Faceless by Debra Webb

This is is the second Debra Webb book I've read, again at the suggestion of my friend Rachel. I liked this one more than Nameless.

The mystery was tightly wound and slowly unraveled through out the 330 some odd pages. I was a bit surprised at how it turned out. I didn't start figuring it out until well past the halfway point, and even then I didn't quite get it right. I love that in mystery books.

I gather that Webb uses romance, well hot sex at any rate, in her books, and this one had some, not near as much as in Nameless but it was there and it didn't feel out of place for the story and it was well written, not Harlequin cheesy.

The women Webb uses as lead characters in her books (the 2 I've read so far) are strong women who have overcome some sort of trauma and are smartly written.

While this isn't a masterpiece of literature it was an enjoyable read that didn't feel like a waste of time or mindless reading. I liked it and found it a nice break from some of the heavy books I have read and still have on my pile of books waiting for me to read them.

(finished July 23, 2013)

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The story of a young man surviving for over 200 days on a life boat with a tiger is fantastic. How is this possible? What keeps someone going for that long in such a dire predicament?

Life of Pi is both a book of faith and fantasy, of strength and imagination, it's the story of life finding a way.

Pi loves god so much he doesn't want to pick one religion, he wants to embrace the best of three of them. He is a Hindu-Christian-Muslim. Maybe it is this faith that gets him through.

Yann Martel writes so vividly that you can see the vast ocean, taste the salt, feel the odd algae island beneath you feet, and hear the roar of Richard Parker. There are a few cringe worth moments that also speak to the talent of the author to paint a word picture.

At the start of the book I was feeling like this was such an impossible premise that there was no way to make it feel real but by the end, as the shipping company guys are interviewing Pi I was feeling angry at them for not believing him.

(finished July 22, 2013)

Nameless by Debra Webb

My friend Rachel is like me in that she likes to tell people what to read. This was one of her suggestions.

I really liked this book because while it could have been cheesy since it's part mystery and part romance it isn't like the Harlequin book it could have turned into.

The relationship between Grace and McBride doesn't have that overly romantic dribble that makes a lot of romances feel forced and fake. The mystery wasn't overly simple and the story behind the crimes had depth. It didn't feel like the mystery was thrown in to put the main characters together for the sake of creating a crappy and sappy easy romance.

It was smarter than the average beach read romantic mystery with a bit of steamy thrown in.

(finished July 20, 2013)

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison

Right from the beginning I liked the snarky tone.


Benjamin Benjamin (yes that's really his name) has become a caregiver. He is living in a crappy apartment, his savings is just about gone, his credit cards are almost maxed out and his marriage is over. He hasn't really worked in a long time and this is his last ditch attempt to get his life together.

When he gets a job taking care of Trev, a young man with MD he gets much more than he bargained for. He goes on a figurative and literal journey towards figuring out where he went wrong and it isn't where he thought it would be.

As he tells you his story in the present Ben also tells you what happened with his marriage in the form of flashbacks and it is heartbreaking. Ben isn't a bad guy, he's just an average joe with a broken heart and a sarcastic manner.

(finished July 17, 2013)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I read this for the July pick for bookclub. It was the first Agatha Christie I've read. I was a bit excited to read it. I like mysteries and Agatha Christie was in an episode of Doctor Who.

There are two things I want to talk about for this book.

First, only a few pages in I got the impression she might be antisemitic. I get that the book was written in and takes place in the 30's so it wouldn't unusual to have a book with antisemitic characters but this was different. It didn't add to the story, it was not needed to give an impression that without the  lines that jumped out at me would have taken away from the story. So being the nerd I am I put the book down and did some research and yes she was. This put me off a bit but I finished the book.

So the second thing to discuss is the story itself. It wasn't bad. I never suspected the who or the how so that was a plus. I like mysteries that stump me or where I get it wrong. It was quite a twist and the reveal was cleverly done.

(finished July 17, 2013)

Delirium Stories: Hana, Annabel, and Raven by Lauren Oliver

This was a quick read that gave some of the back story of Hana (Lena's best friend), Annabel (Lena's mom) and Raven (the leader of the homestead Lena becomes part of) from the Delirium trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem .

It gave insight into these women but it also made me feel like now the trilogy was unfinished even though I read all the books. I don't mind when a book leaves you imagining where the characters have gone after the last page but this was more like a cliffhanger and that is not good. But it was still worth the read.

(finished July 6, 2013)

The Sky Always Hears Me: And the Hills Don't Mind by Kirsten Cronn-Mills

I got this book for my daughter but read it first. As you know I am a fan of YA books. This did not disappoint. And the author is awesome. I was given her name as a suggested author for my daughter who loves to read and who has recently come out. I contacted the Mrs. Cronn-Mills and sent along a note with the autographed copy of the book and was so kind.

I enjoyed the book a great deal too. The tone of the story, which is told by Morgan, was snarky and sarcastic bringing to mind Juno.

The story was very moving at time and at others quite humorous. Morgan lives in a small town where nothing ever happens. She has a step-mother, a father with a drinking problem, a terrific grandma, two brother and a boy friend with a tiny "peepee" she doesn't think she wants anymore. She works at a local grocery store and she is bored and wants out so she can write "the next Great American Novel". But then comes along Rob with his great ass and Tessa with her great kisses. In small town middle America this makes for a rough time. Rumors about her sexuality, the truth about why her dad drinks and trying to figure out to say what it is she wants makes for a wonderful read.

(finished July 4, 2013)

Dark Paradise by Tami Hoag

I have read other Tami Hoag books and this one was a little different than the others. This one felt more like a romance novel with some mystery thrown in. A romantic thriller if you will. That isn't an insult and this was a good escape from the very serious and heavy books I've read recently since it was at its heart a romance I figured it would have a happy ending.

As I would expect from a Tami Hoag book the tension slowly amps up until it had me wanting to peek ahead to see if any of the main characters die. The dialogue between city girl Marilee and cowboy J.D. was a little cheesy and formulaic but it wasn't annoying. The sex scenes (all but one) were sexy even while at times they felt a little bit like the old Harlequin Romances I used to read.  The who-done-it reveal was not overly predictable and so over all I would say I liked this book and it served its purpose as an escape that didn't require any deep investment from me.

(finished July 3, 2013)

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

I love the sub-genre of YA books that contain books like the Uglies series and The Hunger Games series. They tell the stories of humans trying to survive some sort of government over control or other apocalyptic tragedy.

The 5th Wave looks to be the newest entry in the category to cross my path. I'll admit I rolled my eyes when I read that it was an alien takeover that served as the jumping off point of this one. But I didn't roll them anymore once I started the book.

Cassie is a smart and loveable teenage girl who is very fluent in sarcasm. I loved her pretty much right away.

Keeping in mind this is book one of a series and I don't want to spoil anyone there is not too much I can say. But I can share that the tale here is that aliens have come. There have been waves of attack, wave 1 doing away with electricity, wave 2 is a worldwide catastrophic tsunami, wave 3 is an uber virus and wave 4 is the silencers...then comes the 5th...

Often times the first book in a series is a little slow to get going because of the time used in many book 1's to set up the world to be explored in the coming books. That was not an issue here, Yancey jumped right in and we were given bits and pieces of needed information as we went but it wasn't done in a slow start kind of way. I liked this style very much.

I am very much looking forward more in this series. The ending of this one was a killer cliffhanger...

(finished June 30, 2013)