Spartan Gold, Clive Cussler

Spartan Gold, by Clive Cussler

This book was a happy find when my manager at work loaned it to me. I've said it once, I'll say it again, recommend, lend, or mention a book, I will read it!!!!! I love getting new reads from people. Anything and everything, people! I read it all!!! Anyways, I digress...

This was an awesome, amazing, couldn't put it down, action/adventure book. It follows married couple Sam and Remi Fargo, treasure hunters, on a whirl wind adventure. This is also a historical fiction book, so there are lots of little historical nuggets about Napoleon's lost treasure, Greek history (Delphi and lost Greek statues made of pure gold...), Persian history (focused on Xerxes the Great, a very kick ass dude, until he died, at least) and all that is brought together by the power hungry Persian Bondaruk who is OBSESSED with all this stuff because he thinks he is a direct descendant of Xerxes himself.

Sam And Remi are vacationing and happen to find a shard of a wine bottle that kick starts their journey of finding Napoleon's lost treasure, a convoluted treasure hunt with secret codes that the Fargo's research team flawlessly decode. Bondaruk catches wind of these finds and tries to threaten the Fargo's to give up the search. When that doesn't work, he just uses them to continue his search. What really cracks me up about these two, the Fargo's, is that they will literally have just gotten gunned down, and then in the next scene they are getting deep tissue massages at the Four Seasons! Like nothing happened! Just another day, I guess!! But anyways, the Fargo's follow the trail of the wine bottles, and into Bondaruk's mansion to get the other bottle, and discover the bad guy's obsession with Persian history and weapons. They put the pieces together and figure out the whole Persian side to it, are lead to a cave, and BOOM, they find missing Greek statues made of pure gold (Napoleon's lost treasure). Just like that...

Well obviously not, there are of course huge cat and mouse chase scenes, car crashes, war wounds, etc.  Like is said, it was a pretty great action/adventure story, so getting to the treasure was just a fraction of the good stuff...

My only real complaint of this book was the ending. It was like Cussler was only given so many pages to write this story in, and such a fantastic story going, that he got to the last 10 pages and was like, Oh yea, this has to end like now. And that is pretty much how it did end. They got to the cave, had a shoot out with the bad guys, and then called in a chopper to pick em up, and they decided what their next adventure would be. It was just...to quick. I wish that there was just a little more closure, like what happened with the statues, the repercussions of Bondaruk and his men and his obsessive collection. It was all wrapped up very quickly in a neat and pretty bow, and I don't know, just wasn't the ideal way for it to end for me.

With that said, the next adventure, The Lost Empire, looks promising and I can't wait to start reading it!!!!!

Moon Dance, J.R. Rain

Moon Dance, by J.R. Rain

This was a quick, fun vampire book. The first of a series, we meet Samantha Moon, who apparently is a vampire. Refreshingly, this was not your typical vampire novel. She is a private detective, working mostly at night, but unlike most vamp books, she has a family, and because of that, she is trying to maintain some sort of normalcy in her new life.

Let's backtrack...the book begins with meeting Sam in her house. Her vampire status is never really declared, instead, she has a "condition". She slathers on sunscreen, wears long sleeved shirts and big brimmed sun hats to pick her kids up from school. She seems real lethargic during all this, but once the sun goes down she seems to perk up. We learn that her marriage seems to be on the rocks as well.

She takes a case and meets with her new client. This is where the supernatural really comes out. Her new client, Kingsley Fulcrum (I think some of the names in this book is are kind of silly...like Kingsely Fulcrum...). Turns out Fulcrum is a werewolf. And makes her admit that she is a vampire. The story continues with her working for Fulcrum, trying to figure out who tried to kill him, figure out what to do with her marriage (which doesn't end well) and embrace what she really is without losing everything important, and figuring out what to do when and if she does.

Overall, though it was a new look at a vampire book, not stereotypical at all, it was not exactly a home run. I felt like maybe this book was a good start to something better, and I am looking forward to reading more of the series. I just hope that the character development grows and the stories get a little deeper, as this story just kind of skimmed the surface of anything real deep. Not that every book needs to be deep and telling, but it felt like everything was just on the surface. This could be because Samantha herself has not delved into herself and the vampire within, holding on to a life that she can no longer functionally be a part of. The end of the book gave the impression that book 2, Vampire Moon, might open up to that.

The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale, Oliver Potzsch

This was the long awaited sequel to The Hangman's Daughter (which I STILL think was poorly named..the sequel is no different...) and it really wasn't long awaited because I really had no idea it had come out! BUT I   was pretty excited to download it to my kindle and start reading it right away!! We start off about a year (give or take) after the first book ended. Magdelena and Simon are still a couple, as starcrossed couple, but a couple nonetheless, and the Hangman (Jakob) is still hangin' people. There is a mysterious murder of a monk and Simon calls in Jakob to take a look at the and both decide that this gluttonous monk did not just overindulge for the last time, but was in fact poisoned. Some seedy characters dressed as monks that have been hanging around the town are very suspicious, and some robbers have been terrorizing the trading roads. So there is a LOT going on in this story, but it is not all always in the front line. In someway, somehow most everything is connected in one way or the other. The mystery itself is intriguing. Very Illuminati/Knights of Templar stuff going on. At times I feel like some of the story lines (especially with some of the townspeople or even with Kuisl) seem a little more strained than it did in the first book, but it was still an overall good read! I would recommend it for sure if you liked the first one! Having read the first book, however, is not necessary in understanding all the goes on in this sequel. Some of the relationships obviously go back to the first book, but there is always a little summary between them to remind/catch the reader up!

The Hunger Games (Trilogy), Suzanne Collins

These books were a WASTE of my time. I have never been so frustrated while reading a book or series ever! I am all for a good series. Take Harry Potter for example. Harry Potter were 7 amazingly great books. The best thing about the Harry Potter series was that even though they went in order, and it was best to read them in order, they stood alone. You read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and that was that. It started with one storyline, and ended, and then the next book picked up at a new time, with a new story. The thing with the Hunger Games trilogy was that one book did not end. The first book ended in a cliffhanger, meaning you HAD to read the second book to get answers for the first book. Nothing was wrapped up, nothing was answered. I  felt like I was watching LOTR, wondering how this thing was going to last, then all of a sudden credits were rolling, and I felt like, well jeez, so much for finding out what happened, now I have to wait for the Two Towers! This was how I felt with the Hunger Games. I honestly had no intention of reading this series. I thought I would be satisfied with just the first one so I could see what all the hype was about, but when the first one ended and I HAD to read the second (and surprise, surprise, the second book was ALSO a cliffhanger), I was less then pleased. I wanted to know what happened. but I really didn't care or the stories or characters. I don't know why. 


I loved the concept of the first book, however. The second two I just read to get all my questions answered, but it was really just the first book that held my attention. I liked the idea of a post-idyllic world, where Big Brother was everywhere, and even though sacrifice sucks and is dumb, this book went about it a really great way, even though SO many people had to die. I don't know. I wish the first book stood as one within the series, so that it wasn't necessary to have to read the other two to make the first one come around full circle and actually end. 


I digress though. This is definitely a young adult series, meant for those young'ns that have graduated from the Percy Jackson series, and are too daunted to read the Harry Potter Series because of the sheer magnitude of books that make up the HP series. Worth a read, but be prepared to by, rent, or download all three books!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

I was really disappointed in this book. It seemed really juvenile and simple, and the ending just made absolutely no sense to me. I kinda wonder if this kid, Charlie, has some sort of autism or something, because even though he is in high school, he doesn't seem to function at quite that level. That, and I find it hard to believe that this strange, awkward kid is best friends with two very popular kids, and that the girl, Sam, would actually be interested in him. I totally get that this is fiction, but I like when my fiction is either completely believable, or so far out there that it is fantasy. It was written in 1999, and I believe it was advertised a lot on MTV or something, but it just fell flat for me. After I was done reading it I felt like i had wasted like, 2 days of my life. I do like the concept of the story however, the idea that Charlie was writing letters to someone who always remained unnamed. I liked the anonymity about that, because you never expected an answer, only what Charlie wanted to be known to this mystery friend, if it was even a friend at all. This book was decent, but i honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone else unless they were like 15 or something. This is just not an adult book, that would hold an adults attention. I also saw that this is going to be made into a movie, which I am sort of interested to see, but at the same time I am wary because I don't see how these letters would translate onto the big screen unless they switch the whole premise of the story up, but hey, it is Hollywood and they usually take all kinds of liberty with book to film!

The Rosetti Letter, Christi Phillips

This was a pretty cool book. I would classify it as historical fiction. It is flashback kind of book. It starts in Spain, around the time of the Spanish Inquisition, and that is where a lot of the back story comes from. Flash forward to present day, and it is about a PH. D. student studying this Inquisition conspiracy. I must admit that the present day stuff is not as appealing as the historical parts. Everything to do with Claire Donovan (the student) seemed kind of pathetic and forced. I chalk it up to this being Phillip's first fiction novel, so the character development wasn't ideal. But it was still a decent story, and despite the slow parts, I couldn't put it down. This book was a random used book store find, and I am glad I read it, because I am not a huge historical fiction fan, but I think I could get into it more. This book had potential, but I only give it like 3/5 stars. If I come across another Christi Phillip's novel, I would definitely pick it up and give it a read!

Going Home, by Harriet Evans

I must say, I was very, very disappointed in this book. It makes me so sad, because the first book I read from this author, "Hopeless Romantic" was an awesome book! But this book was just 400 pages of getting to the point, and then the point just not really mattering! It was all about this one thing, and then in the end, she decides it's not really a big deal anymore. There's love, lies, betrayal, drama, Brit speak (which some of it was just confusing and hard to understand....), and it is sooo much fluff that the whole center of the book becomes unimportant. It takes to long to get there, then it is gone. The ending is also really predictable and did nothing for me. Overall, this book blew. This post is kind of confusing, but that is how I felt when I read it! There are some other books of her I wanted to read, but I don't know now. This was her debut novel, and maybe that is why "Hopeless Romantic" was so much better, because she had this disaster under her belt. I give this book a D. =-(

Safe Haven, by Nicholas Sparks

This was your typical Nicholas Spark's book, but with a nice little twist! It was more of a mystery/thriller type story intertwined with the romance of it all. It was actually quite refreshing, although I had some problems with the "bad guy", but more on that later. As with most Sparks's books, it is kind of predictable. Girl moves into town, meets guy. Guy falls for Girl. There are some obstacles. Both overcome those obstacles and BAM happy ending! But since this was a thriller-esque book, it packed a little punch that kept me a little on edge. It was predictable in all the regular ways, but at the same time there was something new, which was very refreshing. After reading five or six of Sparks's books, you get kind of bored, but his books are always ones I grab when I feel like a good love story/cry.

Anyways. The story is set in North Carolina (shock) and centers around Alex, small town store owner, and Katie, a beautiful, yet mysterious stranger who has moved to town, and how they become connected. But Katie has a secret, and it seems throughout the whole story, as her past unfolds, that her secret will catch up to her. Great story line actually. They way Katie's narrative is told is great, because she does not want it to be told, so the reader only gets snippets of the story, only an idea of what has happened to her, until eventually she spills it all out to Jo (her kind of recluse neighbor). Without giving to much away, Katie ran away from her husband (Kevin), changed her hair  color and identity and became Katie. She never got divorced, so technically she is still married, so her relationship with Alex becomes tangled, because Alex doesn't know or understand Katie's distance and hesitation as they become closer. As (spoiler alert!) Katie's husband begins to search for her, the thrill of the story kicks in, because he stumbles on to her whereabouts by pure accident, and no one really sees it coming.

But the husband is where I have my issues with this story. Maybe because Sparks has not had to much experience writing thrillers, but this guy was a very weak character. He was very focused on Katie, but in almost a child like way. Like they way he would fixate on things, like the Bible, and what the Bible says a wife should do and how she should be, but it's written in such a way that is very childlike and unbelievable. I think if maybe Sparks had gone more into Kevin's past, before Katie met him, then maybe his upbringing would be more relevant to why he is the way he is. To me it seems as if Kevin has some kind of mental illness, maybe he is bipolar or just plain psycho (spoiler!!) as well as being an alcoholic. I don't know. If we knew more about Kevin, maybe his character would have been more believable and maybe even justified (even though I think he is psycho!).

Overall, this was a breath of fresh air from Nicholas Sparks. I didn't feel weepy or sad at the end of the book, just satisfied and happy. As always the way NC is described makes it sound like a place I would love to vacation at one of these days, because it seems to have everything, but only if I would be able to find a man Sparks's always describes, like Alex or even Noah (The Notebook!). Alas, I think I will have to live vicariously through his words only! But definitely pick this book up, even though its a little bit different then your typical Sparks's book, its always going to be a great, feel good read! I give this book a B+!!!

Room: A Novel, by Emma Donoghue

What an interesting story. This is a story about a little boy and his mother, told through the voice and perspective of the boy, Jack, who is 5, and the room they live in. It was really weird from the get-go, because there is not a lot of explanation as to why they are in this room, living as if it is normal. But this is because it is told by a 5 year old who thinks this is normal, because it is all he knows. The story unfolds and you learn about Old Nick, the man who put them in this room and supplies them with food and things they need to survive on the most basic level. A great plan unfolds to escape, and for that to happen Jack has to learn about the "Outside", which he has a hard time believing in because he always thought things like cars and streets and the sea were pretend! So when they break out of the room, he is exposed to all the new things, and we follow him as he learns how to deal with it all. It is a very interesting story, and I think it is based off a true life story, although I didn't look into it, so all I know is that something like it happened.

I found the story really hard to get into at first, because I just didn't understand what this kid was talking about, and the way they lived and why. It just seemed weird and with no explanation. I also couldn't figure out how this whole book could be about one boy in one room with all the things they do in the day...I thought it was going to be really boring. But once the story starts unfolding, I couldn't put the book down. When they got to the "outside" it was even more interesting because it was so different for both characters and for Jack to start to understand the real world and what happened to him, and wondering what mental effect this has caused him was really interesting.

Donoghue is the author is Slammerkin, which I own but have never read, but I think I might now because I enjoyed this story so much!!!!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera

This is the second Kundera book I have read, and I just love him! This book was no exception. The story was pretty simple, and one thing I loved/hated about it was the repetition. I am of two minds of this because I thought it was kind of cool how everything kept coming back around to the same things, but at the same time, I was like "Oka, I get it...baby in a bulrush basket..let's move on!!" But it is one of the things Kundera does, repetition, and he does it well. The story follows on couple, and a few people (plus a dog), who surround them in their relationship. It is a very quick read, because it is written simply, but that does not make the content whatsoever simple. It is actually very easy to get lost because of the simplicity. I found myself constantly re-reading a passage because I missed something, even if it is a repetition, you miss something by just breezing over. This book takes a close read, and I think maybe if I read it again, I will get a lot more out of it, just the way I felt with the first book I read from him, "Ignorance". After two readings of this book I felt like I enjoyed it the first time, and understood it better the second time.

Water for Elepants, by Sara Gruen

This book was recommended to me from a lot of people! I really liked it to. I liked how it was  set up in the present day with flashbacks. It almost reminded me of Nicholas Spark's "The Notebook", with the setting being in a assisted living place, the main character being elderly and his remembering of the past, of one huge event that pretty much changed his life. I think it was written very well, and from what I read, looking into the author, this first draft of this book was written for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, which is held in November.
Anyways, this is a really good book, full of a lot of history about the circus and the 20's. At the end of the book there was an interview with Gruen, and she talks a lot about the research she did for the novel, and how many anecdotal stories were used and why. That is one of my favorite parts of the story; a lot of it is based on real stories that real circus people told her when she was researching! It is still a fictional piece of work, but to know that some of this stuff happened, someway, somehow, just makes even more interesting.
This book has already been made into a movie starring Robert Pattinson as the main character, Jacob, and Resse Witherspoon as the love interest, Marlena. I am not to sure about how the book will translate onto the big screen, especially Witherspoon as Marlena, because in my head, as I read the story, I just couldn't picture her in that kind of role. But I try not to put to much stock into movies made from books; they seldom ever make the mark. I do however try to go in with an open mind.
The novel itself was really engaging, I could hardly put it down. I read it in 2 days actually, and was really sad that I read it so quickly, because I just didn't want it to end. But i really liked the ending. I really didn't expect it, and it was just a good way to end it. I give this book an A for being a fun, exciting read that I just couldn't put down! I highly recommend it, just as it was recommended to me! And even though movies from books are not my favorite, I am looking forward to seeing what makes it into the film and what doesn't!

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein

What a GOOD book! This is a story about a dog named Enzo, told through the perspective of Enzo. It is a touching, heartwarming, sad, funny, lovely book. It is a pretty quick read, and I don't know if it is because it was so good and I just couldn't down, or because it was told through a dog's perspective, and the vocabulary is simple and easy to read. We follow Enzo through his puppy-hood to his adult life, and his owner's life as well. His life as a dog is pretty good, but his owner's life is not. His owner's name is Denny. Denny gets married, has a kid, is a race car driver, and a lot goes down with all of that. His wife gets sick, there's a huge custody battle between the in-law's for his daughter, is offered amazing jobs doing what he loves, there is so much to love about Denny and his character. Enzo is just a dog, so he is limited in a lot of the things he sees, such as in the court room. Dogs are not allowed in court rooms, so all he can do is speculate what is going on. But on the other hand, the things that Enzo knows, and how he describes and explains them, is great. Enzo watches a lot of TV, and he and Denny watch a lot of Denny's racing tapes, and when Enzo talks about racing techniques and the people who race and how they do it and what Denny has taught him, even if you are not a race car fan, you can't help but eat up everything Enzo says because he is so passionate about it.

There are a lot of metaphors throughout the novel, most of them are racing ones, which makes sense, since Enzo grew up with an owner who was a race car driver. The biggest one is the actually the title, the art of racing in the rain. This is talked about a lot, how to do it, how to do it well, and so on. It is these metaphors that help drive the book (hehehe no pun intended) to what Enzo wants to achieve, and kind of alludes to what is going to happen in the end when it is all over....

As I said, Enzo watches a lot of TV, and at one point in his life, he watched a show about reincarnation, basically. So Enzo believes that when he dies, as long as he has done his duty as a dog, which these duties are given to him by his family, and what he thinks he needs to do. So everything Enzo does is meant to help him become a better man, which is what he will become when his life ends. He will begin a new life as a man, as a human, with thumbs and lips and a tongue. So all he can do right now is soak up everything he can, while he can, and take that with him when it is his time to move on. With all that said, one can guess where the end of the story leads to. It is a sad ending, but it does end on a good note, and while you may be sad at the end, you will still smile, and be happy.

This is a great book, a great "I need a good pick-me-up, make me cry, make me feel good" book. This book really does it all. You laugh a whole lot, you cry a little bit, and you just feel better at the end. Enzo is so honest and I guess in a way innocent, because he knows no other way to be. Its a nice change, really. A+ to this book! Read it now!!!!

Keeping Faith, by Jodi Picoult

This book was a typical Jodi Picoult book and even though it is a book full of religious references, and I am not the most religious being, it was still an interesting story and as always well written. The story follows a little girl who seems to be able to perform miracles, and this of course causes all kinds of outrage and controversy between the the media, Catholic church, and parents, who are in the middle of a divorce. As part of the Jodi Picoult style, there is a huge court case, and it is the court scenes are the critical points of the story. The mother, Mariah, of the little miracle worker, Faith (so aptly named), gets involved with a romance with someone she is not supposed to, be as well as her daughter being there for her, this relationship is a saving grace for her.

All the characters are developed pretty well. I had some issues with the little girl, Faith, who is 7, having such a critical role in her mother's well being. This kid was keeping her mother together, and I felt that most 7 year olds would not know how to deal with that kind of pressure. But, on that note, the relationship between Mariah and Faith was really nice and there is no reason to think that maybe Faith really did understand what her mom needed. 

This was a good book, not one of my favorite Picoult books, but I did like it. It took me a long time to read, and I am not sure if that is because of the religious elements that I just don't have enough background in to relate to or understand completely. I give this book a B and there are still so many Picoult books I want to read, I just hope they are a little more compelling then this one.

Jemima J, by Jane Green

This was a fun, escapist, Bit Chick Lit type book. A really fast read too. It is about severely overweight Jemima Jones, who lives in a small town in London and works for a newspaper. She is in love with a coworker, but because of her size, he only sees as a friend (typical). She lives with horrible roomates and had one real friend, who also works at the newspaper. The three friends discover the Internet and Internet dating, and Jemima soon develops an alter ego who goes by JJ. JJ meets Brad in a chat room and the two become involved. Pictures are exchanged. He is a Californian babe, blonde, perfect white teeth, buff and fit. So obviously JJ sends over a photo shopped picture. Soon Brad invites JJ to CA, which sets JJ off on a health kick and she gets all kinds of skinny and beautiful. She flies to LA, meets Brad, has amazing sex, but does not feel love. Brad has a secretary who HATES JJ for no apparent reason. This secretary, Jenny, is overweight and JJ tries to confide in her about how she used to be, but Jenny will hear none of it. Soon the reader, and JJ discover Brad has a BIG secret. Jenny. Jenny and Brad are in love, but since they live in superficial CA, they could never be together, so Brad needed a trophy wife, aka, JJ. JJ leaves, runs into her original love, Ben, from London, they have sex, its better than with Brad, they go home to London and live happily ever after, and she stays skinny.

Cute story, but I have a hard time believing that any woman, no matter what her size, would not be ok with the man they love shacking up with another woman just to save face. I thought the story was good up until that point, because in real life, even though people are, sadly, that shallow, they are usually not that generous. People who are that shallow tend to be selfish. It was one thing for Jenny to hate JJ, but for the relationship she (JJ) and Brad had together would have been enough to make any woman, no matter how big and self conscious, leave without blinking an eye. I don't know. That's just my opinion.

Like I said, it was a pretty quick read, with good character development and a pretty decent story line. But for that one little twist, I have to give this book a C. It just wasn't believable to me!!

The Hangman's Daughter, by Oliver Potzsch

I read this book on my Kindle. I was clicking through the Kindle Daily Post awhile ago and saw that this book was on special for $0.99, so I thought "Why not!?" It was written by a German TV screenwriter, and to be honest, it read like a screenplay. This book would honestly make a great TV mini series or movie. It had really great dialogue and descriptions. It was written very well and the story line was pretty unique. I had never read anything like this before, and although this is my first book review, I have read quite a few books. The story goes as follows:
We are introduces to Jakob Kuisl, a hangman. It is his job to torture and execute people. He has a family, but the family it alienated, because the hangman is a curse to the people, but somebody has to do it. His daughter, Magdalena is introduced, and regardless of the title, she has very little to do with the story. The young physician in town is in love with the hangman's daughter, but it is highly frowned upon because the hangman's daughter is a disgrace and can only marry into other hangman families. Anyways, those are the three main characters, Jakob, Magdalena and Simon, the physician. A boy is found by the river, murdered, and with a symbol tattooed on his shoulder related to witchcraft. The midwife of the town is arrested and accused of murder and being a witch, and this is where the story begins. Jakob takes it upon himself to exonerate the midwife and find out who is behind the chaos in town that includes multiple child murders and attempted kidnappings, the destruction of a leper house, and the involvement of the devil. The devil is a solider with a bone to pick with Kuisl.
A huge mystery begins, and it is quite enthralling. I had a hard time putting the book down, because like Simon and Jakob, you are putting pieces together as you go. You think you have an idea of who the real killer was, and then all that goes out the window because of another piece of the puzzle, or mosaic, as that is used as the metaphor throughout the whole book. The missing mosaic piece.
I won't give away the ending, but it was okay. Kind of anti-climactic, because once all the pieces are put together and everything comes together, it all kind of turns out to be people being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and all assumptions that were made were entirely wrong because there was really no binding pieces. But it was fun getting to the answer.

The ending was kind of drawn out and it eventually felt like maybe Potzsch was trying to pack in as much punch as he could, and it wasn't really necessary. As for the title, I really think it should have been titled something else, because even though Magdalena helped figure everything out and the love story that was intertwined throughout the mystery was led by her, it is kind of misleading to see the title and think the story is going to have a lot to do with her.

Overall I give the book a B-. It kept me on my toes, and I definitely enjoyed reading it.