Blood Game by Iris Johansen

About this book

First comes darkness, then comes fear...

Eve Duncan is back! Blockbuster New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen’s latest thriller brings Eve closer to discovering her daughter’s killer…and into a web of danger from which she may not be able to escape…

Eve Duncan returns in a thriller that pits her against the most evil mind she has ever encountered: a ruthless killer who taunts her with his every move…and who has a special affinity for blood. When a Georgia senator’s daughter is found murdered, and her body drained of blood, Eve Duncan is drawn into the web of Kevin Jelak—a serial murderer who is on Eve’s short list of killers who might know something about her missing daughter Bonnie. When a goblet of blood is found in Eve’s refrigerator, she knows the taunting is over…and the games have begun. As Eve and Jelak engage in a dance of death, Eve must call upon those she loves and trusts the most…even if it means bringing them into the game as well.

I really enjoy the Eve Duncan series by Iris Johansen. However, Blood Game is a little weird even for my taste. I know that the last couple of books start delving into the supernatural but it is a bit more prominent in this book.

Eve is stalked by a wanna be vampire who happens to be on the short list of possible suspects of her daughter's kidnapping/murder years ago.

Somehow Eve gets on his radar again. He seems to believe that he must perform a series of sacrifices, ultimately ending Eve, in order to achieve his goal of being a true vampire.

Eve must act before too many lives are risked.

In the meanwhile, things are happening with Joe. Things that he is not comfortable with. In a prior book, he had contact with a woman whose apparent talent is to release latent powers within someone or to drive them insane. Now Joe is hallucinating, or so he thinks. He is on the hunt for the serial killer who is has killed a prominent politician's daughter. One and the same who is after Eve.

Joe has to decide whether he will let his new talents drive a wedge between himself and Eve.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

About this book Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

This is the first book in a dystopian trilogy. Katniss who comes from District 12, the coal mining district, has been been forced to fend for her family by learning to hunt in the forbidden forests after her father is tragically killed in the coal mines. When the annual Hunger Games come around and her little sister Prim, is chosen, Katniss automatically volunteers to take her place in order to save her sister's life. Petra, the baker's son, was the other chosen one. In a live press conference at the Capitol to introduce the Hunger Games tributes to Panem, Petra confesses is unrequited love for Katniss. Katniss is taken aback but assumes that it is part of the plan to garner sympathy and therefore sponsorship to get help during the games.

Katniss is a fierce competitor. Katniss' survival skills prove to be a tremendous asset for her.

The tributes are been thrown for a loop when it is announced that 2 tributes from the same District can be victors. So there is a scramble to everyone to find their fellow tribute. Katniss needs to find and team up with Petra. In the meanwhile she finds an ally in Rue, a little wisp of a girl from the agriculture district.

One by one, the tributes go down, including Rue. Katniss does eventually find Petra but he is in horrible shape. They play up their "love" for the viewers and are rewarded with sponsors' gifts and medicine for Petra.

At the end, with the final on command confrontation between the remaining tributes, Katniss and Petra are the last ones standing. They are the winners, or so they think. The rules are changed again and there is to be only one winner. Katniss in a fit of defiance declares that she and Petra will go down together by ingesting the poisonous berries she still had. The Capitol had no choice but to declare the lovebirds winners because there cannot be no winners.

The Hunger Games is definitely a must read! It is full of adventure and twists and turns that have you on the edge of your seat.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

About this book

Recipe for disaster: Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head – literally.

Throw in some spice: Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she’ll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli.

Pump up the heat: Chipotle’s sponsor is offering a million-dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.

Stir the pot: Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.

Add a secret ingredient: Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur. Enough said.

Bring to a boil: Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger’s problems and not jump his bones?

Warning: Habanero hot. So good you’ll want seconds.

Janet Evanovich does it again! Finger Lickin' Fifteen is downright hilarious. The trouble and mischief that Stephanie Plum, Lula and Grandma Mazur get into is too funny for words.

Lula inadvertently witnesses a mob murder. So now she is a target. When it is determined that the unfortunate headless victim was a celebrity chef who had come to town to judge a babecue cookoff, Lula decides that she is going enter the barbecue contest. Not only enter it, but to win barbecue cook off as well. Lula is forgetting one little, very important, fact - she can't cook!

Lula destroys, I mean, cooks her way through Stephanie's apartment and Stephanie's parents' kitchen and backyard. And she enlists Grandma Mazur as her trusty assistant.

While Lula lives at her place, Stephanie crashes at Ranger's apartment and takes on a job at Rangeman as well. Sparks fly but Stephanie manages to deftly avoid them while she is figuring out her latest tiff with Morelli.

Another great read by Janet Evanovich. Counting the days until Sizzling Sixteen!

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

About This Book

In December 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby, the 43-year-old editor of French Elle, suffered a massive stroke that left him permanently paralyzed, a victim of “locked in syndrome.” Once known for his gregariousness and wit, Bauby now finds himself imprisoned in an inert body, able to communicate only by blinking his left eye. The miracle is that in doing so he was able to compose this stunningly eloquent memoir.

In a voice that is by turns wistful and mischievous, angry and sardonic, Bauby gives us a celebration of the liberating power of consciousness: what it is like to spend a day with his children, to imagine lying in bed beside his wife, to conjure up the flavor of delectable meals even as he is fed through at tube. Most of all, this triumphant book lets us witness an indomitable spirit and share in the pure joy of its own survival.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the strange title for this inspiring memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Or is it? It is the author's beautiful and apt description of what life was like after his unfortunate stroke.

First off, I am amazed at how he was able to communicate his thoughts and desires, let alone an entire book. I might have to borrow the movie to understand better how he was able to communicate.

It was just so inspiring that a man in his condition was still uplifting and positive. It makes you really open your eyes about the things you take for granted, how one needs to appreciate what one has and really not complain so much.

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

About This Book

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends --- and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society --- born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island --- boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

It was interesting reading a novel completely composed of letters. It made everything seem so much more personal. But still confusing to me because I kept reading the letters without reading who it was addressed to. So I'd read the first few paragraphs and go, wait, who is writing to whom? It's probably because I am impatient and want to find out the meat of the story, so I lose sight of the details.

In the beginning of the book, you get the sense that Juliet is a very independent sort of woman that has been through a difficult time, understandably as it is after World War II. We learn that she loses her flat after a bombing that hits her neighbor's home which takes half of her flat as well. We learn that she has difficulty maintaining relationships or even finding a man that interests her, for that matter. Which is why it was a bit difficult for me to understand how she falls into a whirlwind relationship with a wealthy American publisher. It just didn't seem to jive with the character that I've come to know. But I supposed that it would be flattering and welcomed to have a fun, carefree relationship after the hardships of the war. I can't fault her for that.

Needless to say, I wasn't too surprised that she didn't accept right away when marriage was proposed. Her escape was to Guernsey which she had fallen in love with through her letters with the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The correspondence began with Dawsey who somehow ended up with a book that used to belong to Juliet. Dawsey writes in hopes that Juliet would point him in the right direction to get more books of that nature. He mentions the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which piques Juliet's interest and so the letters begin. One by one, the members of the society begin to write to Juliet sharing their stories about the Nazi occupation.

Juliet ends up visiting Guernsey under the premises that she will write an article about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, but she ends falling in love with the people and the island.

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

About This Book According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys.

Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He's chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he's chosen the Barrens as his new playground.

Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He's now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn't made it out of the boys' department at Macy's. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn't met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree.

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel.

Diesel pops in and out of Plum's life like birthday cake - delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He's an uber bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He's after Grimoire, and now he's also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn't mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs.

Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys.

Let me just say that only Stephanie Plum would get into situations like this. Plum Spooky is another funny book by Janet Evanovich. You have to be ready to suspend all belief when reading this book. Seriously, how else does Diesel and Grimoire do all that they do? Or even how does Stephanie Plum get into all the trouble she gets into? Noone is that unlucky, can they be? Yet at the same time be so lucky to have guys like Diesel and Ranger to clean up after her.

Definitely another fun, hilarious look into the life of Stephanie Plum!