Rook to King by Carina Taylor

Rook to King by Carina Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The perfect surprise. If you get a chance to listen to the audiobook I would strongly recommend it. It is so well done. It definitely added to the story and kept me listening from start to finish.

I really enjoy going into a book blind and boy am I glad I did that with Rook to King. It just added to the adventure. I absolutely love when a book takes me by complete surprise. This was not what I was expecting at all but in the best ways. This was a unique and fast paced story full of action and chemistry.

Bodie King has a bit of notoriety when it comes to the antiques world so when he walks through the doors of Gracen's antique shop she is less than thrilled at the encounter. Unfortunately, she is in less control of her life than she thinks and before she knows it, she and Bodie are forced together to find the one of a kind chess pieces in order to complete the set.

The more these two interact the more obvious it is that they have an undeniable chemistry. If only Bodie's past didn't keep reminding him that they come from completely different worlds.

This book is a fun adventure with a tiny bit of character growth but mostly just a lot of fun banter and adventure.

Thank you so much to netgalley for this audiobook ARC. It was absolutely delightful.

This is a sweet, closed door romcom that gives off a bit of Ocean's 11 vibes. Definitely a romantic adventure you won't want to miss.

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The Unnameables

by Ellen Booraem

Dedication: "For Rob, who gave me the Goatman and the courage to write about him"

First paragraph: "It is an orderly island. Anyone can see that, even from a distance."

Review: As a baby, Medford Runyuin was orphaned and washed ashore an island with strange beliefs. He was taken in by a Carver and taught the ways of the island. His life was not always easy but he tried to fit in and ignore the taunting comments from others about his useless name. There were the Carvers, the Weavers, the Bakers, the Tanners. Everything on this island was named for its purpose. Anything useless, destroyed and cast off. But what to do with someone like Medford, Someone who had a skill deemed unnameable? Things take an even more interesting turn when a goatman turns up on the island, helping medford to uncover secrets some people would prefer stay hidden.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't intense or suspenseful but it was entertaining. The characters in it lacked depth but they were still interesting enough to keep you reading. I wish Booraem would have delved into Prudy's story a bit more but this was a story about Medford so I can understand why that didn't happen.

There was one thing that sort of drove me a little crazy while reading. I can't complain about it too much though because it has to do with the story. On this island, there is a book that teaches them all the things they need to know. It uses weird wordage to describe things and people refer to this wording as "Book Speak". When people are thinking in normal words and then speaking in this Book Speak it gets sort of annoying and hard to follow. Eventually my brain just accepted it for what it was and I stopped noticing it as much, but it was really annoying at first.

Finally, I loved that the story was so hard to figure out. That is, you can't really guess what will happen next because the thinking on this island is so obscure and odd from normal every day thinking. This kept you turning the page. Kept you trying to figure out what the people were thinking when they made their decisions.

Final opinion: Read this book. It should keep you pretty entertained.

Click here for Ellen Booraem's website for The Unnameables.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

by Libba Bray

Dedication: "For Barry and Josh"

First paragraph: "Please tell me that's not going to be part of my birthday dinner this evening."

Review: This is the first book in a trilogy about a young girl, Gemma Doyle, whose life changes unexpectedly after her mother's murder on her 16th birthday. She spends the first book trying to get over the loss of her mother, trying to fit in at her new school, and coming to the realization that no matter how hard she tries, she'll never be like the other girls.

I'll come out and say it. Not my favorite book ever. I'm guessing the second book will be a lot more interesting. The problem with this book was that it was 400 pages of a girl whining about not fitting in and trying to find her place in the world. The only intense, mysterious moments were the first and the last two chapters. The rest was character and or future story line development.

However, due to all the character development you really get a chance know the characters. You get to know each and every one of them. Felicity, Pippa, Ann, Miss Nightwing, Miss Moore, Madame Le Farge, etc. You loathe Felicity and Pippa until you come to understand them more. At which point you still want to shove their head in a bucket but at least you understand a bit more where they are coming from. And you get a chance to have a favorite teacher, and a least favorite. You get to know their sad stories.

As for the story, it's a great start. I'm guessing the the other two books will be filled with a lot more action and hopefully not so much "I'm whining because I just want to have friends but life sucks".

Now I may have given you the wrong impression. While this book was not my favorite I still really enjoyed it. I would definitely rate this book as "I liked it". It just wasn't one you pick up and can't put down until it's over. In fact, I sort of needed to take a break from Gemma every once in awhile.

The only other complaint I had was in regards to Gemma's friendship with Felicity and Pippa. These two girls were absolutely awful to her and yet, for some strange reason, she just kept going back for more. I just find that whole thing highly unlikely but I guess I wasn't desperate for friendship at her age.

Anyway, the next book in the trilogy is Rebel Angels. So I'll be reading and reviewing that as soon as I get it from the Library.

Click Here for Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty website.

Prom Dates from Hell

by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Dedication: "To my dad, Robert Wallace Clement, who never forgot how to tell a story"

First paragraph: "As an interactive horror experience, with beasts from Hell, mayhem, gore, and dismemberment, it was an impressive event. As a high school prom, however, the evening was marginally less successful."

Review: Maggie Quinn never wanted to attend her high school prom. In fact, she was doing everything in her power to just avoid having to hear about it when things in her little town started to become a little paranormal. Now, to save everyone she knows and loves she has to put on a brave face (and a pretty dress) and dance her way through a night from Hell.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't remember where I heard about it from but it took me awhile to look into getting it from the library. But, the stars aligned and the library had it on the shelves so I picked it up and was pretty hooked from page 10ish.

It's a fun story with some great characters and an underlying moral to the story. It's set in a high school and the author really touched on all the classic stereotypical groups you find in the high school doors. And she was spot on with them. I had people from my own high school pictured for several of the characters that appeared. I especially enjoyed the idea of taking this one night that so many people either love or dread and turning it into something so other-worldly.

Maggie, the main character, is a lot like the average high-schooler. I think it makes her easy to relate to. There were things that she did that I would never have been able to muster and other things that I could have done with ease that she really struggled with and as a result, overall, she seemed like a real person who could have easily been my friend.

I guess the one thing I didn't quite understand was in regards to the sudden onslaught of men in Maggie's life. I just find it odd that one minute she is all, I'm ok looking and there aren't any guys, and then the next minute they are coming from every direction. It could happen, it's just not very likely.

And with that, I bid you ado and say .. read this if you're in the mood for some laughs and a good mysterious ghost hunting.

Click here for Rosemary Clement-Moore's website.

The Compound

by S.A. Bodeen

Dedication: "For Bailey"

First paragraph:
"This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
- T.S. Elliot

T.S. Eliot was wrong. My world ended with a bang the minute we entered the Compound and that silver door closed behind us. The sound was brutal. Final."

Review: Eli's world ends at the age of nine, when his family is rushed to an underground compound his father had built in case of a nuclear fallout. Things might not have been so bad but his twin brother and his grandma didn't make it before they were shut in. Their new home for the next 15 years while the world outside falls apart, or so Eli, his siblings, and his mom think.
Eli's dad, Rex, is really easy to loathe. He's bordering on insanity in some of the things he is making his family do, all in the name of survival. It's hard to imagine someone like him could really exist, but at the same time, without him this story would be quite boring.

This book was an interesting read. It was easy to get into and it flowed pretty well. I think the only thing I would have liked the book to have was, more. It seemed like it skimped on some of the elements that may have built up the other characters and their situation. Usually, I'm all about a book being right to the point but I enjoyed the story and I thought there could have been more twists and story to it. But I still really enjoyed it.

I would suggest this book to anyone looking for a bit of a different story. Something to make you think, what if. I read it in a few hours so it's not a book that will take days of your time.

Click here for The Compound website.

The Lost Symbol

by Dan Brown

Dedication: "For Blythe"

First paragraph: "The secret is how to die. Since the beginning of time, the secret had always been how to die. The thirty-four-year-old initiate gazed down a the human skull cradled in his palms. The skull was hollow, like a bowl, filled with bloodred wine. Drink it, he told himself. You have nothing to fear."

Review: Robert Langdon is summoned to Washington, D.C. at the last minute in order to help out an old friend. He arrives just in time to be sucked in to a night of chaos, secrets, mystery, and action. This book is another in the series featuring Robert Langdon and it takes place some time after Angles and Demons, and The Da Vinci Code.

I had a hard time getting into the story. It may have been because the story wasn't awesome, or it may have been because I wasn't feeling to awesome and I felt like sleeping more than reading. Either way, the beginning of the book wasn't the greatest. But once it really gets the ball rolling the story is filled with action, intensity, and lots of mystery.

Brown throws in his usual curve ball which leaves everyone thinking, "Hmm ... didn't see that coming." Only this time, I think it was easier to see it coming. There was a lot of intense moments and there were twists that you really didn't see coming but it seemed like the book ended up righting itself back on the exact course you predicted.

As far as the characters, it was hard to really get into their stories because every time you are starting to get attached it switches to another character's situation. I think this writing style is used to keep you reading until you get back to whatever Langdon was doing but at the same time, it kept me from ever REALLY getting into the story.

So, final opinion = middle of the book is great. Beginning of the book is kind of boring and the last 50 pages of the book was completely dragged out. I couldn't wait for it to end. (That's a bad sign). Anyway, the book was entertaining for the most part and if you read it, you won't feel like it was a waste of time but it is a little less action and a little more talk than any of Dan Brown's other books I've read.

Click Here for Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol Website.

Shift

by Jennifer Bradbury

Dedication: "For Jimmy - always my first, best, and favorite reader"

First paragraph: "The nose of the seat bit into my shoulder as the toe clip scraped the back of my thigh. I wrestled the bike through the dorm's gaping front doors, the derailleur cable snagging on the knob as I stepped inside. I lurched, swore, and hoped none of the half-dozen people hanging around the sweltering lobby were watching. I tried to block out the lingering smells of puke and cheap beer as I headed for the row of mailboxes along the far wall."

Review: The day after high school graduation Chris and Win set off on a cross-country bike trip. Their plan is to make it from West Virginia to Seattle. But before they get all the way there Win leaves Chris behind. Chris decides he's better off without him, reaches the west coast and takes a bus back home and starts his freshman year of college, figuring Win did the same. Only now he's finding out Win didn't make it back and people are starting to ask questions.

This book is about more than just finding out what happened to Chris's best friend. It's about Chris finding out who he is. I love how Bradbury was able to write two very different stories and yet make them connect and become one. The story of the bike ride across America - two young men doing something they love, and the story of growing up and becoming adults - making decisions and doing things you never thought you could do. Becoming a person you always wanted to be.

As you travel across America with them you really get a feel for what they are going through (as much as is possible without actually doing it yourself). You become connected to them and as the story progresses so does your friendship with them.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't remember why it made my reading list but I'm glad it did and it should make your reading list too.

Click Here for Jennifer Bradbury's website.

Also, just a fun fact I learned off the book jacket - Jennifer Bradbury rode her bike across the country for her honeymoon .... Wow.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson (Translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland)

First Paragraph: "It happened every year, was almost a ritual. And this was his eighty-second birthday. When, as usual, the flower was delivered, he took off the wrapping paper and then picked up the telephone to call Detective Superintendent Morell who, when he retired, had moved to Lake Siljan in Dalarna. They were not only the same age, they had been born on the same day - which was something of an irony under the circumstances. The old old policeman was sitting with his coffee, wating, expecting the call."

Review: This book was disturbing on so many levels and that might have been a big part of why I found it so interesting. I have to wonder about an author who can come up with characters that are so disturbed but I have to admit it made for a great read.

Normally, I avoid Adult Fiction because it's boring in one way or another. However, Borders recommended this book so I decided to check it out of the library and give it a try. The book has about 3 or 4 different endings 3 of which are good - the only ending I had a real problem with was the real ending. It was what I would call, lame - mostly because I like my stories tied up nicely and this one was not. It wasn't even a "I'm gonna write another book" ending. It was just, "I want to mess with you and I can because I am an author so Ha!" ending.

Anyway, the book is about a journalist sentenced with libel and finds himself in the middle of a very messed up family trying to solve a crime that happened 35 years ago. You learn about a bunch of key people but for nearly half the book you wonder how one really has to do with the other. That sort of stuff all ties up nicely with some very big surprises along the way.

I'm glad I read this book. I'm really glad my views of Adult Fiction have been altered to a more positive light. Glad I took Borders suggestion.

I don't have a website of any kind for the book or the author but I'm sure you can find plenty of information on it via Google and the world wide web.