SRC | Week 3

#7 Before I Wake by Dee Henderson: Before I Wake is twisting story that follows the intertwined lives of three main characters: Sheriff Justice, his friend and private investigator Bruce Chapel and Bruce's former girlfriend, now business parter Rae Gabriella.

Rae left the FBI after years of dedicated service when a case went ugly. She accepts a position as a private detective at Chapel Detective Agency, headed by her former Fed partner Bruce Chapel in Justice, Illinois.

Justice County Sheriff Nathan Justice has his hands full with a strike that could turn violent and his grandfather. However, he soon has more to deal with when Peggy Worth is found dead in her hotel room, five rooms away from where Rae is staying; a woman she met earlier in the day. Peggy's parents hire Rae to investigate what seemed likely a natural death in her sleep of a twenty-eight years old healthy female. Soon Bruce, Rae and Nathan know that a serial killer murders women in their hotel room without a whisper or a hint of a struggle, but never takes their money or jewelry so no motive has surfaced. Whereas she seeks justice, he fears she could be next.

Have you ever had a book that when it finished you sat back and thought oh my? Well, this is one. Dee Henderson, as always, does a fabulous job of pulling the reader into the work and getting them to be part of the story. There is a bit of a triangle developing between Bruce, Nathan and Rae. Bruce is a man she once almost married and Nathan is quickly becoming more than just a friend. The twists and turns the plot takes are great and keep the reader always on their toes. Each word becomes something you focus on so you don’t miss anything. The characters are real and deep as they deal with various situations.

The "oh my" part comes though in that everything isn’t solved by the end. As readers we get very used to everything being wrapped up in a neat little bow by the end of the story. This book is obviously going to be a series with more great installments to come. Now don’t get me wrong, if Before I Wake is the only one you ever read, you aren’t left hanging out in left field. However, it sure leaves you ready for the next book. I know I can’t wait!

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#8 The Marriage Wish by Dee Henderson: A short and sweet review for this little book. Our main character, Jennifer, has lost a husband and child and she's afraid to love again. Since I have two daughters, I look at conflicts involving children differently now. I've never lost a child, but I do know that it would be hard for me to get over losing either of my girls because they mean the world to me! Even with God's grace, getting over the death of a child is would be an extremely hard thing to do. As in most romance novels, there is a happy ending and Jennifer does find the courage to have children. Not as good as some of Dee's other work, but still a good read.

As a sidenote: If you haven't read any of Dee Henderson's other books (The O'Malley Series and Uncommon Hereos Series) you definitely should.

SRC | Week 2

Hmmm...at this rate I'm going to have to look up some more books to last...to August...through August??? When does this thing end?

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#5 Betrayed (Book 2) by PC and Kristin Cast: In this follow-up to the book Marked, Zoey has begun to settle into her life at the House of Night. She is now the leader of the Dark Daughters & Sons and High Priestess in training, but something still feels wrong. Zoey wonders if it has anything to do with the ghosts she's been seeing, or if it's all just her imagination...but when a couple of her old acquaintances go missing and then later turn up dead, Zoey is inclined to start listening to her instincts. Her instincts are telling her that perhaps the strange feelings and dreams she's been having might just be some sort of vision. For someone she trusts is definitely not what they appear, and betrayal can lie in the most unlikely of places.

I really enjoyed this book. Although annoying at times (probably only because I have already read Marked), it works well for readers who may have missed the first book as the authors brings up any important points from the previous novel that you might need to know. Okay, now on to Chosen, which I just so happen to have sitting right here. :0)

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#6 Chosen (Book 3) by PC and Kristin Cast: In this third book of the House of Night series, Zoey's adventures at the vampyre school have taken a turn. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, who has become a very scary version of a vampyre, is struggling to maintain her hold on humanity, while Zoey tries to figure out what she can do to restore her friend to her former self. Zoey also finds herself juggling not two, but three boyfriends...And all these secrets she's having to keep from her best friends. For some strange reason, the only person Zoey seems to be trusting is the furthest person from her friend, Aphrodite. Now, while Zoey is juggling all that is going on, things are getting worse because Vampyre professors are being murdered and all leads point to the People of Faith, Zoey's own stepfather's religious group, as the most likely suspects! Yikes!

Best part about the book (I'm being sarcastic here) is that it leaves you hagning...um...what happens next!!! In any case, I enjoyed this book as much as the first two, if not more because I'm beginning to really like the characters. Okay, I guess I need to Google to see when the next book, Untamed, comes out now!

SRC | Week 1

3. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire: Did you ever want to know how the Wicked Witch of the West became wicked? Maguire tells us the story behind how Elphaba (the Wicked Witch), her sister Nessarose, and her school roommate Galinda deal with the conflicts that we all face...good and evil, God and religion, racism, prejudice, sibling rivalry, status, politics, lust and love. Elphaba was born with green skin, shark’s teeth and an aversion to water. She is not wicked just insecure and she eventually commits her life to overthrowing the controlling Wizard.

The Wizard of Oz story with which we are all familiar with, either from the L. Frank Baum book or the movie, doesn’t even appear until the final section of the book There are references throughout the book to characters that appear in the later Baum books, such as TicTok and Ozma. We get an inside scoop on the winged monkeys, the Yellow Brick Road, the house that kills Elphaba's sister and the Ruby Slippers that cause so much drama. We also find out that Glinda (formerly known as Galinda), the good Witch of the North, isn't really all that good unless it benefits her in some way and the Wizard of Oz will stop an nothing to remain in control of Oz.

Maguire has told Elphaba's story in great detail...maybe a bit too much detail at times, especially for younger readers (which is where I found this book). Wicked was a very hard read, but worth it...probably even worth a second read, just because of all the details that I probably missed in the first read. Overall, I recommend the book and cannot wait to go see the musical!

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#4 Marked (Book 1) by PC and Kristin Cast: First off, I have to admit that I'm a sucker for vampire books, so I might be a bit biased.

Unlike most vampire novels, Cast's vampyres are not created in the usual manner such as being bitten by another. Instead, after being "marked" by a tracker - with a dark blue outline of a crescent moon on the forehead, a fledgling vampyre is created simply by biological changes going on in their body. The change occurs over a period of four years, during which time the vampyre leaves their family and friends and into the House of Night. There they will learn everything they need to know to prepare for their new life as a vampyre or their bodies will reject the change and they will die.

Zoey was at school, dealing with teenager issues when she was marked. Her mother and WAY over-the-top, legalistic, Christian-like stepfather freaked out about this and she ran away to the home of her Cherokee Grandma, looking for comfort and acceptance. While looking for her grandma, she had a vision of the Vampyre Goddess Nyx speaking to her and telling her she had a special purpose - she was to be Nyx's eyes and ears. When she awoke from that, the Mark on her forehead was completely filled in, as it is usually only on adult vampyres. There is much about Zoey, the friends and family that she left behind, the friends and enemies that she makes, and the happenings at the House of Night to read about, but I won't share so that I don't ruin the book for any of you who want to read it.

This book was a very easy read and I really liked it. So much so that I was very happy to have the sequel, Betrayed, which I'm starting tonight.

Mark Lee's Summer Reading Club | Week 0

These are the last two books that I've read that we are being allowed to cheat and post as our "freebies". My two freebies that I just finished reading are:

1. The Spiderwick Chronicles (Books 1-5) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi: (Yes, I realize this is 5 books, not 1, but those of you who have read them will understand...they're kinda short books.)

In the first book we are introduced to the Grace children, the twins, Jared and Simon and their older sister, Mallory. They have moved with their newly divorced mother to the old, run-down, house that used to belong to their Uncle who was missing and their Aunt who is now in an institution. As they try to adjust to their new accommodations they discover a secret world populated by brownies, goblins, griffins, elves, and more. In the first book they meet Thimbletack, the family’s house brownie, who is mighty unhappy with the new occupants of his home, especially when Jared finds Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide. The Field Guide contains all of Arthur ’s observations on magical creatures, which could endanger all of the faerie world if it fell into the wrong hands.

Over the course of the rest of the books, the children learn the family secrets and how to make their way among the faeries through a series of adventures ending with a quest to save not only themselves and all of the good creatures of the faerie world, but all of the non-magical world as well.

For a set of Young Adult books, they were entertaining. The illustrations of the fairy-tale creatures and characters were very well done and really brought the characters to life...nothing like helping your imagination along. It was definitely written in a simple enough form for kids to read, so you don't need a dictionary to help you out with any words. Not too scary for pre-teen readers, but probably a bit much for younger ages. I really enjoyed reading them and cannot wait for my girls to be old enough to enjoy them as well.

Sidenote: The books are SO much better than the movie. I thought the movie was good, but it was annoying because the changed from the books way too much!

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2. Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixie's Song (Book 1) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi: A great follow-up to the original Chronicles, The Nixie's Song takes readers...beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles. :0)

This first book introduces us to Nick Vargas and his family. Nick's father develops subdivisions, so they move around a lot. It's been a calm life for Nick and his older brother, until dad goes and does the unthinkable, he remarries. Now Nick has to give up his room to his new stepsister, Laurie. Laurie's a bit odd. She collects books and drawings about faeries. She knows they exist, because she's read The Spiderwick Chronicles, and she even has her own copy of The Field Guide. She knows how to see faeries, but hasn't been fortunate enough to actually have it happen.

All that is about to change when Nick finds a four-leaf clover, which, unknown to him, gives him the "Sight" to see things no one else can see, not even Laurie, who is so jealous. Thankfully they can share the clover which allows them to share the sight. What they end up seeing is an injured nixie, a water faerie, who has been cut off from the river she shared with her sisters and must now reside in the neighborhood's man-made lake.

The nixie, Taloa, binds Nick and Laurie into an agreement to find out what happened to her sisters. What Nick and Laurie find instead is a giant that has more danger to it than just its size. Soon, Nick and Laurie find themselves in need of help from somebody who's had a lot more experience with faeries than they have, which leads to some amusing and surprising encounters with some familiar characters.

This book is enjoyable, not only for those who have read the Chronicles, but for newcomers as well. Not quite as good as the original Chronicles, but still worth reading. I'm hoping that the plot develops into something a bit better as this new series continues. I'm looking forward to the second book coming out in September so I can continue on with the story...I hate being left hanging!

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All posts related to Mark Lee's Summer Reading Club will be found here. Books that I haven't read yet, but am hoping to can be found in the right hand column of this blog.

My summer reading list is in the right hand column on the blog. I'm sure it will grow and change, but that's it for right now. :0) By the way, thanks Mark for putting this all together!