Friday, April 29, 2011

Sorry I haven't participated in the last two FF but I have been planting my vegetable garden and haven't had time for much else....


B.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Review of: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull



For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite.

Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken -- Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good -- powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth


My Review:
What a wonderful and whimsical tale this book is. This is a YA book however I think anyone would enjoy reading it. Made me feel like a kid again when I used to get so caught up in a book it became a part of me. I highly recommend this book and give it 4croaks.

B.

Review Of : Ghost Town by Rachel Caine



While developing a new system to maintain Morganville's defenses, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she's able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders.


But the new upgrades have an unexpected consequence: people inside the town begin to slowly forget who they are-even the vampires. Soon, the town's little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment- before she forgets how to save Morganville...


My Review:


This is one of my favorite series so I have to try not to be biased...I will admit that the first half of the book was kind of hum drum the same old same old however Ms. Caine throws in a curve ball and things really get rockin. I enjoyed reading this book as I have all The Morganville Vampire tales. I give this 4croaks.....

Glass HousesDead Girl's DanceMidnight AlleyFeast of Fools
Lord of MisruleCarpe CorpusFade OutKiss of Death
Ghost TownBite ClubThe Morganville VampiresGlass Houses /  Dead Girls' Dance / Midnight Alley
The Morganville Vampires: Collection 1-8The Morganville Vampires: Volume 2The Morganville Vampires, Volume 3The Morganville Vampires, Volume 4
 
B.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Review of : Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione



They are here.
They ride.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

His name is Ares, and the fate of mankind rests on his powerful shoulders. If he falls to the forces of evil, the world falls too. As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he is far stronger than any mortal, but even he cannot fight his destiny forever. Not when his own brother plots against him.

Yet there is one last hope. Gifted in a way other humans can't-or won't-understand, Cara Thornhart is the key to both this Horseman's safety and his doom. But involving Cara will prove treacherous, even beyond the maddening, dangerous desire that seizes them the moment they meet. For staving off eternal darkness could have a staggering cost: Cara's life.


My Review:

Interesting book, good take on Revelations, of course if it were the actual apocalypse, once begun it can not be stopped. Well researched and well written. Makes some of us think how very close this book relates to current events around the world.....4 croaks

B. 

Monday, April 18, 2011

M.M.F.F.C. Week#36



Amy C over at Romance Book Wyrm and Dottie over at Tink's Place have come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge. Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take. 


And here is picture prompt #36







This is a beautiful picture....


B.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Flash Fiction Friday Week #35



Amy C over at Romance Book Wyrm and Dottie over at Tink's Place have come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge. Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take. 


And here is picture prompt #35:









                                          Lost In Thought

                                        By Brenda Sessoms

As he gazed into the clear cold brook , Asleif could think of nothing but the beauty and grace which surrounded the human girl called Valeria.

He had come upon her by accident while hunting in the land of humans. He heard a beautiful crystal clear voice singing an enchanting song. He followed the sound and came upon a young girl as she went about her chores on the small farm. She stopped singing and gazed around as if she knew someone was there and that was when Asleif realized this human was blind.

"Is someone there?" she said. Asleif responded, " I am but a hunter and was drawn here by your beautiful singing."  She blushed and held out her hand," Sir my name is Valereia, may I offer you a cool drink?" Asleif accepted the drink and entered the small dwelling.

He heard a voice calling "Daughter who is with you?" Valeria called out to her father and told him of Asleif's presence . Asleif learned of her father's sickness and asked of there was anything he could do. Valeria took him in to see her father.

The man whose name was Otto realized Asleif was an elf and Otto began to tell him the story of finding Valeria on his doorstep when she was just a new   born babe, left there by a fairy. His wife had seen the fairy as she ran away. 

She was a few weeks old when they realized she was blind and that was the reason the fairy had left her. They loved her and she had been a pure joy to Otto and his wife Berta as they had no children of their own. 

Now however Berta was gone and he was dying , he worried what would become of his precious Valeria. Asleif swore he would look after her and provide for her. Otto knew when an elf gave his word he kept it.


Asleif came every few days and he would bring game so they would have meat and for a while Otto seem to grow stronger. Winter set in and although he provide all the game they could need for food, Asleif could see Otto was growing weaker.


Spring was here and Asleif was on his way to visit his human friends with a bounty of game and a song in his heart for he realized in all the months he had been spending time with Valeria and Otto he had fallen in love.


He would take Valeria as his wife and although she would age and he wouldn't and she would someday die, he would love her and cherish the time they had together....


The End


Word Count:440


B.




                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Monday, April 11, 2011

Monday Morning Flash Fiction Challenge


Amy C over at Romance Book Wyrm and Dottie over at Tink's Place have come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge. Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take. 


And here is picture prompt #35:







Amazing picture I am going to enjoy this one.


B.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Review of : Deeper Than The Dead by Tami Hoag


The #1 New York Times bestselling author joins the Dutton list with the thriller her millions of fans have been awaiting for two years.


Tami Hoag is in a class by herself, beloved by readers and critic s alike, with more than 22 million copies of her books in print. With Hoag's first novel for Dutton, she proves anew why the Chicago Tribune called her "one of the most intense suspense writers around."


California, 1984. Three children, running in the woods behind their school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre, shocked by this discovery and heartbroken as she witnesses the end of their innocence. What she doesn't yet realize is that this will mark the end of innocence for an entire community, as the ties that bind families and friends are tested by secrets uncovered in the wake of a serial killer's escalating activity.


Detective Tony Mendez, fresh from a law enforcement course at FBI headquarters, is charged with interpreting those now revealed secrets. He's using a new technique-profiling-to develop a theory of the case, a strategy that pushes him ever deeper into the lives of the three children, and closer to the young teacher whose interest in recent events becomes as intense as his own.


As new victims are found and the media scrutiny of the investigation bears down on them, both Mendez and Navarre are unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves-or the family and friends of the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very close to them is a brutal, calculating psychopath.

My Review:
It boggles my mind that someone could be a serial killer and although this is a work of fiction, it can make you lose sleep to realize they are real and you can not always look at someone and know the evil they harbor inside.

This story is set in a small town in California where people move to get away from things like this. It is the 1980's and profiling is relatively a new boy on the block in investigation. DNA has not been established yet but is on the horizon.

We have some good cops and we have a neanderthal control freak who thinks all women are good for is being subservient to a man . We also see another case of how abuse of a child can turn that child into a potential killer.
I pretty much had the killer figured out right away but Hoag threw some surprise curves in which keeps you on your toes. 
Then I really didn't see the ending so it was a really good book. I give it 5croaks....


Series:

1. Deeper Than the Dead (2010)
2. Secrets to the Grave (2011)
3. Down the Darkest Road (2011)

Deeper Than the DeadSecrets to the Grave


B.

Review of: Rogue Oracleby Alayna Williams




HE MORE YOU KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE, THE MORE THERE MAY BE TO FEAR.


Tara Sheridan is the best criminal profiler around - and the most unconventional. Trained as a forensic psychologist, Tara also specializes in Tarot card reading. But she doesn't need her divination skills to realize that the new assignment from her friend and sometime lover, Agent Harry Li, is a dangerous proposition in every way.


Former Cold War operatives, all linked to a top-secret operation tracking the disposal of nuclear weapons in Russia, are disappearing. There are no bodies, and no clues to their whereabouts. Harry suspects a conspiracy to sell arms to the highest bidder. The cards - and Tara's increasingly ominous dreams - suggest something darker. Even as Tara sorts through her feelings for Harry and her fractured relationship with the mysterious order known as Delphi's Daughters, a killer is growing more ruthless by the day. And a nightmare that began decades ago in Chernobyl will reach a terrifying endgame that not even Tara could have foreseen. . . .


My Review:


This one is a DNF I just could not get in to it... That does not mean other people might not enjoy it but it was a wash for me....


B.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Review Of: Hangman by Faye Kellerman

                                                                                                                        Murder , a missing woman, and a sociopath from the past sweep Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus into a labyrinth of mystery and danger in this electrifying new tale of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman. . . .


Fifteen years ago, high school senior Chris Whitman went to jail for murdering his girlfriend, Cheryl Diggs. Propelled by a misguided sense of chivalry, he confessed, determined to save another classmate, the beautiful and vulnerable Terry McLaughlin, from having to testify at his trial. When the truth came out, Chris was released from prison, married Terry - pregnant with his child - and changed his last name to Donatti. He also became a professional killer.


Peter Decker was the detective on the case, and over the years, he and Terry kept in touch. Now his friend is in L.A. and asking for a favor. Though Decker knows full well that getting involved will bring Terry's sociopathic husband back into his life, the obsessive and duty-bound LAPD lieutenant reluctantly agrees. The favor soon becomes complicated when Terry goes missing and Donatti disappears, leaving their fourteen-year-old son, Gabe, with no one to turn to except Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus.


But Peter's search for Terry must share center stage with a gruesome murder. Adrianna Blanc, a neonatal nurse at St. Timothy's Hospital, had signed off her night shift at eight a.m. Six hours later, a foreman supervising the construction of a house in a nearby suburb discovered her body swinging from the rafters, a cable wire around her neck. Her car was found where she had parked it the night before, with no signs of foul play.


A dedicated and conscientious professional, Adrianna had a circle of close friends. Yet as Decker and his able team soon learn, the young woman also had her share of detractors. A party-hearty girl, she enjoyed booze, kinky sex, and revenge-cheating on her boyfriend, Garth Hammerling, another nurse at St. Tim's. Suspicions heat up when Decker and his team find that one of Adrianna's last phone calls was a provocative and disturbing message to her vacationing boyfriend - who himself has vanished without a trace. Was Adrianna's death something personal because of her carefree lifestyle? Or was this unusually cruel and very dramatic murder the first signs of a serial killer? With lives hanging in the balance, Decker and his colleagues, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver, need to find answers and fast.


As if juggling two investigations weren't enough for the lieutenant (not to mention turning sixty!), things are becoming even more dangerous with his precarious home life. Ever the concerned parent, Decker wants to look after Terry's son, Gabe. Yet who will protect his own family? Because if there's one thing he knows for sure, with a sociopath like Donatti on the loose, no one is ever really safe. 


My Review: 
I really love a good murder mystery and I really like Kellerman's Lieutenant Decker and his family. 

It has intrigue, serial killers,dedicated investigators and still shows how a loving family can make or break a child. 
If every parent could see that the love or abuse heaped upon a child through his life can impact whether that child becomes a healthy and functioning adult or a potential murderer the world would be a safer place for everyone.
I enjoyed the book and give it 4 croaks .


Monday Morning Flash Fiction Challenge Week #34

C over at Romance Book Wyrm and Dottie over at Tink's Place have come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge. Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take.  


Here is picture prompt#34:


                               

                                 Revenge


                        By Brenda Sessoms



As I lay here amongst the rocks and skulls I realize I am dying, soon my journey will be over.


My name is Knolla and this is my story, I was the only child of Draga and Porshava Hadilaga leader of the Shiringy tribe of the north.


My father and mother were kind and generous people and were loved by many. However father was a fierce warrior and had many enemies.

One of those was Krakia of the Sheelu of the east once my father's best friend but now a sworn enemy. Scorned by my mother as a husband he vowed revenge on my father .

I was sleeping the night they came and slaughtered our whole village including my parents, they left me dying, but I cried out to our gods for revenge and swore to kill all those responsible.


I lived and for many years I have done nothing but kill, I had no desire for love no hope for tomorrow only one thing burned in my heart and soul and that was to kill the man who ordered the slaughter of my family and tribe.

I had lovers but never anything more than a physical release, how can you love when all that fills you is hate?

Finally we had defeated his tribe and I now faced him.  He fought well but I was better. As he looked at me with those hate filled eyes he shouted "Who the hell are you?" I responded,"I am Knolla daughter of Draga and Porshava Hadilaga and this night you die.

He laughed as he lunged at me, and the dance of death began. He cut me many times but I felt nothing and then my opening came , as I shoved my sword into his belly I twisted and saw the blood spurt from his mouth, he smiled as he died. 

Now it is finally over.... 

The End

Word Count:313


This one is a little short but I waited to the last minute to write it..

B.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

M.M.F.F. Week #34



C over at Romance Book Wyrm and Dottie over at Tink's Place have come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge. Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take. 






Here is picture prompt #34






This is a really awesome picture ooh goody goody...


B.