Book Review Number 124: Deja Vu by Lisa Childs

Harlequins are my guilty pleasure.  They're quick reads, they're sexy as hell and, at least with the Intrigue and Nocturne labels, they've got some great plots that keep the characters in danger.

I picked up Deja Vu from the grocery store not too long ago because the synopsis sounded right up my alley.  A woman believes that she is the reincarnation of a murdered woman - a woman murdered by a serial killer that preyed upon 12 women 30 years previously.  She's gone into the FBI in large part to try to figure out who her killer was.  And through her investigations, she meets a writer that has been writing fiction thrillers that exactly match the murders.  Their connection is immediate but neither is sure if he was her husband, or her murdered.

In a lot of ways, this reminded me of the film Dead Again.  Two people meet and form an instant connection. And that connection lies in a murder from the past.  Dead Again is actually one of my favorite movies, so to find a book that had the same basic premise, but different enough to be it's own book, intrigued me.  While I won't say that Deja Vu is a favorite.\, it was an enjoyable read.  I suspected who the villain of the piece was before I reached the reveal at the end, but Childs still managed to have a few surprises by the end.  Honestly, I would love to read another book in this world.  There are definitely things that can be minded there and have interesting stories to tell.

Book Review Number 123: Succubus Heat by Richelle Mead

As any long time readers of my blog, particularly my book reviews, knows, I have a horrible habit of picking up a book that's partway through a series rather than starting at the beginning.  Sometimes it's on purpose - it may be the only book of a series I've heard a lot about, or maybe the back of that particular book intrigued me.  And sometimes, it's purely accidental - I didn't realize that the book was part of a series, I accidentally grabbed the wrong one off the shelf.  There are a million and two reasons why I may be starting in the middle of a series.

With Richelle Mead's Georgina Kincaid series, it was purely a matter of me not paying attention.  I requested the book on the library's website and thought I was requesting the first one.  Nope. Requested the fourth.

As a general rule, it's not too much of a problem for me to read a later book in the series before the earlier ones.  As a matter of fact, there are times I find it really enjoyable, because the author will mention something that happened in previous books and it makes me want to go back and find out about it.  That was definitely the case with Succubus Heat.  Georgina Kincaid is an employee of Hell.  A succubus, to be exact.  It's her job to try to lure the good souls to Hell's side of the fence.  The job isn't the best in the world, but she sold her soul, so now she's gotta work.

The series has a wonderful cast of characters, mortal, formerly mortal and immortal.  By the fourth book, they're pretty well established with backstories (I believe) having been told in the previous books.  In this particular one, Georgina is being sent a few hours away to help out another demon with a problem he's having in his territory.  She's also supposed to find out if he's planning anything against her demon boss, Jerome.  And when Jerome disappears, Georgina and her friends are the only ones anxious to find out what's happened to him.

This book is a far cry from Mead's Vampire Academy series.  It's a more mature read than Vampire Academy.  I found the characters more engaging and more interesting to read.  Like most books I pick up, it was a fairly quick read as well.  I think I finished it in a night.  And I now have the earlier books from the library so I can read them as well.

If you're a fan of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld, I think this series will be up your alley.  Very sexy, very interesting and there's a rich world of supernatural beings.  I can't wait to read more.

Book Review Number 122: Made to Be Broken by Kelley Armstrong

Made to Be Broken is a re-read for me.  It's the second book in her Nadia Stafford series.  Unlike her Women of the Otherworld and Darkest Powers series', there's nothing supernatural going on in Nadia's world.  She does lead an interesting life, though.  Having to leave the police force after killing a suspect (with some question on whether it was accidental or on purpose), she takes her settlement money and buys a vacationers lodge outside of Petersborough, Ontario, Canada.  Business is okay - some seasons better than others - but it isn't quite enough to keep the Lodge running.  To supplement the income from the lodge, she takes jobs for a crime family in New York.  Yep. She's a hitman.

The first book (Exit Strategy) does a good job of introducing the characters and Nadia's background while she teams with her mentor (a man named Jack) and several other people in the business (including a sexy US Marshall/hitman that is interested in Nadia) to take down a hitman that's turned into a serial killer.  Made to Be Broken begins several months after they finished taking down the serial killer.  And this time, Jack and Quinn (the US Marshall) are helping Nadia with a problem closer to home.

When her Sammi, the teen mother that Nadia hired to try to help the girl out, disappears with her baby, Destiny, Nadia refuses to believe what everyone else in town is saying - that Sammi just took off with Destiny.  With Jack and Quinn's help, she finds that Sammi and Destiny aren't the first teen-mom and child pair that have disappeared.  What they uncover is enough to make Nadia's blood boil.

This is a fairly quick read, and quite enjoyable if you like ladies with guns.  I have to say that, the first time I read it, I never guessed what the ending would be.  It is one of those things that completely caught me off guard.  I don't want to tell too much, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone.  But if you're a fan of Kelley Armstrong's writing in her other series, I think you'll enjoy this as well.  Just don't go into it thinking that it's a supernatural book, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Book Reboot

I've got way too many books to review that I don't expect I'll ever catch up.  So, instead I'm going to start the reviews back up with the next book I read (though I may later decide to come back and review Sandman.  Not sure yet.)

I wanted a place to keep all the books that I've read, though, so there's a new page here on Sanity's Overrated (a couple new ones, actually, but only one is germane to this post).  To make it easier for anyone curious to see which books I've read since October 1, 2010 (which is when I started counting), I'm putting a list of the books, with links back to the reviews if they have them, in a separate page on the blog.  If you're curious regarding the list, you can find it here.  And I'm always up for talking about any of the books on that list. :)

Also, if you have a GoodReads account and want to keep up with me there, you can click on my book list to the right and it will take you to my account.

Book Review Number 73: Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume

I know a lot of people that read manga, but it's one that I'd never really had an interest in.  But the manga section is right next to the graphic novel section in my library, so my eyes sometimes wander that way.  Being a DC Fan, Batman caught my attention. On the "I may find something new to love" theory, I picked it up.  And I'm glad that I did.

For those unfamiliar with manga, they are read backward from what I'm used to with traditional English books.  It took a little while to get used to the way it was to be read, but once I did, I was able to fully immerse myself in the story.  It is a story of masks, both literal and figurative.  When a tour of Japanese masks makes its way to Gotham, Bruce Wayne sees a familiar evil from the time he spent in Japan training to avenge his parents' death.  The story moves between these two time frames and the reader gets to see some of what helped make Batman who he is.

It's not completely original, as there have been many stories that have delved into the darker past of Batman.  But it was a good story that brought in a new aspect of that past.  I enjoyed reading about Bruce's time in Japan, learning about the demon, Oni, and seeing the past coming back to haunt the future.  The artwork was wonderfully done in stark black and white.  All in all, it was a good read.

Batman: Death Mask would be a good bridge for those who have read super hero comics and graphic novels but want to get into manga.  It has both the familiar - Batman's story - and the new - the manga - that eases someone into this new form of reading.

Book Review Number 72: Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

I had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Shadowfever at my library, having read the previous 4 books in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning (Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever and Dreamfever).  The series revolves around a Southern Belle by the name of MacKayla Lane.  She has traveled to Dublin to look into the death of her sister and best friend, Alina.  What she finds changes her - and the world - forever.  Through the previous 4 books, we follow Mac as she tries to find justice for her sister and avoid being used by the various factions within this Dublin world she's come to - the beautiful, sexy Fae, the dangerous Dark Fae, the stalwart Garda, the sheep-like Sidhe Seers and the enigmatic Barrons.  She changes from the fun-loving, pink-wearing girl to the woman who does whatever it takes to keep herself and those she cares about alive.

Shadowfever takes place directly after Dreamfever with MacKayla slowly breaking and reforming after Barron's death.  And it just gets more exciting from there.  Mac finally catches up with the Sinsar Dubh, the dark book of magic created by the Unseelie King millenia ago, but just like the rest of the series, things are never quite what they seem.

This was a very satisfying end to the Fever series, having all the questions answered and everything finally put right.  It was wonderful to see the journey that Mac had taken end and to see the different person she ended up being at the end.  I loved seeing Rowena (the leader of the sidhe seers and one of Mac's nemesis') finally get what was coming to her.  I loved watching the relationship between Mac and Barrons end up where we knew it would.  And I loved being surprised as Karen Marie Moning still found ways to surprise me with the truth behind it all.

If you've been reading the Fever series previously, then you'll want to pick up this book and finish out the series.  If you haven't but love stories involving the Fae (particularly the darker aspects), start at the beginning of the series rather than jumping in at the end.  Then finish the other three books and get to Shadowfever.  I don't think you'll regret it.

Book Review Number 71: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson (The 39 Clues, Book 4)

The fourth book in the 39 Clues series finds the Cahill kids in Egypt, chasing the next clue after the supposed death of Alistair Oh.  They start their journey at an Egyptian hotel that is so much more to the Cahills and are immediately put into danger.  It isn't long before they meet Hilary, an old friend of Grace's.  Hilary and her grandson, Theo, seem to want to help the kids along on their journey, but things aren't always the way they seem.  Nellie, the kids' au pair and adult companion on their journey, has a thing for Theo, which further complicates matters. By the end of the book, the kids have found out more about their family legacy and have the next clue to move them forward.

Like the other 39 Clues books, Beyond the Grave teaches as it entertains.  And, in my opinion, this is one of the best things about this series - the fact that kids who read it (and adults, to be honest) learn something about the world around them.  Beyond the Grave gives the reader a glimpse into Egypt's history, the interesting facts of the pyramids and, a real draw for most young boys I know, the truth about mummies.

I had a hard time listening to this one, though not because of the book.  The kids are starting to get bored with the books, so they made a lot of noise while I was trying to listen to them.  But what I did here, I really enjoyed.  I waited anxiously to hear how Amy and Dan were going to get out of the newest trap that they'd been lured to.  I sighed, hoping that Nellie's crush wouldn't prevent her from helping her charges.  I chuckled at the antics of Saladin (Grace's Egyptian Mao) when he knew he was in the place he was worshiped.

This was a nice, strong book in the series.  It helped advance the plot, it taught interesting facts and it had me wanting to know what was going to happen next.  If you're reading along the series, don't stop at The Sword Thief.  Definitely continue on to Beyond the Grave.

Book Review Number 70: Born to Be BAD by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I've been reading Sherrilyn Kenyon for awhile. I really enjoy her Dark Hunter series, though I've gotten away from it recently.  Her B.A.D. (Bureau of American Defense) series, however... I'm anxiously awaiting more of these.

Some of it is that I've got plenty of supernatural series that I'm reading lately.  Between Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen, Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld and Kay Hooper's S.C.U/Bishop series, I have enough supernatural to keep me going for awhile.  Some of it is that I'm finding I enjoy spy-ish romance stories (you know the kind I mean... people that work for some government agency that puts them in danger on a regular basis).  But a lot of it is that B.A.D. is headquartered in Nashville.

I love reading books where I can recognize locations and say, "Hey, I've been there."  (Talking about the Bat Building - or the Bellsouth Tower, as it's formally known - always brings a smile to my face.)  I've only been living in Nashville for 6 years, but it's as much home to me as if someone were to write about Delaware County, NY or Sarasota, FL.  So it's usually a big draw for me in novels.  I've got the next several books requested through the library.  And I can't wait to get them.

Born to be BAD is a trio of short stories set in the BAD universe.  In the first, "One BAD Night", agent Samantha Winslow has been charged with bringing in a supposed rogue agent, Jason Banks.  Samantha had never particularly cared for Jason, but their forced time together - after she has captured him and the two end up on a run for their lives - changes her opinions.  Marianne, the heroine of "BAD to the Bone" (the second story of the trilogy), has won a sweepstakes that is supposed to make all her romantic fantasies come true.  She find the contrived plots that the book company sponsoring the getaway to be boring, but when she meets agent Kyle Foster, she finds out just how well her fantasies can be met.  And the final story, "Captivated by You", brings the reader just a little into the world of S&M, when Rhea needs to play a dominatrix to get close to the bad guy she's after.  Her training partner is a colleague she's long desired, "Ace" Krux.  Being close together, and being forced to take on the dominant role, opens up a whole new world for both the agents.

I love short story anthologies like these, because they give little glimpses into the world that the writer has created.  Each of these stories were strong, and very, very hot.  And the first and the third both had little glimpses of Nashville that made me feel right at home.  But for all of that, "BAD to the Bone" was my favorite.... probably because it was a non-agent getting involved with an agent, without the usual stumbling into trouble that usually happens.  Born to be BAD, along with many of the other BAD books, are on my Christmas list for books I want to own. 

Book Review Number 69: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis (The 39 Clues, Book 3)

We, as a family, have been continuing to listen to the 39 Clues series.  And, as with the previous books, we've really enjoyed the third outing in the series.

With The Sword Thief, Amy and Dan Cahill have made their way to Japan and have made an uneasy alliance with Alastair Oh, the man who had left them inside the burning mansion in the first book, A Maze of Bones.  But they seem to need Uncle Alastair's help... just as he needs theirs.  As with the other books, they combine history with a fast paced story that has the Cahill children running from one danger to the next.

Of all the books, though, this is the one that's stuck with me the least.  I can't seem to remember specifics of it and it was more of an "ok" book than a great one.  Still, it was good for getting the reader from One False Note to Beyond the Grave (book 4 in the series).  If you're reading the series, you won't want to miss this one.  But I wouldn't suggest picking it up as a stand alone.

Book Review Number 68: Wolfsbane and Mistletoe edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

Back in March, I reviewed Many Bloody Returns, the first anthology edited by Harris and Kelner.  It was a fun romp of stories combining vampires and birthdays.  They returned, with a whole new set of authors, for Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, an anthology of stories combing werewolves and Christmas.

Just like with Many Bloody Returns, there were some stories that were fantastic and others that were only so so.  I only knew a few of the authors before reading the anthology this time through (the main draw for me this time was Keri Arthur).  My favorite story was Charlaine Harris' opener, "Gift Wrap".  It's a Sookie Stackhouse short story (which reminds me that I really need to pick up this series at some point and read it!) in which Sookie finds an injured werewolf that isn't quite what he seems.  I also really enjoyed "The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron.  It was a neat little story about a brother and sister team (werewolf and vampire, respectively) tracking down a serial killer that's hit a little close to home."SA" by Joe Konrath was just funny.  It takes place at a Shapeshifters Anonymous (the SA of the title) meeting and adds some nice little twists.  They aren't by any stretch the only good stories in the novel, but they are the best three.

If you like your werewolves with a bit of humor, or a bit of darkness, or just a bit different, then I'd suggest you pick this up.  Because it's an overall fun read.  Not quite on par with Many Bloody Returns, but a solid outing none-the-less.

Book Review Number 67: Coraline by Neil Gaiman (graphic novel)

It's been awhile since I've done book reviews, so please forgive me if I say things I've said before.  I'm trying to catch back up with them, in part because of the last swap that I'll be doing for awhile - the 2nd quarter book review.  Well, that and the fact that I really need to get back on top of this before I get really far behind.  So on with the review.

I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's.  Everything I've ever read or seen by him just totally rocks. If you haven't read his Sandman series, you should run right out and pick it up.  One of his best children's books (second only to The Graveyard Book, in my opinion) is Coraline. I've listened to the audio book and watched the movie and was amazed at what a chillingly wonderful story he'd written.  (And as a complete aside, I get completely creeped out by Lalaloopsy dolls.  I mean, really.  Look at this and tell me it wouldn't creep you out too if you'd read a story where people are trying to replace the main character's eyes with buttons?

*shudder* Anyway, back to the review.)

When my husband brought back the Coraline graphic novel from the library, I knew I'd have to check it out as soon as he was finished with it.  And I'm so glad that I did.  Because, much like the book and the movie, it was a chillingly wonderful story that had me excited to read from one panel to the next.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Coraline is a young girl who has moved into a flat in an old house with her parents.  Above them live an old man who is training a mouse circus.  Below them live a couple of older ladies that had been stars of the stage.  And next door is an empty flat.  Coraline's parents seem to have a benign neglect of their daughter, and the neighbors can't seem to ever get her name right.  One day, when Coraline is bored, she goes exploring and finds that through a locked door, she reaches a parallel world, ruled by the Other Mother.  At first, it seems like the perfect world for her.  But things are never what they seem.

The graphic novel follows the novel incredibly closely.  The artwork is wonderfully dark, evoking the mood that the story has to tell.  Coraline is just as inventive and precocious of a child as she is portrayed in the novel as well.  Her ability to see through the Other Mother (though it does take awhile) is something I wouldn't have expected in a child that so desperately wants to be seen as the girl she is rather than the one that others want her to be.

If you have kids that you want to try to get into reading, I would recommend this as a great starting point.  Being a graphic novel, it appeals to kids that still want pictures in their books but also gives them a complex story to get into.  I'm a big believer that graphic novels can be a great gateway drug into reading more complex stories, and graphic novelizations of other stories are even better for that.

Book Reviews coming... and there will be a lot

I found myself a bit annoyed tonight.  I have a swap due Wednesday, the quarterly book review swap.  I take a lot of pride in the package that I send out to my partners, because I actually make a book out of it.  But with everything going on in my life, I haven't been able to actually sit down and write these reviews.  I have, according to my Goodreads report, 33 books that I need to write reviews for.  *urp*  I had actually written up the reviews of 15 of these books while Rich was in surgery on the 21st.  I didn't have computer access, but I had printed out all of the books I needed to review and started typing away.  And, being the smart me that I can be, I'd saved it to my thumb drive so I could continue them on the desktop when I was at home.

Tonight was the first chance I had to get back to it. (Me procrastinate much?  Never!) And when I went to put my thumb drive into the computer, I found that it was broken and unreadable.  So I'm having to redo all of my reviews.  Of course, I also didn't find this out until around 9:30 tonight, because I was busy having too much fun with my family playing Gauntlet on the GameCube with my husband and my nephew.  Yeah... my own damn fault.

I've got a few of the reviews queued up to post tomorrow morning.  And the rest I'll be writing throughout the day tomorrow.  I should be cleaning, I know.  But this is a little more time sensitive.  And, honestly, writing these reviews will be like visiting old friends.  There are few, if any, of these books that I didn't enjoy when I read them originally.  And reading the synopsis on Amazon is usually enough to remind me of what I loved and what I didn't about each book.

I counted up the reviews I've done and those that I've left to do and I find that I'm only 2 books away from my goal of reading 100 within a year - and this is with 3 months still left to go.  I'm not amending my goal, but am curious if I'll reach closer to 150 within a year.  It will be interesting to see just how many books I can read in a year's time.

Random Thoughts, in Bullet Form

• I hate, hate, HATE the feel of anything on my hands.  Flour from baking, juices from fruits... anything that sticks to my hands just bugs me.  So why did I just spend 30 minutes cutting up two mangos, five peaches and a pint of strawberries?  The parfaits and/or smoothies that I decide to make with them better be darned good.
• I'm fighting the urge to do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day.  I ache through my shoulders and thighs.  Of course, this is because I'm exercising again.  And this is a good thing.  But I hate the feeling that a loaf of bread is too heavy to lift.
• Speaking of exercise, I had to cut my cardio work-out short.  I was willing to push through the soreness of my arms and legs, knowing that it comes with the territory when you're: a) as woefully out of shape as I am and, b) working out for the first time in 2 months.  But when I started getting cramps in my feet that made standing in Warrior Pose (I was doing a yoga/pilates workout), I knew that I was DONE.  Tomorrow, I may go back to my regular pilates.  Or I may do my walking.  I'm not stopping, but I do need to figure out what's going to work.
• I'm still trying to figure out what's for dinner.  My usual head cook (Rich) is on the mend, so the cooking is being left up to me.  There's one problem with this.  I hate cooking.  I love to bake (which is weird with the whole stuff-on-my-hands thing), but cooking just doesn't excite me.  I know we have several leftovers in the fridge.  Or I could make pasta and sauce.  What I really want to do, though, is order a pizza.  Not good for the diet or the finances.  It'll probably be pizza.
• I really need to get my butt in gear and write up book reviews.  I have something like 30 of them that need to be written.  And I need to get them mailed out for the last swap that I'm participating in within the week.  Procrastination is my middle name.  But I've got to stop the procrastination.  It's only going to get worse.
• I'm feeling vaguely dissatisfied with things right now.  Nothing I can put my finger on, but everything feels kind of off.  Most likely, it's due to my life being turned upside down and inside out and everything else.  I should really spend some time writing.  And planning. And figuring.  Procrastination has kept these things from happening as well.
• Maybe I just need a nap. And Icy Hot on all my muscles. And a beer.  Definitely a beer. 

Book Review Number 66: Green Arrow: The Sounds of Violence

I am, unapologetically, a Green Arrow fan.  I adore Ollie Queen and am so, so jealous of Black Canary that I would happily trade places with her any day of any week of any month of any year.  Yeah, I've got it bad.  So I pick up anything Green Arrow that I can find.  Lately, I've been picking up the monthlies in the hopes of keeping track of what the Emerald Archer is up to now.  When I was at my local comic shop yesterday, I ran across The Sounds of Violence, one of the Trade Paperbacks that I hadn't read before.  So, without hesitation, it became mine and it was read last night.

The Sounds of Violence takes place after Oliver Queen returns to the land of the living.  Mia, a girl he rescued from the streets, is living with him and he's taken over trying to be a father figure to her.  He's also trying to get to know his own son, Connor, while putting off getting back in touch with Dinah (aka Black Canary).  It's a pretty typical life for the recently-returned-to-life.

But being a super hero comic, and being Green Arrow, it's never that simple.  Mia wants Ollie to train her as the next Speedy, which he is loathe to do because he doesn't want her getting hurt.  When he meets Dinah for dinner, she insists that she doesn't want things to go quickly with them, but a fight with The Riddler changes things.  And, later, causes an argument with an overprotective Hawkman.

And then comes the big problem - a masked villain that goes by the name of Onomatopoeia.  He talks as the name implies (using "sound words" like "snap", "crack", etc, for those unfamiliar with the word) and he's got something against certain heroes.  He takes out Philadelphia's protector, Virago.  Then moves on to Harrisburg's Buckeye, first killing his wife and then the non-powered hero.  The third one he goes after is Green Arrow II - Connor Hawke - while Connor and Ollie are patrolling.

While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as Quiver (where Ollie IS returned from the grave), I still really enjoyed it.  It was Ollie through and through - from his sexy scenes with Dinah to his overwhelming need to protect his family.  There is a scene where he is holding his arrow on Onomatopoeia to prevent him from finishing off Connor while Connor is being worked on by doctors.  Ollie is drained from having given blood, but for more than 20 minutes, he stands, arrow knocked, until his son is out of danger.  That is one of the things about Ollie that I admire.

The ending was a good one for the book, with Ollie surrounded by his family, but definitely ready for a continuation.  Onomatopoeia is still out there and Star City still has villains to be taken out.  So I'm ready to find the next book, The Archer's Quest (which I may have read before, but it's been awhile).  I just hope I get lucky enough to find it soon.

Book Review Number 65: New Teen Titans: Who is Donna Troy?

I've had this book out of the library for quite some time.  I requested it when I was on my Teen Titans kick.  I knew vaguely of Donna Troy from when I read the Countdown to Final Crisis series and I thought it might be an interesting read.

The book pulls from several different storylines in Donna Troy's life, all trying to find out about her past.  It is a good, concise look at how DC went about changing back stories for various characters - in this instance, Donna Troy.  It starts before Donna's marriage, when she is agonizing over the fact that she knows nothing of her history.  So Terry, her husband-to-be, goes to the best detective he knows - Dick Grayson - to try to help Donna get to the bottom of her life before being rescued by Wonder Woman. 

I found it hard to get into this for some reason.  I don't quite know why, because the mystery aspect of everything is my kind of thing.  But it sat on my shelf, started but not finished, for a couple of months and only got picked back up because I knew it would be coming due at the library fairly soon.  When I picked it back up, I did find the story interesting, but not something that I'd want to pick up again.  I think it may be in part because her past was so complicated.  Her mother passing away, being adopted, being taken from her adopted parents to be sold, the people planning to sell her dying in a fire... it just felt like a bit too much to me.

The next part of the story was the revamp of her background and that part was just bizarre.  When a mysterious visitor shows up at Titans Tower looking for Donna, then telling her that everything from the fire on was a lie and that she'd been taken by the original Titans of myth to save their lives. And now she was needed to save them again because of another child they'd taken going crazy.    It was just really, really... bizarre. 

It finished up with her eulogy and wake, which was pretty good but not good enough that I can remember specifics.

All in all, it was an ok book, but not one of the better ones that I've read.  If your'e a fan of some of the older heroes and groups, then you may enjoy it.  But for me it was something I'm glad I read but not something I'll seek out again.

Book Review Number 64: One False Note by Gordon Korman

One False Note has brought Dan, Amy, Nellie and Saladin to Austria in search of the next clue.  Rather than Wolfgang Amadeus Motzart, however, they are looking for something from his sister, Nannerl.  It turns out to be her diary, but when they arrive to take a look at it, they find that it has been stolen. Their search leads them next to Venice, Italy, where not only do they obtain the pages from the diary that they seek, but manage to do so from under the noses of the Janus, one of the branches of the Cahill family.  After a furious boat ride through the canals of Venice, they are soon on their way to the next clue.

As with the other books, One False Note gives a great jumping off point for learning some history.  This time, the story focuses (from a historical standpoint) on the Motzarts, primarily Nannerl.  She is someone that, had I not listened to this book, I wouldn't have known existed.  And she seems to be (from the limited reading I've been able to do) just as talented, if not more so, than her famous brother.  There's also information on Vienna and Venice, giving tidbits of geography and history as the stories go alone.

The series is keeping my excitement and curiosity as I go through it.  We finished listening to this as a family tonight and tomorrow (or Friday, depending on how Rich feels) we'll start the next audio book, The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis.

Book Review Number 63: JSA: Justice Be Done

I've never read any of the JSA comics before, but I decided to pick this one out of the library on a whim.  I didn't know much about it, only that the JSA was the precursor to the JLA and I'd probably recognize more than a few of the characters.  What I didn't know is that I would be brought back, in many ways, to the first graphic novel I ever read.

The novel starts out with Wesley Dodds, formerly the crime-fighter known as Sandman, speaking with his friend, Speed Saunders, in Tibet.  Dodds sends Saunders off on a mission to Dodds' former sidekick, Sandy.  Not long after Saunders leaves, someone else arrives, wanting something from Dodds.  But rather than giving this person what they want, Dodds chooses death by falling from the mountain.

That is the starting place for this fantastic graphic novel.  Former members of the JSA, the children of former members and people that have stepped into the shoes of former members gather not only to say good-bye to Dodd but to be sent on a mission that could have the Fate of the world hanging in the balance.

One of the things that I loved best about this graphic novel was, as I said above, how it brought me back to  Neil Gaiman's wonderful Sandman series.  Of course, this story revolving, in part, around the original DC Sandman, it makes sense to have some homage, but some pieces still took me by surprise.  The appearance of Sandman/Daniel was the first.  I won't mention any more because I want to leave some surprises for any Sandman fans that choose to read this.

While the story did seem to wander a bit for me, taking me places that didn't quite seem to mesh, I found it an overall good book.  The artwork was fantastic (particularly Sandman/Daniel) and it brought to me both a feel of the Golden Age and a feel of now.  It was a very good melding in my mind.

Book Review Number 62: Batman: Year One

Batman: Year One was written around the time that DC comics were revamping a lot of their character's back stories.  Batman was one of the exceptions.  Still, that didn't mean that he didn't get a second look.  In Batman: Year One, we get to see the beginnings of Bruce Wayne as Batman, as well as the beginning of James Gordon as a policeman in the corrupt Gotham City Police Force.  We get to see Bruce Wayne with some vulnerability as he tries to work out the vigilante he is going to become.  We get to see the lengths that Gordon will go to to keep his family safe.  And we get to meet Selina, who is to become Catwoman.

The story revolves primarily around the corruption in the police department and how different people choose to fight it.  Lieutenant James Gordon chooses to fight it from the inside, watching and learning who are the worst of the worst.  Bruce Wayne decides to fight it anonymously from the outside.  He wants justice for his parents, yet isn't sure how to get it.  While "talking" things over with his father, a bat flies to the window.  Thus is Batman born.  

And the story doesn't end there.  The story shows us the measures both men take as they take on their fight.  I had always thought of Gordon as a non-combatant.  I'm not sure why, knowing that he did work his way up through the ranks to eventually become Commissioner Gordon.  But this tale showed that he can do what needs to be done to keep those around him safe - even if it isn't strictly legal.  Then again, with the law in Gotham at this time, "legal" is not a recourse he has.

The artwork is beautiful, though appropriately dark for the subject matter.  The story flows nicely and didn't seem to contradict anything I knew about Batman and his origins (though, to be fair, I am far from a Batman scholar).  It is a fitting beginning to the new, darker era of Batman that Miller ushered in.

And, to be honest, as much as I loved the story of Batman's origins, I found Gordon's origins much more compelling.  His despair at the job that he has come to do, the fear for his pregnant wife, his attempts to stand up to corruption, and the strength of character it takes for a lawful soul to do a lawless act.

Book Review Number 61: Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman

I picked up this book on the recommendation of my friend Paul over at Blog, Jvstin Style. Paul has had good and bad reading experiences with urban fantasy and decided to give this book a try.  It was one of his good experiences and he gave it very glowing reviews.  Knowing that Paul and my tastes run somewhat similar, though he's more of a sci-fi junkie than I am and I'm more of an urban fantasy junkie than he is, I knew it would be one worth trying.  I'd been meaning to pick up one of her other series (The Retrievers, but it's one of the many that never quite got into my library requesting queue.

Bonnie Torres is a young woman, fresh out of college and no job prospects ahead of her.  She doesn't have to worry about money - her guardian, J, is quite well off.  But she hates being dependent on him and wants to get out on her own.  As interview after interview results in no job offers, she despairs more.  It's not like she can get an office job somewhere - Talent current (magic for the rest of us) and electronics don't always mesh too well.

Then a mysterious offer comes her way.  There's no name and no details, just a time and a location.  And Bonnie decides to take a chance.  The next day, she arrives to find 4 or 5 others sitting quietly in a waiting room.  Time ticks by and some small talk is made, until Bonnie is tired of waiting.  She goes to the office door they can see from the room they're in and, when she tries to open it, it swings open to reveal a dead body.  That begins the strangest job interview of her life.

Bonnie, and the rest of the people waiting in the office, become the newest (and first) members of PUPI - Private Unaffiliated Paranormal Investigators.  The job is a combination of inventive techniques and making things up as they go along.  Their bosses, known collectively in Bonnie's mind as "The Guys," show them a lot of techniques to magically process a crime scene.  But it's still a field that no one has ever really tried before, so there's bound to be some problems.

Including people that want them to fail.  PUPI very firmly accents the "unaffiliated" part of their name - regardless of who is requesting their assistance, whether it be someone high in the Council hierarchy (Council being the controlled, "this is how things are done" Talent) or the lowest lonejack (the drifters and the dreamers and those who don't want to be affiliated with the Council).  It's the facts that matter, not who is paying them. And from the start, little things start going wrong as someone tries to drive them out of business.

Their first case comes from a high profile member of the Council who is convinced that her parents' supposed suicide was actually murder.  The team takes the case and it really stretches their training, inventiveness and other skills.  Not to mention the attempts on their lives.

This was a fantastic first book of a series.  The reader gets a chance to meet all the players in PUPI, as well as the one person most important to Bonnie, her mentor J.  As things are going wrong in the office, back when the characters were blaming gremlins, a little tingle in the back of my mind kept saying, "It's a whole lot more than that!"  The book is a very solid paranormal novel, with wonderful explanations of what makes this world different from our own.  And the end of the book leaves enough of a teaser to make the reader want the next novel, Pack of Lies (Luna Books), in their hands now.

Book review Number 60: The 39 Clues, Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

We have been listening to The 39 Clues series so we can enjoy it as a family.  All the posts regarding these books will be about the audio version, unless otherwise stated.

I mentioned a little of the set up regarding the 39 Clues in my previous post.  Brief overview for those who are reading my newer posts before my older posts, a brother and sister have been sent on a quest around the world to find 39 clues that their recently deceased grandmother has left for them and any other groups of the family willing to take on the challenge.  At the end of the clues is supposed to be something that will make the winner the most powerful person (or people) in the world.

The Maze of Bones is the first book in this series.  It's where we get to meet not only Amy and Dan Cahill, but many of the groups that will be vying for the clues over the next several books.  And very few of them are of the kind and gentle persuasion.  Through out this book, there are a couple of attempts on Amy and Dan's lives, including a fire that torches their beloved grandmother's mansion.

The first clue that everyone gets (in packets at the reading of the will) points the Cahill siblings toward Philadelphia and Ben Franklin.  And from there, to Mozart and Austria.  We get to see the ingenuity that the siblings call upon without any need for violence - even when violence heads in their direction.

It's a great start to the series, letting us meet all of the key players in the drama that will take place over the following nine books.    While some of them aren't quite as fleshed out as they will be in later books, that's understandable in a book of this type.  Of the books that I have read, the rest do have their time to shine.

Again, it's a great introduction to history.  As often happens when books tell of places that I know, I listened with rapt attention at  as they moved through Philadelphia.  I lived there for 3 years with my fiancé turned husband so I was pretty familiar with a lot of the landmarks. And I couldn't have been more pleased that to hear them talk about the Franklin Institute, which is a place Rich and I spent a fair amount of time at.  It's going to be a great starting place to for introducing Teddy to Philadelphia when we head up that way this summer.

Regarding the reader for both this book and the previous one that I reviewed, he is WONDERFUL.  I love to listen to him because he really gives each character their own individual voice.  You don't have to hear the words that someone had said a phrase to know that was who was speaking.  He puts a lot of energy and a lot of self into his reading.  It's one of the reasons I'm so glad to have the audio book collection checked out of the library for family listening.