Magic in the Blood - A Review

Magic in the Blood - Devon Monk (own)

Synopsis:

Working as a Hound-tracing illegal spells back to their casters-has taken its toll on Allison Beckstrom. But even though magic has given her migraines and stolen her recent memory, Allie isn't about to quit. Then the police's magic enforcement division asks her to consult on a missing persons case. But what seems to be a straightforward job turns out to be anything but, as Allie finds herself drawn into the underworld of criminals, ghosts, and blood magic.

My Thoughts:

I will keep this short and sweet. I really am enjoying this series. Allie is a great character. Sometimes a little impulsive but I can certainly relate to that. Zayvion I cannot get a handle on. I can't decided if he is who he appears to be. I really like his character but I still feel distrustful of it. 

This book picks up a few weeks after book one and the story got under my skin fairly quickly and kept me reading until the last page was done. The best part, I can't wait to get a chance to read book 3. Soon I shall see where Allie ends up next.

Author's Website: Devon Monk

Untraceable - A Review

Untraceable - S.R. Johannes (ebook from author)

Synopsis:

Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival.

When her dad goes missing on a routine patrol, Grace refuses to believe he's dead and fights the town authorities, tribal officials, and nature to find him.

One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father.

Along the way, Grace learns terrible secrets that sever relationships and lives. Soon she's enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it's going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for this kick-butting heroine to save everything she loves.

My thoughts:

This was a faced paced story that kept me company on a flight home. I finished all but 40 pages on the trip and I'm glad I asked to review it. I really enjoyed it and it made a normally boring plane right much more enjoyable.

Grace is fiery, stubborn teenager who at times drove me insane with her impulsiveness but I couldn't help but like her spirit. She has a ton of it. Sruggling with the disappearance of her dad and a whole town convinced he's dead. She sets off on her own search determined to bring him home. The story that follows is full of suspense and intrigue set in the Smokey Mountains. I'm a nature girl and I think that was the main draw for me. 

The cast of the book is just as equally great and the author did a great job leaving you wondering just who is really the bad guy or guys. You never quite knew until the end. Love that!

If you get a chance, give it a shot. I think you'd like it.

Author's Website: S.R. Johannes

Haven't Disappeared

Just been on vacation in the beautiful San Juan Islands in northern Washington State. Will be heading out to Mississippi to visit my Son in two day so blogging will be null until mid week next week. Until then hope you all have a great week!

Magic To The Bone - A Review

Magic To The Bone - Devon Monk (own)

Overview

Devon Monk is casting a spell on the fantasy world...

Using magic means it uses you back, and every spell exacts a price from its user. But some people get out of it by Offloading the cost of magic onto an innocent. Then it’s Allison Beckstrom’s job to identify the spell-caster. Allie would rather live a hand-to-mouth existence than accept the family fortune—and the strings that come with it. But when she finds a boy dying from a magical Offload that has her father’s signature all over it, Allie is thrown back into his world of black magic. And the forces she calls on in her quest for the truth will make her capable of things that some will do anything to control...

My Thoughts:

This book has been in my to be read pile for quite some time. Even after my husband and best friend raved about it, it just sat there. I can't believe I waited so long to read. I loved this book. 

Allie's strong and stubborn and full of this wonderful yet kinda scary magic. I am looking forward to see how she develops in the next books in the series. Zayvion is the strong silent type who always seems to be right where he is needed and I spent the entire book wondering if I should like him and yet falling for him as well.  

 Devon has set up an interesting world in a world I'm familiar with. Makes for great reading when you know the geography. On top of great geography, the story was fast paced but yet easy to follow and get into. Can't ask for more than that. 

In short loved it!

Author's Website: Devon Monk

The Sweetness of Forgetting - Blog Tour August 13, 2012

The Sweetness of Forgetting - Kristin Harmel (Blog Tour)

Synopsis:

At thirty-six , Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her for a twenty-two year old, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen.

Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie, who wowed the Cape with her fabulous pastries for more than fifty years, is drifting away into a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in Paris. And then, arming her with a scrawled list of names, she sends Hope to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery.

Hope’s emotional journey takes her through the bakeries of Paris and three religious traditions, all guided by Mamie’s fairy tales and the sweet tastes of home. As Hope pieces together her family’s history, she finds horrific Holocaust stories mixed with powerful testimonies of her family’s will to survive in a world gone mad. And to reunite two lovers torn apart by terror, all she’ll need is a dash of courage, and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake. . . .

My Thoughts:

Just like the title of this book, The Sweetness of Forgetting is a very sweet, heartwarming tale. One that will make the hardest of hearts feel a pang of warmth, sadness, joy flow through their veins. 

Hope is always looking for the worst to happen and who can blame her really with the run of bad luck she's had. Giving up law school to be a wife, mom, running a bakery wasn't what she initially had in mind.  Now a single mom and the threat of losing the family business Hope is trying hard to just make it day by day.

Watching her grandmother Mamie slip away to the horrors of Alzheimers just adds to the stress of Hopes life. When Mamie has a good, clear day, she opens a history lesson Hope Never imagine. With time running out, Hope is sent to Paris and back to locate people she never knew existed. Wondering if she even knew Mamie at all.

I enjoyed Hopes character even if I wanted to pummel her a few times with her stark view of the world and people.  Annie is the one that pull at my heart even when she was being a little snot to her mom.

I have to say though the reall charmer of this book is Mamie's history. Living through WWII and running to save your life. Leaving people behind you knew were doomed to die in camps. There was more than one occasion I was brought to near tears. Kristin did a heck of a job bringing this  story to life and I'm glad I choose to read this book.

If you are looking for good book to cuddle up with, look no further, this is the book for you. 

Author's Website: Kristin Harmel

Gone Girl - A Review

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (own)

Overview

Marriage can be a real killer.
   One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
   On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
   As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
   With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

My Thoughts:

Holy Cow! Book of the year so far for me hands down!

I'm not even really sure where to start. Talk about a twisted, windy road of I don't know what. I never knew which was was up or down. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, Gillian sucker punched me and I'd be lost yet again. But it was in a good way. I was lost but I wanted to find my way out. I wanted to know what was coming next no matter how twisted or messed up it was. I wanted to know how the story ended.

The characters were great. The story was great. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this book. I'm afraid of saying too much. It's hard to go into detail about the story because it will have spoilers. so I will leave you with this. Read it. If you only read one book this year, this is the one to read.

Author's Website:  Gillian Flynn

What Are You Reading

It's Monday. What are you reading this week? Hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books. This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished in the last week:

Nada Olympics took up much of my extra time. 

Books I am reading this week:

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn Getting so close to being done with this. Can't wait to review it!
Day By Day Armageddon Beyond Exile - J.L. Bourne Audiobook

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson Audiobook (another book that is totally Sheila's fault. I bought and read this when it first came out but thanks to Sheila's review of the audiobook, my husband and I are listening to it. Very slowly however. It has become what we listen to when we head to camp and head home.

Books to Finish This week:

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

My reading and blogging time will be limited the month of August. I have two vacations coming up beginning the middle of the month and going through the end. I'll be around just not blogging much. Though I will have some airplane time to read.