Book Review - He's Gone by Deb Caletti

Thursday, October 23, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15841844-he-s-gone?ac=1
He's Gone by Deb Caletti
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: 14 May 2013
Genre: Literary Fiction / Mystery
My Copy: Library - paperback

The Sunday morning starts like any other, aside from the slight hangover. Dani Keller wakes up on her Seattle houseboat, a headache building behind her eyes from the wine she drank at a party the night before. But on this particular Sunday morning, she’s surprised to see that her husband, Ian, is not home. As the hours pass, Dani fills her day with small things. But still, Ian does not return. Irritation shifts to worry, worry slides almost imperceptibly into panic. And then, like a relentless blackness, the terrible realization hits Dani: He’s gone.

As the police work methodically through all the logical explanations—he’s hurt, he’s run off, he’s been killed—Dani searches frantically for a clue as to whether Ian is in fact dead or alive. And, slowly, she unpacks their relationship, holding each moment up to the light: from its intense, adulterous beginning, to the grandeur of their new love, to the difficulties of forever. She examines all the sins she can—and cannot—remember. As the days pass, Dani will plumb the depths of her conscience, turning over and revealing the darkest of her secrets in order to discover the hard truth—about herself, her husband, and their lives together.

Review:
I had such high hopes for this book. It sounded interesting, and everyone raves about Deb Caletti. This was the first book by her that I have read, and I have to say I was disappointed. Most of the book takes place in Dani's head. There's not a whole not propelling the book except her memories of the past and her fuzzy ideas about the night Ian went missing. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and most of the side characters just made me angry. I admit to skimming the second half or so of the story. The only reason it gets two stars and that I bothered to skim the second half was that I was interested in finding out what happened to Ian, although it wasn't surprising.

Book Review - The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost

Wednesday, October 22, 2014
 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19486775-the-beautiful-ashes
The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost
Series: Broken Destiny #1
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Publication Date: 26 August 2014
Genre: New Adult / Urban Fantasy
My Copy: Library - paperback

 In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate.

Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who's bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn't mean he can change his fate…no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn't: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side and Adrian on the other. And nothing but ashes in between…

Review:
 Whoa. I loved this book. I thought Ivy was brave and kick ass. I thought Adrian was perhaps a little over tortured, but still HOT. I know other readers will feel like there's a problem with instalove, but really I thought the book made it fairly clear that it was instaLUST (although personally I rarely have a problem with instant love in books, they're relatively short and it usually would take too much time to build a relationship). There's no sex in the book, but plenty of steamy sexual tension. I loved the twisty-ness of both characters. They both had multiple motivations for their goals, and I thought that brought a lot to the book. I also enjoyed their witty exchanges. I even enjoyed the side characters, both the good and the bad.

I admit that I usually space out a bit on action scenes, but I did kind of get into the ones in this book more than usual. The author did a good job with the ending and letting out bits and pieces as the book went along. Everything made sense to me in the world she created. There was a lot of light vs dark in the story that I thought was very well handled. The dark was really dark but produced Adrian as someone struggling for the light, and the light was bright but had some shadows. Really the dark was more honest than the light which I find is the case most of the time. The book grabbed me from the beginning, and I just had to know what was coming in the end. LOVED it.

Favorite Quotes:
"You're the light I can never have, and I'm the darkness you'll never succumb to." 

"He was danger wrapped in secrets tied with a bow of bad intentions."

"When it's light versus dark, that doesn't matter. One shadow in a brightly lit room goes unnoticed, but shine a ray of light into even the darkest corner and everything changes."

Plot: 5 stars
Pacing: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Ending: 5 stars
Recommend: YES!

Top Ten Tuesday

Tuesday, October 21, 2014
 
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This week's theme is Top Ten New Series I Want To Start. These start fairly new, then towards the end they're a bit older. Images link to the Goodreads series page.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/85812-prospero-s-war
https://www.goodreads.com/series/94826-taking-chances
https://www.goodreads.com/series/124230-the-borden-dispatches
https://www.goodreads.com/series/126307-sweetest-kisses
https://www.goodreads.com/series/73675-the-raven-cycle
https://www.goodreads.com/series/57143-graveyard-queen
https://www.goodreads.com/series/83614-dark-hunter

https://www.goodreads.com/series/46401-jane-yellowrock
https://www.goodreads.com/series/71359-the-taker-trilogy
https://www.goodreads.com/series/40552-pendergast

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Monday, October 20, 2014
This is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.
This weekend was Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon. I finished two books during that. I'm a little behind on writing reviews, so today my plans are to catch up on the six I need to write.

What I Finished This Week:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16181775-the-rosie-project   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20645291-shelter-me

What I'm Currently Reading:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1223681.The_Shining    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20702345-the-girl-in-the-woods

What's Next TBR:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20949430-silver-bay   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774963-one-kick

Readathon Wrapup

Sunday, October 19, 2014

1) Which hour was the most daunting for you? 
Probably hour 17. I was ready for bed but wanted to finish the book first. My eyes were burning.

2) Could you list a few high interest books for next year?
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion was very good and kept me entertained. 

3) Do you have any suggestions for next year?
No, not really. 

4) What do you think worked really well this year?
I thought most of it went well. It's been around for awhile, and the hosts seem to have the kinks pretty well worked out.

5) How many books did you read?
2

6) What were the names of the books?
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Shelter Me by Catherine Mann

7) Which book did you enjoy most? 
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

8) Which book did you enjoy least? 
Shelter Me by Catherine Mann - NOTE: I still enjoyed the book. It's just that I only read 2, and the other one I enjoyed more.

9) Not a cheerleader

10) How likely are you to participate again? Role?
I will participate again, probably still as a reader.

Had fun! See you in April!

Readathon Mid Event Survey

Saturday, October 18, 2014
Just getting home from work and ready to post my mid event survey.

1) What are you reading right now? 
Finishing Shelter Me by Catherine Mann then starting The Shining by Stephen King.

2) How many books have you read so far? 
1.75

3) What book are you most looking forward to for the second half?
The Shining

4) Have you had many interruptions? How do you deal with those?
I worked for 6 hours this evening. I was able to read some while there, but stopped when customers came in. I just marked my spot and went back to it after they left.

5) What surprises you most about the Readathon so far?
I'm not sure necessarily surprising, but I thought I would have read more by now even with working.

Readathon - Hour 4

How is your reading going along? I have finished The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. My reading isn't going very fast this morning. I keep getting distracted! Here are my shelfies as part of The Book Monster's Mini Challenge.

Bedroom (self help, YA, paranormal romance, historical romance):

Dining Room (contemporary romance, YA, history textbooks):

Living Room (adult lit, chick lit, mysteries, zombies, horror, apocalypse):

Dewey's Readathon Opening Meme

Good morning! It was a bit of a rough night for me, and I'm feeling it this morning. Someone in the condo building pulled the fire alarm at 2am. The obnoxiously loud blaring gave me a headache, and it took awhile to get back to sleep after that adrenaline rush. This morning I feel a bit like I've been drugged. It's taking me some time to wake up!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Florida, U.S.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Finishing The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I don't really have one because I didn't really plan specific snacks.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm 26. I have a BA in history with a minor in library science. I work at a pirate cruise store, but I recently accepted a position as a library assistant which should start in the next month. I moved to Florida at the end of May from Missouri, and the beach is amazing! Go KC Royals!!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what's one thing you'll do different today?
I didn't participate in April, but I have participated in the past. I'm considerably less organized this time. I'm winging it!

Dewey's Readathon Book List

Friday, October 17, 2014
 
Below is my potential Dewey's Readathon book list in no particular order:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16181775-the-rosie-project?ac=1
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20645291-shelter-me?ac=1
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20949430-silver-bay
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17675462-the-raven-boys
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20893485-the-ship-of-brides

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

Thursday, October 16, 2014

I signed up for Dewey's Readathon!! I have participated in it in the past, including once when I did the full 24 hours, and I'm looking forward to it this weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be able to participate the full 24 this year, but I'm going to try to read for most of it. I do have to work the 18th and the next day. Luckily, I can read at work during the down time (and it's okay with my boss), so I should be able to participate quite a bit up until having to sleep for the next work day. My start time is 8am. I work from 2pm to 8pm, and there's no evening cruise, which usually means a slow day customer wise. And no baseball games Saturday for me. My KC Royals are World Series bound! *Cheers* I'll post my potential book list tomorrow. See you this weekend!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Monday, October 13, 2014
This is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.
 Another week has gone by too fast for me! I did get quite a bit read this week, but now I'm behind on a bunch of reviews to write up. My KC Royals are still doing awesome, and it's really exciting! 

What I Finished This Week:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15841844-he-s-gone https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21914718-moonlight-raider
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18779669-the-devil-in-denim

What I'm Currently Reading:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32508.The_Black_Echo https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20821288-maplecroft?ac=1

 What's Next TBR:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231786.The_Shining https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16181775-the-rosie-project?ac=1