Between the Lines - Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer - 4 stars

This is the first time read for me with this Author. I have had several of her books for quite awhile and I finally decided to pick this one up. I have to say that I am so glad I did. I also thought that it was pretty amazing that this was the idea of the Author's teenage daughter. It was such a pleasure to get immersed into the pages of this beautiful fairy tale. It has actually been a long time since I have read anything remotely close to a fairy tale, so this book was indeed very refreshing and definitely very engaging.

In this story we have Delilah who is pretty much a loner. She has a father who really does not care about her and has started a new life with a new family. She is not a part of the popular crowd in school and gets picked on. She has one friend who she shares everything with. But when that is not enough she immerses herself into a fairy tale that she has read over and over. She discovers that the characters in the story are real and she falls in love with the Prince. The story goes on from there.

One thing that I thought was brilliant about this story was the perspectives. We of course have the perspectives of Prince Oliver and Delilah, but also you get the fairy tale as the fairy tale was written. So you are getting two separate stories in one book and I really liked that. I felt like I was experiencing both worlds at the same time, but without the confusion you would suspect would go along with that. It made me think that the Author should create the pseudo name Jessamyn Jacobs and write the original fairy tale as it was created for this book.

I love the characters in this story. I think they were well created and thought out. I think they are very easy to connect to. None of them have perfect lives, in fact I feel like they wanted to live different lives. Even though Oliver is a character in Delilah's favorite fairy tale, he still appears to be very real and believable. I really enjoyed all of the characters in this book they were a joy to get to know and love.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Jodi Picoult, or even loves a good fairy tale. I dont think it could really disappoint anyone. I am rating this book a solid 4 stars.

One Rainy Night - Richard Laymon - 4 stars

Been a long time since I have read a Laymon book so this was certainly a pleasure to embark upon. As I have said before as far as Laymon's stuff goes, you either like him or you don't. I happen to like most of his stuff. He writes with a dark, dry, almost humorous at times with grotesque/horror elements thrown in.

In this book we start out with a murder of a black teen, he was burned to death. Shortly after the investigation starts, a storm comes to the town of Bixby and with comes a black rain. The rain causes people to go crazy with murder and cannibalism if they are caught out in it. The townspeople of Bixby who have not been affected are forced to fight for their lives.

This is definitely wrote in Laymon style. Lot of gore, sex, murder and the like and done up with imaginative, vivid and grotesque imagery. So much so that the images refuse to leave the mind once the story is over. The scenes in this one really were quite graphic. So keep that in mind if you are planning on reading this.

The characters are like they usually are in a Laymon book, quite simple and non descriptive which really does not allow readers to connect with the characters of any of his books. They are not all that believable or realistic, but it is almost ok because this is really just his style of writing. You come to expect the more you read his stuff. Almost all of his books are plot driven, and the time is put into that instead of the characters.

I thought the premise of this story was pretty awesome and per normal the book flowed very well no matter how over the top it might or might not get. If you like Laymon but have not yet read this one that you really must try it out. This book is not for the faint of heart, so if you don't like horror books then this is probably not a book for you.

Before I go to Sleep - S.J. Watson - 4 stars

I wanted to read this book once I discovered that the movie was going to be released soon. I have had it for awhile and finally started a buddy read and got to it. I am so glad that I did. I have to say for a Debut novel it was fantastic, very engaging and a little crazy at times as well. I was completely immersed in the story from beginning to end.

In this story we have Chris who has had a bad accident which caused her to have amnesia. She could not retain new memories or even remember those from her past. Everyday she struggled and went through the same thing, not knowing who she was or who her husband Ben was, having to learn it all over every time she woke up. Then she was contacted by Dr. Nash, who told her that that had been working on her memory. He had told her to keep a journal, to write everything down that happened and everything she could remember. She decided to keep her visits with Dr. Nash and her new journal a secret from Ben because she did not totally trust him yet. Eventually she began to remember bits and pieces of her life.

I loved the premise of this book which reminded me of the movie 50 First dates only this was a thriller rather than a chick lit. It was wrote mostly as a if you were reading her journal, and when there was change of perspective it was not confusing and I thought it flowed very well. I found that this book made me really think and ask a ton of questions. I did not know who was trustworthy and who was not. I found that I would have done a few things differently had I been Chris. So many thoughts in motion for this book.

As far as characters go I did not really like any of them except for Chris. I felt they all had too many secrets which made it hard to connect to anyone. But I think it was the authors intent to write them exactly that way, to his readers question everything. I do think they were created pretty decently. I have to say that I loved being inside of Chris's head. I had an urge to try and help her figure things out because she had just as many questions as I had.

IMO I think this was definitely more plot driven than character driven, but I think the premise of the story was strong enough to carry it through and make the story quite enjoyable. There was also a pretty good twist in the book that I did not expect at all, but it made complete sense to me when it was made clear to me. I would recommend this book to just about anyone, especially those who love a real good psychological thriller. A solid 4 star rating from me.

Afraid to Die - Lisa Jackson - 5 stars

This is the fourth book in the 'to die' series. And I have to say I have loved every single book in this series so far. With each installment, the stories just get better and better. I don't think I can really choose a favorite between the ones I have read so far. They are all equally good in story telling, writing, imagery and character development.

In this installment there is another psycho serial killer, again targeting women in Grizzly Falls, again in the ice cold temperatures of Montana. This time our villain freezes the women in blocks of ice and then he carefully chisels away and creates, in his mind, a work of art. He then places them around the town in unorthodox settings where they will be sure to be discovered most often by the towns people themselves.

As I have said before I love the imagery I find in anything Jackson writes. It has such a way that I am totally engaged and immersed in the story. I feel as though I know the area as if I lived there myself, and the people who are involved are personal friends of mine. Every detail brings every aspect of the story to life.

The characters, Alvarez and Pescoli, are my favorite detectives thus far. They are so completely different from one another, and somehow they fit together perfectly. Both of these women have some very personal issues in their pasts that has left them pretty scarred while still dealing with present issues as well. I feel like this makes them far more believable and realistic. It allows the readers to be able to connect to them so much easier.

I love how the villains in these stories are brought to the readers. Believable, yet shocking at the same time. Jackson allows readers inside the heads of her villains at different times in the story. Readers get to see what makes these guys tick first hand. I like having the different perspectives that the author writes in, it makes the story more exciting for me. I also love how the author leads her readers along a path that makes it impossible not to try and figure things out. In most cases my ideas get shut down pretty quickly steering me in another direction. And I love that, I love the chase, the mystery and trying to figure it out.

If you love Mystery and have not read any Lisa Jackson, then you definitely should. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Code Zero - Jonathan Maberry - 5 stars

I waited a couple of months to read this installment of the Joe Ledger series. I find that if I wait I don't forget much of the previous book because they are way too memorable for that. So I finally decided to get cracking on book 6 as a buddy read with a couple of friends. I have to say, it was definitely time to read it. This one is by far my favorite of the bunch. And if I could rate it 10 stars I would.

This one is a sequel to Patient zero, you got it, the zombies are back. The team has to shut them down, and their leader. She calls herself Mother Night. She is one heck of a Super Villain. She wreaks havoc all over the world spreading bio warfare everywhere she goes along with her small group of followers like she is having a party and she invited the whole world.

This book was packed with heart stopping action and excitement at the turn of every page. I was totally immersed in this story. The imagery, plot, ideas, and characters were all amazing. I loved how Maberry wrote Mother Night in all her glory and viciousness. I also found myself figuring things out and then going back and doubting my previous ideas. Maberry knows how to keep his readers on their toes, not to mention the edge of their seats.

The characters of course are my favorite part of this series. They are developed beautifully, none are created as perfect individuals. All of them are flawed with their own demons which in turn pushes them to keep on fighting for the greater good. My favorite of course is Joe, and through this series I just love him more and more. One of things I like the best about Joe and his team is that no matter the subject they always puts in 100% towards everything, their job, their friends, the team and the task at hand. And with each effort the scars get bigger and bigger and I find that it make him and the team more realistic and believable.

I can't recommend this book enough, this whole series. I think everyone should read it because there is something for everyone to enjoy. Trust me when I say I don't like books on politics, or terrorism, or war, but if Maberry can write something like this in a way that can make me enjoy reading about all of it, then he has something great going on.

Don't battle with Monsters, lest you become a monster.

The Journal of Dora Damage - 3.5 stars

It was probably not a good idea for me to struggle through a historical fiction and then pick up another historical fiction after that, but that was exactly what I did. I was reading this one for my 'J' in the A-Z challenge. I have to say though that this one was surprisingly good. It started a bit slow but gradually got better. The difference between this one and the one before is the fact that there was a story to be told in this one.

In this story we have our main character Dora Damage in the midst of the 19th century when women's worth meant nothing and slavery was slowly being abolished yet not recognized by many. Her husband owned a bindery company. He had an arthritic problem and soon could no longer do the binding of books and they became pretty poor. Dora took over the business after having to prove to her loathsome husband that she may be a woman but she was still capable of doing the work along side his apprentice. She was approached by Sir Jocelyn Knightly to bind manuscripts for him. Dora agrees and soon discovers that she is binding pornographic material. We read about Dora and her struggles with life.

While reading this book I decided that I could never have survived the 19th century. I think the era was depicted very well by our Author in this story. Women were treated horribly as though they were worth a scrap of paper. It was appalling the way these women's husbands treated them as well. I know I would have never wanted to marry. Being an old maid would have been fine for me. Women were not really allowed any sexual urges, if they did they were considered whores by their own husbands and the rest of society as well. It was certainly a rough time to live. A lot of Self righteousness lived in the homes of the rich. There was no separation of Church and State in England at this time. So crimes of the sexual nature were prosecuted, often by hanging. Interracial anything was of course look down upon as well.

The characters I find were very well created but sadly I could only connect with one and that being Dora. I have a lot of respect for her and what she stood for. I loved the way she fought for what was right and did not just go with the flow of things. How she fought for the survival of both her and her daughter Lucinda. However there were times when she would just go along with the way her husband treated her. She cared for him and did whatever he needed of her to only receive degrading remarks from him. That was really annoying to me. I also liked Din's character as well. He, just released from slavery, was also a very strong character who would fight for what he believed in. He was a huge help to Dora throughout the book. There were also several horrific villains as well whose roles were wrote out perfectly. The perfect villains, that as readers, we all love to hate.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes Historical fiction and maybe even to those who don't particularly like that genre. There were some descriptive 'erotica' parts that Dora read within the books that were being bound but it was not too over the top. Overall enjoyed this book a lot and give it 3.5 stars.

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova - DNF

Wow this book held so much promise when I started it. I really liked the poetic way the author wrote, there was even a creepy scene in the book, but then it just kinda went south for me. It lost that flare and it's edge and then just seemed to be all over the place and really just turned into a complicated, monotonous read for me, therefore I did not finish it.

This is a story of a 16 year old girl, told by her older self. I am guessing the girl in the story is the actual author, since I don't even recall her having a name in the story. She throws herself into the history of her family in pursuit of the truth about Vlad the Impaler or otherwise known as Dracula.

With the synopsis I expected so much more from this book. I had high expectations that I would get a large dose of Dracula mixed in with a little history and it really was not the case. It was more like a lot of history with hints of Dracula, at least in the 300 pages that I read. Also I found the book rather confusing because it was hard to tell sometimes what time period I was reading about because it jumped around so much and I did not find that it was clearly marked letting me know. So I found myself going back several times and rereading portions of the book.

A large portion of the book was told by way of letters that the father wrote to his daughter and then letters wrote to the father, whatever his name was, from Bartholomew Rossi. I had a hard time deciphering what was letters and what was actually happening at the time. The history in this story was mostly research type history which is fine, but I would like to have a little bit of excitement mixed in. And I did not find that with this book. It started to read like an actual history lesson.

I did not really connect to any of the characters or really even like any of them. I found them a little dry and boring. And with all the jumping around from one 'set' of characters to the next, it was hard to keep them all straight at times. I don't know, they were kind of just there, nothing really memorable.


I have read historical novels that have been very good I think largely because there was much more than just history involved. I can't really recommend this to anyone unless you like very large doses of history and less adventure or excitement.