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!

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

This was the second book club choice, and it wasn't a bad one. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, as it seems like all YA books have kind of fallen into the same pattern and it's just become... well yawn worthy. But this one was actually pretty good and broke out of the YA supernatural mold a little bit.

This book tells the story of three girls; Grace, Gretchen, and Greer. Triplet separated at birth to keep them safe until the time came for them to fulfill their prophecy. Each girl has her own very different life, but the increase in mythological monsters tromping around San Francisco has brought them together. Together they learn about their legacy as descendants of the Gorgons; Medusa, Sthenno, and Euryale and thus begins a pretty interesting beginning of this new YA series.

 I think the thing that I liked the most about this book, what set it apart, was there was no romance. Now, there were love interests for all of the girls, two had crushes and one had a boyfriend, but that was such a small detail of the story(at least in this first book) that you could say there was no romance at all. It was more believable as far as it being a tale of 16 year old girls. All in all it was a solid start. Interesting, easy to read, and well rounded likable characters. I look forward to more.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

This was a really good book. I am a huge fan of vampire literature... and yes, I know, it's overdone, and mostly trashy romance stuff now. (Even though I like some of those trashy vamp novels) But still, it's a solid genre if you find the right books. And this is the right kinda book.

This is the story of Ben Mears, a writer, who goes back to Jerusalem's Lot, Maine to face a fear that has plagued him since he was a kid. The Marsten House. A legend of sleepy 'Salem's Lot, believed to be haunted due to the original owners who met an untimely demise via murder-suicide and the questionable lifestyle they led. Shortly after Ben's arrival, he discovers he isn't the only new face in the Lot, and they too are interested in the Marsten House. Soon creepy things start happening, like the dead dog found on the cemetery's spiked fence and the increase in deaths and disappearances.

If you're looking for sexy vampires who sparkle or who are companionable, then forget this book. These vamps are blood thirsty fiends inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula. While this is not the scariest book, especially not for King, it has lots of great creepy atmosphere and tense action. It's also not nearly as wordy and overly descriptive as King usually is, so if that turns you off from his books typically, don't let it with this one. I highly recommend this book.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

This book is phenomenal!! I loved it and can not wait for Insurgent, the second book in the series, to come out on May 1st. It's exciting, fast paced, and while the dystopian genre is being done and done again right now, this one is as good as Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games, yet nothing like it.  And if you've read The Hunger Games, then you know why I use that as the measuring stick for this genre.

Society has been divided into 5 factions; Candor, Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, and Dauntless. Once you turn 16 you're given a test, and from the results, are placed into one of the 5 factions. The main character, Beatrice, is up to take the test and her results are less then normal, placing her in a very dangerous, secret category. Upon going to her new faction, she discovers what bravery truly is and that the peace established by the factions is not as sound as they would have you believe.

This is a fantastic coming of age story, full of action, discovery, and a little romance too. It's all the more impressive when you find out that the author wrote this book her senior year of college and is only in her early 20's. If you are into dystopian/action literature, then do yourself a favor and read this.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

This is my first entry from my book club reading list. It is not a book I would have chosen at all since I am not a fan of Nicholas Sparks. As a matter of fact, I am grossly opposed to anything by him. BUT I am not opposed to being a team player, nor am I opposed to trying books that I would normally shrug off without thought. So while I wasn't really looking forward to it, and I was definitely not blown away, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting either.

Safe Haven is a about a woman, Katie, who has a lot of baggage she'd rather keep hidden. She moves to a small North Carolina town hoping to stay off the radar until she can move on again. Little does she know, she will make attachments she had never intended and was certain she never wanted, with the likes of local widow Alex and his kids. Now she battles with the reality that getting comfortable may put her at greater risk then she ever wanted to be in again. Does she stay and start over despite her legitimate fears or does she cut her ties and skip town risking her heart as well as his?

This book was rather dull in my opinion. Sparks is a lack luster writer, his characters are two dimensional, and I particularly find his dialogue to be unengaging and forgettable. I did however feel for the main character. Her fear was very real to me, and I suppose Spark's does deserve credit for that. If you like books that are steeped in reality (including all the mundane things that entails), mixed with romance, drama, and sadness, then you will probably enjoy this book.