you are here: Home » Literature & Fiction

LOVE’S FIRST LIGHT By Jamie Carie

LOVE’S FIRST LIGHT by Jamie Carie Review (3.5 out of 5 Stars)

Book Title by Jamie Carie
Release Date: July 1, 2009
Publisher: B&H Books
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Love’s First Light by Jamie Carie is an excellent historical-romance fiction novel that takes place during the French Revolution. It begins somewhat violently as the stories’ main character, Christophe St. Laurent, witnesses the brutal execution of his aristocratic family. He then must go into hiding in the town of Carcassonne where he meets a young women, Scarlett, who is mourning her own losses. Then, everything changes when Christophe learns that Scarlett is related to the man that murdered his family.
Love’s First Light is one of those books that you pick up to read out of curiosity and 100 pages later you realize you are up way past your bedtime. I loved how quickly Carie kept the book moving and her writing skills are better [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Amie

POSTED ON:

Dec 16

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , ,

THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold

THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold Review (3.5 out of 5 Stars)

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Release Date: 2002
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Pages: 368
Source: Purchased
Buy on Amazon
With the release of The Lovely Bones movie approaching, I thought I’d read Alice Sebold’s book of the same name. I was initially intrigued by the unique concept of 14-year-old Susie Salmon narrating the book from heaven. She’s in heaven because was raped and murdered as she walked home from junior high school by her neighbor, George Harvey. I’ll be honest, that first chapter was difficult to get through and I questioned if I could continue reading. But the following chapters, while sad, also contain moments of happiness, hope, and love.
Susie’s heaven is personalized to the things she likes – the high school she was never able to attend, a duplex, and lots of friendly dogs. Unfortunately she’s [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Kristen

POSTED ON:

Dec 7

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , ,

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters (3.5 out of 5 Stars)

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
Release Date: Sept 15th, 2009
Publisher: Quirk Books
Pages: 344
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
If you are looking for a nice gift for an Austen fan this holiday season consider Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters. It’s a fun spin on a timeless story that manages to be both respectful of Austen’s work while at the same time becoming its own unique tale. For example, within the first few pages you are treated to such memorable quotes as ‘the crab mauled her most thoroughly’ and ‘a quarter mile off the coast of Sussex, Mr. Dashwood was eaten by a hammer head shark’. These quotes manage to incorporate, humor, Austen, and English charm all at the same time. Also, [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Amie

POSTED ON:

Dec 2

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , , ,

COVET: A NOVEL OF THE FALLEN ANGELS by J. R. Ward

COVET: A NOVEL OF THE FALLEN ANGELS by J. R. Ward Review (3 out of 5 Stars)

Covet: A Novel of the Fallen Angels
by J. R. Ward
Release Date: September 29, 2009
Publisher: Signet
Pages: 496
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Covet: A Novel of the Fallen Angels is the first book in J. R. Ward’s new Fallen Angels series. She is best known as the author of the addictive urban fantasy series, Black Dagger Brotherhood. The new series is probably best described as paranormal romance because there is more emphasis on romance in Covet than in her other books (hard to believe I know, but true). While BDB is about vampires, the Fallen Angels series is about, as the title implies, a fallen angel named Jim Heron. The forces of good and evil decide to settle their battle once and for all, and both sides find Jim as an acceptable [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Kristen

POSTED ON:

Nov 30

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , , ,

AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Dan Chaon

AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Dan Chaon Review (3 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages: 336
Buy on Amazon
In Dan Chaon’s new thriller, Await Your Reply, he explores the meaning of identity in today’s world of computers and the Internet. He makes the reader think about what constitutes a person’s identity besides personal data like social security and bank account numbers that are sitting on a server somewhere. He also looks at the sometime romanticized idea of abandoning your old life and starting over as someone new. For the characters in this book, the reality of a new identity is a lonely existence that also has dangerous consequences.
Await Your Reply follows three separate storylines of people who have left behind their families to start a new life. Ryan walked away from his life as a college student when [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Kristen

POSTED ON:

Nov 10

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , ,

JULIET, NAKED by Nick Hornby

JULIET, NAKED by Nick Hornby Review (3 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
Release Date: September 29, 2009
Publisher: Riverhead
Pages: 416
Buy on Amazon
Nick Hornby’s latest book, Juliet, Naked, is about the ultimate obsessive music nerd and the woman who loves him. Well, that is Annie thinks she loves Duncan until she starts taking a hard look at their lonely life together and realizes she may have wasted the past 15 years. The object of Duncan’s obsession is Tucker Crowe, a 1980s rocker who only released one album and then abruptly retired into obscurity after a trip to the bathroom in a Minneapolis bar. Duncan considers himself a “Crowologist” and runs a website dedicated to the musician. Annie feels as if there is a third person in their relationship and wishes Duncan could muster the same amount of passion for her. They live in [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Kristen

POSTED ON:

Nov 9

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , ,

CHASING HARRY WINSTON by Lauren Weisberger

CHASING HARRY WINSTON by Lauren Weisberger Review (4 out of 5 Stars)

Chasing Harry Winston
by Lauren Weisberger
Release Date: September 22, 2008
Publisher: Downtown Press
Pages: 288
Buy on Amazon
After being put off by some so-so reviews, I finally checked out Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (author of The Devil Wears Prada). Honestly, I don’t know what’s wrong with everyone who didn’t like this book, I loved it. For me, this is the standard that all other chick lit books should hold themselves to. It’s fun, it moves fast, the characters are loveable, and you’ll find yourself getting caught up in all their drama.
The plot focuses on 3 main characters who are best friends (Emmy, Leigh, and Adriana). Emmy has just been scorned by her cheating boyfriend and is trying to get her life back together. Leigh seems to have the perfect job, the perfect man, and the perfect life. The rich and [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Amie

POSTED ON:

Nov 5

2009

COMMENTS: 1

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , ,

HEAT WAVE by Richard Castle

HEAT WAVE by Richard Castle (3 out of 5 Stars)

Heat Wave by Richard Castle
Release Date: September 29, 2009
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 208
Buy on Amazon
I’m a huge fan of the TV show Castle so I couldn’t resist picking up Heat Wave, the book that lead character Richard Castle is supposed to be writing on the show. The premise of both the book and the show is that a popular author is shadowing a New York homicide detective and he helps her solve cases. It may sound like Murder She Wrote but it’s actually a lot more fun because of the banter and romantic tension between the main characters. Heat Wave is what I would call a fun, guilty-pleasure book because it’s a lot like reading an extended episode of Castle.
For those familiar with the show, all the main characters except Alexis are represented but with different names. Beckett is [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Kristen

POSTED ON:

Nov 2

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , ,

GOD HATES US ALL Book Review

GOD HATES US ALL by Josh Grotenstein (3 out of 5)

God Hates Us All by Josh Grotenstein
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
Pages: 208
Buy on Amazon
God Hates Us All began as a fictional piece of work that was referenced in the Showtime series “Californication”. On the show, the main character, Hank Moody, is a famous writer that lives in Venice Beach, CA and had a hit book titled “God Hates Us All“. He rises to even greater fame when the book is turned into a popular movie by the same name. This prompted an actual “God Hates Us All” book to be written. What is interesting is this book completely stays in character. The author credit is given to the fictional character “Hank Moody”, many of the acknowledgements appear to be characters from the show, and even the artist bio on the back cover is all Moody.
What’s even [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Amie

POSTED ON:

Oct 27

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , ,

A GATE AT THE STAIRS Book Review

A GATE AT THE STAIRS by Lorrie Moore (2 out of 5 stars)

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
Release Date: September 1, 2009
Publisher: Knopf
Pages: 336
Buy on Amazon
In the past month, I’ve read countless reviews that sing the praises of Lorrie Moore’s A Gate at the Stairs. Some call it a fantastic coming-of-age story, while others say that the narrator’s wit made them laugh. Now that I’ve read the book, I have to say that I just don’t get it. Unfortunately, all the quirky characters and various storylines just couldn’t keep me interested.
The story is narrated by Tassie, a college student from a small farming town in Wisconsin, and her observations about the world around her make up the bulk of the novel. She seems to be perpetually awed by the liberal college town where she now lives (apparently they don’t have Chinese restaurants where she’s from). Tassie decides [...]

Read More »

AUTHOR: Kristen

POSTED ON:

Oct 26

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Reviews

TAGS: , ,

Next Page »