Quarantined by Joe McKinney

2/5 Stars

B&N:

The citizens of San Antonio, Texas are threatened with extermination by a terrifying outbreak of the flu. Quarantined by the military to contain the virus, the city is in a desperate struggle to survive. Inside the quarantine walls, Detective Lily Harris is working burial statistics duty at the Scar, San Antonio's mass graveyard, when she finds a murder victim hidden amongst the plague dead. But Lily's investigation into the young woman's death soon takes a frightening turn as yet another strain of the deadly flu virus surfaces, and now Lily finds herself caught up in a conspiracy orchestrated by a corrupt local government intent on hiding the news from the world and fighting a population threatening to boil over into revolt. As the city erupts in violence, Lily is forced to do the unthinkable. With the clock ticking toward annihilation, Lily must lead her family through the quarantine walls and escape with news that just might save us all.

My Review:

I read this book a bit ago, but I guess I forgot to post it. I think the basis of the book is strong. If the author went a little further, this book would have been better. It was interesting to see what the world would be like if a virus took most of us out.

Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead

4/5 Stars

B&N:

In Georgina Kincaid, succubus and she-demon, #1 New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead has created one of her most enticing characters. But with a shot at love, and maybe even redemption, is the ultimate seductress finally going soft? Like hell she is. . .

Georgina Kincaid has had an eternity to figure out the opposite sex, but sometimes they still surprise her. Take Seth Mortensen. The man has risked his soul to become Georgina's boyfriend. Still, with Lucifer for a boss, Georgina can't just hang up her killer heels and settle down to domestic bliss. In fact, she's being forced to transfer operations. . .to Las Vegas.

The City of Sin is a dream gig for a succubus, but Georgina's allies are suspicious. Why are the powers-that-be so eager to get her away from Seattle—and from Seth? Georgina is one of Hell's most valuable assets, but if there's any way out of the succubus business she plans to take it—no matter how much roadkill she leaves behind. She just hopes the casualties won't include the one man she's risking everything for. . .

My Review:

This is the last book in the series. It all came together, which was nice. Yes, it was pretty predictable, but I still really enjoyed it. Richelle Mead did a great job with this series. The characters were all very well developed and seemed so real. Throughout the series there were funny parts, sad parts, sexual parts, and heart-wrenching parts. Definitely worth the read (especially now that all the books are out!)

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

4/5 Stars

B&N:

Luis Fuentes is a good boy who doesn't live with the angst that his big brothers, Alex and Carlos, have always lived with. Luis is smart, funny, and has big dreams of becoming an astronaut. But when he falls for the wrong girl, Luis enters a dark world he's never known, and just when he thinks he's got life all figured out, learns some disturbing news about his family that destroys his positive outlook on life. Will that Fuentes bad boy streak come out with a vengeance and lure Luis to live on the edge like his new girlfriend and his own father?

Continuing all the steamy romance of the first two books, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Simone Elkeles gives fans one more satisfying taste of the irresistible Fuentes boys.

My Review:

I really liked this book. I liked this entire series. With the ending that the author wrote, I can definitely see another book based on characters within this book.

Yea, I know. Quick review. But, it's a great series and I'll definitely read more of it if the author writes more.

Shadowfever (Fever Series #5) by Karen Marie Moning

4/5 Stars...I guess. The ending is what brought it up from a 3 1/2 Star rating.

B&N:

Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.” MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years. What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh—a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds. In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves. Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card? From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her...

My Review:

There were definitely parts that I skimmed over. This is almost a 600 page book. In my mind, it could have been a 300-350 page book.

But there were a lot of parts that I really liked. And I was very happy with the ending. I would have believed this author would have messed that up, but she did a good job.


Spoiler alert!!!!







I was really happy how Mac and Jericho ended up together. The entire time I was pushing for them. And the way it happened was great. My heart was really with these two characters. When the author led us to believe he was dead (even though I kept thinking to myself- no way would she kills him off!), my heart hurt. I wanted more of him though. He's a great character.

Dreamfever (Fever Series #4) by Karen Marie Moning

3 1/2 Stars

B&N:

They may have stolen my past, but I’ll never let them take my future.

When the walls between Man and Fae come crashing down, freeing the insatiable, immortal Unseelie from their icy prison, MacKayla Lane is caught in a deadly trap. Captured by the Fae Lord Master, she is left with no memory of who or what she is: the only sidhe-seer alive who can track the Sinsar Dubh, a book of arcane black magic that holds the key to controlling both worlds.

Clawing her way back from oblivion is only the first step Mac must take down a perilous path, from the battle-filled streets of Dublin to the treacherous politics of an ancient, secret sect, through the tangled lies of men who claim to be her allies into the illusory world of the Fae themselves, where nothing is as it seems—and Mac is forced to face a soul-shattering truth.

Who do you trust when you can’t even trust yourself?


My Review:

Finally! Finally this series is getting good...to bad it's the second to last book. I called it (I think on the 2nd book review). This series really only needed to be 3 books long (if that.)

Yes, the author still retold a good amount, but it wasn't as bad as the 3rd book. Towards the end of the book, I did start skimming just to find out what happened, but over all I did enjoy reading the book.

It ended at a "wtf" moment. Most did, but this was was really like- I need the next book. I can only imagine the frustration of the people who actually read this when the books were coming out. Luckily I had all of the books on my Nook when I first started the series.

One more book to go!

Bloodfever (Fever Series #2) by Karen Marie Moning

2/5 Stars

B&N:

I used to think my sister and I were just two nice southern girls who'd get married in a few years and settle down to a quiet life. Then I discovered that Alina and I descend, not from good wholesome southern stock, but from an ancient Celtic bloodline of powerful sidhe-seers, people who can see the Fae. Not only can I see the terrifying otherworldly race, but I can sense the sacred Fae relics that hold the deadliest of their magic.

When my sister was found dead in a trash-filled alley in Dublin, I came over to get answers. Now all I want is revenge. And after everything I've learned about myself, I know I have the power to get it....

MacKayla Lane's ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland's shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh-a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V'lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them....

My Review:

Ok. So, this is the 2nd book in the series. Again, not extremely happy with it. Yes, it's good. Yes, it kept me reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen....but that's the thing. These books seem like teeny installments on what's happening. Like they're almost 300 pages but with the overall plot...not much happens. I think that's what annoys me.

I do really like the characters. I think they're very well developed, but it just seems like it's taking way too long for the plot to move on.

It seems like the author just wanted to make a series, so she extended little things to get more books out. It looks like there are 5 books, when I think the entire story could have been told in probably 3ish.

Another thing that really really annoyed me was how much the author back tracks during the book (especially at the beginning). Like she gives you all the information about what happened in book 1 all over again. I know authors do this sometimes to get people caught up, especially if the books came out far apart, but really... you don't need to tell us everything again! It put me in a bad mood reading the book and not liking it which may have caused me to just be thoroughly annoyed for the rest of the book.

Does the author do a good job of making you want to read the next book? Of course because she just ends the book. It seems like it's more so an end of a chapter instead of the end of the book.

I will read the rest of the series because I do want to know what's happening and have answers answered.

Again- this is probably just my opinion. I'm seeing it's being rated 4 stars everywhere else.

A good book, just one that annoyed me.

Darkfever (Fever Series #1) by Karen Marie Moning

2/5 Stars possible 3/5 Stars....I keep going back and forth!

B&N:
MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman.

Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone - Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae…

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book - because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

My SHORT review:

So, first I thought this book was wicked good. The characters drew me in as well as the story line. Then it slowed down a bit. When I finished it, I was like, "Hmmm not so great." I was going to give it a 3/5 Stars, but because it was really good then just became "eh" I brought it down to a 2 star.

I heard the rest of the series is really good. Started the 2nd one tonight. We shall see.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

5/5 Stars

B&N:

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and for Jacob the circus world was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an un-trainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was ultimately their only hope for survival.

My Review:

I have not seen the movie for this book yet (so I don't know if they changed anything in the movie or not), but I do plan on it. I bought this book a few years ago, but didn't read it until a year or two ago with my book club.

And, I didn't write a review at that time and honestly forget what I liked/didn't like about it...but I must have really liked it because I did rate it 5/5 Stars on goodreads right after I read it.

I do remember getting it at a yard sale but not really being interested in reading it. Why would I be interested in a carnival setting... well good thing I was "forced" to read it with book club because I loved it. I loved everything about the setting and time period and the overall story. I usually always suggest this book to people when they ask me what to read.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

5/5 Stars I may have even given it 6/5! (Just finished reading it July 1st.)

B&N:
Barcelona, 1945-just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother's face. To console his only child, Daniel's widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona's guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again. Daniel's father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Carax's work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness and doomed love. And before long he realizes that if he doesn't find out the truth about Julian Carax, he and those closest to him will suffer horribly.

My Review:

This book was amazing. I didn't think I would enjoy this book as much as I did. (Thank you book club for "making" me read it!) The author did a phenomenal job of keeping the reader guessing throughout the entire story. You would get a piece of the puzzle that really made you think, and then the story would move on giving you more information and other smaller pieces of the puzzle. Then the author would reveal what the first piece of the puzzle really meant causing you to piece the entire thing together a little bit more. I must say some of the information revealed were shocking (even if I started to guess a little of what was going on.)
The plot was perfect. There were basically two stories going on at once, but they were somehow connected. If you enjoy family drama, history, Spain, books, and mystery (I am not a mystery reading which is why I was shocked at how much I loved this book!) this is definitely a book you will want to add to your "to-read" list.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

4/5 Stars

B&N:

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families,left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

My Review:

I didn't want to read this book. I'm not exactly sure why. It could be because I'm teaching the Holocaust right now, so I'm kind of "WWIIed" out. I know this story takes place in the USA and really focuses on the Japanese side of the war, but still...I didn't want to. It was a book club pick. That didn't stop me from not getting the book. I figured I'd just not read this month. But, for some reason (probably not reading the past 2 books made me feel guilty) I went to the library and got it.

I must say, I really enjoyed this book. I started to read it and just didn't want to stop. I fell in love with the story. I needed for Henry and Keiko to end up together. It was very well written and I really enjoyed how it went from "present" day to back to the 40s. The way the author showed Henry when he was younger and then when he was an older gentleman was fantastic. I found the descriptions to be just enough. I usually hate books that go on and on with descriptions- I want the "action" the dialogue! I was fine reading this book. It has a good amount of both.

The setting for the book was very well constructed. I want to go visit all the places that it mentions! It helped move the story along, which is always a nice thing for the setting to be so involved in a story.

The history was just amazing. As I mentioned before, I have studied the Holocaust aspect of WWII. It was very interesting to read the other aspect of how things were happening here in the USA.

My heart actually ached throughout the book. It was a heart-wrenching book that I am very happy I read.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

5/5 Stars

B&N:

It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn's shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.

Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler.

Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay in her marriage has cost her more than her daughter's voice.

Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend, her soul mate and her voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual, professorial demeanor.

Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets.

My Review:


This was a very interesting book. I really enjoyed the way the author told the story from many different view points. It was easy to follow because of the chapter names (name of characters whose point of view you are reading about.) I also enjoyed how well the author wrote in flashback mode. It gave just the right information without over doing it. It also told us just enough to keep us guessing and wondering.

The story itself was very interesting. It really only goes through one day, but through the flashback mode it takes you over years and years. It's such an intriguing story. All the characters were believable and the back-story as well.

It took me around 6 hours total to read... unfortunately I started it at night and ended up staying up way too late reading it! I just had to find out who was the cause of what was happening. It has a really good twist at the end.

I've never read The Lovely Bones, but I would say people who liked that one, will enjoy this story.

Rage Stephen King

4/5 Stars

B&N: In Rage , a high-school student goes berserk in the classroom, killing the teacher and holding the class hostage.

My Review: I've never read any fiction by Stephen King. I've read his On Writing, which I really enjoyed. This story was given to me by one of my students. He told me he thought I'd like it. I did like it. Although I was frustrated at the end when 2 lines were edited out of a letter- King did this on purpose- but I wanted to know what they said! :)

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

5/5 Stars

B&N:

ABout to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooma in the palace--and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust--and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

My Review:

This has become one of my favorite books.

Another reread. LOOOVE this book. About a girl who is in prison and she gets the chance to be the commanders food tester (for poisons) or she is next up to hang. The thing is...she has to try all the poisons in order to know them. SUCH a good book! You start reading it and you just can't stop! I've had many friends read this (and my book group) and almost every single person has loved it. It's just a really well written story. The plot is exciting, the characters are true to life (as much as they can be) and of course there's some great romance...

Oh and it doesn't hurt that the author is so nice! I contacted her about some classroom stuff and she responded so fast and we wrote back and forth a few times. I love when authors do that!

***The entire series is good, but you really don't want to read what the others are about until you've read this one.

19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult

3/5 Stars

B&N:

In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.... In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.

Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens -- until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. For them, the lines between truth and fiction, right and wrong, insider and outsider have been obscured forever. Josie Cormier, the teenage daughter of the judge sitting on the case, could be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. And as the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show, destroying the closest of friendships and families.

Nineteen Minutes is New York Times–bestselling author Jodi Picoult's most raw, honest, and important novel yet. Told with the straightforward style for which she has become known, it asks simple questions that have no easy answers: Can your own child become a mystery to you? What does it mean to be different in our society? Is it ever okay for a victim to strike back? And who -- if anyone -- has the right to judge someone else?

My Review:

Eh- I liked it. Didn't love it. While reading it I felt horrible. I really sympathized with Peter. It was all just so sad.

I liked the beginning and I liked the end. The middle- dragged for me. About 200 of the pages I was like- ok got it- now tell me why it happened. I think it would have been much better if it was only 1/2 th size. I only finished it because I wanted to see how the author was going to pull off the ending.

Also, I hate sad books. Never read them. This was my 1st by this author that is so popular and most likely my last.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

4/5 Stars

B&N:

“ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.



My Review:

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't a fast paced book...it's one you read over a few days. Pick it up when you're feeling relaxed and get taken back in time to a small island during WWII. I think I was really interested in this book because I teach about the Holocaust and such and there is mention of the Germans taking over the island and a Holocaust survivor.

You get to feel like the people in the story are real to you. It's written in all letters which is pretty neat.

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

4/5 Stars

B&N: As a little girl, Jane has no one. Her mother Vivienne Margaux, the powerful head of a major New York theater company has no time for her. But she does have one friend--Michael--and no one can see him but her. But Michael can't stay with Jane forever, and on her eighth birthday, her imaginary friend must leave her.

When Jane is in her thirties, working for her mother's company, she is just as alone as she was as a child. Her boyfriend hardly knows she's there and is more interested in what Vivienne can do for his career. Her mother practically treats her as a slave in the office, despite the great success of Jane's first play, "Thank Heaven." Then she finds Michael--handsome, and just the same as she remembers him, only now he's not imaginary. For once in her life, Jane is happy--and has someone who loves her back. But not even Michael knows the reason behind why they've really been reunited.


My Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was a light read until you got towards the end when it takes a turn. I read it in less than 2 days because I just wanted to know what was going to happen. I could see why some people won't like this book because it doesn't seem like a lot happens- I liked this book because I'm single and it pulled at my heart to find your one true love. I want that. So, overall- good book, quick read.