Kari

I was taken by surprise by the book. The characters were fun and complex, each a story within the story. Funny, suspenseful and uplifting. It was surely set up as the beginning of hopefully a long series. The writing was great and at times I had to force myself to put the book down so I wouldn't tear through it quite so fast. In fact, I liked it so much I immediately purchased Jason's other book Debugging Tori Redding for my Nook!

I feel unpatriotic saying this because I do think that President Obama is a great President, but as an author he's not my cup of tea. Maybe because I thought this book would be more about his relationship with his father, or a broader memoir of his life itself. Instead he spent a lot of time talking about his organizer job after college (but before law school). I felt like most of what he spoke of what the least interesting part of his history. I did enjoy the last part where he learned of his grandfather and father's history. Other than that, I was just plain bored.

disclaimer I'm not a big fan of non-comedic memoirs (with the exception of Alan Cumming's book) so this was not in my usual suspects of books to read.

While I've read a few Tami Hoag books I've kind had a hit or miss sort of luck with them. I bought a bunch of her books after I read the first one I really liked, but then I read the one I didn't like and I wasn't too excited to start any other one.

But after years of sitting on my shelf I've decided to finally give them another shot. And I was pleasantly surprised. Much better than the not so great one I read, but I didn't quite get into it the way I did the first one!

It was really long. And for why, I'm not entirely sure. There were moments that dragged on, musings that seemed to muse for too long. But it was interesting enough to keep me entertained until the end. I have the next book Dust to Dust which features Kovac & Liska who were a little more than background characters in Ashes to Ashes.

And while it was interesting it was slightly predictable. I knew who the killer was and I figured out the connection between the killer and the witness, but still there were a few surprises that I won't spoil for you. All in all it was a good read!

A lackluster ending to what was a promising trilogy.

Booooo

I won't say that I hated it because I did like it. Nastasya is funny, but her continued self-confidence issues start to get old and the repetitive parts of the book are unnecessary. We know how her parents & family died, we know how she escaped and we know how she learned about her immortal status. We don't need a recap in the last book of a trilogy.

The book is slow. Something wicked this way comes, but it's not coming any time soon. Most of the book is spent slowly treading along. We're treading along in an area that is great. Nastasya is finally finding her passion, her place and her heart. But this read like a book in the middle of a series, not the finale. So due to that we end up getting rushed through the climax and get a halfhearted attempt to tie everything up.

In the end, the book didn't do justice to the promise of the trilogy, but the characters were rich and full and I will miss them. :(

It's been quite awhile since I read a Marian Keyes book and I forgot how much I love her. She seems to effortlessly write realistic and over-the-top characters.

Lisa is the Miranda Priestly of Colleen magazine, except less nutso and more believable. Sure, she was a bitch and all about how she was ruined by this move but even in her bitchiness I found something to like. As she grew into her own self-discovery I liked her more and more.

Ashling is the everyday girl. She's everyone's friend, always trying to make everyone else happy and so desperate not to be her mother that she finds herself there anyway. Her slow descent into depression was painfully heart wrenching. It happens, just like that and I didn't want it to happen to her.

And, minor spoiler**Clodagh deserved everything she got.*Spoiler Over.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. This is only the second non-Walsh family book of Keyes that I've read and I found that I could love the characters as much as I love the Walsh sisters.

After sitting on my shelf and renewing them twice from the library I finally started reading these (after stopping at volume two and not reading much of anything) again. I ended up tearing through them in a couple of days because I needed to know what happened!

The story flows so nicely. You're caught in this twilight time. It's not a tv show, it's not a novel, it's both. The suspense is definitely edge-of-your-seat and with each cliffhanger ending you automatically start reaching for the next volume.

By the end, most questions are answered, though to me, seemingly the most important question wasn't. Arrgh! But I guess that's perfect that way. It is truly a fantastic series. Characters are rich and life like. I can to care about characters I didn't think I would have in the beginning and by the time I got to the last volume I wanted to cheer or exclaim out loud.

Now that I'm done with this, I suppose, as I've been told, I should start on Pluto! Library, here I come!

It was okay. Another filler read. Don't know why there's so many stalkers in this town tho.

Some of my favorite movies are Nora Ephron movies, but I think for the most part, I'm not at the point of this humor yet. Just turning 40 is much different than being 64 and all the trials and tribulations, knowledge and wisdom that come with another 2 decades of life. I don't have a fear of purses, have rarely spent more that $20 on one. I don't care if I leave the house without eyeliner and I don't even own a makeup bag. I've never fallen in love with a house.

But the writing is wonderful and it kept me reading. There were moments in which I felt more than others and a couple of times when I chuckled.

I do miss her.

Troy Chance is a very intriguing character. I'm not sure that I really liked her, could see myself as friends with her and I definitely can't say that I understood her, but she was very interesting to read about.

The story is really slow, but it is so well written that I didn't mind. I was wrapped up in Troy's life. Trying to figure her out, trying to make sense of the strange and sometimes awkward decisions she made. I could understand her fierce love for the boy she saves and I loved how self aware she is. Recognizing her faults and when she's gone too far.

The story itself is a bit predictable. Nonetheless, I was interested enough to continue to go back to it!

Becca kind of bums me out. She acts like if she doesn't investigate the crime will never get solved. She's kind of off putting. When she “interviews” Drew she believes she's doing it for Linda, but Linda is an adult who knows her fiancee much better than Becca does so maybe butt out? She even manages to piss off Linda. This is all after she tampers with a crime scene, steals evidence and scales the outside of a building. She does weird, impulsive things that honestly, should get her arrested. It would be fun if, again, she wasn't so unlikeable.

First of all, I've just got to say it, this was a huge Goonies rip off. Now, I'm not saying this is a bad book, and I think she even makes a reference to the movie at one point, but really, it was Goonies. The kids are all going to have to move away from each other and they have a chance to save their homes by finding a pirate treasure.

And while we're on the subject, Tory is just a bitch. She believes that because she thinks it should be done it doesn't matter how it gets done and everyone should follow suit and do it with her. Legal or not. She believes everyone should just bow down to her whims, she lies to her friends, acts like a spoiled brat to her father and uses anyone she sees fit. She has absolutely no respect for anyone but herself. She's constantly rewarded for her crappy behavior and attitude. When it comes to female heroines she's the absolute worst.

It's obvious that Kathy Reichs doesn't normally write for teens. She's toned down the science talk. Enough that you're not lost in technical information, but not so much that she's saying ‘readers are dumb' which is nice. But she doesn't quite have a grasp on how 14 year-olds operate. They're all sort of caricatures of teenagers.

With all that being said, Seizure is a good book. It's exciting and suspenseful with that bit of adventure thrown in for those who want a little more bite with their YA reads.

I liked this book alot alot alot. It reminded me of the zombiepocalyspe type stories only this time it's nature they have to contend with.

I was surprised that I liked this one though still irritated that they're drawing out the Bonnie story still!

Well written, good story and well rounded characters...I just didn't love it. You can read my full review - no spoilers - at http://knowitnotsomuch.blogspot.com/2012/02/dark-mirror.html

This book was like Commando, but with a petite, yet tough woman instead of Arnold Schwartzenegger.

This was a constant ride of terror. You're never really sure what's happening, if a little girl is dead or kidnapped, if Tessa is guilty of murdering EVERYONE....you're basically hanging throughout the whole book.

And it was awesome.

Things happen that make D. D. not so....annoying. It's one thing to be tough and maybe play the bad-cop now and then, but D. D.'s way over the edge there and it's off putting. I don't need her to be sensitive and sweet, I just need her to be human-like.

But Lisa Gardner writes a dang good book and getting Bobby Dodge for a whole novel was pretty sweet too!

This is my third Keigo Higashino book and I think my favorite so far. For some reason this story really kept me interested, more than the previous two. Maybe it was the relationship that Dr. Yukawa had with Mr. Ishigami that made it more interesting.

I love Chelsea Cain. Love Love Love Her!

I also loved that Gretchen Lowell was barely in this book. Although I certainly liked the other books this was a refreshing change!

I started to be kind of irritated with Susan for her Daphne-like situations, but forgave her.

The plot twists and turns all over the place, but in a good way.

Chelsea Cain - she knows how to write a good book!

This adaptation was really, really incomplete. They kind of told the story, but so much was glossed over or skipped atogether. And the end was awful. It was rushed and there were no explantions. I'm pretty sure there were pages missing from my book.

A short little novella taking place right after Indulgence in Death. A supernatural twist this time, but basically the same format.

Finally! Now I know how a preacher knows so much about beating up guys!

I love the way Zack brought you back in time bit by bit.

This review is for books 1-5.

This is what one might call the graphic novel for book lovers. The whole idea is that books fuel the world. That people can come together to all love a book, think about a book and that will fuel the magic that the world is lacking yet needs. But there's this group of people who age incredibly slowly and they control the world by controlling the literature that the world is exposed to and they'll do whatever it takes to get that control.

I think.

These books have a lot going on and mostly at times I feel slightly confused. Still, they are exciting and, well, graphic. The only one I had a hard time with was Leviathan. All that Moby Dick talk bored the heck out of me. Not a fan.

But if you love books this could possibly be the best series of graphic novels you've ever read.

This one reminded me a lot of an Emily Griffin novel. The last Elizabeth Noble book I read was ‘Things I Want My Daughters to Know' and it was devastating. Compared to that one that the first books of hers I've read this one floundered. I couldn't quite connect with Susannah. The flashbacks were interesting, but I didn't really like her. Which is why it reminded me of an Emily Griffin novel. I generally don't like the main characters, but I like the story.

This time, I didn't see a happy ending or a resolution even that would satisfy me so maybe I gave up on the story too early? I don't know. I read it all the way through and I teared up a few times, but there was just so much going on yet I still couldn't get a bead on Susannah.

This was quite a different read for me. The writing style took some getting used to, but once I did I really loved it. You can read my full review here: http://knowitnotsomuch.blogspot.com/2011/09/please-look-after-mom.html

It was endearing to see how worried Daikichi was to let Rin walk to school without him. Of course she was with Kouki who proved himself to be quite the protector! I really hope something happens with Nitani, Kouki's mom because I just think she's the sweetest and perfect for Daikichi. Masako's still quite the mystery. Part of me wants her just to go away because I don't want her to threaten what Daikichi and Rin have, but the other part of me wants Rin to know and love her mother.

Such a soap opera!

I bought this trilogy after reading a short blurb about it and finding it in eBook format for .99 or $1.99 (I can't remember). It was okay. The writing is off somehow, strangely I can't really describe it. Maybe it feels like an immature writer? Sentences are sometimes abrupt, like the complete opposite of a run-on sentence. The story kind of drags for a bit as Wendy develops her unexplainable crush on Finn and then suddenly, it's over. Instances that should take just a couple of pages to explain go on for chapters and then parts that should be drawn out she just spits out in literally 4 paragraphs.

I don't know. It's weird. Wendy is a slightly annoying spoiled brat who thinks everyone should do what she wants and then when she's put into a position to have exactly that she wants nothing to do with it. She falls for the guy she can't have (of course), but it's hard to explain why she becomes so attached to him considering she didn't like him all that much before.

It's hard to believe that this trilogy has been picked up to be made into a movie. The story is kind of different that anything else since it's about a different kind of supernatural, but it's not really exciting enough and the writing is definitely worse than Stephenie Meyer's. I guess they'll just have someone else write the screenplay and that will be that.

Oh well. I'm in no hurry to read the next two, but I'll probably get around to it eventually.