Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

This could have been a good story however; it jumped all over the place. The language was terrible. The lifestyle of the detective, Claire, seemed outrageous and situations she was put in or put herself in were unbelievable in the fact that in real life she would have never survived. I felt that the story painted a portrait of New Orleans as the scum of the earth and believe me when I say that I love outside one of the top 25 worst cities and even I found the story unbelievable.

1 Star

West of Here by Jonathan Evison

West of Here is an extensive, enthralling, inspiring tale of the human spirit. It tells the stories of many diverse characters, and how their lives are inherently connected to the town of Port Bonita. I grew to care about all the characters as they came alive for me in the very pleasurable setting of Washington State (which I have visited and would probably love to live there). The scenery, the wilds and the town, are all effervescent characters in the book and they are what held this whole book together and made it great.

5 Stars

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl’s Moving Castle to me is a version of Beauty and the Beast. In this case Howl is a self absorbed sorcerer who is very good looking and Sophie Hatter is turned into a haggard old woman by an evil witch. The book involves time travel and a magical castle with doors that open into different areas of the country. I must say that the book isn’t at all what I expected but I really enjoyed it all the same. This book is rated YA and I believe that intermediates could read it as well.

4 Stars

The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale

The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale is a very fascinating work of fiction. Simply, this is a novel about a scientist named Daniel. The other important characters are his wife Nancy, his father who is a retired soldier, his great-grandfather and his daughter's Muslim teacher. Daniel and Nancy are in a plane crash and even though they physically survive they have to deal with the repercussion of guilt and censure. This affects them as individuals and creates ripples of everyone their lives touch. It is a well-written story with thoughts of culpability, nerve, connections between people, resentment, and discrimination.

4 Stars

The Affair by Lee Child

In the 16th book of the Reacher series Lee Child takes us back to the beginning of the end of Reacher's military career. Reacher is sent to Carter Crossing, Mississippi when a local woman is found with her throat slit. Everything points to a Ranger on the elite training base just outside of town, but the deeper Reacher digs, the more dirt he turns up.
Reacher personifies the standard hero he has own set of morals, but yet a firm moral compass and tough as nails as well as sexy (well in my eyes).

5 Stars

I don’t usually recommend books in another review but I have been reading may new authors and if you are a fan of the Reacher series you should try The Fire Inside by Raymond Rose!!

http://bookwormbaby.blogspot.com/2010/12/fire-inside-sidekicks-novel-by-raymond.html