Drive Review

Drive
By James Sallis
From Goodreads:

Much later, as he sat with his back against an inside wall of a Motel 6 just north of Phoenix, watching the pool of blood lap toward him, Driver would wonder whether he had made a terrible mistake. Later still, of course, there’d be no doubt. But for now Driver is, as they say, in the moment. And the moment includes this blood lapping toward him, the pressure of dawn’s late light at windows and door, traffic sounds from the interstate nearby, the sound of someone weeping in the next room....”

Thus begins Drive by one of the nation’s most respected and honored authors. Set mostly in Arizona and L.A., the story is, according to Sallis, “about a guy who does stunt driving for movies by day and drives for criminals at night. In classic noir fashion, he is double-crossed and, though never before has he participated in the violence (I drive. That’s all.), he goes after the ones who double-crossed and tried to kill him.”

My Thoughts: A lot different from the movie, but in someways even better. Driver's quest for revenge is even more bloody and successful in the book. While characters like Shannon in the movie have a smaller role in the book, great side characters like Doc and Manny add flavor to the story. Plus, I was still able to picture Driver as Ryan Gosling, so the book was a total win. It does not have the sweet, subtle romance that the movie had, but you get Driver's back story which helps you understand why he is the way he is and how he's able to do what he needs to do in order to survive.

Seriously, even if the summary doesn't interest you even if my opinion doesn't sway you, buy the book just for the yummy Ryan Gosling cover. 

Drive get's a Midnight Book Rating of:

The book cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

Because Ryan's so delicious!

And my attempt at a Ryan Gosling meme:

The Not So Sweet Valley Review

Sweet Valley Confidential: 10 Years Later
by Francine Pascal
From Goodreads:

Ten years after graduating from Sweet Valley High, the Wakefield twins have had a falling-out of epic proportions. When Jessica commits a complete and utter betrayal, Elizabeth flees to New York to escape the pain and immerse herself in her lifelong dream of becoming a journalist.

Jessica remains in California, dealing with the fallout of her heart-wrenching choices. She has a career she loves and lots of old friends, but misses her sister, her oldest friend. With Jessica as her enemy, Sweet Valley is no longer the idyllic town of their youth.

Jessica longs for forgiveness, but Elizabeth can't forget her twin's duplicity. She decides the only way to heal her broken heart is to get revenge. Always the "good" twin, Elizabeth is now about to turn the tables...

My Thoughts: I was so excited about this book, I really was.  Growing up, I read so many of the Sweet Valley High books, learned so many lessons from the twins and friend's mistakes, and fell in love with Sweet Valley.  But I have to say this book disappointed me so much.  Some characters were just completely ruined for me (really, Pascal, Winston Egbert grows up to be a jerk!), Elizabeth was whiny, Todd was bland as ever, and Jessica was no where near as sparkly as usual.  Stephen and Cara, a couple I adored in the series, whole past was trashed, although I understand that Pascal wanted to make Sweet Valley a little more PC.  I get that, but I wish the characters could have kept the personalities I once loved.  The saving grace, for me at least, was Bruce Patman.  I actually adored him in this book, although at times in the series I disliked him.  Bruce in this book is the only character that appears to actually have matured, and it reminded me of his love for Regina.  The writing is pretty sub-par so I'm not sure exactly who the intended target audience is supposed to be, most YA books are better written and I'm pretty sure that most people buying Sweet Valley Confidential are former 80's tweens like me.  I just expected so much better.  It just felt like Pascal was trying too hard to go all Gossip Girl on this, but even in the Gossip Girl books the characters are more likable.  So can I recommend this book?  Not really.  But honestly, the bad reviews wouldn't have kept me from reading this book.  And I will give Pascal credit for giving me a brief glimpse of Jeffrey French, who in my opinion was Eliabeth's best match and not that lame-ass Todd Wilkins and his "coffee colored eyes".  Yeah, I'm bitter.

Sweet Valley Confidential: 10 Years Later gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 Let's just hope they leave the Babysitter's Club alone!

Life Support Review

Life Support 
by Tess Gerritsen
First published in 1996
From Goodreads:

The overnight ER rotation at Springer Hospital is a calm one, which suits Dr. Toby Harper just fine. While Toby is fiercely proud of the stripes she earned as a resident in a big-city ER, she's come to appreciate the pace at Springer. But no hospital could have been prepared for the man Toby admits one quiet night. Delirious and in critical condition from a possible viral infection of the brain, he barely responds to treatment. And then he disappears without a trace. Under fire from the hospital administration for literally losing a patient, and fearful that she's missed a life-threatening diagnosis, Toby knows she must find the patient. Her hunt is intensified when a second delirious patient dies in the hospital's care. But even more chilling is the discovery that the infection can only be spread through direct tissue exchange.

My Thoughts: A few years ago I read my first Gerritsen novel- The Surgeon.  I quickly devoured the Rizzoli and Isles books, while I collected her other stand alone books.  Last year I finally read one- The Bone Garden, which turned out to be one of my favorite reads in 2011.  As part of my resolve to read the many, many unread books I already own this year, I picked up Life Support.

I don't know if I picked the best time to read a medical thriller, as I read it while keeping watch over my mom in the hospital (she's doing much better and will be coming to live with us once she gains strength at a physical rehabilitation center). Fortunately the plot had more to do with Alzheimer's and genetic experimentation than the pneumonia and congestive heart failure that my mom was busy fighting.

Let me start with what I did like- Life Support gives a very real portrayal of Alzheimer's disease and what it's like for the family members and care takers.  The science behind the genetic experiments, while disgusting and perhaps unrealistic, was thrilling and there were some great plot twists throughout the book.  Some of the information in the book was a little outdated, but this is one of Gerritsen's earlier books, and the woman knows how to craft a plot.

Where the book failed to grab me was the main character.  I never felt connected to Toby and didn't much like her, although towards the end I did feel bad for her plight even if I kind of blamed her for some of the trouble she found herself in.  To be honest though, it took me a couple of books to warm up to Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles too.  Probably because I don't have much in common with there tough, driven women, but Gerritsen creates great female characters- they may be successful, but they're hardly one dimensional and suffer from the same issues all women deal with, in this case Toby has pretty much put her life on hold in order to care for her ailing mom.  Normally Tess Gerritsen book's get me so wrapped up in the plot that I soon find myself caring for characters that are hard to love (Rizzoli in The Surgeon is a particularly prickly pear).


Life Support was okay, but not great.  It will not deter me from reading the rest of Tess Gerritsen's books- I tend to be pretty author loyal.  This book was a fairly decent medical thriller, it just didn't grip me as tightly as her previous books have done.

Life Support gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover of Life Support (at least the edition I own) gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover's slightly pornographic looking and has little to do with the plot.

Prey Review

Prey 
by Lurlene McDaniel
From Goodreads:

A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is–and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he’s feeling more than happy–at first. He’s used to being the class clown, but really he’s a loner. One day after school, the friendship with Lori Settles goes farther than he ever expected. She’s his teacher. She’s at least twice his age. Intimacy with a teacher is wrong, yet it feels so good in every way. Soon, Lori is making demands and Ryan begins to feel overwhelmed, but Ryan refuses to even admit anything is going on. Something immoral is going on and before too long the choices made will change lives forever.

My Thoughts: Really short read about a young boy who gets sexually involved with his teacher. Ryan's no Pacey from Dawson's Creek, and Lori is far more realistically portrayed as a predator than Pacey's teacher-lover. She likes her boys young, she's got a messed up history, and Ryan is much more a victim than he thinks. Ryan's friend Honey is your average teenager with a crush and she is by far the easiest person to deal with. I think the book could have been so much better had it explored some of the issues that it merely mentioned- in particular the double standard between adult men having sex with teen girls compared to adult women having sex with teen boys. There were things in the end that happened too quickly and easily, and most of the parents were portrayed as clueless when it came to their children's feelings and activities... but maybe that's more realistic than I'm giving credit to. Overall it was a fast paced book, and while there is lots of sex, most of it's "off screen" and not shown. Towards the end, more is learned about Ryan and Lori, but there's still much left unexplored. I thought the topic was interesting and completely relevant to today's society, I just wish it had been a little more fleshed out.  Honestly, I picked up this book simply because it was so different from Lurlene McDaniel's teens with cancer books that I read as a teen.


Prey gets a Midnight Book Rating of: 

Dead To You Review

Dead To You 
by Lisa McMann
Expected Release: 2.7.2012
From Goodreads:

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

My Thoughts: You know, it’s refreshing to have a male protagonist in a YA novel- especially one that feels male.  I’m always impressed with authors who have the ability to capture characters of the opposite sex and bring them to life.  Ethan feels real, and it’s easy to empathize with his predicament of trying to get back to his “old life”.  Everything from trying to connect with his family and dealing with school brought to life the very harsh truths of reunifications- often they are very hard.  And it's not just Ethan who struggles to fit into his new life, his parents marriage is put through the ringer upon his return, and his siblings have to deal with accepting him as their older brother.  Much family drama ensues!

Part of the reason I wanted to read this book, other than being a fan of McMann (I rhymed!), was because the premise reminded me of the old Lifetime movie I Know My First Name is Steven (which was a bit cheesey) and The Deep End of the Ocean (movie, not the book which I haven't read yet, but the movie is excellent and stars Jonathan Jackson, whom I truly adore), and since then I’ve had a strange obsession with tales of kidnapped kids.  In 2011 I read You Are My Only and Jaycee Dugard’s autobiography, but it’s obviously a story line I can read about again and again. Time and again I’ve read books of kidnapped girls- Possession, The Collector, Living Dead Girl, etc.  McMann choosing a male victim was a nice twist. 

Speaking of twists, that’s where this book lost me a little.  The pace of the book, the tension kept me flipping pages, and while I knew there was something coming, the ending took me by surprise.  It's either going to be and ending that you like, or one you hate, but it will make for excellent discussion!  I personally liked the ending, even if it left me wanting more.  It doesn't seem like McMann is going to continue Ethan's story, but I'd love to know what happens to him, Cami, and his adorable moppet of a sister.  I recently spent a week with my 2 1/2 year old niece, the lovely Fiona Kathleen, and Ethan's little five year old sister "the replacement child" reminded me so much of my precocious name sake that I had to wonder if the author has met Fi.

Overall, Dead To You is as readable as McMann’s Wake trilogy.  The subject of the book is dark, the main character is tormented, so this is not the book you want to read if you’re in the mood for a light and fluffy YA book.

 Dead To You gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

And a new feature is my Midnight Book Cover Rating!

Dead To You gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I love the cover, even though it’s not apparent from the cover if the book is about a male or female character- not with those nice lashes!  But hey, the cover’s at least gorgeous enough to flip to the back for the summary.

Disclaimer: I temporarily received a ARC copy of Dead To You through Around the World Blog Tours in return for my honest opinion.

A Slaying in the Suburbs Review

A Slaying in the Suburbs
by Steve Miller and Andrea Billups
From Goodreads:

To their suburban Detroit neighbors, Stephen and Tara Grant were happy as could be. But their marriage, plagued by resentment and extramarital affairs, was held together only by their children. Until the night Stephen snapped, strangled and dismembered his wife, then disposed of her body piece by piece in the very park his children played in.

My Thoughts: I used to read quite a bit of true crime back in the day. I know, you're shocked.  Now I mostly just read true crime when Ann Rule releases a new book (I love her!).  A Slaying in the Suburbs is very interesting book based on a horrible crime. I was a little taken aback at the authors' obvious dislike for Alicia, Tara Grant's sister, and the blame they place on the victim of the crime, Tara Grant. I realize that not every murder victim is a saint, but I felt that the book was slightly skewed in Stephen Grant's favor and suspect that the reason behind this is that Alicia Grant and the rest of Tara's family weren't as willing to talk to Miller and Billup.The truly bizarre behavior displayed by Steve Grant during the weeks after murdering his wife was by far the most interesting parts of the book. I don't know that the trial was covered as thoroughly as if could have been, and the writing was a little uneven in places.  At times it also felt like Miller and Billups had an ax to grind with Alicia Grant, and were overly critical of her, which made the book uncomfortable to read at times.  Of course, the gruesome treatment of Tara Grant's remains was more than uncomfortable to read about, but at least her killer was caught and her family was able to see the murderer brought to trial.  A Slaying in the Suburbs was actually a past book club read for me, and it made for an okay discussion.  But I won't be picking up any more books by Steve Miller or Andrea Billups.

A Slaying in Suburbs gets a Midnight Book Rating of: 

Digit Review

Digit: She's Got Your Number
by Annabel Monaghan
From Goodreads:

 Farrah "Digit" Higgins may be going to MIT in the fall, but this L.A. high school genius has left her geek self behind in another school district so she can blend in with the popular crowd at Santa Monica High and actually enjoy her senior year. But when Farrah, the daughter of a UCLA math professor, unknowingly cracks a terrorist group's number sequence, her laid-back senior year gets a lot more interesting. Soon she is personally investigating the case, on the run from terrorists, and faking her own kidnapping-- all while trying to convince a young, hot FBI agent to take her seriously. So much for blending in . . .

My Thoughts: I immediately clicked with Digit.  Oh, not over the whole math genius thing because I can barely add and subtract simple numbers (which might explain by checking account balance at any given time).  I bonded, instead, with Digit over our shared love for bumper stickers.

I love bumper stickers- how I've managed to not rear end someone whilst trying to read their stickers is one of God's small miracles.  I was instantly in awe, and jealous, of Digit's wallpaper of bumper stickers.  I even understood her dilemma about not being about not being able to commit to putting one of her own car.  I've only ever put one on a car I owned (IRL for Ireland, small, oval, and unobtrusive).  Partly because it's hard to find a perfect bumper sticker, and partly because the Hubs is not a fan of bumper stickers. But for Christmas my sis in law, Amy, got me some truly awesome Zombie Family window stickers (me, the Hubs, our dog and two cats), which will be going on my new (not yet purchased and only new to me because we buy used) car. 

Okay, I got way off track, so back to Digit.  I liked her even though aren't exactly similar.  I tend to hide my ignorance from my friends, while Digit hides her awesome math genius abilities from her popular friends.  I don't particularly care for the way the author insinuates that popular kids can't be smart, but really it doesn't bother me too much.  I was a theater, band manager, reading team nerd in school.  I had just enough social status to avoid getting picked on (for the most part), but not enough status to garner any positive attention from the It crowd either.  So, screw the popular kids.  They're probably too busy going to parties and doing cool kid stuff to read this book (let alone this blog) anyways. 

I read the ARC, so I can't guarantee these quotes, but here they are anyway:

I wasn't really in my comfort zone, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd talked about numbers with anyone but my dad.  Talking about them with normal people always ended up being a little isolating.  It's as if they hear me out and then slowly back away, like I was holding a gun instead of a pencil.

Was this guy too old to be cute? I mean cute in a nerdy-wasn't-cute-at-the-beginning-of-the-movie-but-was-super-hot-by-the-end sort of way?

The biggest fault with Digit is that the plot isn't particularly realistic, and Digit does some dumb teenager stuff (like keeping her cell phone?  This from a girl who watches CSI?), but the fact that I like Digit and her sexy FBI man goes a long way in helping me to suspend my belief in order to accept the less than realistic set up (like John's uber spy CIA parents with a hidden house that supposedly even the government doesn't know exists...).  I put up with it because it's fun and I really like the chemistry between John and Digit.  Yes, he's 21 and she's 17 (18 in June!) but their extreme youth and intelligence cancels out the creep factor. Plus, when I was a kid I was a huge fan of 21 Jump Street, and I entertained fantasies of Johnny Depp's Officer Hanson going undercover at my junior high and falling madly in love with me.  Sadly, the up and coming movie remake of 21 Jump Street looks more like the old Police Academy movies... again, off topic.

Overall it's a fun, cute read- like Clueless meets the FBI.  It was a fun way to kick off my reading in 2012!


Digit: She's Got Your Number gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The expected release date in  June 5th, making it a fun summer read.  Hopefully they'll tweak the cover design a bit, as I am not loving this.

Disclaimer: I read this book as part of the Around the World ARC Tours, receiving a copy of the book to review honestly before passing it on.  All opinion, snark, and wit is my own. 

There Is No Dog Review

There Is No Dog
by Meg Rosoff
From Goodreads:

Meet your unforgettable protagonist: God, who, as it turns out, is a 19-year-old boy living in the present-day and sharing an apartment with his long-suffering fifty-something personal assistant. Unfortunately for the planet, God is lazy and, frankly, hopeless. He created all of the world's species in six days because he couldn't summon the energy to work for longer. He gets Africa and America mixed up. And his beleagured assistant has his work cut out for him when God creates a near-apolcalyptic flood, having fallen asleep without turning the bath off. There is No Dog is a darkly funny novel from one of our most delightfully unpredictable writers.

My Thoughts:  Bob is a teenage boy in love.  He's also God.  His being in love is a very bad thing for humans, because his usual detachment from the human world is gone and we are left with a very emotional teen going through the ups and downs of puppy love.  Floods and famine commencing now.

"The transformation from needy teenager to weapon of mass destruction is nearly complete."

Lucy is the human that's caught God's attention, but she's got problems of her own with Luke, her boss, who seems to hate her.  Lucy is immediately drawn to Bob, unaware that's he's God but overwhelmed by his otherness.  Human lovers of Bob tend to do poorly- remember all those Greek myths?  Yup, that was Bob doing all the chasing of fair Greek maidens and getting them into all sorts of trouble when he wasn't busy bringing plague to the lands when his love affairs don't work out.

Then there's Mr. B, God's long suffering assistant and the only that's really trying to solve all of our problems.  Mr. B would make a wonderful God, but Bob's flighty mom, Mona, won our corner of the universe in a bet and gave it to her whiny brat of a son.  Mr. B's planning a way out, but he's upset at the prospect of leaving his beloved whales behind, and distracted by the destruction Bob's crush is causing on earth. 

My favorite characters in the book were Estelle and the Eck.  There Is No Dog is pretty light in the character development, but Estelle's a strong young immortal, determined to save Eck from Bob and Mona's carelessness.  The Eck is a penguin type creature who has been ill used by Bob- think of a spoiled child and a loyal, beaten dog.  Estelle trying to figure out a way to get Eck out of a particularly awful dilemma- thanks to Mona and Bob, is easily my favorite part of the book.


There Is No Dog is not for everyone, it pokes fun at religion- the title is a bit of a giveaway so if you find that offensive then you probably want to skip the book.  And although it's a YA book, Bob is the only teenage character.  Lucy is 20 or 21, and everyone else is older than that.  Because the book is about a horny teenage god, there's also some sexual scenes- mostly Bob's daydreams. 

My biggest problem with the book is that it just tries a bit too hard to achieve a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy irreverence and it just doesn't hit the mark. It's full of snark and humor, but there's no real depth to the characters.  I'm not a particular fan of teenagers, but I would give them more credit than Rosoff does to Bob- he has all the negative teenage boy characteristics, but doesn't seem to have upside to his personality.  Teens, in my opinion, are a bit schizo, I don't find it realistic that Bob wouldn't have some good qualities. 

But because I still enjoyed the book, There Is No Dog gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

Disclaimer: I read this book as part of the Around The World ARC Tours, and briefly received a copy to read and give an honest review of before sending it on to the next blogger.

My Life According to the Books I've Read in 2011

Stole Borrowed this meme from Christine at The Happily Ever After...


Using only titles of books that you read this year (2011), complete the prompts below. Try not to repeat any book titles. Think creatively and have fun!

Describe yourself:
Vixen by Jillian Larkin

How do you feel:
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Describe where you currently live:
The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Your favorite form of transportation:
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

Your best friend is:
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

You and your friends are:
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

What's the weather like:
Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler

What is life to you:
Asylum by John Saul

Favorite time of day:
What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz

Your fear:
Something at the Window is Scratching by Roman Dirge

What is the best advice you have to give:
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

Thought for the day:
Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper

How I would like to die:
Entwined by Heather Dixon

My soul's present condition:
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Read Me Baby, One More Time in 2012

I wasn't going to re-host this, because I honestly don't feel a did a great job last year, but it seems several of you really liked this challenge so who am I to deprive you of another fun year of re-reading your favorite books? Thanks to Lori for the awesome challenge button!!!

Any book you re-read from 01.01.2012 to 12.31.2012 counts as part of this challenge- and feel free to overlap with other challenges!  At the end of each month I will put up a post where you can link any re-reading reviews you have written.  You do not need a blog to participate, you can always comment on any of your re-reads here or on twitter, goodreads, etc.  If you link a review, I promise to comment, and I'm encouraging all participants to comment on each other's re-reading reviews!

Here's the levels:

Trip Down Memory Lane: 1-3 re-reads

Reliving the Past: 4-8 re-reads

Back To The Future: 9-12 re-reads

Groundhog Day Reader: 13-20 re-reads

You've Got a Serious Problem and Really Need to Go Book Shopping: 21+ re-reads

Here's how to participate:

• Blog a post about this challenge and link below in Mr. Linky.  It can include any re-reads you are looking forward to in 2011.
• Feel free to grab a button (mine was made by the awesomely wonderful Lori at Pure Imagination) 
  and put it in your sidebar.
• Sign up using Inlinkz below with your blog post link.

Good luck and happy re-reading!!!