Sunday, May 29, 2011

Winner of BEA Giveaway

I really enjoyed looking at everyone's Top 2011 list so far, that was my favourite part of the Armchair BEA.

I allowed my commenter's to choose from my list, and my winner chose Left Neglected by Lisa Genova.


And the winner is..............



 

Crystal said...

 

I would love Left Neglected. I'm a US blogger - thanks for stopping by my giveaway :)

I will give Crystal until Tuesday evening to respond.  Thanks for entering everyone.

True Random Number Generator



23
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Review - What my Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones




From Sonya Sones site - What's this Book about

Why don't I let Sophie tell you:

 My name is Sophie.
This book is about me.
It tells the heart-stoppingly riveting story
of my first love.
And also of my second.
And, okay, my third love, too.
 It's not that I'm boy crazy.
It's just that even though
I'm almost fifteen
I've been having sort of a hard time
trying to figure out the difference
between love and lust.
 It's like
my mind
and my body
and my heart
just don't seem to be able
to agree on anything.

I'm an awful lot older than Sophie, but I still haven't quite figured out the difference between love and lust. It's so hard to separate the two. But maybe lust is when your body loves someone else's body, and love is when your heart loves someone else's heart ... and their body!



Book Review - 3 1/2 More Sugar Please

As many of you know, Verse Novels are my simple pleasure.  When I am in a reading funk I look to one of these.  I haven't found Verse Novels for adults, all YA which isn't my favourite genre but I have still enjoyed.  Well this one was definitely YA, just a cute read.

Great for very young adults, they will be drawn into the high school dynamics, best friends, mom and daughter relationship and finding what you think is love.

I enjoyed that Sonya Sones had a lesson in this one.  If this wasn't in verse I wouldn't have even picked it up, but a fast cute read.

Anyone been intrigued and  wants to try a Verse Novel - I highly recommend any of Lisa Schroeder's, absolute amazing author of verse.

Anyone know of any Adult Verse Novels, searching online hasn't helped, so maybe they don't exist.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Want to read this one with us? June Book choice





Book Summary

Carey, Beth, and Pam had succeeded at work but failed at romance, and each resolved to have a baby before time ran out. Just one problem: no men. Carey took the first bold step towards single motherhood, searching anonymous donor banks until she found the perfect match.

What she found was not a father in a vial, but a sort of magic potion. She met a man, fell in love, and got pregnant the old-fashioned way. She passed the vials to Beth, and it happened again. Beth met man, Beth got pregnant. Beth passed the vials to Pam, and the magic struck again. There were setbacks and disappointments, but three women became three families, reveling in the shared joy of love, friendship, and never losing hope.




Would you like to join the Bookclub, started by Paula over at Tome's Devotee, go here, I like that participants get to choose the books, this will be my 2nd time choosing.  If you do not want to join but would like to read this one with us, I welcome you.  Q&A usually goes up approx the 27th of the month.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Armchair BEA - Best of 2011 and International Giveaway

Welcome to Tea Time with Marce

Thank you for taking the time to stop in, I enjoy networking and getting to know other bloggers.  I am an international blogger, I live in Bermuda.  I have a Kindle and love to read thrillers, suspense, adult fiction and  a little YA.




Today's question for Armchair BEA is to have us share some of our favorite books so far this year, and/or the the books being promoted at BEA that you hope will end up among your favorites for the year!
My Best of 2011

Currently Reading

Wells, Dan - Mr. Monster (Book 2)


Hannah, Kristin - Night Road
Currently Reading

Genova, Lisa - LEFT neglected


International Giveaway - I would like to offer 1 of my Best of 2011 choices to a commenter.  Please leave a comment here with your book of choice, email address and if you are a International, US or Canadian blogger/commenter.  I will choose the winner on Sunday, May 29, 10pm Atlantic time with random.org.

Enjoy the week.




Monday, May 23, 2011

It's Monday - What are you reading?

It's Monday, What are You Reading.  Sheila over at Book Journey has an incentive for networking so go over and have fun while continuing to add to your 2011 Wishlist.


I completed but didn't enjoy, go here for review

 















I am currently reading this Verse Novel



Currently Reading


I'm going to Read for the Bookclub, go here to join


The First Cut: A Novel (Paperback) ~ Dianne Emley (Author) Cover Art


I think I will also get to.....
















Have a great week.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Review - The Girls by Lori Lansens






Book Summary

Rose and Ruby Darlen are craniopagus twins born joined at the head in 1974. Their young, unmarried mother abandoned them as quickly as possible, but the nurse in attendance at their birth stepped in quickly to adopt the conjoined twins. In her 50s, childless and married to a gentle immigrant, she quickly undertook the challenge.



My Review - 2 1/2 Not my Cup of Tea

I was very intrigued by this story and have had it on my Wishlist since I started blogging but didn't put who I took the recommendation from like I do now.

Lori Lansens is a lyrical author and I would try another story by her but this one was in one word, boring, I don't know why I continued on and kind of wish I hadn't to be honest.

The execution was very different, it was about Rose's journey on writing her autobiography and allowing her twin sister, Ruby, to include a few chapters from her point of view.  It was hard at times to remember this was not a memoir but a novel, I may have appreciated it more if it were a memoir.  So the flow was terrible, all over the place but I did enjoy the different voices of the sisters, they had very distinct voices.  Ruby usually started her direct writing style parts with 'It's Ruby', cute.  At one point Rose wrote this 'I can't go on writing about my past without sharing my present with you.  Along with my fears.  And my regrets.  And my delight that you've cared to read this far.'  She describes it as rare and imperfect, I will agree with that.
The characters were nice but to be honest not very interesting, I expected so much more.  There were statements or paragraphs that pulled me right in then nothing. 
 
Overall I thought it was amazing the way the twins were bought up.  Obviously they were not 'normal' but I loved taking away that this is their life which is very normal to them and they just live.  To be joined and still be completely different was informative and kind of a wow moment to me.  Can you imagine your twin gets in trouble you are punished because they are or the twin gets to celebrate for doing so well in school and you get to join because that is their life but guess what they truly only feel what is meant for them, the good or the bad, amazing.
 
I did struggle reading this one and won't recommend it but would consider this authors other works especially if you like lyrical writing, she must also be a poet.
 
I will leave you with this quote, totally had me stop and consider........  She was asking me questions about how I see my life - life, Is my life a series of little dramas, stories within a story, or does it feel more continuous, like something long with a suspenseful plot?
 

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Review - So Close the Hand of Death by J.T. Ellison

Book Summary
Across America, murders are being committed with all the twisted hallmarks of the Boston Strangler, the Zodiac Killer and Son of Sam. The media frenzy explodes and Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson knows instantly that The Pretender is back...and he's got helpers.
As The Pretender's disciples perpetrate their sick tributes – stretching police and FBI dangerously thin – Taylor tries desperately to prepare for their inevitable showdown. And she must do it alone. To be close to her is to be in mortal danger, and she won't risk losing anyone she loves. But the isolation, the self-doubt and the rising body count are taking their toll: she's tripwire-tense and ready to snap.

The brilliant psychopath who both adores and despises her is drawing close. Close enough to touch...


My Review - 4 1/2 Great to the last Drop
I read my first J.T. Ellison book in February, the beginning of this series, All The Pretty Girls, and wasn't impressed but because I said it was my favourite genre and that I love kick ass detectives a virtual assistant asked me to review her newest.  I wasn't going to give this author another chance but I am glad I did.
J.T. Ellison definitely enjoys having lots going on with her thrillers.  In So Close the Hand of Death she brings back 3 past serial killers wrapped up in one as The Pretender, he recruited a team of pshyco's to help him create his game.  The authors words "He's a chameleon.  He adapts, copies, mimics, then disappears."   The best part is he sent a message to Detective Taylor to say 'Let's Play'.  All the characters were great, my favourite was the Crime Blogger, intelligent, motivated and her full story the way it tied in, wowsa.  She was more up to date then the news journalist and her followers knew what was going on.
There are murders going on everywhere, different states and all are connected, the detective teams are trying to figure it all out.   Working against the clock but never getting to anyone in time, only being able to review evidence and come up with possible ideas to catch The Pretender.  Who will win the game, The Pretender, Taylor or no one.
I still could do without the romance piece but there is a great mystery to Taylor and Baldwin relationship in this one that keeps you waiting for the blowout.
Something I love about serial killer books is when the author gives us history, why the person becomes a serial killer, what the childhood was like, family etc, this was brilliant.
I definitely recommend this one, it can be read as a stand alone, even though I really enjoyed it still didn't make me say I have to go back and continue the series.  From what I have went back to read fans think this is her best to date.
This one is also available on NetGalley.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

5 Best Books - Multiple Narrators

5 Best Books is a weekly meme that asks participants to list what they consider the 5 best books on a given topic.  For more information on this new book meme go here to Indie Reader Houston.





I realised last year that this is a style I really enjoy so I am excited about the meme today and hope I am able to get many recommendations, please leave a comment and recommendation 'pretty please'  :-)



The Tomato Girl, Jayne Pupek




The Testimony, Anita Shreve




My Sisters Keeper, Jodi Picoult



The Weight of Silence, Heather Gudenkauf

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

2011 Reviews to date

Tea Time with Marce - 2011 Year of Reviews
* is for favourites




 A


Anderson, Laurie - Speak
Annechino, DM - Resuscitation

B


Barclay, Linwood - The Accident 
Black, Jenna - Dark Descendant
Bloch, Robert - Psycho
Blum, Jenna - The Stormchasers
Burnett, Frances Hodgson - The Secret Garden

C

Carey, Beth and Pam - Three Wishes
Christie, Agatha - And Then There Were None
Clark, Mary Higgins - I'll Walk Alone


D

Dolan, Harry -  Bad Things Happen 

E

Ellison, J.T. - All the Pretty Girls  Book 1
Ellison, J.T. - So Close the Hand of Death Book 6
Emley, Dianne - The First Cut
Erbacher, RJ  - Coffee and Fate

F

Farquhar, Wayne - Blood over Badge
Fox, Lauren - Still Life with Husband
Foster, Melissa - Megan's Way
Foster, Melissa - Come Back to Me
French, Nicci - Beneath the Skin


G

Genova, Lisa - LEFT neglected *
Gerritsen, Tess - The Surgeon *
Grundler, C.E. - Last Exit in New Jersey

H

Hamilton, Steve - The Lock Artist
Hannah, Kristin - Night Road *
Hannah, Kristin - Comfort and Joy
Harvey, Michael - The Third Rail
Hayes, Sam - Someone Else's Son
Hill, Joe - Heartshaped Box

I

Iles, Greg - 24 Hours *

J

James, EL - Fifty Shades of Grey** Book 1
James, EL - Fifty Shades Darker Book 2
Jamess, EL - Fifty Shades Freed Book 3


K

Kane, Andrea - The Girl who Disappeared Twice *

L

Lancaster, Jen - Bitter is the New Black 
Lansens, Lori - The Girls
Lastrapes, Martin - Inside the Outside

M


Mansbach, Adam - Go the F**K to Sleep
Marcus, Kimberly - Exposed
McMann, Lisa - Cryer's Cross

 N

O

Omololu, CJ - Dirty Little Secrets
Orenstein, Peggy - Cinderella ate my Daughter
P

Q

R

Ritter, Todd - Death Notice

S

Sakey, Marcus - The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes
Samuels-Young, Pamela - Murder on the Down Low
Sapphire - The Kid
Shaffer, Mary Ann and Barrows, Annie - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shriver, Lionel - We Need to Talk about Kevin *
Sones, Sonya - What my Mother Doesn't Know
Stevens, Amanda - The Abandoned  Prequel
Stevens, Amanda - The Restorer  1st in Graveyard Queen Series *
Stoker, Bram - Dracula



T

Taylor, Jill Bolte - My Stroke of Insight, A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey

U

V

W

Watson, SJ - Before I Got to Sleep 
Weathersby, Sarah Gordon - motherless child
Wells, Dan - I am not a Serial Killer (Book 1) *
Wells, Dan - Mr. Monster (Book 2) *
Wells, Dan - I Don't want to Killy You (Book 3) *

X

Y
Z
 Zink, Michelle - Circle of Fire


Monday, May 16, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - The Girls by Lori Lansens

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following to participate:
 
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) 'teaser' sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
Share the title &; author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Teaser from 12% on Kindle
 
I sense that I'm naturally a right-handed person, but my right arm belongs to Ruby for all intents and purposes (when I was little I thought the term was :intensive purposes") so I'm a reluctant lefty. My clumsiness annoys Ruby, who is both responsible and blameless.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is good so far, I have to remind myself it is a Novel and not a memoir, amazing actually.  I look forward to your teaser(s).
 
Book Summary
 
The fictional autobiography of conjoined twins, Rose and Ruby Darlen – a breathtaking novel about the profound and transcendent love between two extraordinary sisters.
 
Awards for The Girls
 
  • A Flare magazine Book of the Month
  • A longlist nominee for the Orange
    Broadband Prize 2007
  • A 2007 Richard & Judy Bookclub selection
  • Featured in Vogue, June 2006
  • A New York Times Editor’s Choice Pick for 2006
  • The #1 Booksense Pick for May 2006
  • A Toronto Star Best Read for 2005
 

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Read, Reading, Review and going to Read

It's Monday, What are You Reading.  Sheila over at Book Journey has an incentive for networking so go over and have fun while continuing to add to your 2011 Wishlist.

I completed but my review won't go up until Thursday.
















I'm currently reading


Currently Reading


I'm going to Read for the Bookclub, go here to join


The First Cut: A Novel (Paperback) ~ Dianne Emley (Author) Cover Art


I look forward to networking with you.  Have a great week.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Looking for Kindle Lending Partner(s) - My Personal Library



Amazon has made an announcement about Lending Kindle Books.

Here is my available list - let me know if you are interested, you only have 2 weeks to read it, so please only ask if you will read within that time.  I am happy to put your name attached to a book for up to 3 months.  My only request is that you say on your blog that you borrowed it from me, either linking my review or my blog.  I will make the decision who I would loan to.  Some points I will look at - frequent commenter on my blog, blog with similar reading style and those with a kindle that have the option to share with me also. 

I have so many on Kindle but these are the only ones available to loan at this time.

Also, I prefer to read them before lending, so those with an * I haven't read yet.

Leave a comment here and also email at marceblogspot(at)hotmail(dot)com

Note from Amazon: Be sure to send your Kindle book loan notification to your borrower's personal e-mail address, not their Kindle.com e-mail address.


Kindle Books - My Personal Library - Updated April 2011

Cain, Chelsea - Heartsick (Book 1) - Thriller
Cain, Chelsea - Sweetheart (Book 2) - Thriller*
Chase, Jennifer - Dead Game (Emily Stone Series) - Thriller
Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games - YA
Desforges, Saffina - Sugar and Spice - Thriller*
Dallas, Sandra - The Persian Pickle Club - Cozy Mystery
Funaro, Gregory - The Sculptor - Thriller/Horror
Funaro, Gregory - The Impaler - Thriller/Horror*
Grundler, C.E. - Last Exit in New Jersey Thriller
Harris, Thomas - The Silence of the Lambs - Horror/Thriller
Holloway, Jean - Black Jack (Deck of Cardz) - Thriller/Suspense
Johnson, Nancy C. - Her Last Letter - Suspense*
Locke, John - Saving Rachel (A Donovan Creed Crime Novel)  - Mystery*
Lorello, Elisa - Faking It - Erotic*
Manning, John - The Killing Room  - Thriller*
Meyers, Randy Susan - The Murderer's Daughters - Suspense
Murgia, Jennifer - Angel Star - YA
Nicholson, Scott - Speed Dating with the Dead - Suspense/Horror
Perez, Richard - Permanent Obscurity:  Erotic Suspense
Preston, Douglas and Lincoln Child - Relic - Thriller/Suspense
Stevens, Chevy - Still Missing - Suspense
Tardif, Cheryl Kaye - Children of the Fog - Thriller/Suspense*
Unger, Lisa - Beautiful Lies - Suspense
Weathersby, Sarah Gordon - Motherless Child - Memoir
Wells, Dan - I Am Not a Serial Killer (Book 1) - Thriller/Horror
Wells, Dan - Mr. Monster (Book 2 ) - Thriller/Horror
Zandri, Vincent - The Remains - Thriller
Zandri, Vincent - The Innocent - Thriller*
Zandri, Vincent - Pathological (A Digital Short) - Thriller
Ziegler, Irene - Ashes to Water (The Lake Trilogy) Suspense*


I am hoping this is a effective way of lending books.  I'm not happy about only being able to lend once but I guess I can't be choosy. 

Over time I am hoping I know who has a Kindle so we can be Lending Partners.  I will see how the year goes with this new feature.



Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tea Time Interview with Author, James LePore

Blogging Friends, please welcome James LePore to Tea Time with Marce. Author of A World I Never Made, Blood of my Brother and Sons and Princes, go to his website here James LePore Fiction




Marce – Welcome James. Thank you for agreeing to interview with me and allowing my blogging friends to learn more about you. I am enjoying a cup of Earl Grey tea what would you like to drink?

James - I like this question. I’ll have green tea. I drink it often while I’m writing, so associate it with the creative process.



Marce – When did you decide to become an author, was it a childhood dream/goal?

James – In 1982 my father died after a twelve month struggle with lung cancer. I was practicing law then, but reading two or three novels a week, something I had been doing since I was thirteen. My response to my father’s sickness and death was to write a novel, which I titled That Archangels May Come In, (taken from an Emerson essay about change). The experience was cathartic of course, but the interesting thing to me, looking back, was that I chose to tell a long story (about a fictional young lawyer losing his father to lung cancer) as the means of that catharsis. Why write a novel? Because, I realized, novels had become as much a part of me as my skeletal system, they were the bones of my intellectual and imaginative life.

Archangels was badly written. One professional reviewer said that it was predictable and clichéd, and he was being kind. But it was a start. It got me thinking. I wanted to write a good novel, I wanted what was in my bones to appear on the printed page, the published printed page. That was the real beginning of my writing career.



Marce – How do you come up with the titles, is there 1 specific title you would like to discuss?

James – I think a book’s title should speak to its heart, should, in a perfect world, be iconic. My novels have highly romantic, almost Biblical themes, hence two of the titles are from the Bible. The third, A World I Never Made, is from a deceptively simple A.E. Housman poem that I believe perfectly matches the book’s theme and mood.

Here’s a passage from Agamemnon, written by the Greek tragedian, Aeschylus, over 2500 years ago.


He who learns must suffer,

And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget

Falls drop by drop upon the heart,

Until, in our own despair, against our will,

Comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.

—Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Someday I’m going to write a novel titled, Drop By Drop Upon The Heart, my attempt to dramatize in modern terms what Aeschylus was talking about in this passage.



Marce – What is your usual response when you see the cover and how involved are you with the process? What is your opinion of UK and foreign covers of your book?

James - I think covers should also be iconic. My response to all my covers has been very positive. There is mystery and suspense in them. They were professionally done, which is very important. To those who are self publishing, I strongly recommend finding the money to get your book’s cover done by a professional. It is the first thing people see, the entrance, so to speak, into the soul of the book.



Marce – Who are your favourite authors? Please recommend a book to my followers that you think is a must read.

James – Cry The Beloved Country, by Alan Paton. I think this is the greatest novel of the 20th century.



Marce – What is your favourite book you have written?

James – My books are like my children. I love them all differently but to the same degree.



Marce – Do you have a Muse or get inspired by art for your stories?

James – I love good drama. I watched the movie, City Island, with Andy Garcia, a few nights ago and was incredibly moved. If the hearts of the people who read my novels are engaged the way mine was engaged in this movie, I will consider my work successful.



Marce – Any upcoming events that you would like to share with us?

James – I will be reading from Sons and Princes at Watchung Booksellers, 54 Fairfield Street, Montclair, New Jersey, on May 14 at 1:00PM.



Marce - What is on your bookshelf/ereader to read next?

James – Next up for me (on my Kindle) is In Revere by Roland Merullo.



Marce – Bloggers sometimes find themselves in reading slumps, do you ever have writing slumps or writing block?

James – I haven’t experienced writer’s block. Sometimes I struggle over coming up with a plot movement, especially a pivotal one, that meets my credibility standard.



Marce – Do you feel pressure on writing a book that could become a movie?

James – I think my novels are very visual, and will one day be made into great movies. I see them on the screen in my mind’s eye as I’m writing, but feel no pressure to write in a way that will result in a movie.



James, thank you for taking the time to visit and interview here at Tea Time with Marce, I appreciate it and wish you continued success in your writing career endeavours.





Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - J.T. Ellison

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following to participate:
 
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) 'teaser' sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
Share the title &; author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
 
 
 
 
My Review from last week's teaser - The Lock Artist
 
 
Teaser on Kindle from 4%
 
But he had given her a message from the Pretender, oblique and taunting.  Two words, full of meaning.
 
"He said to tell you, 'Let's play."
 
  
I look forward to your teaser choice.  Have a great week.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Book Summary
 
Across America, murders are being committed with all the twisted hallmarks of the Boston Strangler, the Zodiac Killer and Son of Sam. The media frenzy explodes and Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson knows instantly that The Pretender is back...and he's got helpers.
As The Pretender's disciples perpetrate their sick tributes – stretching police and FBI dangerously thin – Taylor tries desperately to prepare for their inevitable showdown. And she must do it alone. To be close to her is to be in mortal danger, and she won't risk losing anyone she loves. But the isolation, the self-doubt and the rising body count are taking their toll: she's tripwire-tense and ready to snap.

The brilliant psychopath who both adores and despises her is drawing close. Close enough to touch...



 
 
 

Monday, May 9, 2011

Review - The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

 



Book Summary
 
Michael is no ordinary young man.  Mute since a childhood tragedy, at age eighteen he discovers that he possesses a skill he would never have expected.  Whether it’s a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe . . . he can open them all.
blank
It’s a talent that will make Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people, and whether he likes it or not, push him closer to a life of crime.  Until one day, when he finally sees his chance to escape, and decides to risk everything to return home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.
 
My Review - 3 1/2 More Sugar Please
 
The Lock Artist is the 2011 Edgar Award winner for Best Novel.  I read about it on blog The Mystery Bookshelf.
 
I was completely intrigued with this story and looked forward to reading it, but it didn't quite meet my expectations.  Two styles were used, the 1st was the character talks directly to us, his adventure was told in 1st person, this is a style I do enjoy, and the 2nd was we had glimpses of his lock artist experiences which flipped back and forth.  This was executed extremely well but for me it messes with the flow and I just don't enjoy this style but I have to say it is one of the better executed novels I have read that have used this style.
 
When I watch the news sometimes I think, why are they telling us that, we are 'teaching' or giving more information to criminals we don't want to have it.  This is what I thought throughout the book, anyone that has the talent to open locks etc would surely learn a thing or two on how to improve and develop their skill.  There was continuous mention on what Michael was doing with his craft and in detail, I felt it was too much, a little repetitive.
 
Michael was a very interesting character and what drew me in was that he was mute.  I enjoy reading books about characters that are mute and finding out why.   One of the main twists and mystery was why he was mute in my mind.  Well we got the answer towards the end and in 3 pages, really, sigh.
 
My favourite part of the book was Michael finding love and using his artistic side of drawing and writing to her in comic book form.  The back and forth love notes were a charming touch and her goal was to get him to speak to her.
 
Overall, it was a good book, well written and the style executed well, it just didn't absorb me as I expected and the long awaited mystery let me down.
 
 
2011 Edgar Award
 
Other nominees for Best Novel included:  Have you read any, please recommend.

Caught by Harlan Coben
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Faithful Place by Tana French
The Queen of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan
I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Blog Hop - Wish to meet these Bloggers




Welcome to Tea Time with Marce

I loved this week's question, another way to thank someone in the blogging community.

This weeks question comes from Twitter! Thanks to Melissa (aka Miel_et_Lait) who blogs at Miel et Lait.

 "Which book blogger would you most like to meet in real life?"

I am unable to only give 1 blogger.  The following ladies I would love to meet in real life.  There are so many, I easily could have came up with 20 I would love to meet, but these 4 I would love to spend a weekend with and really get to know.

Julie at Reading without Restraint, she has this genuine approachable nature, I think we can sit off all day, talk about everything including books of course.  I just think she 'gets' me.

Paula at Tome's Devotee: she has made me laugh out loud, miss her when she doesn't post, there is something about Paula just feels like someone I have known for a long time.

Christa at Mental Foodie:  A Book and Food Lover, she is an international blogger like me and reminds me about myself out of all bloggers.

Michelle at red headed book child:  Michelle and I are both moms of toddlers that love thrillers and mystery, it would be the perfect playdate both us and the children.


Have a great weekend and Happy Mothers Day to all moms.


Monday, May 2, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following to participate:
 
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) 'teaser' sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
Share the title &; author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
 
 
 
 
The Lock Artist is the 2011 Edgar Award winner for Best Novel. 
 
 
Teaser from 6% on Kindle
 
The sick feeling I had been living with...the living, breathing fear I had been feeling, every second of every day... it was all gone.  Every bit of it.  At least temporarily.  For those next few minutes, when I did what I did next.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Book Summary
 
Michael is no ordinary young man.  Mute since a childhood tragedy, at age eighteen he discovers that he possesses a skill he would never have expected.  Whether it’s a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe . . . he can open them all.
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It’s a talent that will make Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people, and whether he likes it or not, push him closer to a life of crime.  Until one day, when he finally sees his chance to escape, and decides to risk everything to return home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.
 
 
I look forward to your teaser choice.  Have a great week.
 
 
 

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Review - Still Life with Husband by Lauren Fox & Book Club Q&A



Amazon Summary

Yes, it's an affair novel, but file this adroit but placid debut under chick lit for early marrieds—the ones who are not sure they want to be on the baby-house-'burbs track. At 30, Emily Ross is a Milwaukee freelance writer with a part-time job as assistant editor at a medical journal called Male Reproduction and a marriage to "steady, staid" Kevin, a technical writer she met in college. Kevin, "innocent and intolerable," wants a baby and a house. Emily is ambivalent and bored. A few pages in, Emily meets David Keller, a dark, good-looking writer/editor at the local alternative newspaper, and starts an affair. Things, as expected, do not go well, but Fox's voice is steady, moving easily between comedy and drama. Her emotionally literate delineation of character and relationship give the book texture, with Emily's relationship with her best friend, Meg, emerging as the book's most resonant. Fox draws just the right tension out of Emily's mix of honesty and self-delusion, reflection and romance, with an undercurrent of a sort of left-handed hope. For anyone who's lived through a relationship drama, though, Emily will have a decidedly entitled, gee-whiz quality that's hard to take. 

My Review - 3 1/2 More Sugar Please

I have found that Book Club choices are harder than Challenges, they definitely get me reading out of my comfort zone.  I don't know if this is chick lit or adult fiction, a little of both I guess.

I do enjoy a little drama at times, especially family drama, reading different views on the drama are interesting.  I enjoyed the fact that we did get a sense of perspective from those directly involved in the affair, Emily and David but how others were affected also, the husband, best friend, friends spouses, parents and sibling, very interesting indeed.  Also, thumbs up to Lauren Fox for having the female be the cheater, this never gets discussed and it reality, I appreciated that.

The best part of the book in my mind is Meg and Emily's friendship, they are best friends that are opposites but the love is truly genuine with a few inside jokes, so the humour was cute.

Emily was missing something in her life and when she saw David, she practically dove right in, no thought process just what she wanted now, never thinking tomorrow, consequences, or others, a very special selfish moment in her life. 

The flow of the book was a little off to me, not the best execution.  It just went into different directions kind of out of the blue, so it messed with the flow in my opinion.

Over all it was a good story and I think it ended wide open to allow the reader to come to a conclusion  of what happens after consequences of an affair, interesting style.

A favourite quote

I've been a silly, ridiculous girl.  This daydream I've been sucking on like a lollipop has been poison.  A poison lollipop!

This was BookBelle choice this month and here are her Questions.

*Spoiler*

1.  Team Kevin or Team David?  Neither, I think she should have considered divorce before cheating as they had very different future goals and I do not believe a relationship that starts with cheating has what it takes to last a lifetime.

2.  What scene do you feel was the fatal, no turning back scene for Emily?  I think the 1st email, having the thoughts are bad enough but once you put it in action, there is usually no going back.

3.  If Emily asked for your advice about her marriage what would you tell her?  I would tell her forever is a long time and when Kevin and her have completely different ideas of having a child and buying a house, the real decision is to stay together and compromise or decide to divorce and move on.

4.  Do you think Emily would have made a different decision if she would have confided in Meg or Heather?  No I don't.  Even when you confide in friends I don't think you dig to far when there is nothing to really discuss.  They met in the cafe and she continued to daydream about him.  I think it is like high school to consider telling your sister or best friend that you are daydreaming about a guy.  Kind of so what in my mind.  BUT I think if she confided in them when she sent the email and went for the walk, they possibly could have talked her out of it before it got out of hand even though the email and walk were completely inappropriate.

5.  Will Kevin and Emily reconcile once the baby is born?  I hope not, I hope Emily decided abortion is best.

6.  Will David re-enter their lives?  I think so, this affair may continue but will it last, no.

7.  Do you think Barbara, Emily's mother, gave her good advice when she told her that sometimes our lives don't turn out the way we envision but we need to make the best of what we have?  I think this is good honest advice but I think it can be interpreted differently.  I do not think it means stay with your husband or keep the child and make the best out of it but how else will you take it right?

8.  Who is your favorite character?  I didn't enjoy 1 character really but I did enjoy Emily and Meg's friendship.

9.  Did you like this book?  Why or why not?  It was an ok book for me.  I enjoy this hard topics being emotional and hardcore not sugar coated, which is more chick lit feel.


If you are interested in joining the Book club, go over to Paula's blog Tome's Devotee here.  The positive is that you get to have a turn to choose the book of the month when it is your turn.