Audible Review: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This is a delightfully entertaining adventure with steampunk elements and fabricated creatures too.
Leviathan
Written by: Scott Westerfeld
Narrated by: Alan Cumming

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
Series: Leviathan, Book 1
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:10-06-09
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy Adventure
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. The Leviathan is a living airship, the most formidable airbeast in the skies of Europe.
Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way - taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.
©2009 Scott Westerfeld; (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Review:
Aleksander is a teen prince who is not fully accepted by his family because his mother was not of the right royal heritage. An assassination has sent him on the run with his formal fencing master, his mechanical tutor and three other dedicated, loyal servants. They left in the dark of night in a giant steam-driven machine (Clanker) known as the Stormwalker. They have to struggle to make it across the border while dodging attacks by the Germans.

Deryn is a young girl from London who knows about flying because her father was a pilot. She disguised herself as a boy to enlist in the British Air Service where she quickly proves her worth, even though she must maintain her secret. She is selected to join the crew of the Leviathan, a living airship fabricated from animals. The Leviathan is a marvelous creature with glow worms for light, hounds to sniff hydrogen leaks, bats to serve as defense and offensive weapons and talking lizards as messengers!

When circumstances bring Alek and Deryn together their mechanical and Darwinist leanings clash. Yet they soon discover that they must work together and pull resources from both specialties if they want to save their respective crews.

This is a wonderful mixture of steampunk technology and fabricated beasties. I can’t say that I liked the Darwinian theories so much, but it created the basis for interesting features – aaa -- make that creatures. I am still curious about the eggs that are being watched over. The alternate history draws from real events that led to WW1 and I found the young prince’s dilemma of inheritance and politics quite interesting.

This is a quick paced story that engaged me in the lives of the characters as well as the action. The writing is clean and straightforward. This would be good story telling for middle graders but it was engaging for me as an adult too. I recommend this to readers who enjoy steampunk and fantasy elements in a strong story with likable characters.

Audio Notes: Alan Cumming does a great job with the narration. He provides appropriately different accents, emphasis and emotion for the characters. I highly recommend this in audio format.

This has been in my Audible Library since August 2012. It is part of my Audio Challenge.

Audio Book Review: Edge of Tomorrow by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

I liked this quick listen, Sci Fi Action.

Edge of Tomorrow
by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

• Read by Mike Martindale
• Series: All You Need Is Kill
• Audio CD
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (April 29, 2014)
• ISBN-13: 978-1442367876

Genre: Sci Fi Fantasy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

When the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his 158th iteration, he gets a message from a mysterious ally--the female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji's escape or his final death?
First time on CD! The original novel that inspired the sci-fi blockbuster film starring Tom Cruise!

Review:
The world is under attack by an alien army known as Mimics. Their numbers are overwhelming and, in addition to destruction in battle, they poison the waters and earth causing complete devastation to wipe out earth’s inhabitants and prepare the land for Mimic settlement.

Keiji is just a teenager with no real future when he decides to join the battle. He is one of many raw recruits who are used more as fodder while the leaders try to figure out how to slow, much less stop the invasion. Keiji thinks he is prepared for battle but something goes wrong on the unit’s very first engagement. Although they are told the battle will be peripheral it turns out they meet the enemy head on. As Keiji realizes others around him are dying he forges into the fray to strike out at the foe. Keiji kills an enemy warrior but is mortally wounded. As he is struggling with his own death, he sees the beautiful female soldier, Rita, known as the Full Metal Bitch. She has had unprecedented success in battle and is revered as a killing machine. She tries to sooth Keiji as he is dying.

The next morning Keiji awakens in his bunk and thinks that he has dreamed the previous battle and encounters. He soon learns that he has been caught in a time loop living the day before and the day of battle over and over. At first he despairs but then he decides to use the days to train himself more fully in hopes that he can ultimately save his team, if not the base and maybe the world.

I enjoyed the fast paced action and of course the “Goundhog Day” irony of learning to live through repeating days. Through the repeated days the reader/listener learns of Keiji's friendships within his unit as well as his respect for his trainers and command leaders. The views of his squadron add  interest. I especially liked the repeated two day meeting and development of friendship with Rita. There is a twist that is hinted at and revealed at the end.

There is graphic killing that is not suitable for everyone. As the back cover of the CD says: Live, Die, Repeat. The only drawback for me was the harsh, repeated foul words. When used it is repeated in succession. Fortunately it is not throughout the book so you can get to the story beyond the bad language.

Audio Notes: It was a little strange that the narrator was not a younger voice and did not attempt to use a Japanese accent to match the hero. None the less, Mike Martindale does a good job conveying the action and intensity of the story. Listening probably made it easier to get beyond the foul words and definitely made it read faster than a print copy.

I think my husband will like the movie. He doesn't read but says he will "wait for the movie."

I received this Audio Book from Simon & Schuster Audio through AudioBook Jukebox.

Audio Book Review: I've Got You Under My Skin by Mary Higgins Clark

This is basic reading/listening entertainment. 
I've Got You Under My Skin
by Mary Higgins Clark

• Audio CD: 320 pages (7 Discs)
• Length: Unabridged 7 hrs and 44 mins 
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; 
• Unabridged edition (April 1, 2014)
• ISBN-13: 978-1442367319

Genre: Mystery
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: April 1, 2014
When Laurie Moran’s husband was brutally murdered, only three-year-old Timmy saw the face of his father’s killer. Five years later his piercing blue eyes still haunt Timmy’s dreams. Laurie is haunted by more—the killer’s threat to her son as he fled the scene: “Tell your mother she’s next, then it’s your turn . . .”

Now Laurie is dealing with murder again, this time as the producer of a true-crime, cold-case television show. The series will launch with the twenty-year-old unsolved murder of Betsy Powell. Betsy, a socialite, was found suffocated in her bed after a gala celebrating the graduation of her daughter and three friends. The sensational murder was news nationwide. Reopening the case in its lavish setting and with the cooperation of the surviving guests that night, Laurie is sure to have a hit on her hands. But when the estranged friends begin filming, it becomes clear each is hiding secrets . . . small and large.

And a pair of blue eyes is watching events unfold, too . . .

Review:
Laurie Moran’s husband was murdered in broad day light while playing with their three year old son, Timmy. Timmy remembers the murderer turning to him with blue-eyed and saying “Tell your mother she’s next, then it’s your turn”. Laurie’s father, a New York Police officer, retired so that he could guard his daughter and grandson.

Five years later, Laurie, a television producer, pitches a new reality series to her boss. She proposes following up on unsolved murder cases. The first program is to feature a highly publicized case of a murder of a socialite wife, Betsy. Betsy was murdered in her bedroom the night of a gala graduation celebration for her daughter and three of her friends. A handsome, popular defense lawyer will help Laurie present the case by interviewing the staff, the graduates, the husband and a wealthy neighbor who attended the gala. Betsy’s husband, the wealthy widower, agrees to pay a significant chunck of money to each woman to participate in the program. The four women, shadowed by suspicions for twenty years, agree to return and be interviewed for the show as a way to proclaim their innocence to the public.

The story covers the lives and difficulties of the four women. Each one, including her own daughter, had a reason to hate Betsy but the motives have remained secret all these years. While a blackmailer plots to get part of the money they are to receive another man plots to murder Laurie and Timmie in a very public manner.

Over the years I have read around ten titles by Mary Higgins Clark (MHC). She has a knack for creating murder stories which build suspense around numerous suspects, secrets, twists and a romance. This story meets that mystery and romance formula. The pacing is consistent with writing that is direct and easy to follow even with multiple characters. Although I suspected who Betsy’s murderer might be the process of disclosure kept me interested. I enjoyed the suspense although I was disappointed that I could never quite match the title with the events. This is not a stunning read but it is a satisfactory one.

Audio Notes: Jan Maxwell did a basically good job with the narration. There seemed to be a slip now and then in character voices but not enough to make it difficult to follow. Because MHC books tend to follow a similar mystery formula I don’t usually pick them up in print. The narration suits the story for basic entertainment level quality. I find the audio version ‘reads’ faster and therefore I enjoy it more for that ability.

I received this audiobook from Simon & Schuster Audio through AudioBook Jukebox, for an honest review.

Audio Book Review: The Eye of Moloch by Glenn Beck

This is another good political thriller - a picture of forces at work in our current world.
The Eye of Moloch
    by Glenn Beck
    Narrated by Jeremy Lowell


    LENGTH    11 hrs and 54 mins
    RELEASE DATE    06-11-13
    PUBLISHER    Simon & Schuster Audio
Genre: Political Thriller
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
The last battle for freedom is underway....

By the end of Glenn Beck’s number-one best-selling political thriller The Overton Window, a young rebel named Molly Ross had torn aside the curtain to reveal a shadow war being waged for the future of America. In the six months since then, her fight for freedom hasn’t gone well. Marked as traitors and hunted by ruthless government-sanctioned mercenaries using the most advanced surveillance technologies ever created, Ross and her "Founders' Keepers" find themselves cornered and standing alone. but the fight is far from over.

The battle lines in this bitter rivalry are as old as civilization itself: On one side, an unlikely band of ordinary Americans, ready to make their last stand in defense of self-rule, freedom, and liberty - and on the other, an elite cabal of self-styled tyrants who believe that unlimited power should be wielded only by the chosen few. That group, led by an aging, trillionaire puppet-master named Aaron Doyle, will stop at nothing to destroy the myth that man is capable of ruling himself.

As Doyle prepares to make his final move toward a dark, global vision for humanity's future, new allies join the fight and old enemies change sides. In the midst of it all, Molly draws together a small but devoted group willing to risk their lives to infiltrate one of the most secure locations on earth - a place holding long-standing secrets that, if revealed, would forever change the way Americans view their rare, extraordinary place in history. Exposing these truths, and the real-life game of chess being played for mankind’s freedom, is their last chance to save the country they love.

Review:
This story picks up a few months after The Overton Window closes. Noah has had his life turned upside down by the truths that Molly Ross and her band of Founder’s Keepers are trying to bring to the attention of the public. Noah was tortured by his father to the point where he had to  make a choice to follow in his father’s powerful, manipulative footsteps or die. Or he could pretend to meekly regain his position within his father's regime while playing the inside man to help Molly.

This story focuses on the struggles that Molly, her main protector, Thom Hollis, and the other resistance members face as they continue to try to expose the truth while being maligned.  The power brokers are using terrorism to push citizens to give up their rights and they are blaming the acts on Molly’s group, particularly Hollis. The small resistance team is now on the run, surviving on the road and in the woods, as they try to find a save refuge.

Meanwhile Noah awakes back in the facility his father left him in recovering from an injury after being sent out as part of a militia group to gun down the Founder’s Keepers. He meets three unlikely allies. Virginia Ward is a former CIA assassin who is a self appointed investigator of the truth. Although it is not clear why, she has gotten a request from Noah’s father to interview Noah and investigate the allegations regarding Molly Ross.  Ira is a ‘put-out-to-pasture’ news journalist who is being used to write copy and press releases that are acceptable to the powers that be. Ira’s unhappy companion is Lana, a sullen, angry young girl who is a computer wizard and hacker.

Noah tells Virginia that it is like a game of Chess– Noah and Virginia (and others) are being manipulated and the opposition is already planning three moves ahead. This book also gives a more personal view of Doyle, the head puppeteer, who even controls Noah’s father.

This is a story of truth, love and virtue standing up to the powers of evil, control, corruption and  revenge. The scary thing is it looks like a true picture of happenings in America today - it should serve as a wake up call to those who cherish freedom. Noah is a reluctant hero and leader but, as several of the other characters note, he appears to have been called to step up and lead. There is a little bit more faith based exposure in this book – which is fine by me. The situation with Noah reminded me of the story of Esther who was placed in her position for ‘such a time as this’!

Audio Notes: I was a little disappointed that this was a different narrator than the reader of The Overton Window, which I had just recently listened to. However Mr. Lowell does a good job too of portraying the different character traits through their voices and expressions. Listening moved this book along quickly and enhanced the read for me.

I received the Audio CDs from Simon and Schuster, through Audiobook Jukebox, for an honest review.

Audible Book Review: The Overton Window by Glenn Beck

I found this to be a great, thrilling listen.
The Overton Window
    by Glenn Beck
    Narrated by James Daniels
LENGTH    8 hrs and 43 mins
RELEASE DATE    06-15-10
PUBLISHER    Simon & Schuster Audio
Genre: Political Thriller
My Rating:4.75 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
A plan to destroy America, a hundred years in the making, is about to be unleashed...can it be stopped?

There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can shape our lives, our laws, and our future. It works by manipulating public perception so that ideas previously thought of as radical begin to seem acceptable over time. Move the Window and you change the debate. Change the debate and you change the country.

For Noah Gardner, a 20-something public relations executive, it's safe to say that political theory is the furthest thing from his mind. Smart, single, handsome, and insulated from the world's problems by the wealth and power of his father, Noah is far more concerned about the future of his social life than the future of his country.

But all of that changes when Noah meets Molly Ross, a woman who is consumed by the knowledge that the America we know is about to be lost forever. She and her group of patriots have vowed to remember the past and fight for the future - but Noah, convinced they're just misguided conspiracy-theorists, isn't interested in lending his considerable skills to their cause.

And then the world changes.

An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Amidst the chaos, many don't know the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact - or, more important, which side to fight for.

But for Noah, the choice is clear: Exposing the plan, and revealing the conspirators behind it, is the only way to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted.

After five back-to-back number-one New York Times best sellers, national radio and Fox News television host Glenn Beck has delivered a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that seamlessly weaves together American history, frightening facts about our present condition, and a heart-stopping plot. The Overton Window will educate, enlighten, and, most important, entertain - with twists and revelations no one will see coming.

Review:
Noah Gardner is a lackluster son of a highly powerful, political puppet master, Arthur Gardner. Noah doesn’t invest emotionally in any of the ambitious projects or politics of his daily work at the prestigious public relations firm, Doyle and Merchant. He does enjoy the playboy lifestyle afforded by his father’s position and money. One afternoon his attention is captured by an alluring young woman in the office even though she rebuffs him with disinterest.

Noah pursues her by following her to a rally supporting the American Constitution. Molly Ross continues to intrigue him with her disdain as well as her passion for the cause of American freedom. She is part of a group, similar to a Tea Party, known as the Founder’s Keepers, who profess to seek peaceable change. When the rally turns violent many of the attendees are taken to jail. Noah insists that there was a plant who instigated the violence and when that truth appears to be close to being revealed to the public most of the rally attendees are released with a little help from Noah’s father and attorney.

Noah is further embroiled in Molly’s schemes to gain access and information from his father’s computers. They learn that Arthur Gardner and his firm are part of a group of elite power brokers who are seeking to bring about a one world government. They will use money, power, manipulation, bribery, coercion, and whatever other means necessary to achieve their goal. Molly (and the reader) learn of a tool known as “the Overton Window” which measures public opinion. This tool allows the monied powers to manipulate public opinion by setting up events that slowly push the boundaries of public acceptance closer and closer to the desired controls sought by the puppet masters.

Noah is kidnapped and it becomes clear that Molly used him from the outset. Yet he thinks there was more between them than the obvious lies. Noah again seeks to help Molly as a nefarious terrorist plot slowly unfolds. A horrible act of violence that is being arranged by the puppet masters but will be blamed on Molly’s group.

The beginning was a bit slow as I wondered at the detailed descriptions of Noah’s obsessive interest in Molly. However that is understandable as the plot progresses. After an hour or two in I was glued to listening to this story until it finished. I was impressed with the writing skills as well as the characterization and plot. All of the elements reveal the extreme intelligence of the author – regardless of what one might think of his political and religious views. Does it contain a message on politics and religion? Yes - clearly on politics and subtly on religion. Is it a good thriller? Absolutely.

Beck starts the book with a preface that declares the work to be in the nature of “faction” – a fictional story woven around facts. The story presents a present day situation that should open eyes and make each of us look at the circumstances around us to see if we can really discern truth from intentionally manipulated PR. I loved the story and am anxious to begin the next book, The Eye of Molech, which I am reviewing for Simon and Schuster through Audiobook Jukebox.

Audio Notes: This story was good on its own but the narration enhanced my enjoyment and made it move much more quickly than if I had read a print or ebook version. James Daniels does a really good job keying into the character personalities. I will look for other works narrated by Mr. Daniels.

Mr. Beck quotes several treatices on freedom and government in the story. One that I think is particularly appropriate is:

The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best.
Thomas Sowell

This audio was from my Audible library.

Book Review: West Palm Part 1: The Undertaker's Apprentice by Joss Cordero

This is a quick suspense/mystery seen from the eyes of the creepy psychopath.

West Palm I: The Undertaker's Apprentice
by Joss Cordero

• File Size: 891 KB
• Print Length: 58 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (June 3, 2013)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00ADMR044

Genre: Mystery
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: June 3, 2013
The first in a four-part, fast-paced serialized psychological thriller, from a talented author who captures quirky South Florida in the bestselling tradition of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen.

Zach often hears his great aunt Emmy’s hauntingly sweet voice singing in his head. His calling has been to make the dead look beautiful. As a security guard at a West Palm funeral parlor, he strolls alone among the corpses, artfully decorating them…Zack knows the spirits of the dead need his help as they transition to the netherworld. But when his bizarre rituals are discovered, he flees. Not deterred, he comes upon a tall, beautiful woman alone on a yacht and knows she needs the kind of help only he can provide...

With its taut pacing and sly humor, Cordero’s West Palm serialization is relentlessly addictive, peopled with a South Florida psychopath, a burnt out police detective turned P.I., and one gorgeous but tough woman, in a city where trash mingles with class.

Review:
Zack is a manic, psychotic ‘nerd’ who obsesses over his “angels” - dead women whom he likes to make beautiful. He is currently working as a security guard for a funeral parlor where he thinks he is helping the spirits of the young women to transition as he decorates the corpses for the holidays. When his boss stumbles upon him lighting the corpses Zack knows he will have to move on...again.

While Zack ponders where he will work next he spots a beautiful young woman on a yacht in the marina. He is sure she is to be one of his angels – even if he has to help the process by delivering the woman to the morgue.

This was an interesting albeit creepy beginning to the mystery. I liked the different perspective of knowing from the beginning who the psychopath is and seeing the scenes from his warped mind and eyes. I particularly enjoyed that this was set in familiar grounds for me since I lived in Palm Beach County for many years. The writing is crisp with an underlying feel of suspense. It was an easy, quick read.

I recommend this to mystery buffs who don’t mind seeing the story from the twisted view of the killer. Also I warn you that you will probably need to plan to get the next novella(s) in the group so you don’t get stopped in the midst of pursuit as happens in this novella. The four book set won't be released until December.

I picked this title up at NetGalley.

Book Review: Silent Warrior by Lindsey Piper

This is book is edgy and exciting.
Silent Warrior
by Lindsey Piper

• File Size: 777 KB
• Print Length: 112 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (April 22, 2013)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• ASIN: B009K54S6I

Genre: Urban Fantasy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: April 22, 2013
An exciting, emotionally charged prequel to the Dragon Kings trilogy featuring warriors fighting for their lives in violent cage matches to guarantee their clans’ survival—available exclusively as an eBook!

A silent woman ashamed of her criminal background becomes a Cage warrior to seek redemption. An unrepentant fortune hunter will do anything to escape his mounting debts. Although rivals on the streets of Hong Kong, they find common ground when seeking their clan’s stolen idol, but for vastly different reasons. Neither one suspects that love will begin when he becomes the first man in five years to hear her speak.

Review:

Hark is fighting in a warrior match to earn money to pay off debts. His opponent is a beautiful, expressionless and silent woman. She won’t even give a groan in injury. Hark on the other hand is a chatterer and he is fascinated and intent to break through the silence of this fierce warrior. Hark and the woman are both of the Sath Clan, who are able to borrow the abilities of Dragon Kings. However she wears a collar indicating she is in bondage to one of the Cartels and unable to use the powers of others. He finally establishes a slight advantage and, although the woman would not surrender, her ‘handler’ instructs her to stop.

The woman collects $4,000.00 for the fight and tucks it into her bodice. Hark plans to collect his half of the payment but before the two can exit the bar they are confronted with another powerful Dragon King, and his henchmen, who plan to steal the money. Hark and the woman quickly move together to take on the new threat. Soon they leave the opposition in the dust and head off down the dark ally ways to a place to be alone together to slack the other passions that have risen with the adrenaline of battle. Hark finally learns the woman is called–fittingly–Silence.

They are surprised by the extent of their passions and Hark becomes intent on learning Silence’s true name and getting her to reveal more emotion. Soon they are on the run from a new attack as  debt collectors come after Hark. Silence leads him to a horrible, crowded, dilapidated tenement building where she has stashed another Dragon King as a prisoner. Once again they must fight together and share power to prevail.

Silence is on a mission to recover a stolen idol and regain her honor. Hark recognizes her strength and proposes to join her as a mate, even if it means he goes into bondage for a time to pay off his debts.

The story is full of intense action and passion. I liked both strong characters.  The stoic, determined Silence and the bantering, impulsive Hark make a great team. The language is a little rough but it didn’t overwhelm the storyline.  This novella is very entertaining and left me wanting to read more of their adventures.  

This is prequel I picked up at NetGalley to see if I might like the series.

Book Review: Anonymous Sources by Mary Louise Kelly

This is an intense, engaging thriller!
Anonymous Sources
By Mary Louise Kelly

File Size: 664 KB
Print Length: 354 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1476715548
Publisher: Gallery Books (June 18, 2013)
Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
ASIN: B00A25FCRO

Genre: Thriller
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

Book Description
Release date: June 18, 2013
An intriguing thriller from a former NPR correspondent about a young reporter who must match wits with spies, assassins and a terrorist sleeper cell targeting the very heart of American power.
“If, on an early summer’s night, you wanted to kill a man, how would you do it? Would you lay a trap, sharpen a dagger, uncork a poison?
Personally, I’ve always leaned toward the dramatic.
But looking back, I wonder now if the events of last summer didn’t begin with a quieter sort of murder.”

So ponders Alexandra James, a beautiful, driven, yet troubled New England Chronicle reporter. She is assigned to cover the death of Thom Carlyle, son of one of the most powerful men in Washington. Just back from a year abroad, Thom falls from the top of a Harvard bell tower on a warm summer night. Did he jump, or was he pushed? For Alex James, who can get in anywhere, sleep with anyone, out-drink and out-shop her demons, it is the story of a lifetime. As she chases leads from Harvard Yard to the courtyards of Cambridge, England, to a clandestine rendezvous in London, to the inside of a nuclear terrorist network...the intrigue seems to suit her.

But nothing is what it seems. When she arrives back in Washington, DC, for a key interview that promises to tie together the leads she has puzzled out, Alex the hunter becomes Alex the hunted. An assassin is dispatched...Her laptop disappears...Her phone is tapped...And she begins to grasp that Thom Carlyle may have been killed to hide a terrifying conspiracy within the White House itself. Former NPR Intelligence correspondent Mary Louise Kelly has turned her own real-life reporting adventures into fiction with this stylish spy thriller.

Review:
Alexandra James is a passionate journalist with a high energy personality. She has some control and neurotic issues left over from a traumatic loss but she keeps the demons at bay – mostly– by obsessive work. Her ‘news beat’ is higher education, a prestigious spot she earned by persistently following the crumbs to uncover a deeper story.  Her demanding boss knows he can rely on her to get the details and often scoop the competition.

Alex begins to investigate the death of a graduate student, Thom Carlyle, who ‘fell’ from Harvard Bell Tower. Thom is the son of the President’s legal counsel. There are rumors of suicide but Alex learns that there were no fingerprints at the crime scene and that raises a red flag. Now she is like a bull tracking down every clue she can find.

Her search leads her to England to interview the ex-girlfriend who is already playing footsie with a handsome, devilishly charming rogue. Alex diligently follows the leads pulling together seemingly unrelated clues because she is convinced the pieces will fall into place. She must be stirring trouble as she gets a warning from a strange Embassy official and she suspects that she has uncovered a terrorist plot. Her editor isn’t buying into her conspiracy theory until the young girl seated next to her on the return flight, who happened to look a lot like Alex, turns up dead before the plane lands.

Now Alex is on the run seeking safety and trying to figure out which officials she can trust. When she is attacked again she learns that their is a traitor high in the government ranks. She has to get to the right people and convince them to track a bomb and figure out the target before it is too late..

I really enjoyed the intense suspense in this thriller. Alex is a flawed character with some psychological problems. I liked her efforts to get beyond destructive behavior and learn to cope with stresses that bring her past to haunt her. There was a hint of a local romance development but then a different relationship was established which turned out better than I first expected.

There was some head hopping as the author shifted a few times to the view of the killer. That can distract the reader a little, but the story was fast paced and quickly moved beyond those points. The overall excitement of the story made it a page-turner, hold-your-breath at times, read for me. There was also humor that helped break the tension in a good way. I learned details about bomb materials and terrorist cells that were very interesting.

My undergraduate degree was in journalism so I enjoy stories involving journalists. I was reminded of The Pelican Brief as I read this. I really liked Alex's determination to get to the truth and I appreciated the support she got from her gruff boss. I highly recommend this book especially if you enjoy high suspense. It's rather a shame the cost is a bit pricey.

I selected this title through NetGalley and I am very glad that I did.

Book #Review: Ten Reasons to Stay by Sabrina Jeffries

This is satisfying for a quick, sensual romance. 
Ten Reasons to Stay
by Sabrina Jeffries

• File Size: 559 KB
• Publisher: Pocket Star (May 6, 2013)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B009UVL9L4

Genre: Historical Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: May 6, 2013
A delightful eNovella from New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries about a young woman who learns that you can’t learn about love from a textbook.
In “Ten Reasons to Stay,” previously published in the anthology The School for Heiresses, lessons go far beyond etiquette and needlepoint. Eliza Crenshawe’s lesson is to look before she leaps. But when she discovers that her new guardian plans to marry her off without so much as a Season, she forgets all that. She flees—on a horse she unwittingly steals (oops!)—from Colin Hunt, a newly minted earl who wants nothing more than for her to go home…or stay forever.

Review:
I have enjoyed many novels by Ms. Jeffries and this one joins the group. It manages a full romance, albeit almost love at first sight, in a short novella.

Eliza has finished most of her lessons at The School for Heiresses. The school didn’t teach lessons on love and she never mastered how to look before leaping. Her father has died and her drunken uncle has become her guardian. Uncle Silas claims that her father left only debts and there is no inheritance. He has whisked Eliza away from town and announced that he has arranged for her to be married immediately.

Eliza dresses like a lad and sneaks off to a neighboring estate to “borrow” a horse. She gets caught by the new lord who has recently returned from India. Colin isn’t very trusting of women since many shun his mixed, Indian and English, blood and his first wife was flighty and untrustworthy.  He doesn’t believe this thieving young imposter even when he finally drags from her a Gothic tale of threatened marriage and missing inheritance. She continues to refuse to tell him her name or let him take her to the magistrate.  Colin locks her in his bedroom while he tries to discover her identity and the truth of her circumstances. Eliza discovers an interesting collection of erotic art while rummaging in his boxes and a provocative bargaining begins.

I appreciated the dialogue between these two cautious individuals. Eliza seeks a life of passion and doesn’t want to be trapped in a loveless marriage. She is afraid that Colin will return her home to that fate. Colin thinks he just wants peace and not a lively, inquisitive woman. The  romance was a bit bold for my tastes but the story was more than just an excuse for virgin introduction into sexual exploration. (I'm curious to pull my copy of the anthology to see if there was any change since the earlier publication.)  I enjoyed the characters and the plot worked well. Ms. Jeffries succeeded in creating a satisfying, entertaining read in a shorter story.

I received this title for an honest review through NetGalley.

Audio Book Review: Agenda 21 by Glenn Beck

This is an eye opening and thought provoking story with a timely message.
Agenda 21 
by Glenn Beck (Author), (with Harriet Parke)
January LaVoy (Reader)

 Amazon Link

• Audio CD (7 discs)
• Listening Length: 8 hours and 35 minutes
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (November 20, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442360925
• ISBN-13: 978-1442360921

Genre: Thriller, Political Fiction, Sci Fi?
My Rating:  4.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Release Date: November 20, 2012
“I was just a baby when we were relocated and I don’t remember much. Everybody has that black hole at the beginning of their life. That time you can’t remember. Your first step. Your first taste of table food. My real memories begin in our assigned living area in Compound 14.”

Just a generation ago this place was called America. Now, after the worldwide implementation of UN-lead program called Agenda 21, it’s simply known as the “Republic.” There is no president. No congress. No Supreme Court. No freedom.

There are only the Authorities.

Citizens have two primary goals in the new Republic: to create clean energy and to create new human life.

Those who cannot do either are of no use to society.

This bleak and barren existence is all that eighteen-year-old Emmeline has ever known. She dutifully walks her energy board daily and accepts all male pairings assigned to her by the Authorities. Like most citizens, she keeps her head down and her eyes closed.

Until the day they came for her mother.

“You save what you think you’re going to lose.”

Woken up to the harsh reality of her life and her family’s future inside the Republic, Emmeline begins to search for the truth. Why are all citizens confined to ubiquitous concrete living spaces? Why are Compounds guarded by Gatekeepers who track all movements? Why are food, water and energy rationed so strictly? And, most important, why are babies taken from their mothers at birth?

As Emmeline begins to understand the true objectives of Agenda 21 she realizes that she is up against far more than she ever thought. With the Authorities closing in, and nowhere to run, Emmeline embarks on an audacious plan to save her family and expose the Republic—but is she already too late?

Review:
Emmeline lives with her mother in a small dwelling where they spend their days walking the energy making treadmills. They must meet their quota or they will be removed. There is no interaction with neighbors, no recreation, no real community. Even family is limited and Emmeline is one of the last “home-raised” children as now children are raised by the Authorities.

Emmeline’s parents share remembrances of ‘before’ when they had freedom, lived on a farm and raised crops and animals. Now plants and animals and the environment are protected.

When economic failure occurred in America a new government promised housing, food and equal treatment for everyone. The people were moved, voluntarily or by force, into compounds where they were assigned jobs, provided humble housing with rationed food cubes and where pairing mates were directed by the Republic. All possessions were given up although Emmeline finds a horde of small things her mother hid.

Emmeline is first paired with an older man. George is kind and they got along all right. Their successful mating produced a child who is kept by the nursery while Emmeline is sent home. An accident kills George and her father and Emmeline’s mother curls up in despair.

A replacement mate is a frail young man, really still a boy, who resents the home raised Emmeline. Emmeline’s mother is taken away and the boy runs off. As the Authorities seek another replacement mate, Emmeline is befriended by a transporter, who helped calm her when she had to leave her baby behind, and his son, David, a night Gatekeeper.

Emmeline is intent on getting to be with her baby girl, Elsa, but the rules won’t allow it. With the help of her new friends she gets a position in the nursery where she can see her baby. She finds the other workers hostile as they have been raised by impersonal care of the Republic with a mind set only to duty.

The Authorities are concerned because the birth rate is down and babies in the nursery have not been thriving. Although the nursery manager, David’s mother, thinks the children need nurturing, the workers want to continue their impersonal treatment of the infants and toddlers. There is the strong possibility that the nursery will be closed and all children moved to another community compound.

What options exist for Emmeline? How far will she go and what will she risk to be with and protect her child?

This starts a little slowly, which actually fits the monotony of the controlled lives. Then I became wrapped into Emmeline’s sad, controlled and limited world. My spirit wanted to break free with hers. The writing could have been more polished and there are gaps in the society development and lots of questions left open. But the point is made. This is a scary scenario with a timely message about the dangers of relinquishing personal freedoms to government control.

Audio Notes: I was not particularly impressed with the narration, which I first thought was rather bland. There is emotion expressed, especially when Emmeline is removed from her baby but I didn’t like the whinny cries. I think it was more that I didn’t care for the narrator’s voice and I didn’t feel there was much effort to distinguish between the characters.

I was surprised and impressed by the Afterword but since there is a request not to reveal the contents I will honor that request. I encourage any reader who is concerned about the struggles of balancing personal freedoms with environmental protections, or interested in possible future society solutions, to read this book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emmeline realizes that they will take her baby and these sentiments echo indifference shown in history past:

I should have known they would take my baby. Maybe I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. Never again would I think that way. Anything could happen to me. Disc 2 Track 4.

I received this from Simon and Schuster through Audiobook Jukebox for an honest review.

Audiobook Review: Bones Are Forever by Kathy Reichs

This is another engaging mystery from a solid series with forensic focus and a strong female lead.
Bones Are Forever: A Novel (Temperance Brennan)
Kathy Reichs (Author), Linda Emond (Reader) 

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (August 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 144234900X
• ISBN-13: 978-1442349001

Genre: Forensic Mystery
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description
Release Date: August 28, 2012 | Series: Temperance Brennan
Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the Fox hit series Bones, is at her brilliant best in a riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan—a story of infanticide, murder, and corruption set in the high-stakes, high-danger world of diamond mining.

Temperance Brennan has been asked to examine the corpses of three dead babies in Montreal. It’s a difficult assignment, complicated further by the fact that her long-time flame Detective Ryan is investigating the infants’ mother, a former (and possibly current) prostitute. When the woman flees to Edmonton, the investigation is joined by Royal Canadian Mounted Police sergeant with whom Tempe had an ill-advised fling over a decade earlier. The dissonant team heads to remotest Yellowknife—mining country—to pursue an ever more sinister trail.

     With the Fox series Bones in its seventh season and her popularity at its broadest ever, Kathy Reichs reaches new heights in storytelling and suspense-building. Bones Are Forever shimmers with sexual tension, crackling dialogue, and the thrilling twists Reichs delivers so well.

Review:
This is book 15 of the Temperance Brennan series. Tempe is a forensic anthropologist who spends much of her time consulting on crime scenes when bodies are found that are so degraded that they need her special expertise to sort through the bones, the dirt, the bugs and other details that can help to identify the age and gender of the body and the time and cause of death. Each book describes crime scenes that Tempe is called in on and then she digs in and pursues the clues with the help of the police until she solves the crime. Most of the time Tempe works along side Detective Ryan with whom she had a long, up and down, relationship through the series.

In this volume three abandoned infants are discovered. Tempe sets off to hunt down the murderous mother with Ryan and Oliver, a Canadian Detective with whom Tempe had a post divorce fling ten years before.  Although there is jealous posturing and denigrating between the men, there is no romance in this episode. The hunt for the mother of the dead babies takes the three across Canada to Edmonton and the remote mining country of Yellowknife.  Tempe pushes the investigation, getting a few bumps and bruises along the way. New murders follow her inquiries, and the trail leads to what appears to be a conflict between caribou  conservationists and diamond mining interests. Tempe (and the reader) is given quick, but detailed, lessons on diamond mining. Ryan and Oliver are pulled off to other tasks just as Tempe unravels the mystery and is kidnaped by the killers.Will anyone find her before it's too late or will she be able to fight her way out?

Ms. Reichs writes with crisp details, including the dirt, the maggots and the deteriorating bones.  Tempe, as usual, goes beyond her basic duties to embroil herself in the investigation. As soon as I started listening to the Audio I remembered how much I enjoyed Tempe’s persistent character and her unique, vivid description of the crime scene and the forensic process. The narrator, Linda Emond has done the past several books and she has a good grasp of the crisp attention to detail as well as the sometimes weary tone for the characters who face so much frustration in the cruel crimes they investigate. Ms Emond does a beautiful job with the French words that go along with the Quebec setting.  Although I didn't find this episode to be overly exciting, the steady narration helps to keep the listener engaged through the suspenseful ending.

This series is a great one for readers who like mystery, strong female characters and aren’t too squeamish to be put off by the nitty-gritty forensic detail.  I had read or listened to books 1 through 12 so I knew the background of the characters and was only missing the latest fall out between Tempe and Ryan. I think this particular book could be read as a stand alone as it has less personal complications and emotions than many of the prior books. However, I do recommend the whole series, listened to or read in order.



Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing this Audio to review through Audiobook Jukebox.
I will add this to my Audio and Mystery Challenge lists.

Book Review: A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn

This is a fun mystery tail tale told by Chet, the side kick dog!
A Fistful of Collars (Chet and Bernie Mysteries)
by Spencer Quinn

• File Size: 997 KB
• Print Length: 320 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (September 11, 2012)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0061OQXRI

Genre: Cozy Mystery
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: September 11, 2012 | Series: Chet and Bernie Mysteries

Everyone’s favorite detective team returns in a new adventure as canine narrator Chet and his human partner P.I. Bernie Little find that Hollywood has gone to the dogs.

Hoping to bring some Tinseltown money to the Valley, the mayor lures a movie studio to town to shoot their next production, a big-budget Western in the classic tradition. The star is none other than ruggedly handsome—and notoriously badly behaved—Thad Perry. When the mayor decides that someone needs to keep an eye on Thad so that he doesn’t get into too much trouble, Bernie and Chet are handpicked for the job. The money is good but something smells fishy, and what should have been a simple matter of babysitting soon gets more complicated—especially when they discover that Thad has a mysterious connection to the Valley that nobody wants to talk about. What kind of secret could Thad have left behind when he went to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune? The only people who might know the answer have a bad habit of turning up dead before they can talk.

As Bernie’s relationship with his longtime girlfriend Suzie goes long-distance, and Chet’s late-night assignations appear to have resulted in an unexpected dividend, it’s all our two sleuths can do to keep Thad and his motley entourage of yes-men, handlers, and hangers-on in their sights. Worst of all, Thad is a self-proclaimed cat person, and his feline friend Brando has taken an instant dislike to Chet.

Like the winning books before it, this fifth book in the series combines a top-notch mystery with genuine humor and a perceptive take on the relationship between human and dog that will stay with you long after the case is solved.

Review:
This story is narrated by Chet, the canine, loyal sidekick of Bernie, a former cop turned Private Investigator. The mystery is shared from the perspective of Chet who apparently failed in the last stages as a trained work dog and in the last stages as a police dog. It was never quite clear to me what kind of dog Chet is other than large, one hundred pounds, and with mismatched ears.

Chet describes his surroundings from the dog’s view of senses: sounds, smells, and textures. His thinking is simple and consistent for a dog, complete with disjointed thoughts that trail off as he loses attention or his attention is caught by something else. It makes for fun narration and dialogue.

Bernie is hired to protect a movie star brought into town by the mayor in hopes of bringing in money and work to the valley.  Bernie is suspicious of the hire from the beginning and goes to the source to inquire.  He continues to suspect something is off and sure enough his investigations lead him to uncover a secret payoff and then discover a dead body.

Bernie’s girlfriend, Suzie, is a reporter who gets an offer of a job with the Washington post. They are struggling with their separation while Bernie continues his investigation.  He gets help from a reporter friend of Suzie’s, and that friend soon ends up dead too. Now Bernie is determined to put all the pieces together before there are any more murders.

There are a few twists to unravel, including a cold case with a connection. I did enjoy the mystery and the story from the dog’s narration. However I felt there were several “loose ends”, including resolving some conflicts between Bernie and Suzie.  I didn’t understand why Bernie wouldn’t be more open with his cop friend, Rick, who could have helped with the investigation. Also I didn’t fully understand why Bernie felt he shouldn’t accept payment for work he did, although there was a point I wondered how he was doing his security work when he was off on his investigations. Maybe I’m not in favor of a one man, one dog, show. Still, it is a fun read and I would be likely to try more in the series.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suzie tries to tell Bernie of her new job offer:

"I have some news.”
“You’re a newswoman.” Location 129

Chet's view of an official meeting:

Then came handshaking, hello hellos, and nobody took a single sniff of nobody, all very human, and everyone sat down.  Location 224.

Chet comments on Bernie's reaction:

Bernie nodded. He was a great nodder, if that hasn’t come up yet, had all kinds of different nods. I’d seen this nod before–not a friendly kind–mostly when we were dealing with perps. Location 2012.

I appreciate recieving this book from Simon and Schuster through NetGalley.

This is set in Hollywood, California for my Where Are You Reading Challenge. I will also add this to the New Author, ARC and Mystery Challenge lists.

Book Review: The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

This is a charming ‘second chance’ love story.

The Bridge

by Karen Kingsbury

• Print Length: 272 pages
• Publisher: Howard Books (October 23, 2012)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007EDZ08S

Genre: Christian Romance

My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description Publication Date: October 23, 2012

The New York Times bestselling author of Learning and Leaving shares a heartwarming Christmas story about a devastating flood, lost love, and the beauty of enduring friendships.

Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but her heart is back in Franklin, Tennessee, where five years ago she walked away from a man she cannot forget, a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.

Ryan Kelly lives in Franklin and spends plenty of time at The Bridge—the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin—remembering the long hours he and Kelly once spent there.

     Now, Ryan and Molly’s favorite bookstore is in trouble. For thirty years, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing the people of middle Tennessee with coffee, conversation, and shelves of good books—even through dismal book sales and the rise of eBooks. Then in May a flood tore through Franklin and destroyed nearly every book in the store. By Christmastime, the bank threatens to pull the lease on The Bridge and is about to take the Bartons’ house as well. Despondent, Charlie considers ending his life. And in the face of tragedy, miracles begin to unfold.

Review:
Molly Allen enjoys her business in Portland but she lives alone and has never forgotten the young man she fell for in college. Molly had to push to get her wealthy parents to let her go away to college. After all, they had her future marriage and career laid out for her already. Molly was happy to get to study what she loved most -- music.  She met Ryan and they shared hours in a room at The Bridge, a charming and personal bookstore in Franklin.

Ryan came to college leaving a girl back home. They weren’t engaged but everyone figured they would be together.  Ryan played guitar and dreamed of touring with a country band.  He and Molly became best friends and shared things they had never told anyone else, including their dreams.

They grew closer and closer. Molly wondered if she could face her father to tell him she had her own plans for her future. Ryan realized he had to tell the girl back home that he had other plans for his life. But just as Molly and Ryan seem to recognize a love for one another a phone call and lies pushes them apart and quickly builds an emotional wall.

Neither has married and now, seven years later, a crisis in the life of a friend, Charlie, the owner of The Bridge, brings Molly and Ryan face to face again.  Will they be able to communicate and understand what happened? Will they risk their hearts to be together instead of continue their solitary lives?

I thoroughly enjoyed this story.  This was one of those circumstances where there was a real ‘failure to communicate.’ I admit there were moments when I wanted to fuss at both of them to talk to each other when they began to second guess the other’s feelings and failed to be honest and open.

I liked the way Ms. Kingsbury allowed the backstory to unfold in memories. It was soft, warm and poignant. The characters come alive in their emotions and vulnerabilities. The story of Charlie and Donna’s love and life was a lovely side journey, although I wanted to give Charlie a talking to also.

The writing is smooth and direct. This read very quickly. I enjoyed how the story portrays that God is in control of our circumstances and things will turn out right and good when we allow Him to work things out instead of trying to do it ourselves.  There is also a message for being honest and open and for forgiveness.

This story doesn’t release until October but I hope you will put it on your Holiday wish list as it is well worth the read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna’s thoughts on the impending loss of the bookstore:

Sometimes the only way to fight through a situation was to walk.
Give up one dream and take hold of another. Location 375.

Ryan’s ultimate realization:

In that single moment he knew with absolute certainty that he’d based the last seven years on nothing more than a lie.
A wicked, ruinous, heartless lie. Location 1451.

I received this pre-release eBook through NetGalley.

The main setting is Franklin, Tennessee for my Where Are You Reading Challenge.

Audio Book Review: Lothaire by Kresley Cole

Can a very dark and evil Vampire be soothed and changed by a joyful, passionate mortal?

Lothaire (Immortals After Dark)

by Kresley Cole
Robert Petkoff (Reader) 
Available in Print, ebook and Audio formats

• Audio CD: 14 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (January 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442346752
• ISBN-13: 978-1442346758

Genre:  Paranormal Romance
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0
Caveat: This has several fairly hot sex scenes.

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 2012 

From the humblest of beginnings a millennia ago, Lothaire the Enemy of Old rose to power, becoming the most feared and evil vampire in the immortal world. Driven by his past, he will not rest until he captures the vampire Horde’s crown for himself. The discovery of his Bride, the female meant only for him, threatens to derail his plot.

Elizabeth Peirce is a mere mortal, a glaring vulnerability for a male with so many deadly foes bent on annihilating anything he desires. Yet soon he discovers his Bride’s secret. A magnificent power dwells inside the fragile human, one that will aid his quest. But to possess that power, he will have to destroy her. Will Lothaire succumb to the torments of his past, or seize a future with her?

Review:
Elizabeth, a “hillbilly” from the Appalachian Mountains, is lovely, bright and determined but at 19 her life is seriously messed up by Lothaire and his evil “bride” Saroya.  Saroya, a demon goddess, has possessed Elizabeth’s body and gone on a killing spree. Elizabeth is prepared to have the local sheriff shoot her to destroy the evil within, but Lothaire blocks the death attempt and allows Elizabeth to go to jail for five years.  Just before Elizabeth is executed Lothaire returns to claim his “bride.”

Lothaire is an old, fierce and feared vampire known as “the Enemy of Old.” He has spent a millennia planning revenge against the Horde Vampires and his father who threw his mother and him out when he was a boy. He is also seeking revenge against his mother’s people, the Dachian Vampires, who failed to help them. Lothaire always has his “end game” in sight: to defeat his enemies in battle and rule with his bride over both kingdoms.

Lothaire must capture a special ring that will allow him to return Saroya to her immortal status as a goddess and allow her to have Elizabeth’s body after vanquishing Elizabeth’s soul.  In spite of Lothaire’s constant reminders of how inferior she is, Elizabeth pursues an advantage over Saroya - Elizabeth is sexually passionate while Saroya refuses to have anything to do with Lothaire until she is restored.

Lothaire doesn’t want to think that this passionate mortal may be his real bride even if her presence seems to calm the madness that threatens to overtake him. Elizabeth begins to win Lothaire over with her cleverness, courage, compassion, and ability to bring light and happiness to his world that has known only darkness, bitterness and hate. But, even if he is willing to accept Elizabeth, how would he manage to get away from the vow he made to kill her and restore Saroya? Could he ever trust a mere mortal not to betray him like everyone else has?  He would certainly have to separate her from her beloved family in order to force her loyalty to him alone.

The primary plot is interesting but for me it almost got smothered by the sexual interaction between Elizabeth and Lothaire.  The sex is hot, heavy and dragged out. If you like that then you’ll enjoy this book a bit more than I did.  I had to push myself through the sex scenes hoping to get back to where the conflict of the relationship continued. Which it does with their failure to communicate their true affection for each other creating nothing but disappointment, mistrust and anger.

There are some interesting side characters that I enjoyed.  Hag is an oracle for Lothaire who becomes a friend to Elisabeth while watching over her, along with Thad, a sweet new vampire who has a tendency to idolize Lothaire. Nix, a half crazed Valkyrie and natural enemy to Lothaire, had once saved him and been his unlikely friend before betraying him.  And ‘Ellie’s’ hillbilly family are a hoot.

The narrator does a very good job with the different personalities. I thought the narration of Lothaire was a little overdone at first but as the story progresses the heavy Vampiric accent seems fitting for Lothaire’s personality. Petkoff also manages to express the emotional thoughts, passions and traumas of the characters with his inflections.

Although the blurbs do not make it clear how graphic this book is, I would say it borders on the edge of erotica if not stepping into that realm.  The descriptions tend heavily to intense and “throes” of passion but there are some pretty explicit scenes.  Ms. Cole has crafted a well written, engaging story with an interesting plot and well developed characters. It is just a bit too heavy on the sex scenes for my tastes. I have rated the book as a 4.0 for its overall good quality with the caveat for those who don’t like their reading quite so edgy.  Perhaps reading the book would allow you to skim those scenes more easily than listening to CDs.  I will think twice before reading any more even though I have another of the books** in this series.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and AudioJukebox for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.

I will add this to my ARC and New Author Challenge lists.

** I have Deep Kiss of Winter in hardback. I have not read Gena Showalter either who is the other author in that book. If anyone has read these authors and wants to share their thoughts I'd appreciate it. I can maybe some day in the future try reading the book or I can just offer it for giveaway.

Audio Book Review: The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck

This is an emotional story set at Christmas time but sharing messages for anytime of the year.

The Snow Angel

By Glenn Beck and Nicole Baart

Read by: Ron McLarty and January LaVoy

Simon & Schuster Audio, October 2011
Unabridged Compact Disk, 6 disks
ISBN-10: 1442345527
ISBN-13: 9781442345522

     Genre:  Christian Fiction
     My Rating:  4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: October 25, 2011
A heartwarming novel from Glenn Beck, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Sweater and phenomenally popular radio and television host.

Rachel Price’s one happy memory from her childhood is of playing outside with her father, Mitch, on a cold and snowy day. In that moment he took her hands in his and called her his angel. She felt safe, loved, and protected. Rachel’s mother dies in a car crash a few years later—a sudden and unresolved ending to a complicated relationship. Mitch’s reaction to certain realities surrounding the death pushes Rachel away and confirms her fear that Mitch never truly loved her at all.

Years later, Rachel’s daughter, Lily, is the only light in her dark life. Rachel is consumed by an abusive marriage but too afraid to escape. On Christmas Eve, Rachel’s husband raises a hand to Lily in a moment of aggression that finally snaps Rachel out of her docile state. She realizes immediately that she must protect her daughter in ways her own parents didn’t protect her and remove Lily from the situation. Through the help of an old and dear friend, Rachel has a safe place to go, but first, she must say goodbye to her father.

As the snow falls on this Christmas Eve, Rachel learns that it’s never too late to start over. The Snow Angel is a tale about family, forgiveness, and learning to treasure our memories while allowing ourselves to move forward.

Review:
This is a heart wrenching story of a woman growing beyond childhood abuse and neglect, beyond marital oppression and abuse, to a place of personal fortitude and even forgiveness.

The story rocks between poignant memories of Mitch and Rachel.  Mitch is an Alzheimer’s patient struggling with the unfamiliarity of the nursing home.  He has flash back memories of his beloved wife whom he also feared and loathed because of her drunken meanness.  Mitch’s friend reminds him that he has a daughter whom he loved but Mitch is sure that he failed her.  Yet, as Christmas nears, his befuddled mind anticipates a visit from the young girl in the photo that he treasures.  

Rachel portrays a perfect family to hide that she is in an abusive marriage. The sophisticated husband she adored as a senior in high school has become her controlling, oppressive jailor, isolating her from friends, verbally belittling her and sometimes physically hurting her.

Rachel has maintained an image for the sake of their 11 year old daughter, Lily. But Lily is old enough to realize that all is not rosy.  Rachel’s husband forbid her to see her father or her employer/surrogate parents, Max and his wife. Now Max has called Rachel to help him complete his last major tailoring order. Rachel begins to sneak out in the afternoons. Soon Lily is helping too and demanding to know why her mother has to help Max in secret. Lily also wants to meet her grandfather. Lily shows her maturity and child’s wisdom as she points out that her mother doesn’t have to protect her because “God is my shield.”

At the insistence of her daughter and Rachel’s new friend, the pastor’s wife, Rachel slowly reveals the pain of her childhood memories - an alcoholic mother who neglected or abused her. Then a distant father who didn’t protect his daughter and whose seeming indifference drove Rachel to a marriage where she found a new abuser. Through her revelations and her husband’s continued behavior Rachel finally realizes that he will not change and she must take control to change her own life and protect Lily from the potential lash back.

The emotions of Mitch and Rachel seem so real that I wondered how the author could know the frustration and fears to express them so well. I liked the secondary characters as well. The story is not preachy yet has a soft faith message of individual worth and forgiveness. The narrators do an excellent job of conveying the emotional struggles. The male narrator catches the wavering confusion and frustration of Mitch and the female narrator does a good job for Rachel and for the Swedish accent of Max.  As the final events of the story unfold I found myself holding my breath against threatened tears - you might not want to listen to the last disc while driving! Will Mitch recognize Rachel and will Rachel forgive her father? You won’t know until the ending.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Audiobook Jukebox for this audiobook to review.

One additional comment - I had a college raise their eyebrows when they noted I was listening to a book by 'Glenn Beck.'  I encourage everyone to not let any political feelings prevent you from enjoying this lovely story.

Audio Book Review: No Rest For the Dead - Various Authors

A murder and an execution.  Ten years later the mystery is still to be solved.

No Rest for the Dead
by Sandra Brown, R.L. Stine, Jeffery Deaver and Andrew Gulli

Introduction by: David Baldacci /  
Read by: Richard Ferrone, Jonathan Davis, James Colby, Tom Stechschulte, Carol Monda and Eliza Foss

Length: Approximately 9 hours
Genre: Mystery
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Description
Alexander McCall Smith. Sandra Brown. Faye Kellerman. J.A. Jance. Jeffery Deaver. Kathy Reichs. Lisa Scottoline. Jeff Lindsay. These are only a handful of the names that make up the all-star lineup of authors behind No Rest for the Dead, a tale of vengeance, greed, and love that flows seamlessly, in the words of David Baldacci, "as it passes from one creator's mind to the next."

When Christopher Thomas, a ruthless curator at San Francisco's McFall Art Museum, is murdered and his decaying body is found in an iron maiden in a Berlin museum, his wife, Rosemary, is the primary suspect, and she is tried, convicted, and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong person was put to death. In the years since the case was closed, he's discovered a web of deceit and betrayal surrounding the Thomases that could implicate any number of people in the crime. Solving this case may be Nunn's last chance for redemption…but the shadowy forces behind Christopher's death will stop at nothing to silence the past forever.

In this innovative storytelling approach, each of these twenty-six bestselling writers brings their distinctive voice to a chapter of the narrative, building the tension to a shocking, explosive finale. No Rest for the Dead is a thrilling accomplishment that only America's very best authors could achieve.

Review: Just look at the gallery of authors on this - whew!

This story is told part in first person through Jon Nunn’s diary and a couple of other characters and part in third person. Some readers may find that distracting but I enjoy the changes, even more so since there were different narrators for this audiobook. 

The primary character, Jon Nunn, took a nose dive into the bottle ten years ago when he determined that his detective work helped send an innocent woman to execution.  All the evidence pointed to her but it was almost too pat and by the time Rosemary was headed into the death chamber he was convinced that she had been framed.  Jon lost his job as a police detective and his beautiful wife, Sarah, as a result of his depression and obsession with the case.

Ten years later there are a gallery of suspects he wants to interrogate.  Jon recruits the head of the museum where Rosemary and Chris Thomas worked to host a memorial for the 10th anniversary of Rosemary’s execution inviting all of the related family, friends, enemies and suspects. Although there are various reactions to the invitation, everyone is drawn for different reasons.

The story reveals early the ugly character of Chris Thomas, the victim, as a blatant womanizer and an unscrupulous thief selling stolen art. At least two of his lovers might have had motive to kill him. The partners in crime or money lenders may have had motive.  Chris had already been attacked by an ex-con husband of an artist whose work was rejected after she rejected Chris’ advances.  And don’t forget Rosemary’s drunken brother who had no love for Chris but needed money. Nunn has a host of nefarious characters to sort through to try to find the true killer and put his own guilt to rest. 

There is someone who is very unhappy that Nunn and an old journalist friend of Rosemary’s are raising questions.  Stirring the pot has apparently stir up a whole ugly hornet nest of surprises with threats and attacks.

Although a lot of the story is slower it was still interesting as the suspects were being lined up and hints of motives were developed. The tension and excitement picked up after the memorial and with the chase at the end. I enjoyed the mystery as a whole although I thought there were some unrealistic scenes in the ending.

I found it great fun to note which authors wrote each chapter and to see if I could match their styles to previous books I may have read/listened to. I enjoyed the six different narrators and the varied points of view. The narrators fittingly portrayed character emotions - depression, arrogant disdain, greed - as well as the character personae such as clingy girlfriend, arrogant assistant and low-life security guard.  If you are a mystery fan I am sure you would enjoy this audio.

I received this Audio Book from Simon & Schuster Audio.  as a part of the Solid Gold Reviewer program at Audiobook Jukebox.