Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I first read The Hunger Games a month or two ago and although I was entertained, I thought there were a lot of major flaws with the book. It seemed like a rip off of other YA books that were much better--Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion as one example. I wasn't even going to read the sequel Catching Fire until I found a downloadable audiobook version that I could listen to while I was at work. That further unimpressed me...it was far too much like Twilight in the love-angst department and made Katniss Everdeen (best name ever?) seem like Bella.v2.

Despite my lack of praise for the first two books I felt invested enough in the series to continue on with the third (and there was so much press going around that I felt I had to!). After reading the final installment of the series, I have to say that for the first time ever, I found the last book of a series to be the best. A pretty amazing feat!

With the first two books I took major issue with the whole idea of the hunger games (children being selected to participate in a killing fest on tv?). We were never given a thorough explanation as to how these horrendously barbaric games had come about and why children were used instead of adults. We were expected to take it at face value, which I always find a hard time doing. I love unusual concepts, but they need to be explained so I can understand how they make sense in that world.

The final book was complex and gritty. Things weren't perfect and simply realized, good vs. evil, etc. Katniss really had to come to terms with a lot of things and figure out what she stood for apart from it all.

And in the end, she had to decide who she loved most of all.

I agree with all the criticism about how poorly drawn Gale's character was in the book, but I have to say I thought Peeta or at least the essence of what Suzanne Collins was trying to portray in Peeta came across loud and clear to me. I loved the ending and I thought it was extremely accomplished. You could definitely see how her writing progressed throughout these three books and I can now say I'm excited to see what else she has in store.

Was it worth the read?
Yes. As I said, it's the best book of the three, although you have to read the first two to get meaning out of the last.

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

Heart of the Matter is simply a book that doesn't have much heart. It tells the story of two women; the wife and the "other woman." Tessa (the wife) has recently quit her job as a professor to become a stay-at-home mom to her two kids. Valerie (the other woman) is a single mom and career woman whose life revolves around her son Charlie. When Charlie gets into an accident Tessa's "perfect" husband becomes his pediatric surgeon and so his relationship with Valerie begins...

Don't think I'm giving away some huge secret by revealing this affair, because that is what the entire book revolves around and it's obvious from early on. The book alternates between Tessa's and Valerie's points of view as the affair progresses. The characters just seem pretty cliche and it feels as though Giffin only brushes the surface. I didn't find either woman particularly likeable, and by the end I was almost glad to be done with them.

The premise behind the novel definitely isn't anything new, but the way in which Giffin presented it was different. I found myself intrigued at first with the alternating perspectives, but the story just didn't develop enough to really keep my interest.

Was it worth the read?

No. I found myself very disappointed in the end and a little bit depressed. I think Giffin should stick to lighter fare until she comes up with a story with more originality and dimension. She has potential, but she hasn't fulfilled it with Heart of the Matter.

Thirst No.1 & 2 by Christopher Pike

My sister and I have always been fans of Christopher Pike; we started reading his teen novels at a young age and always turn to his books when we're looking for something interesting and unpredictable to read. His Thirst series is another example of his incredible imagination and it's a great summer read.

The series revolves around Alisa Perne, a 500-year-old vampire that to most of the outside world is just another innocent, young, blond girl. As we soon learn, Alisa is really anything but innocent - living through five centuries can really alter one's view on the world and Alisa's perspective on life is pretty interesting. Sometimes her actions made me cringe, but I still couldn't help but be pulled in by this strong, empowered, intelligent female character.

Alisa's story is a classic that a lot of people can relate to - all she really wants is to live a normal life, but her past keeps coming back to haunt her. There are some great flashbacks to her previous lives in India, Ancient Egypt and Europe as well as an ongoing plot involving Alisa's relationship with Krishna whom she met centuries ago.


Was it worth the read?

Yes. Pike's interpretation of vampires is definitely one of the best that I have come across. Unlike the sparkling vampires of a certain popular series, Pike's vampires seem like they could really be living among us - his explanations of their powers, weaknesses and beginnings are all very believable. Like many of his novels, Thirst combines a mixture of supernatural elements, religion, history and romance and it makes for a truly epic tale.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson

The third and final book in the trilogy starts off with Lisbeth Salander at a hospital, unconscious with a bullet lodged in her brain. Her psychopathic father lies two doors down with an axe wound to his head. The craziness has begun.

I had heard some rumblings about this book, mainly that there were too many secondary characters and too much focus on them. Aside from one especially long background explanation of one of the Sapo men, I found the side story of Erika Berger and the insight into Monica Figuerola to be entertaining and I thought they added a lot to Larsson's exploration of "men who hate women".

The book, like it's predecessors was long at 563 pages for a hardcover book, but the length was something I loved because it meant just that much more time I would get to spend in Lisbeth's world. I finished the book satisfied, but with a heavy heart knowing that this was the last thing Larsson had ever wrote. There are talks of a partial fourth manuscript on his girlfriend's computer, but now I've heard there is a big dispute over his estate and the contents of this manuscript will probably take years to make it into the public eye. The whole thing is tragic, and so eerily like one of his books that it makes you wonder.

Was it worth the read?

Yes. Lisbeth's long list of enemies finally get their comeuppance, and they get it in a meticulously thought out, hit em' where it hurts kind of way. It's gratifying to the extreme, with a great court scene at the end. Long live Lisbeth!

Posting vacation

It was my goal when we started this blog to post at least one thing every month. Five months in and I've already broken it! The last month was full of amazing weather (the first of it's kind in Toronto in a long, LONG time) and one amazing trip to Portugal. But now we're back and ready to blog!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

My sister and I picked up the first and second books in this series by Steig Larsson after seeing the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in theatres. We both enjoyed the movie and figured that the books had to be good as well. She reviewed the second book earlier, so here are my thoughts on the first.

The plot and the characters in the movie were so intriguing that I wanted to see if the book would provide further details, and it did. The characters were all well developed and interesting and despite the fact that I already knew the story, I was still pulled into the mystery. You find out more about the lives of Mikael and Lisbeth and gain a deeper understanding of the Vanger family history. There were some pretty disturbing scenes in the movie that made me a bit uncomfortable but they weren't depicted too graphically in the book. The translation from novel to film was definitely done well, there were a few things left out and some small changes to the story but it really stayed true to the book. Overall, Larsson created a well-thought out story and it is more than just your typical crime/mystery thriller. It touched on some interesting and important themes, and I felt like I had actually learned some new things after reading it.


Was it worth the read?

Yes. As soon as I finished it I found myself wanting to read the next novel in the series.

The Other Side of Paradise by Staceyann Chin

This memoir details the trying, and turbulent young life of Staceyann Chin, a half Chinese, half Jamaican girl growing up in Jamaica. Staceyann and her brother have different fathers, and have been raised by their grandmother since their mother abandoned them to go to Canada. Eventually Staceyann is separated from her family and moves through various homes, all the while trying to succeed in school so that she can be someone someday. Her journey is not made easy as she struggles with unresolved feelings towards her family and tries to deal with the racism and sexual harassment that she is subjected to on a regular basis.

The book is well written and the way that Staceyann describes her surroundings and feelings made me feel as if I was right there watching her grow up.I found it really interesting to learn about Jamaican culture as I've never really read a book set in the country.

Was it worth the read?

Definitely. The book can get kind of depressing, but I never wanted to put it down because I became invested in the characters' lives and was interested to see how they turned out. Staceyann is a strong and determined girl that you can't help rooting for. Her vivid descriptions and the harsh realities that she portrayed really made the story come to life.

Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

I read Dorothea Benton Frank's debut novel, Sullivan's Island, several years ago and loved it. When I saw that there was a sequel I was really excited to read it. The book focuses on Beth, the daughter of Susan (the main character from the original story). Beth has just finished university and has deferred her graduate studies to look after the old house on Sullivan's Island for a year, something she is both dreading and looking forward to at the same time.

The premise sounds promising, but it really falls short of the magic of the original novel. Frank still has some of that low country charm, but the story is just not strong. If you're looking to be comforted by familiar characters, then you're out of luck because they don't play that large a role in this novel.I thought I would be able to relate to Beth really easily as she is in pretty much the same situation as I am (just graduated, trying to figure out life, etc.), but the story was just too unrealistic to take seriously.

Was it worth the read?

Probably not. It just seemed like a really amateur story compared to the original, but it did make me want to reread Sullivan's Island.

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson

Last weekend I went to see the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I enjoyed the murder-mystery so much that I went and bought the sequel novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire. The book is huge and it's a testament to Larsson's writing that I finished the whole thing last night.

If you can't tell yet, I love strong female characters. After one weekend Lisbeth Salander has already made her way into my top five. At four-foot-eleven and 90lbs with the face of a teenager, Lisbeth's appearance doesn't immediately strike fear in the eyes of her enemies. Yet everyone who crosses her path in the wrong way finds out soon enough that her looks are more than a little deceiving. Whether it's using her keys as brass knuckles to punch out a thug who's trying to kidnap her, or using her wonderful brain to crack any computer security system that tries to keep her out, Lisbeth is a force to be reckoned with.

The novel drags a bit in the middle (how could it not with over 752 pages?), but even the slower parts have their purpose. Some great new characters are introduced that weren't in the first book and the relentlessly good Mikhail Bloomkvist is back and going at it working for Millennium.

Was it worth the read?

Yes. If length scares you off, just know that the writing is superb; straightforward, with a great flow. Larsson's trilogy (the third book comes out in a couple of months), is one of the best stories of the decade. Also, see the movie if you can--it's top notch.

Sidenote: I found out that Larsson died of a massive heart attack shortly after submitting the three manuscripts for this trilogy.

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

Sookie is back--and the cover is awesome! This is the book I've been waiting for all year...so did Ms. Harris do it again? Or is Sookie going the way of Anita Blake?

I have to admit I read some reviews online before I started the book (I needed to know if my expectations were going to be met!). The reviews were really mixed, the main complaint was that the novel didn't have one main cohesive story to tie everything together. I can see where the reviews were coming from, but I felt like after the last novel's explosive events Sookie needed a break from mayhem and madness. Not to say there aren't some deaths–there are–but I felt like we were getting back to the heart of Sookie, along with easing the readers into her and Eric's relationship.

The novel also did a great job of setting up the next book, which is sure to have a lot of game-changing events.

It was just so nice to be in Sookie's world again and find out what's been going on with the characters I've come to love. There's a great side-story about Bill and another about Sookie's nephew, that could have easily turned into a "jump the shark" moment, but managed to make sense.

Was it worth the read?

Yes, of course. Ten books into the series and Sookie is still Sookie, a great feat for any writer, and a real reading treat!

Lullabies For Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill

The story follows 12-year-old Baby as she straddles the fine line between childhood and becoming an adult. This isn't your average coming of age story though. Baby lives with her 26-year-old father Jules, who looks and acts more like her brother than her dad and has a big problem with "chocolate milk"–his code name for heroin. Jules can't hold a job, so he and Baby move from apartment to apartment in the Red Light District of Montreal.

Through the eyes of Baby, the seedy underbelly of Montreal is where the nicest people are those on heroin and one of the coolest things to become is a prostitute. Baby's innocent observations of a lifestyle that most people would run screaming from, are fascinating, disturbing and whimsically beautiful all at once. O'Neill's writing is so rich and detailed that you have to wonder if it's all really fiction, although for her own sake, you hope it is.

Was it worth the read?

Yes. I couldn't stop reading it and rooting for Baby all the way. Please write a follow-up Ms. O'Neill!

Book Bites

• I have been so excited about The Reckoning (see review below) that I somehow missed the release of the second Kelley Armstrong charity book, Tales of the Otherworld. The book is the follow up to Men of the Otherworld, both were anthologies from her web novellas mixed with some new stuff, all proceeds go to the World Literacy of Canada charity. You can order the book here. It's on my list!


• Harper Connelly is becoming a comic book! I'm not a huge fan of comics. I'm too impatient to read the story in small bits and pieces, I always want to read the whole thing at once–I'm still waiting for Buffy season 8 to become one big omnibus. Either way, I'm really curious to see how Harper and Tolliver are portrayed and I'm definitely going to take a look.


• Countdown to Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris: 13 days! I've got to remember to pre-order it, last year I didn't do it in time and had to buy it full price at the bookstore–which I almost never do :S The last Sookie book was a bit of a let down and way more disturbing than necessary, I'm hoping that this one brings it all back and from the name of the title it seems like it could do just that.

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

This is the final book in Kelley Armstrong's first YA trilogy. It picked up right where the action of the last one left off. Fast-paced, yet detailed, with characters that are so well-drawn not one word feels off. There's no doubt that Kelley is one of, if not the best, fantasy/sci-fi/horror writers out there. I enjoyed the book so much that I stayed up late desperate to find out what happened.

Chloe Saunders and her friends are still on the run from the evil Lyle House, a school for "special" kids, which turned out to be more of a laboratory for creating super-powered supernaturals rather than a safe haven for troubled teens.

The final book deals with the Chloe-Simon-Derek triangle and creates a "Bella/Edward" couple out of Chloe and Derek, that I'm sure hundreds of teen girls will love (I loved it!). The difference is that Chloe and Derek are equals and their relationship is actually realistic and (thank god) HEALTHY.

It's a testament to the book that the only thing I didn't like was the ending. I was left wanting more...this can't be the end of Chloe, Derek, Simon and Tori. The journey, in a lot of ways, seemed to just be beginning. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, Kelley said that her next YA book "The Gathering" is going to be about two teens who are in the same world as Chloe's...knowing how Kelley does things I'm crossing my fingers that these teens are going to run into Chloe and the gang and we'll get to find out what they've been up to.

Was it worth the read?

Yes. Make sure you read the entire trilogy in order and then read all of Kelley's other Otherworld books!

Don't you want me? by India Knight

I actually read this book five years ago. I had spent the summer in Greece on a small island where any book you came across you read (and loved) just because they were so hard to come by. I was packing up to go home to Toronto knowing I had a long trip ahead of me (a ferry, a bus, another ferry, a train and then a plane) and nothing to read. My British friend pulled a tattered copy of Don't You Want Me out of her bag and put it in my suitcase. I became so engrossed with the chick lit book on the bus that I ignored the very cute guy sitting next to me who wanted to chat...for the entire four hour ride! The markings of a very good book.

At first glance it looks like a low-grade chick-lit novel not worth a second glance, but India Knight's story about 38-year-old, single mother Stella, her baby daughter Honey and her ginger, artist roommate Frank is hilarious and scrumptious--the total chick-lit treat!

It was just as good now as when I read it on that Mediterranean bus ride five years ago. I've looked India Knight up to learn she's a British journalist/author who had an earlier novel that got rave reviews. I'm going to have to check it out!

Was it worth the read?
Yes, please find it and read it! So much fun and totally delicious.

Night's Edge by Charlaine Harris, Maggie Shayne and Barbara Hambly

I'm normally not into short stories, but I've been trying to catch up on all of Charlaine Harris's Sookie mini stories so I had to check this out.

Dancers in the Dark by Charlaine Harris
At first I didn't put two and two together to realize that the dancers featured in this short story are the same dancers Sookie met at the ball in New Orleans. I remember being intrigued by them when I read the book and wondering if they were going to play a bigger part later on...well they got their own prequel and it is definitely a treat!

Her Best Enemy by Maggie Shayne
Kind of cheesy, felt more romance novel like, but the story definitely picked up the pace. Journalist Kiley Brigham buys a house dirt cheap only to realize it's haunted, she ends up consulting psychic Jack McCain who she (of course) falls in love with as they investigate the mystery. The story was fun and spooky, as far as short stories go it was pretty entertaining.

Someone Else's Shadow by Barbara Hambly
This was the final story in the book and it was definitely not a case of saving the best for last. For a short story there sure was a lot of rambling and the characters didn't make any sense--it was a total skimmer, if that.

Was it worth the read?

For Harris and Shayne, yes! If you have to read Hambly, maybe do so first? I think I was so disappointed because I'd been so pleasantly surprised by the first two that I expected a lot by the time I got to the third entry. Another success for Charlaine!

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

After reading and really enjoying the Time Traveler’s Wife, I was excited when my friend leant me another of Audrey Niffenegger’s books, Her Fearful Symmetry. The story centres around Valentina and Julia, 20-year-old American 'mirror' twins who are wandering through life aimlessly and still living with their parents in the suburbs of Chicago. Their life takes an exciting turn when they inherit an apartment in London from their estranged aunt (the twin of their mother). From here the novel gets pretty complicated, but to sum it up their new life in London is filled with eccentric neighbours, ghosts and deeply buried family secrets. The novel starts off promisingly, and it’s undeniable that Niffenegger has a certain way with words, but I found that the story just got a bit out of control and was too unrealistic. In The Time Traveler’s Wife, Niffenegger was able to take a science-fiction concept and portray it extremely realistically, but she fails to do the same with Her Fearful Symmetry. I felt that it was a lot harder to connect with the characters and a lot of the plot twists were just a bit absurd. It seems like she tried to cram too much into one story and in the process lost a lot of the human emotion and connection that made me love the Time Traveler’s Wife. There are still some poignant passages and an enjoyable sub-plot but the story as a whole just never quite came together for me.

Was it worth the read?

I would have to say no. It’s definitely an interesting story, and the ridiculous plot is what kept me reading, but I was left unsatisfied and a bit disturbed in the end.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caThe Namesake isn't a new book and the movie version came out a couple of years ago, but I've been meaning to read it for awhile and saw it at the library last week.

The novel follows a young Bengali woman's move from Calcutta to Boston, Massachusetts as she starts her arranged marriage to a fellow Bengali who is working toward his Ph.D in engineering. The story continues as they begin to create a family in a country that is not their home. The book really acutely captures the experience of many second-generation children born in North America, those who have parents who strongly carry the traditions of their respective countries and how delicate the balance between becoming American and staying true to your roots can be.

Was it worth the read?

Yes. Jhumpa Lahiri has a way of writing and observing things that make the minutiae of everyday life seem beautiful and special in their own right. The book had a simple flow to it that I found really relaxing and I loved learning about Bengali culture.

The Spellmans Strike Back by Lisa Lutz

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caUntil today I hadn't posted any reviews in almost a month. That's not because I haven't read any books...I've read lots of books. It's just that there haven't been many good books. I feel like most of the reviews I've written so far have been negative and it starts to take the fun out of writing a review. Well finally I have some good news...I read a GOOD book!

The Spellmans Strike Back is the fourth novel in Lisa Lutz's Spellman series and I think it was hinted that it might be the last, but I really hope not! The Spellman's are this seriously lovingly dysfunctional family who run a private investigation business. The book follows middle sibling Isabel Spellman, who's poised to take on the family business. At 32, Isabel may have finally grown up. She's got a boyfriend (the bartender at her favourite watering hole) and her court-ordered psychiatrist sessions ("read previous file"–as they like to say in the book) seem to have done her some good. Still, her mother still won't leave her alone. Not happy with her choice of companion she blackmails Isabel into going on a date with a lawyer once a month. Between these super funny dates,the doorknobs that keep mysteriously disappearing in her parent's house, her sister's obsession with "Freeing Schmidt" and much, much more, Isabel has got a lot to deal with and the results are a mix of suspense and hilarity that make for a really good read.

All the characters I've come to love were back and the best part of all was that Isabel really has seemed to finally grow up. You can't help but feel really happy for the Spellman's and wish your family ran a detective agency too!

Was it worth the read?

Obviously, YES! So good! Read it and read the previous three too!!!

Angelology by Danielle Trussoni

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caI work for a magazine publishing company. I'm not an editor, but a lot of my friends are and I sometimes get the lucky chance to read a book I'm curious about before it has even come out.

One of these books is Angelology.

I looked it up online because I liked the cover and couldn't tell if it was a book for teens or adults. There was already a wikipedia entry for it talking about a bidding war over the movie rights by some of Hollywood's biggest film companies.

It got me excited. Was I about to get a sneak peak at the next big blockbusting book?

Considering I haven't written this post till now, and I had the book way back in early February I can safely say no, this was not the epic masterpiece I had hoped for.

The novel had a promising start introducing the 19-year-old Angeline who's spent most of her life in a convent and wants nothing more than to continue being a nun. I found this incredibly intriguing, as it's supposed to be modern day and I don't think I've ever heard of a 19-year-old nun!

Angeline works in the convent library and receives a letter asking for access to some archives, archives she begins to wonder herself about.

Meanwhile in the heart of New York, Percival Gregori (isn't that an awesome name for a villain?) is ordering a young graduate student to drive up to the convent and find out more about these mysterious archives. We then follow Percival back to his luxurious Manhattan apartment and find out why he appears to be in so much pain and why he's so urgent to get his hands on these archives.

These are by far the best scenes of the book.

The author tries to create this epic story of otherworldly creatures who live among us (the big trend nowadays--thanks Twilight!), but isn't a strong enough writer yet to handle the number of twists and turns and the depth that a successful story like that requires.

The structure of the book was not well organized and the ending was almost ridiculous. This is not a story that needs multiple books to be told and yet that seems to be exactly what is trying to be done, at the cost of a respectful ending.

Was it worth the read?

No, don't bother! As a movie though, I think the sore points of the book would work well on the big scree, it has potential.

The Lunatic Cafe, Bloody Bones and The Killing Dance By Laurell K. Hamilton

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caSo I continued delving into the world of Anita Blake and after another three books (six in total), I think I can say I'm finally done with them.

It was the solid murder mysteries that kept me through the first four books, but by the fifth book things began to get muddled. I was skipping pages and rolling my eyes way too much, but I kept going with the hope that things would get back on track. They didn't.

Anita's personal life never struck a chord with me to begin with. Her two loves interests aren't fully developed characters and the whole situation (if vampires and werewolves existed) seems entirely implausible. Two of the most powerful men in the supernatural world somehow both are in love with Anita (one after only knowing her for a couple of months), are ok with dating her at the same time and respect her decision to wait till marriage to have sex....what??? They're putty in her hands and sometimes you have to wonder why.

The books start to focus more and more on this, kind of ridiculous, menage a trois. This in the fifth and sixth books combined with the author's personal afterwords detailing the end of her marriage, the loss of her virginity and the discovery of the depth of her sexuality mark the point of no return. Anita stops being a tough and jaded vampire executioner and instead becomes Laurell K. Hamilton's vehicle for unfulfilled fantasies.

Was it worth the read?

Yes. I enjoyed getting to know Anita's world and the mysteries made for great subway reading. I was always curious to see what these were all about, but I can see where the rest of the series is going and there's only so much "Anita you are amazing..." I can take!!!

After the Falls By Catherine Gildiner

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caMy friend bought me Catherine Gildiner's first book "Too Close to the Falls" as a birthday present when I was still in high school. Years later I still have some vivid memories of the book, I think it was the first memoir I had ever read.

I was excited when I finally got After the Falls from the library. As soon as I started reading it I fell right back into the quirky life of Cathy and her family.

Cathy's story more or less continues where it left off in the last book, but all too soon Cathy begins to grow up and as she does her view of the world and the innocence with which she once viewed it begin to falter.

The book starts off strong but seems to lose it's focus as we get to Cathy's university years. She seems less candid with her thoughts at this point and the personal memoir starts to feel more like a recount of politics in the sixties.

The author seems to try and reel everything back into focus at the end by focusing on her family again, but the effect is very abrupt and leaves the story unfinished.

Was it worth the read?

Not for me. I would have rather left my memories of Cathy and her eccentric family back in Lewiston, where life was a little less complicated.

Grave Secret By Charlaine Harris

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caAs an avid (or is that rabid?) Sookie Stackhouse fan, I've been constantly looking for books of equal quality to fill my time between installments. When I read the first book in the Harper Connelly series I was immediately hooked. Charlaine Harris is a wonderful writer –her characters are richly layered and her background in amateur sleuth novels always promises a gripping read.

Harper's got a gift in the same vein as Sookie. But instead of reading other people's minds she can read the last moment of a dead person's life. And unlike Sookie, Harper wasn't born with this gift–it was a side affect of being hit by lightning.

She's turned this gift into a job and goes state to state with Tolliver trying to give peace to the families that hire her to find out more about their beloved deceased. Usually these deaths turn out to have more than meets the eye and Harper ends up knee deep in mystery. The fourth book in this series is no exception.

Harper and Tolliver are settling into their new relationship as a couple and it's only fitting that this is the novel where their troubled family past finally comes to the forefront. They're back in Texas, their home state, visiting their two young sisters who were adopted by their aunt and uncle, running into Tolliver's recently released ex-convict father, and meeting up with the detective who has never stopped helping them look for their missing sister Cameron.

I thought this was going to be the craziest, most emotionally involved story yet. There were some good things set in place to start the drama ball rolling, like when Tolliver becomes bedridden and Harper has to go out on her own. I thought this was going to be really significant, because there's always been a lot of emphasis placed on how much Harper relies on Tolliver and how she couldn't do a lot of the things she does without him. But the theme didn't really seem to pan out.

In fact, "not panning out" seemed to be the biggest theme in the book. The mystery Harper gets involved with at the beginning never becomes as tangled and heart-thumping as we've come to expect and the relationships between Tolliver and his father and Harper and Iona don't really get resolved. But the biggest let down by far was the Cameron mystery. It seemed to only really occupy the end of the book and it felt more like a device used to bring more gravitas to the plot...but a little to late and without much impact.

The book wasn't bad, but I've just come to expect such well-thought out mysteries from Charlaine Harris and considering that this seems to be the final book in the series, I felt the characters deserved a much bigger and more thorough send off.

Was it worth the read?

Yes. Even a mediocre Charlaine Harris book is a good book. I just hope she hones her series finale writing skills before she finishes the Sookie books!

Outlander By Diana Gabaldon

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caAfter reading The Time Traveller's Wife I went online to read what other people had said about it and came across a recommendation for Outlander, which was first published in 1991.

The story starts in 1945, the war has ended and nurse Claire Randall is enjoying a second honeymoon of sorts in Scotland with her husband Frank, whom she hasn't seen in over seven years.

A series of events lead Claire to revisit the stone circle of Craigh Na Dun alone. On this visit she touches the stones only to be transported back about 200 years to the highlander times of Scotland.

Almost immediately she gets kidnapped by a Scottish clan and sets off on a wild adventure all the while trying to find her way back to the circle of stones and Frank.

Claire is a great heroine, smart and plucky in a very believable way. Her observations and comparisons of life in 20th century versus life in the 18th century are always interesting and keep you wanting to learn more.

She strikes up a friendship with Jamie, the young man she helps heal on her first night and after a series of events is forced to marry him for her own safety...in the same church she marries her husband Frank 200 years later. The arranged marriage ends up being more than she bargained for when she finds herself falling deeply in love with Jamie. She's in a constant struggle with her feelings for her new life and the one she left behind.

If you've ever read The Mists of Avalon (one of my favourite books) you'll enjoy reading Outlander, for the detail with which Diana Gabaldon writes about life in 18th century Scotland.

It's a highly absorbing book, although halfway through reading it I was shocked to find out there were SEVEN more books in the series. Outlander in paperback is over 800 pages long, long enough for you to fully immerse yourself in Claire's life and long enough for most of a good story to be told. I could understand if it was a trilogy (actually a trilogy would have been amazing!), but seven books?

By the end of the first book it did feel like the story was already being stretched out. Claire's been kidnapped a couple of times, Jamie's been kidnapped (and horrifically tortured, in ways I found completely unnecessary) a couple of times. Enough with the kidnapping, what's next?!

Was it worth the read?

I loved the first two thirds of the book, enough that I've already told my sister she has to read it. But by the time I finished the book I was not in any mood to read the next one. Though for the sake of a great heroine like Claire I will...but I can't promise I'll read all seven!

Nanny Returns By Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caSomeone at my work was sent a copy of Nanny Returns in advanced and I luckily got my hands on it. I hadn't seen any press for it and had no idea a sequel was being written.

I loved The Nanny Diaries and remembered how emotionally invested I felt in the relationship between Nan and Grayer. It was one of my favourite books at the time...but I don't think I ever wished for a sequel.

And that was my major problem with this book...but I'll get to that!

So Nan is now ten years older and married to "Harvard hottie" Ryan (a relationship I always found a little hollow). For the past ten years they've been travelling all over Africa with his UN job while she's been finishing her masters. The story picks up when they move back to New York, buy a dilapidated brownstone in Harlem and start having issues over whether or not to procreate.

How do Nan and the X family reunite? A 16 year old Grayer knocks on her door one night, drunk, upset and asking her why she left her job babysitting him ten years ago. This was the first moment of...hmmm that I had reading the book. What 16 year old boy would ever, EVER do something like that?

At least it kick starts the series of events that lead Nan to:
1) get a job at Grayer's school,
2) become a non-paid nanny for Grayer's younger brother Stilton and
3) have several encounters with Mrs.X, the woman of her nightmares.

All the other storylines that don't involve the X family stuff feel an awful lot like filler–Nan fighting to save a teacher from being fired and Nan getting in a fight with a recently found old friend are two to name a few.

Even though Nan seemed to constantly refer to how much older/wiser/mature she was now, nothing she did or said seemed to imply that anything had changed.

The book was a bit long and definitely hollow in places, but the magic that made Nan and Grayer's relationship so truthful could definitely still be found in some places. The problem was, it wasn't enough to fill an entire book.

Was it worth the read?

For someone who loved the first book, wanted a little extra closure and doesn't mind wading through all the other stuff, YES!

For everyone else, I would borrow it from the library...it can wait.

Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse, and Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton

Images from Chapters.Indigo.caI thoroughly enjoy a good supernatural themed book, so I finally decided to take the plunge and have now read the first three Anita Blake novels from Laurell K. Hamilton.

I've heard a lot of mixed things about her books that were what put me off till now, but I was in need of something new to read and I love when I have a whole series lying out in front of me (there are 17 Anita Blake books to read!).

My verdict about the series? I'm still undecided!

I know that's not a very good review, but this is how my reading went:

Book 1 (Guilty Pleasures): A little boring at times, but that could be because it was written in 1991 and (I'm guessing) was one of the first books made for this genre...almost twenty years later having grown up on Buffy and Kelley Armstrong, none of this seems new to me. I was feeling really blah about it until the end, where I got sucked in and wanted to know what happened next.

Book 2 (The Laughing corpse): Best book so far. Really creepy. Went to creepy levels that shocked me because the books I read usually don't go that far, but it was very effective and kept me in suspense. Great ending, I had to read the next book.

Book 3 (Circus of the Damned): I really didn't enjoy this book. Sometimes Anita feels too remote for me to relate to and her situation seems so implausible. I like supernatural books where everything makes sense for the world in which they live. I was about to give up on the series (at least for awhile) when the ending of the story started to pick up and things started to fall into place. Things were more believable and also got so much more interesting.

Were they worth the read?

Yes. Anita's life does seem like it could span out over seventeen books (unlike Claire's life in the Outlander series). I heard it starts to get pretty ridiculous at some point, but I don't think I'm there yet so I'll keep enjoying the books while I can!

My favourite books of 2009

Images from Chapters.Indigo.ca

As the first post of this blog and the first week of the new year I thought it would make sense to name the books I enjoyed most in 2009.

5. Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong

I've loved Kelley Armstrong since her first (amazing) book Bitten. I don't know how she came out with so many books this year, but I'm so glad she did! I wasn't particularly interested in this topic, but I read everything she writes. Most of her Otherworld books are written from the female's perspective, so this was the first book focused solely on the men. It was surprisingly really rich in content and offered up a lot of new and interesting info on beloved characters. I'm hoping for a sequel!

4. The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman

Someone very close to me passed away this year and this was the book I read right after everything happened. It's a chic lit book, but the best of its kind...a fairy tale full of love and laughter. The sequel, The Accidental Family, literally just appeared on my desk at work one day when I really needed it. Rowan Coleman's writing has been my medicine for the year.

3. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Another Kelley book...this was her first foray into the young adult genre. The book felt fresh with the right amount of spookiness mixed with teen spunk. I've already read the second book in this trilogy and I can't wait for the third one which comes out in May!

2. The Sookie Stackhouse Collection by Charlaine Harris

My sister and I were going to Japan and needed something to read on the 17 hour flight. I bought the collection (at full price!) because I thought the show was fun and was curious to see how it came about. In the end it was 100% worth it. We devoured the books. Pure campy, delicious, fictional fun. The next book comes out in May!

1. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I'd heard about this book, but it never caught my interest until I saw it recommended in the Bakka Phoenix Bookstore (an amazing sci-fi bookshop in Toronto). I ordered it through the library (I like to borrow books before I decide to buy them) and was surprised at the 100+ waiting list...for a book published in 2003? Anyways, when I finally got it I couldn't put it down. It was the a love story so classic, I couldn't believe I had only just read it.

I've always loved reading and am always looking for new great books.
Cheers to a 2010 full of wonderful reading!