The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston

 The Witch's Daughter was a book I purchased on my Nook with a gift card I received for Christmas. I was looking forward to it, as I love a good historical fiction, especially from the time period this book started out in. However, I was disappointed by the delivery.

The premise of this book focuses on a girl, Bess, and her family. Bess was the daughter of a family with little standing in a small town. They owned a farm and her mother practiced as a nurse, helping deliver babies and treat various ailments. The black plague hit their town, and shortly after, witch trials did too. Her mother, being a healer, was accused of practicing witchcraft and was hanged. All the while a man, Gideon, has had his finger in the jelly pot, so to say, of the story. Before long, Bess finds herself possessing magic and is accused too. The story takes off from there and we find Bess, going by various monikers (might I add, that are all variations of the same) and possessing immortality, living through the century's. She lives her life running from Gideon and practicing medicine, while trying to avoid the dark magic within her. She's supposedly lived a solitary life, until a young girl in her recent location weasels her way into Bess's heart. She begins to train this young girl up as a practicing hedge witch, but it doesn't take long for Gideon to catch up, as he always does, and endanger Bess and her new protege. Bess find herself once again wondering, should she run, or stand up to him?

This book had a lot of potential. I think it's a very daunting task to write a story that spans mortality and time, and Brackston proved that she was lacking mettle. Too many weak spots in the story line just can not handle much scrutiny and I'm not even a reader that picks apart story weakness. I like to just read and suspend my belief. Sometimes, I even throw reason and logic out the window completely. I'll notice,  but I can overlook them. But this wasn't even close to a good enough story for me to disregard the glaring illogicality of it all. On top of that, none of the characters were particularly endearing.

Perhaps, if you haven't had much exposure to this genre and method, you may be able to enjoy it. If you've never experienced an author who can attempt this type of historical time spanning and knock it out of the park, then you would probably be able to get into it. However, I find myself just feeling rather ho-hum about it. If I need a historical fiction book with magic and immortality, I'll go back and re-read Forever by Pete Hamill.

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

This is the first book in The Strain trilogy by the movie master Guillermo Del Toro, and fellow author Chuck Hogan. It does exactly what a first book should, whets the appetite for more!

This book has a few main characters, players that all converge together for one intense, exciting ride. While reminiscent of Stephen King's The Stand, it is very capable of standing on it's own two creepy legs.

The story begins with a plane, an international flight, landing at a New York City airport, and then going black. All electrical equipment dies, and so do the passengers. The government is in a panic, is this a terrorist attack? Did a passenger bring a modern plague with them? The first step is containment. But soon, they realize, that containment will be a problem. The dead don't want to be contained. Before long, NYC is being overrun by something sinister. Only one man knows the truth of what's happening and has the wherewithal to help stop it, but first he has to convince the powers that be that he's not a raving lunatic.

Not once have I read something that made an inanimate object so frightening, nor a fantasy story so plausible. An amazing story, told with finesse and completely thought out, crafted to make you question the unbelievable and keep you awake, wondering. Read it, y'all! 

Stephanie Plum is My New Best Friend!

I am currently reading the fifth installment in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, but since it's easier to just write one big post filled with all of my Stephanie adoration, instead of 4 separate ones, this is what ya get! (And some of it is ripped straight from my good reads review!)

Janet Evanovich has created a series that is chock full of likable protagonists and unlikable antagonists. Stephanie Plum is a self-deprecating, humorous character who is concerned about money, men, and her hamster, Rex. Janet writes the whole time from inside Stephanie's head, which is quiet an enjoyable place to be.

The first book in the series is One For The Money. In the first installment, Stephanie looses her job and finds herself desperate for cash. Through a little blackmail, she convinces her cousin Vinnie, a bail bondsmen who owns his own business, to let her work for him as a retrieval agent. She ends up with an FTA (failure to appear) that's a lot more than she bargained for, Joe Morelli. He's a stallion of a man well known around the Burg and very intimately known by Stephanie. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and if having all of your belongings repoed and being very behind on your rent isn't a desperate time, well I don't know what is! Hookers, shoot outs, explosions, sadistic boxers, and commandeered vehicles abound in this funny book. So as Stephanie stumbles her way though her new bounty hunting gig, we get the pleasure of laughing all the way to the bank.

The second book in the series is Two For The Dough. This time around Stephanie's a little less wet behind the ears in this bounty hunting gig, but still has a lot to learn. She ends up having to find a local boy, Kenny Mancuso. Not only is he an FTA, but his sudden suspicious wealth adds to the list of things going against him. One dead guy, a weasel mortuary owner with missing caskets, and black market weapons, lead to another hilarious, exciting romp through New Jersey with Stephanie and the gang you came to know in the first book.

The third book in the series is Three To Get Deadly. Stephanie's FTA, a well loved candy shop owner whom no one thinks could do wrong, has vanished. The community as whole is impeding Stephanie's search for him, even when dead bodies are found in his cellar! Dead drug dealers, pervs, and a criminal chicken, make for another rip rollicking read! (This may be my favorite book so far!)

And the fourth book is Four To Score. Stephanie finds herself on the hunt for a woman scorned. This book introduces a few new characters. One in particular, Sally Sweet, is a lovable transvestite that helped make this book! Stephanie finds herself ass deep in alligators in this story while searching for the missing FTA, whom is leading her on a scavenger hunt for clues. Along the way she finds missing fingers, coded messages, and at one point, herself in hooker heels and a Marilyn wig! She also finds herself a victim of multiple fire bombings, which leads her to find herself at the mercy of Joe Morelli. The heat is turned up in this one in more ways than one! 

If you're a fan of humor, mystery, and romance; do yourself a favor and get to know Janet and Stephanie!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

It's late, I'm tired, so bare with me. I'm already way behind on this thing though, and with four kids, if I don't do it when the chance arises then I don't do it all. So anyway, down to business.

This is the fourth book club installment, and we will actually get to meet and discuss this one. It's also the first book in The Lunar Chronicles series.

This is yet another take on the classic fairy tale, Cinderella. It's set in a very futuristic dystopian society in China. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic, abhorred for being a cyborg, but revered for her mad mechanic skills. The world is being ravaged by a fast killing virus, and New Beijing's emperor is one of the infected. As if that isn't enough to keep society on edge, there's also unsuccessful peace treaty talks with the cruel Lunar queen going on. In a world where hope is hard to find, they find an unlikely heroine who is their only hope.

I'm a sucker for fairy tales, and I absolutely adored this take. Meyer's story was so well written and thought out. I love her characters and how even though the book could have easily had no Cinderella association, managed to incorporate it, and do it well. If you like dystopian sci-fi and fairy tales, please do yourself a favor, and read this one.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

This was the third book for the book club I'm participating in. We ended up never meeting to discuss it, due to all of our busy summer schedules. Which is disappointing, because this was a really good read!

This book is about a Louisianan gal by the name of Rory Deveaux, and her journey to a London boarding school. Upon her arrival in England,  a Jack the Ripper copycat killer start piling up the bodies. Of course, Rippermania spreads throughout England, both terrifying and exciting everyone. Rory ends up finding herself in the middle of it when she becomes a witness after talking to a mysterious man on school grounds the night of one of the copycat murders. He just so happens to be a man no one else has seen, and since there are no other leads, he ends up becoming the prime suspect of the crimes. As the story unfolds, Rory finds herself with a special ability and in deep doo-doo thanks to it!

I enjoyed this book a lot. I've only read one other book by Johnson, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, which was also a good book. I liked this one more, but that's just because it's a little more my niche. I highly suggest you give this a whirl, especially if you enjoy a good murder mystery like I do. 

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

This is a follow up to Atwood's AMAZING novel Oryx and Crake. I absolutely adore Atwood, all the novels of hers that I have read have made me one happy reader. This one too lived up to what I have come to expect from her.

 This novel is a dystopian story, where scientific and technological advances have created so much "good" that it began to be bad. Animal hybrids, chemically enhanced everything, police state, and just plain societal ruin. The main characters are Ren and Toby, both former members of a religious group called God's Gardner's. Adam One, the leader of God's Gardner's, has been preening and preparing his fellow Gardner's for an apocalyptic plague he refers to as "the waterless flood". It jumps between characters and timelines, from Toby to Ren, pre-flood to post-flood timelines, without any confusion. Ren and Toby both find themselves survivors of the waterless flood. Ren confined to a quarantine room in a high class sex club, and Toby hidden in a ritzy day spa. Neither are aware of each other, or if there are any other survivors besides themselves. Before long they find themselves leaving the safety of their pre-flood confines as a matter of survival and from there the story just gets better!

 If you haven't read Oryx and Crake, although it's unnecessary, it would be better if you did. While this isn't a sequel, it is a parallel story, and there is more enjoyment to be had from reading Oryx and Crake first. At least in my opinion. Both are fantastic books and you definitely won't be sorry for invvesting some time in this.

The Memory of Blood: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery (Peculiar Crimes Unit Mysteries) by Christopher Fowler

This book cover caught my eye at the library a few weeks ago, and I'm glad it did. I'm a big fan of murder mysteries and British literature/humor, and this book has all of that. Fowler is a great writer with witty dialogue, likeable characters, and amazing vocabulary. His sentences were a study in beauty that never failed to make me smile. Not everyone may be a such a "word nerd" like myself, but if you are, Fowler will make you happy.

 This mystery evolves around a fishy murder involving the players of a new London theater troupe. The owner of the theater, Robert Kramer, a middle aged, self-centered rich man with many enemies, finds himself a victim of said murder. Committed during a cast party at his own home, his infant son is tossed out a high level window. The only culprit is none other then the infamous Mr. Punch, whom is a puppet. The Peculiar Crime Unit, headed by the obstinate and grizzled duo of Arthur Bryant and John May, is put on the job because of the odd nature of the crime. The murders continue to hit close to home for Kramer, and each one is accompanied by a clue pointing to the famous Punch and Judy puppet shows and the PCU. With no concrete leads and the British government breathing down their necks for a captured killer or the PCU doors will be closed permanently,  Bryant and May find themselves racing the clock and the killer before the final curtain!

This was a fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed. There are more Bryant and May books that I definitely want to get my hands on. If you like a good mystery, then try this one out!