If you are a regular reader of THE HOOK, LINE and STINKER, then you know I am not the best at updating my blog. I try, I really do. And I keep a journal of all my reads so that when an opportunity like this presents itself, I can update effortlessly. With work and life responsibilities, it is not always easy for me to get on here and do what I need to do. But I refuse to give up and become a dead blog. FYI, today I posted 17 books, the entire month of November and December and the last book posted I finished this morning so I am officially caught up! Yay!
I hope to do better for you in 2009. But if I lag behind, please do not give up on me because I am not giving up on this blog. I promise.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
December #8 - IF I AM MISSING OR DEAD
Title: If I am missing or dead: a sister's story of love, murder and liberation
Author: Janine Latus
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7432-9653-3
Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone
Genre: Memoir, True Crime
Setting: Michigan, Missouri, Florida, Tennesee
1st Sentence:
July 9, 2002
Two months ago I left my husband, and now, for the first time in years, I am neither scared nor angry.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
This book is a true account of one family's cycle of abuse with a tragic ending. Early in her life, Janine suffered several episodes of abuse which influenced her view of what a relationship is, should be and what is "acceptable". This skewed perception only led to more abuse including physical, emotional and psychological abuse. Her younger sister Amy had the same schooling so it was no surprise that she ended up in the dysfunctional relationships that she did and while Janine was encouraging Amy to leave her abusive relationships, she was frightened to do so with her own. When Janine finally gets the courage to leave her husband, Amy goes missing and her relationship with Ron Ball did not have a happy ending. In fact, he strangled her in July of 2002. This book is about abusive relationships and a family's denial that led to far worse things. It is a compelling story that will probably resonate with every woman if they were to look back over their relationships in their lives. You either are one or you know one. And you are not alone.
December #7 - THE PAGAN STONE
Title: The Pagan Stone
Author: Nora Roberts
Publisher: Jove Books
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-1-60751-485-5
Series or stand-alone: #3
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Setting: Hawkins Hollow, MD
1st Sentence:
Prologue
Mazatlan, Mexico
April 2001
Sun streaked pearly pink across the sky, splashed onto blue, blue water that rolled against white sand as Gage Turner walked the beach.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
Finally I have come to the third book in the trilogy and it did not disappoint. This book focuses on Gage and his relationship with Cybil while the six members of the "team" continue to and ending the fight with the demon, Twisse, of the Pagan Stone. Although the first book started out slowly for me, the last two I sped through and enjoyed tremendously.
December #6 - TRIAL BY JOURNAL
Title: Trial by
Author: Kate Klise
Publisher: Harper Trophy
Copyright: 2001
ISBN: 0-380-81672-5
Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone
Genre: Youth Fiction, mystery
Setting: Tyleville, MO
1st Sentence:
November 3
Mr. & Mrs. Watson
221 Baker Street
Tyleville, Missouri
As of today, your daughter, Lily, has missed six full weeks of school during the first nine-week quarter.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
Lily Watson, a precocious child, is chosen to sit on the jury of Bob White, a man accused of killing her classmate Perry Keet. Her teacher instructs her to keep a journal about her experience and that is what she does, hoping to use it as a research paper and to avoid attending summer school. Told in journal form, with sidenotes, ticket stubs, newspaper clippings, letters, maps and dry cleaning slips, Lily lays out the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! Upon doing some sleuthing of her own, since she is sequestered and bored, she is bound to find out what really happened.
December #5 - ECLIPSE
Title: Eclipse
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Copyright: 2007
ISBN: 978-0-316-16020-9
Series or stand-alone: #3
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Setting: Forks, WA
1st Sentence:
Preface
All our attempts at subterfuge had been in vain.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
The third book in this series is a continuation of Bella and Edward's relationship, Bella and Jacob's relationship and Bella's journey to make the choice that is right for her when presented with all of the choices. Good book, I'm looking to the last one written thus far.
December #4 - THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF DANIEL X
Title: The dangerous days of Daniel X
Author: James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-316-00292-9
Series or stand-alone: #1
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Setting: Portland,OR -Los Angeles, CA - Glendale High School - Alpar Nok (Daniel's Home Planet)
1st Sentence:
True Confessions
If this were a movie instead of real life, this would be the part where in a strange, ominous voice I'd say, "Take me to your leader."
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
This book is the first about Daniel X, alien hunter. When Prayer, an alien, kills Daniel X's family when he is three years old, it leaves him to grow up alone and continue his family's work. Daniel has the ability to shape-shift and create things and people just by thinking of them. On the hunt for #6 he is captured and is taken to him home planet where he must fight the big nasty to ensure survival of his people.
Okay, first the good. This is a clean book for teens, the writing is very basic and it is with Patterson's short chapters that make for quick reading. However, I did not like this book at all and judging from the end pages, there are scheduled to be at least 2 more, which I will not be reading. I like several of Patterson's series, but this is not one of them and I really can't explain why...I just didn't like it.
December #3 - THE HOLLOW
Title: The hollow
Author: Nora Roberts
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7394-9587-2
Series or stand-alone: #2
Genre: Supernatural Romance
Setting: Hawkins Hollow, MD
1st Sentence:
Prologue
Hawkins Hollow
June 1994
On a bright summer morning, a teacup poodle drowned in the Bestlers' backyard swimming pool.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
This book is the second in a trilogy with the six main characters still fighting the demon of the Pagan Stone. This book focuses more on Fox and Layla's relationship and ends with the knowledge that the story will not be resolved until book #3. That's the thing about known trilogies: you know you won't find out all the answers until the end.
December #2 - KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
Title: Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: 2005
ISBN: 0-446-61641-9
Series or stand-alone: #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Setting: Denver, CO
1st Sentence:
I tossed my backpack in a corner of the studio and high-fived Rodney on his way out.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
Kitty Norville works as a DJ for KNOB in Denver. She is also a werewolf. One night, while bored with the playlist, she opens the airwaves to discuss problems that plague the supernatural - and it becomes a huge success! However, there is someone who doesn't want the show, or Kitty, to continue and at the same time she is having struggles with the internal order of her pack. Can't a girl get a break?
This was a fun first book with both werewolves, vampires and a vampire hunter who becomes Kitty's friend and I have already started collecting the rest in the series to read at some time.
December #1 - BLOOD TIES, BOOK FOUR: ALL SOUL'S NIGHT
Title: Blood Ties Book Four: All Soul's Night
Author: Jennifer Armintrout
Publisher: Mira
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7783-2537-6
Series or stand-alone: #4
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Setting: Grand Rapids, MI
1st Sentence:
Prologue:Daymare
Some days, I dream of the time that I spent in Marianne's soul.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
This was the final book of the Blood Ties series and I have to admit that I liked it much better than #2 and #3 but I still liked the first book the best. I won't write much because there are a lot of things that could be classified as spoilers, but I will say that if you are a fan of authors like Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Mary Janice Davidson and others who write vampire books, these should not be missed. Another thing that I really liked was that the ending of the book does leave it open to continue the story if Armintrout so desires. I've read reviews where the reviewer hated the ending but I found it to be satisfying and complete with just a little out for continuation. I hope there is more but if there is not, I am content.
November #9 - NEW MOON
Title: New Moon
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 978-0-316-02496-9
Series or stand-alone: #2
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Setting: Forks, WA
1st Sentence:
Preface
I felt like I was trapped in one of those terrifying nightmares, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can't make your body move fast enough.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
Once again, I'm not sure of many people who haven't read or heard about these books. In NEW MOON, Bella's relationship with Jacob Black develops deeper until he alienates her. In addition, Victoria is still hunting Bella from the first book. When a miscommunication happens and Edward thinks Bella has killed herself, he goes to Italy to die. Bella joins up with Alice to save him but promises are made that may be hard to keep. I actually liked this book better than the first one but I think only because I was familiar with the characters and I liked the further development of the relationships. Have you read these books? Are you a fan of Edward or Jacob? There seems to be a very apparent split between readers.
November # 8 - DEAD UNTIL DARK
Title: Dead until dark
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Ace Books
Copyright: 2001
ISBN: 0-441-00853-4
Series or stand-alone: #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Setting: Bon Temps, LA
1st Sentence:
I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
This was a re-read for me after watching the full first season of HBO's TRUE BLOOD, based on this book. I'd forgotten some things and wanted to go back and refresh my memory.
Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in a bar in Bon Temps. Vampires have become mainstreamed and she is working when she meets Bill Compton, a "newly" local vampire. Sookie is a telepath and she falls and hard for Vampire Bill because she can't "hear" him. However, someone is killing women in Bon Temps who appear to be fangbangers and someone close to Sookie is the main suspect. If you like vampires but in a cozier atmosphere, this is a great series to read. Highly recommended.
November #7 - LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER
Title: Last night at the Lobster
Author: Stewart O'Nan
Publisher: Penguin Books
Copyright: 2007
ISBN: 978-0-14-311442-0
Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone
Genre: Fiction
Setting: New Britain, CT
1st Sentence:
Mall traffic on a gray winter's day, stalled.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
A short book, coming in at only 146 pages, this story is set in a Red Lobster in Connecticut on it's last day of business. The manager who is being downgraded to assistant manager at a nearby Olive Garden wants everything to run at status quo -- he doesn't want to lower their standard of service just because it's their last night. However, a blizzard rages outside, customers are few, staff members don't show or leave early and the book is full of reflection and redemption as it shows how the closing of a restaurant affects many. I've only read one other book by O'Nan (THE NIGHT COUNTRY) and I really enjoy his style of writing. It's fluid and clean without much filler and the story gets told. This isn't my typically preferred genre but I think this story would resonate with many, especially with anyone who has worked at one place for a long time and has built relationships with their co-workers only to find that things might change.
November #6 - THE DEAD AND THE GONE
Title: the dead and the gone
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Publisher: Harcourt Books
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-15-206311-5
Series or stand-alone: #2
Genre: YA
Setting: New York City, NY
1st Sentence:
Wednesday, May 18
At the moment when life as he had known it changed forever, Alex Morales was behind the counter at Joey's Pizza, slicing a spinach pesto pie into eight roughly equal pieces.
Surlygirl's Quick Comments:
Summary from book:
After a meteor hits the moon and sets off a series of horrific climate changes, 17-year-old Alex Morales must take care of his sisters alone in the chaos of NYC.
This is the companion book to Pfeffer's LIFE AS WE KNEW IT.
The storytelling is great and the concept is such a scary premise. I really like Pfeffer's grasp on how teens might handle such a devastating situation and I think she captures the teen psyche well. There is a thing in this book that two of the main characters do called bodyshopping that still chills me to the bone. I would look for other books by this author and would and have definitely recommended these two books by Pfeffer to my tween/teen patrons at the library.
November #5 - TWILIGHT
Title: Twilight
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Copyright: 2005
ISBN: 0-316-16017-2
Series or stand-alone: #1
Setting: Forks, WA and a brief visit to Phoenix, AZ
1st Sentence:
Preface
I'd never given much thought to how I would die - though I'd had reason enough in the last few months - but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.
Quick Comments:
It's hard to think of something to write about this book that hasn't already been written and since it seems like almost everybody I know has read this book/series it almost seems like it would be redundant. Bella moves to Forks to live with her dad where she meets and quickly falls for Edward Cullen, who just happens to be a vampire. This was a good story and has been all the rave with the teenagers although it's also gotten quite a "mom" following as well. My copy is an Advanced Reader's Copy so I don't know if much changed with the final published book but I did see the movie and it seemed right on track with the book I read. I had one complaint about the book and that was that the status of Edward's vampirism wasn't acknowledged until page 320! I read a lot of vampire books and you always know quite early that the guy (or girl) is a vampire and reading more than 300 pages before finding out was annoying, because although I knew before starting the book, I wanted someone, anyone to just SAY IT! I did however, go on to read books #2 & #3 and I have #4 on reserve at my library.
November #4 - THE DARKER SIDE
Title: The darker side
Author: Cody McFadyen
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-553-80694-6
Series or stand-alone: #3
Setting: Los Angeles, CA - Washington DC area
1st Sentence:
Dying is a lonely thing.
Quick Comments:
Smokey Barrett and her team is called in to investigate the murder of a transgendered son/daughter of a high profile Congressman. The darker side finds that the killer has killed many people and Smokey makes it her goal to stop this one dead in his tracks, may God have mercy on her soul.
If you read my blog regularly you know that Cody McFadyen has become one of my favorite authors and in my opinion, he can't write the Smokey Barrett books fast enough! I do recommend reading the first two in the series first because this book does skimp a little on the backstory. It's not necessary, but recommended. This book is also written in first person present tense, something I typically detest, but I overlook it when it is a great read!
November #3 - COLD PURSUIT
Title: Cold Pursuit
Author: Carla Neggers
Publisher: Mira
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7783-2553-6
Series or stand-alone: #1
Setting: Black Falls,VT
1st Sentence:
Prologue
Drew Cameron slipped and went down on one knee in the heavy, wet spring snow, but he forced himself back up again, propelled by a sense of urgency he had never known before.
Quick Comments:
I won this romantic suspense from bookreporter.com and enjoyed it. It was a good story with paid assassins, intrigue, a snowy winter location, and a good love interest between the star-crossed Secret Service agent, Jo Harper and wounded war vet, Elijah Cameron - teen loves split apart by parents years ago.
The only thing that I had an issue with was the large amount of characters of which I needed to keep track. I find as I get older, I prefer books with only a few main characters; otherwise, I get lost and start flipping back and forth within the book to remember about whom I'm reading.
November #2 - STALKING SUSAN
Title: Stalking Susan
Author: Julie Kramer
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-385-52476-6
Series or stand-alone: #1
Setting: Minneapolis, MN
1st Sentence:
So the deal is this - any cop who tickets me for a moving violation gets an "attaboy" from the chief and a day off duty, off the books.
Quick Comments:
Riley is a reporter for Channel 3 in Minneapolis. When her friend (and news informant) Nick Garnett retires from the PD, he gives her the goods on some missing Susans - women named Susan who are found murdered on the same date in different years. She decides to look into it - and gets more than she bargained for. This book is a debut novel and one that I enjoyed greatly. The writing was good, the suspense taut, and an interesting look into TV news reporting.
November #1 - FOUL PLAY
Title: Foul Play
Author: Janet Evanovich
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copyright: 1989, reprint 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-169038-9
Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone
Setting: Fairfax, VA
1st Sentence:
Jacob Elliott flipped his left-turn signal on and patiently waited for Mrs. Moyer to pull out of her parking space.
Comments:
Jake sees Amy at the grocery store and falls in love! Amy is in a huff because she lost her job as TV personality Lulu the clown to a chicken! When Dr. Jacob Elliott offers her a job she takes him up on it, only because she needs the money but the chicken who stole her job becomes a patient and goes missing and Amy is the #1 suspect. While she and Jake try to clear her name, they must also fight a growing attraction between them.
This book was one of the "lost 12" before Evanovich started writing the Plum books. It's very easy and quick, not a lot of depth but I like everything Janet writes, just some far better than others.
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