Catch Up Reveiws #1

I am really trying hard not to get behind on book reviews this year, but of course I already am.  I really need to learn to review as soon as I am finished reading, or as I'm reading a book.  Oh when will I learn?

So here are some short reviews to catch up on my review pile:

Winter's Bone
by Daniel Woodrell

My Thoughts:  I listened to this on audio and it made for a great listen.  It was our February book club selection and there were some members who loved the book, like me, and others that didn't care for it.  I thought Ree was a wonderful character and that her struggles, though bleak, showed that people can accomplish great things if they have strength and determination.  Yeah, Ree could kick my ass, but so many teenage girls in books are weak or passive.  Ree is anything but passive.  With her father missing and her home on the line, she battles with her crazy backwoods family and still manages to take care of her loony mom and little brothers.  There is lots of drug use, and half her family manufactures meth and/or takes it, and this book may make you want to drink.  Heavily.  There aren't a lot of fluffy Lisa Frank rainbows and clouds, but I liked it.  A lot.
I liked it so much I bought the movie and plan on watching it soon.  It'll be cool see Jennifer Lawrence in a pre-Katniss role.  I'll let you know what I think about it after I've watched it.

Winter's Bone gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

Fallout (Crank #3)
by Ellen Hopkins
 
My Thoughts: I won the ARC of Fallout many moons ago, but for some reason it sat on my tbr pile (remember the poem and drawing of Shel Silverstein's Sarah Cythina Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out? Well, replace the trash with books, and that's what my tbr pile looks like right now). Because I read this in the beginning of the year, I'm still working hard at chipping away at the tbr books, so I picked up Fallout and skipped off to work. 
No, really. I skipped. Bluebirds help me get dressed in the morning and deer open my car door while bunnies wipe the frost off my windows with their cottontails. Truth.
I get to read a lot at work, depending on the client (by which I mean elderly ladies I care for, and not johns I meet on the street corners), and the day I read Fallout was perfect for reading. Despite the book being over 600 pages, I flew through the pages (verse rocks!), and passed the 500 page mark before I even left work. And I did manage to do laundry, make lunch, do dishes and take out trash, so I wasn't reading the entire time, although I may have avoided telling my client what my book was about when she asked, or rather I just showed her how it was in verse form and skipped the whole meth angle. I try hard not to talk about meth with anyone over 70. 
Fallout is the last book in the Crank trilogy, and it's by far my favorite. The book is told from the point of view of 3 of Kristina's children- Hunter, Autumn and Summer. Each child is still struggling with the legacy of their mother's choices. Hunter has anger issues and despite having a great girlfriend, his head is turned by the fame he's attained through his radio job. Autumn is unaware of her origins and falling in love for the first time, but the truth arrives in the form of her recently released from prison dad- Trey. Summer is the youngest, and going from foster care to her dad's and back. She's also the closet to finding herself on the slippery road her mom forged before her. 
Autumn was my favorite character, because I can easily relate to her, while Summer made a lot of choices in the beginning that had me shaking my head. Hunter's chapters were also very interesting, and his character probably showed the most growth. And Kristina? Still the same old Kristina. Having dealt with addicts in my own life (and no, I'm not talking about my own addiction to lip balm), it's easy to feel for Kristina's family and be frustrated by her total lack of self-awareness.
The ending was good, although it's hard not to wonder what the future holds for Hunter, Autumn and Summer. Hopkins may have finished the series, but who knows what she'll publish ten years from now. I just know that I'll be there, eager to read whatever she comes out with.


Fallout gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

Dirty Little Secrets
by C.J. Omololu

My Thoughts: This book was exactly what I was hoping it would be, and more. Lucy's struggle throughout the book was heartbreaking- I just wanted someone to come to her rescue. The ending, while good, left me wanting more. I really thought Lucy was realistic, the way she felt towards her mother, the way she dealt with what happened- which seems ridiculous to a normal person but in her case fit well with how she'd be brought up.  There's still so much shame and misunderstanding for those that hoard and those that live with them.  Lucy is always very careful to make sure she smells good because of the smell in her home, which although I didn't grow up in a hoarder's house I can relate to since I did grow up with parents who smoked heavily.  The first time someone pointed it out, I was devastated.  You don't smell it if you're around it all the time.  Like Lucy, my room became my refuge, and my heart broke for her, because I was lucky, I could wash my clothes before going to school, and shower the smell out of my hair.  Lucy has to go to so much trouble to hide her living situation from her friends, so often going to extreme measures to avoid the truth coming out.  If you have any interests in hoarding, or if your looking for a contemporary YA read, then you might want to give this book a read!

Dirty Little Secrets gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 

The Third Victim
by Lisa Gardner

My Thoughts:  So I mistakenly thought this was the first book in the Quincy and Rainie series, but it's actually the second one.  But I started it so I just went ahead and finished it.  Trust me, it wasn't a hardship!  The book opens up with a school shooting in a small town.  Rainie takes lead on the case because the alleged shooter is the sheriff's son.  But all isn't as it seems, and FBI Agent Quincy lends a hand.  There's an attraction between Rainie and Quincy, but both characters are pretty dark and twisty and broken, so it's a slow build.  In the meantime, the reader knows that there's more to the shooting than meets the eye, but even with that information a lot of the ending is surprising.  I got several of these books off of Paperback Swap and all I want to do is sit and read this series, but of course there's so many other books clamoring for my attention.  Next up will be the actual first book in the series though! After I finish with the audio of Catch Me, which is the latest in Gardner's series fearturing D.D. Warren. 

The Third Victim gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 

I noticed that a lot of books that I read are highly rated, but I think part of that is because I know what I like, and I tend to gravitate towards books I'm already pretty sure will be good reads. Life's too short to read books I don't like, but occasionally a bad apple will get in there.  This year has been pretty good so far though!  

I'll be busy the next few days with work, the Hub's birthday and the Book Blogger and Publisher Online Convention, but I'll try to post- especially if I learn cool things on BBPOC!

Say Goodbye Review

Say Goodbye
by Lisa Gardner
From Goodreads:

 Lisa Gardner, the New York Times bestselling author of Hide and Gone, draws us into the venomous mind games of her most terrifying killer yet.

Come into my parlor . . .

For  Kimberly Quincy, FBI Special Agent, it all starts with a pregnant  hooker. The story Delilah Rose tells Kimberly about her johns is too  horrifying to be true—but prostitutes are disappearing, one by one, with  no explanation, and no one but Kimberly seems to care.

Said the spider to the fly . . .

As  a member of the Evidence Recovery Team, dead hookers aren’t exactly  Kimberly’s specialty. The young agent is five months pregnant—she has  other things to worry about than an alleged lunatic who uses spiders to  do his dirty work. But Kimberly’s own mother and sister were victims of a  serial killer. And now, without any bodies and with precious few clues,  it’s all too clear that a serial killer has found the key to the  perfect murder . . . or Kimberly is chasing a crime that never happened.

Kimberly’s  caught in a web more lethal than any spider’s, and the more she fights  for answers, the more tightly she’s trapped. What she doesn’t know is  that she’s close—too close—to a psychopath who makes women’s nightmares  come alive, and if he has his twisted way, it won’t be long before it’s  time for Kimberly to . . .

My Thoughts:  I've  pretty much only read the D.D. Warren books by Gardner, so this was my  first introduction to Kimberly and crew.  Normally I try my best to read  series in order, but last year I learned to unclench a bit and read  freely.  Say Goodbye is an excellent thriller, although the subject  matter might keep some of you away. 

FBI Special Agent Kimberly  is expecting a baby with her husband Mac, when she gets a call about a  pregnant hooker who claims to have information for her.  Soon Kimberly  is on the hunt for a suspected serial killer, unaware that she herself  is a target.  That alone would be pretty tame for a thriller, but  Gardner also throws in kidnapping and child molestation.  Although she's  not graphic, it's never easy to read about young children getting  abused in horrible ways.  Kimberly's story is interwoven with the  kidnapped teenage boy who lives with the serial killer, and Rita, a  tough elderly lady trying to help a young boy who she assumes is from a  bad home.  At almost 90, Rita is pretty amazing.  She works harder than I  do and keeps a much tighter budget than I ever could- plus the  interaction she has with the shop keeper is heart warming.

I  don't know much background on Kimberly other than she has a rough  relationship with her dad (think Sydney and Jack Bristow  from Alias), a tragic past  (mother and sister both killed), and while she has a wonderful husband  in Mac, their relationship is under the strain of her pregnancy.  When  she teams up with GBI agent Sal, there's also the added stress of  dealing with her attraction to him. 

Gardner's books are always  page turners, and this one was no exception.  Each chapter started off  with spider facts (the serial killer is obsessed with spiders) which was  pretty neat.  Say Goodbye had me alternating between feeling a lot less  creeped out by spiders and being a lot more terrified of some of them  (I don't foresee any future trips to South America any time soon).  I  really want to go back and start this series from the beginning.  I was  just in the mood for a thriller, and I'm so glad I finally picked this  one from my pile of tbr books.  I tend to crave thrillers when my life  feels a bit out of control... although I'd probably be better off  reading fairy tales and romance novels.
  
Say Goodbye gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 The book gets a Midnight Cover Rating of:

The cover is okay, it fits a thriller book which for some reason always have women's eyes on the cover.  Hmm...

Love You More Review

Love You More 
by Lisa Gardner
From Goodreads:

WHO DO YOU LOVE?
 
One question, a split-second decision, and Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case. But where is their six-year-old daughter?
 
AND HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO . . .
 
As the homicide investigation ratchets into a frantic statewide search for a missing child, D. D. Warren must partner with former lover Bobby Dodge to break through the blue wall of police brotherhood, seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper’s mind while also unearthing family secrets. Would a trained police officer truly shoot her own husband? And would a mother harm her own child?
 
. . . TO SAVE HER?
 
For Tessa Leoni, the worst has not yet happened. She is walking a tightrope, with nowhere to turn, no one to trust, as the clock ticks down to a terrifying deadline. She has one goal in sight, and she will use every ounce of her training, every trick at her disposal, to do what must be done. No sacrifice is too great, no action unthinkable. A mother knows who she loves. And all others will be made to pay.
 
Love you more . . .

My Thoughts: Just another great thriller from Lisa Gardner! There were lots of twists and heart stopping moments, and I thought I figured out the ending 20 times, only to have to constantly readjust my theory. Tessa Leoni was a great new character (and if they ever make a movie or lifetime film out of this book than they should totally have Tea Leoni play the role... but only because of her name), and I enjoyed her chapters the most. Both D.D. and Bobby are back, and this case is very personal for both of them. There was a shout out to the doctor who testified in the Casey Anthony trial- the doctor who can test the air for smells of human decomposition, and I thought that was a great and relevant bit of information as I think it'll be the future of crime solving even though it failed to impress the Anthony jurists, who obviously looked upon forensics and circumstantial evidence like it was some kind of black magic. Warning to the bad guys, you'd better dispose of those bodies quickly!  The ending of the book had me flipping back to the front of it, because it's kind of like when you watch Sixth Sense the second time and you're all like, Of Course!  And no, I will not believe you if you claim you figured out the plot twist to Sixth Sense the first time you watched it, opening day in the movie theaters.  I will call b.s. on that.  I'm more inclined to believe you if you say you figured the twist to this.  Because I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong about some major things, which is actually a fun, good thing when reading a mystery.  


Love You More gets a Midnight Book Rating of: 

Pool Side Reads

The best part of apartment life (and really, one of the few perks at all) is our swimming pool!  This summer is even better because I'm working less hours and the creepy pool guy from last summer is gone.  Yay!
I am not much of a sun worshiper since my skin is pale and prone to burning and freckling bad enough to make me look diseased. But I do love swimming and sitting in the shade and reading.
Now pool reading is not quite as much fun as beach reading, mostly because some of my neighbors prefer to use the pool area as a babysitter for their noisy broods, but I have always loved reading outdoors... as long as it's in the shade and mostly bee free because bees scare me... 

So what have I read this past week at the pool?

The Genesis Code 
by John Case

From Goodreads:

A phone call in the dead of night brings Joe Lassiter shattering news. His sister and young nephew have died in a fire in their home near Washington, D.C. Yet Lassiter soon learns a chilling fact: His loved ones were brutally murdered before the blaze was set. . . .The mysterious suspect's identity only raises more questions. Then Lassiter uncovers another crime--another innocent mother and child murdered. The more he unearths, the larger the web of conspiracy grows, as his search for answers leads him on a dangerous international chase toward a truth that will shock him--and the world--to the very bone. . . .

My Thoughts:  I was not sure I was going to like this book at first, because it opens up in Italy and there's much Catholic church inner workings and my eyes were glazing over a bit. Lucky for me, I managed to process enough of the information to help me when the book started to pick up, which it does as soon as the story switched to Joe Lassiter and his journey to uncover the mystery of the deaths of his sister and nephew.  There is a lot of action, and it was cool to read the action parts that took place in my birthplace of Northern Virginia.  You get to visit a lot of cool places with this novel, and Joe is a pretty cool guy- he's not quite Jason Bourne but he's no slouch in the area of kicking butt and getting answers.

My friend Susan brought this book to our book club swap meet awhile back, and the Hubs ended up with it.  He rarely reads, being more of a computer guy, so it helped me stick with the book despite the initial misgiving.  I was weary of it because I thought it was going to be too much like a Dan Brown novel. Not that I've actually finished a Dan Brown book, I haven't.  I guess the hype of the Da Vinci Code scared me away (plus all the people who were either outraged by the novel or totally convinced that it was all really true), and normally I'm not big on conspiracy plots.  And while I think the Catholic church has lots of problems and issues (that may be an understatement), they do seem to be the go-to bad guys in movies and books nowadays.  I realize that I was just limiting myself by not reading these books- I love thrillers, I love the action and trying to figure out who's going to make it and if good will ultimately triumph over evil. 

Will I be reading more John Case books?  Absolutely- the Hubs is already reading another book by the author (which is actually two authors writing under a pseudonym).  The Genesis Code gets a Midnight Book Rating of 11pm!  It's a great pool side read :)

And when the noise gets unbearable I listen to Discovery of Witches on my iPod- yes, I am STILL listening to this book.  I love the book, I really do, but I usually can only listen to audio books in my car, and I just haven't been driving much these days.  I have come thisclose to just buying the darn book so I can finish it, and I know I'll cave someday simply because I would like to own a hard copy of it.

Next up: 

Love You More
by Lisa Gardner

This is the book I'll be taking to the pool today.  It's hardback, and I normally prefer to read paperback whenever I'm near water but I've had this sitting on my tbr pile for awhile and I'm itching to get to it.  I read the first four books in this series in a bit of a fever, which I tend to do when I find an author I like. 




Other Pool Side Reads Planned:

The Night Season by Chelsea Cain
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

So what are your pool side recommendations?  I obviously prefer reading mysteries and thrillers, but do you have a particular genre you like to read while relaxing outdoors?