Thank God!

All of humanity is saved! A publisher for The Jewel of Medina has been found and life can go on!

If this hasn't been a complete waste of time, I don't know WHAT has. Can we just give the damnable thing out already, and move on to book that might actually be good? Give it the Pulitzer and the Nobel. The Edgar, the Anthony. The Hugo, the Nebula. The Oscar, the Emmy. The Grammy.


Thanks. Appreciate it.

As much as I hate this from Dennis Lehane:

He knows what he won't do: write another whodunit about the two private eyes, Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, in his first five novels, which include Gone Baby Gone. "They were written from a young man's perspective. I left Patrick when I was 33 and he was 33. I've tried, but his voice won't come."

I completely understand and admire it. Too many authors keep writing the series long after the "voice" has left them. If they ain't talkin' to you, quit tryin' to make them talk to us.

Read the rest of Lehane's article here. I was on the fence about his latest book, but I think he pushed me over to the "read it" side.

Good Cover?

You know, the cover is beautiful and relaxing. It makes you think of vacationing in a little seaside town.......and then you notice the title. But, honestly, the cover is so beautiful you don't even realize the title right away.

But, WTF? The title is like one of those salty waves... slapping you in the face.

Good Cover

It made me laugh. It didn't make me want to read the book, but it did make me laugh.

Review: Lyon

Lyon: The Lords Of Satyr by Elizabeth Amber

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The first book in this series turned out to be my favorite. But, this one was also a decent effort. I liked it MUCH better than Raine, the middle book. The story was plausible, although it was a little more convoluted than it had to be. You could see where she was going.....straight to book 4 of a 3 book series. She had to find a way to justify a book 4, so the plot went in that direction. It probably would have been better had it ended and a NEW series started. But, she didn't ask me. (More the pity.)



The main characters were good. The villains were cardboard and predictable. The sex wasn't boring. It also wasn't hilarious, which can be as bad as boring. All in all, it was a solid entry into the series but I'm not jumping up and down with excitement. Will I read another of her books? Probably.


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Review: Unto the Daughters

Unto the Daughters: The Legacy of an Honor Killing in a Sicilian-American Family by Karen Tintori

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow. I kept waiting for the part where the author admits this is entirely fictional and none of the awful she describes actually happened.



That part never came. It seems completely unbelievable to read this with 20th and 21st century eyes. But, this book is about more than just the uncovering of the ugly family secret of an "honor killing" but a history of how this family came to America. And a social history of immigrant families. It is fascinating, and I can't recommend it highly enough, even for people who SWEAR they don't like history.






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Review: All U Can Eat

It really wasn't ALL I could eat.......



All U Can Eat by Emma Holly

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
The sex was kind of hot. The rest of the story was kind of dull. That is the way a lot of these books run, so it wasn't much of a surprise. It gets three stars because the hot/dull ratio wasn't so large. They actually ran about even.



Would I rec this book to anyone? Maybe. It depends on the person and what they're looking for. If they're looking for mindless entertainment that doesn't suck, then sure, I would throw this out as a rec. With qualifications.


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Review: Breaking Point

Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Okay, Okay. I'm a Max fan. I'm a Jules fan. I'm a Gina fan. So why wasn't this a 5 star book?



Yeah, I don't know either. It just wasn't. The book was good, don't get me wrong. Parts of it were extraordinary, actually. The plot was great, although the reasoning behind it was a little weak for me. I didn't buy it after a certain point.



The action was great, although it was a little too unlikely.



Jules as Max was wonderful. More than meets the eye, definitely. He can be just as Max-esque as Max, and how wonderful was that to see! Sweetie. First rate, truly.



Gina....you know, I usually have nothing but good to say about Vitagliano. But, there were times in here, towards the end of the book, where I wanted to smack her upside her head. Maybe that's how you know you truly care....



Loved the flashback scenes. What an incredibly effective way to tell that story.



Secondary characters: Okay, I absolutely LOVE Gina's brothers. At least the one who keeps trying to get Jules to see the uh.....wisdom of Catherine Zeta Jones. Seriously? Love it. Jones and Molly? Yeah, they were all right.



After all the waiting for Max-n-Gina, I wish it wouldn't have been quite so angsty. But, it was, and that was no surprise.


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Review: Hot Target

Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book would have been a solid "three stars" if not for Jules Cassidy.



That said, it wasn't a bad book, not really. But, it was definitely disappointing after Flashpoint. Readers who were coming at the series as it was written would probably have been happy to see the series regulars they had come to know. I can sympathize with that, certainly. But, everything in Flashpoint was so engaging, and this book lacked that.....except for Jules Cassidy.



I liked Cosmo, of course. I thought he was fantastic. Most people who know me won't be surprised by that. Jane was all right. I wasn't bowled over by her, but I also didn't want to bash her with a sharp rock. She was okay. Robin/Adam/Jules triangle was the most interesting part of this story, and it doesn't end the way you expect. Of course it doesn't. Brockmann is the master of the long and drawn out. Ten years from now, maybe there will be a resolution!



The big bad in this book turns out to be a group called Freedom Network. I wasn't impressed by them, and the way it was written seemed a little too "Lifetime Movie of the Week" for me to be excited about it. It could be that she was just sowing the seeds for further books, and looking for a semi reasonable plot to get Cosmo and Jane together. Great. I can appreciate that. And the fact that she is Suzanne Brockmann means that the characters can carry a book when the plot sucks is a bit disappointing.



It wasn't her best book, that's all I'm saying. But, on the other hand, it was a book you can NOT miss, if you're in this series. Too much happens, including a truly heartbreaking development, for it to be passed over.


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Review: Flashpoint

Flashpoint by Suzanne Brockmann

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a fantastic entry into the Troubleshooters series. I was a little apprehensive about this one because the characters were unfamiliar. I could see, if you were waiting a year between books, how this one might throw you off. But, new characters rock. Jimmy Nash is one of the more fascinating characters in this series. I wish there was time to explore his background more. A lot of it was left opaque simply because the book was about his future, not his past. But, oh, how interesting his past seems to have been!



Tess....well, there were parts of her story that seemed a little hard to believe. But, overall, she was also very engaging. There were times when you wanted to throw her overboard (even though she wasn't on a ship) but whenever she argued, it seemed like her position was the most sensible one. Funny that.



Decker, Murphy, Dave, and the rest of the supporting cast all have real work to do, and have real character development. As usual, Brockmann is just setting up for them having "their own" book in the future.



Very few flaws in this book. Also, a good one to start if you're new to the series. Best to start at the beginning, naturally, but this is also a good entry point if the beginning isn't possible.


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Don't act up.

So, there is a big time publishing house that is putting "behavior" clauses into the contracts of their authors of juvenile books. If you behave in a certain way, blah blah blah. Actually, here is the actual text, picked up from another book blog:

"If you act or behave in a way which damages your reputation as a person suitable to work with or be associated with children, and consequently the market for or value of the work is seriously diminished, and we may (at our option) take any of the following actions: Delay publication / Renegotiate advance / Terminate the agreement."

Come on, now. I would ask: what will they think of next, but I'm afraid to know.


In other Brit book news, there was this story about Random House changing "twat" to "twit" in a children's book.

Good Cover!

This made me laugh. The blurb makes it sound kind of bland. "a lovable and absorbing romp about parenting, marriage, and the battle of the sexes."

Yeah, yeah, yeah. All that said to me was that it probably won't live up to the cover. Too bad.

Review: Gone Too Far

Gone Too Far by Suzanne Brockmann

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
If you did things the right way, and followed Brockmann's Seals series from the beginning, this was the book everyone was waiting for. Sam and Alyssa's book. If that is how you looked at it, you may have been disappointed. This book was much more than just "How Sam and Alyssa finally got their act together." Of course, it completely follows the pattern that Brockmann had set out earlier in the series.



More importantly, Brockmann knows how to draw inifinitely interesting people. They cease to be just characters long before you realize you've been sucked in. This isn't a good place to start the series, if you're thinking of just picking one up to see what the fuss is about. Other than that, excellent book.


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Review: The Mercedes Coffin

The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
First of all, I love Chris Donatti. Truly. He is one of the best characters in mystery fiction right now.....in my not so humble opinion. I know that makes me kind of psychotic, but so be it. I've loved him since Kellerman's Justice where he was introduced. MORE CHRIS!!!



Ahem. Anyway, this wasn't a bad entry to the series. I missed the boys, they were no where to be found. They were mentioned, but that's it. The rest of the gang reported for duty, and the mystery was serviceable. Of course, I don't read Kellerman for her mystery, I read for the characters. Things were fresh here, and this almost reminded me of some of the earlier books in the series. Nice work.


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Review: Names My Sisters Call Me

Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
You know, I had been looking forward to this book for a long time. When I finally got it in my hot little hands, I wasn't, exactly, disappointed. It wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't as good as I would have liked it to be. The only character that I really enjoyed was Lucas. I got the attraction to Matt, but not to the extent that the main character took it. I certainly did not get the Matt/Raine relationship and I thought Raine was the least developed of the characters. It wasn't just that I didn't get her (although I didn't) but she just seemed a little two dimensional compared to the two other sisters. And I call BS on the fact that no one realized Mom had a booyfriend. For FIFTEEN YEARS! Come on.



But, the story was warm and the pages turned quickly and easily. I stayed up late (way too late!) to finish it, and I felt all warm and squishy inside when it was over.


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I'm not much into Non-Fiction

But I do like what interests me. This one interests me in a kind of sick fascination kind of way.

Or, again, it might have been the great review, this time from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

TBR

TBR = to be read.

Although this might be one of those books where the review is much better than the actual book. The Philly Inquirer, quickly becoming one of my favorite review sources, made it sound amazing. We'll see what happens when I get around to it.

Tipping.....not just for cows anymore!

Sorry, that was a little bit of Midwest humor.

Ahem.

Anyway, these are the kinds of books that I love. There was one about a hotel worker that got scrapped (too bad!) but the waiter book lives.

It is probably the kind of book that will make me want to never eat outside of my house again. I'm still going to read it. I shouldn't be eating out so much anyway! The Post gave it a pretty decent review.

Shoeaholics, take note!

This is a british release, which will be published in the States in November. I just noticed we had a preview copy and snagged it for my very own! I can't wait to jump into it!

Funky Cold Medina

There is a big controversy, or conTROversy if you're British, going on about the book The Jewel of Medina.

What? You've never heard of it? Well, that is because it was supposed to have been released yesterday and it wasn't. Why? Well, that is the question. Random House pulled the book from its release schedule and it isn't clear if it was because the book wasn't so hot, or because the book is going to make Muslim extremists fly into a rage and civilization, as we know it, will be destroyed. One of those scenarios seems more likely than the other, but I'll let you make up your own mind.

Anyway, as you might have guessed, right wing reactionaries are ALL IN AN UPROAR about the "American way of life" being subjugated by "liberal media" (yak) and bowing down to Islam. Really? Is that what happened?

I find it humorous, if not a little ridiculous, that everyone is jumping to the defense of a book they've never heard of, let alone read. Andrew Klavan stated, in some editorial, that "but I know for a fact that the history of literature and thought will be poorer for its absence." Really? You know that for a fact, never having read the book? Wow. That's pretty good.

If you're interested, here are some links to the controversy. I highly recommend the Smart Bitches discussion, because there are a few Muslim women who give real insight into lots of things dealt with in the book. Also, there is also a link to the prologue so you can be more informed than Mr. Klavan, at least.

From GalleyCat

From Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (thread with prologue)

The original SBTB thread.