A Discovery of Witches. Finished 6-28-14, rating 3.75/5, fantasy, pub.2011

Unabridged audio narrated by Jennifer Ikeda.  24 hours.

First in a trilogy

Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

from Goodreads

I am not a vampire or witch lover.  I occasionally get intrigued by the hype and check out a book with these characters (Twilight) but haven’t really fallen in love with any.  I’m not sure what made me pick this big book up at the library sale (value by page count?) but I did and I also checked out the Playaway so most of my reading of this one was really listening.  It was good.  I might listen to the next one if it’s the same narrator because I liked her performance.

Some things I liked

• the concept of a lost book containing the origins of creatures (witches, vampires, daemons)
• the easy relationship between Diana and Matthew
• when Diana was trying to figure out what to make a vampire for a romantic dinner – totally made me giggle
• the setting of Oxford and France
• all of the well-known historical people who Matthew had known in his 1.500 years of existence
• Diana. I really liked Diana and her aunts

A few things I didn’t care for

• the story really slowed once in Wisconsin at the Bishop house
• too much dialogue and the addition of so many characters in the last third of the book made it peter out for me a bit at the end

I am really curious about the time-walking coming up for Diana and Matthew and I would like to know what happens.  Harkness has made a fun world and I would like to see how it all pans out.

I’ve heard not so great things about the second one, but maybe she redeems the trilogy with the third?  Anyone read them?

The Catch. Finished 7-8-14, rating 4/5, thriller, 368 pages, pub. 2014

Book 4 of the Vanessa Michael Monroe series  (1-Informationist) (2- The Innocent) (3- The Doll) (3.5- TheVessel)

In the wake of going head-to-head with international sex traffickers inThe Doll, Munroe has retreated to Djibouti, where, while passing as a man, she finds work as an interpreter for a small, private, maritime security company. Pressed into duty at sea by her boss, Leo, Munroe discovers she is part of a gunrunning operation and she wants no part in protecting the crew or cargo. When the ship is attacked by pirates off the Somali coast, Munroe escapes and takes the unconscious captain with her to get answers. Leo’s wife, Amber Marie, the only person Munroe has cared about since she arrived in Africa, is desperate when Leo goes missing along with the rest of the hijacked crew, so Munroe agrees to try to find him for Amber Marie’s sake. She soon realizes it’s not the cargo or the ship or the crew that the hijackers were after: they want the captain. On the run, wounded, without connections or resources, and with the life of the captain as bait and bartering chip, Munroe believes that the only way to save Leo, assuming he’s still alive, is to hijack the ship back.

from Goodreads

You can enter to win a copy on Goodreads but you have to hurry, winners are chosen tomorrow. Enter to win here.

Michael heads back to Africa in this fourth novel of the series and I liked that it felt almost like a return to the first book in setting and action.  She is just as damaged, even more so, and just as strong and lethal.  She also felt more lonely.  There was no interaction with Logan or Bradford, save for a few emails and they offered a glimpse of a future that could bring happiness for Michael.  And that’s one of the things I like so much about this character.  You never truly know what she’s going to do.  She may choose to stay away or she may choose happiness for a time, but there is always that restlessness that makes her unpredictable.

She was licking her mental and emotional wounds from her last job and loss and time at a small security company seemed like a good fit.  When a job goes bad and she comes as close to death as she ever has the story comes to life as it always does when Michael stalks her prey.  As I say in every review, she is a badass.  The hijacked ship made it seem like a very current story.  I loved the descriptions of the places and people of Africa and the blend of the setting action was perfect.  I admit I was a little confused about Michael’s motive in this one, it was more nuanced than in her previous books so that’s probably why.  I’m not nearly as smart as she is 🙂

This is a great thriller series with fresh characters, intriguing locales, and lots of action.

This was sent to me by the author.  Thank you, Taylor, for always appreciating your fans!

The Vessel. Finished 6-22-14, rating 4/5, pub.2014

#3.5 of the Vanessa Michael Monroe series (1-Informationist) (2- The Innocent) (3- The Doll)

Some people were easy to find. Others took hunting and patience. The most difficult was a target who knew she was coming, and he knew. How could he not? When you backed a predator into a corner, when you took and destroyed all that she loved, when you made a game of ruining lives and sadism for you was sport, but then you failed to kill the predator: you’d better know she was coming back. This was an inviolable law. She wasn’t dead, and so she was coming for him. She had his face, had the name of a city. In the right hands, anything could be mined into so much more. She would find him. Kill him. Simple as that.

from Goodreads

I should start by saying that I almost skipped this between-the-numbers novella because I really don’t care for them.  They seem to be all the rage, but I like by books as book-length, that you very much.  With that said, I admit that I picked this one up for my Nook mainly because Stevens really sold it by loving it so much.  When an author is on social media telling people it’s her favorite I take note.  And since I just read The Doll I thought it would be worth a look. And it was.

At the end of The Doll we know that Michael takes care of business, but we didn’t know how until this story.  I liked the continuation of sorts of the previous book and the novella length gave Stevens a chance to take her time with the action since there was only one storyline.  It was a nice change of pace.  Michael was still her badass self  and countless dead bodies are left in her wake.

This is a nice way to get a taste of the series without the time commitment of a full book AND it is a good addition to the series for those that are already fans.  A great series for readers of the Jack Reacher!

For less that $1 you really can’t go wrong!

Miracle Cure. Finished 6-14-14, rating 3/5, thriller, 391 pages, pub. 1991

A stunning, controversial, nonstop thriller that careens through the inner halls of high-stakes medical research, the upper echelons of Washington politics, and the steamy streets of Bangkok, on the trail of a dangerous and deadly cure for AIDS.

from Goodreads

On the very first page of this re-released book is a note from the author, bestselling author Harlan Coben.  He tells you to put it down if you haven’t read any other books by him. Why?  Well, the very obvious reason is that the book isn’t really up to snuff with his other thrillers.  I think this is his second book and while I’m a huge fan, I’m not sure if I’ll be going back to read the first.

This centers around a clinic looking for and possibly finding a cure for AIDS in the early 90’s.  Their top-secret patients are showing signs of being cured and the three doctors are trying to perfect the treatment before going public.  Newswoman Sara and her NBA player, Michael, are good friends with one of the doctors and are very familiar with the clinic.  There is a religious televangelist trying to make AIDS into God’s war against gays and there are politicians more than willing to settle old scores before considering what’s best for the American people.  Oh, and there is a gay slasher who is killing the cured.

There’s a lot going on and Coben deftly keeps the story moving. I didn’t mind the outdated story about AIDS, it’s a snapshot of a time that I remember well, but there were pages of fairly preachy dialogue that I just barely skimmed past.  The story was all over the place and there were plenty of loose ends, but I was surprised by the killer, so that was good.

Who should read this one?  Anyone who thinks their writing is no good and never will be.  Read this and then Tell No One and see how far one author can go.  This was from my personal library.

Rescue. Finished audio 6-13-14, rating 3/5, fiction, pub. 2010

Unabridged audio read by Dennis Holland.  7.5 hours.

A rookie paramedic pulls a young woman alive from her totaled car, a first rescue that begins a lifelong tangle of love and wreckage. Sheila Arsenault is a gorgeous enigma–streetwise and tough-talking, with haunted eyes, fierce desires, and a never-look-back determination. Peter Webster, as straight an arrow as they come, falls for her instantly and entirely. Soon Sheila and Peter are embroiled in an intense love affair, married, and parents to a baby daughter. Like the crash that brought them together, it all happened so fast. 

from Goodreads

I consider myself an Anita Shreve fan even though this is only the fifth book I’ve read by her.  She has a way of making her characters so real and relatable that she draws you in no matter the story.  I was missing a little bit of that in this one.  Webster was easy to like as the good, always-able-to-count on guy.  I mean he made his life’s work rescuing people so you know he has a heart of gold, but Sheila as his first rescued soul is not as easy to understand.  And what you do understand isn’t necessarily good.  Sheila has some demons and a husband and newborn daughter are not going to make them go away.  When the going gets tough, so does Webster and he ends up raising his daughter alone and I was rooting for them to make a new, happy life together.

The story itself was safe, boring, depressing?  It was solid but nothing new here, just a few characters who I never really understood together and the hope of a better life for their daughter.

So, this didn’t totally work for me, but it was good and I’m still looking forward to reading all of Shreve’s other books 🙂

I checked the audio out of the library and thought Dennis Holland did a great narration.

The Cliff House Strangler. Finished 5-7-14, rating 4/5, historical mystery, 320 pages, pub. 2007

#3 of the Sarah Woolson series (1-Muder on Nob Hill) (2 The Russian Hill Murders)

Nineteenth-century attorney Sarah Woolson is still trying to get her life together. Against her family’s wishes, she opens her own San Francisco law firm, only to find that clients—paying clients, that is—are wary of allowing a woman to manage their legal affairs. Just when her patience, as well as her money, are about to run out, Sarah and her friend and former colleague, Robert Campbell, attend a séance at San Francisco’s Cliff House. Making their way through the worst storm of the season, they arrive at their destination to find themselves in for much more than, in Robert’s words, “silly parlor tricks.” After a dramatic display of spirit apparitions, flying trumpets, and phantom music, Madame Olga Karpova—a renowned Russian clairvoyant—and her guests make a grisly discovery: One of the twelve people seated at the table has been brutally strangled.

from Goodreads

Sarah Woolson is a strong young woman living in a time when strong women were frowned upon.  It’s 1880 and she has opened her own law practice, the only woman in San Francsico.  She still lives with her wealthy and powerful family, but she causes them a lot of grief by doing so because she regularly gets into serious trouble.  I love this character.

It took me much longer to get into this book than the first two, but once everything got rolling it was fun reading.  I like that her lawyer friend, Robert, is becoming a big part of her life, but I do worry about his heart. I’m not sure id Sarah is ready for that.

This is a good series for mystery or historical lovers.  This is the weakest of the three so far, so I would definitely start with the first one, Murder on Nob Hill.

I had this one in my personal library and read it for my one and only challenge this year, Finishing the Series Reading Challenge.

Northanger Abbey. Finished audio 5-7-14, rating 4/5, classic, pub. 1817

Unabridged audio 7 hours 40 minutes, read by Anna Massey

A wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story, Northanger Abbey is often referred to as Jane Austen’s “Gothic parody.” Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist.

The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.

from Goodreads

Catherine was a charming, and naive teen who lost herself in novels.  Her imagination and youth made for a nice beginning as she sets off for Bath with family friends, wide-eyed and looking for adventure.  She finds it with the Thorpes and Tilneys, both sister and brother pairs offering her a different view of the world.  By the time Henry invites her back to his home, you would think that she had gained enough experience to settle her, but youthful exuberance and a penchant for looking for drama won out.

I liked Catherine.  She wasn’t as nuanced as some of Austen’s other heroines, but I did like the her fresh, excited eyes way of looking at the world.  Her imagination did come face to face with reality and she suffered from misplaced friendship and judgement based on her family’s wealth.  She never lost her spark.

I’ve now read 5 of Austen’s 6 completed novels and this one felt so different from the others.  I’d put it right in the middle with Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice at the top and Sense & Sensibility and Emma at the bottom (I may have to give Emma another chance someday because so many people adore her).   The story was fun and enjoyable.

I listened to and read this book.