Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Rating: 4.0

Chocolat is a tale of prejudice, bigotry....and chocolate? It's the tale of a beautifully pagan chocolotiere and a handsome red headed river gypsy who the town priest preaches against.

When the enchanting Vianne comes to set up a chocolate shop in a provincial French town, all hell breaks loose thanks to Pere Reynaud, the parish priest. Vianne refuses to go to church, she has a daughter out of wedlock, she tells all kinds of pagan stories and she wants to have a chocolate festival on Easter morning. She gets under Pere Reynaud's skin at every turn. All she really wants though is to make people happy. And she does. Chocolat has some beautiful characters and the pastoral setting was charming. The descriptions, especially of the chocolates, was mouth-watering and tantalizing. What I didn't like was the ending. Too much was left unsaid. There was not enough closure for my taste. Besides that, the book was a very enjoyable read. I think I enjoyed the movie a bit more though.

Word of warning: have lots of chocolate handy while reading this. ; )

Blasphemy by Douglas Preston

Rating: 4.0

Science and religion collide in Blasphemy with results that will change humankind forever. This one is hard to review without saying too much and spoiling it for you but I'll try.

A group of scientists deep in an Arizona mountain have created the world's largest supercollider which will "probe what happened at the very moment of creation: the Big Bang itself". Opposing these scientists are the fundamentalist Christians who believe that these scientists are attacking their religion by attempting to disprove Genesis.

Blasphemy could be considered by many to be controversial with it's plot surrounding the clash of science and religion. The Washington Post says ".....the scenes of howling Christians eagerly killing fellow Americans who don't share their views are chilling, and history reminds us that the more feverish advocates of most religions have been spilling innocent blood for centuries. The novel is entirely readable, and its satire of religious extremism, if heavy-handed, often strikes home." The characters were well written for the most part and the pace moved along pretty well. Overall, I thought this was an entertaining read. There were some twists and turns that I didn't see coming and the one really big plot twist toward the end. The outcome wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be but I can live with that. This is definitely something different and worth a read.

The List of 7 by Mark Frost

Rating: 5.0

The List of 7 is positively one of the most fun adventures I've ever read! I've just finished reading it for the second time.

The plot is full of mystery and suspense as Arthur Conan Doyle and his few newly acquired friends try to stop the underground takeover of the world by a group of seven people. I know the plot sounds kind of typical but the characters are what bring so much fun to the story. The main characters are fantastic and supported by a cast of walking mummies, flying gargoyles and other nightmarish creatures to keep Dr. Doyle and friends on their toes. The ending doesn't bring a lot of closure and that's okay because this book has a sequel, The Six Messiahs. You don't want to miss this thrilling tale full of compelling characters.

Broken by Kelley Armstrong

Rating: 5.0

Elena and her werewolf pack are back in action in Broken. This time around, a very pregnant Elena unwittingly opens a portal that may have unleashed historical Jack the Ripper onto an unsuspecting modern day Toronto. Amidst zombies, a cholera outbreak, and vicious and diseased rats, Elena and company must try to get the portal closed and kill the ones who came out of it while staying alive themselves.

I really enjoy this Women of the Otherworld series. What I love most about it is the wit, sarcasm and brass that Armstrong writes into her characters. It gives the books a fun and fresh feel that I really enjoy. Broken is exciting, very entertaining and has a great ending. I highly recommend this series.

The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz

Rating: 3.5

This is one of Koontz's first novels, written originally under a pen name. It's definitely not up to par with his latest works but it wasn't bad either.

A mother looses her son to a tragic accident while he's on a scouting trip in the Nevada mountains. A year later and she's coping....until two words show up on her dead sons chalkboard. NOT DEAD. Lots of mysterious paranormal incidents occur that lead the mother and her new flame on a hunt to uncover what has been covered up and to discover why.

The Eyes of Darkness was a good story but it didn't have enough depth. Why the events occurred was explained but the how part was left a mystery. The characters were very cardboard with very little background. If this was written by the Koontz of today I think it would make a great book.

Black Wind by F. Paul Wilson

Rating : 5.0

Black Wind is a stunning story of love, honor and betrayal set against the backdrop of World War II. F. Paul Wilson really brings the war to life in his detailed characters and settings.

At the heart of the story are four characters. "Matsuo Okumo, born in Japan, raised in America, and hated in both lands; Hiroki Okumo, his brother, a modern samurai sworn to serve a secret cult and the almighty Emperor; Meiko Satsuma, the woman they both love; and Frank Slater, the American who turned away when Matsuo needed him, and who now struggles to repay his debt of honor." This love story is set amidst the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Doolittle's raid, the bombings of Tokyo and finally the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

This book is unforgettable! I loved every minute of it and really had a hard time putting it down. The characters come to life and seem so real that it's easy to lose yourself in these pages. Black Wind was an excellent read....one I can't wait to read again.

The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson

Rating: 3.0

The Mirror of Her Dreams is a fairly slow fantasy novel. It's about Terisa, a girl from our own world, who travels through a mirror into a world of Stephen R. Donaldson's making. This new world is a place where mirrors are used not for their reflections but for portals into other times and places. This is a world where a King seems to have lost his mind and treachery and betrayal run rife. This is where Terisa questions her role among an overlarge cast of character.

The Mirror of Her Dreams had some interesting aspects that I really enjoyed. I loved the idea of mirrors as portals. Overall though the story seemed to move at a very slow pace. I got bored while reading this. I just wasn't feeling it. I have read much better fantasy but I've also read much worse.

Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist by Adrian Desmond & James Moore

Rating: 5.0

If you are looking for a book encompassing the complete Charles Darwin then look no further. This one has it all. From his birth to his interment at Westminster Abbey after his death, this biography illuminates all of who Darwin was as a man as well as a scientist. This book is extraordinarily comprehensive as well as being highly readable. After reading this I felt I truly understood who Charles Darwin really was. So much so that I got a little teary eyed at the end when it described his death. This biography contains many many illustrations and photos of Darwin and his friends and family. We all know what Darwin looks like but now you can put a face to the whole Darwin clan. At nearly 700 pages this book is a doozy, but entirely worth the time expended.

"In lively and accessible style, the authors tell how Darwin came to his world-changing conclusions and how he kept his thoughts secret for twenty years. Hailed as the definitive biography, this book explains Darwin's paradox and offers a window on Victorian science, theology, and mores. Contains a wealth of new information and 90 photographs." -Barnes&Noble.com

Haunted by Kelley Armstrong

Rating: 4.0

Another fun book in the Women of the Otherworld series. It took me about half the book to really get into this one though. The first half was kind of slow but the second half kicked butt!

The heroine in Haunted is Eve Levine, a deceased witch/half demon and the mother of Savannah from the previous two books. Eve is sent on a mission, literally to hell and back, to hunt down a ghost, called the Nix, who is causing harm to humanity. This Nix thrives on murder and mayhem and gets a little too close to the loved ones of Eve. Haunted was a fun read but I just wasn't crazy about the ghost world scene. I preferred the other books that took place in the here and now and had living breathing human characters.

Haunted has some very interesting and unique settings and characters. I had a hard time putting the book down once I got past the first half. And the climax was awesome!

Deception Point by Dan Brown

Rating: 4.5

Deception Point is a fast paced thriller that I had a hard time putting down. It's one of those books that I just had to know what was going on. It kept me reading long into the night.

NASA discovers the find of the century buried in an ice shelf in the Arctic Circle. When the President of the United States sends a team of four civilian scientists up there to corroborate the find, they discover something not quite right. Soon, these civilian scientists are running for their lives while trying to discover the truth. The stakes are high in Deception Point, with the office of the Presidency and the future of NASA on the line. Intrigue and lies abound in this novel which kept me guessing to the very end.

The only thing that kind of annoyed me about this book is a couple of the supporting characters. They were over-written and just didn't seem right. They are a couple of the world's leading scientists but bickered and teased like school children. Other than that small annoyance, the book is great.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Rating: 5.0

Middlesex is intriguing and creative. It's about genes and family histories and the effect of a certain recessive gene on the fifth chromosome of Calliope Stephanides. She/he is a hermaphrodite and Middlesex tells the wondrous story of his life.

From the 1922 burning of Smyrna to the Detroit race riots of 1967. From San Francisco in the '70's to Berlin in 2001. This story does a lot of time traveling as we follow the story of Calliope's incestuous grandparents to the modern day Calliope who becomes just plain Cal. There is a lot of family history here which makes for very interesting reading.

Middlesex is beautifully written as it invokes images of the life of three generations of a Greek family. I loved all the different settings in this novel. All the different places and times made Middlesex an exhilarating story with some very original characters. It's no wonder it won the Pulitzer.

Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Rating: 4.0

Industrial Magic, the fourth book in the Women of the Otherworld series, is a fun read. The witch Paige and her sorcerer boyfriend Cortez are back and in Miami hunting down the supernatural who is killing off the Cabal children. This book has action, some light romance and plenty of mystery as the killer is uncovered. With stories filled with characters like witches, vampires, werewolves and necromancers.....Kelley Armstrong never fails to entertain.

Galilee by Clive Barker

Rating: 5.0

Galilee is a very engrossing tale of romance, adventure and intrigue with a touch of the supernatural. The heart of the story is very Romeo and Juliet.

Two very powerful families are at war. Family Geary is one of the wealthiest society families in America. Family Barbarossa is the oldest family, living secluded in a swamp in a house that Thomas Jefferson built for them. When Rachael Geary and Galilee Barbarossa fall in love....the tale gets really interesting. And I forgot to mention.....the Barbarossa family are more than human. They are on a scale with Gods and Goddesses. This book takes us from modern day New York City to ancient Samarkand. From the American Civil War where the foundation between Geary and Barbarossa was built to the shores of a Hawaiian island where the Geary women go to be "serviced" by Galilee Barbarossa. This is such an epic tale that I haven't even begun to tell you what it's about. I'll leave it at that.

Clive Barker's writing is so imaginative and full of life. His characters are so unique and eccentric. In Galilee, Barker weaves tales from many time periods featuring some truly bizarre people and scenarios that are unforgettable.

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Rating: 5.0

The Sorrows of Young Werther is a beautiful piece of tragic literature. It's written mostly as a series of letters from Werther to his friend Wilhelm detailing his love of Lotte and how that leads to his eventual suicide.

Right from the get go Werther knows of the impending marriage between Lotte and Albert but he can't control his emotions and the love he feels for Lotte. And when he meets Albert, who is a genuinely nice guy, he can't help but like him. The letters go from being full of excitement and elation at the beginning of his acquaintance with Lotte to slowly turning very dark as Werther slips further and further into depression. Deep depression. In fact, his emotions go to such extremes throughout the book, I'd say poor Werther is manic depressive with his thoughts of suicide and murder. He says towards the end of the book, "One of us three must go, so let it be me!" He's had thoughts of killing Albert and even Lotte herself but can't bring himself to harm either of them. So he takes himself out of the equation in hopes that Lotte and Albert can live happily ever after.

The Sorrows of Young Werther is beautifully written but very sad. It's heartbreaking to read as poor Werther's euphoric happiness slides slowly to despair. He says a couple of days after his first introduction to Lotte, "My days are as happy as any God sets aside for his saints; and, whatever the future may have in store for me, I cannot claim I have not enjoyed the pleasures in life, the very purest of pleasures."

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Rating: 4.5

Pet Sematary is a very grim book and not one of King's more action packed stories either. I really enjoyed it though. That's the thing about King; even when his story is on the slow side, his writing and his characters keep me interested.

When Louis and his family move into an old house right off a trucking highway, terrible things are in their future. Between that highway in front of their house and the old Indian burying ground behind their house, they are caught in the midst of some unearthly mayhem. Whether it's a family pet getting run down in the highway, grave digging, or tales of the dead brought back to 'life', Pet Sematary has it's share of morbid moments. Like I said before, it's a grim tale.

Pet Sematary gets you thinking about death and what you would do with the power to bring back the dead. Louis makes that decision several times in this book with results that are less than perfect. This is a spooky story definitely worth a read....as long as you don't mind a touch of the macabre.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Rating: 1.5

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is ranked by the Modern Library as the third greatest English-language novel of the twentieth century. I have no idea why. I just found it to be extremely boring. The book is the semi-autobiographical coming of age of Stephen Dedalus, the alter ego of James Joyce. From his questions and anxiety over the roles of women and his dealings with them to his on-again-off-again struggles with religion, A Portrait of the Artist...just didn't keep my interest. It's not a bad story really but I just did not dig the prose. I haven't given up on James Joyce yet but I really hope his other books won't put me to sleep.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Rating: 5.0

A Prayer for Owen Meany is a poignant story about a very special boy named...Owen Meany. Our narrator in this book is John, Owen's best friend. The events in this book really get rolling when Owen accidentally kills John's mother. The wheels are set in motion for Owen, who believes that everything happens for a reason. Owen also believes he is "God's instrument". Owen believes there is a special purpose for his tiny size and unusual voice. This, John's telling of his time with Owen, is a riveting read. The narration goes back and forth from their childhoods and adolescence together, as young adults during the Vietnam era, and John living in Canada in the '80's. Irving has such a unique writing style of going back and forth giving little hints here and there of what's to come with the characters. Long before we get to the very last page, we realize that everything that we've read was relevant and it all comes together in the end. Owen is such a unique and unforgettable character. I'm already looking forward to re-reading A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Rating: 5.0

Moving right along in the Women of the Otherworld series brings me to Dime Store Magic. This may be my favorite in the series thus far. There's Cabals and Covens, spells and sorcery, walking dead and ghostly spirits....pretty much everything supernatural you could want in a novel.

This book has a change in main characters from the previous two. In Dime Store Magic, Paige and her young witch ward Savannah take center stage. These two witches team up with a very dashing and gallant young sorcerer lawyer named Lucas Cortez to try to fight a powerful Cabal bent on taking Savannah. There is lots of great action, a little light romance and plenty of spell casting. As always Kelley Armstrong's wit, humor and sharp dialogue make for a very fun read.

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

Rating: 5.0

Stolen is the second book in the Women of the Otherworld series. It was a lot of fun! In this story we get to meet other 'races' besides the werewolves; for instance witches and vampires. The lone female werewolf Elena, from the first book, is captured by eccentric billionaire Tyrone Winsloe. Winsloe, the head of a secret underground lab, captures these other supernatural 'races' with nefarious means in mind. He gets more that he bargained for in Elena though. She's not the type to be taken advantage of. Stolen is fast paced with fun, witty dialogue. Publisher's Weekly says, "Though the tale is pretty much a prison-break story spiffed up with magic, Armstrong leavens the narrative with brisk action and intriguing dollops of werewolf culture that suggest a complex and richly imagined anthropologic backstory." I'm really looking forward to starting the next book in this series.

The Ruins by Scott Smith

Rating: 5.0

The Ruins is relentless! I lost myself in these pages for hours at a time. Four college students, along with a German and a Greek tourist, are trapped on a vine covered hill. The Mayans surrounding this hill won't let the tourists leave. They are being quarantined and they don't know why. But they soon learn that something about these vines just isn't right. These vines are much creepier than I can describe.

But The Ruins isn't just a horror tale about a plant that acts more like an animal. It's about a small group of people struggling to survive and watching as page by page their hope for rescue slowly dwindles with their food supply. I thought the characters were well written with their own strengths and weaknesses. The pacing was unrelenting....something was always going on. And I loved the whole stuck on an ancient ruins in the Mexican jungle atmosphere. The Ruins is gory and not the most cheerful novel out there but it will make you appreciate a cozy chair and clean glass of water.

I like what The Washington Post had to say about it: "… there's a more timeless fable at work here, one that prompts thoughts of Heart of Darkness . Courageous in its pessimism and its embrace of horror, Smith's powerful tale, like Conrad's masterpiece, cautions against such reassuring conceits as civilization, conscience, morality, superiority -- and yes, good and evil. Hidden somewhere in the vines of The Ruins , like those of the Congo, beats the heart of an impenetrable darkness."

Night Probe by Clive Cussler

Rating: 4.5

Another fun Dirk Pitt story. Lots of history here. Pitt and company are in a race against time to uncover some important documents from a sunken ship in the St. Lawrence seaway and from a train that disappeared in 1914. These documents, important to Great Britain, could mean war against the United States. It makes for a very entertaining race between these two countries to be the first to recover the documents and in the case of Great Britain, destroy them once and for all. Night Probe has many twist and turns and many characters, but if you can keep up it's a great read.

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Rating: 5.0

Bitten is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series. I was hooked throughout this entire novel. Elena is a modern career woman who lives in Toronto with her boyfriend. She has a very big secret though: she's a werewolf. She shuns her "pack" who live in upstate New York for the life of a regular woman who leads a normal life. Things change though when her fellow pack members call on her for help fighting some renegade werewolves who are threatening the security of the pack by killing people on pack territory. Elena must decide where she belongs....and why.

The characters in Bitten are very well developed. I loved all of the pack members and really enjoyed their distinct personalities. Kelley Armstrong did a good job writing her environments as well, whether it's the beautiful mansion Stonehaven where the pack live, the city life in Toronto, or even if she's just describing the forest where the pack runs as wolves.

Bitten is a fast paced thriller with a love story in it's midst. As Publisher's Weekly says, "The sensuality of Elena's transformations and the viciousness of her kills mesh perfectly with her tough personality. Filled with romance and supernatural intrigue, this book will surely remind readers of Anne Rice's sophisticated refurbishing of the vampire story."

Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian

Rating: 4.5

Before You Know Kindness is the story of a family thrown into an uproar after tragedy strikes. Twelve year old Charlotte accidentally shoots her father. She thought he was a deer. The result is the permanent loss of his right arm....and a press conference that almost tears a family apart. The big issue here is that Charlotte's father, Spencer, is head of a staunch animal rights organization called FERAL. FERAL wants to use this family's tragedy to highlight it's stance against guns and hunting, and that's where the family is divided. The problem is, that the infamous gun in this story belongs to the brother of Spencer's wife. You'll have to read the book to learn how and why Spencer's daughter Charlotte came to have that loaded gun in her hands the night she shot her father.

Before You Know Kindness has some really interesting characters. Bohjalian does a great job at character development and making the reader care. Nobody in this novel is perfect. But that just makes the story more realistic.

I was really drawn to the issues in Before You Know Kindness. Vegans vs. meat eaters. Animal rights activist vs. hunters. This is a very candid story covering these very divisive issues. Both sides are covered though, and no matter what your own persuasion, this is a good read. As the synopsis says, "Bohjalian manages to examine some very weighty issues without ever coming off as preachy or pedantic. A triumph."

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Rating: 3.5

I enjoyed Alice's many adventure in Wonderland, but I especially found things interesting through the looking-glass. This one book has both stories in it as well as the original illustrations. As for the stories themselves...the flow seemed very random. I got bored. These stories were written for children though and in that context they are very creative and imaginative. I just didn't enjoy it as much as an adult as I did as a child. I am looking forward to seeing Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland on the big screen in 2010!

Jaws 2 by Hank Searls

Rating: 4.0

I was surprised that I enjoyed Jaws 2 as well as the first one. Especially considering it wasn't even written by the same author. It was right along the same line as the original Jaws though with a huge shark, a pregnant one this time, terrorizing the population of Amity. I do admit that this novel does take quite a suspension of disbelief, having two man eating sharks attack the same shoreline in a matter of a couple of years. They say in this book itself how implausible it is that "the Terror" could happen again to this town. Ah well....it was very entertaining and enjoyable nonetheless. One thing that did irk me though was that Chief Brody somehow lost a kid between Jaws the original and Jaws 2. There were three children in the Brody family in Jaws and for some reason Hank Searls dropped one of the kids without mention in Jaws 2. As long as you aren't expecting too much, you might just be surprised at how fun Jaws 2 really is.

The Mist by Stephen King

Rating: 4.5

Imagine this: you are stranded in a grocery store with a bunch of other people, some sane and some not so sane, while a fog-like mist surrounds the store and is enshrouding a mass of creatures that seem from a different dimension. Sound like a creepy story line? It's better than that. Stephen King, the "Master of the Macabre", creates some truly out-of-this-world creatures that lurk in the mist. But....he makes the atmosphere inside the store almost as dangerous as the outside by adding in some human pandemonium. It's all about adaptability. Some people don't cope well and start to lose it. The most fearsome by far is the witch-like Mrs. Carmody preaching the end times and expiation. She believed in a biblical reason for the mist. Others suggested The Arrowhead project, a government preserve outside of town. Whatever is behind the mist, it's classic King!

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

Rating: 4.0

The Andromeda Strain is a terrifying story when you consider how plausible it could be. A probe satellite falls back to earth near the town of Piedmont. Within minutes, almost everybody in the town is dead. That satellite brought back something with it from outerspace. A team of scientists is assembled to figure out what "it" is that was brought back. This is a fun thriller that really kept me hooked. At times the language got quite technical but that just lent more to the non-fiction feel of this novel. Overall....The Andomeda Strain is a captivating read.

Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan

Rating: 5.0

Lost & Found is a book about just that: being lost and then found. It's about a woman and a dog who have both lost someone, but together they both start to heal. Rocky's husband dies suddenly and she moves out to an island off Maine to sort of run away from everybody and be surrounded by strangers. She becomes the new Animal Control Warden and leavers her career as a therapist behind. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with the people and animals of Peak's Island. While in the course of her new duties in Animal Control, Rocky meets Lloyd, a very lovable black lab who has been shot through the shoulder with an arrow. Rocky takes Lloyd in while trying to unravel the mystery of who shot him and why. Solving this mystery is a lot more dangerous than it sounds because it centers on a very bad man who will do anything to get that dog. Lost & Found has a lot of interesting and unique characters but Lloyd the dog really steals the show in this novel. This book is great at showing the interaction and bond between a person and a dog.

"A poignant and unforgettable tale of love, loss, and moving on . . . with the help of one not-so-little dog."

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

Rating: 4.0

The Mercy of Thin Air is a slow moving novel but ultimately well worth the read. It's narrated by Raziela Nolan, who is a young woman in New Orleans in the 1920's. She is in the midst of a wonderful love affair with Andrew and on the brink of going to medical school when tragedy strikes. She dies. But she doesn't pass on. She ends up staying "between", the realm before whatever comes next. From here she "haunts" a young couple, Amy and Scott, 75 years later. As Raziela struggles to learn what happened to her beloved Andrew after her death, we slowly discover what it is that draws Raziela to Amy and Scott. These two intertwined love stories from separate times are truly heartbreaking....but beautiful. It's not often a book brings tears to my eyes but The Mercy of Thin Air did.

"From ambitious, forward-thinking Razi, who illegally slips birth control guides into library books; to hip Web designer Amy, who begins to fall off the edge of grief; to Eugenia, caught between since the Civil War, the characters in this wondrous novel sing with life. Evoking the power of love, memory, and time, The Mercy of Thin Air culminates in a startling finish that will leave readers breathless. " -taken from synopsis

The Seven Days of Peter Crumb by Jonny Glynn

Rating: 4.0

I feel kind of sick and demented for actually enjoying this book. But I did. Enjoy it. Well....enjoy isn't really the word. I was more horrified while reading this. Peter Crumb, serious schizophrenic, plans on dying in seven days. He spends these last days acting out some of the most sick and twisted scenarios on complete strangers. He murders, rapes and does things I'm not even going to mention here. But this creepy little book is strangely alluring. I kept reading just to see what Peter Crumb was going to do next and how it all was going to end. If you enjoy stories like American Psycho, then you'll appreciate this debut from Jonny Glynn. If you want to get inside the head of a murdering madman on a downward spiral....this is the book for you. If not...then I recommend you stay far far away from The Seven Days of Peter Crumb.

"Gritty, dazzling, and profoundly disturbing, Jonny Glynn's The Seven Days of Peter Crumb is an extraordinary debut that portrays the deterioration of a severely splintered soul." -from synopsis

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Rating: 4.0

I was slightly disappointed in Jaws. Since most books are better than the movie they inspire, I was expecting this book to be awesome. While it was entertaining, it was just not as good as Jaws the movie. Jaws is about the people of Amity who are being terrorized by a Great White shark, and the people who risk their lives trying to catch and kill it. The novel certainly has some thrills, but a surprising amount of the book is dedicated to the relationships between some of the key characters. Overall, I think Jaws is a nice thriller. It just isn't as thrilling as the movie.

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

*I'm not giving this book a rating

It has taken me all of the summer thus far to complete The Origin of Species. It is a very tedious and analytical read. I found my mind wandering while I was reading this and I don't think I retained half of what I read. I do understand Darwin's main ideas though. Charles Darwin was a very insightful man who has had such a great impact on science and society as a whole. Did I enjoy this book? Not really. Do I think this is an important and valuable book? Absolutely!

Hunted Past Reason by Richard Matheson

Rating: 5.0

Hunted Past Reason is one heck of a page turner. As some one else mentioned, this novel has similarities to Deliverance and The Most Dangerous Game. What starts out as a backpacking trip between two acquaintances turns into a deadly game with one of the men being hunted by the other. And yes....it is as horrifying as it sounds. What makes matters worse is the hunter is an experienced backpacker, while the hunted is an out of shape writer. As the synopsis reads, "...the enforced isolation of the hike soon exposes long-hidden rivalries and resentments between the two men. The deeper they get into the primeval wilderness and the farther from civilization, the greater the tension between them becomes—until the simmering hostility erupts into a terrifying life-or-death battle for survival!" The story was chilling and kept me reading long past my bedtime. As a bonus, I learned an awful lot about backpacking and wilderness survival.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Rating: 1.0

I don't understand why this novel is as popular as it is. I found it to be extremely boring. It follows the Buendia family through generations during the rise and fall of the fictional town of Macondo. Much of the Buendia family have almost the exact same names, so that got very confusing. Nothing interesting happened to any of them. I didn't care about, or even like, any of the characters. One Hundred Years of Solitude was a big disappointment for me. Definitely not worth the time I spent reading it.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Rating: 5.0

Teddy Daniels is a U.S. Marshal. He, along with his new partner Chuck Aule, go to Shutter Island to find out what happened to Rachael Solando. Shutter Island is home to the Ashville Hospital for the criminally insane. Now Rachael is lose on the island since she disappeared out of her locked cell and barred window. It's like she disappeared into thin air. Teddy is here to find out what happened but he finds out more than that. I took this from the synopisis: "As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades — with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. But then neither is Teddy Daniels." I didn't see the end coming. I was just blown away! This is an exciting book with twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up to the very last page. Shutter Island is a great mystery/thriller.

The Beach by Alex Garland

Rating: 5.0

The Beach is sort of a cross between Lord of the Flies and Apocalypse Now. It's a wonderfully intense story! While Richard is backpacking through southeast Asia, he discovers the map to "the Beach", which is supposedly a mythical Eden commune. Richard and a young French couple make it to this deserted island and discover paradise. They swim, fish, dance and have access to all the marijuana they can smoke. Then things start to go bad when two catastrophes happen in the same week. The tenuous order that these people hold starts to slide away into chaos. People become paranoid and dangerous and in the end some lose their humanity. The Beach hooked me in right from the beginning with it's exotic storyline, beautiful scenery and great writing. The New York Times Book Review called The Beach "....impressive in its group portrait of a new generation of young vagabonds. Raised in an era of diminished confidence, they have set out in search of something that feels genuine and fulfilling. What they find turns out to be not utopia but hell."

Vixen 03 by Clive Cussler

Rating: 4.5

Vixen 03 opens in 1954. An extremely deadly plague in the form of bombs goes missing. This is a great start to an exciting adventure starring the always amusing Dirk Pitt. Over thirty years after these doomsday bombs go missing, Pitt is the one to inadvertently uncover them. All of them except two that is. Pitt becomes entangled in a deadly scheme between the African Army of Revolution and the African Defense Forces, and somebody has two very deadly plague bombs in their hands. The excitement never stops as the story takes us from the mountains of Colorado to the plains of Africa to the Potomac in Washington D.C. The excitement never stops when Dirk Pitt is around.

Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

Rating: 4.0

Bastard Out of Carolina tells the tale of a young girl named Bone. Hers is a tale of physical and sexual abuse that grows steadily more violent until the explosive end of the book. It's also about her family, the Boatwrights. The big scary uncles, who adore Bone, are always drunk and shoot up each others trucks for fun. And the aunts, who always stick together whether they are picking over beans or taking care of each others children. Bone is a happy little girl until her mother gets married to Daddy Glen. Daddy Glen is very gentle with Bone at first. Things gradually go bad though when he starts physically abusing and molesting Bone. Bastard Out of Carolina is about the decisions we all make and the effects of those decisions on your children. It's about the meaning of family and loyalty. This is a serious book dealing with some hard subject matter. It's never easy to read about abuse, especially when it's a child involved, but Bastard Out of Carolina is definitely worth a read.

The Man Without a Face by Isabelle Holland

Rating: 5.0

The Man Without a Face does indeed have a face. Justin McLeod, a hermit and an ex-teacher, had half of his face badly burned in an accident. When 14 year old Charles asks for his help tutoring him for an entrance exam to a boarding school, they both get more than they bargained for. Love and friendship. This short novel is beautiful and very moving. Young Charles looks up to Justin in many different ways. "I'd never had a friend, and he was my friend; I'd never really, except for a shadowy memory, had a father, and he was my father. I'd never known an adult I could communicate with or trust, and I communicated with him all the time, whether I was actually talking to him or not. And I trusted him ......" The Man Without a Face is about many different kinds of love as well as guilt and regret. It's about a confused and troubled young man looking for freedom. One of the most important lessons Charles learns from Justin that summer is this: "You can be free from everything but the consequences of what you do." This is a very touching book and I also highly recommend the movie from 1993 staring Mel Gibson.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Rating: 5.0

The Shadow of the Wind is a labyrinthine mystery surrounding a book called.....The Shadow of the Wind. Someone is systematically finding and destroying every copy of this book and all the others written by the same author, Julian Carax. Daniel, a young man in 1945 Barcelona is dedicated to finding out this mystery no matter the cost. As Daniel slowly unravels the puzzle of Carax and his books, we see the similarities and parallels between Daniel and Julian Carax. This is a tale of love and loss, murder and madness. It's filled with intriguing characters and the almost tangible atmosphere of Barcelona. In the words of Stephen King, The Shadow of the Wind is "one gorgeous read."

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

Rating: 4.0

"A harrowing story of a war that society is waging on itself, and an enduring meditation on the ties of love and blood and duty that inform lives and shape destinies, No Country for Old Men is a novel of extraordinary resonance and power. " -synopsis from Barnes&Noble

No Country for Old Men is the tale of Llewelyn Moss. A "good old boy" who runs across a drug deal gone bad near the Mexican-American border. He takes the money that he finds which sets a course for him that even he couldn't predict.

No Country for Old Men is also the tale of Anton Chigurh. Chigurh is an extremely violent and sociopathic killer who is on the hunt for Moss and the stolen money. He is one of the most interesting antagonists I've read lately.

No Country for Old Men is finally the tale of Sheriff Bell who is on the hunt for Chigurh. Bell is the first to realize how badly Moss and his young wife need protection. He sees first hand the piles of bodies left in the wake of Chigurh.

The book is written in a way that alternates between a third person and the first person of Sheriff Bell reminiscing about his time in WWII. No Country for Old Men is a gritty, fast-paced novel with an antagonist not soon forgotten.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Rating: 5.0

She's Come Undone is the story of Dolores. It's a three part story with Dolores as a child, a college student and finally as an adult.

"Mine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered...."

The story of Dolores is a painful coming-of-age. She suffers through so much at the hands of people she has put her trust in that by the time she is a teen she has given up on herself. She sits in front of the t.v. eating and eating until she is the size of a whale. At times I just wanted to reach through the pages and smack some sense into her. Her life is one hot mess! Rape, obesity, a halfhearted suicide attempt and a long stay at a mental institution are just some of her trials. Her figurative struggle to not drown is actually mesmerizing in a way. I couldn't put the book down for very long. She's Come Undone follows Dolores from 1956 up through the '80's and is one heck of a roller coaster ride. This is the second time I've read this and I actually enjoyed it more this second time around. Dolores was not all that lovable in the beginning of the book but by the end she felt like a friend.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life--first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse--seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed....forever?
-taken from back of book

My thoughts:
Breaking Dawn is a great conclusion to a great series. While there was not as much action in this fourth book of the Twilight series, it was never boring. There were a lot of internal struggles going on....especially with Bella. All the characters I've come to love, plus some very interesting new ones, are here and dealing with some pretty serious situations. I was very happy with the outcome of this story. I am a little sad now that's it's over though. I'm really going to miss these characters.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour the paperback edition Eclipse, the third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?
- taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Eclipse is the third book in the Twilight saga. It is also my favorite so far. The relationship between Bella and Edward matured nicely. I enjoyed the shaky alliance between the vampires and the werewolves. The climactic action sequence at the end was intense. I couldn't put Eclipse down!

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality. - taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
New Moon is the second book of the Twilight series. It throws in a fantastic new element: werewolves. Now Bella is caught in the middle of a long feud between the vampires and the werewolves. New Moon has all the mystery and suspense of Twilight with some great new characters. I can't wait to start the third book now! This Twilight series is definitely hard to put down!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:

About three things I was absolutely positive:
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him–and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be–that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife -- between desire and danger.

Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite. -taken from B&N.com

My thoughts:

Twilight is a sweet, romantic novel about first love.....with a dark side. The first half of the book was a little slow and just not all that interesting but when I hit the halfway point I couldn't put the book down. It's very mysterious and suspenseful. I found I really cared about the characters. Especially Bella and Edward, though the supporting cast is great too. Now I have to get the other books in this series so I can find out how it all ends.

Raise the Titanic by Clive Cussler

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
The President's secret task force has developed an unprecedented defensive weapon that relies on an extremely rare radioactive element--and Dirk Pitt has followed a twisted trail to a secret cache of the substance. Now, racing against brutal storms, Soviet spies, and a ticking clock, Pitt begins his most thrilling mission--to raise from its watery grave the shipwreck of the century...
-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Yet another action packed, thrilling adventure starring the ever entertaining Dirk Pitt. Raise the Titanic is full of danger, intrigue and espionage as Pitt and crew battle the Soviets and a brutal hurricane while trying to raise the Titanic from the depths of the Atlantic. Clive Cussler is great at putting his readers right in the midst of the excitment!

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:

Jerome K. Jerome's comic classic Three Men in a Boat (To say nothing of the Dog!) is unsinkable. One of the most widely read and beloved works of British fiction it has never fallen out of print since it first came out in 1889, but rather has been translated into many languages and even turned into a teleplay by Tom Stoppard.

The most ordinary circumstances turn hilarious as J., an idler who exhibits a "general disinclination to work of any kind," and his friends journey up the Thames River. Getting into many scrapes along the way, the friends consider "assaulting a policeman" just to have "a night's lodging in the station-house," when they get lost, but ultimately reject the proposition, fearful that he would hit them back without locking them up. The real scene stealer, though, is Montmorency, a small fox terrier who appears to be "born with about four times as much original sin in [him] as other dogs are." - taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:

Three Men in a Boat is a very funny travelogue/comedy novel. It was very entertaining with all the misadventure that seemed to follow these fellows up the Thames. You never knew what might happen next. This book is well know for it's timeless feel. It was written in the 19th century but the writing and the humor seem ageless. It reminded me of a Bill Bryson travel book. Three Men in a Boat is lively and amusing, and a quick read too at under 200 pages.

House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker

Rating: 2.0

What it's about:

A mind-bending supernatural thriller from the creators of This Present Darkness and Showdown.

Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker - two of the most acclaimed writers of supernatural thrillers - have joined forces for the first time to craft a story unlike any you've ever read. Enter House - where you'll find yourself thrown into a killer's deadly game in which the only way to win is to lose...and the only way out is in.

The stakes of the game become clear when a tin can is tossed into the house with rules scrawled on it. Rules that only a madman - or worse - could have written. Rules that make no sense yet must be followed.

One game. Seven players. Three rules. Game ends at dawn.

-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:

I was disappointed in House for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I wasn't impressed with the writing. This is the first book I've read by either Frank Peretti or Ted Dekker. Now I don't know if the collaboration threw these guys off or if they just don't have much writing skill. I haven't given up on them yet but suffice it to say....I wasn't dazzled.

Secondly, the story pretty much sucked. I didn't realize (until after I finished it) that this is a "Christian" book. It's published by WestBow Press who publish much of the top Christian and Inspirational books. Now I don't have a problem with that but it does explain why I felt preached at while reading this. I was starting to get a little annoyed at about the hundredth time of hearing how we are all sinners. That pet peeve asside, the story still wasn't very good. It just seemed to drag on and on. There were about two parts that really made me cringe (in a good way) and some of the ideas were nicely original (which is this novels saving grace) but not enough good to overcome the bad. The good vs. evil, light vs. dark themes were just too blatant and conspicuous for my taste.

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Barbara Kingsolver's fifth novel is a hymn to wildness that celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature, and of nature itself. It weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives amid the mountains and farms of southern Appalachia. Over the course of one humid summer, this novel's intriguing protagonists face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with which they necessarily share a place.

My thoughts:
This is the second time (so far) that I've read Prodigal Summer and I love it just as much as I did the first time. This thought provoking novel is full of so much relevant dialogue. And I never thought I'd learn so much about the natural world just by reading a novel! There are in depth discussions about coyotes and predator/prey relationships as well as insects and a whole host of other living creatures. There are interesting arguments about the use of pesticides and the harm that they do. But this book isn't just about trees and coyotes, it's about human interaction as well. Prodigal Summer is a fascinating, beautiful testament to nature.