Review & Giveaway: Crumbs Aren’t Enough by Raquel Whiting Gilmer

16 September 2013 by Melissa

Join Raquel Whiting Gilmer, author of the chick lit book, Crumbs Aren’t Enough, as she tours the blogosphere September 2 – November 29, 2013 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

ABOUT CRUMBS AREN’T ENOUGH

With $80,000 in student debt, an alter ego named Crazy Charlie, and more than her fair share of hang-ups, Charlie Bennett is on a mission: a mission to feel better about herself.

By all accounts this shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, Charlie has graduated from the best universities, has good friends to keep her sane, and an impressive resume to boot. But her poor choices in men (and therapists) have left Charlie feeling fat, fretful, and fed up. She knows something has to change–she’s just not sure what.

When the elevator doors open and Jack Hudson appears with his perfect smile and perfect teeth, Charlie thinks she’s found her answer. A Taye Diggs lookalike who sees through Charlie’s imperfections, Jack could be The One–and not just because he can make strawberry shortcake from scratch. But as their relationship develops without any sign of a commitment, Charlie is left grabbing for crumbs yet again.

Add to Goodreads:

My Thoughts:

When the folks at Pump Up Your Book offered me the opportunity to read and review Crumbs Aren’t Enough they described it as chick-lit, and I guess it technically is, if you consider chick-lit to be any contemporary novel with an unmarried female protagonist and a generally upbeat tone. Certainly Rachel Whiting Gilmer’s book meets all those criteria.

But this is where I have a problem, because to me, the term “chick-lit” implies a degree of fluffiness that this book doesn’t have. I have nothing against fluffy mind-candy novels. Some of them are well written. Most of them are incredibly entertaining. It’s just that this book goes far, far beyond that.

Charlie, the protagonist, is more than just the book’s POV character, although since the story is told in first person, EVERYTHING is from her point of view. She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s upwardly mobile…and she’s also both flawed and aware of her flaws. More than that she sets out to correct them.

I could rehash the plot. I could talk about how Charlie is torn between Taye Diggs look-alike Jack and on-again/off-again Michael. I could talk about how she uses therapy as a crutch. I could analyze the different plot twists, some of which were predictable, and some were not.

I could tell you that Gilmer’s writing style is fresh and clean and really, really readable.

But I’m not going to, because what I want to do is say this: Crumbs Aren’t Enough should be required reading for every woman who has ever not loved her job, not chosen the right man, and not been pleased with her own body.

Is there a love story in this book? Well, there’s romance, and there’s dating and all that entails, but yes, there is a love story, too, of the best kind, and – I’m risking spoilers here – it’s because ultimately our heroine, our Charlie – falls in love with herself.

Goes well with…

… Grilled chicken Caesar salad and mango iced tea, followed by a dark chocolate brownie.

http://www.raquelwhiting.com/

Pump Up Your Book and Raquel Whiting Gilmer are teaming up to give you a chance to win a $200 Amazon Gift Card!

Here’s how it works:

Each person will enter this giveaway by liking, following, subscribing and tweeting about this giveaway through the Rafflecopter form placed on blogs throughout the tour. If your blog isn’t set up to accept the form, we offer another way for you to participate by having people comment on your blog then directing them to where they can fill out the form to gain more entries.

This promotion will run from September 2 – November 29. The winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted by email and announced on November 30, 2013.

Each blogger who participates in the Crumbs Aren’t Enough virtual book tour is eligible to enter and win.

Visit each blog stop below to gain more entries as the Rafflecopter widget will be placed on each blog for the duration of the tour.

If you would like to participate, email Tracee at tgleichner(at)gmail.com. What a great way to not only win this fabulous prize, but to gain followers and comments too! Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crumbs Aren’t Enough Book Publicity Tour Schedule

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Monday, September 2 – Book featured at Between the Pages

Tuesday, September 3 – Book featured at Jody’s Book Reviews

Wednesday, September 4 – Interviewed at Review From Here

Monday, September 9 – Guest blogging at Literal Exposure

Wednesday, September 11 – Book featured at Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem

Thursday, September 12 – 1st chapter reveal at Books and Needlepoint

Friday, September 13 – Book featured at Bibliotica

Monday, September 16 – Book reviewed at Bibliotica

Monday, September 16 – Book featured at My Reading Table

Tuesday, September 17 – Book reviewed at My Reading Table

Wednesday, September 18 – Book featured at Confessions of a Reader

Thursday, September 19 – Book featured at Icefairy’s Treasure Chest

Monday, September 23 – Interviewed at Book Reviews by Dee

Wednesday, September 25 – Interviewed at Broowaha

Thursday, September 26 – Guest blogging at Straight from the Author’s Mouth

Monday, September 30 – Book featured at The Road to Here

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Review: The Curse Giver by Dora Machado

9 September 2013 by Melissa

Join Dora Machado, author of the fantasy novel, The Curse Giver, as she tours the blogosphere August 5 through October 25, 2013 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

ABOUT THE CURSE GIVER

Lusielle’s bleak but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when her husband betrays her and she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn’t commit. She’s on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames.

Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark.

Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their ends.

PURCHASE AT:

ADD BOOK ON GOODREADS:

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My Thoughts:

It’s been a while since I’ve read any real fantasy. I mean, yes, I’m slowly working my way through George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, but that world is reasonably similar to our own medieval history, with only a few ‘fantastic’ elements. I was in the mood for escapist reading this summer, however, so when the nice folks and Pump Up Your Book offered me the chance to read an epic fantasy novel, I jumped at the chance.

The problem with epic fantasy is that very often the fictional world feels as flat as a movie set, with no real depth or history. Dora Machado’s The Curse Giver, on the other hand, plunges us into a world so rich, and so well constructed, it feels almost as if we could step sideways into it. One of the early sections, particularly, when Lousielle and Bren are crossing the bog, had me squirming as much as if I was actually there with them avoiding creepy crawlies.

Her main characters are three dimensional, and Lousielle especially, was so smart and spunky that I wanted to be her best friend. Herb lore is something I’ve always been quietly interested in (witness the collection of herbals in my Word Lounge), so her affinity for plants and potions really drew me in.

Likewise, while Bren could have been Generic Quasi-medieval Noble #17, Machado made him complex and interesting (and gave him a great body, which we appreciate vicariously through Lousielle).

The other characters, good and evil alike, were, similarly, sketched with fine lines, not the broad strokes of generic fantasy.

I’ve read that Ms. Machado is bilingual, having grown up in the Dominican Republic, and I think some of the charm of The Curse Giver comes from her – probably unconscious – Spanish-influenced rhythms. It’s nothing you could point your finger to and say, “Look, that’s not typical English phrasing,” but a quiet undercurrent that makes the writing really SING.

(I am not bilingual, but I grew up in a New Jersey Neapolitan family where an Italian-English hybrid was the norm. As well, I’m a natural mimic, and my parents retired to Baja Sur, Mexico, about a decade ago, so those Latin-tinged rhythms are familiar to me.)

Overall, I thought The Curse Giver was a delicious read, and it’s compelled me to seek out more of Machado’s work. I think it’s an especially good choice for women who like epic fantasy, but have gotten out of the habit of reading it.

Goes well with… a mug of steaming chai and sharp cheddar melted on toasted rustic wheat bread.

The Curse Giver Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule

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Monday, August 5 – Book featured at Margay Leah Justice

Wednesday, August 7 – Interviewed at Review From Here

Friday, August 9 – Interviewed at Examiner

Monday, August 12 – Guest blogging at Literarily Speaking

Tuesday, August 13 – Interviewed at Straight from the Authors Mouth

Thursday, August 15 – Guest blogging at She Writes

Friday, August 16 – Interviewed at Beyond the Book

Monday, August 19 – Book reviewed and Trailer reveal at Miki’s Hope

Wednesday, August 21 – Guest blogging at Literal Exposure

Thursday, August 22 – Book featured at As the Pages Turn

Friday, August 23 – Interviewed at I’m Shelf-ish

Tuesday, August 27 – 1st chapter reveal at Examiner

Wednesday, August 28 – Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book

Thursday, August 29 – Book reviewed at moonlightreader

Friday, August 30 – Guest blogging at The Writer’s Life

Wednesday, September 4 – Guest blogging at Allvoices

Thursday, September 5 – Interviewed at Book Marketing Buzz

Friday, September 6 – Book spotlight at Bibliotica

Monday, September 9 – Book reviewed at Bibliotica

Wednesday, September 11 – Book featured at Between the Covers

Friday, September 13 – Book reviewed at Must Read Faster

Monday, September 16 – Guest blogging at Review From Here

Tuesday, September 17 – Interviewed at Broowaha

Wednesday, September 18 – Guest blogging at Newsvine

Friday, September 20 – Book reviewed at Mom in Love with Fiction

Monday, September 23 – Guest bloggging at The Dark Phantom

Wednesday, September 25 – Book trailer reveal at Pump Up Your Book

Thursday, September 26 – Interviewed at As the Pages Turn

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Review: Visiting Tom by Michael Perry

14 August 2013 by Melissa

Visting Tom
Michael Perry

Product Description (from Amazon.com):
Tuesdays with Morrie meets Bill Bryson in Visiting Tom, another witty, poignant, and stylish paean to living in New Auburn, Wisconsin, from Michael Perry. The author of Population: 485, Coop, and Truck: A Love Story, Perry takes us along on his uplifting visits with his octogenarian neighbor one valley over—and celebrates the wisdom, heart, and sass of a vanishing generation that embodies the indomitable spirit of small-town America.

My Thoughts:
I first encountered Michael Perry’s work sometime in 2009 when I picked up Population: 485 from a “new paperbacks” table at Barnes and Nobel (this was before most of my reading shifted to Kindle). For some reason I didn’t read it until February, 2010, but I loved it to bits. He’s got that truly American writing style that is shared by Stephen King (except Perry’s books never include killer clowns or radioactive spaceships, though one did involve a pig being butchered), and Garrisson Keillor. You can hear echoes of Twain and Hemingway in his prose, as well, but I digress.

When, earlier this summer, the lovely folks at TLC Book Tours offered me a copy of the newly released PAPERBACK version of Perry’s latest offering, in exchange for an honest review, I didn’t hesitate: I said YES.

Michael Perry’s book Visiting Tom: A Man, a Highway, and the Road to Roughneck Grace arrived at my door a couple of weeks later, and I chose to savor it, rather than devouring it in a matter of hours in my typical fashion.

I’m glad I made that choice, because reading Perry’s book, about a series of visits with an older neighbor who shares shopwork expertise, life experiences that cannot be matched, and a fetish for vintage artillery (i.e. canons), is a book meant to slow us down for a while. It’s the literary equivalent of staying seated at the kitchen table, talking and laughing, long after the meal has been finished, and the coffee has gone cold.

Like so much of Perry’s work, Visiting Tom tells two stories. The first, most obvious one, is that of Tom Hartwig, who has spent his entire 80-plus years in the same community – the same farm – the same HOUSE, even – in rural Wisconsin.

But the second story is Perry’s own, the one in which his farming is something he dabbles at along side his real job (writing and making music), and his relationship with his daughters and wife provides him another set of mirrors into the world.

This book, like all of Perry’s work, is – by turns, funny, sweet, alarming, and poignant. It’s that poignance that affected me most, because my husband’s family also hails from rural farming country, and in Tom, and in his story, I see, not only bits of my father-in-law, but also the very real truth: that family farms are disappearing, that most rural kids grow up and leave the farm (neither my husband nor his two siblings stayed in a rural environment, or, indeed, a related career, choosing instead to work with computers, or, in the case of my sister-in-law, to teach in public schools.)

But I’m digressing again.

Perry’s words let us feel as if we, too, have visited, not just with Tom and his wife and their dog, but with Michael Perry and his family as well.

And really, that’s how the best books SHOULD feel.

Goes well with: A glass of fresh milk and a slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie.

Connect with Michael Perry:
Website: Sneezing Cow

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble

Watch the Trailer:

Review: ExtraLife, Inc., by Kfir Luzzatto

11 July 2013 by Melissa

ExtraLife, Inc.
Kfir Luzzatto

Product Description (via Amazon.com):

David Wolfson, a Jerusalem scientist, claims to have found the cure for cancer. He and his wife, Tamara, seek the help of Richard Lunz, a Tel Aviv attorney, to fight the powerful bureaucrats who want to appropriate David’s invention. Richard can’t resist the temptation to participate in what looks like the discovery of the century and it takes a first death to make him doubt that something in the project is not what it seems. And then other people die. Following clues that take him to Eastern Europe and to America, Richard finds more answers than he wished for. But he just can’t stop looking.

My Thoughts:

When Kfir Luzzatto asked me, in April, to read and review ExtraLife, Inc., I said yes, because it sounded like a really gripping read.

I was not disappointed, because in this novel Luzzatto gives us a medical and legal thriller that not only has great characters, but also looks at some crucial ethical issues: science vs. money is one of them, but another is the question of the line between professional ethics and scientific research.

Despite – or perhaps because of – the weighty themes, Luzzatto keeps the audience entertained. From the opening, where no names were used for over a page, and we, the reader, are a bit unsure what is happening, to the globe-spanning cat-and-mouse games; from the chilling knowledge that people are dying, to the book’s satisfying ending there is not one moment of dullness. The pacing allows us to become absorbed in the story with pauses to regroup, and at no point did I want to skip ahead or tune out.

To many, any book with “cancer” in the back-cover or flyleaf blurb may seem like it couldn’t possibly be entertaining, but ExtraLife, Inc. not only entertains, but provokes real thought.

Goes well with…
Chicken shawarma, Greek salad, and iced hibiscus tea.

Buy this book:
– At amazon.com using the link above.
– At smashwords.com

This review is based on a digital copy that was provided by the author. The published version may differ slightly in format and editing.

Review: A Soul’s Calling, by Scott Bishop

9 July 2013 by Melissa

A Soul’s Calling
Scott Bishop

Description (via Amazon.com):

A Soul’s Calling is a memoir about a man who listened to his heart instead of reason.

Scott, a forty-something attorney, is average in every way except one. He has a connection to the Other Side. He speaks to Spirit and Spirit speaks to him. He sees, hears, and interacts with an invisible realm that is beyond ordinary human perception. When Scott learns his soul has been spiritually compromised he travels to the ancient kingdom of Nepal to win it back. Once there, he hikes the Himalaya carrying a mysterious bundle and a stick laden with prayers from Luminous Beings hoping to come face to face with the greatest mountain on earth: Mount Everest. As his journey unfolds, Scott is called on to battle his fear of heights, the thin air, and his physical limitations.

A Soul’s Calling transports readers to the rugged but enchanting Khumbu Valley where mountains speak and nature is imbued with a special kind of magic. The novel is an inspiring modern day adventure that weaves the timeless themes of living an authentic life, the consequences of power, and what a man would do for unrequited love.

Part travelogue, part hiking adventure, A Soul’s Calling blends elements of shamanism and magic as it brings the Himalaya to life in vivid detail. Powerful, sweeping, and deeply moving, readers will search their hearts as the book draws to a stunning conclusion.

My Thoughts:

Anyone who’s grown up reading National Geographic or watching The Discovery Channel dreams of trekking to far away lands, but a surprisingly few number of us ever DO it. It’s an even fewer number of us who are tapped into Spirit – that voice inside all things that speaks to us about the past and future and our place within it.

Scott Bishop is one of those rare few who not only hears the voice of Spirit, but also acts on it, choosing to climb Mt. Everest.

In his book, A Soul’s Calling Bishop takes us on his journey, from a fairly mundane existence to the life of a spiritual pilgrim, climbing mountains to find the answers to life, the universe, and his personal spirit quest.

His story is part travelogue, part spiritual awakening. What could seem silly or pretentious in another writer’s hands (the Voice of Spirit speaking through trees) becomes, instead, an ominous warning, and a wake-up call to his very soul.

The details of the actual trek are similarly compelling, though he obliterates the notion of a stark, lonely mountain, making it seem – at least at lower elevations, like a fairly busy microcosm of granola hippies, religious seekers, and explorers in every sense of the word.

A Soul’s Calling, isn’t an easy read – at least it wasn’t for me. At times I had to put it down and take time to digest what Bishop was saying. But it’s a compelling, well-written, deeply personal tale that touches on some fairly universal themes, and I can honestly say that I’m a better person for having read it.

Goes well with:
Herbal tea and trail mix, followed by a hot bath.

Apologies to Mr. Bishop. I read this MONTHS ago, but have been suffering such a bout of writer’s block, and dealing with some personal craziness, and my review queue is woefully behind.

Review: Oh Myyy (There Goes the Internet) by George Takei

8 March 2013 by Melissa

Oh Myyy (There Goes the Internet)
by George Takei

Product Description (from Amazon.com):
How did a 75-year old actor from Star Trek become a social media juggernaut? Why does everything he posts spread like wildfire across the ether, with tens or even hundreds of thousands of likes and shares? And what can other sites, celebrities and companies do to attain his stratospheric engagement levels, which hover or top 100 percent while theirs languish in the single digits?

Read about George Takei’s meteoric rise and dominance of the Internet in Oh Myyy (There Goes the Internet), published of course in electronic format.
In this groundbreaking, hilarious and informative book, Takei recounts his experiences on platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, where fans and pundits alike have crowned him King. He muses about everything from the nature of viral sharing, to the taming of Internet trolls, to why Yoda, bacon and cats are such popular memes. Takei isn’t afraid to tell it likes he sees it, and to engage the reader just as he does his legions of fans.

Both provokingly thoughtful and wickedly funny, Oh Myyy! captures and comments upon the quirky nature of our plugged-in culture. With Takei’s conversational yet authoritative style, peppered with some of his favorite images from the web, readers should be prepared to LOL, even as they can’t help but hear his words in their heads in that unmistakable, deep bass.

My Thoughts:
I’m not a great user of social media. Oh, I have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, but I’m really NOT a power user. I’m also not a fan-girl. Sure, there are celebrities I follow, but only if I’m genuinely interested in their work, or in what they have to say. George Takei falls into both categories. As a lifelong Star Trek fan who grew up with the Original Series (in reruns, but still…) I like to see that these actors I grew up watching are doing new and interesting things. As someone who grew up in an activist family, and spent a fair amount of time holding protest signs and such, I’m really amazed and impressed by Mr. Takei’s ability to speak his mind and remain dignified, then post hilarious memes on Facebook.

Having read his first book, a memoir, years ago when it was first published, buying his second was a no-brainer, except that it came out right before Christmas, and then I had this huge queue of books to read for review, and then I wanted to read only fiction. I finally downloaded it a few days ago (on my new iPad, even though I’ve linked to the Kindle version), and actually managed to make it last two days, mainly because I was trying to meet deadlines on some writing projects.

I knew, of course, that the gist of the book was Takei’s experience as a social media icon. I expected that he would come across as smart, well-spoken, and funny, and I was not disappointed. I love that he’s able to be serious when it’s called for and then immediately flip the mood into something completely silly.

I was expecting hilarity, and got it.

I was NOT expecting it to be so insightful, and in that I was pleasantly surprised.

Very often, I find myself looking at something technological and thinking my grandfather would have really enjoyed playing with/using/tinkering with whatever it is, had he lived to this decade (though that would have made him 102). Takei’s take on the Internet found me thinking that a lot, especially when he commented on his own age.

In short, Oh Myyy is funny, smart, insightful and incredibly readable. And, yes, I’m guilty of hearing the author’s voice in my head as I read it. Who isn’t?

Goes well with…a tuna fish sandwich and limeade.

Review: Mindfront, by Dave Becker

30 January 2013 by Melissa

Mindfront
by Dave Becker

Product Description (from Amazon.com):
After uncovering a universal code in the brain waves of all living things that could revolutionize psychology, Martin Keller wakes one morning to find himself covered in blood, surrounded by his butchered family. Convinced he’s being framed by a diabolical organization set on stealing or sabotaging his work, he dodges a multi-agency manhunt that pursues him from the seediest corners of DC to the highest offices of government. Struggling to stay alive and find his family’s killer, Marty soon finds himself lost in a maze of conspiracies and paranoia, and eventually begins to doubt his own sanity. How can he find the truth when he doesn’t know what’s real?

My Thoughts:
When the author of this book asked me to review it last fall, I was in the mood for a good thriller. Despite this, I didn’t have a chance to read it until last week, when I was immediately so absorbed in it, to the point where for two days, I was reading it constantly. (During those two days I was also kind of drugged on muscle relaxants and pain killers because of a sprained back, which may have colored my reaction to the book.)

Thrillers – good thrillers – are a tricky thing to create. They have to have an element of mystery, a dash of danger, and a hint of good crime fiction, but still be rooted in a plausible version of reality or they don’t really work. With Mindfront all of the elements were there, and more – an interesting plot that was part techy, part bureaucratic, with nice family/spousal scenes that added dimension.

Martin Keller seemed like a three-dimensional character, and even I didn’t see all the twists til the very end of the novel. If you like thrillers, you will love this book. The physical copy is out of print, but the Kindle edition is available from Amazon.

Goes well with a pastrami sandwich on rye bread and a vanilla cream soda.

Review: Timbuctoo, by Tahir Shah

23 January 2013 by Melissa

Timbuctoo
Tahir Shah

Product Description (from Amazon.com):
For centuries, the greatest explorers of their age were dispatched from the power-houses of Europe London, Paris and Berlin on a quest unlike any other: To be the first white Christian to visit, and then to sack, the fabled metropolis of Timbuctoo.

Most of them never returned alive.

At the height of the Timbuctoo mania, two hundred years ago, it was widely believed that the elusive Saharan city was fashioned in entirety from the purest gold everything from the buildings to the cobble-stones, from the buckets to the bedsteads was said to be made from it.

One winter night in 1815, a young illiterate American seaman named Robert Adams was discovered half-naked and starving on the snow-bound streets of London. His skin seared from years in the African desert, he claimed to have been a guest of the King of Timbuctoo.

Thought of an American claiming anything let alone the greatest prize in exploration was abhorrent in the extreme. Closing ranks against their unwelcome American guest, the British Establishment lampooned his tale, and began a campaign of discrediting him, one that continues even today.

An astonishing tale based on true-life endurance, Tahir Shah s epic novel Timbuctoo brilliantly recreates the obsessions of the time, as a backdrop for one of the greatest love stories ever told.

My Thoughts:
Ever since I first read Katherine Neville’s The Eight when it first came out in the spring of 1989, I’ve fantasized about visiting places like Algeria and Morocco and, yes, even Timbuktu (as we spell it in modern English). As well, one of my favorite adventure stories is that of the folks from Citroen sponsoring the first crossing of the Sahara by automobile, specifically their Citroen half-track. You can imagine, then, how eagerly I leaped at the chance to review Tahir Shah’s novel from last summer, Timbuctoo.

I initially began reading it in late autumn, intending to be done with all my to-be-reviewed books before Thanksgiving, but work and other projects pulled me away from much reading at all, so I didn’t get to finish the novel until this week. It was worth the wait, and my apologies go to the author for my delay. That said, reading about the Sahara region in the 1800s was an odd juxtaposition with the news of Algeria’s attack on Mali (where Timbuktu actually IS) and the subsequent hostage situation. One story kept influencing my perspective of the other.

Even so, every time I found myself paying too much attention to the real world, I would return to Mr. Shah’s lovely novel, and lose myself in the British vs. American manners, and the challenge of a race to explore, conquer, collect, and the internal discoveries made by his characters, and I was continually enthralled by his deft use of language, his enchanting manner of storytelling (letters, descriptive chapter titles, and characters with very distinct point of views.) which marries a modern sensibility with the distinct culture of the slightly-pre-Victorian colonial age.

Even if you’ve never dreamed of trekking across the Sahara, I’m sure you’ll find Timbuctoo an interesting and compelling read.

Goes well with…mint tea and chicken shawarma.

Review: Changes, by Jim Butcher

21 January 2013 by Melissa

Changes
by Jim Butcher

Product Description (from Amazon.com):
Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden’s lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.

Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it-against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry’s not fighting to save the world…

He’s fighting to save his child.

My Thoughts:
It’s been a long time since I spent any time with Harry Dresden. I bought this book in April of 2010, when it was new, and it’s been sitting on my nightstand since then – nearly THREE YEARS – not because I wasn’t interested, but because my to-be-read stack was so high.

During the first week or two of January, however, I took a break from my to-be-reviewed queue (which I’m mostly caught up with) and read a lot of escapist fiction – stuff I actually bought, stuff that was exactly what I needed after having NINE PEOPLE in my house for ten days over Christmas.

Changes did not disappoint. I found myself slipping back into Harry Dresden’s always stormy, often violent life very easily. There were a few characters I didn’t remember as well as I should have, but for the most part I was familiar with Molly (Harry’s apprentice), Karrin Murphy (bad ass cop), and Bob the Spirit in the Skull.

As to the story…it’s a mindblowing whirlwind of, well, changes. Harry finds out he’s a father, finds out his daughter is being held by the queen of the Red Court (a group of vampires that holds far too much underworld – and real world – power), finds out the Red Court is about to go all out in political and physical assault against the White Council of wizards, etc. etc.

The end, of course, involves the biggest change of all, but there’s no way to even hint at it without spoiling the story.

Suffice to say that Changes represents Jim Butcher at his best and Harry Dresden at his most base, raw self.

It is sheer awesomeness, cloaked in the form of a book.

Goes well with hot chocolate and peppermint taffy.

Review: Star Trek the Next Generation: Cold Equations #2: Silent Weapons, by David Mack

18 January 2013 by Melissa

Star Trek the Next Generation: Cold Equations #2: Silent Weapons
David Mack

Product Description (from Amazon.com):
The second book in a new trilogy by the national bestselling author of Star Trek: Destiny!

Three years after the disastrous final Borg Invasion, a bitter cold war against the Typhon Pact has pushed Starfleet’s resources to the breaking point. Now the rise of a dangerous new technology threatens to destroy the Federation from within. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise crew answer a distress call, only to become targets in a deadly game of deception. To protect a vital diplomatic mission, they must find a way to identify the spies hiding in their midst, before it’s too late. But Worf soon realizes the crew’s every move has been predicted: Someone is using them as pawns. And the closer they get to exposing their enemy, the deeper they spiral into its trap….

My Thoughts:
I don’t know how often the second book in a trilogy is stronger than the first. Certainly it’s more likely that second books (like second movies) suffer from “middle of the story” syndrome. In the case of David Mack’s STTNG series Cold Equations, however, did not have that problem in any form. Instead, it’s a rollicking adventure that mixes politics and action in a really satisfying blend of plot and character.

I love that the Orions, whom we are used to seeing mainly as slavers and generally disreputable types are also the galaxy’s strongest defenders of personal privacy (reading this in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook, CT, school shootings was rather eerie), and have the only security system strong enough to host a meeting that involves not just the Federation President, but the leaders of at least one of the factions involved in the Typhon Pact.

As well, I like that this novel acknowledged the Typhon Pact series, which spans all of the modern era Trek series and also combines political intrigue with really lovely action, whether it’s on land or sea, or in space.

Is Data’s presence a bit contrived? Maybe a bit, but after all, the trilogy is about his return, so it would be weird for him to NOT be in the novel. Still, his new appearance and abilities are used well, and this new FullyEmotional!Data is one I wish we could get to know a bit better in a slower, gentler story…just so that we (well, I) are a bit more invested in THIS incarnation of the character.

Goes well with: espresso con panna and cinnamon rolls.