Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith - 3.5 stars

So we have book #3 in the Cormoran Strike series. I told myself that I was not going to read this one while I was in the middle of the second one. Well as you can see I picked it up and I read it. I feel like the author gives it just enough to keep me interested in the series. We all know that Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym for J. K. Rowling, and we all know that Rowling can write. I am just not sue that mystery is the write genre for her.

The plot of this book was another reason why I decided to go ahead and read it. The synopsis let me know that Robin was more involved in this one and I loved that concept. This one was probably the best one of the 3 so far. With me being a pretty big mystery buff it empowers me to be a bit more critical of any mystery book that I choose to read. I just feel like this series lacks the excitement that I enjoy most in this genre. I also find that there is quite a bit of unnecessary parts to the story. This could be because it is 'new writing' for the author. I have to say that reading this series is more like a rollercoaster ride with all of the up and down moments of drama and excitement, which seems to give it just enough to entice readers to keep reading.

The characters in this series I love. They are very well developed and likable for the most part. The antagonists have enough to leave you seething in anger at them. My favorite character has to be Strike. I think he is a very likable, strong willed protagonist who has many, many issues. He does not let those issues get in the way of doing what is right. He definitely does not let anyone walk all over him. He is the type of character that will take the bull by the horns and not let go till gets what he wants. And it could very well be the characters that keeps me reading the series.

I would still recommend this series to other mystery readers because of the characters alone. As long as they do not expect a book chock full of excitement and adventure, because it is pretty tame as far as that goes. I have to give her a chance though considering this is not a normal genre for her. Rowling's writing is completely different when she is writing for an adult so keep that in mind. I am giving this a 3.5 star rating again because I love the characters and their development throughout this series. A new book is in the works for this series and I wont say that I ma not going to read it this time, because I know I will.

The Woods - Harlan Coben - 5 stars

I read this book as a buddy read and also wanted to read it for TBR Takedown, but I did not make it for that. I knew that I would enjoy this book since it is by Harlan Coben, wow it was so engaging with such a great mystery plot line. Thoroughly loved this book.Synopsis
Twenty years ago, four teenagers at summer camp walked into the woods at night. Two were found murdered, and the others were never seen again. Four families had their lives changed forever. Now, two decades later, they are about to change again. For Paul Copeland, the county prosecutor of Essex, New Jersey, mourning the loss of his sister has only recently begun to subside. Cope, as he is known, is now dealing with raising his six- year-old daughter as a single father after his wife has died of cancer. Balancing family life and a rapidly ascending career as a prosecutor distracts him from his past traumas, but only for so long. When a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to Cope, the well-buried secrets of the prosecutor's family are threatened.

Is this homicide victim one of the campers who disappeared with his sister? Could his sister be alive? Cope has to confront so much he left behind that summer twenty years ago: his first love, Lucy; his mother, who abandoned the family; and the secrets that his Russian parents might have been hiding even from their own children. Cope must decide what is better left hidden in the dark and what truths can be brought to the light.

I absolutely loved the synopsis of this book, and the story certainly lived up to that. And the prologue starts the story off with a band. One of my favorite things about this book was all the mystery. I loved trying to figure out who did what and then getting it wrong only to try guessing again. So glad it was not an easily predictable story. There was also 2 different storylines running in the book and I also loved that. It certainly kept me on my toes from start to finish. There were also some great twists in this book that were surprising.

The characters--WOW-- I absolutely loved all of them! I loved their development, the dysfunctional families, the issues and the mysteries surrounding all of them. I loved both the good guys and bad guys. It had a great mix of both. All of them were exceptional. I actually have 2 favorite characters in this book and those would be Paul Copeland and Muse. They were both fantastic characters. I could imagine Copeland being a well established detective in an entire mystery series, even though he was a prosecuting attorney, with Muse as a sidekick. Copeland is a very strong, level headed character and still has some issues in his life which makes him somewhat flawed. Muse is that quirky yet very smart character that knows what she is doing and does not put up with stupidity or those who sport it. I would love to see a whole series made with these characters.

I would have to recommend this book to any mystery lover and especially recommend to all those Coben fans. Harlan Coben has an amazing talent and now he is an auto buy for me.

The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater - 3.5 stars

I read this book as both a buddy read and then a book for the TBRTakedown 3.0. I found the book to be very engaging even though I had a lot of questions unanswered. And I found the story did not live up the synopsis.
Synopsis
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

Ok so I loved the premise of this book if we go by what was in the actual synopsis about this dangerous yet exciting race on Water horses on the beach. Some will live and some will die. Ok so who would not like that? Right? But what I got was the 'preparation of the racers before the race'. If the synopsis told me that then this would have been a much higher rating because I would have gotten what I was expecting. The story is not bad by any means the problem is that the actual exciting race did not happen till pg. 380 out of a 404 pg. book. That was a bit disappointing to me. There was also no magic system in this book unless we consider the water horse magic, and they could be I guess,but they actually stem from Scottish mythology, which is interesting. The questions I have that are left unanswered is phenomenal and would have been helpful had they been answered. I also wonder if there will be a sequel to this that would answer these questions or if we are gonna be left here not knowing the things we want to know. Like I said at the beginning of this review, the book was very engaging even though I did not get the actual race till the end of the book. I really had a hard time putting the book down. It flowed well. This author can write well, she has a great gift, but maybe give the reader what they expect to receive from reading the synopsis of the book.

The characters in this book I absolutely loved and that is plus when reading a book like this. It is definitely character driven. I fell in love with both Puck and Sean and I loved how this relationship developed. No Instalove! YAY! I felt like the characters were very relatable, and very likable. We also had some antagonists that were pretty good, not the best, but they were good. I could see them develop into far more with a sequel.

So overall it was a decent read, but a somewhat misleading synopsis, along with some unanswered questions that I would love to have answers to. I could recommend this book to others that like fantasy, as long they know that this is not so much about a race but about the characters who will participate in that race with no real magic system.

Rules of Prey - John Sandford - 4 stars

I read this book as a buddy read with a friend. I have had these books for quite some time, so it was time to read it. I found the book very engaging so it was an easy read for me but I did have a few issues with it as well.
Synopsis
The "maddog" murderer who is terrorizing the Twin Cities is two things: insane and extremely intelligent. He kills for the pleasure of it and thoroughly enjoys placing elaborate obstacles to keep police befuddled. Each clever move he makes is another point of pride. But when the brilliant Lieutenant Lucas Davenport--a dedicated cop and a serial killer's worst nightmare--is brought in to take up the investigation, the maddog suddenly has an adversary worthy of his genius.

I enjoyed the plot of the story a lot. There was good mystery, action, thrills and excitement. All those things you love with a mystery, but you do know who the bad guy is from the start of the story, so the mystery is well known, so that is a little bit of a downfall. The story itself is still written very well though.

Now for the characters. This is where my biggest issues come from. Lucas Davenport is a huge player to start with. He does not show any other flaws or issues with himself. He is a ladies man pure and simple. I particularly like characters like that. Another issue I have with him is that he is pretty much borderline bad cop with his antics and the choices he makes which is kind of annoying. The author obviously wrote him this way for a reason and hopefully he has Lucas straighten up a bit throughout the series. As for our "maddog" character I feel like he was written to be too smart. I know he is supposed to be extremely intelligent, but this seemed to be too much. He makes no mistakes and leaves no clues and I find that to be a little unrealistic. Even the women in this story are annoying to me. I hope that characters can grow and become a bit more likeable and realistic.

This could have easily been a 5 star read for me had I enjoyed these characters a little more. But even though I did not like the characters the story itself was good and flowed very well. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery, just know that these may not be ideal characters for readers.

Night Passage - Robert B. Parker - 3.5 stars

Read this book for the TBR Takedown 3.0. I have been wanting to read this series for awhile now and hopefully I will get through most of it this year. I found this books to be pretty good. It was very fluid and easy to get through. I also found it to be very engaging.
Synopsis
His name is Jesse Stone.He's left the LAPD in disgrace and found himself the new chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts -- a town that's a lot less idyllic than it sounds.

This exciting departure for "the reigning champion of the American tough-guy detective novel" (Entertainment Weekly) has landed him on the New York Times bestseller list once again...and thrilled readers and critics alike.

I liked the opening of this series. Not too serious but able to give a good introduction to the town, people and main characters. I think that it gave a good look into what type of people we would be dealing with. I did however find this first one to be a little predictable. It was easy to point out the bad guys. I kind of think that was the authors intention with this first one. To get us set for future stories. I did like the ending of the story though, not a lot of lose ends to deal with.

I have to say that I enjoyed the characters for the most part. They were thought out pretty well but I found that they were also predictable. There was no guessing who the bad guys were. But then again this could be solely for getting the feel of the town as it was, dirty. Jesse Stone is a great character, he is flawed and far from perfect. I love characters like this so much. It also has a Will Trent feel to it with the love triangle we have that is surrounding our main character.

I think reading and completing this series will be well worth the time. I already like the feel of our main character with his issues, and I like the town itself. So we will see what happens. If you like mystery then I would recommend this one. I am rating this 3.5 stars and I look forward to the rest of this series and watching the town and Characters develop.

TBR Takedown 3.0

TBR Takedown will commence on January 4th! Yay Looking forward to this again. I had chose my books and fortunately they worked for the challenges.

Book from recent book Haul - The Scorpio Races
Book outside of your comfort zone - The Scorpio Races
Book on Shelf for over a year - Rules of Prey
First book in a series - The Night Passage
Read a fire colored book (Red, orange, purple, etc) - The Woods
Read a Non novel book (poetry, short stories, novella) - Joe Ledger, Special Ops

The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick - 5 stars

Wow another great piece of story telling buy Selznick. I actually just picked this book up for our local UBS and could not wait to read it. Brian Selznick is an auto buy and auto read for me. His stories, that are told in both illustrations and words, never cease to amaze me. They wrap me up and sweep me away every time I read one of them. His words and illustrations are always so engaging and exciting.

Synopsis
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

The plot of the story of course is heartwarming, adventurous, exciting and even a bit mysterious. I can not think of anything else that could have been added to the story. I can guarantee it will sweep you away and you will be so completely enthralled with Hugo's world and lifestyle that you will never want to leave the beauty and excitement you find there. The illustrations are all done buy the author and they are such wonderful pencil sketches. The writing itself is so fluid and easy to follow while the illustrations also tell this beautiful story as well. Such a great experience every time I turn the pages.

The characters are fantastic and developed so well. They all have such great individual personality and when you meet them, you will feel as though you know them in real life. The illustrations make them all come to life so well. Hugo is now one of my all time favorite characters after reading this book. He just shines through and makes such a wonderful impression on those who get the pleasure of reading this book.

I recommend this book to EVERYONE! I feel like everyone should experience the world of Brian Selznick because if you don't you are really missing out on a true treasure. His works can affect everyone, every age. So if you have not read anything by Selznick please do.