So it's been a while since I've blogged and now I've got 7 books to talk about. So let's see what we can do...
The first of these is called 'Mounting Desire' by Nina Killham. At first I was thinking no thank you because it just sounds like a bad idea. Not at all like what I would read. But a family member had suggested it to me and so I looked at the back cover and read. It actually sounded interesting because it is a book written by a female in a male perspective who is pretending to be female. So ultimately she is being female just a bit more butch, right? Not quite. The main character is a romance author that the world views as female. But he's not. So the character is very metro sexual. The twist...born-again virgin who finds himself in sticky situations while trying to be a mentor for a somewhat loose newbie female romance author. It was entertaining just for all the gender conflicts and the family issues.
Next is 'The plot Thickens' by a whole slew of authors. It is a book presented by Mary Higgins Clark to promote Literacy Partners. Approximately 45 million adults can't read in this country and Literacy Partners provides free instructions in reading, writing, and arithmetic to adults. As a part of this Mary Higgins Clark and 10 other very talented writers put together 11 short stories to help in this problem. The only stipulations were that each story had to include a thick steak, a thick fog, and a thick book. All of the stories were interesting and a few of the authors I have never read before but I will now just from the snippets I got from this book. Over all the stories are good and they are for a good cause. Plus not to long, so if you want something light on the brain...this is the book for you.
Next would have to be 'Hero at Large' by Janet Evanovich. This author is a personal favorite of mine. The plum novels have sucked me in time and time again. This book is one of Evanovich's reprinted books. It was originally printed under the name Steffie Hall. It has all the quirk that Evanovich puts in her books but the little bits of 'oh jeez, now what?' and a good ending. It's a quick read and full of excellent characters. Of course, a strong willed woman, hard-headed man, and kooky family member...plus a dog just for kicks. All the makings of a great Evanovich book.
After I read Evanovich I fell into the land of Jim Butcher. The next two are by him. The first is 'Changes' the second is part of the Codex Alera series, 'First Lord's Fury.' Both were great books. Let's start with 'Changes.' I have to say of all the books in the Dresden files I have never laughed more than I did in this one. I mean no one else can make you laugh because all of the characters are facing their possible deaths and instead of being scared to death they are arguing about which character they get to be from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And the kicker is, that it's not entirely out of character for these people. And Mouse (the best temple dog ever) has a great part in this book. On the flip side things don't go so well for Harry. He's stripped of everything in his life and it really looks like he wont make it out of this scrape. And the way the book ends you really aren't sure if he has or not. Can't wait for the next one to come out.
Now onto 'First Lord's Fury.' I have to say it was my favorite of the entire series. I thought that maybe 'Captain's Fury' was but this blew it out of the water. It had the great makings of a perfect ending to the series but some things were left open that if Butcher wanted to he could have another one. But, honestly, who can answer every question? And what story ends in the perfect happily ever after...certainly no Butcher book I've ever heard of. It is a must read for sure. A lot of things were pulled together in the book and you really saw just how much Tavi has grown and just how strong Kitai can be. Also, that this world that Butcher has made can't just be torn apart a page at a time. Every character and aspect of the book grew perfectly together into this nice package.
After Butcher I decided to head back to my roots and hit a Michigan author, Joseph Heywood. His book 'Ice Hunter' was excellent. I might be a bit bias because I am familiar with the areas (which was a bit odd at first) but I liked how real the book was. Most CO's (conservation officers) have a bit of a reputation for being "hard-asses." Heywood showed that side of the CO's but also the sheer ferocity in which someone who claims to protect Michigan. There is one specific part that proves both of these things. Officer Service has a tough go of things in the book and is working on over 24 hours of no sleep. He lets his dog out and realizes that there's a bear at the edge of his property along with 2 cubs. He'll take care of it in the morning (the UP-Upper Peninsula is full of them you know). When he is just about to fall asleep he hears a four-wheeler coming down the trail by his house. His brain kicks in even though his body is saying no because of the bear. So Service runs out to warn the guy, who at this time has been caught by the bear and is being chased up a tree. Service manages to distract the bear and get the guy out of the tree (who has a broken leg and lots of lacerations) and sends him to the hospital along with tickets for various violations including riding without a helmet, riding on and un-designated trail, and reckless driving. One might think that a guy being mauled by a bear would be reminder enough but not the CO's...the law is the law... The other thing about this book I like is that the vernacular is very unique to Michigan and only goes to prove that the UP is sort of a unique state all it's own, just tagging along with Michigan.
The final book that I read is 'Moon Called' by Patricia Briggs. The current hype is vampires and werewolves. The focus is usually the vampires. What I did like about this book is that while it is about the supernatural, it is mostly about werewolves and shape shifters with a couple of vampires thrown in on a few pages. Briggs adheres to some of the older myths of lycanthropy but still is very much about the alpha and omega of the packs. There is mystery mixed in and some female defiance. The only thing that I'd say was bothersome was that Briggs would touch on a point on one page and then make it whole several pages later, maybe even a chapter later and that sort of felt jumpy. It was an enjoyable book once you got used to the writing style though.
I'll try not to wait so long to update next time and then just throw a tone of books out there all at once. Hope you enjoy!
