Book Review - Sanctus

Sanctus by Simon Toyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you're a fan of international religious suspense intrigue a'la Dan Brown's DaVinci Code books or the Genesis Project books, you're going to love Sanctus by Simon Toyne.

I received a copy of the second book in this series - The Key - from GoodReads and decided after the first page that I really wanted to read this book first. It seemed less stand-alone than the Dan Brown books and, besides, I was really interested in the background of the story.

I'm so glad that I did. This book is a fabulous ride, full of intrigue, suspense, exotic locations, scary monks with guns, bizarre and unexplainable medical mysteries, explosions, a cop who is not only cool but reminds me in some ways of my husband (at least when he talks to/about his wife), and a twisty and intriguing plot that doesn't let go until the last page. And maybe not even then.

This isn't particularly a character-driven story, but there are some very relatable and fun characters here, which makes it all the more fun to root for them as time passes and the plot gets thicker and more interesting. It isn't high literature, but it isn't meant to be; it's meant to be entertaining and it does that very, very well.

I'd love to see this made into a movie. It would be fantastic in that format.

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Book Review - East of Denver

East of Denver by Gregory Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first started reading this book, I thought "Brilliant! I'm going to give it five stars! I love character-driven novels and these characters are so compelling! They remind me of people down home in southern Illinois. They're lovely and charming and unique and frustrating and annoying and so heartbreakingly real. Oh, this is going to be such a lovely relaxing read with more depth than action, and a nice break from the suspense and horror I've been reading lately!"

When I got about halfway through this book, I thought, "Hmmm. Okay, maybe only four stars. While I appreciate the delicacy that's used to outline these characters in their day to day life, it's starting to get a bit tedious. Just how many doorknobs can you fix, anyway?". At that point, I'd forgotten that I'd read the back cover of the book - I know, I know, but it really is possible.

So, when the main character suddenly decides to rob his hometown bank, I literally sat up in bed, where I'd been reading in hopes of reading my overstimulated brain to sleep, and said "Oh my god!" and got poked by a mostly sleeping husband who was rather annoyed. So I took the book out to the sofa, because I knew then and there that I would not be sleeping until I finished it. That is also why I'm writing this review at almost two thirty in the morning.

As the book went on, I found myself ever more frustrated and confused by the choices some of the characters make. In some places, I had issues with suspension of disbelief and actually rolled my eyes. I decided about three-quarters of the way through the book that I was only going to give it a three-star review, because some of it was driving me crazy, and I wondered at some points if now the author was just playing a joke on me. What happened to my sweet little character driven before-bed book?

And then, as I finished the book and realized I desperately didn't want it to end, and that it had kept me incredibly engaged, I knew that three stars just wasn't enough. It deserved four for the sharply drawn characters, the lyrical prose, and the story that kept me awake and drawn to this book until I pushed through to the end of it. It is lovely and sweet in places, raw and unforgiving in others. It takes a hard look at antipathy and what entropy can do to a life, and a world, and a home. It's fascinating and riveting, and worth reading.

*Book received at no cost through Goodreads First Reads program

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Book Review - Autumn: Disintigration

Autumn: Disintegration by David Moody
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ever finish a book and say to yourself, "Whew, what a ride!" ?

That's how I feel right now.

The fourth installment in the Autumn Zombie series by David Moody, Autumn: Disintegration takes you off in an entirely new direction than the previous books. I had bemoaned the fact that my previous read in the series, billed as 3.5, told me the ending of what happened to the previous group of survivors, worried it would spoil the rest of the books for me. I was soon to discover that wasn't the case.

Though I was cranky when book two introduced new survivors instead of carrying on the original storyline, here I was thrilled. I guess that things had gone about as far as they could be taken, for me, in the other story line, and this opened up fresh new characters and perspectives in this post-apocalyptic world overrun by the living dead.

It's somehow fresh and interesting, fun and exciting, and full of action and wild suspense. It's a rocky ride, and I still get cranky when I see someone use the word "germ" as many times as this author does, and some of the characters are a little cliché, but overall it's exactly what it's meant to be: pure entertainment.

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Book Review - Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter

Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let me start out by saying that I would have pushed this to three and a half stars if that were possible here, but I just couldn't push it to a four.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a knitting blogger. Yarn Harlot is, I'm guessing, scraped from blog content. That's not necessarily a bad thing; there are books of that type that I've loved, and that have introduced me to blogs that I now follow and am a huge fan of. But I wasn't expecting it with this book, and for some reason, the disjointed nature of the blog posts turned into book chapters bothered me here and there.

Aside from that, this book is actually really funny. I snorted in bed with laughter loudly enough one night to wake up a snoring husband and earn myself a dirty look. If you're a non-knitter or into multiple crafts, there's a few digs here and there; McPhee is a capital-K Knitter and doesn't abide those who crochet.

Or those who are allergic to wool, unfortunately. I wonder what she'd think of me, as I can't wear or work with the stuff!!

At any rate, it was funny. The chapters are short, and unconnected, which makes this a great book to pick up and put down in between other reads. Or during TV commercial breaks. Or when in the bathroom. Not that I did any of that, honest. It's a fast read, fairly short, and does have some great funny moments that other crafty types will relate to.

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Book Review - Paper, Scissors, Death

Paper, Scissors, Death by Joanna Campbell Slan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had so much fun with this book.

Have you ever read a book where you're absolutely certain you could be besties with the main character? That's how I feel about Kiki Lowenstein. With my long history of scrapbooking, I can't believe it took me this long to discover that there's a nice cozy set of mysteries wrapped up in the world of scrapbooking!

This book is a treat. It's a fun, sometimes silly romp. There are some characters that will set your temperature steaming, and others, like the adorable adopted rescue Great Dane Gracie who will melt your heart. It's not a serious book, and as such, it's a super fast read. It's not literature, no, but it's extremely, extremely entertaining.

And it contains scrapbooking tips and ideas. I've never done a negative space title before but I have a feeling it's going to be showing up in a layout some time soon!

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Book Review - A Red Herring Without Mustard

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Crime solving chemist (and kid) Flavia DeLuce is at it again in this, the third installment of the Flavia DeLuce mysteries from Alan Bradley. Set in post World War II England, Flavia is the youngest daughter of a widower on a bankrupt estate. As the situation grows more dire for her family, a gypsy woman turns up looking for a place to camp, and the ever effable Flavia offers her a place on their estate of Buckshore.

When the woman is nearly beaten to death, discovered of course by a midnight jaunt of our intrepid girl detective, things start to get really interesting.

If you liked the other two Flavia novels, this one won't disappoint you. It's sharp and witty and fun to read. Overall, an excellent novel with a flair for dramatic mystery.

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Book Review - Pretties

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The follow-up to "Uglies" (which I really enjoyed), Pretties continues the tale of Tally, Shay, Peris, and the others met in the first book, post Tally's return to the city to become a Pretty, which came at the end of Uglies.

If I never read the words "bubbly" or "bogus" again, I may recover from this book.

While the story is engaging, the dialogue, plot lines, and characters drove me a little crazy. Yes, I know pretties are vapid. Yes, I know they do shallow things and live shallow lives, but good heavens, the book didn't have to! There was so much depth that could have been explored here that wasn't.

While I thought the story was okay, I can't say I enjoyed it half as much as the first in the series. Still, I'll be reading "Specials" soon, so it may have done it's job, pushing me on to the next book with just enough of my questions hanging after this book to prompt me.

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Book Review - Uglies

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You know, I think I read more YA fiction now than I did when I was in the YA age range (by that point I'd moved on to "adult" books.) I mean, I read Sweet Valley High and such, but why wasn't there YA fiction like this around when I was that age?

I guess it was so I could read it now.

Uglies takes place in a post-apocolyptic world where war and conflict has been eliminated. The small population goes through surgery to make everyone aesthetically pleasing, and somehow, this makes life better. Well, no, it's not quite that easy. Because people just don't seem the same once they become a "pretty". They seem to forget their old friends, and lose their old personalities. So finds Tally, when her best friend Peris turns pretty and seems to have left her friendship behind.

Tally has a few months to kill before her 16th birthday - the day of the operation - and befriends Shay, a fellow Ugly, waiting in the dorms with her to become what society means her to be. Only, she's not sure she wants to be pretty, or vapid, or dull. Instead, she as other ideas and Tally gets pulled into the mix, which includes the mysterious David, who tells tales of a world where no one is an Ugly, and no one is a Pretty, but everyone is beautiful.

This was an interesting, incredibly fast read. Two nights before bed and I was done. And I'm really drawn to the premise of this book, so I think I'll be starting the next one pretty shortly.

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Book Review - Specials

Specials by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Third in the "Uglies" saga, Specials picks up not long after the ending of "Pretties", with Tally back in the city, under the eye - and hands - of the devious Dr. Cable, who is determined to turn her into one of the unique breed of young Special Circumstances agents called "Cutters", run by Tally's friend Shay.

While I liked Specials much better than Pretties, I didn't like it nearly as well as Uglies. This is another super-fast read, finished in two reading sessions for me, and it's quick moving, with more action than the previous books. We've gotten about as far in character development as we were going to get in the series, and there aren't any significant new characters introduced here. In fact, be prepared to say goodbye to one significant character. Usually this would make me cry, but the way it was handled made it almost emotionless for me, as it had grown pretty inevitable. Mostly, Specials is about capers (tricks) and chases, war (yes, really, war!) and Tally's adjustment to her new "Special" status.

The book seemed to wrap up just about every dangling story line you can imagine, which makes me really wonder about the existence of "Extras", the next book in the series. It almost seems (I haven't looked it up to be certain) that this was meant to be a trilogy and the last book was tacked on to capitalize on the success of the others. Truly, I'm considering not reading the last book, because I like the way things were tied up, and don't necessarily want to see more icky things happen to poor Tally, who has really been through the ringer in this series.

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Book Review - Wild

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cheryl Strayed's excellent memoir of her time hiking the Pacific Crest trail is a journey not just on aching feet and with a heavy pack on her back, but through the trail of grief left behind by her mother's passing and the subsequent dissolution of the family unit she'd always called home.

Newly divorced, floating from job to job, idly doing drugs and sleeping with men, working service jobs here and there, Cheryl is lost. So lost, in fact, that when signing her divorce papers she chooses her own, new last name. Strayed, because she feels like a stray, drifting in the world.

The beginning of the hike is an impulse, and almost seems without purpose, but as she leaves miles of wilderness behind her, she falls into herself in amazing ways.

I loved this book. I related to this book in a significant way, although the journeys I took in my life on impulse were slightly different (and LOTS easier on my feet!). It's a wonderful coming-of-age tale, worth reading by those fascinated by the wilderness and those not.

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