tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:30:19 +0000Ramblings and Reviewshttp://taminator40.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Taminator)Blogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-8307079986490836892Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:18:00 +00002009-11-14T14:22:24.286-06:00vampiresmorganville vampiresbook reviewamazon reviewyoung adult After having read (and been disappointed by) the sixth book in the House of Night series, it's nice to pick up the seventh book in the Morganville Vampires series and find that not only is the quality good, it's improving! My review is below:How wrong is it that I stretched a 220+ page book out for five days because I didn't want to see it end? Hopefully not too wrong, because once I was back inhttp://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/11/fade-out-morganville-vampires-7.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-2847403508847459615Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:59:00 +00002009-11-04T22:04:38.314-06:00vampiresbook reviewamazon reviewhouse of night seriesyoung adultparanormalIn Tempted, Book 6 of the House of Night series, things pick up for Zoey and her friends as they have just defeated the evil Kalona and ex-High Priestess Neferet. Well, actually, they aren't exactly defeated--just living on the Italian isle of San Clemente, waiting to speak to the Vampire High Council in order to convince them that they are, indeed, Erebus and Nyx Incarnate. Hmmm...is a young, http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/11/tempted-book-6-of-house-of-night.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-8769307762603170062Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:01:00 +00002009-10-30T20:05:44.363-05:00actionbook reviewamazon reviewfantasyyoung adultLife should be good for Katniss Everdeen now: she not only survived and won The Capitol's Hunger Games, she outsmarted the powers that be and saved her fellow player from District Twelve, Peeta. She's rich now, living in a special section reserved for victors of the Games, and her mother and little sister are safe from the hunger that surrounds her community. Even better, she's able to spend her http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/10/you-must-read-this-book-after-you-read.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-8055823201733226650Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:34:00 +00002009-10-25T19:36:31.250-05:00mysterybook reviewamazon reviewyoung adultamazon vineWith his last breath, the man who had attacked Shaley O'Connor in the previous book, Always Watching, left her with a scary yet tantalizing comment: "Your father sent me." For this rock star's daughter who has never known anything about her father, these words send her into a tailspin on top of the chaos that has already plagued her in the past few days. But before she can share this information,http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/10/last-breath.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-2517370968565404542Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:33:00 +00002009-10-19T21:35:11.273-05:00book reviewamazon reviewyoung adultparanormalamazon vineGena Showalter's Intertwined has a fascinating premise: Aden, the main character, has four other souls living within his head whom he constantly hears. Each soul has a special "gift", such as time traveling or raising the dead, but it's Aden's habit of conversing aloud with the souls that has landed him in mental facilities and foster homes since the age of three. Needless to say, it's been http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/10/give-this-one-miss.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-4573900111207538846Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:32:00 +00002009-10-13T20:34:44.989-05:00mysterybook reviewamazon reviewyoung adultamazon vineShaley O'Connor is used to life lived at a fast pace: as the daughter of Rayne O'Connor, lead singer of the band Rayne, Shaley's been on tour with her mom's band for almost three months when this book opens. Though she misses her friends back home, Shaley's content with the knowledge that her best friend Brittany is on her way to spend a few weeks with her, and the friends she has among the crew http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/10/always-watching.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-329716645956082019Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:57:00 +00002009-10-11T19:01:23.998-05:00book reviewbritish humoramazon reviewyoung adultGeorgia Nicolson Oh, Georgia, you minx...you finally have the Luuurve God fully enamored and what happens? Well, plenty, as a matter of fact. In the tenth (and final! oo-er) book in the Georgia Nicolson series, Georgia's in a dither about keeping Masimo interested, playing Mercutio in the school play of Rom and Jul, keeping Angus and Gordy from eating Bum-ty, watching her parents reconnect, and figuring out justhttp://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/10/are-these-my-basoomas-i-see-before-me.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-9124012997118400444Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:09:00 +00002009-10-09T19:10:53.427-05:00The Officehttp://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/10/im-still-smiling.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-4778970636784389359Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:19:00 +00002009-10-06T20:21:57.403-05:00werewolvesbook reviewamazon reviewyoung adultamazon vineGrace remembers being attacked by wolves when she was eleven, but what she remembers most is the wolf who stopped the attack and saved her. For years his yellow eyes have haunted her, and she's watched fervently each winter for his return to the forest near her home. Somehow she knows he will always be there to watch over her. And then the unthinkable happens; a fellow classmate is not only http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/10/new-spin-on-werewolves.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-8161763165738925371Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:08:00 +00002009-10-04T19:22:37.247-05:00lifeupdatereadingJust thought I'd check in and let everyone know I'm really NOT dead...just brain dead, if that counts. We are 7 weeks into school and my reading has fallen off majorly as my attention span has decreased--it seems my brain is flitting from one thing to another as I hit overload. School's been a bitch so far this year with a principal who leaves a lot to be desired, an assistant principal http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/10/come-on-fall-break.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-7438641851892023585Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:02:00 +00002009-09-15T20:33:44.102-05:00book reviewamazon reviewcontemporaryyoung adultghostsamazon vineFirst up...Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock...In the third book in Catherine Gilbert Murdock's series based on D.J. Schwenk, D.J. is back at school after dealing with her brother Win's terrible accident and ready to just play basketball. She's broken up with her boyfriend Brian; all she really wants is to have life return to normal for her junior year of high school. But life's funnyhttp://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/09/couple-of-ya-reviews.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-4199594383359882459Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:07:00 +00002009-09-08T21:09:24.268-05:00Amazon.combook reviewyoung adulthistorical fictionamazon vineLeigh Ann's Civil War is just that: the story of Leigh Ann Conners of Roswell, Georgia, spoiled youngest member of a family whose oldest two sons go off to fight for the Confederacy. Leigh Ann is left behind in the care of her older sister; her father is ailing and requires constant care and her mother has run away from her family and sees them only occasionally. Raised mostly by her older http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/09/leigh-anns-civil-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-5004973516930049737Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:53:00 +00002009-08-30T19:55:28.946-05:00graphic novelbook reviewamazon reviewmercy thompsonBased on Patricia Briggs's successful Mercy Thompson series, Homecoming is sort of a companion piece: it's a graphic novel, easily read in one sitting, that shows us what happened when Mercy arrived in the Tri-Cities. Mercy being Mercy, she immediately found herself in danger while out on a run in coyote form; though saved by an unknown pack of werewolves, Mercy further places herself in harm's http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/08/now-for-something-differentsort-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-457056835618087680Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:20:00 +00002009-08-26T21:23:37.038-05:00webook reviewamazon reviewmercy thompsonparanormalIn Bone Crossed, Mercy Thompson is back, still suffering the aftereffects of the events of the last novel but trying to get on with her life. Unfortunately, Marsilia, the mistress of the local vampire seethe, has discovered the truth of what happened to her vampire Quinn, and she's not pleased. To prove the point, Marsilia has tortured Mercy's vamp friend Stefan almost to the point of death, and http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/08/bone-crossed-by-mercy-thompson.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-842316343569234984Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:25:00 +00002009-08-23T20:40:29.398-05:00growing upcollegedaughterYou know how you always know the day will come when your child will graduate high school and then go on to college but it seems forever away? Well, that day arrived today as we moved Hannah into her dorm room at MTSU. How did all this happen? Wasn't she just starting school yesterday?She's so excited and I can't blame her. I remember going off to college--it was a grand time with so many http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/08/and-there-she-goes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-4940187688643306240Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:14:00 +00002009-08-16T20:16:22.106-05:00Amazon.combook reviewyoung adultamazon vineOver the space of a Labor Day weekend in 1987, thirteen year old Henry's life is forever changed when he and his mother meet fugitive Frank Chambers. In an odd encounter, Frank approaches Henry and judging him trustworthy, asks Henry and his mother Adele to take him home with them, and for reasons known only to them, they do. During the next few days, Frank ingratiates himself into their lives, http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/08/labor-day-by-joyce-maynard.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-1894017779936439025Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:33:00 +00002009-08-10T19:35:35.592-05:00werewolvesbook reviewamazon reviewmercy thompsonparanormalThe third book in the Mercy Thompson supernatural series, Iron Kissed centers on Mercy's former boss Zee, a gremlin who is taking the fall for a series of murders that have taken place on the fae reservation. Mercy, called in to help Zee locate clues as to the real killer, becomes angered and entangled in the investigation because she knows Zee is innocent. Unfortunately, the fae community http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/08/iron-kissed-mercy-thompson-book-3.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-5728331586844741782Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:52:00 +00002009-08-05T21:55:50.385-05:00world war 2Amazon.combook reviewholocaust memoiramazon vineAnita Diamont's novel Day After Night is set in late 1945 inside a "camp" in Haifa, just after the victims of the concentration camps have been freed and victory has been won in Europe. Many Jews, upon release from their nightmarish conditions (whether from a concentration camp, being hidden, or from concealment of identity), decide that the time has come for them to emigrate to Israel, their http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-after-night-by-anita-diamont.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-3471119118711488402Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:14:00 +00002009-08-03T21:03:41.041-05:00I'm a teacher, so the subject of No Teachers Left Behind by HBF (Hopeful But Frustrated) is near and dear to my heart. As soon as the book arrived, I sat down and read it in its entirety, nodding to myself at passages that hit way too close to home and sharing the frustration of burnt out teachers left at the mercy of a hands-off administrator. Yep, way, way too close to home. Told through emailshttp://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/08/no-teachers-left-behind.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-5682712136668735789Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:04:00 +00002009-08-02T22:39:27.754-05:00werewolvesvampiresbook reviewamazon reviewparanormalghostsamazon vineA couple of reviews; both paranormal, one young adult and one not; both good but for different reasons. Ghost Huntress: The Guidance, is the second book in Marley Gibson's series featuring Kendall Moorehead, a sixteen year old girl who is experiencing her psychic "awakening" just as she moves to Georgia with her family. Kendall has assembled a ghost huntress team upon realizing her abilities, andhttp://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/08/couple-of-reviews.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-4156548333002221688Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:34:00 +00002009-07-28T19:36:37.920-05:00vampiresbook reviewamazon reviewblack dagger brotherhoodparanormal The seventh book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Lover Avenged, is the first to focus on a love affair outside the Brotherhood itself, though the character of Rehvenge has been central to almost all the other books. Rehvenge, of course, is the half symphath owner of ZeroSum, the club where the Brothers hang out, and also a major drug dealer in the town of Caldwell. He certainly wasn't looking http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/07/lover-avengedand-i-am-hooked.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-4213095091272833175Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:50:00 +00002009-07-25T20:51:52.118-05:00werewolvesbook reviewamazon reviewpatricia briggsparanormal Mercy Thompson isn't your run of the mill female protagonist; not only does she own and run her own car repair shop, she is what is known as a "walker"--she can shift shape into the form of a coyote at will. In her small town in the Pacific Northwest, she's one of a kind among witches, vampires, and werewolves. Comfortable in her own skin, Mercy's content with the way her life is until a young http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/07/moon-called-by-patricia-briggs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-499117489924218628Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:23:00 +00002009-07-23T20:24:43.239-05:00wedding videohttp://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/07/great-wedding-entrance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-5753459662737928906Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:28:00 +00002009-07-13T21:31:30.331-05:00world war 2book reviewamazon reviewEngland Set in England during the final year of World War II, Anne Whitfield's Broken Hero is the deeply emotional story of Audrey Pearson and Jake Harding, two wounded souls trying to make the best of life as the war rages around them. Audrey's family has allowed their country estate to become a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers in the aftermath of her brother's death in the war, and Jake is http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/07/broken-hero-by-anne-whitfield.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242058.post-2977915729249572147Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:39:00 +00002009-07-10T20:40:55.986-05:00world war 2book reviewholocaust memoiramazon reviewamazon vineEvery time I read a book about a person who survived the Holocaust, I am amazed at the bravery of those involved in the survival of the hidden Jews. I wonder if I would've been so courageous, risking my own life to save those oppressed; I wonder at why sometimes rather ordinary people do extraordinary things without blinking. All of these thoughts occurred to me once more when I sat down to read http://taminator40.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-of-gertrudas-oath.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Taminator)2