Sunday, January 31, 2010

Momzillas by Jill Kargman

Momzillas by Jill Kargman

My Rating: 6 *'s

Description: A hilarious and deliciously scathing send-up of motherhood as practiced in the upper echelons of Manhattan society, from the coauthor of The Right Address and Wolves in Chic Clothing.

The mothers on Manhattan’s chic Upper East Side are highly educated, extremely wealthy, and very competitive. They throw themselves and all of their energy and resources into full-time child rearing, turning their kids into the unwitting pawns in a game where success is measured in precocious achievements, jam-packed schedules, and elite private-school pedigrees.

Hannah Allen has recently moved to the neighborhood with her New York City–bred investment banker husband and their two-year-old daughter, Violet. She’s immediately inundated by an outpouring of advice from her not-so-well-intentioned new friends and her overbearing, socially conscious mother-in-law, who coach her on matters ranging from where to buy the must-have $300 baby dress to how to get into the only pre-pre-preschool that counts. Despite her better instincts and common sense, Hannah soon finds herself caught up in the competitive whirl of high-stakes mothering.

My Thoughts: A little on the bizarre side but probably very realistic. I can't imagine there are women out there who are "Momzillas" but after reading this, it's very likely that there are. Several times I found myself exclaiming out loud for some of these women to get a life.

Friday, January 22, 2010

The 8th Confession by James Patterson

The 8th Confession by James Patterson

My Rating: 9 *'s

Description: As San Francisco's most glamorous millionaires mingle at the party of the year, someone is watching--waiting for a chance to take vengeance on Isa and Ethan Bailey, the city's most celebrated couple. Finally, the killer pinpoints the ideal moment, and it's the perfect murder. Not a trace of evidence is left behind in their glamorous home.

As Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile murder, someone else is found brutally executed--a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless. His death nearly falls through the cracks, but when reporter Cindy Thomas hears about it, she knows the story could be huge. Probing deeper into the victim's history, she discovers he may not have been quite as saintly as everyone thought.

As the hunt for two criminals tests the limits of the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay sees sparks fly between Cindy and her partner, Detective Rich Conklin. The Women's Murder Club now faces its toughest challenge: will love destroy all that four friends have built? The exhilarating new chapter in the Women's Murder Club series, The 8th Confession serves up a double dose of speed-charged twists and shocking revelations as only James Patterson can.

My Thoughts: I keep thinking that this will be the last installment of "The Women's Murder Club" series that I will read as I have assumed, incorrectly, that Patterson can't take these characters any further without them becoming redundant. I love to be surprised and Patterson doesn't dissapoint as, once again, I am pleasantly surprised at what Lindsay, Claire, Yuki and Cindy find themselves thrust into.

I enjoyed the developing attraction between Lindsay and Conklin initially, but I am glad to see Patterson take it in a different direction; besides, I love Joe and have been rooting for them for a very long time. I've also wanted to see Cindy in a more central role and with this book, I get my wish as she not only gets a relationship but also plays an active position in one of the murder cases. Yuki seems to be at odds in her career and her personal life, but I am hopeful that Patterson will turn that around. Claire is always great as the glue that holds the group together with her common sense and logic.

The cases were riveting and kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out whodunit. I am back to being deeply addicted to this series and eagerly looking forward to #9.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Tall, Dark & Dead by Tate Hallaway

Tall, Dark & Dead by Tate Hallaway

My Rating: 8 *'s

Description: The line between magic and sanity is very thin. That's part of why I, Garnet Lacey, quit cold turkey. Never touch the stuff. No exceptions.

But magic is so addictive...and my inner Goddess, Lilith, is hard to resist. Besides, restraint isn't easy when you manage Wisconsin's premier occult bookstore, and get customers like Sebastian Von Traum --- piercing brown eyes, a sexy accent, and a killer body in black leather and denim. The only thing missing is an aura. Which means he's dead...

That means trouble. I guess I'm a sucker for it. The Vatican witch hunters are on to us. My long-lost vampire ex has crawled out of the woodwork looking for action. And Sebastian's frustrated ex is stirring in her grave.

What's a girl to do if she's hot for a dead man walking? Run like hell --- and take full advantage of the nights...

My Thoughts: New author for me and an interesting beginning to what appears to be a good series. I liked Garnet and Sebastian and the other supporting characters and hope to see more of them in the next book. I wish there had more about the Vatican Witch Hunters as I found them intriguing and needed to understand why they were the villains. I could imagine in my mind a whole other twist with these characters as the heroes.

Anyway, the book was a pretty quick read and I enjoyed that the author didn't get hung up in petty details. Hopefully the Lilith issue gets resolved in the next book as well.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Born In Death by J.D. Robb

Born In Death by J.D. Robb

My Rating: 10 *'s

Description: Eve Dallas has a grisly double homicide to solve when two young lovers-both employees of the same prestigious accounting firm-are brutally killed on the same night. It doesn't leave Eve a lot of leftover time to put together a baby shower for her buddy Mavis, but that's supposedly what friends are for.

Now Mavis needs another favor. Tandy Willowby, one of the moms-to-be in Mavis's birthing class, didn't show up for the shower. A recent emigrant from London, Tandy has few friends in New York, and no family-and she was really looking forward to the party. And when Eve enters Tandy's apartment and finds a gift for Mavis's shower wrapped and ready on the table-and a packed bag for the hospital still on the floor next to it-tingling runs up and down her spine.

Normally, such a case would be turned over to Missing Persons. But Mavis wants no one else on the job but Eve-and Eve can't say no. She'll have to track Tandy down while simultaneously unearthing the deals and double-crosses hidden in the files of some of the city's richest and most secretive citizens, in a race against this particularly vicious killer. Luckily, her multimillionaire husband Roarke's expertise comes in handy with the number crunching. But as he mines the crucial data that will break the case wide open, Eve faces an all too real danger in the world of flesh and blood.

My Thoughts: With the arrival of Mavis's much anticpated baby and the recruitment of Eve and Roark as unwilling birth coaches, this installment of the In Death series has become my favorite.

Filled with the gritty action and precise, hard-nosed determination Eve demonstrates with every case, this story also brings a lot of light moments and laugh out loud hilarity at the horror Eve and Roark feel facing the birth of Mavis and Leonardo's child. In her typical fashion, Eve manages to solve three homicides and take down a baby selling ring in the process. Surprising that something as minor as the birth of a child could send this tenacious seeker of justice to her knees. I hope this series continues for a very long time and I'm looking forward to the next book with eager excitement and anticipation.

Friday, January 08, 2010

New Additions To The TBR Pile In December

The arrival of the New Year also brang more additions to the already heaping mountain of to be read titles. I know I sound like a broken record but I really do hope that in 2010 I read more from the pile than I add to it.


You Drive Me Crazy by Carole Matthews

Description: Falling in love can be a bumpy ride...

The last place Anna Terry expects to fall in love is in the waiting room of her divorce lawyer's office. But that's where she meets Nick Diamond and Cupid's arrow strikes...

Anna's had more than her fair share of heartache. Her first marriage ended before her pregnancy was over, and her second husband has disappeared, leaving her with two children and not a penny to her name. Nick's luck hasn't been any better: his wife has run off with the local butcher and his second-hand car dealership is in chaos.

When Anna gets a job as Nick's secretary, what starts as a mild flirtation soon accelerates into overdrive --- but that's before their ex-partners show up and they're all in for a bumpy ride.


Freudian Slip by Erica Orloff

Description: Everyone loves shock jock Julian Shaw....except the guy who shot him

The raunchy radio DJ expects the dark tunnel, white lights-even his late grandmother greeting him at the pearly gates. Instead, he gets a coma, a spirit guide named Gus and a pushy demon with a deal. His assignment: Kate Darby.

Kate Darby's best friend just stole her guy! Now she's losing her mind.

All she really wants to do is stay in mope mode, but it feels as if someone is watching her, whispering strange thoughts into her head, making her say and do things she would never normally consider. And it's actually making her life better!

Now Julian wants another change to prove he's a good guy. But he just might have to sell his soul to the devil to get it....


Fashion Slaves by Louise De Teliga

Description: What some people will do for a little Gucci is totally outrageous...

New York, New York. What a wonderful town. And what a cutthroat scene of designer divas, high-maintenance mannequins, and predatory groupies. Ex-model Josie Vaughn once belonged to the coveted inner circle. Now, at the ripe old age of thirty-six, she's trying to claw her way back in as a fashion stylist.

Josie may not have money or a man, but she's got connections. Once known as "The Empress," the leggy Australian convinces world-renowned fashion photog Hamish Kent to let her style a shoot, despite the machinations of his venomous ex-wife / agent. But it's Hamish's oh-so-hunky - and straight! - assistant Marcus who really gives Josie a go.

Then there's fabulously rich socialite pal Priscilla Saunders, who takes Josie under her Chanel-clad wing and fixes her up on a blind date with sartorially challenged investment banker Andy Wyatt. Just what Priscilla was thinking, Josie has no idea, but Andy proves to be exactly the kind of friend a woman in Manolos needs when she keeps tripping over her psychotic, drug-addicted ex-fiance.

Josie's big break finally comes when she least expectgs it. Unfortunately, once she's back in the spotlight, there's no shortage of people willing to dish all her dirty little secrets. But this isn't Josie's first time at the Seventh Avenue rodeo --- and one should never underestimate a fashionista's ability to land on her stilettoed feet....



Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson

Description: DON’T MESS WITH HEXES

Katie Chandler had always heard that New York is a weird and wonderful place, but this small-town Texas gal had no idea how weird until she moved there. Everywhere she goes, she sees something worth gawking at and Katie is afraid she’s a little too normal to make a splash in the big city. Working for an ogre of a boss doesn’t help.

Then, seemingly out of the blue, Katie gets a job offer from Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., a company that tricks of the trade to the magic community. For MSI, Katie’s ordinariness is an asset. Lacking any bit of magic, she can easily spot a fake spell, catch hidden clauses in competitor’s contracts, and detect magically disguised intruders. Suddenly, average Katie is very special indeed.

She quickly learns that office politics are even more complicated when your new boss is a real ogre, and you have a crush on the sexy, shy, ultra powerful head of the R&D department, who is so busy fighting an evil competitor threatening to sell black magic on the street that he seems barely to notice Katie. Now it’s up to Katie to pull off the impossible: save the world and–hopefully–live happily ever after.


Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Description: In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.



Born In Death by J.D. Robb

Description: Eve Dallas has a grisly double homicide to solve when two young lovers-both employees of the same prestigious accounting firm-are brutally killed on the same night. It doesn't leave Eve a lot of leftover time to put together a baby shower for her buddy Mavis, but that's supposedly what friends are for.

Now Mavis needs another favor. Tandy Willowby, one of the moms-to-be in Mavis's birthing class, didn't show up for the shower. A recent emigrant from London, Tandy has few friends in New York, and no family-and she was really looking forward to the party. And when Eve enters Tandy's apartment and finds a gift for Mavis's shower wrapped and ready on the table-and a packed bag for the hospital still on the floor next to it-tingling runs up and down her spine.

Normally, such a case would be turned over to Missing Persons. But Mavis wants no one else on the job but Eve-and Eve can't say no. She'll have to track Tandy down while simultaneously unearthing the deals and double-crosses hidden in the files of some of the city's richest and most secretive citizens, in a race against this particularly vicious killer. Luckily, her multimillionaire husband Roarke's expertise comes in handy with the number crunching. But as he mines the crucial data that will break the case wide open, Eve faces an all too real danger in the world of flesh and blood.



At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost

Description: SOME THINGS WON'T STAY BURIED... AT GRAVE'S END

It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield's life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she's successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat's worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover's finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger. As if that wasn't enough, a woman from Bones's past is determined to bury him once and for all.

Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat's about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she's learned as a special agent won't help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself -- and Bones -- from a fate worse than the grave.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Honorable Mentions Of 2009

For the books that didn't make the top reads list for the year, I want to give an honorable mention to the titles I read in 2009 that didn't make the cut for the best but were still very good reading and recommended:

My Lady In Time by Angie Ray
The Quickie by James Patterson
Love's Labyrinth by Anne Kelleher
Veiled Threats by Deborah Donnelly
Deep Midnight by Shannon Drake
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Engaging Men by Lynda Curnyn
Notes From The Backseat by Jody Gehrman
My Life Uncovered by Lynn Isenberg
Haunted In Death by J.D. Robb
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Insider Dating by Jennifer O'Connell

2009 In Review

Another year has come and gone and the best part of the reading year is upon me as I get to look back and evaluate what I read and how my stats measured up. Happily, 2009 was a better year in reading than 2008 was. I read 53 books and only gave up on 8.

My reading had a few changes. The biggest change was there was a substantial drop in my chick-lit reading and a large increase in other fiction. My cozy mysteries dropped by half as well. My hunger for the mystery/suspense/thriller genre has not been satisfied, which is good as I am really enjoying them. I put the "Twilight" series books I read under Young Adult since that's how they are marketed but this is where you can be creative in your cataloging as these books cross genre lines into paranormal romance and fiction. Here's how it stacked up:

Chick-Lit: 7
Cozy Mystery: 3
Mystery / Suspense / Thriller: 15
Paranormal Romance: 13
Young Adult: 3
Anthologies: 2
Other Fiction / Literature: 10

My selections for the best reads of 2009 in the order they were read are:

Don't Talk Back To Your Vampire by Michele Bardsley
O Is For Outlaw by Sue Grafton
When Darkness Falls by Shannon Drake
Deja Demon: The Days And Nights Of A Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner
Imitation In Death by J.D. Robb
For A Few Demons More by Kim Harrison
Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner
Remember When by Nora Roberts
Divided In Death by J.D. Robb
High Noon by Nora Roberts
Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
Fool by Christopher Moore
From Dead To Worse by Charlaine Harris
Visions In Death by J.D. Robb
White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
Survivor In Death by J.D. Robb
Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Origin In Death by J.D. Robb
Memory In Death by J.D. Robb
One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Girls' Night In by Jennifer Weiner, Meg Cabot, Sophie Kinsella and more
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Charmed & Dangerous by Candace Havens
Bad Moon Rising by Sherrilyn Kenyon
A Vision Of Murder by Victoria Laurie
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
Killer Insight by Victoria Laurie
Dead And Gone by Charlaine Harris
Undead And Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson
True Lies Of A Drama Queen by Lee Nichols

Here's hoping 2010 will bring on more excellent reading!

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I am not a professional reviewer, but I love to read and share my opinions on my reading with others who are interested. I work full time but my ideal perfect day would be to curl up with a good book. The majority of the books I review here are from my private collection and my reviews are provided purely for entertainment purposes. I receive no compensation whatsoever for sharing my thoughts and review on any book. If you would like me to review your book, please email me at sharalsbooks@yahoo.com Happy Reading! :o)