Monday, January 30, 2012

The Disappearance, by Bentley Little




Author: Bentley Little
Published By: Signet
Date Published: September 7, 2010
Genre: Horror, Suspense
Pages: 390
Recommended Age: Mature Adults
Read & Reviewed By: Me
Rating: A/5




 "Father is coming."---A Homesteader






I borrowed this book from the library

 Summary:
Can you imagine being at a festival and finding you and your friends drugged and when you wake up your girlfriend or boyfriend missing?  Then the police don’t take you or your friends seriously because every trace of her/his existence has wiped from data bases across the world.  S/he has never attended college; her/his Facebook page has been deleted, and the number to his/her parents doesn’t exist.  Well, that’s what happened to Gary.


My Thoughts:
I just love loved this book.  Bentley has out done himself once again.  His creativity always boggles my mind.  Every time I read his books I know why he won the Bram Stoker Award.  I really liked how the main characters in this novel were college students.  Since I just recently graduated from college myself I can relate.

 I liked how the character Gary and his friends never gave up finding out what happened to his girl, but I did get annoyed by the fact the police always blew them off.  I wanted to crawl into the story line and knock some sense into them, the sign of well-written characters.

I gave ‘The Disappearance’ 5 stars and a grade of A because I loved it so much and I knew I would re-read it again one day like I do with a lot of Bentley’s novels, ‘The Store’, ‘The Ignored’, and ‘The University’ to name a few. If you want a good scare by a genius for horror, I recommend 'The Disappearance.'


Parents:
Language: A lot of swearing
Adult Content: Sex scenes, a lot of Drugs/alcohol use, Adult Subject Matter, Heavy topics
Violence: violent murder and other death scenes




Friday, January 27, 2012

(A Scumble River Mystery #14) Murder of a Creped Suzette, by Denise Swanson


 
 Author: Denise Swanson
Published By: Signet
Date Published: October 4, 2011
Genre: Murder Mystery
Pages: 252
Recommended Age: Adults
Read & Reviewed By: Me
Rating: B/4


 New York Times Best-Selling Author



 I got this book from the library.

Summary:
The heroine, Skye Denison stumbles upon a dead body (once again) and wonders if it’s connected to another death that happened 27 years ago. With the assistance of her hot fiancĂ©, who is the chief of police, she is able to solve another crime before the police department does.



My Thoughts:
The Scumble River Mysteries are my favorite series. I really like that the heroine, Skye, has a personal life outside of solving crimes.  The secondary characters seem like real people.  Skye has an over-bearing, protective mother and an ex-boyfriend that won’t leave her alone.

I gave this book 4 stars and a grade of B because Ms. Denison does a wonderful job in this book by having some of the characters have personal growth and become better people, some by finally seeing their self-worth.  If you have read previous Scumble River Mysteries, I recommend Murder of a Creped Suzette.  If you like mysteries and love a bit of sarcastic sense of humor, I recommend the Scumble River Mysteries starting with the first book Murder of a Small-Town Honey.



Parents:
Language: Some swear words
Adult Content: some sex, some alcohol, Adult Subject Matter, Heavy topics
Violence: A murder scene and a scenes where a man is man-handles a woman.



Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold


 



Author: Alice Sebold
Published By:  Little, Brown & Company
Date Published: August 29, 2006
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 384
Recommended Age: Adults
Read & Reviewed By: Me
Rating: 2





This book was a gift from my aunt.


Summary:
It’s a sad story about a murdered young girl, who from Heaven watches her family deal with her death and how her murderer gets away.


My Thoughts:
I didn’t care for this book. This book was very boring. If I was grading it on it’s boringness it would get an A, but I am not.  It’s surprising this was on the best seller list at all.  I feel I should be compensated for the time I lost reading this book instead of reading another more interesting one.

I did like the father of the dead girl.  He never wavered in trying to find out the truth and wanting justice for his daughter’s death.  I can’t say the same for the mother.  She just wanted to forget it about it and try to start a relationship with the handsome police office.

This book is most likely a fantasy, because we do not know what Heaven is like.  Everyone has a different perception of what the After-life will hold.  I gave this book 2 stars and a grade of D because it started out well, but after the first 2 chapters it plummeted.   If you like the book What Dreams May Come, then I would recommend this book, other than that, I would say stay clear of it.


Parents:
Language: none
Adult Content: Sexual Content, Adult Subject Matter, Heavy topics
Violence: Violent Rape and murder scene


Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Death by Facebook, by Everett Peacock


Death By Facebook
Author: Everett Peacock
Published By: Everett Peacock
Date Published: February 27, 2011
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Pages: 312
Recommended Age: Adults
Read and Reviewed By:  Me
Rating: B/4



 "Watch what you post on Facebook.  It may cost you your life."-Theresa




I received this book from Amazon.  It was one of Amazon’s free Kindle books they were giving away on a particular day.

Summary:
The story is set in Volcano Village, Hawaii. It’s a story about distorted love, strange friendships that are created, and overall how people in a small community is connected when they do not even realize it.  All these people’s lives became entwined because of a post made on a Facebook wall.


My Thoughts:
I like how it's written with a light atmosphere.  What I mean by that is it is not really heavy and is easy to read.  You know how sometimes you read a book that just seems heavy and hard to read?  Well, this book is not like that.  Knowing that the social site Facebook plays a role in this book makes it even more interesting, because we can all relate.  We post our likes, our dislikes, our dramas, our pictures, our political and religious opinions on our Facebook accounts. It's the Facebook connection that grabbed my attention and made me want to read this book in the first place. 

It’s hard to fit this book in a genre.  When I started reading it I thought it was going to be a murder mystery, but it is more than that.  It also has a slow start, but after the second half it picks up momentum.  I was left breathless at some parts and ended staying up late to finish the book.

I gave it only four stars and a grade of “B” because although I really liked it, I cannot fully say “I love it!”  If you are looking for a book to read on those summer beach days, I recommend Murder by Facebook.


Parents:
Language: A couple of swear words
Adult Content: Sexual Content, lots of alcohol use, Adult Subject Matter, Heavy topics
Violence: acts of violent murder and suicide


Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Welcome to My Reading Rainbow

Hi. This is my new blog.  This one is a book blog.  If I have readers from my other two blog's reading this, "Welcome!"  If I have new readers, thank you for joining me, and maybe you would be interested in checking out my other two blogs.  The Mind's Eye is where I post the poems and short stories I write. (Two of the poems have been published.)  Life as a 30-Something College Student is about me attending college.  I recently graduated so there are no new posts to that blog.  I am currently trying to turn that blog into a book.  Yes, I am trying to write a book.  If you're interested, check both of the blogs out and learn more about this blogger.

The book I am currently reading is Death by Facebook. It's written by Everett Peacock.  I'm reading it on my Kindle and I am 17%  through it. I'm on chapter 12.  I like how it's written with a light atmosphere.  What I mean by that is it is not really heavy and is easy to read.  You know how sometimes you read a book that just seems heavy and hard to read?  Well, this book is not like that.  Knowing that the social site Facebook plays a role in this book makes it even more interesting, because we can all relate.  We post our likes, our dislikes, our dramas, our pictures, our political and religious opinions on our Facebook accounts. It's the Facebook connection that grabbed my attention and made me want to read this book in the first place.  So far so good.  When I finish it, I will let you all know how I like it.