The Winter Sea by,Susanna Kearsley Narrated by, Rosalyn Landor

None of the descriptions I have found of this book do it justice they all make it sound like time travel and it's not so I'll just say see the pretty cover the book lives up to the cover!

The Winter Sea by,Susanna Kearsley Narrated by, Rosalyn Landor

This was a nice mix of historical fiction and a modern day story set in Scotland, this was recommended to me because I love the Outlander Series. First off this doesn’t have time travel as I’ve seen some people say it has genetic memories which was a new device for me, but it worked well. It was interesting how modern day author Carrie is writing her novel and the characters in her head tell her how the story should go then she checks the historical records and they match perfect so there is this little bit of genetic memory, possible ghost story. I have heard from authors when they talk about their writing process that the characters decide where the story goes and not the writer and how they feel like their characters come to life, so this was kind of a take on this concept.

Both the present day and historical stories are blended well with the historical story set during the Jacobite rebellion of 1708 which was very well done and researched. There is romance in both stories that kind of mirror each other but both are kind of chaste and bittersweet neither is a big passionate affair just a nice addition to the story.

I enjoyed this story very much and would recommend it to fans of historical fiction. I will be reading more by this author!

Audio production: This was narrated by, Rosalyn Landor who is always a good narrator, for this one she had a lot to live up to since this was recommended to me because I love Outlander so she had Davina Porter to live up to and I must say she did a very good job!

4 ½ Stars

Ashfall by, Mike Mullin

Ashfall by, Mike Mullin

Alex lives in Cedar Rapids Iowa his parents have left him home alone for the weekend but it’s not the weekend he is hoping it will be when something crashes into his house and burns it to the ground you’d think that would be the worst of it but it is only the beginning. A Supervolcano in Yellowstone has gone off and changed the world as we know it; Alex sets off to find his family in a trek of survival, starvation and terror. Along the way Alex’s will is tested he does find some nice people that help him along the way but he also runs into people who would do him harm. He ends up at the farmhouse of Darla and her mother but tragedy strikes there too so he and Darla set off cross country to find his family.

The vivid descriptions of our world after the volcano the ash fall, the blocking out of the sun, the noise, the snow, and just trying to survive. This book doesn’t show our government in a very good light but honestly I could see it happening. Alex is a strong willed boy but Darla is strong and being a farm girl knows things about survival that city boy Alex never could. They make a great pair and I don’t think either one could have survived without the other. It was refreshing to have a male lead character yes there is a female but she is later in the book and compliments our male lead very well.

This book was scary in the way that this could really happen and since I live only a few states away from Yellowstone it hit home a bit. This book also made me curious enough about the Supervolcano that I looked things up and watched the BBC movie Supervolcano.

One of the best quotes from this book about the inhumanity these kids saw was...

“For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn’t taken our humanity. No, we’d given that up on our own.”

I enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down and look forward to the next installment in this series.

I received this book from netgalley and will definitely be buying this book for the city library I work at.

4 ½ Stars

Artemis Rising by, Cheri Lasota

Description:Torn between her father’s Catholicism and her mother’s Pagan beliefs, Eva finally chooses Paganism. She accepts the name of Arethusa but learns too late that her life will mirror the Greek nymph’s tragic fate. When they sail to the Azores Islands, her mother tells her that her destiny rests with Diogo, the shipowner’s son. But Eva sees a vision of another . . .
When the ship founders off the Azores, Tristan, a young Azorean, saves her. Destined to be with Diogo yet aching for Tristan’s forbidden love, Eva must some­how choose between them, or fate will soon choose for her.

Artemis Rising is a beautiful, seamless blend of two mythologies: the Arthurian legend of Tristan and Isolde, and the ancient Greek legend of Alpheus and Arethusa. It is a story filled with young romance, tragedy, forgiveness and attempts at redemption.

My Review
This is the story of a young girl named Eve who is raised in the US by a catholic father and a pagan mother, they are on a boat at sea when Eve’s mother Arethusa does a ritual to give Eve her mother’s name and to promise her to the moon goddess Artemis but things don’t go as planned, as tragedy strikes Eve’s/Arethusa life will never be the same.

This is a mix of 2 myths Tristan & Isolde and Arethusa & Alpheus and how your beliefs can set you on a path of tragedy and/or love and how outside forces can affect everything you do until you take control of your own life and stop living for others.

I enjoyed this book very much it has a mythical fairytale quality to it, and I thought it was well written. I found myself cheering for Arethusa & Tristan; it is a love story yet so much more. I was afraid at first it would be to romancey (I know maybe not a word but there it is) but I was pleasantly surprised by the story and the atmosphere her descriptions of the coastline & the sea made me feel like I was right there and could feel the wind. There are some scenes that made my stomach knot in fear for our heroine and that is the mark of a good book.

I will definitely read more by this author.

**I received this book from the Member Giveaway Program on Librarything**

4 Stars

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by, Shirley Jackson Audiobook

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Audiobook Narrated by, Bernadette Dunne
Synopsis from Goodreads:We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson's 1962 novel, is full of a macabre and sinister humor, and Merricat herself, its amiable narrator, is one of the great unhinged heroines of literature. Merricat has developed an idiosyncratic system of rules and protective magic, burying talismanic objects beneath the family estate, nailing them to trees, and ritualistically revisiting them. She has created a protective web to guard against the distrust and hostility of neighboring villagers. Or so she believes. But at last the magic fails. A stranger arrives—cousin Charles, with his eye on the Blackwood fortune. He disturbs the sisters' careful habits, installing himself at the head of the family table, unearthing Merricat's treasures, talking privately to Constance about "normal lives" and "boy friends." Unable to drive him away by either polite or occult means, Merricat adopts more desperate methods. The result is crisis and tragedy, the revelation of a terrible secret, the convergence of the villagers upon the house, and a spectacular unleashing of collective spite.

My Review:

Why haven’t I ever read anything by Shirley Jackson before?? I don’t know but that will be remedied very quickly! This is a great book! It has the feel of a ghost story because these two sisters are like living ghosts and actually there were times in this that I wasn’t sure if they weren’t ghosts. (And honestly still not sure after finishing it)

This is a short book but packs a great punch, even though one of these sisters did something horrible you love them anyway with all their quirks and strange ways. Gosh this is a hard review to write because I don’t want to give anything away but I want you to know I loved this book and you should read it too!

I highly recommend this book on audio Bernadette Dunne was a great narrator and really brings Merricat & Constance to life.

I guess all I can say is read/listen to this book what are you waiting for??

5 stars

The Poisoned House by, Michael Ford

Young Abi is an orphaned servant girl in the house of Lord Greave, the head of the household staff Mrs. Cotton, is the sister of the late lady of the house who rules with an iron fist. It has been a year since Abi lost her mother who was nurse/governess to Lord Greave’s son Samuel, Abi and Samuel grew up together and were closer than master & servant should be. In the year since her mother died Lord Greave has been slowly losing his mind and Samuel went off to war and came back injured. The worst thing is that Abi is seeing the ghost of her mother but what is she trying to tell her.

I really enjoyed this book it was hard to put down; it had just the right amount of spookiness and mystery. The build up to the reveal was great and what you think is going on is actually quite different then you are led to believe. The whole atmosphere of the story really took you back to 1856 Victorian England, the big house with its ghosts plus a little upstairs/downstairs. Abi was a great character as were the rest of the household staff I ended up really liking them and thought the postscript was a great touch!

If you like Victorian gothic with ghosts give this book a try!

I received this book from netgalley.

4 stars

fathermothergod:My Journey Out of Christian Science by, Lucia Greenhouse

Title: fathermothergod:My Journey Out of Christian Science Author: Lucia Greenhouse

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group

Imprint: Crown

Pub Date: 08/09/2011

ISBN: 9780307720924
Category: NONFICTION - ADULT: Biography & Autobiography

Description from publisher:
Lucia Ewing had what looked like an all-American childhood. She lived with her mother, father, sister, and brother in an affluent suburb of Minneapolis, where they enjoyed private schools, sleep-away camps, a country club membership, and skiing vacations. Surrounded by a tight-knit extended family, and doted upon by her parents, Lucia had no doubt she was loved and cared for. But when it came to accidents and illnesses, Lucia's parents didn't take their kids to the doctor's office--they prayed, and called a Christian Science practitioner.

fathermothergod is Lucia Greenhouse's story about growing up in Christian Science, in a house where you could not be sick, because you were perfect; where no medicine, even aspirin, was allowed. As a teenager, her visit to an ophthalmologist created a family crisis. She was a sophomore in college before she had her first annual physical. And in December 1985, when Lucia and her siblings, by then young adults, discovered that their mother was sick, they came face-to-face with the reality that they had few--if any--options to save her. Powerless as they watched their mother's agonizing suffering, Lucia and her siblings struggled with their own grief, anger, and confusion, facing scrutiny from the doctors to whom their parents finally allowed them to turn, and stinging rebuke from relatives who didn't share their parents' religious values.

In this haunting, beautifully written book, Lucia pulls back the curtain on the Christian Science faith and chronicles its complicated legacy for her family. At once an essentially American coming-of-age story and a glimpse into the practices of a religion few really understand, fathermothergod is an unflinching exploration of personal loss and the boundaries of family and faith.

My Review:
I didn’t know much about Christian Science when I started this book except for the fact that they don’t believe in going to doctors that the Lord will heal them however, I did not realize it is the symptoms of an illness or sickness itself that they don’t believe in.

I also don’t understand when they say things like have you tried science when referring to Lucia who wants to get her eyes checked, isn’t medicine science? So, I do not understand the name Christian Science when they don’t use Science like going to the doctor.

This book was a rare and fascinating look into a religion that I had little previous knowledge of and Lucia’s narrative on her family and upbringing alternately makes your heartbreak, makes you angry and makes you shake your head in disbelief that anyone could believe some of the things after going through what they went through in the latter part of the book. I felt so bad for Lucia and her siblings but also even through it all, her parents.

What was amazing is how her parent’s belief in this religion impacted the extended family too and how her parents virtually cut themselves off from any non-believer so no one could see what was really happening. Also Lucia confused feelings of wanting to get help for her mother and wanting to protect her parents must have been so hard I don’t know how she stayed sane through it all.

This was a great read and was very hard to put down, if you like memoirs about different religions or dysfunctional families I highly recommend this book it is a fascinating read.

4 Stars


Full Disclosure: I received this book from netgalley

Vixen ( The Flappers #1) & Ingenue (The Flappers#2) by, Jillian Larkin

I loved this book! It is so unique being set in the 20’s. This is the story of three friends. Gloria society girl engaged to Sebastian Grey a most eligible bachelor, Lorraine the neglected little rich girl wanting to be loved by a boy who doesn’t see her as anything but a friend, and Marcus the handsome playboy living his life to the fullest. Then there is Clara Gloria’s cousin who has come to Chicago in disgrace to “help with Gloria’s wedding” but there is more to Clara than meets the eye.

The excitement of rebelling against society and going to an underground speakeasy. For Gloria it is to try to live a little before she marries the boring Bastian. For Lorraine she just wants to get out from under Gloria’s shadow and be the center of attention. At the speakeasy Gloria meets Jerome part of the jazz band she finds she is attracted to him but there is a huge problem as Jerome is a man of color and this is the 1920’s.

This book has it all friendship, betrayal, secrets, forbidden love, and gangsters. From the uptown society of Chicago to the seedy underground I loved every minute of this book. Jillian Larkin takes you back to the 20’s and puts you right there the feel the music the clothes. She brings this period piece to life. I liked that the love story was sweet and not the usual fare. There is a lot of drinking as it is set during prohibition and they go to a speakeasy and a lot of smoking which in the 20’s was something everyone did. One just needs to remember that this is historical fiction and the author has re-created the atmosphere very well.

This is a great debut and a great beginning to a fun series. The ending is a cliffhanger that left me salivating for the next installment. Bravo Miss Larkin you have me completely hooked!

I received this book from Barnes & Noble First Look Program thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

4 ½ Stars










Ingenue (The Flappers#2) by, Jillian Larkin

We start up this second book in the Flapper’s series in New York City, Gloria and Jerome hiding out from the mob, Lorraine working for the mob, Clara is back in the city that almost ruined her, can she stay away from her old life or is it too much of a temptation and Vera trying to find her brother and hopefully save his life and make up for what she had done in Chicago. Relationships go through some growing pains in this one! You’ll be surprised who ends up the happiest in the end.

This one was a lot of fun again with some major intrigue as the stories and people converged for the climax and what a climax it was! It isn’t really a cliffhanger but the end of one chapter and the next book will be a new one because parts of this story were wrapped up very well, yet with just enough mystery to keep fans reading to see what happens next.

I so enjoy the atmosphere in this series, the 20’s ,flappers, bootleggers, booze, gangsters and some famous people of the time play into this story! I love who Vera meets backstage at the Cotton Club and who engineers some of the bad things that happen! (No Spoilers)

I think this is a great YA historical fiction series that teens and adults alike will enjoy no fantasy involved just a look at life in a different time when women were just starting to come into their own, segregation is in effect except of course that it’s ok for the African Americans to entertain you but they must come in the back door and an interracial relationship will get you in trouble I think it gives a great look at a life we can only imagine and hope that we have moved far away from. I do love books that that show strong women and this one is full of them , women in 1920 leaving the notions and traditional roles their parents have laid out for them to make their way in the world on their own, scary as that is.

I look forward to the next installment of this series!

4 stars

The Tudors TV Series

The Tudors TV Series




I really enjoyed this series but it is not for the young the sex scenes are extremely graphic and there are some scenes that are just there for the shock value and in my opinion were not needed at all (the scene where Henry umm takes care of himself). I was also disappointed that it ended where it did it should have just been called Henry the VIII. I wanted more I think the young lady (Sarah Bolger) who played Mary Tudor future Queen Mary has the acting chops to pull off the role very well. It could have ended when Queen Elizabeth took over because there are 100’s of movies out there about her but very few about Mary so I would have liked it if it had gone through Mary’s reign.


I liked all the actors in this show Jonathan Rhys Meyers kind of came into his own or just grew on me as the series progressed and of course you just can’t go wrong with Henry Cavill. I thought this series was very well done and I kept hopping over to Wikipedia to see what really happened was surprised at how well they actually stuck to true history considering it was a tv show.


I highly recommend this series to Tudor fans and it made me want to go back and re-read some Allison Weir or finally read some Jean Plaidy or Antonia Fraser.

Do you have any favorite Tudor books?

The Weird Sisters by, Eleanor Brown

This is the story of 3 sisters raised by a Shakespeare scholar who talks in quotes from the bard a mother who stayed at home but seemed melancholy at times, the sisters were close and not close 3 very different personalities Rose is the caretaker, Cordy (Cordelia) the wild child and Bean (Bianca) who wanted to make her way in the big city with all its trappings. Their mother has been diagnosed with cancer which brings Cordy & Bean home but is it the only reason or are there secrets that would have brought them home anyway?

I am glad I read this book on my nook so I was able to highlight the many many great quotes or I would have filled up a notebook writing them all down! Here are a few:

Instead, we were going to wrap ourselves in cloaks woven from self-pity and victimhood, refusing to admit that we might be able to help each other if we’d only open up. Instead, we’d do what we always did, the only thing we’d ever been dependably stellar at: we’d read.

“What I mean is, I still feel like me. It’s not like I wake up and think, I am a responsible adult. I just look in the mirror and see myself. The same stupid person I’ve been looking at for years.”

She never managed to find herself in these books no matter how hard she tried, exhuming traits from between the pages and donning them for an hour, a day, a week. We think in some ways, we have all done this our whole lives, searching for the book that will give us the keys to ourselves, let us into a wholly formed personality as though it were a furnished room to let. As though we could walk in and look around and say to the gray-haired landlady behind us, "We'll take it."

"There are times in our lives when we have to realize our past is precisely what it is, and we cannot change it. But we can change the story we tell ourselves about it, and by doing that, we can change the future."

"We all have stories we tell ourselves. We tell ourselves we are too fat, too ugly, or too old, or too foolish. We tell ourselves these stories because they allow us to excuse our actions, and they allow us to pass off the responsibility for things we have done-maybe to something within our control, but anything other than the decisions we have made."

This a book for the reader and lover of books it also reaffirms that you can go home again. These sisters each with their own set of problems 2 who ran far from home and 1 who never wants to leave. The growing up the looking at your life and analyzing everything you’ve done and how it brings you to who you are now. This was a very enjoyable book and I fell in love with these sisters and their parents watching the sisters bond through their troubles and differences.

I highly recommend this book to readers and book lovers whether you are a Shakespeare fan for not I think you will enjoy this character driven book.

4 ½ Stars

My Summer Immersion Into the Stargate Franchise

Now that I have finished my summer immersion into all things Stargate I suppose I should get my thoughts down. And I really do mean immersion I watched all 3 series back to back every night and weekend all summer that is 349 episodes of Stargate. I enjoyed the humor in all of them well SGU didn’t have much humor but SG-1 & Atlantis had just the right amount! All in all these shows were a great summer escape and SG-1 may be a yearly one!

I enjoyed all the incarnations however none lived up to the original SG-1, I enjoyed the chemistry of the original 4 they are SG-1 to me you just can’t go wrong with Sam (Amanda Tapping) Daniel ( Michael Shanks) & Teal’c ( Christopher Judge) & Of course Jack O’Neill ( Richard Dean Anderson), it took me awhile to warm up to Mitchell (Ben Browder) but I really enjoyed Vala’s (Claudia Black) character she was fun and spunky and was good for a laugh. I have heard these two Black & Browder starred in Farscape and that because I haven’t watched that series I didn’t get certain references in episode 200 which was hilarious by the way. So after I have watched Farscape I plan to go back and watch episode 200 again.I do think that Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) became a bit a caricature of himself ala the 200th episode and more and more in his recurring roles in Atlantis & SGU. The movies Ark of Truth & Continuium closed up the stories left hanging in when the series ended.

I enjoyed Stargate Atlantis however they did sometimes feel like regurgitated SG-1 episodes. I however did love the Douglas Adams references! I of course liked Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa) especially since I watched this after he was Khal Drogo in A Game of Thrones and now he will be playing Conan, a movie I didn’t care about till I saw who was playing him!

*************Spoiler Alert**************


My other favorite character was Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) and when sad things happened I was upset then relieved when happy things happened is that unspoily enough well I put a warning just in case



SGU is a much darker incarnation of the Stargate franchise although well acted it just doesn’t have what the earlier shows had but I am still hooked and wondered where it would go and then came the last episode…


******SPOILER ALERT******


****RANT ALERT**********



Really that’s how you’re going to end it they all go into stasis and we don’t know if Eli was able to fix the problem and go into stasis too????!!?? I think fans at least deserve a 3 years later movie come on give us something more!



All in all these shows were a great summer escape and SG-1 may be a yearly one!

Teaser Tuesday~The Weird Sisters

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Instead, we'd do what we always did, the only thing we'd ever been dependably stellar at: we'd read."

~~The Weird Sisters by, Eleanor Brown

Rules of Civility by, Amor Towles

This was an interesting look at a single woman’s life in the late 30’s it also gave a look at New York City in this time period. This was a great period piece post flapper, post depression a time when things were looking up for some who had lost everything and were building it back and those who tagged along for the ride. Katey Kontent is a great character trying to make her way on her own but soon realizes that everything in her life happens because of different people she has known. Her roommate Eve is well lets us just say I didn’t like her much, and the man she longs for Tinker seems to always be just out of her reach.

This was really beautifully written and just kind of a narrative/snapshot of Miss Katey Kontent’s life in the 30’s. It was written in such a way that you could picture it all in your mind’s eye and the atmosphere of the time surrounds you. It’s the jazz clubs, Rolls Royce’s, and taxi cabs, the fancy penthouses to the women only boardinghouses. Love the end when she reads all the Rules of Civility by, George Washington I think some of these are still very relevant today!

Rebecca Lowman narrated this audiobook and did a really good job at all the different characters.

This was a good book that is getting a lot of buzz right now and I think it deserves it if you like historical fiction, the late 30’s and strong female characters give this one a go!

4 Stars

Variant by, Robinson Wells

Variant by, Robinson Wells

My Review:I’ll just start by saying I Want More!

This was a unique story, foster kid Benson gets a scholarship for a private school, thinking things are finally looking up he is excited to be given this chance, but as soon as he gets to the school everything changes and things are not at all what they seem.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat it was intriguing and action packed however it ended too soon and left me wanting the 2nd book right now! The writing was good and kept me guessing right along with Benson. I don’t want to give anything away so I will say I highly recommend this new Young Adult series and I believe Robinson wells is an author to watch out for!

This book was kind of a cross between Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games but I don’t really feel it is dystopian because I think it is happening in our time and I got the impression that the world outside the school is normal to our present standards.

Full Disclosure: I received this eBook from Net Galley

4 Stars

Books I've Read So Far in 2011

As a bit of an introduction to myself I thought I'd list what books I've read so far this year and what I rated them.

#1-Room by, Emma Donoghue audiobook narrated by,Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Robert Petkoff, Suzanne Toren 1/5/2011 4 Stars

#2-The Eyre Affair by, Jasper Fforde 1/6/2010 5 Stars

#3-Wicked Appetite by, Janet Evanovich Audio narrated by, Lorelei King 1/7/2011 4 Stars

#4-The Demon Trapper's Daughter by,Jana Oliver 1/9/2011 3 ½ Stars

#5--Paper Towns by, John Green audiobook narrated by, Dan John Miller 1/10/2011 3 Stars

#6-Revolution by, Jennifer Donnelly audio Narrated by Emily Janice Card, Emma Bering 1/14/2010 5 Stars

#7-Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by, Helen Simonson audiobook narrated by, Peter Altschuler 1/21/2011 4 ½ Stars

#8-I Shall Wear Midnight by, Terry Pratchett 1/22/2011 5 Stars

#9-Bloody Valentine by, Melissa de la Cruz 1/23/2011 3 ½ Stars

#10-Live To Tell by, Lisa Gardner audiobook narrated by, Kirsten Potter, Rebecca Lowman, Ann Marie Lee 1/26/2011 4 Stars

#11- A Northern Light by, Jennifer Donnelly audiobook narrated by, Hope Davis 1/28/2010 4 Stars

#12-Hungry for Happiness by, James Villa 2/2/2011 2 Stars

#13- Storm Front by, Jim Butcher audiobook narrated by, James Marsters 2/2/2011 3 ½ Stars

#14- You Know When the Men Are Gone by, Siobhan Fallon audiobook narrated by, Cassandra Campbell 2/3/2011 4 Stars

#15-Left Neglected by, Lisa Genova audiobook narrated by, Sarah Paulsen 2/7/2011 4 ½ Stars

#16-The Nobodies Album by, Carolyn Parkhurst 2/9/2011 4 ½ Stars

#17-Seer Of Sevenwaters by, Juliet Marillier 2/13/2011 4 ½ Stars

#18-The Sherlockian by, Graham Moore- Audio narrated by, James Langston 2/15/2011 3 ½ Stars

#19-If I Stay by, Gayle Forman audio narrated by, Kirsten Potter 2/18/2011 2 ½ Stars

#20-You Had me At Woof by, Julie Klam audio narrated by, Karen White 2/21/2011 4 ½ Stars

#21-The Reversal by, Michael Connelly audio narrated by, Peter Giles 2/23/2011 4 Stars

#22- Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by, Fanny Flagg 2/23/2011 5 Stars

#23-My Bonny Light Horseman by, L.A. Meyer audiobook narrated by, Katherine Kellgren 2/28/2011 4 Stars

#24-Madame Tussaud:A Novel of the French Revolution by, Michelle Moran 3/11/2011 5 Stars

#25-I Am Number Four by, Pittacus Lore audiobook narrated by, Neil Kaplan 3/11/2011 3 Stars

#26-River Marked by, Patricia Briggs 3/15/2011 5 Stars

#27-A Discovery of Witches by, Deborah Harkness audiobook narrated by, Jennifer Ikeda 3/18/2011 4 ½ Stars

#28-The Peach Keeper:A Novel by, Sarah Addison Allen 3/21/2011 5 Stars

#29-Love You More by, Lisa Gardner audiobook narrated by, Kirsten Potter, Katie Macnichol 3/24/2011 5 Stars

#30-Winter Ghosts by, Kate Mosse 3/27/2011 2 ½ Stars (barely)

#31-The Bluest Eye by, Toni Morrison 3/31/2011 2 Stars

#32-Year of Wonders by, Geraldine Brooks audiobook narrated by the author 4/1/2011 5 Stars

#33- The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy by, Mark Logue, Peter Conradi Audiobook narrated by, Simon Vance 4/5/2011 5 Stars

#34-Water For Elephants by, Sara Gruen audiobook narrated by, David Ledoux, John Randolph Jones 4/10/2011 4 stars

#35-Changeless by, Gail Carriger audiobook narrated by, Emily Gray 4/13/2011 4 ½ Stars

#36-The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers 4/13/2011 3 Stars

#37-Skellig by, David Almond 4/16/2011 4 Stars

#38-Blameless by, Gail Carriger audio edition narrated by, Emily Gray 4/18/2011 4 Stars

#39-O Pioneers! by, Willa Cather audiobook narrated by, Kate Reading 4/20/2011 4 Stars

#40-Crunch Time by, Diane Mott Davidson audiobook narrated by, Barbara Rosenblatt 4/25/2011 4 Stars

#41-The Bird Sisters by, Rebecca Rasmussen 4/28/2011 5 Stars

#42-Lost in a Good book by, Jasper Fforde audio narrated by, Emily Gray 4/29/2011 3 ½ Stars

#43-The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot audiobook narrated by, Cassandra Campbell, Bahni Turpin 5/4/2011 5 Stars

#44-Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy by L. A. Meyer audiobook narrated by, Katherine Kellgren 5/9/2011 4 Stars

#45-Dead Reckoning by, Charlaine Harris 5/9/2011 4 Stars

#46-Look me in the Eye by, John Elder Robinson 5/13/2011 4 Stars

#47-The House at Riverton by, Kate Morton audiobook narrated by, Caroline Lee 5/17/2011 4 Stars

#48-Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1) by, Jaqueline Winspear audiobook narrated by, Rita Barrington 5/23/2011 4 ½ Stars

#49-Water Witch by, Deborah LeBlanc audiobook narrated by, Xe Sands 5/25/2011 3 ½ Stars

#50-The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly audiobook narrated by, Natalie Ross 5/27/2011 3 ½ Stars

#51-Running With Scissors by, Augusten Burroughs 5/27/2011 3 Stars

#52-City of Bones by, Cassandra Clare audiobook narrated by, Ari Graynor 6/6/2011 2 ½ Stars

#53-Trespasser by, Paul Doiron 6/9/2011 5 Stars

#54-Life by, Keith Richards audiobook narrated by, Johnny Depp & Jon Hurley 6/10/2011 4 Stars

#55-Bossypants by, Tina Feyaudiobook narrated by the author 6/13/2011 3 Stars

#56-Abby Cooper Psychic Eye by, Victoria Laurie audiobook narrated by, Elizabeth Michaels 6/17/2011 4 Stars

#57-The True Meaning of Smekday by, Adam Rex audiobook narrated by Bahni Turpin 6/24/2011 5 Stars

#58-Smokin' Seventeen by, Janet Evanovich audiobook narrated by, Lorelei King 6/28/2011 4 stars

#59- Still Life by, Louise Penny audiobook narrated by, Ralph Cosham 7/1/2011 3 ½ Stars

#60-Praise Jerusalem! by, Augusta Trobaugh 7/3/2011 3 ½ stars

#61-Immortal beloved by, Cate Tiernan audiobook narrated by, Kelly Lintz 7/7/2011 4 stars

#62-Save Me by, Lisa Scottoline 7/7/2011 3 ½ Stars

#63-Heartless by, Gail Carriger audiobook narrated by, Emily Gray 7/12/2011 4 ½ Stars

#64-Dragon's Time by, Anne & Todd McCaffrey 7/15/2011 4 Stars

#65-Forever by, Maggie Stiefvater 7/17/2011 4 Stars

#66-The Twentieth Wife by, Indu Sundaresan audiobook narrated by, Sneha Mathan 7/25/2011 2 ½ Stars

#67-The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life by Laurie Notaro,audiobook Narrated by, Hillary Huber 7/27/2011 4 stars

#68-I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl by, Laurie Notaro audiobook narrated by, Hillary Huber 7/29/2011 4 Stars

#69-The Legacy by, Katherine Webb 7/31/2011 5 Stars

#70- The Autobiography of a Fat Bride by, Laurie Notaro audiobook narrated by, Hillary Huber

#71-Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach audiobook narrated by, Samuel L. Jackson 4 Stars

#72- Freaks a Risoli & Isles Short Story by, Tess Gerritsen

Teaser Tuesday ~~Variant by, Robinson Wells

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


I wasn't anything special. I was just another kid- a prisoner or a test subject or who knows what- and I wasn't going to be the last.
[eBook from NetGalley]

The Legacy by, Katherine Webb~~Review

The Legacy by, Katherine Webb coming in September 2011
Synopsis:
In 1903, New York heiress Caroline marries a cattle rancher and moves with him to rural Oklahoma, where she finds herself wholly out of her depth. Unable to adjust to the isolation of the vast prairies, Caroline grows increasingly frightened and unhappy. Driven to the edge of reason she commits a terrible crime from which she flees, all the way to London, to start a new life as the wife of English aristocrat Henry Calcott. She moves to Storton Manor in Wiltshire, but soon finds that the repercussions of her actions have crossed the Atlantic with her, and will not be so easily forgotten. In the bitter winter of 2008, following the death of their grandmother, Erica Calcott and her sister Beth return to Storton Manor, where they spent the summer holidays as children. As she begins to sort through her grandmother's belongings, Erica is inundated with memories of her childhood, and of Dinny, a local boy whom she idolised. She also remembers her spiteful cousin, Henry, whose disappearance from the manor tore the family apart. Convinced that she should remember what happened to Henry, Erica sets out to uncover the truth. She is reunited with Dinny, and finds herself as drawn to him in adulthood as she was as a child. Haunted by emotions and suspicions, Erica delves deeply into her memories, revisiting the people and places that shaped her childhood, and bringing to light a truth more shocking than she had ever imagined.

My Review:
This is a beautifully weaved multi-generational story of family secrets and the people those secrets created. Katherine Webb weaves these stories together so artfully each story told at the perfect pace, with a slow crescendo of curiosity to a very late night of I can’t put this book down!

The way she shows the path that was chosen, the choices made and the secrets they kept and how it affected everyone in their lives. This is also a story of sisters and mothers and daughters and how each generation affects the next.

I cared about all the characters and even had some sympathy for the cruel grandmothers. Our two sisters Beth & Erica were beautifully written, the sadness and the taut tension were palpable. And the childhood friendship that meant so much but was over so long ago the childhood feelings bubble up but so much time has passed is it really still the same. Caroline’s time in America was so well written her unhappiness leaked off the page in waves.

I really loved this book such beautiful writing and I highly recommend it!

If you are a fan of Kate Morton I would give Katherine Webb a try. I look forward to reading anything else this author writes, definitely an author to keep your eye on.

Full Disclosure- I received this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program

5 Stars

crossposted to:http://www.nrpl.blogspot.com/

Welcome!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my little corner of the universe. I hope you will enjoy my reviews and ramblings. I am kind of random so you will never know what I may be posting about from day to day. I try to review every book I read no matter how little or how much I have to say. I recently got a Nook Color so I will be reviewing e-books, I am also an audiobook addict and lucky enough to be able to listen to them at work so I will be reviewing these too.

I am also a TV watcher and Netflix has become my favorite channel because I can watch a series from beginning to end. I have made my way through all the British shows they have available for streaming and have been on a 2 month marathon of the Stargate shows which have become a favorite I am now almost done with Stargate: Atlantis and will be giving my opinion on the entire series at a future date.

I am also the proud grandma of 2 fabulous children who are 6 & 3 and have inherited their grandma’s and mother’s love of reading.

I am lucky enough to be a librarian in a small town I do not have a degree I received the job because of my love & knowledge of books.

So now you see why I said I’d be rambling I do tend to do that I hope you all won’t mind.