What: TBR Challenge
When: 1 January – 31 December 2008
Who: MizB
Rules: Read 12 books, that have been on your to be read pile for 6 months or more, by the end of the year. See the challenge site.
I did pretty good, I think, with this challenge. I read seven books and might have gotten in a few more, had I not joined several seasonal challenges this year.
Because I know I will join seasonal challenges next year, if any, I plan to join the “lite” version of this one. I know I can get in six books. I also like the flexibility planned for the 2009 version.
My list (Books in RED are on more than one list/alternate list):
- Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn {16 Mar 08} (REVIEW)
- Death on Beacon Hill by P. B. Ryan {4 Jan 08} (REVIEW)
- Murder on Gramercy Park by Victoria Thompson {31 May 08} (REVIEW)
- Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn {18 Feb 08} (REVIEW)
- Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews {5 Apr 08} (REVIEW)
- The Good Liar by Laura Caldwell {29 Jun 08} (REVIEW)
- To Hell With Love by Sherri Browning Erwin {3 Jun 08} (REVIEW)
The unread and DNFs:
- And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander
- Suspense and Sensibility by Carrie Bebris
- Anne’s Perfect Husband by Gayle Wilson
- Queen of Diamonds by Barbara Metzger
- Ceremony in Death by J. D. Robb
- A Regimental Murder by Ashley Gardner
- The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
- The English Breakfast Murder by Laura Childs
Alternates:
- The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe
- On the Edge by Susan Kearney
- Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair
- Abandon by Carla Neggers
- Last Look by Mariah Stewart
- The Suicide Club by Gayle Wilson
- A Time to Die by Beverly Barton
- Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
- Out-Foxxed by Debra Webb {1 Jun 08} (DNF)
information
The Good Liar
Author: Laura Caldwell
Copyright: 2008 (MIRA); pgs. 407
Series: N/A
Sensuality: Subtle
Summary: When Liza sets up the newly divorced Kate with Michael Waller, an elegant man sixteen years her senior, neither woman expects Kate to fall for him so soon. The relationship is a whirlwind that enthralls Kate. . .and frightens Liza. Because Liza knows she may have introduced Kate to more than her dream man; she may have unwittingly introduced her to a dangerous world of secrets. And yet Kate marries Michael and follows him to a French-Canadian town called St. Marabel, where she begins to suspect that Michael isn’t exactly who he seems. As each new suspicion arises, Kate finds herself investigating her husband, but what she doesn’t know is that she’s about to steer her friendship with Liza on a collision course that will race from the U.S. to Russia and from Canada to Brazil, and the betrayals she uncovers could cause the end of all of them.
Comments: Though Kate was the main character of the book, I was more interested in Liza. I was never worried that Kate and Michael’s relationship would fall apart beyond repair. But Liza’s journey — and Michael’s professional quandaries — had me turning the pages. That doesn’t mean I thought Kate was unnecessary to the story. Far from it. As Liza’s best friend and the love of Micheal’s life, many of their actions are influenced by their feelings for her.
I thought the book was fast-paced, and it wouldn’t have taken me as long to read as it seems, if I hadn’t stopped reading 3/4 through. I was behind with my reviews, and I was in danger of becoming even more behind. Even with the reading break, I was able to get right back into the story.
Started: 10 June 2008
Finished: 29 June 2008
Liked A Lot
Rating:
To Hell With Love
Author: Sherri Erwin
Copyright: 2007 (Zebra); pgs. 349
Series: N/A
Sensuality: Hot
Who: Kate Markham and Owen Glendower (AKA Hades, Lord of the Underworld)
Summary: When Boston interior designer Kate Markham meets real estate mogul Owen Glendower at a dinner party, sparks fly. Not only is Owen GQ-cover, drop-dead sexy and filthy rich, he has a maddeningly seductive way of knowing intimate details about her. Details that send heat rushing to her cheeks not to mention certain other parts of her body. Swept deliciously off her feet, Kate lets herself fall into a breathtakingly sensual journey she hopes will never end, even when Owen reveals his little secret: he happens to be Hades, ruler of the underworld and the devil himself! Caught in the fiery-sweet grip of desire so consuming, Kate must choose between her business, her family, her life on Earth, and spending eternity in Hell with Owen. Then, out of the blue, family tragedy strikes, shaking her out of a rapturous trance to face the decision of a lifetime. Will she spend eternity with this devil of her dreams or follow her conscious back to earthly reality?
Comments: An unconventional romance, with a bittersweet ending you can see coming a mile away. Yet it still managed to move me to tears — which is no small feat, as I don’t cry easily. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear “You Are My Sunshine” again without getting choked up.
Favorite Quotes:
“Very Angel at Wolfram and Hart. Straight from the weird room at the top of the building.”
– Kate (referencing the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off)
“I ended up with the greatest gift in the world. You love me. That alone will get me through anything.”
– Owen/Hades
Started: 1 June 2008
Finished: 3 June 2008
LOVED IT !!
Rating:
international
Murder in Gramercy Park
Author: Victoria Thompson
Copyright: 2001 (Berkley) 329 pgs.
Series: 3rd in the Gaslight Mystery series
Sensuality: N/A
Who: Sarah Brandt (midwife) and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy
Where & When: Autumn 1896
Summary: At a summons from Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, Sarah arrives at the elegant home of famed magnetic healer Edmund Blackwell to find his wife in labor — and the good doctor dead from an apparent suicide. Only Malloy sees what no one else wants to: that Blackwell was murdered in his own home. After a successful delivery, the Blackwell baby falls mysteriously ill. Relying on her nurse’s training and women’s intuition, Sarah discovers the source of the baby’s sickness — and discovers a scandal that leads Malloy’s investigation down a gilded path paved with greed, deception, and desire.
Comments: At the beginning of the book, Frank is relieved that the case he’s been assigned to isn’t a murder and there is no possible way that Sarah can somehow get involved. Poor guy. Shortly after he arrives, he learns that the very pregnant wife of the late Edmund Blackwell is the person who found the body. The shock has sent her into full labor. There’s no question as to who Malloy will send for, and his consolation is that the case is a suicide and there won’t be any need for Sarah to get more involved. Again, Malloy is proved wrong, this time by the evidence at the crime scene. He’s absolutely sure that the man was murdered.
Sarah becomes necessary to the investigation in her role as the midwife/nurse to Mrs. Blackwell and her baby. Letitia Blackwell is confined to her bed and refuses to receive visitors, and it is improper for Frank to intrude. Sarah’s status also allows her to question the staff who are leery of Malloy. Even her Knickerbocker, blue-blood family name comes in handy when dealing with Blackwell’s more influential clients. She’s more than happy to be involved in any way possible, and she is careful when teasing Malloy, for fear he will exclude her from the investigation entirely.
Before long, suspects and motives mount up. It’s like a game of Clue, where Sarah and Frank know the weapon and the room (study/library, with the revolver), but no way to easily eliminate the “who”. Could it have been Amos Potter, Blackwell’s business partner who seems smitten with Letitia? Was it Letitia, with her many scandalous secrets? Or maybe her over-protective father? Then there’s the young man claiming to be Blackwell’s son.
Frank spends a great deal of time at Sarah’s place, discussing the possible suspect/motive combinations and going through Dr. Brandt’s files, looking for a clue to his murder — slim that it may be. Frank continues to be more aware of his feelings toward Sarah than Sarah is about her own feelings for Frank. Sarah still associates seeing Frank with being involved in the murder investigations: anxious to exchange new intelligence and theorize the who and why.
Favorite Quote:
“How did you manage with Brian by yourself?”
“I knocked him unconscious and threw him over my shoulder. He wasn’t much trouble at all after that.”
– Sarah, Malloy (re: Frank’s son, Brian)
Started: 26 May 2008
Finished: 31 May 2008
Liked A Lot
Rating:
jobs
Magic Burns
Author: Ilona Andrews
Copyright: 2008 (Ace); pgs. 260
Series: Kate Daniels #2
Sensuality: N/A
In the second book of the series, Kate Daniels is holding down two jobs (her day job at the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, plus the occasional Mercenary Guild assignment with Jim, the werejaguar) and paying two mortgages. For the last month or so, she’s successfully avoided getting involved with the Pack — except working with Jim, of course — and its infuriating leader, Curran.
Kate agrees to track down the thief who stole valuable maps from a Pack survey team. Since the thief also interfered with her most recent Merc assignment, Kate’s already interested in finding the guy. In the course of her investigation, she encounters a girl named Julie – who’s mother was involved in an amateur coven and is missing; Red – the street shaman who helped her in the first book; and assorted Celtic-themed weirdness, all of which is somehow connected. Kate’s got to solve the mystery before the flare arrives.
I finished this book weeks ago. Writing a coherent review has become impossible to do. Every time I’ve sat down to do it, I end up picking up the book and re-reading parts of it. I loved this book. I love the characters. We got more insight into Curran — likes catnip-filled toy mice and Kate. It seems that he’s really interested in Kate, and if Aunt B’s assessment of the situation is correct, it’s more than just for a quick tumble. I won’t go as far as saying she had him at “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.” — oh, wait. I pulled out Magic Bites to get the quote right and re-read the scene (SEE?! I did it again!). Kate doesn’t back down, do humble, or gives up a fight easily. If Curran’s looking for a. . .consort, Kate is Alpha material. Kate, on the other hand, is in denial. She cares about him, and there is a physical attraction as well. But Kate’s also afraid that Curran will kill her without a second thought if he learned her secret. I think he knows it and if he doesn’t, I don’t think he would kill her, based on his worldview: he doesn’t hold the sins of the father against the child. Kate also believes she can’t get involved with anyone because her heritage makes her target and she doesn’t want people she cares about to be targets as well. Kate’s the sort of person who will sacrifice herself for the greater good, and being involved with someone just makes it harder.
Eagerly waiting for book 3. I hope the focus starts turning toward Roland soon, and how Kate’s going to deal with him.
(Well, that wasn’t too bad. I’m not messing with it any more.)
Started: 3 April 2008
Finished: 5 April 2008
Rating:
LOVED IT !!
