Best Wedding Gift Ever…Or is it?

About Book: 17 year old Leeann Worthier is the perfect girl in town - or so she says. George Willets is the heir to a booming petroleum business. When they announce their engagement, George's controlling mother is unimpressed, and Leeann absolutely refuses to live with her mother-in-law. So George gives his new wife a house as a wedding gift - a house haunted by the family's most violent ghost.

About Author: Kathleen Mckenna is a transplanted Alaskan who spent twelve years on her first paragraph and now lives and writes prolifically in the opposite kind of desert in New Mexico. 

She has written eight novels to date and recently nearly lost all eight when her laptop and her back-up drive failed simultaneously. At the last count, seven had been recovered.

'The Wedding Gift' is Kathleen's third novel, the first of a supernatural trilogy. The second in the series, 'The Comeback', will be published by Night Publishing in late 2010.

My Thoughts:

First I have to say, I wish I received a mansion for my wedding gift for FREE :-).

However, nothing in life is ‘free’ is it?

The Wedding Gift is a story of a young girl who marries into a wealthy family, receives a mansion as her wedding gift from her groom’s father, but, well, some gifts are not made to be cherished. Throughout the story, I asked myself many times if 17 year old Leeann Worthier who marries 26 year old, filthy rich George Willet, is truly a gold digger, a gold digger by circumstance or as her best friend says, dumber than a box of hair.

Leeann, who is said to be the most beautiful female in all of Dalton, maybe even Oklahoma, was courted by the only son of the wealthiest family in Oklahoma. She ends up pregnant and George being a ‘gentleman’ and in love with Leeann, decides he will be responsible and marry her the week after she graduates high school. Leeann of course is swept up by the things that George has bought her and the promise of the things he will buy her. For their wedding gift, they are given the title to the family owned mansion, Willet House. Isn’t that just the grandest gift ever? Well, not so much. Willet House is haunted and has been the town haunted house since the mid 70’s when George’s uncle and his family (wife and five children) were murdered there; supposedly, by the wife. Guess who she decides to show herself to, yes Leeann. Did she or did she not kill her children? Why is she still in the house? It all unravels when George turns up dead and Leeann is the accused.

I don’t necessarily believe in ghosts, but the story was written with such vivid descriptions that I could see, hear and smell everything the author described. Kathleen McKenna has written a great ghost story that captures the readers and places them in the town of Dalton where everything is happening.

After reading the story, the answer has become more clear to me whether Leeann was a true gold digger, a gold digger by circumstance or dumber than a box of hair. Thing is, she doesn’t have a lot to fall back on besides being the most beautiful girl in Dalton, maybe even Oklahoma, so it was easy to fall for a lavish lifestyle. And for those of us who loves a hero at the end, there is one and again, the description is so vivid, I want to look into those beautiful green eyes…:-)

I give this story: 

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I was given by Night Publishing. 

Random Thought

I haven't had a random thought posted in a while. I was so consumed with trying to finish The Passage and reading The Wedding Gift and Mockingjay that I haven't been posting anything here. I still come here everyday though. So my anxiety, if that's what I want to call it, got the best of me last night. I had a dream that I wrote a great review of a book that I only read 30 pages of so far. I say a great review, not because the review was great but because I was able to write a review and didn't even know how the book ended...LOL


Now, I keep thinking I have 8 more weeks of school and then I can read as much as I want.

Flyers...I'm finished

The Passage - Justin Cronin

Synopsis:

“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.” 

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.

About the Author:
Born and raised in New England, Justin Cronin is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Awards for his fiction include the Stephen Crane Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. He is a professor of English at Rice University and lives with his wife and children in Houston, Texas.


My Thoughts:
So I finally finished The Passage and I must say, although it felt like it took way too long to finish, I'm glad it did. I know it may not sound like I'm making sense but the details in the story are just that, detailed and although it didn't seem like it would have come back around it did somehow. The end of the story left me hanging and as much as I hate that, I love it all at the same time. Basically, I WANT MORE NOW...LOL. However, I must wait until 2012 I think...FLYERS!!!!!! 


Although I thought the middle of the book did drag a bit, it seemed to have been an essential part of the story as far as the characters go. The beginning was very strong and the ending was even more intense. There were points where I feared for the group, there were times when I cried for the group and there were times when I wanted to yell 'RUN'. As much as I tried to predict the ending of the story or even the ending of sections, I found that I was not able to predict at all. 

I Give This: 

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

I Have Been Interrogated...

That’s right! I’ve been interrogated! :-) My BFF Pam, from Busy Moms Who Love to Read, featured me today as part of her Book Blogger Interrogations meme. Here’s this week’s post (featuring me):

BBI with LaToya from Reading Through Life…One Page At A Time

Pam is one of my favorite book bloggers, and one of my BFFs that got me into blogging. She actually helped design my blog…well she designed it for meJ. So, please go take a peek! :-)

THANK YOU, Pam!  That was FUN I laughed the whole time I filled it out!

The Queen of Suspense Challenge -

The Queen of Suspense Challenge - 

Join In (Sept - Aug 2011)

Hosted by:

Tea Time with Marce

Challenge Dates:  September 1, 2010 - August 31, 2011

Details:

* If you participate in this challenge please signup below and do a post in order to get word out so we can have more bloggers join in and to network with.  Please link back to this post with your direct link to your intro challenge post, not just your blog link.

* You do not have to list the chosen books ahead of time and your choices can crossover into other challenges you have joined.

*  You can join anytime before next year Aug, this challenge is to make a fan out of you and to share thoughts and discussions about the Queen of Suspense from those who are already a fan. 

* All forms of books will count - eBooks, Audiobooks, etc

* Rereads do count towards this challenge, as that is the main idea for me.  Also, the collaboration with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark will count.

Level of Participation

2 Books -  New to Mary Higgins Clark
3 Books -  Reacquainting myself with Mary Higgins Clark
6 Books -  Rating my Love for Mary Higgins Clark (If you have read her new one already, I will allow this to be included towards the total 6 for this category only)

List of Mary Higgins Clark books

All participants that have at least one review posted when Mary Higgins Clark releases her next book will be added into an International Giveaway to win the Hardcover.  I will do a post to link your reviews on September 1st.

Welcome fellow Book Blogger Hoppers! I missed last week's blog hop. I would love to meet some new blogging friends. If you decide to give a follow, please leave me a message so that I can follow you back. 


As for this week's question, How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf’?
Here's my answer: Although I still have a shelf I don't know how many I have due to them being on the shelf, on the floor, in my Nook, saved on my computer in Excel and growing. I believe I have over 100 on my TBR list

Giveaway

I am announcing a giveaway. No not my giveaway :-), but a giveaway by one of my very first blog followers Julie at Reading without Restraint! Her giveaway is great one so go over and check it out 

Random Thought #3

I have the most random thoughts sometimes and I often get distracted in mid conversation, when I'm not talking to myself that is. So I was sitting here trying to figure out what to read before bed (not that I'm still trying to read The Passage and I just bought 8 books in 2 days - shopaholic much...LOL) and thought to myself that whatever I am going to read I need to average the number of pages I need to read in the next 12 days before Mockingjay comes out. So if I read The Passage I have to read a minimum of 62 pages in the next 12 days or I could read 2.5 smaller books at least. So what do I do, I play Sims 3...HA


DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

I LOVE A GOOD MYSTERY

Review: Spoilt – Joanne Ellis

Book Description:

Synopsis

Passion turns to envy. Love to murder. One way or another, everyone is spoilt.

A sadistic killer is stalking the streets, carving his hatred into the bodies of beautiful, young women.

The murders are stirring up bad memories for Detective Lucas Hudson, as he struggles to remain focused - juggling the horrors of today with horrors from the past.

When Chelsea Summerville's best friend goes missing, she's unwillingly dragged into the race to stop the killer.

As Lucas and Chelsea find happiness together, Chelsea becomes the hunted rather than the hunter.

Can Lucas shake off his demons and save the woman he loves, or will everything he holds dear be spoilt?

About the author: 

Joanne Ellis is a prolific Australian writer who won the Night Reading / Publishing 'First Chapter of the Month' in May-June 2010 with her first chapter of 'Spoilt'.

Other novels written by Joanne include: 'Fire Starter', 'Womaniser', 'The Rookie', 'Charlottesville', 'Control' and 'The Mystic Garden'.

My Thoughts:  I love a good mystery. Spoilt began with a big “bang” and I loved it. It instantly captured my attention and I did not want to stop reading. The romance between Lucas and Chelsea was so intense that it made me want to believe in love at first sight. The way Lucas was so intent on protecting Chelsea was very endearing. Without, ruining the end of the story for everyone I just wanted to say that by the end of the book, I became scared for Chelsea, angry at Lucas, felt the pain and heartache they were both feeling and wanted to hurt the maniac serial killer.

Spoilt was a well written story that flowed through the chapters like melted butter. From the beginning when the murders are being investigated, to when Lucas and Chelsea initially met and then when they fell in love, the story was easy to follow. I didn’t have to go back a few pages to see if I missed anything.

I GIVE THIS BOOK

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I was given by Night Publishing.

Whoa Is Me!!!

I haven't done anything fun all week. That includes blogging and reading. My school work has been working me overtime. However, I am determined to get some reading done tonight. I'm trying to read The Passage for a Facebook Nook book club and I haven't put a dent in the book yet. It usually doesn't take me that long for a book I am enjoying. What's bad is that I contemplated not doing a paper last night so that I can do more blog "research"...LOL. I ended up doing my paper though :-(

Review: Christopher Moore - Lamb-The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal

Lamb - The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

Book Description: 

Synopsis

The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years -- except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in the divinely hilarious yet heartfelt work "reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams" (Philadelphia Inquirer).

Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more -- except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdala -- and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

Publishers Weekly

A childhood pal of the savior is brought back from the dead to fill in the missing 30-year "gap" in the Gospels in Moore's latest, an over-the-top festival of sophomoric humor that stretches a very thin though entertaining conceit far past the breaking point. The action starts in modern America, specifically in a room at the Hyatt in St. Louis, where the angel who shepherds "Levi who is called Biff" has to put Christ's outrageous sidekick under de facto house arrest to get him to complete his task. Moore (Bloodsucking Fiends) gets style points for his wild imagination as Biff recalls his journey with Jesus dubbed Joshua here according to the Greek translation into and out of the clutches of Balthasar, then into a Buddhist monastery in China and finally off to India, where they dabble in the spiritual and erotic aspects of Hinduism. The author gets more serious in his climax, offering a relatively straightforward, heartfelt account of the Passion and Christ's final days that includes an intriguing spin on how the Resurrection might have happened. The Buddhist and Hindu subplots seem designed to point out the absurdity and excesses of religious customs, but none of the characters are especially memorable, and eventually both plot and characters give way to Biff's nightclub patter. As imaginative as some of this material is, the sacrilegious aspects are far less offensive than Moore's inability to rein in his relentless desire to titillate, and his penchant for ribald, frat-boy humor becomes more annoying as the book progresses. Moore has tapped into organized religion for laughs before, but this isn't one of his better efforts. Agent, Nick Ellison. Author tour. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

About the author:  Christopher Moore is the author of eleven novels, including the international bestsellers, Lamb, A Dirty Job and You Suck. His latest novel is Fool, a retelling of King Lear from the perspective of Pocket, the Fool.

Chris was born in Toledo, Ohio and grew up in Mansfield, Ohio. His father was a highway patrolman and his mother sold major appliances at a department store. He attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. He moved to California when he was 19 years old and lived on the Central Coast until 2003, when he moved to Hawaii.

Before publishing his first novel, Practical Demonkeeping in 1992, he worked as a roofer, a grocery clerk, a hotel night auditor, and insurance broker, a waiter, a photographer, and a rock and roll DJ. Chris has drawn on all of these work experiences to create the characters in his books. When he’s not writing, Chris enjoys ocean kayaking, scuba diving, photography, and sumi-e ink painting. He divides his time between Hawaii and San Francisco.

My Thoughts:  When I originally heard about this book, I was working part-time at Borders and checked someone out who purchased it. At first, she was afraid to tell me about it because she thought I would be offended. I say that all to say that I hope I do not or will not offend anyone due to the title of the book. However, I thought this book was absolutely roll on the floor hilarious. Christopher Moore uses the Bible stories we have heard as children and adds his own adult humor and twist to them giving us a laugh out loud experience. Although, there was some graphic language, it was not over the top. I have read the book twice and listened on audio books once and each time I still laughed quite a bit. If you enjoy humor, this is a good book to read.

I GIVE THIS: 

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.