Bad Luck Officer
I downloaded Bad Luck Officer and couldn’t put it down. I do love a good self-published book by an awesome BlogHer member – and I have a thing for hot cops, lol.
2012
The Rivals
The Rivals is the sequel to The Mockingbirds (not to be confused with Mockingjay). I… didn’t like it as much as The Mockingbirds and I saw the twist coming from a zillion miles away. I can’t believe how badly the three board members worked together. Wait, yes I can – they’re high school kids. And Alex was really not prepared to lead the group – I suspect even if the cards hadn’t been stacked against her, she’d have had trouble with a big issue case. But, by the end of the book – she was definitely stronger, a better leader, and a better person, so that’s good.
Also, I like Jones. I wanted more Jones.
Ransom
Remember back in October when I read Redemption during the Readathon? Well I finished book two in the series a few days ago – I wrote about Ransom over on BlogHer. If you’re interested in demons and angels and gargoyles and witches and YA fiction, click over there and read my post. J
Girl Scouts: A Celebration of 100 Trailblazing Years
Michelle came home from a trip to the bookstore in January with a present for me.
I loved it but decided to wait til GSUSA’s 100th birthday to read it. And that’s what I did yesterday. I took short breaks throughout the work day and finished Girl Scouts: A Celebration of 100 Trailblazing Years late last night. It was fabulous and fun. The photos are terrific and I found myself nodding and smiling my head all the way through.
It was a great gift and it was a real pleasure reading it on the 100th birthday celebration.
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Born Wicked
I’ve decided I hate series’. They always end just where I don’t want them to end. Born Wicked, for example – gah! Next book! Need next book NOW. What happens to poor Maura. Are the Cahill sisters really the sisters from the prophecy or does Sachi have another sister/half-sister…? See that, see the problem. While I really enjoyed the story and am dying for the next book, I’m also looking for some unexpected twist because right now, it’s a little too easy.
Two Cybils
My reserves are coming in oddly – I expected the children’s books to come in more quickly but I should have known better. Children’s books have a way of disappearing and being returned late. That means doubling up on reviews makes for a wee bit of oddness.
Me…Jane is a very pretty book. The paper feels nice. There’s some texture to it that gives the pictures that little something they need. I started out bored, a little girl and her stuffed animal. A little girl that we are obviously supposed to find fascinating and inspiring but it felt a little forced, to me. And when the little girl reads a book about a girl named Jane who lived with a monkey, I kind of rolled my eyes. Embarrassing since it turns out the book is about a young Jane Goodall. That made the book a whole lot better. Had I known that from the start, there would have been no eyerolling or forced feeling. It made sense once I got to the end. I read it again and smiled all the way through.
On the otherhand, Anya’s Ghost is not a children’s picture book. Anya smokes for goodness sakes! (lol) She’s also a very annoying teen girl who falls into a well and winds up with a ghost as a friend. A not very nice ghost. She’s also the daughter of a Russian immigrant who’s trying very hard to be American (and succeeding in all of the annoying ways.) Where is her father, I was fascinated by her mom telling her that she uses her child support to send her to this private school, (which isn’t a great private school but the best she could afford.) This is another book with great paper, (there’s nothing worse than bad paper), and a nice cover. The illustrations are all black and white and in a couple of cases, a little hard to read but not bad. The ending was a little forced, I think we needed another half dozen panels to wrap it up.
Timeless
Thank goodness – you know how a series can get kind of boring after awhile, particularly if you read a bunch of books in the series really close together? Well Timeless, the fifth book in the Parasol Protectorate series, was excellent. As TW said, just as good as the first book and certainly better than the second and third and fourth. I was glad to see that some of the things I thought should happen in order to tie everything into a neat and pretty package DID happen. But now I’m dying to know what happens next and there is no next. I mean I know what happens because the last book tied it all up for us but I want to READ it not just picture it. And, to not know how Ivy manages. Or see Madame LeFeoux neat and tidy. And. And. And.
Darn.
I guess I can wait for Prudence to grow up a bit more, 2013 will come around soon enough. I guess.
From Bad to Cursed
Thank goodness From Bad to Cursed had no demon dolls like the first Bad Girls Don’t Die book did. This one might have freaked me out even more though. Stepford wife type girls. Cult girls. And when Alexis slammed the chair into…. Well, I won’t ruin it for you but gah. What will happen next? Is everyone going to hate Alexis and Kasey? And in the next book, we’re going to see more Carter – right? Because something tells me I will be reading the next book, they’re too creepy NOT to read.
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In Dreams
When I heard Jennster had self-published a YA book, I put it on my list of books to read (once I caught up with my TBR list) because I love Jennster. She’s fun and she’s funny and I’m a big believer in supporting BlogHer peeps – I never did get caught up on my TBR list but I did buy her book. And I did finally, after months and months, read it.
In Dreams was not like any other YA fantasy chick lit I’ve ever read. Really. Totally unusual plot – particularly toward the end. I mean it’s not a surprise for girls to fall for “dream boys” but… well… this dream boy was really a DREAM boy who was also real. Sort of. It’s complicated but also easy, once Kat figures out who he is. Of course that’s also when the drama begins.
The book needs an edit, like almost every self-published book I’ve ever read, but it was a quick, easy read … and Jennster is totally awesome.
*Update: I just noticed there appears to be an edited-this-year version (and I’ve had my copy for a very long time — so yay for edits!)
Do the Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra
The little spinny thing on my library website strikes again. Do the Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra sounded cute so I reserved it. And it was cute. Super fast read with an awesome eight grade girl who thinks about pretty much everything in math terms, theories, and problems. And she doesn’t do it in a way that causes me to roll my eyes. Even though my TBR list is long this year, I’m very tempted to reserve the next book to find out what happens next. That Richard needs someone to teach him a lesson… just sayin’… And, I don’t care what the police decided – I think Rob was more involved than we will ever know.
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