It’s Monday What Are You Reading? 11/1

Sunday 31 October, 2010 by 31 Comments

It’s Monday What Are you Reading is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs.

Happy November!  With the changing of the leaves and weather along with the upcoming holidays I have decided I will be slowing down my reviewing.    As most know (some do not) I review for free to share my love of books with others.  I have been going at a rather fast clip and I need to give more time to family and friends.  I will still be reviewing, naturally, just not as many books per week as I had been reviewing.  I had been reviewing at a rather intense pace for too long now.  My schedule shall be evening out to look far more realistic, my goal is to review 6 days a week.

I Read and Reviewed (click the title to be taken to the review):

Visit next Monday to see if I managed to accomplish my reading goals.


signature
Filed Under: It's Monday What Are You Reading Tagged With: ,

The Sunday Salon Halloween Edition

Sunday 31 October, 2010 by 10 Comments
The Sunday Salon.com

Life: The weather has finally turned cool enough to have the furnace on at night, such a delight!  I do so love cool weather and I absolutely adore the sound of leaves crunching underfoot.  My favourite sound is that of snow, but I shall be waiting quite some time to hear that.  My favourite smell is that of snow.

Family Update: I had a proud mother moment when my oldest asked if I could order him a book by Soren Kierkegaard, it made my heart sing.   Some sort of virus went through the family and of course we did not all become sick at once, however we are all fine now.  The week began with a few ER visits (me for my head, my son for his foot) happily it ended better than it began.

Saturday Night: This was the night our city declared the night for Trick or Treating.  The boys all had parties to attend while DH and I handed out candy and caught up on the Doc Martin episodes thanks to our wonderful public library’s British  DVD collection.

Read and Reviewed: It was an excellent reading week.  I gave a lot of 5 star ratings, the books truly were that good!   I managed to read and review 9 books which totaled 3,776 pages.

If you do not want to wait until Monday to see the entire list for the week, all my reviews are up and as usual I love comments.

Today I will be reading: Panopticon by David Bajo (I am almost finished, I have prolonged this book because I truly do not want it to end.)

Happy Reading and please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

Visit the The Sunday Salon.


signature
Filed Under: The Sunday Salon Tagged With: , ,

Book Review: Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire

Saturday 30 October, 2010 by 2 Comments


Title: Edge of Sight
Author: Roxanne St. Claire
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: October 26, 2010
Pperback: 432 pages
ISBN: 978-0446566582
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Suspense

From the Publisher:

The killer she can’t escape . . . The heartbreak she can’t forget . . . The one man who can stop them both. When Samantha Fairchild witnesses a murder in the wine cellar of the restaurant where she works, the Harvard-bound law student becomes the next target of a professional assassin. Desperate for protection the authorities won’t provide, Sam seeks help from Vivi Angelino, an investigative reporter who recruits her brother, Zach, to protect Samantha. A Special Forces vet with the scars to prove he’s equally fearless and flawed, Zach takes the job, despite the fact that he and Sam once shared a lusty interlude that ended when he left for war and disappeared from her life.

My Review:

Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire is the first book in her newest series, the Guardian Angelinos, and it is a riveting debut to a rather promising suspense-filled series. Samantha Fairchild is witness to a murder and the Boston PD does not believe her to be an entirely reliable witness. Not certain where to go for help, Sam turns to her old friend Vivi Angelino for help. Vivi is thrilled to not only renew their friendship but to tell her about her dream of starting up a company called the Guardian Angelinos, the only hitch is Vivi’s partner and Sam’s guardian is the one man who devastated her and left her broken three years ago, Vivi’s twin brother Zach. St. Claire writes a fast-paced suspense novel rife with tension, danger, delightful plot twists as well as double crosses and enough flawed characters to make them believable and easy to relate with. I really enjoyed getting to know the extended Angelino/Rossi family and thought St. Claire did an excellent job at keeping the tension, mistrust, and secrets between Sam and Zach moving along with the unfolding of the story.  Edge of Sight is a book that immediately draws the reader in, as the action begins almost immediately and does not let up, keeping the reader engaged and fully invested in the storylines as well as the characters. I would recommend Edge of Sight to anyone who enjoys a well-written suspenseful romance novel.

About the Author:

First published in 2003, Roxanne St. Claire is a RITA-award winning author of twenty-five novels, including her bestselling Bullet Catcher series. Her critically-acclaimed books have been published in numerous languages and recognized with multiple awards including The National Reader’s Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award and the HOLT Medallion, all for best romantic suspense. She currently lives on the east coast of Florida with her husband and two children. Excerpts, contact information, and free reads are available via her website. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

I received a complimentary copy of Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire from Hachette.  Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


signature
Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review: Oogy by Larry Levin

Friday 29 October, 2010 by 3 Comments


Title: Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love
Author: Larry Levin
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: October 12, 2010
Hardcover: 224 pages
ISBN: 978-0446546317
Genre: Non-Fiction, Pets

From the Publisher:

In the bestselling tradition of Rescuing Sprite comes the story of a puppy brought back from the brink of death, and the family he adopted.

In 2002, Larry Levin and his twin sons, Dan and Noah, took their terminally ill cat to the Ardmore Animal Hospital outside Philadelphia to have the beloved pet put to sleep. What would begin as a terrible day suddenly got brighter as the ugliest dog they had ever seen–one who was missing an ear and had half his face covered in scar tissue–ran up to them and captured their hearts. The dog had been used as bait for fighting dogs when he was just a few months old. He had been thrown in a cage and left to die until the police rescued him and the staff at Ardmore Animal Hospital saved his life. The Levins, whose sons are themselves adopted, were unable to resist Oogy’s charms, and decided to take him home.

Heartwarming and redemptive, OOGY is the story of the people who were determined to rescue this dog against all odds, and of the family who took him home, named him “Oogy” (an affectionate derivative of ugly), and made him one of their own.

My Review:

Oogy by Larry Levin is a remarkable story of love triumphing all, about a mistreated puppy and the family that gave him a home. The Levin’s were not anticipating adopting a dog the day their beloved cat had to be put to sleep yet often what our hearts need most tends to arrive when we least expect it. Oogy, used as a bait dog when only a young puppy, missing an ear and half his face seemed doomed to a short, dreadful and unloved existence until the Levin family adopted him. As the boys’ hearts healed, so did Oogy’s and the new family became one of complete trust and devotion. Oogy’s story is one of humanity at it’s worst and also at it’s best. Beautifully written and full of heart-breaking and heart-warming moments, Oogy will work his way into the hearts of the readers; I know he did mine, and I am a cat person. I would recommend Oogy to anyone looking for a sweet and redemptive story, for anyone who loves animals and in particular dogs.

About the Author:

Larry Levin and his family live in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. He is an attorney in solo practice. He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for twenty-six years. Their sons, Noah and Dan, are eighteen. Oogy is eight.

I received a complimentary copy of Oogy by Larry Levin from Hachette. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


signature
Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , ,

Book Review: Désirée by Annemarie Selinko

Friday 29 October, 2010 by 7 Comments


Title: Désirée
Author: Annemarie Selinko
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition
Publication Date: October 1, 2010
Paperback: 608 pages
ISBN: 978-1402244025
Genre: Historical Fiction


From the Publisher:

To be young, in France, and in love: fourteen year old Desiree can’t believe her good fortune. Her fiance, a dashing and ambitious Napoleon Bonaparte, is poised for battlefield success, and no longer will she be just a French merchant’s daughter. She could not have known the twisting path her role in history would take, nearly breaking her vibrant heart but sweeping her to a life rich in passion and desire.

A love story, but so much more, Désirée explores the landscape of a young heart torn in two, giving readers a compelling true story of an ordinary girl whose unlikely brush with history leads to a throne no one would have expected.

An epic bestseller that has earned both critical acclaim and mass adoration, Désirée is at once a novel of the rise and fall of empires, the blush and fade of love, and the heart and soul of a woman.

My Review:

Delightfully enchanting, Désirée by Annemarie Selinko is an exquisite book based on the fascinating life of Désirée Clary. Selinko chose to write her narrative through diary entries of Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary beginning in 1794 when she was 14 years old and meets and becomes engaged to Napoleon Bonaparte, and ending on August 29, 1829 as she is crowned Queen of Sweden, and the 35 years in between. Most have heard of Napoleon Bonaparte and some know he was first engaged to Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, but many do not know her full story, for which Selinko does an extraordinarily detailed job chronicling, from her family life to friends and extended parties including the rich and detailed description of the court of Napoleon Bonaparte to the Swedish courts, which she is not as fond of as the French courts. Désirée is rich in vivid detail and imagery, taking the reader back to the world Bernardine Eugenie Désirée Clary inhabited and the numerous conflicts that surrounded her life and the turbulent times she lived. The characters are well developed and I found myself extremely intrigued by Josephine de Beauharnais and will be looking for a book from her perspective next. Selinko masterfully writes not only an unforgettable love story but also an in-depth historical tale, which draws the reader in from the very first page and keeps the reader’s rapt attention until the last word is read. To say I enjoyed this book immensely would be an understatement. I found myself riveted to my seat from beginning to end and could not help but care deeply for Désirée Clary. This is one of the best historical fiction novels I have read and I recommend without hesitation Désirée by Annemarie Selinko to all readers.

I received a complimentary copy ofDésirée by Annemarie Selinko from Sourcebooks. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


signature
Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: ,
«Older Posts