A History of Stone and Steel Book Review

A History of Stone and Steel by Christopher Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
While I took my time finishing this book, I enjoyed it very much. For a Christian fiction book, it wasn’t boring or corny like almost every one I’ve read is. Maybe it’s the grittiness and bluntness and the fact that not all Christian Americans are crazy zealots that made is appealing.
An easy summary is Paul Keppel is going through a mid-life crisis and has a dying grandfather an on-the-brinks marriage and is unsatisfied with his job at a university. Though all of this he we get a retelling of a time in his past working at a steel mill and how it is affecting him now. While working at the university he becomes friends with a student named Gary and they have their exploits. Gary was one of my favorite characters in the book, just for his willingness to do and be bad. One can’t deny the power of Grandpa Todd and his presence throughout the novel. The grandfather just plagues him at every turn.


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Gun Boss of Tumbleweed Book Review

Gun Boss of Tumbleweed by L. Ron Hubbard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had no idea this was an audio book. I am not a fan of audio books because they play out the story in a different tone then I would perceive it. This was an okay listen for me. Kincaid’s mother had an accent that sounded like an islander trying to do western and it was just strange. The story was kind of dull. Narrator was okay and the actors who played the major character and protagonist were good. The rest of the voice-overs were either okay or bad. The story had me at moments, but it was mostly background noise. Do not recommend unless you can tolerate audio books.


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Darling Strumpet Book Review

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
From the slums Nell Gwynn gets hers start at a brothel after leaving mam’s at a young age, then proceeds to become an orange seller, then an actress of the theatre before winning the heart of King Charles II.
Nell is a strong willed, pretty independent considering the time. She makes out on her own and tries to secure her future and when her love for theater becomes love for the King, she does what she will to stay in his keep. There was rivalry among his mistresses, assassination attempts, a villain in the shadows and grumbling parliament.
Some of my favorite scenes were the gossip that went on backstage at the theatre and Nell’s camaraderie with her fellow actors. There was love and tragedy and family allegiance.
I am a sucker for historical fiction and this was really good. I don’t know much of royalty or European history, so having books like this gets me interested While I do think in the beginning it had meandering moments never did I want to skip a word.


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Happy 30th Birthday to Me

Minnie Mouse cake I made. Pretty good for an amateur. I used made marshmallow fondant which is very good and easy.

I read this book:
Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was like an 80's movie. Which is a good thing or maybe it's a bad thing. I expected something a bit more contemporary and I just found this story to be mundane and unimaginative. Like a previous reviewer said, I was reminded of Beastly. I picked this solely based on the title because my birthday was approaching. Never had I expected to be reading a supernatural tale with a life lesson. It surprised me and with it feeling like it would have made a great 80's movies I enjoyed it, but it wasn't well developed.

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 I went to the movies and saw:

I don't even need to elaborate on how funny this was. In my opinion Pegg and Frost can do no wrong. And Paddy Considine "hubba hubba". 8 out of 10.

Got my free goody from Sephora and then went to Ulta to get my brows waxed.
Apparently the Benefit Brow Bar at all Ulta's is no longer giving away free birthday waxings. That sucks and I wish the phone number for the brow bar was posted on the website so I could have called and checked, which I was gonna do. That pissed on my mood because for the last few weeks I have let my brows grow wild in anticipation of a waxing and at the same time I had a toothache, plus this mom and her 2 daughters at the brow bar just rubbed me the wrong way.
Closed the evening with a dinner out at Truxtons with a hearty chicken burrito and key lime cheesecake.

Birthday boots will have to wait till next year.

Slow Surrender Book Review

Slow Surrender by Cecilia Tan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Karina the art student who lives in New York fills in for another waitress and meets mysterious patron who asks her to play a game and the game gets more sexual as she indulges him. She eventually finds herself drawn into his lifestyle and in indulging his desires. Like most of our heroines she falls in love with the guy.
Karina is a boring yet crazy gal. She lives a most mundane existence but completely falls for the first perv to seduce her. I will give credit to our seducer, in the beginning he had some very unique games and there is a great build up. Although he has some technique our male protagonist is not that desirable to me as a reader and I don’t feel that Karina is desirable either. For me it was like hearing about my two average looking neighbor’s sex-capades.
This book wasn’t sex, sex, sex like so many other erotica is. The story was good if just a bit unbelievable, but hey it’s fantasy. We got a lot of foreplay and it ends fun but with the reader craving more.


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All Dogs Are Blue Book Review

All Dogs Are Blue by Rodrigo De Souza Leao
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The journal of a madman. That was how this read. It was just one long coherent rambling. The sort of book that would have appealed to me when I was in my late teens. It is not that different then if you were to rip out random pages of my diary from a teen, just more insane. What I will give the author credit for is his creativity and a look into the psyche of a crazy person. There are moments when you can sense a passage of sanity and it becomes interesting, but next sentence it is loony again. I did not get humor or sorrow from this. It was not poetic in the slightest but that is a matter of opinion. About halfway through reading, I felt like I had to put it down because it was draining me. There are also lines that get repeated and it started to make me feel just as mad as the writer.
This is maybe getting a bit more credit than due and will definitely appeal to people who like to read into things. Maybe I just lack the depth to appreciate the efforts but this was a shit.


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Gone Girl Book Review

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is how I felt at the end.
I just wish that someone would have gotten the villain, but this is a great story without the happy ending and all the craziness intact.

P.S. After having read the Acknowledgement I am really creeped out by the author. She might be an Amy.

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The Resurrectionist Book Review

The Resurrectionist by Matthew Guinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The book goes back and forth between two protagonists Jacob of present day and Nemo of the mid 19th century. Jacob is the medical school PR guy after being put on probation for bad behavior and Nemo is a slave bought by the medical school to perform a dirty deed.
As a reader I never knew about these atrocities that occurred in the past so the book was captivating. The whiskey barrel scene awed me and the final medical experiment traumatized me. The recreation of the era past was the best part of the story and so well told. Slow moments mostly fell on the office moments with Jacob. While I understand how Jacob was integral to telling the whole story as a character he wasn’t that remarkable. Even with his connection to the past and his ties to the school there wasn’t much there. Also there are a couple of romances with one being completely unnecessary and the other giving just a bit of hope. I really enjoyed this and found it an intriguing read.


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Release July 8, 2013

Freud's Mistress Book Review

Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads
This is the fictionalized version of the true love affair between Sigmund Freud and sister in law Minna Bernays. Told in the third person account we are traipsing behind single woman Minna as she leaves her previous employer and comes to stay with her sister’s family. Apparently Minna and Freud have always had a correspondence relationship but in spending more time together their feelings start to grow toward each other.
Previous to having read this I was and are still are unfamiliar with Freud’s work and know is has to do with the Psyche. From what this book tells me it appears he was a difficult man with many interchangeable relationships. Or I would just say he is a man-child who indulges himself and mopes when things don’t go his way. Minna is just one figure that is a passing fancy in his life, but it seems that she gets a bit too attached and it is all very tiresome.
I understand that this is in a certain time in history where women are still beholden to men or family, but I just wish she was bit more headstrong in her actions then in how she thought of herself. She felt she was brighter and more independent then her sister yet she still succumbs to him. She feels guilty and that she has committed the ultimate betrayal yet again her actions play out differently. Despite her behavior she keeps coming back.
Then there is Martha, Freud’s wife who has an opiate addiction lets her six children run wild, very little intervenes unless it involves pumping them full of drugs to put them to bed. She nags her husband and puts the burden of child rearing on her sister and nanny. The only pity one could have for Martha is that she is married to a brute who does not appear to care much for his family but later we see some depth of wisdom to the gal which comes a bit too late in the novel for one to care.
Although I found most of the characters dreadful it was all very appealing. They did a good job of portraying the atmosphere of late 19th century Vienna but I think some of the language may have been a bit simplified, nonetheless it was enjoyable.


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Release date: July 9, 2013

On the Move: Mass Migrations Book Review

On the Move: Mass Migrations by Scotti Cohn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great book. Excellent way to teach children about migration, climate, seasons and geography. Fantastic full page illustrations with large text and no dead space. The layout design was skillfully done. The writing by Cohn gave just enough insight to fully explain yet still open up to more questions and was fun and playful. The back of the book gave even more details for each set of animals and had a quiz along with a source for multimedia to learn even more. Must have animal book for young children.

View all my reviews Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

The End of Night Book Review

The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light by Paul Bogard
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This was like reading one long news article and that was not good. What was good was the different stance taken on why we should preserve darkness and what we lose if we don’t. This felt like an academic book which only appeals to a certain crowd, but not likely to garner the mainstream into being interested. On the subject of darkness you never get a clear sense of Bogard’s actual concern. Mostly he just misses looking up at a starry sky yet he uses other arguments to validate why darkness is important but he doesn’t give the impression that he cares about those other reasons. Most of it falls on astronomy and that isn’t much selling point. If all creative non-fiction reads like this then count me out. It was jarring coming from an eloquent argument made by a lighting designer to another 2 pages about eating pasta in Italy. The transitions sucked and it made me not care. Everyone else’s opinion is so much clearer or inspiring than what the writer himself had to say and all he does is mirror or echo there viewpoint. If you were to eliminate all the quotes and excerpts you might be left with about 20 pages of the authors own writing which isn’t saying much. While the topic is fascinating the book itself is not. Everything good written here comes from someone who is more learned in the topic. Unless someone has a direct interest in this area, you should pass.

View all my reviews Coming out July 9, 2013 Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

My Husband's Girlfriend Book Review

My Husband's Girlfriend by Cydney Rax
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Anya has lost her sexual drive and she and her husband seem to be drifting apart, so in order to save her marriage she grants him a contract to get satisfaction from someone else, but a breach of contract may destroy this family.
This story is told from different character narratives, jumping from wife to husband to mistress. With a title like My Husbands Girlfriend one would expect drama and plenty of scandal, yet this story was so mundane with only a few sizzling moments. A lot of it was dialogue of each coupling arguing or contemplating. It’s not that the story was boring but after each episode I kept asking myself when do we get to a juicy part. There is an incident involving antibiotics that could have been so much better. Everything was very vanilla and ordinary, maybe a bit too realistic. The book was deceiving in keeping me reading because the dialogue was great and it is well written yet nothing really happened. Hooray for a happy ending.


View all my reviews Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

The Fantastic Adventure of Krishna by Demi Book Review

The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna by Demi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Had to take off a star, because I found there to be some layout and design problems which made they book less prized. There was a lot of dead space on the side bar and I am not a fan of illustrations being split on 2 pages. The scale could have adjusted for some or the publisher should have requested more illustrations and story to fill up the space. It has beautiful illustrations, but not as avant-garde as I would have expected given other reviews. The story was simple and straightforward enough for someone very young, but it lacked a bit. There could have been more story or detail, that wouldn't be lost on a little one. in general it was a pleasant educational read with enjoyable illustrations.

View all my reviews Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

The Submissive Book Review

The Submissive by Tara Sue Me
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Why oh why, do I keep putting myself through this? Are there any good erotica books being written these days or just a bunch of BDSM drivel? From what I gathered from another review is that this story was the pre-cursor to FSoG. FSoG is a book I loathe and has almost completely put me off the genre. While the characters in that book are painfully annoying, this book gives you nothing. The characters are boring and not well developed; the sex is boring and hardly arousing. Plus maybe I am the only one, but I felt that there were some anatomy issues. Not worth a look, if you want similar scenarios check out Bared to You or if you want good BDSM something by Rachel Kramer Bussel.
Bared to You
Rachel Kramer Bussel

View all my reviews Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Anonymous Sources Book Review

Anonymous Sources by Mary Louise Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Reporter Alex James is tasked with finding out what she can in the death of Grad student Thom Carlyle only to get caught in a terrorists bombing scheme. James comes off as ordinary and not much of a likable character in my opinion, but then there is this whole bit thrown in about her dilemma as a teen that is suppose to make me feel bad for her, but I don’t. She is not wholly unlikable, but let’s not pretend that she is a great person and I want to be her best friend. Best characters were the tough stand their ground guys, like her boss Hyde, Officer Galloni, and General Carspecken. I guess the thrill comes from what happens next yet this story is not full of action it’s mostly journalism, drinking, reminiscing on teen problem, and being evasive. I’m not usually interested in thrillers, but this one was enjoyable but I found the story unremarkable and it felt like an episode NCIS or similar. It was good, I liked it. Nice in-flight read.

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Release Date: June 18, 2013 Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Book Review - Death in the Vines by M.L. Longworth

Death in the Vines: A Verlaque and Bonnet Provencal Mystery by M.L. Longworth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A wine thief and murderer are on the loose in Aix-en-Provence and Judge Verlaque takes a personal interest in both cases.
Although this is a mystery, as I was reading I wasn’t thinking whodunit, but oh this is so vibrant. One is easily swept away in the vivid imagery. From the clothing to décor, architecture, and conversation, everything is so accurately described, yet not over detailed, that I feel as though I know it. Never having been to France I am walking the streets of Aix and seeing the pompous Pauline d’Arras. The smaller characters and their relevance to the crimes were just the right combination of humorous and clever. It is only after the crimes are did I have an aha moment and began really thinking about the past events
There were some slow moments and the relationship between Verlaque and Marine Bonnet was dreary and I didn’t care for the medical issue which seemed thrown in. Bonnet really doesn’t become very relevant till later in the book if at all. This book was a great trip and I was entertained most of the way through. If you love humorous mysteries or French countryside, this is the book for you.


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Release Date: May 28, 2013 Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Parallel Book Review

Parallel by Lauren Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Parallel by Lauren Miller © 2013
Release date May 14, 2013
 Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Teen
 Abby just got for a major Hollywood film and regrets missing her final days as a senior and the beginning of freshman year at Northwestern. The night before her 18th birthday she falls asleep only to wake up the next day at Yale living her parallels life.
Our central character Abby is an insecure, methodical, critical, wish-washy teenager. Not all at once, however these do seem to be her central traits. I had a hard time liking her only because most of the time she was a bit high-brow, but then after showed the weakness of a teenager. Yes she is a teen, but like most teens they think they are little adults and have most everything figured out if it all falls to plan. In knowing that she is a teen and with credit to Miller for accurately portraying that, Abby was easier to handle, just not likable. The only characters worth a damn are her Yale roomy Marissa and astronomy professor Dr. Mann.
What Dr Mann proposes is that in a parallel world we may take a different journey, but all roads lead to a final destination. In the story that chapters go from year 2008 to year 2009, with the parallel a year before and the next being the result Abby experiences a year after. The timeline is very important, some may have a hard time following the timeline, but if you pay close attention to the dates it’s straightforward.
The lure of the book is the sci-fi aspect of worlds colliding and the stars and ideas of multiple universes. That all get pushed aside for teenage melodrama and the struggle of choosing which brother to date and supermodel gorgeous yet brainiac best friend. On the whole this is more like a teenage soap opera with a sci-fi element thrown in and used only as a means to rack up the drama and make it seem more insightful. That could only mean I liked it. They say you should never underestimate the knowledge of a teenager, but I can’t help but feel that this is something that would appeal mostly to an under 23 crowd. It is enjoyable just not praiseworthy.


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Book Review

Dark Origins by Anthony E. Zuiker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So to start off, the only reason I wanted to read this book is because of True Blood. The man on TB that played Marcus Bozeman (Dan Buran) played Steve Dark in the videos. This is not the typical sort of book I would pick up, but I do like twisted stories. The writing isn’t terrible like some seem to think. There are plenty of literary figures who write worse than this and I enjoyed the book, story, plot, characters. I suppose it was a bit cliché and there were major errors that one could point out, but it was enjoyable. My only gripe with the book was the videos. They weren’t necessary to the novel. Most of the videos weren’t even accurate. Example Cyber Bridge 3 with the Dark Arts agents wearing masks even though he already knows what they look like. Bridge 15, just after she was abducted and was wearing pajamas on the table and looked completely unharmed although she just came from a car wreck which required multiple surgeries and minutes before he cut her face. You don’t need to watch the videos. I will pass on the rest of the series, but I am glad to have read it, because it was entertaing.

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Sleeping Beauty Trilogy

Beauty's Punishment

Best chapter "Soldier's Night at the Inn".