What to Read? … What to Read?

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“April was lovely that year! No Blizzards. No hailstorms. No torrential rains with mud slides and power outages. Gentle nighttime showers irrigated the potato fields of Moose County and freshened the peony gardens of Pickax City, the county seat.

It boded well for the sesquicentennial celebration of Pickax City, 400 miles north of everywhere. Plans were being made for parades, special events, and family reunions. Jim Qwilleran, columnist for the local newspaper who had spent the winter in a condo, was planning to move his household (two Siamese cats) back to his summer quarters in order to be closer to the action.”

I just finished reading The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell written by Lilian Jackson Braun this is the next installment of her wonderful Cat Who series. I must say that I have been a fan of Braun since I was a teen with her nose stuck in a book. I was extremely excited when I happened upon her next installment; Braun managed to fit two of my favorite things into one book; cat’s and mysteries so of course I was hooked and have not looked back.

Good thing prizewinning reporter Jim Qwilleran has his extraordinary Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum to smell trouble from a mile away…

The town of Pickax is buzzing with excitement: its residents are about to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of its founding. But in the midst of all the preparations, Qwill has to take time out to entertain aspiring architect Harvey Ledfield-and deal with Koko’s strange new habit. Because the Siamese star has started dropping from balconies and landing in the oddest of places, including on Harvey’s head! And now that Harvey’s aunt and uncle have mysteriously gone missing, Qwill better brush up on his paw language before Pickax is hit with a bombshell…

I must say that when Braun wrote her first book in the Cat Who series I was hooked; it was only recently that her books have become more about following Qwill around town back and forth from his winter home to his summer home and watch as every chapter his K foundation (the organization that Qwill started to handle his unexpected inheritance) gives money for one cause or another in this small town 400 miles north of everywhere. The mysteries solve themselves and not much help from the smart Koko or the sweet Yum Yum. I recommend that you start with her earlier books as they are much more entertaining; but this is a good effort on Braun’s part maybe the next one will be better.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“According to legend, Steve McQueen once swam buck-naked among the cattails and lily pads in the pond at the Little Farm. If true, and Cilla liked to think it was, the King of Cool had stripped off and dived in post The Magnificent Seven and prior to The Great Escape.

In some versions of the legend, Steve had done more than cool off on that muggy summer night in Virginia—and he’d done the more with Cilla’s grandmother. Though they’d both been married to other people at the time, the legend carried more cheer than disdain. And since both parties were long dead, neither could confirm or deny.

Then again, Cilla thought as she studied the murky water of the lily-choked pond, neither had bothered—as far as she could ascertain—to confirm or deny while they’d had the chance.

True or false, she imagined Janet Hardy, the glamorous, the tragic, the brilliant, the troubled, had enjoyed the buzz. Even icons had to get their kicks somewhere.”

Are you a Nora Robert’s fan? If you are or even if you are not mark July 8, 2008 on your calendars; Tribute which is Robert’s newest book will hit the shelves on this day.

Robert’s has published over 130 novels she has been given the Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into their Hall of Fame. How cool is that? No matter if you are into Romance or Crime novels there is something for everyone. This goes for her new novel Tribute coming soon to book stores near you.

Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is a long way from Hollywood. And that is exactly how Cilla McGowan wants it. Cilla, a former child star who has found more satisfying work as a restorer of old houses, has come to her grandmother’s farmhouse, tools at her side, to rescue it from ruin. Sadly, no one was able to save her grandmother, the legendary Janet Hardy. An actress with a tumultuous life, Janet entertained glamorous guests and engaged in decadent affairs but died of an overdose in this very house more than thirty years earlier. To this day, Janet haunts Cilla’s dreams. And during waking hours, Cilla is haunted by her melodramatic, five-times-married mother, who carried on in the public spotlight and never gave her a chance at a normal childhood. By coming east, rolling up her sleeves, and rehabbing this wreck of a house, Cilla intends to find some kind of normalcy for herself.
Plunging into the project with gusto, she was almost too busy to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer but his lanky form, green eyes, and easy, unflappable humor (not to mention his delightfully ugly dog, Spock) are hard to ignore. Determined not to perpetuate the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, but she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy.

But love and a peaceful life may not be in the cards for Cilla. In the attic, she has found a cache of unsigned letters suggesting that Janet Hardy was pregnant when she died and that the father was a local married man. Cilla can’t help but wonder what really happened all those years ago. The mystery only deepens with a series of intimidating acts and a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may end up like her world-famous grandmother and be cut down in the prime of her life.

Ohhh look a little romance and a little mystery, how fabulous is that? I will definitely be there to pick up my copy. I hope it’s as good as it sounds; but come on it is Nora Roberts.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“Babies die. People vanish. People die. Babies vanish.

I was hammered early by those truths. Sure, I had a kid’s understanding that mortal life ends. At school, the nuns talked of heaven, purgatory, limbo, and hell. I knew my elders would “pass.” That’s how my family skirted the subject. People passed. Went to be with God. Rested in peace. So I accepted, in some ill-formed way, that earthly life was temporary. Nevertheless, the deaths of my father and baby brother slammed me hard.

And Évangéline Landry’s disappearance simply had no explanation.

But I jump ahead.

It happened like this.

As a little girl, I lived on Chicago’s South Side, in the less fashionable outer spiral of a neighborhood called Beverly. Developed as a country retreat for the city’s elite following the Great Fire of 1871, the hood featured wide lawns and large elms, and Irish Catholic clans whose family trees had more branches than the elms. A bit down-at-the-heels then, Beverly would later be gentrified by boomers seeking greenery within proximity of the Loop.

A farmhouse by birth, our home predated all its neighbors. Green-shuttered white frame, it had a wraparound porch, an old pump in back, and a garage that once housed horses and cows.

My memories of that time and place are happy. In cold weather, neighborhood kids skated on a rink created with garden hoses on an empty lot. Daddy would steady me on my double blades, clean slush from my snowsuit when I took a header. In summer, we played kick ball, tag, or Red Rover in the street. My sister, Harry, and I trapped fireflies in jars with hole-punched lids.”

A little bit of murder mixed with a touch of mystery and add a whole lot of forensic science and you have Bones to Ashes written by Kathy Reichs. This is her 10^th Temperance Brennan forensic thriller. Her books have also inspired the hit T.V. show Bones.

As a child, she was told to forget about the missing girl. But some memories don’t die….

The discovery of a skeleton in Acadia, Canada, reawakens a traumatic episode for forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan: Could the young girl’s remains be those of Évangéline Landry, Tempe’s friend who disappeared when Tempe was twelve? Exotic, free-spirited, and slightly older, Évangéline enlivened Tempe’s summer beach visits…then vanished amid whispers that she was “dangerous.” Now, faced with bones scarred with inexplicable lesions, Tempe is consumed with solving a decades-old mystery — while her lover, detective Andrew Ryan, urgently needs her attention on a wave of teenage abductions and murders. With both Ryan and her ex-husband making surprising future plans, Tempe may soon find that her world has painfully and irrevocably changed once again.

This book is not for the faint of heart; it deals with dark subject matters and may offend some people, but if you can get past that you end up with a fast passed plot and wonderfully balanced and witty dialogue. This is another hit for Reichs and here is hoping that she continues to produce well thought out books.

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

““I’d like to offer you a bonus,” Rafael said. “An extra hundred thousand. How does that sound?”

Drea didn’t look up, though she quickly processed the offer and what it meant. She went to a lot of trouble to never show any interest in Rafael’s business dealings, and when he’d occasionally asked her some very casual but leading questions she’d pretended she didn’t understand what he was getting at. As a result, Rafael wasn’t as careful around her as he might otherwise have been. As far as he was concerned, she had no interest in anything that didn’t directly affect her, and in a way that was true, just not in the way Rafael thought. He assumed she didn’t care who the assassin had killed for him, that she cared only about what she was wearing, how her hair looked, about making Rafael look good by being as sexy and glamorous as she could make herself.”

Have you read Death Angel yet? No! I’m surprised, it’s Linda Howard’s newest romantic thriller and it hit book stores near you on July 1, 2008. I know; I know I’m guilty of slipping off and slacking some of my duties to go to the book store and pick up my own copy. But come on, it was nice out perfect weather for a nice drink on a patio and tear into my new book.

A striking beauty with a taste for diamonds and dangerous men, Drea Rousseau is more than content to be arm candy for Rafael Salinas, a notorious crime lord who deals with betrayal through quick and treacherous means: a bullet to the back of the head, a blade across the neck, an incendiary device beneath a car. Eager to break with Rafael, Drea makes a fateful decision and a desperate move, stealing a mountain of cash from the malicious killer. After all, an escape needs to be financed.

Though Drea runs, Salinas knows she can’t hide–and he dispatches a cold-blooded assassin in hot pursuit, resulting in a tragic turn of events. Or does it?

Left for dead, Drea miraculously returns to the realm of the living a changed woman. She’s no longer shallow and selfish, no longer steals or cheats or sells herself short. Both humbled and thrilled with this unexpected second chance, Drea embraces her new life. But in order to feel safe and sound–and stop nervously looking over her shoulder–she will need to take down those who marked her for death.

Joining forces with the FBI, supplying vital inside information that only she can provide, Drea finds herself working with the most dangerous man she’s ever known. Yet the closer they get to danger, the more intense their feelings for each other become, and the more Drea realizes that the cost of her new life may be her life itself–as well as her heart.

In my little old opinion this is a must read book. Even if you are not a Howard fan you will enjoy this book. Go find a book store get your copy then find a patio and have a drink on me I mean for me.

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

“If anything could tug at the coiled-steel heartstrings of the Big Apple’s residents, I guess the sight of my mobilized Bennett clan—Chrissy, three; Shawna, four; Trent, five; twins Fiona and Bridget, seven; Eddie, eight; Ricky, nine; Jane, ten; Brian, eleven; and Juliana, twelve—all dressed in their Sunday best and walking in size order behind me, could do the trick.”

I was wandering around one of the local malls and guess what I found; a small bookstore, you know the ones I’m talking about. Hole in the wall store covered in book shelves, with that musty dusty smell to it. I was in heaven or as close as I could get. I spent a good hour pouring over the contents of the store and I found Step on a Crack written by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, this is the latest in his Alex Cross series.

During a state funeral for a beloved former First Lady in New York City’s largest cathedral, the unthinkable occurs. Armed men disguised as monks seize the church and seal themselves inside, along with more than one hundred of the most powerful people in America. The captives include world leaders, actors, TV stars, athletes, and politicians, and the kidnappers are armed with enough C4 explosives to blow a crater in the middle of Manhattan. NYPD officer Michael Bennett is pulled into the standoff as lead negotiator. Despite the escalating danger, Michael faces an even more terrifying crisis at home. His wife has been diagnosed with a devastating disease, and Michael faces the prospect of losing the love of his life and having to raise their ten children alone. With his own life teetering and the lives of thousands suddenly his responsibility, Michael struggles to diffuse the tense situation fast. Yet the kidnappers moves are impossible to predict, and they block every attempt to break into the cathedral most as if they are privy to their deliberations.

Unfortunately there has been a lot of discussion about this new Alex Cross novel it’s pretty much split down the middle, either you love it or you hate it. I will agree that when it comes to his Alex Cross series he does have a formula that he follows. I however enjoyed it, it may not have been a grab you by the seat of your pants kind of book, but it probably would make a great movie.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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““Galar.” Funny name. She’d never heard anything like it. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Not really, no.” He wore a dark blue one-piece suit of some kind, made of tiny scales and piped in silver along the arms and across the width of his chest. Splashes of blood marked it, presumably not his own. The suit, whatever it was, appeared hard, dully gleaming, more like armor than fabric. It hugged every powerful inch of him so tightly, she could make out the impressive musculature that lay beneath it, from broad, brawny chest all the way down to powerful thighs and gleaming boots. A weapons belt rode his narrow waist, with a holstered gun, a couple of knives, and an array of pouches of different sizes.”

Let’s start July off right; with so many books coming out today there is just too many to choose from, but I think I may have found one that peeks my interest; Warrior written by New York Time’s Bestselling Author Angela Knight. This is the first installment of her new romance series Time Hunters. And as always this one promises to be just as steamy and explicit as her previous series.

In the 24th century, anyone can leap through time at will. To police the time jumpers, the Temporal Enforcement Agency has established a precinct in time. Galar Arvid is a genetically altered warlord and agent who’s been sent back to 2008 to save a pretty Atlanta artist from a Xeran time traveler who intends to kill her for profit. What Galar doesn’t count on is the powerful desire Jessica Kelly ignites in him. But could a romance between them work? A three-hundred-year chasm separates them and, even if they dart through time, there’s still a maniacal killer on their tails.

This book looks like it’s going to be a good one and let’s hope it’s a great hit of Angela Knight. Now why don’t you go to your bookstore and pick up your copy or choose of the many that has come out today.

Happy Reading

Sarah

Thank you Amazon for the picture

“A.D. 398

Mount Parnassus

Greece

They had come to slay her.

The woman stood at the temple’s portico. She shivered in her thin garment, a simple shift of white linen belted at the waist, but it was not the cold of predawn that iced her bones.

Below, a torchlight procession flowed up the slopes of Mount Parnassus like a river of fire. It followed the stone-paved road of the Sacred Way, climbing in switchbacks up toward the temple of Apollo. The beat of sword on shield accompanied their progress, a full cohort of the Roman legion, five hundred strong. The road wound through broken monuments and long ransacked treasuries. Whatever could burn had been set to torch.”

Another weekend has come and gone; my pile of books is getting low. My Hunny came home over the weekend bringing me a prezzie and I love prezzies what did he bring me why a book of course. I wasn’t too sure about this one though; The Last Oracle is another installment of the Sigma series which is written by James Rollins and just hit book stores on June 24, 2008.

James Rollins is not only New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Judas Strain, Black Order, Map of Bones and other adventure thrillers; he also is a veterinarian with his own practice and if that is not enough he is also an amateur spelunker and scuba diver. Talk about a busy man.

What if you could bio-engineer the next great world prophet: scientifically produce the next Buddha, the next Muhammad, or even the next Jesus? Would it mark the Second Coming or initiate a chain reaction with disastrous consequences?

A master at combining historical and religious intrigue with edge-of-your-seat adventure, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins brings back SIGMA Force to battle a group of rogue scientists who’ve unleashed a bioengineering project that could bring about the extinction of humankind.

From ancient Greek temples to glittering mausoleums, from the slums of India to the toxic ruins of Russia, two men must race against time to solve a mystery that dates back to the first famous oracle of history — the Greek Oracle of Delphi.

If you are a fan of fast-paced and thrilling action then this book is for you, if you are a Rollins fan you won’t want to miss this new installment and if you have never read anything written by Rollins then get out from under your rock and get a copy.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“I’m a product now?

Look, either we do this my way, or we don’t do it at all.

Fine. I’m a product. Whatever . . .

Project mission: To rebrand product in order to make it irresistible to target audience, prompting target audience to declare its undying love for product and to propose marriage.

Timescale: 50 days

Target audience: Anthony Milton (product’s boss and gorgeous-looking advertising world A-lister)”

Have you run out of summer reads yet? You shouldn’t you still have 2 whole months left. Let’s start the rest of the summer off right and read The Importance of Being Married written by Gemma Townley.

This is the first novel in Gemma Townley’s exciting new Wild trilogy; The Importance of Being Married introduces an irresistible heroine caught up in a scheme that could change her life forever.

Jessica Wild isn’t big on commitment. But after inheriting millions from Grace, a sweet old lady she met in her grandmother’s nursing home, the situation seems to have changed. To put an end to the many questions about her nonexistent love life, Jess had led Grace to believe she had a boyfriend-turned-fiancé-turned-husband: her glamorous boss, Anthony Milton. But Jess’s fantasy to keep Grace happy has backfired–Grace has passed away and left her fortune not to Jessica Wild but to Mrs. Jessica Milton.

Having weighed all legal options, Jess comes to the realization that there’s only one thing she can do: get Anthony to fall in love with her and pop the question for real. With help from her feisty best friend, Helen, Jess reluctantly learns the art of flirting, seduction, and playing hard to get. But just when it appears that Anthony is about to ask the (literal) million-dollar question, Jess finds herself wondering if it’s right to say “I do” for all the wrong reasons.

Well there you go girls a new trilogy on its way; this is a fast pace wonderful chick lit Cinderella caper and if you are a fan of Townley’s then you will definitely enjoy this book.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“”I want to learn about magic,” said the girl. The Magus looked at her. Faded jeans, T-shirt, the challenging look adopted by all shy people precisely when it’s least needed. “I must be twice her age,” he thought. And despite this, he knew that he had met his Soul Mate.

“My name’s Brida,” she went on. “Forgive me for not introducing myself. I’ve waited a long time for this moment and I’m more nervous than I thought I would be.”

“Why do you want to learn about magic?” he asked.”

Let’s see now…bathing suit, jeans, sweat shirt…hmmm? What am I doing? Oh simple I’m going over my list for my vacation; but the clothes are not the most important thing to take. No it’s my books; do you think 10 are too much? Oh well if it is then too bad, I’m going to be gone for an entire week with nothing but books, sand and water. Before I forget and wander off into fluffy mode, I just finished Brida written by the talented Paulo Coelho.

Did you know that Coelho has had his books translated into 63 languages and published in 150 countries? He is also the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards and was inducted into the Brazilizn Academy of Letters in 2002.

His newest story is about Brida, a young Irish girl, and her quest for knowledge. She has long been interested in various aspects of magic but is searching for something more. Her search leads her to people of great wisdom, who begin to teach Brida about the spiritual world. She meets a wise man who dwells in a forest, who teaches her about overcoming her fears and trusting in the goodness of the world; and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the music of the world, and how to pray to the moon. As Brida seeks her destiny, she struggles to find a balance between her relationships and her desire to become a witch.

This enthralling novel incorporates themes that fans of Paulo Coelho will recognize and treasure—it is a tale of love, passion, mystery, and spirituality from the master storyteller. I suggest you pick up your copy today.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“She thought she swallowed because her throat burned hot, as if splashed with sharp acid, but she wasn’t sure because she couldn’t think clearly. Her mind felt dark, as heavy and thick as chains, and she knew the darkness was deep as well, and knew to her soul there was violence just beyond it. She smelled something rancid, oil with a layer of rot and decay. What was that smell? What did it mean? Her brain wasn’t clear enough yet to figure it out. But she knew she had to, had to fight it or—what? I’ll die, that’s what. I’ve got to get myself together, I’ve got to wake up, or I’ll die.”

How many of us like a good secret a little mayhem and a good murder to solve? That would be me and a few of you I bet. So what case are we going to try and solve this time? Why Tailspin written by Catherine Coulter.

FBI Special Agent Jackson Crowne is flying his Cessna over the Appalachians, with a very important passenger: renowned psychiatrist Dr. Timothy MacLean; their destination is Washington, D.C. Upon their arrival, the FBI will protect the doctor—and ascertain just who wants him dead.

But they don’t make it.

In San Francisco, married FBI Special Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock take an early morning phone call from their supervisor, Jimmy Maitland. Maitland received a Mayday from Jackson in the mountains near Parlow, Kentucky, and sends Savich and Sherlock to see what’s happened.

Agent Crowne is able to bring his plane down in a narrow valley and haul the unconscious Dr. MacLean from the burning wreckage before it explodes. Their crash is witnessed by Rachael Abbott, a young woman on the run after the mysterious death of her father. When Savich and Sherlock arrive on the scene, they find Jackson and Rachael in the Parlow clinic and Dr. MacLean comatose in the local hospital, prognosis unknown. What they do know frightens them: Dr. MacLean was recently diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia, and in the months prior to the crash his behavior had become erratic and alarmingly uninhibited, his ability to maintain doctor-patient confidentiality badly compromised. With a patient list made up of Washington movers and shakers, MacLean’s role as a keeper of secrets is jeopardized as well. Is there someone out there so desperate that they’d kill the doctor for what he knows? It is up to Jackson, Savich, and Sherlock to find out—no matter the cost.

If you are a fan of Coulter then you won’t be disappointed and even if you are not a fan you will still enjoy Tailspin. This is a great book to read on your day off or when you go on vacation. It’s also perfect for rainy days…O.K. who am I kidding it’s a great read any time of the day under any type of weather.

Happy Reading

Sarah