Review: All These Things I've Done

All These Things I've Done
By Gabrielle Zevin
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Released September 2011
Received as a Gift

From Goodreads:

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

My Thoughts:

This book was on my wishlist a long time ago when I was first starting to enjoy the occasional YA Fantasy Novel. It has to do with chocolate, coffee, and a strong heroine. This isn't fantasy, it's closer to a dystopian setting. The social infrastructure has really deteriorated to the point that 2083 resembles 1920. Technology has regressed and the education system has really dwindled. I really enjoyed a YA Novel that played on the whole mafia theme without idolizing drug use and sex. These kids are indulging in chocolate and coffee. Granted they are getting a buzz and people are getting killed, but it's not that bad. I really liked the Anya character. She's pretty fierce. I enjoyed the novel and I would recommend it to the YA fiction crowd for sure.

This is the first in Ms. Zevin's Birthright series. Because Its In My Blood came out last year and I'd like to read it if I get a chance.

Review: The 19th Wife

The 19th Wife
by David Ebershoff
Published by Random House
Released August 2008
Purchased at Used Book Store

From Goodreads:

It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of her family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how both she and her mother became plural wives. Yet soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death. And as Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love, family, and faith.

My Thoughts: 

This book has been on my shelf for a while. It was my turn to pick the book club read so I picked the 19th Wife. Somehow I was expecting the book to be much different, but I really loved this book. To start the content is intriguing. It combines a modern-day crime mystery with a historical memoir and also includes letters and papers to shed light on the social history of this particular sect of the Mormon Church.

I don't pretend to know much about the church of LDS, but this novel had a lot of information regarding the history of the church and the evolution and subsequent devolution of polygamy as a part of the faith.

The sections of the novel written as part of Ann Eliza Young's Memoir were very interesting. They had enough "story-telling" to keep them interesting, but enough "fact-giving" to appear as a memoir might.

The modern day drama involving Jordan Scott and his mother was very interesting, and the connection of the "19th" wife, was a fascinating one.

I definitely enjoyed this read and I would recommend it general fiction and historical fiction lovers alike.

Review: The Witch of Portobello

The Witch of Portobello
by Paulo Coelho
Published by Harper Perennial
Released 2008
Purchased Used

From Goodreads:

How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves—even if we are unsure of whom we are?

That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho's profound new work, The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well—or hardly at all.

My Thoughts:

This is the story of a unique young woman told by those who knew her. It was very different and unlike anything I'd ever read before. Athena had a very unique personality, exploring different paths to God to find herself and her beliefs, she was a force of nature to those who knew her. I would hate to say too much about a novel that gives the reader information at the precise moment it is needed for the proper effect.

There were some elements of this character and story that were a little beyond my frame of reference, but I am glad that I read it. It was a truly unique and valued read.

Review: Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Moloka'i
by Alan Brennert
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
Released October 2004
Purchased for Book Club

From Goodreads:

Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.

My Thoughts:     

So my first thought upon reading the synopsis was, "this is going to be so sad!". I was pleased to find that while it was heart-wrenching in places, the overall novel was inspiring and enlightening. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the social concepts surrounding leprosy and the way that changed over the years. It was also very interesting to hear about Pearl Harbor from the perspective of Hawaiians who weren't actually on the island when the attack took place. The entire novel was captivating. I'm so glad that we read this as a group and had a chance to talk about all of the insight and social commentary that came through the characters. I highly recommend this one.              

Review: Between Shades of Grey

Between Shades of Grey
by Ruta Sepetys
Published by Philomel Books
Released March 2011
Purchased by Me

From Goodreads:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.

My Thoughts:

This was a heart-wrenching and yet inspiring read. When thinking of the holocaust I always think of Germany. While I know I learned in my history classes about the wide reach and impact of Stalin and Hitler, it takes books like this one to really make me understand what those people must have gone through. The characters were so real, and the language was so true to the character. I truly felt that a teenager was telling me this story. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical reads.

Review: All Fall Down by Megan Hart

All Fall Down
by Megan Hart
Published by Mira
Released December 2011
Checked out from Library

From Goodreads:

In the midst of a chaotic midnight assembly, Sunshine is forced outside into the darkness. Holding a scrap of paper scrawled with a stranger's name and address, Sunny grasps the hands of her three small children and begins her escape.

Liesel Albright has dreamed of starting a family. She never bargained on inheriting one already in progress…or one so deeply damaged. When nineteen-year-old Sunshine appears on the Albrights' doorstep claiming Liesel's husband, Chris, is her father, all they can think to offer is temporary shelter. The next day, they're stunned by the news that the Family of Superior Bliss, led by a charismatic zealot, has committed mass suicide. Sunny and her children haven't just left the compound—they've been left behind.

Now, instead of a baby of her own, Liesel must play mother to the four survivors, while Chris retreats into guilt and denial. For Sunny, however, a lifetime of teachings is not easily unlearned. No matter how hard she tries to forget, an ominous catechism echoes in her mind, urging her to finish what the Family started.

My Thoughts:

I was really looking forward to this book. I am a big Megan Hart fan. This is the second mainstream fiction book I've read from her that wasn't a romance. I really liked it. A child who is already a mother times four living with the father she never knew she had, and a step-mom who, at first, loves her ready-made family. It becomes clear so fast though that children can't have two mothers, and sometimes it's just asking too much for someone to leave behind the only life they've ever known.

The resolution is perfect. I love the plot, the characters, everything about it. Definitely recommended.

Review: Blood on the Pen

Blood on the Pen
by David Huffstetler
Released August 2010
Published by Wild Child Publishing
Purchased

From Goodreads:

Someone is killing literary agents, and Jack Harden’s only reason to live is to find the killer. This modern-day Texas Ranger is haunted by his wife’s death a year ago and the urge to kill the drunk driver who took her, or kill himself. Enter Elsie Rodriguez, the young reporter assigned to the murders for her newspaper and ordered to stay with Jack Harden. He’s old school, tough, and doesn’t want her there. Theirs is a complex, often stormy relationship, but the big Ranger triggers something inside her, something more than her Latin temper. They weave their way from the busy streets of Dallas to the River Walk in San Antonio, across the Hill Country, and to the limestone caverns of Sonora in a desperate chase.

Can she pull Jack from the edge of sanity, back to the living? Or will it end with a psychopath taking two more lives and living to write about it?

My Thoughts:

I was pretty excited to read this book. I know the author's wife through my mom. She talked with us about how weird it was that her husband could write these murder mysteries so well. I think she may have even used the word "disturbing". I was immediately intrigued and absolutely had to read it. I love a good thriller and if there are segments from the villain's point of view it's even better.

A man ready to end his life sits down the gun to solve one more case, and it just may be the one that makes him feel like life is worth living. Jack Harden is a very troubled Texas Ranger looking for an even more troubled murderer. Someone is killing literary agent, by the book.

This was a very interesting read and I wasn't disappointed at all with the purchase. It went by quick and I really enjoyed it. If you like a good thriller with an end that surprises this is a book for you.

Review: Another Man's Treasure by James O'Connor

Another Man's Treasure
by James O'Connor
Published by Post Mortem Press
Released August 2011
Print copy provide by author for review

From the promotional website:

The simple life of home organizer Ted McCormick is about to explode. He must deal with the ire of James Smith, a demanding client who is convinced his eccentric father died leaving something of great value hidden in his cluttered and mysterious Victorian mansion. What—or who—is in the house to prevent Ted from finding it?

As a devoted husband, Ted is struggling to resist the charm and seductive flirtations of another client, Janet Blake. His wife grows suspicious and Janet’s jealous ex-husband threatens him. Will passion overpower his principles? At what cost? 

Together, Janet and Ted interpret  clues that lead to two surprising discoveries—one that captures the imagination of the city, and one that determines their fate.

My Thoughts:

This was an engaging read. The author caught my interest from the beginning with the character of Ted McCormick. We learn pretty early on that Ted has chosen his modest profession as an escape from some corporate falling out in his past. There is obvious tension in his marriage and his work puts him in some pretty interesting situations.

There are several very intriguing characters in this novel. Mr. Smith, the aging and overbearing man who hires Ted to clean out his father's home is certainly distinct and seemingly paranoid. Henry, a older gentleman with a quirky disposition is a refreshing character, someone you'd like to encounter in your own life.

The plot of this novel is full of drama, and I personally was waiting to see what would happen between Ted, Janet and Mary. I struggled throughout with what I wanted to happen, while I felt Mary was possibly too hard on her husband, I felt that Ted should have more respect for his wife, and Janet was too smart to be playing with fire.

I would have never guessed that Mr. O'Connor could write a resolution that satisfied me without being cheesy or too contrived. I really enjoyed this book. I definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys a little mystery with plenty of twists and turns.

This was Mr. O'Connor's first novel and I hope there will be more to come.

Review: Barefoot Girls by Tara McTeirnan

Barefoot Girls
by Tara McTeirnan
Published by Bramblevine Press
Released February 2012
Copy received from author for review

From Goodreads:


When her hometown newspaper reviews Hannah O’Brien’s newly released novel, the nature of her book is called into question when the reviewer suggests it is a memoir depicting her neglectful alcoholic mother – Keeley O’Brien Cohen, the most beloved of the Barefoot Girls - a little too accurately for fiction, citing rumors rather than sources. 

Deeply hurt and betrayed, Keeley cuts Hannah out of her life. Desperate, Hannah does everything she can to apologize and explain, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, the rest of Hannah’s life starts to unravel, pushing her to risk her engagement to Daniel, the one man who had been able to scale the high walls around her heart. At the eleventh hour, the Barefoot Girls are able to convince Keeley to send Hannah the keys to the Barefooter house, the home and heart of their friendship. Barred from their clubhouse since she was twelve, Hannah grabs the chance to visit the little shack filled with memories and perched at the tip of Captain’s Island in the Great South Bay on Long Island, New York.

As Hannah battles to come to terms with her equally blessed and troubled childhood and understand her mother and her sister-close friends, she’s confronted with the power of forgiveness and the dangers of holding on to the past.


My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this novel. Hannah, whose life seems to be coming unraveled at the seams, is searching for answers, but she's not even sure what the questions are. She's at an inexplicable loss as to what is missing in her life. She looks to her mother and the other barefooters for answers but they are such a fiercely loyal group it's like trying to crack a vault.

When Hannah goes to Captains's Island she feels like the answers are right in front of her, if only she knew what she was looking for.

The author gives us flashes of the barefooters' childhood through the stories they tell Hannah, and in flashes we see the secrets lurking under the surface of this idyllic island community.

The truth that Hannah has been looking for comes out in a dramatic climax and a very satisfying resolution for the reader.

Tara McTeirnan's Barefoot Girls is reminiscent of Kristen Hannah's beach themed novels, and just as poignant. I definitely recommend it!

Review: The Truth About Us

The Truth About Us
By Dalene Flannigan
Self Published
Release Date November 2011
E-copy provided by Author


From Goodreads:


What happens when the past catches up to the present and the truth surfaces? Three women, roommates back in college, find their lives forever altered when one of them feels compelled to confess the secret sin of their past. 

And whose truth is it? 

'The Truth About Us' weaves the past and the present in a page-turner that explores the shifting quality of truth, and the cost of secrets.


My Thoughts:


I enjoyed this novel. This novel was about three grown women whose paths crossed in college and they have gone on to live very different lives. They share a dangerous secret though, and one of them has more to lose than the others if that secret were to ever come to light.


This book was written in short chapters and we shift between the points of view of these three women. It was a very quick read and I very much enjoyed it. I was a little surprised by the resolution, but I was satisfied with it. My only regret was to not understand more about the character of Jude. I felt as though perhaps there was some kind of mental illness or personality disorder that lead to her actions and behavior, but I never could figure out exactly what it was. Albeit we did learn about her childhood, and perhaps that was supposed to be our explanation. 


A quick, engaging read, this novel shows us what happens when a woman is brave enough to do what many want to, and the effect of that decision on her life as well as those around her.

Review: Sleeping Tigers by Holly Robinson

Sleeping Tigers 
by Holly Robinson
Published by createSpace
Released December 2011
Print copy received from author

From Goodreads:

Jordan O'Malley has everything she ever wanted: a job she loves, a beautiful home, and a dependable boyfriend. When her life unravels after a breast cancer scare, Jordan decides to join her wildest childhood friend in San Francisco and track down her drifter brother, Cam, who harbors secrets of his own. 
When Cam suddenly flees the country, Jordan follows, determined to bring him home. Her journey takes her to the farthest reaches of majestic Nepal, where she encounters tests—and truths—about love and family that she never could have imagined. 

Funny, heartbreaking, and suspenseful, Sleeping Tigers reminds us all that sometimes it's better to follow your heart instead of a plan. 

My Thoughts:


This was a very interesting novel. The novel opens in San Francisco after Jordan's break-up when she first meets up with her friend Karen. Jordan is looking for her brother who we realized she hasn't seen in years, and hasn't heard from in months. We quickly learn that Jordan's family is not a cookie cutter suburban family. They have an interesting set of dynamics. When she finds her brother living with an eclectic group of people and working in a food truck on the streets of San Francisco, she also finds herself getting in over her head trying to "fix" his problems.

The next couple of months turn into an adventure and a journey that Jordan O'Malley never expected. She finds herself on her own in Nepal searching for her brother and his travel companions to try and convince him to come home. Her time there is literally life-changing. I really enjoyed this novel. The characters were colorful and convincing, the family dynamics were complicated and real. I only wish we'd gotten more information about Jordan and Cam's childhood. I still had some questions when the novel ended about their history.

I really enjoyed this book though. It was a story of self-discovery and the limitless love of family. I would definitely recommend it!

Review: A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
by Joshilyn Jackson
Read by Joshilyn Jackson
Produced by Hachette Audio
Audible.com

From Goodreads:


A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY is a powerful saga of three generations of women, plagued by hardships and torn by a devastating secret, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of family. Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb-spirited, sassy, and on the cusp of womanhood-is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it's there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made as a teenager. But it is Jenny, Mosey's strong and big-hearted grandmother, whose maternal love braids together the strands of the women's shared past--and who will stop at nothing to defend their future.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. Part of that enjoyment was the rich southern backdrop. Growing up in a small town I felt like I could completely stick myself somewhere in this novel and understand the dynamics. I think that Joshilyn Jackson did a great job of showing the complicated hierarchy of southern popularity. Everyone is better or worse off than someone else but few people see themselves as being equal.

Jenny is strong woman who had a hard time raising her daughter, and now is raising her granddaughter. Liza seems to have been a real handful before her stroke and now tries so hard to communicate and come back to her family. Mosey is a really unique kid. Once the remains are found in her back yard she goes through a lot of emotions and gets herself into some tight spots trying to find out the truth.

There are some aspects of this ending that are unrealistic, I think. But I didn't mind over-looking some of that for the sake of the story. I really enjoyed this book. It was southern, humorous, and heartwarming.

Review: Shanghai Girls

Shanghai Girls
by Lisa See
Published by Random House
Released May 2009
Purchased for Nook

From Goodreads:


In 1937 Shanghai--the Paris of Asia--twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree--until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth. To repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wivesto suitors who have traveled from Los Angeles to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, from the Chinese countryside to the shores of America.Though inseparable best friends, the sisters also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. Along the way they make terrible sacrifices, face impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but throughit all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are--Shanghai girls.


My Thoughts:


This was our February read for book club. It's certainly outside of my normal reading habits, and this is why I believe that book clubs are awesome!


I wasn't in love with the book, but as far as historical fiction goes, it was very interesting. At least I think we could classify this as historical, it's obviously not pop culture anymore. Though I was personally shocked at how recently in history this took place. The author really brings you into the world of Pearl and May. For these two girls who so readily accepted the influence of the western world in while living in Shanghai, the abrupt immersion into the country they'd admired from a distance was anything but pleasant. the author follows two sisters on their journey from being beautiful girls in Shanghai, through the beginning of a war and ultimately into the culture of Asian immigration to the United States. 


I felt this was a very insightful book into a period of time that is very difficult to talk about for many people. I was grateful to have read it with my book club, and I hope to read the sequel, Dreams of Joy.


This book would be good for someone who enjoys historical fiction set during periods of war with a lot of cultural references. There is a scene of extreme brutality in the book during the period that the girls are leaving Shanghai that may be too graphic for some readers.

Review: Caller ID

Caller ID
by Rachelle J. Christensen
Published by Sweetwater Books
Expected Publication March 13, 2012
NetGalley copy


From Goodreads:


When twenty-three-year-old Courtney Beckham is abducted near her home, the search turns up more than just a kidnapping crime. FBI agent Jason Edwards investigates the ten-million-dollar ransom and stumbles upon something he wasn't meant to find. When Courtney catches a glimpse of the caller ID in her kidnapper's home, what she sees turns her world upside down.


My Thoughts:


I enjoyed this book! There was a lot of suspense and twists and turns. Just when you thought you'd figured out the bad guys, there was another twist in the plot. Courtney is a likable heroine, she's vulnerable, but not a pushover. I thought this was a debut novel when I first started reading it and I later realized that there was a first novel, Wrong Number. I'm eager to read this one as well. I really did enjoy this book. It was an easy enjoyable read and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the twists and turns of a suspense thriller.

Review: If You See Her by Shiloh Walker

** SPOILER ALERT **

This trilogy is meant to be read in order! If you don't read the first one, don't be surprised if you have trouble following the second. Also, if you haven't read If You Hear Her, stop reading now. You can find that review HERE. You definitely need to start there. 

If You See Her
by Shiloh Walker
Published by Ballentine Books
Expected Release January 25th, 2012
ARC provided by Author for Review

From Goodreads:


A FACE IN THE MIRROR. 

Hope Carson may not look like a survivor, but she has escaped an abusive ex-husband and recovered from a vicious assault. Now she endures the painful memories and suspicious rumors surrounding her involvement in the attack. Her ex is a cop, so the last people she trusts are law enforcement officials—and she certainly doesn’t trust how the local DA makes her feel inside. 

Remy Jennings should know better. He has no business falling for a woman who he suspects may have a deeply troubled mind. And even if he did make a move, she’d bolt like a frightened rabbit. But how can he deny a burning desire that threatens to consume him? As Hope’s past catches up with her in the worst way, Remy is determined to break through her defenses, earn her trust, and keep her safe in his arms—before it’s too late.


My Thoughts:

I am loving this series by Shiloh Walker. I knew with the first book that Hope would be my favorite character in this series and, unless I'm proved wrong with the next one, I hold that opinion.

If You Hear Her picks up right where If You See Her left off. Hope and Law are still in the hospital and Law is still unconscious from the attack at the end of the first book. Hope is the prime suspect because of her "mental history" that has been set in place by her bastard ex-husband.

Through the suspicion and ultimate exoneration of Hope's involvement in the attack, Remy finds himself even more fascinated with Hope (if that is even possible). Hope, of course, is suffocating with everyone trying to protect her, even as she becomes more and more aware that perhaps she needs that protection after all. We see a lot of growth in Hope as she realizes how much she has changed, and how strong she has become as an individual.

This book is a real page turner as we now see into the warped minds of two cold-blooded criminals instead of one. We learn some pretty interesting stuff about the killer from the first book. He has a fascination with Hope, but not like you would expect.

I had a few thoughts in the first book as to who the killer might be, and I narrowed my options some in this book, but there are still a handful people I think it could be. One person I think we are supposed to suspect, and that probably means it isn't him. I could be wrong though! Anyway, I'm bad about trying to figure it all out before the end. I can't wait to read the third and final book in this series. It really is a great story and I think that everyone should read it. I give it five cups!

Review: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
by Aimee Bender
Published by Anchor Books (April 2011)
Originally Published in May 2010 by Knopf Publishing Group
Purchased for Book Club

From Goodreads:


On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the slice. To her horror, she finds that her cheerful mother tastes of despair. Soon, she’s  privy to the secret knowledge that most families keep hidden: her father’s detachment, her mother’s transgression, her brother’s increasing retreat from the world. But there are some family secrets that even her cursed taste buds can’t discern.


My Thoughts:

This was yet another step outside of my normal reading habits. I enjoyed it though. Rose is a sweet spirited girl until she discovers that she can taste feelings in food. From that point on her life is dramatically different. I wanted to cry for the little girl who knew so much more than any child should know about her mother. The idea that she couldn't enjoy food anymore because the majority of the world around her was so unhappy! I imagine it would be awful.

One of the things that makes this book so different is the detachment of the characters. You have Paul, the dad, who likes to have his normal organized family, and goes through the motions even when things aren't so great. You have Joseph who prefers to be alone all of the time and very rarely engages with the family. You have Rose who, before long, avoids cooked foods because there is too much emotion there. She sticks to processed snack food so that all she tastes are the methodical factories that produce the food. Then there is Lane, the mom. She is so sad and so empty. We know more of her emotions than any other character because it is the one thing that Rose can't avoid. She tastes it in every meal. She is so sad, and lonely.

The book was well written and definitely creative, but it left me feeling empty as I read it. The emotions are conveyed beautifully by the author.

I will be honest, there is a secondary plot line involving Joseph that is kind of out there. For most of the book he goes through these spells where he disappears. We don't know why, and we don't know where he goes, but we know that something is off. When this begins to resolve it gets a little different. It was actually the part of the book that we spent the most time talking about at book club. The majority could only use the word 'weird'. I leaned more towards 'interesting'. This book is in the genre of magical realism so you have to be willing to accept that a lot of it isn't really explained in concrete satisfactory terms. It's about the emotion conveyed through the story.

This was a story of loss innocence for a young girl. Once she grows up she realizes that by avoiding the emotions in food, she has avoided emotion all together. When she sees what that detachment has done to her brother she sets out to find herself, and really live her life for her. The book ends in the middle of Rose's new beginning and I was left with the feeling that she was going to be ok, even if the path that brought her there was a little bumpy.

I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it for people who like something a little different and aren't bothered by the unexplained mystical elements. If you don't really like books where there is not a clear concrete explanation it may not be for you.

Review: Shadow's Stand by Sarah McCarty (Hell's Eight #5)

Shadow's Stand (Hells Eight #5)
by Sarah McCarty
Published by HQN
Expected Release January 31st, 2012
Acquired through Net Galley

From Goodreads:

Shadow Ochoa is lying low in the western Kansas Territory, waiting for his fellow Texas Rangers—the Hell's Eight brotherhood—to clear his name. That is, until he's unjustly strung up for horse thieving…and pretty Fei Yen intervenes. Invoking a seldom-used law, the exotic lady prospector claims Shadow as her husband and rides off with the bridegroom shackled to her buckboard.

Savvy, fearless Fei is single-mindedly devoted to her hidden claim and all it promises: wealth, security and freedom. A husband is just a necessary inconvenience and a name on paper to hold the claim she cannot.

Shadow isn't a man to take orders from anyone, especially from lovely Fei—except that the daily friction between them ignites into nightly blazes of all-consuming passion. Soon Shadow is dreaming a little himself: of the life they could have if only Fei could see past the lure of independence. If only bounty hunters weren't closing in on him. If only he's left standing when the impending showdown has ended….

My Thoughts:

I read the first four books in this series when they first came out. Due to contracts and such, I had to wait a whole year for this book! I thought I might die waiting! So when I saw it on Net Galley I simply had to request it!

A little background on the series; Hell's Eight are a band of Outlaws turned Texas Rangers. The eight men survived an attack of Mexican Army as young boys and once they grew into mean they hunted down the mean who killed their families. Rather than waste energy and men trying to arrest these skilled killers, the government offered them jobs as Texas Rangers. Together they have worked hard to establish their ranch and work to keep peace in Texas. No longer outlaws, they still aren't above using necessary force. Once by one the men of Hell's Eight encounter women who turn their worlds upside down and change their way of thinking.

The first four books of the series were Caine's Reckoning, Sam's Creed, Tucker's Claim, and Tracker's Sin.

Tracker's Sin ended with Shadow Ochoa shooting a man in front of the US Army. Now a wanted man, Shadow is on the run after escaping his captors. He has cut himself off from his brother and the rest of Hell's Eight. Along the way trouble continues to find him as does Fei Yen, a young Chinese American woman who is looking for a quick husband that can help her with her current predicament.

There are a few slow spots in the book but I really enjoyed it on the whole. Shadow has already been portrayed throughout the series as the most dangerous of Hell's Eight but he has always been on the fringes. We finally get to know him and learn that he may also be the most damaged of the group. Fei Yen is also a very interesting character. She isn't necessarily my favorite heroine in the series, but she is very likable. Her culture is different and that is always fascinating. This series is full of diversity as far as the heritage and backgrounds of the characters.

My copy had a lot of typos and errors but it was an advanced copy so hopefully most of those will be taken care of before the final print.

A point worth making for those who have read the previous book in this series is that this book was published under the HQN imprint as opposed to the SPICE imprint. The first four books, published under Harlequin's SPICE Imprint, were real sheet scorchers and I loved them! Now all of the 'SPICE' books are being published under the HQN imprint. Does that mean they will be tamer on the whole? Time will tell, but this one definitely had a lot less steamy sex scenes than it's predecessors. That's not to say I didn't still like it! But fans of the series will notice the change.

Overall impression? I really liked it, and I will continue to read this series, and I have a feeling that Fei's cousin Lin will be making another appearance. Maybe? Who knows. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a sexy cowboy book. Because if it's place in the series you could read this book without having read the others before it, but I recommend starting with Caine's Reckoning and working your way through.

** Due to explicit sex scenes this book isn't recommended for those under the age of 18 ;) **