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Rating: 2.5/5 Stars (round to 3) This is a nice story of an estranged family who come together one summer and find themselves and each other. Ginny, the mother, has always been cold and distant.. She did what she needed to do as a mother but her three children, Caroline, Annette and Leah, never felt her approval and acceptance. Caroline, is a lawyer at a Chicago law firm with an artist boyfriend. Annette is the mother of 5 children with a doctor husband. Leah is twice divorced, and feels she'll never find true love. All of these women have their own internal issues as well as having sibling and mother issues. One short two week span, around the mothers 70th birthday, at Stars End in Maine will put all of these things right for everyone. I really enjoyed the first half of the book. I related to these women because they reminded me so much of my family and our relationship. The second half of the book, didn't really appeal to me as much. I felt I related to Leah the mos...

Rating: 5 Stars Favorite Dr. Peter Brown, an intern in a Manhattan Hospital has a past that he'd rather keep hidden, that is if he wants to live. When a man from his past recognizes him as "BearClaw" a former hitman for the mob turned witness, Peter must do everything he can to keep who he really is from getting back to some of the people in his past. Unveiling the story of Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwa, interwoven with the craziness of a day with Peter Brown making rounds in the hospital; You have sheer writing genius. This book is vulgar, violent and in your face aggressive and all at the same time it's the most unique and refreshing story I've read in a long time, with an Anti-hero you can't help but like. This is a roller coaster ride like no other, with never-ending violence and action. The final fight scene in this book is so crazy and amazing that it makes you wonder how someone could come up with a scene like this, and many other scenes in the...

Yet another reading challenge! Thanks Annette from Annette All Booked Up for reminding me about this one. Timeline : 01 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2010 Rules : To read TWELVE (12) thrillers in 2010 Hosted by: Book Chick CIty Details : • You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront then you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go. • If you decide to participate in this challenge please use the links I have set up below with the buttons to post on your sidebar, this way others can find their way back to this post and join in the fun. • If you decide to join this challenge be sure to create a post telling others, please make sure you add a link back to this post so others can join in. • You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year. As usual, Check back here for my progress! 1. 7th Heaven by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 2...

I was taking pictures of the my puppies for the christmas cards this year (yes Im very behind!) and now Im having trouble with my printer ink, so these may not get out at all this year. So, in the spirit of sharing, here they are. May I present my babies, Max and Gunner. Max is the one laying down and Gunner is the one sitting up. Hope you enjoy them!

The game is called Survivor and the slogan is Outwit, Outplay, Outlast. So how does someone who skates on someone's curtails win? I am a woman who started out hating Russell but ended up rooting for him because he's Survivor genius. if you are someone who watched this season regularly, I would hope that you could agree at least that he is the best survivor player ever. I wouldn't want to be friends (or enemies) with him. But, he was amazing... He found immunity idols, over and over again, without knowing that they even existed and without clues. and even when it truly mattered he won immunity. It kills me to say it but he was a master at this game. He was ruthless and a liar but it's a game, not real life - it's a competition for money and thats the idea. Get people to trust you, do what you have to do to survive and win. But he didn't win, the girl, Natalie, who rode his curtails the entire time won. Some would say she deserved to win because she was nice to ev...

Rating: 2/5 Stars Part I of The Dublin Saga takes you from Ireland in 480 A.D through its history ending in the year 1537. I really wanted to enjoy this book but it never truly grabbed me. In the very beginning I was intrigued by some of the characters (Deirdre and Cornall) but they never developed before we were jumped to a new time with new characters. I was never really able to get comfortable in a time period before I was thrusted into a new one. I forced myself to finish this book although I had to re-read pieces several times because I found myself zoning out. I gave it 2 stars because although I didn't like it, I didn't hate it either. Some pieces were intriguing and interesting but all in all it was like reading a history book. I was hoping it would be more like Pillars of the Earth with it's writing but it is no where near it - in my eyes. This book fills the following Challenges and Categories: PBT Dec Tag: Other Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge (P in April)

Over the past week I got a few books in the mail. One I have been anxiously awaiting and another I have had on my wishlist for some time. I just love opening up my mail box and seeing the packages of books in there, it's like Christmas in my mailbox! Speaking of Christmas, I did receive a third package from my secret santa on Shelfari but I won't be opening that one until the big day! Im a big fan of surprises. The one I was waiting for the most was Happy Hour by Michelle Scott: I entered a contest on Michelle Scott's website and won 7 copies for my face to face book club at home. We will be reading this in January so please check back for my review in late January. The Synopsis: Every woman has that group of friends in her life ~ her "go to girls" The friends that she can turn to who "get it." The ones who are there for you no matter what. The ones who laugh with you and cry with you. The ones that will always be there. These are the women of Napa Vall...

I've been falling behind on the Weekly Geeks lately so this one should snap me back into the swing. This weeks installment is about Making a gift List: Do you have a book wish list for the holidays? (Or is that one of those 'duh' questions?) If so, what's on it ? My Book Wishlist is stored on Shelfari . The wishlist is not used exclusively for the holidays or gifts, it's really for myself when I'm ready to locate a new book for my shelf. It's also used for trading books, if someone sees something in my Plan to read or Own shelves that they want, they can look at my wishlist and approach me for a trade. It also came in handy for my secret santa to figure out what to get me. Some of the books on my wish list are: Are you very specific when someone asks what you want for a gift? Or do you throw caution to the wind and say, "Oh any book you choose...." Or do you prefer a bookstore gift card? I also ask for a bookstore gift card if it's from some...

Last weekend I was surprised with an offer to go see Mamma Mia with my friends and their whole family. It was a bus trip, they had an extra ticket that wasn't being used and I have a birthday coming up, so they offered it to me for my birthday. I love musicals but for some reason Mamma Mia wasn't on my list of plays to see. I was looking forward to it but wasn't expecting much from it, boy was I surprised. It was absolutely fabulous! The play itself really worked with the songs. I mean in some spots the songs kind of get crammed into the story and you wonder how they came up with using that ABBA song in that spot but, it was still excellent. Just when it appears to be over and you are sitting there thinking, that was a pretty good show..... The party kicks in. They really kicked it up a notch and ended on a high and fun note. I would really recommend it, and you don't have to be an ABBA fan. I know some of their songs, but I wouldn't say I'm a fan and ...

Rating: 5 Stars, Favorite Enzo, the narrator, is a dog. But not just any dog, he's a wise and intelligent being. Enzo knows that in his next life he will come back as a human and throughout the book you find out his logical reasoning behind this theory. Enzo tells the story of his relationship with his best friend, Denny, and the drama the ensues in their lives. The one constant in their lives is each other and they are true "Best Friends." Enzo is endearing and loyal and everything you, as a dog lover, know your dog at home next you - is inside. A major reoccurring theme of this book is about destiny and how we may not be able to control every aspect of our lives, but we can control how we react. One way or the other we are the owners of our destiny. Since reading Marley & Me last year I have stayed away from Dog novels, as they make me sad with the inevitable scene that is in every dog novel. My dog Max is getting up there in years and the thought of his mo...

Rating: 2/5 Stars In trying to write my review of this book, I find myself grasping for words. I can't even intellegently say what this book was really about. Sure, it's about Quantum time travel, and a group of archeologists studying a historical site are able to travel back to medievel times and see the site in it's fully glory.. While there they get into all kinds of trouble and getting back isn't as easy as getting there was. There are some twists and turns regarding the time travel and the corporation that is secretly working on the time travel. I love the idea of time travel in science fiction so I thought I would love this one. but this is the first Chricton book that didn't grab me and didn't keep me interested. Im sitting here after finishing it feeling disappointed, I didn't love the story and I didn't love the characters. It just didn't keep me interested. I just couldn't keep all the details straight and I thought too much was going o...

Rating: 3/5 Stars Nanny works as a nanny to help make ends meet while she's finishing college. She's been a nanny before so she is familiar with the territory but nothing prepares her for the Xes. The Xes are a typical upper class family in NYC where the Husband is always "working" , the mother is always shopping or planning events and the child, Grayer in this case, is left to be raised by the nanny. The book was well written but at times a bit on the depressing side. You couldn't help but be angry at nanny for allowing herself to be such a pushover and you couldn't help but feel sorry for Grayer. But there were some really funny scenes and even scenes where Mrs. X seems almost human. All in all it was an enjoyable read. I read this for my face to face book club and the whole group really enjoyed the book. We had some good discussions on Why Nanny would stay in this environment for so long and how Grayer would be as an adult. This books fits the following Ca...

Not a great quality month but not too bad on quantity. Books Read: The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen - 3.5 / 5 Stars How to catch and keep a vampire by Diana Laurence 2/5 Stars Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson - 2/5 Stars Pitch Black by Susan Crandall - 3/5 Stars Rosie Dunne by Cecilia Ahern - 3.5/5 Stars Challenges coming to an end this month: BOOKTIVITY NOVEMBER SPECIAL: I THANK FOR... ... not needing to kn ow "h ow to catch and keep a vampire" (by Diana Laurence) ... Dark Tort - YUM! (by Diane Mott Davidson) ... not living in Pitch Black (by Susan Crandall) ... The Surgeon who did my knee surgery years ago did the surgery on the correct knee! (by Tess Gerritsen) PBT NOV TAG: THRILLER The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen BOOKTIVITY NOVEMBER: ACTIVITY How to catch and Keep a vampire by Diana Laurence PBT NOV TAG: OTHER How to catch and keep a vampire by Diana Laurence Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson Pitch Black by Susan Crandall Rosie Dunne by Cecilia Ahern

My last book for the month of November. Rating: 3.5/5 Stars - rounded down to 3 Cecilia Ahern has a way with writing a happy ending.. She takes the absolute longest possible route to find it. Somehow this makes it all the more sweeter when the characters you see go through such turmoil and tragedy, end up being happy and OK with the path's their life took in the end. Rosie Dunne is the story of the trials and tribulations of Rosie, written in an epistolary format of letters, E-mail and instant messaging chats with all the people in her life over the years. People come and go but her best Friend Alex is the one constant in her life, this relationship is complex and flawed and really wonderful all wrapped up in one. This book had some tough subject matter for me in the middle but it was worth getting through. Ahern really knows how to write good chick-lit with a twist. This book fills the following Challenges/Categories for me: PBT Nov Tag : Other Twelve Days of Christmas Challenge: ...

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars A killer in Boston, MA is attacking women, seemingly safe in their own homes, and violating them in many disturbing ways. These killings are eerily similar to attacks from Years ago in Savannah, GA where there the last victim was left alive and the killer was left dead... Details that could only be known by the killer are being duplicated and more women are dying as time creeps on in the investigation. Detectives Jane Rizzoli and Thomas Moore need to protect the witness and find the killer and both tasks are proving harder than expected. This book is gritty in detail and thick in medical jargon, which makes it all the more exciting and real for me. I like mysteries that I can get lost in and this definitely was one of them. I'll definitely read on in this series and read more of Gerritsen. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark, gritty books that are heavy on the details and get your heart thumping. Rizzoli comes off a little hard edged and...

Rating: 3/5 Stars Madison and her adopted son, Ethan, leave Philadelphia for a better life in a small town in Tennessee. Madison finally starts to open up to the town and a certain someone and allows Ethan on a camping trip when a tragic accident happens and all hell breaks lose in this small town. Madison and Ethan being outsiders have a harder time with the locals because of this event and figures get pointed everywhere but where they should. This was my first Susan Crandall and I enjoyed her writing but I felt that too much was given away too quickly. I also didn't like how the narrator changed throughout the book, I thought it was a little too much flip flopping around. This book fills the following Categories/Challenges for me: Booktivity November Special: I thank for... ... not living in Pitch Black. Fall Winter Mystery Challenge: Romantic Mystery PBT Tag: Other Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge ( B in novemBer)

Rating: 2/5 Stars Goldy is has a new client, she is making breakfast and meeting goodies for a local law firm. One night while Goldy is there to prepare bread for the next morning, she trips over her friend, neighbor and law clerk, Dusty, on her way in the door. Goldy plans to say far away from this one, but can't help but promise Dusty's mother she would help with the investigation. I enjoy cozy mysteries and that is why I've tried over and over to get into this series. I don't know what it is about Goldy that I just can't grab onto and love. I do know that I get a little bored when the author goes into details regarding the food that is being eaten or prepared that particular moment and time and the background as to why... I think if these details were missing and the food was just mentioned (like other food cozies) I would like it more. I know this is a very popular series so for some people this works.. but it just doesn't for me. A cute book and an original...

Another New Challenge!! My Overstuffed Bookshelf is hosting this challenge and I've been dying to read this series so here is my chance! The challenge runs from January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010 Here are the titles of the books in order: 1. A Quick Bite 2. Love Bites 3. Single White Vampire 4. Tall, Dark and Hungry 5. A Bite to Remember 6. Bite Me 7. Accidental Vampire 8. Vampires are Forever 9. Vampire Interrupted Check back here for Updates!

I just love getting books in the mail, it's like opening presents on Christmas day. I won a Amazon Gift certificate from Play Book Tag Group on Shelfari and I was happily able to spend it and get some good deals. Turn Up the Heat (A Gourmet Girl Mystery) by Susan Conant and Jessica Conant-Park This is book three of the Gourment Girl Mystery Series. I've only read the first book, but I loved it so much I have already have the 2nd in the TBR pile and couldn't help buy the 3rd. Im excited to continue the series. Synopsis from bn.com: Chloe Carter is helping her chef boyfriend with his new restaurant on Boston's posh Newbury Street, when a crabby waitress is found dead in a fish truck. Was this a prank gone awry? Or did somebody want her to sleep with the fishes? Supernatural: Witch's Canyon by Jeff Mariotte I love the Supernatural TV series so when I saw their were books that fit into the series between seasons, I jumped at the chance to read it. Synopsis from bn.com:...

Rating: 2/5 Stars I received this book as an ARC request in early October. I was very excited to start reading this and although it was "cute" it really didn't live up to my expectations. Diana Laurence writes a self-help book for vampire lovers. The idea of this book is fascinating to me, with all the vampire books, tv shows and movies out there these days - its the right time for a book like this. I however expected something a little more tongue-in-cheek. I felt that Laurence took a more serious approach instead of a quirky approach, which I think would have made this book at success. Maybe the trouble is it was more written for a teen? Not sure but something was missing for me. There were a few notable quotes from this book: "Women just get so sick of being good that they are completely and utterly and downright chomping-at-the-bit ready for a nasty vampire. and when you are ready for nasty, what you need is a bad vampire." vampire pickup line: "They sa...

I found the cutest video today on wimp.com and I just had to share... I've watched it 100 times already and I just can't help but love that little puppy!

Mostly because I have a sickness that doesn't allow me to stay away from a good challenge, here is another one I just signed up for: New Authors Challenge Here are the guidelines from the Literary Escapism Blog: The challenge will run from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010. Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels. Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies. I want this to be an easy challenge, so you can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors. It all depends on how fast you read and how adventurous you want to be. I will be of course tracking this challenge on my blog and will try for 15 new authors next year. Check back for updates throughout the year to see how Im doing. 1. Michelle Scott (Happy Hour) 2. Jeff Abbott (Fear) 3.Lewis Carroll (Alice...

I've found another new challenge that Im excited about.... Here's the challenge in Jen's words from Jen's book talk: Monthly Mixer Mele All you have to do is read a book that begins with a letter of each month or read a book that begins with the authors name (first or last name, doesn’t matter). There are 74 letters so you will have to have 74 different books to complete the challenge. Books can however be used to complete other challenges.You don’t have to do the months in any kind of order, just fill in books as you go along until you have each letter a book by it.Challenge begins November 1, 2009 and ends November 2, 2010 so you have a whole year to complete! Lets break out them books and get busy! Sounds fun right? I'll be tracking my progress on the left as usual with my challenges. Check back for Progress Here: Updated on 6/24/2010 N - The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus O - Someone to Watch Over Me by Judith McNaught V - How to catch and k...

As usual the Play Book Tag Group at Shelfari is doing another great challenge that I can't miss out on. Twelve Days of Christmas Challenge Start Date: November 9 Objective: To read books that fit twelve tags inspired by the "Twelve Days of Christmas" holiday song. Twist: Each book you read must be linked to the subsequent book.Challenge Winners:You can "win" in one of the following ways: 1. Complete all twelve reads such that they fit the tags. 2. Earn the most total points 3. Earn the most points in a given round How It Works: 1. Every Monday, we will reveal a tag inspired by the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas". 2. Players will select a book that fits the tag and read it. You will earn points for the following:a) Reading a book that fits the song tag = 2 pointsb) If the book also fits the monthly tag = 3 more pointsc) Review the book = 5 points 3. The following Monday, a new tag will be announced, and that will afford you with more point earning ...

I can't believe October is over already, where are the days going. I'll be wrapping up some of my Group themes and creating new ones for November as well as summing up the books I've read in October providing Links to my Reviews. All in all October was a very good month for me, a lot of new authors were read and some old favorites. Here are My October Reads: Violets are Blue by James Patterson 4/5 Stars Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger 5/5 Stars The 5th Horseman by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 3/5 Stars The Perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 4/5 Stars The adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson 5/5 Stars (Favorite) Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland 3/5 Stars The 6th Target by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 3/5 Stars Princess Academy by Shannon Hale 3/5 Stars My favorite for the month was definitely the Adoration of Jenna Fox, it was just a very well written book and I loved the uniqueness of the story. I would like to read more my Pearson. T...