Recommended Reading: Young Avengers Omnibus

Book Description:

It's not important what our parents did. It matters what we do. Someone has to save the world. You're someone. Do the math. The critically acclaimed team of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie reinvent the teen super-hero comic for the 21st century - uniting Wiccan, Hulkling and Kate "Hawkeye" Bishop with Kid Loki, Marvel Boy and Miss America. No pressure, right? When Wiccan makes a horrible mistake that comes back to bite everyone on their communal posteriors, we cue five issues of hormonal panic. Fight scenes! Fake IDs! Plentiful feels! (a.k.a. "meaningful emotional character beats" for people who aren't on tumblr.) Young Avengers is as NOW! as the air in your lungs and twice as vital.

High-quality superhero hijinks and pitch-perfect characters. It's big, it's colorful, it's fun, and it's intense! There's a fantastic character lineup in the description, and every character gets something important to do in the plot. They combine and play off each other well, and they make a great team. They act realistically, they're young, but they're teens and 20-somethings who want to be good people and strong superheroes... They have troubles, but they don't whine. The plot is great too, with an interestingly meta villain and a good excuse for the team to be on their own. (After all, if Captain America could just swoop in and save everyone, it would've be a very interesting story!) If you've enjoyed the popular new Ms. Marvel or award-winning Hawkeye, this is a great next step!

Recommended Reading: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Book Description:

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. Yet she spares Cas's life...

This 2011 release is the perfect YA book for anyone who loves the show Supernatural. It's got the ghosts, the creepy houses, the young professional hunter... The plotting is excellent and really manages to fuse a ghost story with a full-length YA novel. Ghost stories are generally a short-story format with very basic characters, so that's no mean feat. The characters are compelling, and it's great to see a YA novel from a boy's point of view. There's some romance, but the focus is on the ghost story. 

The series is complete in two volumes, the sequel being the equally-excellent Girl of Nightmares!

Recommended Reading: The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

Book Description: 

This much-anticipated follow-up to Jonathan Auxier’s exceptional debut, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, is a Victorian ghost story with shades of Washington Irving and Henry James. More than just a spooky tale, it’s also a moral fable about human greed and the power of storytelling.

The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives. With Auxier’s exquisite command of language, The Night Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making.

This 2014 release is the perfect horror novel for middle graders -- creepy, with its share of gross-out moments, but not terrifying. The focus is on the two orphans as characters, and they're more nuanced than in most other middle-grade books... In fact, all the characters have dominant personality traits, but those traits aren't random. They go along with whole personalities and backstories. The characters got where they are not because they've just always been that way, but because they've made specific choices over time, so this would be great opportunity to discuss choices and consequences with your child! Altogether, The Night Gardener is a super-fun book that's satisfying on many levels, from old-fashioned spookiness to well-written prose and a compelling plot.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was our February bookclub book. There was only a couple in the group that completely disliked the book. Most of us agree that we struggled through about half of it because of the excess of philosophical musings in the characters ruminations, which severely hampered the plot. However, once Mr. Ozu was introduced, things picked up.

We discussed a lot about our "invisible self" or instances where we know someone isn't revealing everything about themselves to the world at large. This book really is about every person's invisible part. Renee was hiding how smart she was because she was just a lowly concierge in an uptown building and it would upset the class structure if people knew she read Tolstoy and other great literature. Paloma had to hide how intelligent she was and eventually was going to "show them all" by committing suicide. Then Mr. Ozu moves into the building and can see right through their charade, befriends both of them heedless of society's class system.

The book was also difficult to read for some of us, because we kept stopping to copy lines. It is full of metaphors and witty observations of life and the people in it, you just eat it up. I recommend reading it twice. The 1st time to absorb it all and the 2nd to enjoy. Most of us agreed we would read it again.

A few great lines:
Paloma describing her sister - "...a hostile lesion of a sister" pg. 85

Renee - "We are good primates, so we spend most of our time maintaining and defending our territory, so that it will protect and gratify us; climbing - or trying not to slide down the tribes hierarchical ladder." pg. 97

Renee - "I press the start button, sip my jasmine tea. From time to time I rewind, thanks to this secular rosary known as the remote control." pg 99

Each member had there own favorites, too many to put here. We recommend.

View all my reviews

Recommended Reading: Green Rider

Green Rider is an admirable beginning to a fantasy series that Kristen Britain continues to write to this day. Karigan G’ladahon, the novel’s protagonist, provides the reader with a strong female lead, a rarity in fantasy literature, and journeys throughout the world of Sacoridia in unexpected ways. The plot is well thought out, and the prose is generally seamless in its description of events.

The novel falters in its description of certain battle scenes, leaving the reader wanting more, and its lack of a map of Sacoridia, hindering the reader’s immersion into the world.  Despite these detriments Green Rider remains an enjoyable read for all ages and is recommended from a longtime, heroic fantasy bibliophile.

Book Discription:

Karigan G'ladahon has fled from school following a fight which would surely lead to her expulsion. As she makes her way through the deep forest, a galloping horse pounds up to her, its rider impaled by two black-shafted arrows. With his dying breath, he tells her he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary magical messengers of the King, and makes Karigan swear to deliver their message he's carrying, giving her his green coat, with its symbolic broach of office. This promise given to a dying man changes Karigan's life forever. Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, she unwittingly finds herself in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand.

Daniel Tackett

Young Adult Librarian

Bossypants by Tina Fey


The NSL bookclub met yesterday to discuss our February book, Bossypants by Tina Fey. In our bookclub we like to mix it up from month-to-month, heavier books with some more light-hearted titles. This was a more light month. Our reviews were mixed, some thought it was laugh-out-loud funny and completely relatable and others thinking it a bathroom book in which you could read one little anecdote at a time. The mixed reviews has to do w/ what we expected of the book, and how you read it. It’s categorized as a biography, but we collectively felt that you know little more about Tina Fey than you did before you read the book. It was more a collection of humorous anecdotes, that were more “universal vignettes” instead of personal. One member pointed out that Tina Fey did not seem very connected to the book, and we all agreed. Don’t get us wrong, we enjoyed the book, but it was more a “humor” book versus a memoir. Those of us who listened to the audio enjoyed it more than those who read it. The audio is great for a short trip somewhere, or something lighthearted to listen to whilst cleaning, walking etc. Tina (thankfully) reads it and it includes a CD with video clips from SNL and pdf’s (which she refers to throughout the audio) of her that were included in the book, so those of us who listened to it didn’t miss out.

We gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Click here for a look at our book selections for the year.

What the Staff is Currently Reading...

Michelyn, from Reference Dept.:
Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
"It makes everyday economics interesting, even if you don't care about money and shows how the world really works based on economics. Start with the first one, Freakanomics: a Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by the same authors."


Amber, from Reference Dept.:
Rain of Gold by Victor E. Villasenor
"This is the true story of two early 20th century Mexican families that immigrated to America. It's a beautiful love story between husband and wife and, also, a son and his parents."




Katie, Director of Library Services:
I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne and Chris Ayres (audio version)
"A fascinating behind the scenes glance at one of rock and roll's most notorious figures."





This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett
"An intimate and often hilarious combination of stories and anecdotes along with a poignant look at the death of Burnett's daughter (tearjerker)."






Kate, from Children's Dept.:
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo
"A little predictable but a fun, quick read."






Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
"A great combination of alternate history, steampunk, and coming-of-age with lots of danger and fantastic technology. I am looking forward to the next in the series."







Dark Life by Kat Falls
"The surface of the world has changed drastically, the people haven't. Outlaws, unhelpful bureaucrats, and little sisters are no easier to deal with just because you live at the bottom of the ocean. Amusing and slightly scary."





Lori, from Young Adult Dept.:
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
"This is a fantastic sequel to The Iron King. This book was just as action packed as the first and the romantic complications increase, as well. I can't wait for the third, The Iron Queen, due to be released in February of 2011."




The Devil Wears Plaid by Teresa Medieros
"I'm incredibly excited to read this book, partly because I follow the author on facebook and have been hearing about the characters for a while. I've just started and it definitely has me hooked with a great first meeting between the hero and heroine - who doesn't love a historical romance where the bride is stolen at the altar!"

Book Review: Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie

This was an absolutely delightful book! It only took of a couple of hours to read and it had several laugh out loud moments (but none that I would consider cheesy). The premise of the book is that Lucy Savage Porter is finally getting rid of her husband Bradley Porter. The book opens on the day that the divorce is final and starts with a bang! Lucy is accosted at the diner where Bradley asked her to meet him by a disreputable looking guy, who happens to be a detective with the local police department. After beaning him silly with her massive handbag, she learns that he thinks her life is at risk and personally takes on the job of protecting her.

This was an exceptionally funny light summer read for me (She has green hair at one point in the book, every woman's nightmare)! The character development was perfect for the plot and length of the book. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a romance with a solid plot and lots of laughter. This was the first solo work that I've read by Crusie, but I will definitely be checking out more!

Product Description:

Lucy Savage is not having a good week. Her cheating husband, Bradley, lobbed the final insult when he stood her up in divorce court. A dye job gone wrong has left her hair green. And someone is trying to kill her. To top it off, sexy cop Zack Warren is certain that the very same man Lucy is trying to wash right out of her hair is the same Bradley he wants to arrest for embezzlement.

When someone shoots at her and then her car blows up, Zack decides she needs twenty-four-hour police protection. Next thing Lucy knows, Zack has moved in to her big Victorian house, making them both sleepless - and not just from things that go bump in the night!

Book Review - Veil of Night by Linda Howard

I'm a huge fan of Linda Howard's work and I was really excited to read her newest book, Veil of Night. This book was vintage Linda Howard to me. I had concerns about plot similarities to To Die For, which I enjoyed, but this book was completely fresh. The main characters were likable and had definite chemistry, the details surrounding the plot were realistic and there was just the right amount of humor thrown in (with weddings featuring a football theme and a barn, how could there not be a couple of laughs?!?!). This is a great book for anyone who enjoys romantic suspense and this would also be a great introduction to Ms. Howard if you have not read any of her previous books.

Product Description: Jaclyn Wilde is a wedding planner who loves her job—usually. But helping Carrie Edwards with her Big Day has been an unrelenting nightmare. Carrie is a bridezilla of mythic nastiness, a diva whose tantrums are just about as crazy as her demands. But the unpleasant task at hand turns seriously criminal when Carrie is brutally murdered and everyone involved with the ceremony is accusing one another of doing the deed. The problem is, most everyone—from the cake maker and the florist to the wedding-gown retailer and the bridesmaids’ dressmaker—had his or her own reason for wanting the bride dead, including Jaclyn. And while those who felt Carrie’s wrath are now smiling at her demise, Jaclyn refuses to celebrate tragedy, especially since she finds herself in the shadow of suspicion. Assigned to the case, Detective Eric Wilder finds that there’s too much evidence pointing toward too many suspects. Compounding his problems is Jaclyn, with whom he shared one deeply passionate night before Carrie’s death. Being a prime suspect means that Jaclyn is hands-off just when Eric would rather be hands-on. As the heat intensifies between Eric and Jaclyn, a cold-blooded murderer moves dangerously close. And this time the target is not a bride but one particularly irresistible wedding planner, unaware of a killer’s vow.

Audio Book Review - American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by Craig Ferguson

The first thing that I need to say is that I went into the book adoring Craig Ferguson, so there, I'm admitting my bias up front.

Now on to the review, this is an audio book that both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to on a recent road trip. Someone had the brilliant idea to let Craig Ferguson read his own memoir and the effect is absolutely perfect, you feel like you are on the journey with him. There were moments when we laughed, he is a terrific comedian, moments when we cheered him on and moments that had me near tears as he talked about his parents and the life that he led while falling deeper into alcoholism. The book is unflinching - it deals with the cliches: sex, drugs (alcohol, as well) and rock' n' roll, as well as the emotional cost of life decisions both good and bad. But, let me remind you, there are tons of moments that will make you laugh out loud (not at him, but with him). My husband and I have had a few discussions about things that this book made us consider in depth. We luckily don't have personal experiences with alcoholism or family members with the disease, but we do feel like it made us better understand some of the obstacles that people who battle with the disease face before they take the steps toward recovery.

In conclusion, I still adore Craig Ferguson (even more, if possible) and I would recommend this book to those who enjoy memoirs, and anyone who likes comedy with heart - this book has it in spades.

Product Description:

In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through several attempts to make his mark—as a punk rock musician, a construction worker, a bouncer, and, tragically, a modern dancer.

To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a glass of sherry.) But his story has a happy ending: success on the hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and later as the host of CBS's Late Late Show. By far Ferguson's greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008.

In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson talks a red, white, and blue streak about everything our Founding Fathers feared.

Book Review - Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

The Mt Laurel Book Club discussed Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin on August 5th.This book sparked intense, but always friendly, discussion among our members. The premise of the book is engaging. By using factual information about the lives of Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) and Alice Liddell, the author has created a fictional account of the life of Alice Liddell. Alice Liddell, as many of you will know, is the acknowledged inspiration for Dodgson's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book's focus is on three eras of Alice's life: her childhood with Dodgson, her purported relationship with Prince Leopold in her twenties, and her life as a mother and wife. The author, Melanie Benjamin, does a wonderful job of giving Alice a distinct voice for each of the three ages covered in the book. This was a book that I enjoyed reading and have continued to discuss with friends. It has also kept me on the lookout for more information about these people and the events of their lives.

From Product Description:

Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole–and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling.

But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful?

Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.” Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.

That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.

For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.

A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire.

Book Review - Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

This is a great debut novel by an Alabama author! Sophie Mercer is a sixteen year old witch, by birth, that came into her powers three years earlier. Having never met her warlock father, Sophie has been raised by her all too human mother who hasn't exactly been able to guide Sophie through the process of "honing her skills." So, after her latest mishap, a love spell gone disastrously wrong, Sophie is sentenced to Hecate Hall until her eighteenth birthday. Commonly known as Hex Hall, it's a boarding school for delinquent Prodigium, you know - witches, shifters, vampires, fairies and werewolves. Sophie is delightfully real as she tries to navigate her way through the new world she's suddenly inhabiting. The characters are well developed and there were several scenes that made me laugh out loud while I was reading the book (Think about your own high school experiences, then throw in the complication of magic). You get a complete story with the first book, but you will definitely be marking your calendar (potentially March 1, 2011) for the second installment in this series! I highly recommend visiting Rachel Hawkins website, it's very entertaining and you can learn all sorts of "behind the cover" info.

From Product Description:
Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Book Review: Winter Garden by Kristin Hanna

I had several patrons tell me that this was a must read. They kept saying how great it was, so I had to read it. Well let me tell you I was not disappointed. From the very first page I loved this family even though they did not get along and were not close. After the death of the two sisters' father, the mother starts telling a story. Through this story you will be transported to WWII Leningrad. Kristin Hannah makes the place and the people come to life. You will feel like you know each one of these characters. You will feel all of the pain and eventually all of the joy. Check our catalog to reserve a copy.

Dee

Adult Book Review - Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Review Contributed by Brent C.

It's hard to avoid comparing the son to the father, but if a comparison must be made, let it be done with the best of intentions.

This book has a voice of it's own, that has the accent of his father's best works. CREEPY, with characters the reader immediately feels a connection to, in a world like ours as seen through a wavy glass window.

One of the most satisfying endings to a suspense/supernatural thriller that I've read in years.

(From Publisher Weekly):
Starred Review. Stoker-winner Hill features a particularly merciless ghost in his powerful first novel. Middle-aged rock star Judas Coyne collects morbid curios for fun, so doesn't think twice about buying a suit advertised at an online auction site as haunted by its dead owner's ghost. Only after it arrives does Judas discover that the suit belonged to Craddock McDermott, the stepfather of one of Coyne's discarded groupies, and that the old man's ghost is a malignant spirit determined to kill Judas in revenge for his stepdaughter's suicide. Judas isn't quite the cad or Craddock the avenging angel this scenario makes them at first, but their true motivations reveal themselves only gradually in a fast-paced plot that crackles with expertly planted surprises and revelations. Hill (20th Century Ghosts) gives his characters believably complex emotional lives that help to anchor the supernatural in psychological reality and prove that (as one character observes) "horror was rooted in sympathy." His subtle and skillful treatment of horrors that could easily have exploded over the top and out of control helps make this a truly memorable debut. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Review - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I have a confession to make - I tend not to read the books that are SUPER popular. I have no idea what has caused me to develop this particular character flaw, but I have muddled along without really having reason to reexamine my world view in relation to SUPER popular books. Until now. I had not planned to read this book until it was selected by our book club and for the first hundred pages or so, I felt like I would have been totally fine with never picking the book up. Then it happened...all the strings came together and I could not put this book down (seriously - I read 400 pages in one night)!!! The two main characters are a contrast that work well together. Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist picking up the pieces after a libel suit, and Lisbeth Salander, a young tattooed brilliant computer hacker - who was inspired by the authors musings on what would have happened to Pippi Longstockings as she became an adult, become entwined in resolving the decades old disappearance of a girl from a prominent family.

(From Publishers Weekly)
Starred Review. Cases rarely come much colder than the decades-old disappearance of teen heiress Harriet Vanger from her family's remote island retreat north of Stockholm, nor do fiction debuts hotter than this European bestseller by muckraking Swedish journalist Larsson. At once a strikingly original thriller and a vivisection of Sweden's dirty not-so-little secrets (as suggested by its original title, Men Who Hate Women), this first of a trilogy introduces a provocatively odd couple: disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, freshly sentenced to jail for libeling a shady businessman, and the multipierced and tattooed Lisbeth Salander, a feral but vulnerable superhacker. Hired by octogenarian industrialist Henrik Vanger, who wants to find out what happened to his beloved great-niece before he dies, the duo gradually uncover a festering morass of familial corruption—at the same time, Larsson skillfully bares some of the similar horrors that have left Salander such a marked woman. Larsson died in 2004, shortly after handing in the manuscripts for what will be his legacy.

One Good Dog by Susan Wilson - Book Review

Submitted by Kathy E.

Available March 2, 2010!!!

LOVED IT! i like that the guy had the business world by the tail, but no intact personal relationships.
i hated that the dog was born into a life of illegal dog fighting.
i LOVED that these two "losers" in life found each other when they didn't know what they really needed!
man meets dog, dog meets man and i won't tell you the rest of the story, read it, it is great!

From Publisher's Website:

“One Good Dog is a wonderful novel: a moving, tender, and brilliantly crafted story about two fighters—one a man, one a dog— hoping to leave the fight behind, who ultimately find their salvation in each other. Susan Wilson’s clear and unflinching style is perfectly suited for her story that strips away the trappings and toys we all hide behind, and exposes our essential need to give and accept love in order to thrive.”—Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

Adam March is a self-made “Master of the Universe.” He has it all: the beautiful wife, the high-powered job, the glittering circle of friends. But there is a price to be paid for all these trappings, and the pressure is mounting—until the day Adam makes a fatal mistake. His assistant leaves him a message with three words: your sister called. What no one knows is that Adam’s sister has been missing for decades. That she represents the excruciatingly painful past he has left behind. And that her absence has secretly tormented him all these years. When his assistant brushes off his request for an explanation in favor of her more pressing personal call, Adam loses it. And all hell breaks loose.

Adam is escorted from the building. He loses his job. He loses his wife. He loses the life he’s worked so hard to achieve. He doesn’t believe it is possible to sink any lower when he is assigned to work in a soup kitchen as a form of community service. But unbeknownst to Adam, this is where his life will intersect with Chance.

Chance is a mixed breed Pit Bull. He’s been born and raised to fight and seldom leaves the dirty basement where he is kept between fights. But Chance is not a victim or a monster. It is Chance’s unique spirit that helps him escape and puts him in the path of Adam.

What transpires is the story of one man, one dog, and how they save each other—in ways they never could have expected.

Book Review of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Last week I read Becca Fitzpatrick's debut novel, Hush, Hush. I have to say that I really, really enjoyed this book. It's a young adult paranormal, yet it manages to stand out from the pack. Now, having said that: I kept having to remind myself that the characters were teenagers. I was sucked into this story from the beginning and stayed up to finish the book in one night. It's edgier than Twilight and goes in a different direction with the paranormal aspect. There are definite dark and dangerous undertones througout the novel. The main characters, Patch and Nora, were well developed, although Patch is more in line with a typical Anne Stuart hero or "gamma hero." I'm still not exactly sure where he falls in the good/evil spectrum... The action was constant, and although I took issue with some of the choices that Nora made --- it made for a fabulous story!!! Seriously, if you are looking for a fun escapist read - this is the book for you!

From Product Description:

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment. But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Ice Storm by Anne Stuart - Review

I reviewed Black Ice by Anne Stuart earlier this year and since then I've read 2 more in the Ice series, Cold as Ice and I just finished Ice Storm. I have 2 more in the series to go before I finish. Again, I can't believe I have missed this author. Apparently I need to branch out from my usual romantic suspense authors.


I loved Ice Storm. It was as good as Bastien's story in Black Ice. This book focuses on the head of the mysterious "Committee", Isobel Lambert. I was reluctant to read this at first because I'm not fond of seemingly invincible women w/ little or no emotion. Perhaps it's b/c I can't relate, I don't know, but anyway Isobel is not all powerful and we learn her back story and how she came to be the ageless "ice queen". Of course there is a hero, who is very bad...or is he? Like Bastien, the "hero" in Ice Storm is not the typical alpha male (hard manly-man but putty in the hands of his woman), no he is an anti-hero. You dislike him most of the book, but he is also intriguing and you secretly want him to win. i hope everyone checks this series out.

Ice Series
1. Black Ice (2005)
2. Cold as Ice (2006)
3. Ice Blue (2007)
4. Ice Storm (2007)
5. Fire and Ice (2008)


Product Description of Ice Storm:
Behind her mask is a deadly secret . . .

The powerful head of the covert mercenary organization The Committee, Isobel Lambert is a sleek, sophisticated professional who comes into contact with some of the most dangerous people in the world. But beneath Isobel's cool exterior a ghost exists, haunting her with memories of another life . . . a life that ended long ago.

But Isobel's past and present are about to collide when Serafin, mercenary, assassin and the most dangerous man in the world, makes a deal with The Committee. Seventeen years ago Isobel shot him and left him for dead. Now it looks as if he's tracked her down for revenge. But Isobel knows all too well that looks can be deceiving . . . and that's what she's counting on to keep her cover in this international masquerade of murder.

Michelyn

Mt Laurel Book Club Review for South of Broad

The Mt Laurel Book Club met Thursday evening at Chuck and Gwynne Sams home to discuss Pat Conroy's South of Broad. The book, which has been considered to be the publishing event of the year, was liked by everyone and many members had already recommended the book to others to read. We had a great discussion due to the dynamic characters and situations that our hero, Leopold Bloom King, faced throughout the novel. The novel follows Leo King and the group of friends that he makes one summer for the next twenty years of their lives. It's a heavy book that deals with abuse, the 80's AIDS epidemic and other serious topics, but there were definite moments of humor. (I think we decided during the meeting that the novel covered every type of prejudice that we could think of that fit the scope of the novel's characters). Charleston was vividly portrayed in the novel - it could easily be said that Charleston was as much a character as the people in the book. Check this one out if you are looking for a thought-provoking read!!!

From Booklist
An unlikely group of Charlestonian teens forms a friendship in 1969, just as the certainties and verities of southern society are quaked by the social and political forces unleashed earlier in the decade. They come from all walks of life, from the privileged homes of the aristocracy, from an orphanage, from a broken home where an alcoholic mother and her twins live in fear of a murderous father, from the home of public high school’s first black football coach, and from the home of the same school’s principal. The group’s fulcrum, Leopold Bloom King, second son of an ex-nun Joyce scholar, who is also the school’s principal, and a science-teacher father, is just climbing out of childhood mental illness after having discovered his handsome, popular, athletic, scholarly older brother dead from suicide. Over the next two decades, these friends find success in journalism, the bar, law enforcement, music, and Hollywood. Echoing some themes from his earlier novels, Conroy fleshes out the almost impossibly dramatic details of each of the friends’ lives in this vast, intricate story, and he reveals truths about love, lust, classism, racism, religion, and what it means to be shaped by a particular place, be it Charleston, South Carolina, or anywhere else in the U.S. --Mark Knoblauch

Book Review - The Care and Taming of a Rogue

So thanks to the wonder of social media, Facebook to be exact, I was made aware of a new release by bestselling author, Suzanne Enoch. I picked The Care and Taming of a Rogue up over the weekend and was thoroughly entertained. (Any book that features a dashing hero with a pet monkey for a sidekick has me enthralled from page one!) The premise is that Captain Bennett Wolfe (afore mentioned dashing hero) has arrived back in London after a three year expedition in Africa to discover that he has been declared dead and his meticulous work attributed to someone else. So, what's a barely civilized man to do? Get even, of course. Then he meets the bookish Lady Phillipa Eddington and his straight forward plan of revenge becomes sidetracked as he tries to learn the most savage environment of all, courtship! I truly enjoyed this book, the plot moved along with enough twists for me to stay engaged and the character development was perfect. So, if you are a fan of the romance genre, be sure to pick this one up...



From product description:

How to tell if a man is an unrepentant rogue:
1. He has no patience for frivolous debutantes

2. He kisses you after a single dance

3. He makes you forget yourself and kiss him back . . .
After years away from London, Captain Bennett Wolfe is back—and alive, much to Society's surprise. Having been presumed dead, this rugged adventurer is now much sought after by every marriage-minded young woman . . . but Bennett only has eyes for the intriguing Lady Phillipa Eddison.
Phillipa would rather read than flirt, but she does know a thing or two about proper courtship rituals. A gentleman does not kiss a lady senseless, and he certainly does not bring his pet monkey when he comes calling. Lady Phillipa's ever been so scandalized . . . or tempted. She simply must teach Bennett some manners—before she succumbs to temptation as wild as the man who offers it.