about.me

Through BzzAgent, I found was directed to about.me.  It's a website that lets you build a splash page to put all your online locations in one place, making it easier for people to go from one of your locations to any other with the click of a button.  You have complete autonomy regarding what you add.  They have links for several sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as the ability to add other URLs for places without quick links.  You can say whatever you'd like about yourself, telling as much or as little in your blurb.  This is ideal if you want to direct people to a lot of different locations that you frequent. All you need to do is add your about.me page to your sig line in an e-mail.

I'm hoping to get a lot of use for this.  I haven't used it too much yet, though I am planning on putting it on my Swap-Bot profile so I can take out the multitude of links I have there now.  I'm probably going to keep my link for my blog in my sig separately, but I'm considering adding my about.me page as well.  You never know when someone new may decide to check out what you do online.

If you're curious to see my about.me page, just follow the link.

Disclosure: I received information about the above website through BzzAgent.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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 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.

Book Review Number 59: Dangerous Games by Keri Arthur

Dangerous Games is book 4 in the Riley Jensen series.  Now that Deshon Starr has been dealt with, it's time for Riley and the directorate to deal with the dangerous, and cloned, former Guardian, Gautier.  While she's dealing with that, there's also a serial killer on the loose that has been dumping the bodies of young women at abandoned warehouses.  The signature of this killer?  A missing finger on each woman's hand.

As often happens in books of this type, the two quests actually become one.  As Riley is trying to find out information about the serial killer (and gets a gorgeous source along the way), she spots Gautier at the same time.  And as she gets deeper into both mysteries, it looks like she may not be able to make it out.

While I enjoyed Dangerous Games, it wasn't my favorite by a long shot.  The sex scenes were much harder and more brutal than the previous books, and Quinn was being an utter jerk through almost the whole thing.  Though, I do like the way that Quinn's past, and his reasons for being so tight-lipped regarding what has been happening, get resolved by the end of the book.  I also like the fact that Riley tells Quinn that he needs to stay away from her for awhile by the end of the book.  Having read future books, I know what's in store for the two of them.  But seeing the 1200 year old vampire have to live by the saying, "If you love something, set it free" was an interesting bit of reading.

Book Review Number 58: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I'd first heard of Richelle Mead through another book I'd read earlier this year, Kisses from Hell.  The story she wrote for that anthology was a prequel and, from that alone, I thought I'd want to check out her Vampire Academy series.

Lissa and Rose have been on the run for 2 years from their academy - a school for the living vampires (like Lissa) and their guardian dhampires (which is what Rose is training to be).  At the beginning of the book, Lissa and Rose get caught and are brought back to the academy.  The place may be the same as when they left, with the usual high school gossips and cliques. But Rose and Lissa aren't.  Trying to fit themselves back into school isn't easy, especially with the powers that seem to be forming in Lissa and the new combat trainer of Rose's that Rose can't shake her attraction for.  And when things start showing up around Lissa that are far outside the norm, it's up to Rose to do what she can to protect her friend.

I had a hard time getting into this, and I don't know why.  I started reading it, got to about chapter 3 and then put it down for a few months.  But when I picked it back up, I finished it quickly.  I'm blaming the hard time getting into it on the fact that I was just entering my Graphic Novel phase.  Because it really is a well written book, and one I enjoyed.

In particular, I loved the way that the author included the flashbacks. They were appropriately timed and helped draw out what happened to make them leave as well as what was happening in the present.  I never saw the villain of the piece coming, but once I knew who it was, I realized I probably should have.  For me, that's one of the hallmarks of a good mystery.  And, in part, that's what this book is.  It's definitely paranormal teen romance, and book about friendship, but there's also the mystery of who is trying to get at Lissa and why.  

I've got the next book on request from our library.  I'm hoping that it doesn't take too long to get here.

Book Review Number 57: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

As I pointed out in the review before this one, this reading of the book was an audio book that I'd taken out for our long drive to Philadelphia.  And, for all that I knew the story really well, this was almost like a first time read for me, because I got to hear it through the ears of my oldest son.

I'm pretty sure everyone out there knows the basic premise of this book. Harry Potter is the only one to ever survive the killing curse performed by the Dark Lord, Voldemort.  And he did this at the age of 1.  At that young age, with his parents dead, he is brought to live with his only remaining relations, the Dursley's.  The Dursley's are a horrid bunch that try to make Harry' life as miserable as possible.  It's only as his 11th birthday approaches that he finds out that he is so much more than the orphan child doomed to live the existence of a second class citizen under his family's roof.  He finds out he's a wizard.

The Sorcerer's Stone details Harry's first year at Hogwarts, including some very strange happenings that result in a large confrontation at the end of the book.  We also meet the people that are to become most important to Harry through out his years at Hogwarts and beyond: Ron Weasley, a boy in cast offs that becomes Harry's best friend; Ron's family, who become a surrogate family for Harry; Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of her generation and Harry's other best friend; Haggrid, the gentle giant of a man that is the gameskeeper at Hogwarts; Draco Malfoy, Harry's enemy at Hogwarts (because every hero should have one); Professor Snape, the potions teacher that also seems to have it out for Harry; Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts that seems to know all but tell very little... the list could go on for hours.

As we listened to the story this time, Teddy was in the back seat, listening and asking questions as the story went along.  He wanted to know why some things happened, what the meaning of some of the words were... he was engaged.  And when we mentioned the possibility of getting the second book for our next travels, he was excited by it.

I've loved Harry Potter from the beginning.  I bought the first 4 books through a book club and they came at a time when I was laid up because of back trouble.  I read through these books like the pages would burn if I didn't get to them fast enough.  And once I finished The Goblet of Fire, I picked The Sorcerer's Stone back up again. I can't say exactly what it is that appeals to me about this series.  The first book is written to a much younger audience than my own 37 years.  But it comes alive within the covers.  Many of us have wanted to have that magical thing happen to take us out of our every day life and give us something spectacular. And Harry gets that.  We get to go on his journey as he explores that spectacular world.  We get to learn along side him about Quidditch and Butter Beer and charms and spells and potions.  

Yet, for all that this world is fantastical, there's still a quality to it that kids will relate to.  There's bullying.  There's teasing.  There's friends and enemies.  There's teachers that they love and teachers that they hate.  It's a wonderful combination of easy to relate to and fantastical enough to take us out of our own world.  I think that's part of what's so endearing about the series.

I look forward to letting Teddy read the rest of these as he gets older.  Because I really think that he'll enjoy it.

Book Review number 56: The 39 Clues, Book 5: Black Circle by Patrick Carman

I learned about the 39 Clues series around the time I first finished Percy Jackson and the Olympians.  It's not really a surprise, since Rick Riordan wrote the first book and the children's librarian at our favorite branch loves to share new series that she thinks we'll enjoy with us.

I'd read the first couple in the series but hadn't gotten around to reading the rest.  Then came the unexpected trip to Philadelphia.  I knew from past experience that Rich and I would go nuts if we were forced to listen to the same music over and over again for all 14 hours of the drive (split over 2 days, of course).  For the sake of our sanity, I made a stop at the local library to find something to listen to along the way.  I walked out with two audio books - The 39 Clues, Book 5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling.  We already knew the world of the 39 clues from our reads of the previous books and we were both very familiar with Harry Potter, me having read it multiple times.

While listening to both of these books on the road, something I never expected to happen did.  Teddy PAID ATTENTION.  Usually if we have a book in, he wants us to change it to listen to his music.  But this time, he excitedly asked for the next disc.  We're now trying to listen, as a family, to all the 39 Clues books.

Back to my review of this book.  First, a little background for those not familiar with the series.  Amy Cahill is a 14 year old orphan, and Dan is her 11 year old younger brother.  They live "with" their great aunt (read: she lives in an apartment across town and hires an au pair to live with the children and take care of them), but often go to their grandmother's grand estate for visits.  They both love their grandmother greatly and are saddened to hear of her death.

At her funeral, which is attended by hundreds of people, mostly family, they find that they have been invited to a special reading of the will.  They, along with many other members of the family, are given a choice - either take a substantial sum of money or choose to seek out the 39 clues, which will lead them to the greatest power in the world.  If they chose getting the clues, they'd never be able to go back and claim the money.  Against their great aunt's demanding to take the money, they decide to go on what will become an adventure of a life time.

In The Black Circle, Dan and Amy start out in Egypt.  They are still on the hunt for the 39 Clues, having been close to getting some, having gotten others and had their lives put in danger more than once.  They have two companions on their journey. Nellie Gomez is the au pair that their great aunt had hired before they skipped town to track down the clues, and she has become a valuable partner.  She speaks several languages, plus she's an adult, which helps keep the authorities away by seeing two kids alone.  The other is their grandmother's cat, Saladin.  While he doesn't help so much with finding the clues (thus far, anyway), he's important to Amy and Dan because he's a link to their grandmother.

Through most of the book, Nellie and Saladin are still in Egypt, while Amy and Dan head to Russia.  While there, following clues given to them by the mysterious NRR.  Because of the nature of the clues that they need to follow from this shadowy person, they know that there is no way they can do it alone.  They make an alliance with one of the other teams, one they can't be certain won't blow up in their faces.  But as they learn through this alliance, sometimes people can surprise you.

What I love the most about this series of books is the fact that it introduces kids (and some adults) to history in a very enjoyable way.  In this particular book, we learn about the Romanov's, the Summer Palace, the mystery surrounding Anastasia, Rasputin... so many things in and around the Russian Revolution.  Granted, it's not the same as if you were to read a text book on the subject, but it gives kids a great jumping off point if they find something in particular that interests them.

Book Review Number 55: Tempting Evil by Keri Arthur

Tempting Evil is the 3rd book in the Riley Jensen series.  (Sadly, my library doesn't have the second book so I've had to skip that one.)  The hunt for the person in charge of the cloning project has been found, but he is incredibly well guarded.  Because of the death of one of her former partners, Riley wants in.  And "in" happens to be the man's well guarded pleasure palace.

Riley and Rhoan both attempt to make their way inside, with a plan for getting close to the man and killing him and his lieutenants.  But as any good reader knows, plans have a habit of going haywire.  

Originally, Riley plans on coming in as a prostitute to service the lieutenants and guards.  Rhoan plans on coming in under the security detail, the pool of men that Deshon Starr (the villain of the piece) picks his bedmates from.  But Riley's "chance" meeting with the woman who procures prostitutes doesn't go as planned when an attack is made on the woman's life.  Rather than come in as a prostitute, the woman (who later admits that she knows who Riley is and who she works for) agrees to bring Riley in as a fighter.  That's where the lieutenants choose their lovers from... because only these woman could be strong enough for the depravity that these two men have in store.

There's one catch, however.  Riley is asked to get the woman's daughter out of there.  Starr has been holding the fact that he has her over the woman's head to make sure he isn't double crossed.  Against Jack's requests, Riley becomes determined to help save this child as well.

Quinn isn't supposed to be part of the team, having a very personal vendetta that could jeopardize everything. But, being the 1200 year old multi-millionaire that he is, he finds a way.  And that's not the only possible danger.  Deshon Starr seems to know exactly who and what Riley and Rhoan have in store for him, and lays some traps of his own.

I thought this was another good book in the series.  We get to see Riley grow, not only as a Guardian (which she's still trying to avoid being) but within her powers.  In the first book, she'd been given a fertility drug by one of her lovers in an attempt to create the perfect child with her.  Rather than making her fertile, the drug, which was known to be dangerous on mixed-race women, it enhanced many of the powers that she already had as a dhampire and added others that she hadn't previously had.  There is one scene in particular in which Riley, pissed at something that Quinn has done, manages to tear through his mental shields.  It's not something she should have been able to do to a vampire that old.  (And I love to watch her kick ass like that.)

There's pretty good action and the sex scenes aren't too bad... though most of them aren't sex for pleasure or exactly what they seem.  The characterizations are also brilliant.  You can't help but hate Starr's lieutenants, or feel sorry for some of the women that are part of the fighting ring as well.  

As with the one previously reviewed, this is a very sexy book and sex scenes are described.  So if that kind of thing bothers you, I wouldn't suggest this series.  But if it doesn't and other races are your thing, go for it!  I think you'll really enjoy it!

Book Review Number 54: Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

This book is a re-read for me.  I actually listened to it first when I was working nights and now I can't read it without hearing the lovely Australian accent that the reader had.

Riley Jensen is half vampire/half werewolf.  Her wolf half is dominant so she is generally able to keep the vampire half hidden.  She and her twin, Rhoan, work for the Directorate of Other Races.  Rhoan is a Guardian - one who is judge, jury and executioner when a member of the Other Races (read: non-human) go rouge.  Although her boss is constantly trying to get her to become a Guardian as well, Riley doesn't relish the thought of killing and tries to stick firmly to her position as a liaison for the Guardians.  Regardless of what Riley wishes, she gets pulled into the thick of things when her brother goes missing and a handsome (naked) vampire shows up at her door.  Oh, and did I mention that it's the week of the moon heat, the time when werewolves get extremely horny and have to mate?  Yeah, that adds a nice bit of tension to the mix as well.

In an effort to find her friend, she does some investigation on behalf of her boss, Jack.  With the help of the vampire from her doorway, Quinn, she finds out that there's a whole mess of trouble happening out there - primarily involving cloned crossbreeds like Riley and Rhoan are naturally.  It's up to the Directorate to get to the bottom of it all.

While doing this, Riley is also regularly visiting the werewolf clubs (the equivalent of a sex club for the uninhibited werewolves) and making time to see her two regular partners.  But even that works itself into the mix.

This is one of my favorite series and is one that I love to read over and over... I just wish my library had copies of some of the books.  I suspect I'll be making a purchase or two at my local used book store soon.  The book is sexy with a great mystery.  Riley is a strong woman with just enough give that she's not too harsh.  And Quinn... Quinn is sexy as hell!  I like the fact that it addresses homosexuality (Rhoan is gay) without making a big deal of it.  It's a fact, Rhoan has multiple partners (like most werewolves who aren't moon sworn do) but there seems to be one really good man in his life, Liander.  (And I would love Liander as a brother!)

I'd recommend this for anyone that's on the paranormal train and doesn't mind sexy books.  The scenes can get fairly explicit, so keep that in mind if you decide to pick up this book.

Book Review Number 53: Broken by Karin Slaughter

Broken is the latest book in Karin Slaughter's Grant County series.  It had been awhile since I'd visited Grant County through these books, so it was nice to get back into it.

It's been four years since the death of Jeffrey Tolliver, police chief in Grant County, GA.  His wife, Sarah - the local pediatrician and Medical Examiner - sold her practice to move to Atlanta.  It didn't hold the same heartache as Grant County had.  And it didn't hold Lena Adams, the woman that Sarah blamed for her husband's death.  The only thing that was able to draw her home was to visit with her family.

The story opens with the death of a coed from local Grant Tech.  It looks to be suicide when she's first found.  But Lena's quick eyes spot things that don't add up to suicide.  Even though it's clear he doesn't want it to be looked into, interim police chief, Frank Wallace, lets her do some follow up.

Frank immediately picks out a suspect and when, in an effort to question the young man a police detective is injured, their suspect heads to jail.  And that is the story that Sarah hears when she is called to the police station because this young man wants to talk to her.

Things have changed in Grant County since she's been gone.  There's something different about the police force without Jeffrey at it's helm.  It doesn't feel quite as upstanding as it once had.  There are secrets within secrets there.  Rather than stand back and let things go, she calls in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  Her friend, Will Trent, is sent to investigate.

What follows changes everyone involved.  And there are very few secrets left by the end of the book.

I really enjoyed reading this one.  Somehow, I missed the previous book, Beyond Reach, so I wasn't familiar with how Jeffrey had died.   (I'm going back to read it now.)  Still, that missing piece of information didn't seem to affect my enjoyment of the story.  The characters all felt real to me - I could understand why Sarah hated Lena so much, the spiral that Lena was still going through with bad decision after bad decision, the way the Will was torn when he was around Sarah.  It was a very emotional read, as so many were pulled out to be studied through the course of the book.  But that's one of Karin Slaughter's strengths, finding the right tone for the character.

I'm glad this is one that I'd purchased because I think it's one that I'm going to want to read again.

Book Review Number 52: Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corp

I picked this up on a whim at the library, not knowing too much about the Sinestro Corp.  This book was a great introduction to them.  As we follow a new member of the corp, we find out the stories of how different characters decided to join the Sinestro Corp and why, exactly, they want to destroy the Green Lanterns.  I haven't read the Sinestro Corp War yet (which is what these stories were originally part of as side stories and one-shots), but I suspect I'll have a much stronger grounding in it when I find it.

Some of the stories were down right frightening, having me looking over my shoulder.  Particularly the story of Despotellis, who literally gets inside someone to kill.  It made me shudder in that, "Wow.  This is good!" kind of way.  

Being backstories as they are, there isn't a whole lot of plot to it.  Well, not in and of itself.  It does give you a glimpse into the Sinestro Corp War, but it's not a major part of it.  I would actually suggest reading this before jumping into the Sinestro Corp War series, especially if you aren't very familiar with Green Lantern history.  It should help bring you up to speed on quite a few things.  I know it did for me.

Book Review Number 51: Teen Titans, Vol 6: Titans Around the World

As with life, change occurs to the Titans as well.  This volume comes after the death of Superboy and a year after Infinite Crisis, so many of the changes are great.  The team is not the same any more - Starfire is missing, Cy is broken, Gar is back with Doom Patrol, Bart (Kid Flash) is now THE Flash, Raven is gone and there are a bunch of Teen Titans that hadn't been there before.

Of course, this couldn't be just a meet and greet.  Not in the world of Super Hero Comics.  The team has been infiltrated by someone plotting against them.  Immediately suspicions go to Ravager, the daughter of Deathstroke.  But nothing is as it seems, and only Ravager can figure out who has gone rogue.  Add to this former (dead) members returning and there's a lot happening at Titans Tower.

I enjoyed reading this one, in finding out about these characters.  I was only familiar with most of them from the later-series graphic novels that I'd read (like Kid Devil, who has become one of my favorite DC characters). I knew also, because of the later-series reading that I'd done, who the traitor was.  But watching the story unfold was still a wonder for me.

If you've been enjoying the Teen Titans series so far, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one.