stories are an enjoyable getaway.

I read this book as an electronic review copy via NetGalley.  Thank you to the publisher for allowing me access.

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2012 in books, reviews

 

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Review: Gun Games by Faye Kellerman

12 Jan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary via goodreads.com:

LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep—witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools.

Gregory’s mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen—evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student—a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence. Decker thought he understood kids, yet the closer he and his team get to the truth, the clearer it becomes that he knows very little about them, including his own charge, Gabe. The son of a gangster and an absent parent, the boy has had a life filled with too much free time, too many unexplained absences, and too little adult supervision.

Before it’s over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating at a heart-stopping point of no return

I’ve been a fan of this series for many, many years. As sometimes happens with long-running series, I’ve lost track of it a bit. When I started reading this book, I was surprised at all that has happened since I last visited Peter Decker, Rina Lazarus and family. I checked and saw that I’ve missed two books, which I need to go back and fill in.

I’m impressed at how Faye Kellerman keeps shifting the focus of the series to keep it fresh,while still remaining true to the characters. There’s only so much character growth any one or two characters can reasonably have! Over the course of 20 books, the focus has gone from religious, professional, personal, and family. She’s looked at other family members (most memorably, Decker’s daughter, who is also a police officer). Here, the focus is on a foster child, one that came to live with the family in one of the books that I missed.

I really liked Gabriel, who was simultaneously very, very young (when it comes to his love life) and much, much older (when it comes to his music, and to knowledge of the seamy side of the world.) He’s Romeo to a very naive Juliet. He manages to stumble into a situation that Decker is investigating, and it’s a good thing he has the skills to navigate some very risky waters.

I found the look into the lives of the privileged teens he crosses paths with to be terrifying.  I’m not looking forward to my daughter starting high school next year, even if her world will be fairly different.

The mystery itself is good, but not outstanding. What I enjoyed was the quick visit with all the characters I know so well, and getting to know a few more even better.

There is no need to have read the full list of previous books in the series to enjoy this one. I haven’t read Hangman, the previous book, but suspect the context from that one might be nice, and there are clearly spoilers here for the events there. I’ll go back and read it anyway.

I received Gun Games for review from the publisher.  Thank you, Harper Collins.

 
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Posted by on January 12, 2012 in books, reviews

 

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Some short reviews

10 Jan

Or, Why I’m never accepting anthologies for review again.

I accepted each of these books for review, and read and enjoyed them, for the most part. Then I sat with open tabs for months, trying to figure out how to write the reviews. I’ve now lost the details of the individual stories and writers in my brain, so I thought I’d set down a few overall thoughts on each and call it a day.

Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange StoriesSteampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories edited by Kelly Link

I picked up this book because I’m intrigued by Steampunk, and would like to know more about it. I love the look, I find the concept fascinating.

After reading the stories in this anthology, I’m still a little puzzled about how Steampunk plays out. In general, I enjoyed them, I’m just not certain they all met my image of what Steampunk is.

Steampunk meets the Wild West seems like an interesting variant– the same time period but another location. Steampunk meets ancient prophets and Steampunk meets the Faery world seemed like an interesting something else (I loved the Faery Story, it was one of my favorites in the book).

I think I need to look up a definitive Steampunk work, and base my genre impressions off of that instead.

Some better reviews of this collection:

The Urban Fantasy AnthologyThe Urban Fantasy Anthology edited by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R. Lansdale

It’s hard to rate an anthology. I always go in expecting to skip over some stories as being not for me, so if you leave those out, what remains is at about 4 stars for me.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to review this for the 6 months since I read it, and have finally given up. If I couldn’t figure out what to say before, I’m not going to now.

Overall, I enjoyed my reading. Unfortunately for me, the stories I enjoyed most were by authors I already know and enjoy, so I didn’t add to my list of people to try as much as I’d hoped.

More than confirming that I’m a big fan of Charles de Lint, Peter S. Beagle, and Neil Gaiman, among others, it confirmed that I’m a big fan of the subset of Urban Fantasy they describe as Mythic Fiction, and I that I have mixed opinions on Paranormal Romance. I’d never heard of Noir Fantasy before, and I don’t think I’ll make an effort to find more (although I did enjoy a few of the stories in that section as well).

I’ll recommend this for some good writing, and a chance to try out a collection of styles and authors underneath the Urban Fantasy umbrella.

Some other reviews:

I’m sorry for the lack of detailed reviews on both of these books!

 

 
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Posted by on January 10, 2012 in books, reviews

 

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Review: Carrie Goes Off the Map by Phillipa Ashley

14 Dec

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was billed as Romance, but it read like Chick Lit to me, and I found it very enjoyable as such.

Summary via Goodreads:

Carrie Brownhill lets her best friend talk her into a scenic European road trip as the perfect getaway from a nasty breakup with her fiancé. Unexpectedly along for the ride is the gorgeous and intriguing Matt Landor, MD, who sorely tests Carrie’s determination to give up men altogether. Careening through the English countryside in a VW camper van, these two mismatched but perfectly attuned lonely hearts find themselves in hot pursuit of adventure and in uncharted territory altogether…

It delivers on the premise of a crazy cross-country trip, with a fun main character and a sexy leading guy.

Of course, Carrie is on as much of a mental journey as a physical one. I can’t say she goes particularly deep on her path to discovery, but it isn’t that kind of book. It’s the kind where she (and Matt) sleep with other people while not making all that much effort to figure out where they are going, and it’s all OK. They’ll still get to their destination.

The characters were terrific, particularly the secondary ones– both the old friends that carry through the book, and the new ones discovered along the way.  They were quirky without being off-putting (well, except the ones that were meant to be!).

This is a fun, light way to pass some time.  I actually read it while waiting (and waiting) in Urgent Care, and it was perfect for that– Entertaining enough to keep my mind occupied, light enough to drop at any time without worrying about losing context. Enjoy it for what it is.

I received this book for review from the publisher.  Thank you, Sourcebooks!

 
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Posted by on December 14, 2011 in books, reviews

 

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Review: Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr

01 Dec

Bring Me Home for Christmas (Virgin River, #16)My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

(This rating include an extra .5 stars for being exactly what I wanted to read at the time)

I love a sappy Christmas story. One where the community comes together, where the main character finds true love and her purpose in life, and everything is so happy could cry.

This was that kind of book for me.

Summary via Goodreads.com:

This year, Becca Timm knows the number one item on her Christmas wish list—getting over Denny Cutler. Three years ago, Denny broke her heart before heading off to war. It’s time she got over her silly high-school relationship and moved on.

So she takes matters into her own hands and heads up to Virgin River, the rugged little mountain town that Denny calls home, as an uninvited guest on her brother’s men-only hunting weekend. But when an accident turns her impromptu visit into an extended stay, Becca finds herself stranded in Virgin River. With Denny. In very close quarters.

As the power of Christmas envelops the little town, Becca discovers that the boy she once loved has become a strong and confident man. And the most delicious Christmas present she can imagine.

Overall, it was a nice romance, as were the other couple of books I’ve read in the series. I liked Becca, and Denny was a genuine Nice Guy (the kind of romance hero I prefer), even if a bit damaged by events in his life. They both have caring relationships with their friends and families, but still something was missing without each other.

One aspect I particularly appreciated is how each of the main characters grew in their understanding of themselves as they understood more of the other person’s side of the story of their shared past. When they were previously involved, they were very young, but neither really appreciated how that affected both of them.

The town of Virgin River is a character unto itself– a collection of people that stumble in and stay for whatever reason. It’s a town that takes care of its own, even when it isn’t Christmas, but when it is Christmas, and there is a big storm… As I said, this book isn’t for those that don’t like sappy.

The one issue I had with this book is one that has bothered me a little with other books in the series. I’m not sure why it is more of a problem for me here than in other romances, since it is a theme present in most books I’ve read in the genre, but there it is. Simply, it’s the idea that True Love is present if and only if the sex is amazing. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

I hadn’t realized how many books there are in this series, but there doesn’t seem to be any need to read them all or to read them in order. They are simply a set of books set in the same small town. There are some key central characters, and others pop up occasionally, but I haven’t run into much in the way of continuing stories. Since the books are romances, there isn’t a worry about giving away the ending of previous books. I take it as a given that the couple will end up together, and (for this series) living in this little town.

I received this book for review via Planned Television Arts, thank you for this opportunity.

 
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Posted by on December 1, 2011 in books, reviews

 

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Review: When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James (audiobook)

18 Nov

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I’m really enjoying this series of fairy tale romances with historical clothing on.

What I liked best was the playful tone of When Beauty Tamed the Beast, never entirely taking itself seriously. There were nods to the fairy tale, there were nods to the norms of historical fiction. None of these nods got in the way of the story or (more important in a romance) the characters.

The characters were entertaining, and both had more to them than a quick glance would see.

In this volume, the “Beast” is an extremely talented young doctor with a damaged (and painful) leg, a terrible temper and no desire to obey the usual rules of society (a character that will feel familiar to many TV viewers).

“Beauty”, on the other hand, reminds me more of Fiona in Shrek– certainly, her outside has everything that society deems desirable. That is, right up until the moment a small lapse in judgement leaves society believing she is pregnant. Luckily, she isn’t merely a beautiful face (and body). She’s got a sharp mind and, when pushed, a tongue to match.

A marriage between them seems to be the answer to both of their parents’ concerns, and so Linnet is off to meet Piers in his remote home…

There is one steamy scene, and other references to such activities without the same level of detail.

I hope there are more of these on the way!

Audio Notes

Sound Bytes @ Devourer of Books

For more audiobook reviews, check out Sound Bytes

Narrator: Susan Duerden gave a wonderful performance, giving a touch of magic to the proceedings.  Some of the secondary character voices worked better than others, but the primary characters and (particularly) the general narration were very good.

Production: No issues, no extras.  Well, I did have one minor issue, but I’m fairly certain that his was particular to the review download, and won’t be an issue in the final version!

Print vs. Audio?  Although I was charmed by the audio productions, I suspect I would equally have enjoyed this book in print.  When listening to audio, I do appreciate some restraint as to the quantity of really steamy scenes, as they generally seem to arise at highly disconcerting times, and can be difficult to skim through in audio.  That was a plus for this book over other romances, but I think this one would be good in whatever format is more convenient.

Thank you to Harper Audio for providing me this audiobook to listen to and review!

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2011 in books, reviews, Uncategorized

 

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Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

15 Nov

My rating: 3.5 stars overall

I think that rating would be higher for someone closer to the target demographic. Shatter Me is a YA dystopian novel where I felt the YA aspect more than in some others that I’ve read.

Synopsis via Goodreads.com:

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

The book has solid strengths that will cut across all age ranges.

I enjoyed the style of the presentation, where I was plunged into a cell with Juliette, and left to guess as to the details of the world and of her situation. The answers are slowly revealed, but more questions are added.

Juliette is an interesting character, and I was engrossed in her situation as more details unfolded. I could see her growing as she was confronted with new situations.

The world is well constructed, as far as it is explained. There are a number of questions that I’m still suspending disbelief on, and as long as I get answers to the “why” of them somewhere along the way, I’ll be happy. It’s believable that our world could devolve into this one, at least as it is presented in the first two thirds of the book.

There were points where I noticed the beauty of the writing, although this isn’t something I read for. The distinct style does not get in the way of the story.

The primary aspect of the story that made me feel the story was targeted at someone younger than me didn’t come out until the end, and I really don’t feel I can discuss it without getting into more spoilers than I’m comfortable with. All I can say is that it did detract from the story a little for me, but it may not be an issue for you.

There were other pieces that felt like they were targeted to a younger reader, such as the ages of all the characters (it felt natural that Juliette and Adam were young, but the age of their adversary felt forced to me). Many aspects of the characters (and the world) were very black and white, rather than grey (Juliette and Adam are such NICE people, in spite of everything that has happened to them. I actually enjoy that about them, but it does lead to that feeling of a younger target audience).

I’m very much looking forward to the next book, and I’m eager to share this book with my daughter, I’m interested in what she thinks of it.

I received this copy via the author and publisher at the NCIBA trade show.  Thank you to both!

 
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Posted by on November 15, 2011 in books, reviews

 

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