books

Review – Speaking In Bones by Kathy Reichs

~ Erika K ~ 9 Comments

Speaking In Bones by Kathy Reichs

Temperance Brennan #18

Genre: Mystery
My Rating: **** (4 of 5 stars)

In Speaking in Bones, Temperance Brennan (Tempe to her friends)  is approached by a woman named Hazel Strike who claims to have information regarding an unidentified set of remains in the lab. Hazel is a websleuth, an amateur who tries to solve cold cases using information available on several websites dedicated to the pursuit. Skeptical and busy as always, Tempe isn’t convinced until Hazel herself turns up dead. On other fronts, Tempe still can’t decide what to do about Lt. Andrew Ryan and his marriage proposal.

This was a good mystery, full of twists, and fast paced. Tempe thinks she knows who killed Hazel and who the remains belong to only to find herself proven wrong. I was kept guessing right along with her. While I really enjoyed the mystery, Tempe’s indecision regarding her on again / off again relationship with Detective Ryan was starting to get to me. There was some resolution on that front near the end though, which is why the book gets 4 stars from me instead of 3.

If you’ve been following the series, you won’t want to miss this installment. While the mystery is completely stand-alone, I think this is one that will be more enjoyable if you read at least some of the earlier books first.

***Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Audiobook Review – An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

~ Erika K ~ 9 Comments

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (audio CD edition)
An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)
Narrated by Fiona Hardingham and Steve West

Genre: YA / Fantasy
My Rating: ***** (5 of 5 stars)

I had been listening to this audiobook for about a week during my commute to and from work, and when it ended on my way home, I couldn’t believe it. It couldn’t end there. It just couldn’t. I wasn’t ready. I wanted to know, no, needed to know what happened next! While not a cliff-hanger, there are so many things left unresolved at the end of this story, so many things left to be done, that I really hope Ms. Tahir has at least another 2 or 3 books up her sleeve. (NOTE: Since writing this review I have scoured her Goodreads page and found that yes, book #2 is in the works. I can breathe a little easier now…)

An Ember in the Ashes is the story of Laia, a Scholar girl, and Elias, a soldier in training for the Empire’s army. The Scholars are the lowest class citizens in the Empire, and many of Laia’s people have been killed or enslaved. Her own parents and older sister were killed for being rebels. Elias is just finishing his training as a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. When Laia’s remaining family is raided one night, she goes undercover as a slave at the military academy to try to gain information she can trade to the Scholar resistance, so that they will help her find and free her brother who was captured during the raid.

There was a bit of a love triangle, which I usually hate, but each individual seemed so real, each with his own flaws and redeeming qualities, that it was easy to understand Laia’s feelings. And I loved Laia herself. She was no super-woman, just a frightened girl determined to do whatever she had to in order to save the only family she had left. She was scared, she second guessed herself, but she never gave up. I admired her determination, and it’s been a long time since I read a book that made me care so much about what happened to its characters.

I have to mention the narrators as well. I thought both of them did a great job, and having both a male and female narrator helped distinguish the point of view for each chapter. I hope they  will be available to read again when the next book in this series is ready!

If you enjoy Young Adult Fantasy, then I can’t recommend this book enough. I will be buying a copy of book number two just as soon as it is available!

Visit Sabaa Tahir’s website

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What Are You Reading Wednesday

~ Erika K ~ 6 Comments

What are you reading Wednesday – 8/5/15

whatareyoureadingwed
What Are You Reading Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Its A Reading Thing. To participate, open the book you are currently reading to page 34 (or 34% in your ebook) and answer these three questions. Feel free to leave your answers or a link to your blog post in the comments.

The Questions are:
1. What’s the name of your current read?

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a complete sentence. (or two!)

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

1 – This week I have an advanced reading copy of House of Thieves by Charles Belfoure
House of Thieves: A Novel
Available September 15, 2015 from Sourcebooks Landmark

2 – When you present your calling card to the butler, Julia, you must wait to see if the lady of the house will receive you. If the butler tells you, “She’s not at home to callers”, that’s perfectly acceptable. Don’t take it as a slight.

3 – I love reading about 1880’s New York and the ins and outs of society, and I wouldn’t mind cruising around town in a horse drawn carriage. I don’t think I would want to stay forever though. I would miss too many modern conveniences, especially my air conditioning and my Keurig brewer…. 🙂

Top Ten Fairytale Retellings

~ Erika K ~ 25 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday they post a new Top Ten list prompt. This week’s list is Top Ten Fairytale Retellings I’ve Read. Since I can’t remember having read that many fairy tale retellings, I’m cheating a bit this week and using mythology and children’s stories as well. As always, if you have a book to add to my list, or want to leave a link back to your own list, please leave a comment!

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Review – Isolation by Mary Anna Evans

~ Erika K ~ Leave a comment

Isolation by Mary Anna Evans
Isolation (Faye Longchamp, #9)
Faye Longchamp Mystery #9
Available August 4, 2015 from Poisoned Pen Press

Genre: Mystery
Rating: **** (4 of 5 stars)

***NOTE: I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

Another series I started in the middle – I really need to stop doing that! While you don’t need to have read the first 8 books in the series to enjoy Isolation, I think it would be better to read the earlier books first. There were several references I didn’t fully understand, but nothing that really impacted the mystery at hand. I would have liked to better understand the nuances of the relationship between Faye and her husband Joe, so I may have to go back and read some of the earlier books…..

Faye Longchamp lives on a small island with her family. Going to the mainland for breakfast one morning, her husband and recently-released-from-jail father-in-law find a local woman dead in the water off her restaurant’s pier. Fearing that her father-in-law might make an easy scapegoat, Faye starts looking into the murder

This book started out slow, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. In the beginning of the story, we learn that Faye has recently suffered a miscarriage, and she’s having trouble coming to terms with the loss. Faye muddles around in a haze for several chapters, but as she starts to come back to herself, the book picks up pace as well. Once it gets going and you look back on the slow beginning, you can see that it is fitting considering Faye’s state of mind. I’m glad I didn’t give up during the slow part, because it finished up as a quick-moving, can’t-stop-until-I-know-who-did-it mystery.

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Review – The Precipice: A Novel by Paul Doiron

~ Erika K ~ 1 Comment

The Precipice: A Novel by Paul Doiron (audio edition)
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Read by Henry Leyva
Mike Bowditch #6

Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Rating: **** (4 of 5 stars)

***NOTE: I won my copy in a Goodreads First to Read Giveaway***

Mike Bowditch is a Maine game warden along the Appalachian Trail. When two young female hikers go missing, Mike and his girlfriend, wildlife biologist Stacey Stevens, join in the search. Once the bodies are found with teeth marks on the bones, the locals fear they may have been killed by coyotes. Stacey is sure that they weren’t, and both she and Mike continue investigating, determined to find the truth of what happened to the two young women.

This was a well-written thriller, with believable characters and an interesting locale. The narrator did a nice job keeping his Maine accent where needed, without being over the top or distracting.

I didn’t realize when I first started listening that this was book #6, but it was easy enough to figure out from the frequent references to Mike’s past that it wasn’t the beginning of a series. The book worked fine as a standalone novel, but I think I would have liked it even more had I read some of the earlier novels first. I will probably read more in this series, but I will start back at the beginning so I can watch Mike grow up into the man he is in this novel.

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Review – Trust No One by Paul Cleave

~ Erika K ~ 3 Comments
Trust No One by Paul Cleave
Trust No One
Available in Hardcover August 4, 2015 from Atria Books

Genre: Thriller
My Rating: ***** (5 of 5 stars)

***NOTE: I was provided a free copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

Jerry Grey is a best-selling crime writer who writes under the pen name of Henry Cutter. He is 49 years old, and has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. Jerry can’t always remember what is reality and what is fiction. Sometimes he believes that he is Henry. Sometimes he talks to Henry. And sometimes he confuses his real life with the lives of his characters. He confesses to crimes that never happened except within the confines of his books. At least that’s what everyone keeps telling him…

Several women have been killed recently at times when Jerry has gone wandering away from the nursing home where he now resides. He may know what has happened to them, but he can’t trust his memory of events. Can he trust what he’s written in his “madness journal”? And how can he be sure people are telling him the truth about what has happened during times that he has no memory of?

Trust No One is a very fast-paced, suspenseful novel. This book kept me guessing right up to the end. Just when I thought I knew who did what, something would happen to make me think that I must be wrong. “He did it. No, HE did it. Oh, that can’t be, I must have been right the first time!” (Yes, I have conversations like this with myself inside my head while reading. 🙂 )

I would recommend Trust No One to any thriller or suspense fan, but if you like stories told by unreliable narrators, such as Before I Sleep or Girl on the Train, then you really must read this one!

Warnings: occasional explicit language, violence, and those who have a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s may be uncomfortable reading about the disease’s devastating effects on Jerry and his ability to function

Visit Paul Cleave’s website
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What are you reading Wednesday – 7/29/15

~ Erika K ~ 12 Comments

What are you reading Wednesday – 7/29/15

whatareyoureadingwed
What Are You Reading Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Its A Reading Thing. To participate, open the book you are currently reading to page 34 (or 34% in your ebook) and answer these three questions. Feel free to leave your answers or a link to your blog post in the comments.

The Questions are:
1. What’s the name of your current read?

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a complete sentence. (or two!)

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

I’m reading a few things this week, but here’s the ebook I’m in the middle of….

1. Isolation by Mary Anna Evans
Isolation (Faye Longchamp, #9)
Faye Longchamp #9

2. “I’m on the far west side of the island, under that big oak tree standing all by itself next to the water.  Something’s not right, Joe. I’m not sure what it is, but something’s not right.”

3. I don’t think I’d want to live here. At first, the idea of being on a private island sounds appealing, but the more you realize just how isolated Faye and her family are from civilization, (and help, if needed) the less ideal it sounds.

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY (ends August 4, 2015, and is US only) – click the book cover above to be taken to Goodreads. Below the book description you will find a link to enter the giveaway.

Top Ten Characters Who Are Book Nerds

~ Erika K ~ 20 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday they post a new Top Ten list prompt. This week’s list is Top Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds. Some of these may not quite be book nerds, but they all share a love of books and reading. If you think of someone I missed, let me know! And feel free to leave a link back to your own post if you are playing along this week.

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