Sunday, May 20, 2012

Love in the Time of War


Title: Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Author: Kristina McMorris
Genre: Historical Fiction
Sub-genre: women's fiction, romance, adventure
Pages:  437
Published: 2012
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
ISBN: 0758246854
Reader's Annotation: America's entrance into World War II changes the lives of two families forever through the eyes of two cultures seemingly two worlds apart.
Summary: Maddie, a talented violinist, headed for Julliard, falls in love with Lane, a Japanese-America and in that blind love, marries him. Through the book, McMorris, gives the reader a view of families caught in the upheaval in the days and years following Pearl Harbor
My Evaluation: Wow... what a book. Could not put it down! I won this book via Sarah Jio's site and I waited to read it. Ms. McMorris weaves a tale of three young people at America's entrance to WWII giving accurate and rich details that makes you fall in love with the characters. I ended up cheering for them when they succedded and crying when they had problems. There was only one downside to the book (see after next line). However baring this one downside, the book is excellent and couldn't wait to find and read her other book. She's an amazing writer. It was a little hard to go back and forth between several different view points but once I got use to it after a couple of chapters, it flowed amazingly.!
SPOILER DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER
I was extremely unhappy with Ms. McMorris having Lane die! I couldn't believe after all that both he and Maddie went through to be together, she killed him! Granted he died a hero but still!

Rating:  5 out of 5

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Popularity



Title: Fifty Shades of Grey
Author: E.L. James
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: women's fiction
Pages:  360
Published: 2011
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
ISBN: 1612130291
Series #: 1
Reader's Annotation: What will Anna do once she meets Christian Grey?
Summary: Anastasia Steel, an about to be recent graduate of WSU-Vancouver has to interview Christian Grey of Grey Enterprises INC. She is immediately attracted to him but there is something mysterious. What happens to Anna once she finds out what that is?
My Evaluation: I can definitely see why this book is popular and to be honest the "erotica" part of it wasn't all that bad. I've read worse romance novels! So people are making a big deal over nothing. I don't know if this was just the speaker I was listening to (I listen to this as an audio book) but I found the writing, extremely juvenile... it reminded me a lot of Lauren Conrad's books and writing style. I probably won't read the rest in the series.
Rating:  2 out of 5

Coming Together



Title: Her Daughter's Dream
Author: Francine Rivers
Genre: Christian Fiction
Sub-genre: Inspirational
Pages:  580
Published: 2010
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
ISBN: 1414334095
Series #: 2
Reader's Annotation: Will this family ever heal? If so, how will it affect Dawn's life?
Summary: A continuation of the first book, Carolyn struggles to find her way in life and then Dawn struggles to stop being caught in the middle. This book follows Hildemara Rose's daughter, Carolyn through her life growing up in the turbulent 1960s and the birth of her daughter, May Flower Dawn. Then it switches to Dawn's life growing up in the new world of terrorism and war.
My Evaluation: I was crying by the end of this book! I won't give away the ending but I was kind of disappointed Rivers ended the series this way... I can see why she did it but it was heartbreaking! I connected with each of the characters like like the other book but especially with Dawn because she went through a lot of the same things I did, only she was older and married when they happened but I remember those events well.
Rating:  4.9 out of 5

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Travels to China


Title: The Emperor's Tomb
Author: Steve Berry
Genre: Suspense
Sub-genre: Thriller, historical fiction, mystery
Pages:  436
Published: 2010
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345505492
Series Order:  #6 (First book in the series can be found here)
Reader's Annotation: How will Cotton get out of China?
Summary: Cotton Malone is once again dragged into an international problem in order to help save China and his love, Cassiopeia Vitt. As he travels first to Belgium, then to China, he has to figure out who is on what side. Will he do it in time?
My Evaluation: I adore Berry's books, however, this one was not my favorite. While the mystery was good and I as a reader was never quiet sure who was playing who and who was working for whom, I had a hard time getting into the historical stuff. I think it is because it's Eastern history and that's not a favorite of mine. Not to mention not being able to pronounce names made it doubly challenging.
Rating:  3.8 out of 5
Readalikes:
The Crystal Skull by Manda Scott
The Solomon Effect by C.S. Graham
The Amber Room by Steve Berry

Friday, May 4, 2012

Breaking silence


Title: Breaking Silence
Author: Linda Castillo
Genre: Suspense
Sub-genre: Crime, Amish, Women's lit
Pages:  302
Published: 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312374992
Series Order:  #3
Reader's Annotation: Will the silence in the community be the breaking point?
Summary: Chief Kate Burkholder once again has crimes going on in her community that she cannot seem to figure out. First, their are the hate crimes against the Amish. Then there are the Slabaugh family murders. What must Kate do to solve this and how will her relationship with Tomsetti fit in to all of it?
My Evaluation: Once again Castillo has an excellent book. One of the things I love most about this series is that not only is Kate flawed (sometimes detrimentally) but she brings a very unique perspective to life. That of a former Amish being involved in the community. Castillo also makes her secondary characters (in this case Solme) come to life. You feel for them as well as hate them.
Rating:  4.8 out of 5
Readalikes:

 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Heart Shaped Box


Title: Heart shaped Box
Author: Joe Hill
Genre: Horror
Sub-genre: Thriller, Suspense, supernatural
Pages:  376
Published: 2007
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 0061147931
Reader's Annotation: The dead rise again
Summary: Judas Coyne has a macabre collections of items but the heart shaped box he gets filled with a dead man's suit is like nothing he's ever seen before. The dead man, the stepfather of a former girlfriend starts to haunt him and his current girlfriend. Will they make it out alive?
My Evaluation: Holy son of a mother. This is probably the worst book I've ever read. It has way too much swearing for my taste and I swear the author (who is Stephen King's son) was on both acid and magic mushrooms when he wrote this. The supernatural elements are truly unbelievable. The supposed "horror" part of this book, is extremely sick and twist and while I'm a huge fan of Criminal Minds, this is just unbelievable. Not to mention there are a lot of triggers in here for me, and because this book was required reading for me, I wish it had included trigger warnings. It is an extremely disturbing book. In addition to this,  the ending makes absolutely no sense in compared to the rest of the book. It's all happiness and daises. It just does not fit.
Rating:  0 out of 5 (I would never in my right mind recommend this book to anybody. It's horrible!)