Books This Year UPDATE!!
Wow I've fallen behind in updating this thing. YIKES! As such...smaller reviews!!!
10. "The Bakers Boy" by J.V. Jones- I love this book. It's book #1 of a trilogy and it totally gets everything off to a great start. All the characters feel well developed and never like stock clichés. It never loses it's pace and by the end it's all you can do from madly searching for book #2 (which, naturally, I did- hehe)
RATING: B+
11. "A Man Betrayed" by J.V. Jones- Book #2! Also very good, but in retrospect it's not as good as #1 (the middle one never is). There's more development to the characters,but the problem is that while the storyline following Melliandra, the spoiled runaway nobleman's daughter is constantly interesting, the story following the bakers boy, Jack, kinda flags. I tended to read those sections thinking "I wish I was reading about the other characters". Still, an excellent if not slightly flawed sequel.
RATING: B-
12. "Ghost Riders" by Sharyn McCrumb- Why did I read a historical/fictional novel about Civil War re-enactors?? I'll give it this much, there are some very good bits to it and I really liked two of the characters, but on the whole it's just about what you can expect from a Civil War novel. Well meaning but drrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
RATING: C-
13. "The Resort" by Bentley Little- Flat out, one of the most disturbing, frightening novels I've ever read. DO NOT finish this book if it is late at night and you are alone. I have a fairly high 'freakout' tolerance when it comes to books, but I couldn't sleep after finishing this and when I did I had nightmares. (Oh, it's about a haunted hotel. Think "The Shining" but scarier and with some great subtext and hidden meanings)
RATING: A- (the - only cuz the ending isn't as great as I expected it to be)
14. "My Legendary Girlfriend" by Mike Gayle- How is it possible that this book even exists? it's basically chick-lit but starring a guy and written by a guy. Not only does it exist though; it's fantastic!! Anyone who has ever been in a relationship should read it and love it.
RATING: B+
15. "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" by Mary Higgins Clark- Plucky woman combats injustice and murder while trying to balance that with her lovelife/child rearing? Yup...it's a Mary Higgins Clark novel :S It's like with John Grisham, there's always gotta be someone running down the middle of the street... Points for completely throwing me for a loop when the killer was revealed tho!
RATING: C
10. "The Bakers Boy" by J.V. Jones- I love this book. It's book #1 of a trilogy and it totally gets everything off to a great start. All the characters feel well developed and never like stock clichés. It never loses it's pace and by the end it's all you can do from madly searching for book #2 (which, naturally, I did- hehe)
RATING: B+
11. "A Man Betrayed" by J.V. Jones- Book #2! Also very good, but in retrospect it's not as good as #1 (the middle one never is). There's more development to the characters,but the problem is that while the storyline following Melliandra, the spoiled runaway nobleman's daughter is constantly interesting, the story following the bakers boy, Jack, kinda flags. I tended to read those sections thinking "I wish I was reading about the other characters". Still, an excellent if not slightly flawed sequel.
RATING: B-
12. "Ghost Riders" by Sharyn McCrumb- Why did I read a historical/fictional novel about Civil War re-enactors?? I'll give it this much, there are some very good bits to it and I really liked two of the characters, but on the whole it's just about what you can expect from a Civil War novel. Well meaning but drrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
RATING: C-
13. "The Resort" by Bentley Little- Flat out, one of the most disturbing, frightening novels I've ever read. DO NOT finish this book if it is late at night and you are alone. I have a fairly high 'freakout' tolerance when it comes to books, but I couldn't sleep after finishing this and when I did I had nightmares. (Oh, it's about a haunted hotel. Think "The Shining" but scarier and with some great subtext and hidden meanings)
RATING: A- (the - only cuz the ending isn't as great as I expected it to be)
14. "My Legendary Girlfriend" by Mike Gayle- How is it possible that this book even exists? it's basically chick-lit but starring a guy and written by a guy. Not only does it exist though; it's fantastic!! Anyone who has ever been in a relationship should read it and love it.
RATING: B+
15. "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" by Mary Higgins Clark- Plucky woman combats injustice and murder while trying to balance that with her lovelife/child rearing? Yup...it's a Mary Higgins Clark novel :S It's like with John Grisham, there's always gotta be someone running down the middle of the street... Points for completely throwing me for a loop when the killer was revealed tho!
RATING: C