John Saul’s House of Reckoning

Sarah and her dad, Ed, live a quaint existance at their farm house despite his recent death of his wife, despite these odds they cherish each other. That is…until one day, when Sarah’s world crumbles around her. Her dad is sent to jail, her to a foster family, and to a new, ruthless school of gut-wrenching students. Just when she thinks all is lost, Sarah meets her art teacher, Bettina, who turns out to be more caring and nurturing than she ever could have imagined. She meets her closest friend and confidant, Nick. This group of so-called musketeers fight against their worst enemies, imagined and invisible.

With Sarah’s talent for art, Nick’s voices that swim in his mind, and Bettina’s ‘witch’ power, the three of them discover secrets, release tortured souls, and dish up much deserved justice! A real tale that displays the detailed meaning of “revenge is a bitch!”

Excerpts:
Pg. 48- ‘It tasted almost as bad as she felt.’

Pg. 50- ‘All around him blood was spurting from torn arteries, faces were dissolving as if doused in acid, and maggots tumbled from empty sockets where the eyes hat were watching him should have been.’

Pg. 185- ‘The voices in his head wouldn’t let him.’

Pg. 233- ‘It was all impossible… as she started painting, it all made sense.’

Jennifer Armintrout’s Child of Darkness
Part 2 of 3

Alya has taken her rightful throne as Queene with her darkling, forbidden mortal lover, Malachi, beside her…plus her daughter Cerridwen who has taken on her mother’s stubbornness, urge for independence and to escape the pressures of being an heiress. It takes the worst of the worst for Queene Alya to realize the precious ones in her life until it seems to be too late. To add to her turmoil, her right hand man, Cedric wishes to leave the Lightworld for his secret love, a Gypsy.

This is a story of love, betrayal, bravery, trust, realization, and bitter wretched war.

In the end, Cerridewn realizes the truth and sacrifices her mother, the Queene, and father, the Darkling, made for her before her life even began. Despite all her losses, fault of destruction, and defeat, she carries on and with Cedric meets an unlikely ally who helps them get back on their feet and continue to restore what’s left of their race; the Fae.

Excerpts:
Pg. 46-’An ugly, naked anger not polite enough to wear a mask of fear for her convenience.’

Pg. 127-’(Mortal.) He would not have been loved by her any other way.’

Pg. 170-’The bitterness that dripped from her tone was like acid.’

Pg.244- ‘They were killed for food…But once those appetites were sated, they killed for sport.’

Pg. 306- ‘It took only a moment for him to die, but time seemed slow again, … , and the moment was a lifetime.’

Pg. 349- ‘She’d killed him, with her stupidity.’

Richard Laymon’s Flesh

There’s a mysterious beast hiding out inside of peoples’ bodies which leads them to satisfy their hunger by killing and then eating their victim’s brain…along with a side of flesh. At first the victim incident is insignificant, but then it hits closer to home. Death after death occurs before the cop avenger catches on…by then its almost too late. He takes real action when his college damsel in distress becomes the slimy creature’s next treat. The slimy snake-like monster likes to burrow inside a body, crawl up the spine and bite its host’s brain, which then turns them into a killing machine! Watch out because when the snake has used its host, its onto a new, live one to use to quench its hunger for human blood, brains, and flesh!

This was another 5-star read by R. Laymon. A heart-pounding, edge-of-you-seat, lightning-fast page turner of a story. He doesn’t spare wimpy stomachs or the faint of heart to gore and interesting choices of feasts. If you are in need of a nutty, creepy, slimy and gutsy read, read this!

Excerpts:
Pg. 35-’…his wife’s flesh came with it, clamped in his teeth, stretching and tearing off. He calmly chewed.’

Pg. 89-’There was lots of it (blood), all over the floor about halfway across the kitchen. It looked brown.’

Pg. 97-’It had slimy yellow flesh webbed with red and blue veins. Its eyes had the dull gray look of phlegm. Its mouth made wet sucking noises as it flattened then spread open.’

Pg. 122-’She stayed alive for a long time. Her heart still throbbed when he tore it from her chest cavity.’

Pg. 204-’Restaurants ought to have showers, he thought, for occasions like this. He grinned.’

Jennifer Armintrout’s Queene of Light

Part 1 of 3
The beginning of a trilogy of a story told of the Lightworld: home to faeries, dragons and dwarves. The Darkworld: the place where vampires, werewolves, angels and demons reside. And finally, the Upworld where the humans live and prosper.

Alya is stuck between two worlds of existence; half human, half faery. Taught by Garret, wholly Fae and mentor. Thrown into the mix is Malachi, a Death Angel who falls from his powerful existence and becomes mortal… Alya and Malachi tell a tale of forbidden love between two worlds not permitted to co-exist or, for that matter, be in the same world. Turns out, Alya, is part of a destiny-layden plan but finds out about her future and is in way over her head before she realizes her mistakes and weakness by trusting another with too much power.

She has done it again! Writing a truly gripping story in a totally made up world with completely real situations and feelings. Some parallels were easily seen…the forbidden love, the idea of loyalty to a mentor (aka: the blood tie of a sire), and the ultimate battle at the conclusion of the story with a soft touch in the last few sentences. Just 15 days until J.A.’s next installment of the Lightworld/Darkworld trilogy!

Excerpts:
Pg. 21 – ‘Sticky red oozed slowly across the stone, feathering into the thirsty pores to create a dark, wet stain.’

Pg. 43- ‘Rage burned his veins. Now this was an emotion he could grow to enjoy.’

Pg. 109- ‘He could not release her, and he could not stop the sudden racing of his blood, the pounding of his pulse in his ears as her hungry mouth fought back against his.’

Pg. 236- ‘The ones (gypsies) up there will take your money, down here they’ll take your parts, if not all of you.’

Pg. 289- ‘Child? The word struck him like the fall of the spectral lash that had cleaved his wings from him.’

So, I haven’t posted a book review in a while…yeah, well that’s because i’ve been reading a lot of dud books lately. Since August?? Yes, since August. I have started reading quite a few books but put them down because they are so very dull. But! I have exciting news! Jennifer Armintrout has a new one coming out that will be a sure winner and guaranteed to make it to the review site! I just have to be patient and wait for it to arrive at my local library

Since August I’ve begun to read: James Patterson’s The Swimsuit, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Mary Roach’s Stiff, Iris Johansen’s Quicksand, Greg Iles’ The Devil’s Punchbowl, The Vampire Diaries series, Christopher Pike’s Falling , Christopher Ransom’s The Birthing House, and the one i almost finished (was really good, but i ran out of ‘borrowing’ time) Glenn Beck’s Common Sense (only winner outta the bunch).

Karin Slaughter’s Undone

The newest installment from Ms. Karin except she included a lovely twist of her Will Trent series and combined it with the Grant County series. And she pulled it off without a hitch. My heart broke to pieces when Jeffery died and Sara was left to live alone with half of her soul barred and gone. And Will, with a self-medicated love life with a woman who’s as reliable as a yo-yo. Wouldn’t you know these two main characters, Sara and Will, meet and flow so effortlessly well! And the juiciness doesn’t stop there, there’s a storyline beyond that too.

It all begins on a nights drive with Judith and Howard who think they’ve run over a stark naked, blind, and delirious woman on a dark evening, only to find out that all their secrets are about to be known by the whole town and the women victims. This is a story of injustice, heartbreak, resilience, and learning to control and to release who you are and who you can be.
Amazing Read!!!

Excerpts:
Pg. 4- ‘ 1969…a time when women could actually have interests other than cooking the perfect pot roast and discovering the best method to get stain out of the carpet.’

Pg. 66- ‘I don’t think can go back down there. … It just feels …evil-plain damn evil.’

Pg. 87- ‘She made endless list of everything she loved about him. The way he smelled after he got out of the shower…the way he’d sit behind her and brush her hair…the way he tasted when she kissed him.’

Pg. 92- ‘She wanted to be back at the beginning, to enjoy those long hours on the couch with Jeffery’s head in her lap, kissing him deeply, her fingers running through his soft hair.’

Pg. 206- ‘It was maddening, made all the more worse by the fucking darkness.’

Pg. 294- ‘And just like that, Will was the kind of cop he had never wanted to be.’

Pg. 326- ‘She had acknowledged that he had made a mistake, but she hadn’t assumed that it defined his character.’

Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper

A ‘beautifully crafted’ story about a family who is plagued with cancer and a sister who is created to help her live her right life. Kate is diagnosed with leukemia while Anna was created especially with Kate’s genetics in mind…but against her free will. This story may make you laugh, it may make you consider your own family and to be thankful for all you are blessed with…or without, and it will most definitely bring tears to your eyes. This was a masterpiece and was wonderfully and expertly researched too.

I was led to this book by a customer who said “it’s a great read but so sad…don’t miss out on this one”.

Excerpts:
Pg. 12- ‘As she gets sicker, she fades a little more, until I am afraid one day I will wake up and not be able to see her at all.’

Pg. 34- ‘I have only known her for two years…but if you stretched every moment/memory end to end they’d reach forever.’

Pg. 134- ‘It was making my skin itch in places I knew I would never be able to scratch.’

Pg. 196- ‘They outgrow us much faster than we outgrow them.’

Pg. 239- ‘We are beautiful, times three.’

Lisa Schroeder’s Far From You

I just can’t keep my nose out of Miss Schroeder’s books! This was a touching story about a confused girl who feels completely alone after her mother’s death and tries to drown her sorrows with her music, boyfriend, and through her friends, but comes up more distraught.
It isn’t until she meets utter disaster and crisis that she is able to feel real and true acceptance and understanding of what true happiness is made from.

Has she written more books for me to read? Imma find out!

Excerpts:
Pg. 29- ‘Her lips were as white as if she had kissed a snowman and he had kissed her back.’

Pg. 59- ‘Last time she checked—half did not equal whole.’

Pg. 102- ‘The noodles are like me, wrapped around his little finger.’

Pg. 127- ‘The driveway stayed as empty as my heart felt.’

Pg. 352- ‘ “…it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” ‘

Lisa Schroeder’s I Heart You, You Haunt Me

A story of love lost and the triumph of mind and matter against reality and rationality. Ava and Jackson were once so deeply in love and perfect for one another and destined to be together forever…or were they? As Ava unfolds and divulges her thoughts and memories, she allows doubts and hopes to be untangled and questioned.

This was a very quick read but did not skimp on the depth of passion and emotion within it’s pages. It’s written in poetic-like form and flows very nicely just the same.
I found myself giggling at some parts while tearing up at others. Exceptionally written!

Excerpts:
Pg. 11- ‘In that moment, I realize a circle of love is ten times better than a procession of sorrys.’

Pg. 96- ‘It’s like he’s a map and I’m trying to find my way home.’

Pg. 162- ‘But other arms grabbed me and pulled me from heaven into hell.’

Joy Fielding’s Still Life

Could you imagine having the world at your fingertips and the perfect life only to have it all taken away to be left as a spectator in the backseat of your life? That’s the story of Casey’s current state of ‘life’. One minute she’s having lunch out with the girls and the next she’s surprised by a hit and run that’s heading right in her direction.

She is put in a coma and forced to live a nightmare everyday in her hospital bed while she learns what those around her are really about. Who is on her side and who is against her. A woman who is trying to steal her husband is a bad scenario to cope with right?…not if you make the best of it and amuse yourself with a soap opera-like similarity and scene.

This story was a whirl of a read and kept my mind working, eyes moving, and heart in my throat.

Excerpts:
Pg. 58- ‘I married her because I love her. I love her so much.’

Pg. 60- ‘…a little something her mind had cooked up to pass the time and keep her from going crazy with boredom.’

Pg. 170-’She felt two sets of eyes burn into her flesh like acid.’

Ph. 245- ‘Like I’m in any position to judge. It took a coma to wake me up.’