June 2011 | Book Nerds Across America

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Greek Week: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

"It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall. Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess." (from Goodreads)

This was such a cute book! It took me a little while to get into it, but by the middle I was curious as to what exactly Kate's tests were and how she was doing with them. And I must say, I love the way everything tied up at the end. It was one of those endings where I had guessed some of it, but not all of it, and definitely not how it all tied together. I was definitely like, "OMG, that's...." and "Oh! That was that test?!" (At one point as I was reading it, I was definitely shunning, you know, my life and responsibilities. I tweeted Aimee Carter that I blamed her for the neglect and she cheerfully tweeted back that she was glad I liked I the book. :)

What I liked best about the book was Henry. Carter's personification of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, is probably the best one I've read. We see a man who has been deeply hurt, yet still does not want to hurt Kate. He definitely has darkness, but he also has feelings. I loved seeing the relationship between him and Kate grow.

The next book in the trilogy, Goddess Interrupted, comes out in April 2012 and I want it already!

~Flo~

An advanced reader copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley.

Breaking Dawn Read Along: Chapters 6 - 8

Flo here to guide you through chapters 6 - 8 of Breaking Dawn. Y'all. I had so much fun with these chapters!! (This link is rife with spoilers, so don't click it if you're not down with that, okay?)

http://booknerdspoilers.blogspot.com/2011/06/breaking-dawn-chapters-6-8.html

To avoid posting spoilers on the blog we created a separate page for our Breaking Dawn Re-Read Along reviews. Please take this as fair warning. The following link CONTAINS SPOILERS. If you have not read the book and do not want to have it ruined for you, you SHOULD NOT click on this link. I can't imagine that there are any BookNerds that have not read the book, but I wanted to make sure this was crystal clear ahead of time. We would LOVE to hear your comments. As I am sure you have noticed, the BookNerd admins don't always have the same opinions about the books we read. I am sure our followers have additional opinions that could lead to some great discussion.

http://booknerdspoilers.blogspot.com/2011/06/breaking-dawn-chapters-6-8.html

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Entwined by Heather Dixon

MARY'S REVIEW

First, I love the cover of this book. I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but I did with this one. When I began reading it seemed very interesting. I did not know that this was based off of a fairy tale; however, after reading the whole book I could see the fairy tale in it.

Azalea is the oldest of twelve girls and loves to dance. After their mother dies it come to light, while they are in mourning for a year, that their house is magical. It is through a secret passage they meet Keeper.

As all the girls mourn their loss they also rejoice in this new found place where they can dance all the time. But, everything comes with a price and Azalea needs to pay that price.

Even though the story was very interesting, there were some parts that lagged and could have been summed up better. However, Heather Dixon did a wonderful job telling the story of Azalea and her sisters.

Jacque's Review:

Entwined is a story about a Victorian Era royal family that is struggling financially. The Queen, who has been suffering from a long term illness, passes away shortly into the story leaving behind the King and 12 princesses. The mother was a gifted dancer who shared her love and talent with her daughters, but the King lacked the same emotional connection with his family. The girls were never truly happy unless they were dancing, but the King imposed a one year period of morning that prohibited dancing and all socializing outside of royal business. Throughout the book, we learn that the palace has a long history of magic associated with it. The princesses discover this magic and a place in which they can dance and express their love for their mother, but not without a cost.

Overall, I enjoyed the story which is based on the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Heather Dixon did a great job of providing a unique personality for each of the characters. I also enjoyed how their relationship with the King progressed and developed throughout the story. There were portions, however, in which I felt like it was dragging. The plot could have moved quicker and there could have been more to the love story.

Flo's Review:

Like Mary, I love this cover! It's gorgeous. So, I wanted to read the book without even knowing what it was about....and maybe knowing would have better prepared me. I was so confused by the first several chapters, that I did go back and read up on it. Turns out it is based on the fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, which I'd never heard before. Once I discovered that, it put the story in better perspective for me...however, I still found it lacking. For being a fairy tale, it did not present a fairy tale feel. And for being a story about magic, I did not feel at all magical. I think these elements were lost in trying to make it read as a regular story, and that is unfortunate. But I think my biggest qualm with the book is that it was very long. I felt it stretched out and dragged on when it could have been made tighter. I did, however, enjoy several of the characters, such as Mr. Bradford with his tousled hair and sweet Clover. In the end, it was the distinct personalities of the characters and not really the story that kept me reading to the conclusion.

Teri's Review
I love a good fairytale . Perhaps it was being surrounded by Kings, Queens and Castles as I grew up-okay maybe just one Queen, and maybe he is just the DOE, but I did have the castles! My parents often read The 12 Dancing Princesses to me, so I went into Entwined knowing the background, Azalea and her sisters find a magical ballroom in their castle, where they are able to fulfill their love of dancing with the help of Keeper while they are suppose to be mourning the loss of their mother. But Heather Dixon went further with the story, expanding it into a readable book. Azalea was likable enough but lets face it Bramble stole the show. I kept turning pages to see what would come out of her mouth next-Oh no she did not just say that! Bramble provided me the humor this sometimes somber book needed.. And Keeper-Creepy- a lot more creepy than I remember him being in my fairytale book. I started out kinda liking him, that went down hill real fast.Most of my fellow booknerds liked Mr Bradford, and he is quite charming and dashing, but me? I loved Lord Teddie. His mannerisms and speech were spot on for a Eaton boy, but mostly he reminded me of probably my very first fictional crush, the adorable Bertie Wooster.
I did enjoy this book, tho sometimes all the detailed dancing rather bored me, actually come to think about it, I think it was the trip back to my childhood that I enjoy the most.

Greek Week: Abandon by Meg Cabot (with a GIVEAWAY!)

"Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back. But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid. Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most. But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld." (from Goodreads)

I'd heard a lot about Abandon before it came ou,t so I was really excited to read it. (Plus, I obviously like books based on Greek myths, seeing as how I am sponsoring a Greek Week and all...)

Unfortunately, I really struggled with this book, and in the end I had to abandon it without finishing. (Bonus points for my clever pun?? No??) It just jumped around way to much for me. One minute we are reading about Pierce's present. Then the next paragraph will allude to the past. But it won't give a clear narrative of an event. It will just give hints about the event. So then I was confused, and the next paragraph would jump back to the present time.

In my opinion, Pierce was too stream of consciousness to tell a straight story. I found myself getting frustrated with her and the fact that she kept giving us tidbits about some big event that changed her life; but never telling us the full story. It didn't create curiosity for me; instead she would jump back to the modern day and then allude to another Big Life-Changing Event That The Reader Doesn't Know What It Is.

And the dark, mysterious John? He was so dark and mysterious that I didn't feel he was developed as a character at all.

All that being said, I may check out the sequel, Underworld. The Greek myth loving part of me is intrigued and thinks that maybe Pierce won't jump around so much in the realm of the dead.

~Flo~

GIVEAWAY TIME!!
The last time I tried to give away a book I didn't like, it failed miserably. So this time I'm sweetening the pot. I will have Meg Cabot PERSONALIZE Abandon for whoever wins it! Want it? Let us know in the comments. Don't forget to include a way to contact you. Contest ends July 18th.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Greek Week: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I loved the Percy Jackson and the Olympians saga. After I finished reading all five of those books, I picked up the first book in author Rick Riordan's lateast series, The Kane Chronicles. And I didn't like it.

So I had no idea what to expect when coming in to The Lost Hero. In fact, it's been sitting on my TBR (to be read) pile for many months now, and I just now got around to it. Boy am I glad I did! It only took a few pages for me to be immediately immersed and invested back into the world I loved so much in Percy Jackson.

In The Lost Hero, we are introduced to Jason, Piper and Leo at the Wilderness School, which is a school for difficult children. Jason, however, has no memory. He does not know who he is or how he got to the school. Soon enough, the three are taken to Camp Half Blood where they are claimed and sent on a quest.

There were several things I loved about this book. As always, Riordan is a master of writing action scenes that leave you holding your breath and characters that make you laugh and want to give them a hug. Jason, Piper and Leo's adventures were fresh and entertaining, and I loved discovering them as they discovered themselves and what they could do.

I also enjoyed seeing Camp Half Blood from a new perspective. In the Percy Jackson series, we were only able to experience it as Percy did. In The Lost Hero, we learn more about the camp and see it through multiple eyes. I love, love the way characters from Percy Jackson are so well integrated into this new saga! Annabeth, Clarisse, Chrion -- and even those demigods who died got mentions.

Running parallel to the the story of the three new demigods' quest is the story that Percy Jackson is missing. Only at the end do we discover how he disappeared and where he is. This revelation sets up the next book in the Heros of Olympus saga, which you can guarantee I will be picking up as soon as it comes out in October.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Divergent Give-a-way

We had a lot of people enter into this contest and we are very excited about that!

The winner of our Divergent Book Give-a-way is:

@AlisonCanRead

We will be contacting you soon! Congrats!

Sunday Mystery Corner: Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

Mary's Review

I am a huge fan of of mysteries and thrillers. I think that I love the "puzzle" of figuring out who did it, why they did it, and how they "almost" got away with it. It is always interesting and enjoyable.

I heard about this series through Twitter and other friends. They all say the same thing "great series" and etc etc. So, of course I had to read it.

In my opinion, this series was not what I thought it was. To me it did not hold me like a thriller/mystery should. Dr. Kay Scarpetta was a good character but she just could not hold my attention. Detective Marino is the lead of the case but he and Kay do not see eye to eye. They are investigating, Mr. Nobody, a serial killer of several woman in the Richmond area.

The storyline was very predictable and I had figured out the killer almost half way through the book. I like a storyline that would at least keep me guessing for a little bit longer than just that. I thought Cornwell did a great job of descriptive writing and I did realize that this was an older series and there were not many new "advances".

Overall, I will not continue this series.

Jacque's Review:

I started out reading a couple of the Kay Scarpetta books that were further along in the series and really enjoyed them. After determining that the main characters develop throughout the series, I decided to start reading from the beginning.

Kay Scarpetta is the newly appointed Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. Throughout this book, we learn some of her personal history as well as that of her family. We can see how things operate politically within her office and the various departments she interacts with. As the medical examiner, she is involved in the crime scene investigations, autopsies, and assists the detectives in analyzing the evidence associated with a series of murders committed in Richmond. Not only is she working to help solve these serial murders, but she has to contend with someone from the inside that is sabotaging the investigation.

Unlike Mary, I was not able to determine who the killer was until shortly before he was apprehended. We eventually can determine the suspect's occupation and how the seemingly unrelated victims are connected, but we were not officially introduced to him until the very end of the book. While the graphic details of the murders may not appeal to everyone, I plan on continuing to work my way through the rest of the series.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Introducting Greek Week!

It's Greek Week on the Book Nerds Blog!!

Why?

Because we're random like that.

No, seriously.

There have been a lot of great books released lately that are based on Greek mythology. And we love it! So we decided to spend a week reviewing some of our most recent reads. Come back every day this week to see what we think about a new Greek myth-based book.

And perhaps, this is a HINT about one of our Read Alongs for next month...

Photo credit: uofdjesuit.org

Friday, June 24, 2011

Friday Movie/Book Night: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

TERI'S REVIEW:

I love history,I love the Civil War ( get to know me fact #1-I have been to all the major Civil War battlefields in the US) I love vampires, so I felt this book was going to be perfect for me, and for the most part it was. After reading Seth Grahame-Smith's book I could almost believe that Abe Lincoln was a vampire hunter. He brilliantly combines fiction and fact together blurring the edges where it was at times hard to know where one ended and the other began.

Maybe it was Abe himself, that kept this from being "the book" for me. I have never given the man much thought (My family is from the South ya'll). The start was very slow fro me, I held little interest in his childhood, but it had to be written to understand his passionate hate for vampires. The third part of the book, did however keep me reading. Mr Grahame-Smith's idea of vampires and slavery was very believable and, once again brilliant.

As for the ending, it has a twist, which I will leave for the reader to discover. I however, felt I should have seen it coming, as Henry left clues throughout the book. I being a music lover, instantly thought of the old Dion song, Abraham Martin and John, I'd like to think that Mr Grahame-Smith was listening to it also as he wrote the final chapter.

MARY'S REVIEWS

It is true that I am a big history buff and of course have a thing for vampires. So when I heard this book was being made into a movie my thought was "Cool idea!". Now for the book itself, upon finishing it, I thought it was ok, but I do think that it will make a good movie.

I will give Grahame-Smith one thing, he did keep the historic part of the book correct.

The things I did like was Edgar Allen Pow being in the book (I LOVE HIM) and the twist at the end. Like Teri, I will not tell you it. I do like the way Grahame-Smith is very descriptive in the book.

I did not like the way it seemed rushed during the Presidential years. I felt like he just wanted to finish the book. Plus, there were times in the beginning where I felt it lagged a little bit.

I will see the movie though!

Jacque's Review:

Like Teri, I have visited the vast majority of Civil War battle fields and monuments. I have enjoyed watching reenactments and discovering our history first hand. I was hoping this book would provide a humorous twist to a dark time in American history, however, it was nothing more than a warped presentation of facts.

The beginning of the book actually caught my attention. Within the first fifteen pages we meet a young writer commissioned to write a book based upon the information contained in ten journals. The journals were presented to him by a mysterious patron of his store. He quickly learns that the journals were written by Abraham Lincoln and we later can presume that the "man" that gave them to him was a friend of Lincoln's.

The book then relates events from Lincoln's childhood through the time of his death with the existence of vampires. It was presented in a very dry, matter of fact manor that lacked any excitement. I honestly felt like I was reading an elementary school history book. There was nothing that held my attention and enticed me to continue. If it weren't for the fact that I needed to write this review, I probably wouldn't have finished the book.

The connections that Mr. Grahame-Smith made between the events in Lincoln's life and vampires were very imaginative and made sense in a fictional world in which vampires truly exist. I just wish he would have presented them in a way that was more enjoyable to read.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Breaking Dawn Read Along

To avoid posting spoilers on the blog we created a separate page for our Breaking Dawn Re-Read Along reviews. Please take this as fair warning. The following link CONTAINS SPOILERS. If you have not read the book and do not want to have it ruined for you, you SHOULD NOT click on this link. I can't imagine that there are any BookNerds that have not read the book, but I wanted to make sure this was crystal clear ahead of time.

Here is Teri's synopses of the Breaking Dawn Chapter 3 - 5 . We would LOVE to hear your comments. As I am sure you have noticed, the BookNerd Admin. don't always have the same opinions about the books we read. I am sure our followers have additional opinions that could lead to some great discussion.

http://booknerdspoilers.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

"Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules. Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next. Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming." (from Goodreads)

As soon as I finished reading Across the Universe, I tweeted the author Beth Revis that it was a "Whoa!" kind of book. She responded with, "That's what I was going for!"

So: Whoa!

I took me awhile to get into it. I struggled because it is a science fiction book, and sci fi is not a genre I usually enjoy. But it's not just as sci fi book -- it's a young adult book and a dystopian book, and I think unique the combination of these three factors is what gives the book such appeal.

Elder was a character I really enjoyed. I could feel his struggles throughout the novel, and I admired the choices that he made because I could see that they were hard, but right. I also really enjoyed Harley. And Eldest. Oh my gosh, Eldest! Every time I learned something new about him or discovered something else I thought, "Oh. My. Gosh!"

While one aspect of the ending didn't surprise me, the rest did. And left me going, "Whoa!"

A Million Suns, the sequel, is due out next year. I actually felt that Across the Universe reached a conclusive ending, so I am curious to see what else will happen on Godspeed.

~Flo~

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Breaking Dawn Re-Read Along

To avoid posting spoilers on the blog we created a separate page for our Breaking Dawn Re-Read Along reviews. Please take this as fair warning. The following link CONTAINS SPOILERS. If you have not read the book and do not want to have it ruined for you, you SHOULD NOT click on this link. I can't imagine that there are any BookNerds that have not read the book, but I wanted to make sure this was crystal clear ahead of time.

Here is Jacque's synopses of the Breaking Dawn Preface - Chapter 2. We would LOVE to hear your comments. As I am sure you have noticed, the BookNerd Admin. don't always have the same opinions about the books we read. I am sure our followers have additional opinions that could lead to some great discussion.

http://booknerdspoilers.blogspot.com/2011/06/breaking-dawn-preface-chapter-2.html

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Divergent Faction Quiz

Along with our Divergent Giveaway you might want to know which Faction you would be in.

On the Divergent Facebook Page there is a quiz to take. The staff at BookNerds blog all took the quiz and came up with the following results:

Flo: I'm Amity! (Can't we all just get along?! :) I remember a long time ago, even before Divergent came out, I was entering a contest to win an ARC and the question to enter was which faction we'd be in, based on a brief description of each of the five. I read them all and thought I'd be...Amity. So no surprises with my result! I also generally like to avoid conflict, so this fits me pretty well.

Jacque: I am Divergent. I took the quiz and debated on the answer to one of the questions. I really could have gone either way. I ended up taking the water instead of a friend simply based on a survival instinct. A friend would be nice, but isn't necessary. My quiz result came back as Dauntless. This was very surprising to me because I am not a daring adrenaline rush type of person. After reading the faction description, I do agree that I stand up for what I believe is right. When I took the quiz again and selected the friend instead of water (all other answers remained the same) I was part of Amity. I agree that I enjoy music, the arts, and simply want everyone to get along. I am, however, far from flaky or indecisive. I really am a combination of these two factions.

Teri:I am Erudite, the intelligent. I'm not sure how I managed to be placed here! My family tells me I am one of the most flighty people around! But that is common sense right? Not intelligence? I can relate here, I strive to learn something new everyday. I'm a whiz when it comes to playing Jeopardy on TV, or Trivial Pursuit with my family. My head is filled with the most useless information known to man, or in this case woman! It comes from wanting to know everything, my teachers HATED me. I was the one who always questioned them and I'm sure I was one of those annoying three year old's that was constantly asking why to every question or sentence!

Mary: I am Dauntless. I think some of this is true. I do not let other people's behavior dictate my mood and I know what is right. I also believe that you need to stand up in what you believe in! I am strong, bold and others do know this about me. The difference is I am not very "ruthless" and I do care very strongly about others. Sometimes I do get scared!

What faction did you get? Let us know in the comments.

Divergent Give-a-way

We all read Divergent by Veronica Roth and LOVED it! Now (thanks to Teri) we are going to give one of a followers a chance to love it as much as we do.

The book is not a new book. This book has been used but is in very good condition.

Please just follow our twitter account @booknerdsblog and RT this phrase:

I want to win #Divergent by @VeronicaRoth from the @booknerdsblog

We will randomly select one winner on June 27th

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Breaking Dawn Re-Read Along

A little over a week ago, the BookNerds anxiously sat in front of our televisions watching the MTV movie awards in anticipation of our first glimpse at the Breaking Dawn - Part 1 movie trailer. While we waited, we feverishly tweeted back and forth with comments about the show. The vast majority of the BookNerd's brainstorming occurs via twitter, so it is no surprise that our latest Read-Along originated in the same fashion. We all agreed that a re-read on the blog would be a fun way to refresh ourselves of every minute detail in the final book of the beloved Twilight series. We are going to break down the book into small manageable sections with the final post going up the week before the movie's release. Each Thursday, one of our administrators will post a synopsis of the section along with her comments and favorite quotes.  We TRULY hope that our followers will join us in the discussion.

June 16 - Preface through Chapter 2 (Jacque)
June 23 - Chapters 3-5 (Teri)
June 30 - Chapters 6-8 (Flo)

July 7    - Chapters 9-11 (Mary)
July 14 - Chapters 12-13 (Jacque)
July 21 - Chapters 14-15 (Teri)
July 28 - Chapters 16-17 (Flo)

Aug 4    - Chapters 18-19 (Mary)
Aug 11 - Chapters 20-21 (Jacque)
Aug 18 - Chapters 22-23 (Teri)
Aug 25 - Chapters 24-25 (Flo)

Sept 1    - Chapters 26-27 (Mary)
Sept 8    - Chapters 28-29 (Jacque)
Sept 15  - Chapters 30-31 (Teri)
Sept 22 - Chapter 32 (Flo)
Sept 29 - Chapter 33 (Mary)

Oct 6     - Chapter 34 (Jacque)
Oct 13   - Chapter 35 (Teri)
Oct 20   - Chapter 36 (Flo)
Oct 27   - Chapter 37 (Mary)

Nov 3    - Chapter 38 (Jacque)
Nov 10 - Chapter 39 (Teri)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

When this ARC came across the BookNerds table it looked like the most interesting read. With over 600 pages, it also seemed like a very long read.

The 600 pages went by quiet quickly actually but the interesting part left once I finished reading the book jacket.

This was one of the strangest books I think I have ever read. It started off as a great read but then it just lost me.

Here are the things that I did not like about the book:

The Point-of-View was the worst. One paragraph was it was in third person and then all of the sudden you get a sentence like, "I will come back to that later," or "Lets move on to something different." It was the strangest thing ever!
Connection to each characters. There were three parts to this story and none of them really made sense to me. We start with Andrew who wants to kill himself because Jack the Ripper killed the love of his life, Mary Kelly, who was a "Lady of the Evening". Then part two is about Claire and she falls in love with Tom. Then part three is about a Scotland Yard detective named Colin Garrett who is trying to figure out who killed HG Well, Bram Stroker, and Henry James.
The time traveling part is when Claire travels to the year 2000. This is where Tom and her have their passionate love affair. Andrew is convinced he should travel back into time to try and save Mary Kelly.

Jumble all that together there is your book. WHAT?!

I am going to give it the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps its the translation that is the real issue (but I am not really thinking that it the problem).

--Mary--

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Hunger crept up on me. What a powerful little gem of a book!

Lisabeth Lewis is a seventeen year old girl who suffers with anorexia. One night, after attempting to end her life by swallowing pills, she is visited by Death. Instead of taking her away, he appoints her Famine, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

First things first. I had to Google "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" pretty early in to refresh myself on the story. Here you go. The great thing about this book was that it played out a story line of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as if it were normal occurrence. Detailed and interesting, but not outrageous. Take Death, for example. Death is described as an attractive young male who likes Nirvana and has some of the best lines in the novel, including one about Lisabeth's very serious new position: "Thou art Famine, yo." He kept me chuckling throughout the book.

The other Horsemen and even their horses have their space in the novel as well. My favorite was Midnight, Famine's horse, who loves pralines and acts as Lisabeth's/Famine's trusty and faithful companion.

Kessler did her research into famine and provides us with rich descriptions of the desolate conditions in parts of our world. Interwoven into Lisabeth's nightly travels around the world is a story about a girl who struggles with her Thin voice that counts the calories in everything and continuously reminds her that she is fat and needs to exercise more. Lisabeth listens to the voice as one by one her best friend, boyfriend, dad, and mom come to the realization that she has a problem.

As Hunger progresses, Lisabeth learns how to use her power for good and to trust herself more than her Thin voice. The ending was fully satisfying, and I am eager to read Rage, the next book in the series in which a girl named Missy becomes War.

~Flo~

Monday, June 6, 2011

Sunday Mystery Corner - The Lincoln Lawyer

Mary's Review

It is true that I love a good thriller/mystery novel. I like the thrill of the "hunt" and the all the questions: "Who did it?" and "Why did they do it?". This book selection was no different. I had not heard of this book until I saw the movie trailer.

Mickey Haller is an attorney who will represent just about anyone. That is anyone who can pay and that is what Mickey needs right now. That is when Louis Roulet comes along. He is accused of attempted rape and attempted murder on a young female. Mickey thinks that he will be able to get Louis a great trial and a very good payday through it too. However, there are twists and turns (some that even I did not see) that Mickey and his team have to get through in order for everyone come out of this trial alive and well.

This was a quick read for me because the second Mikey began putting the pieces of the case together is the second I could not put the book down. I know that there are more books in this series and I would like to see how Mickey handles himself further.

I would recommend this book to others.

Jacque's Review:

The Lincoln Lawyer was recommended to me quite some time ago, but I have to admit, the fact that the movie was released starring Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillippe is what ultimately got my attention.

Mickey Haller is a defense attorney in LA who represents a questionable group of clients. Drug dealers, prostitutes, etc. He will represent anyone who can pay his fees, but when he lands his "franchise case" (a case that will pay him six figures and will allow him to comfortably pay his bills for a while) he begins to question his choice of profession.

Louis Roulet is a wealthy young real estate agent accused of attempted rape and attempted murder. For the first half of the book I actually felt sorry for Louis as the defense attempted to prove that he was the victim of a setup. As the book progressed and Mickey's investigator discovered additional information that connected this case to one of his previous clients, the truth behind the case became apparent. Mickey ends up putting himself and his family in danger as he strives to do the one thing his father taught him about the profession, to always identify and protect the innocent. "There is no client as scary as an innocent man."

I have always enjoyed the John Grisham legal thrillers. The one thing his books lack is a common element that makes you look forward to the release of his next book. That is what drew me to the Kay Scarpetta series, which is next month's Sunday Mystery Corner. When there is a character I can connect with that develops throughout a series, I am always excited to see what happens next. This series is no exception. Michael Connelly established a great character that we can continue to follow. There are currently four books in the Mickey Haller series, which I hear only get better.

What I liked most about this book is fact that the reader is able to unravel the mystery along with Haller. Clues are exposed throughout the story and we can slowly see how Mickey plans to address the ethical dilemma that he is in. With many legal mysteries, the reader is often blindsided with an unexpected ending. Connelly left enough of a mystery to hold my attention, but provided enough clues to make me feel like I was an active participant in the discovery of the truth.

Flo's Review:

I was the last of the Book Nerds to finish The Lincoln Lawyer, amidst Mary and Jacque's "Keep reading!" Every time a new twist was introduced I frantically sent them messages with multiple exclamation points. I finished the book on Friday night and a few hours later I went to the see the movie.

As Jacque and Mary mentioned, one of the strengths about this book was that the reader was able to put the pieces together with Mickey Haller. And the more Mickey discovered, the more you wanted to read to see what else he'd discover and what he'd do about it. I think Mickey himself was the biggest strength of the book. No matter what was revealed or thrown at him, he always managed to have a great reaction, or redirect, if you will. This is evident in his actions both in the courtroom and outside of it. In the book, we also go to understand Mickey's motivations -- why he acted the way he did, and ultimately, why he was the was the man he was.

Unfortunately, it is always hard to translate inner dialogue to the big screen. Thus, I felt that all this personalization of Mickey was left out of the movie. Without the book, I would have come away from the movie not really knowing the character or his motivations. To me, the movie played as a series of events. It was a story, yes. It unfolded as it did in the book, with few and minor variations, but none of the background was there.

I'm curious to hear a review of the movie from someone who has not read the book. Is that any of you?

Friday, June 3, 2011

Follow Friday - 6/3/11

Follow Friday is hosted by parajunkee.com and is a great way to discover new blogs! Here's this week's question: Q. What are you doing to prepare for an upcoming zombie apocalypse and/or the return of Mel Gibson to the silver screen? (Both of which could be terrifying.)
Hmm. Well, first of all, I'd gather up all my hurricane supplies -- flashlights, batteries, Doritos and beverages. And books of course. Anything by Carrie Ryan. But maybe not Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Then I would re-watch Shaun of the Dead. Because I feel that everything I need to know about surviving the Zombie Apocalypse could be learned from that fantastic feature film. ~Flo

I am not a big fan of movie theaters. They are VERY scary to me in their own right. I will brave the elements for Rob Pattinson, Harry Potter, Ryan Phillippe and a very select group of others. Mel Gibson CERTAINLY does not meet the criteria. He will not even make the cut for my Netflix selections.

As for the zombie apocalypse....I will have to make sure all of my electronics are fully charged. Nook, phone, iPad, etc. I wouldn't want to lose communication and the ability to read. I would take the aforementioned essentials to my gym to hang out until it is safe to return home. They have a nice cafe where I could eat, I could still get my workouts in, and I could lounge by the pool and read the rest of the time. This doesn't sound like a bad plan at all. Maybe I will institute these precautionary measures as soon as I am finished with work this afternoon. - Jacque

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

June Read-a-Longs

Can you believe it's already June??!?!

Anyway, you know what that means! It's time for 3 great new read-a-longs with the Book Nerds! So, if you care to join us for one or 2 or all 3 -- and we'd love it if you would! -- here's what to get:

Our June Read-A-Long is.....

Entwined by Heather Dixon!

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Our Friday Movie/Book Read is...

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith!

When Abraham Lincoln was nine years old, his mother died from an ailment called the "milk sickness." Only later did he learn that his mother's deadly affliction was actually the work of a local vampire, seeking to collect on Abe's father's unfortunate debts.

When the truth became known to the young Abraham Lincoln, he wrote in his journal: henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become learned in all things—a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose."While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for reuniting the North with the South and abolishing slavery from our country, no one has ever understood his valiant fight for what it really was. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time—all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War, and uncovering the massive role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

Our Sunday Mystery Corner is...

Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell!

Under cover of night in Richmond, Virginia, a human monster strikes, leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralyzed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer whose signature offers precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she calls on the latest advances in forensic research to unmask the madman. But this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it's being sabotaged from within and someone wants her dead.

All summaries from Goodreads.

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