Grave Echoes

I received this book as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway--autographed by the author (Thanks, Erin!!!).
A web of mystery, twists and turns, black magic, suspicion, family values...this book has it all.
When Kate's sister, Jev dies in a horrific car accident, (after Kate envisioned the accident in a narcoleptic episode) Kate learns a lot more about her sister than she ever wanted to. Being a witch, Jev kept her secret use of spells and charms from her family. What happens next turns Kate's world upside down. Investigation of the murder, finding out deep and dark secrets about a coven, Jev's friend being hurt, the killer--coming after her...Kate has to learn who to trust in her world, and she finds it's not an easy decision.

I loved this book because it had enough twists and information to keep me interested until the very last page. I was always second guessing who I thought was Jev's murderer and it didn't take long into the book before the action started happening.

I also liked how it brought to attention how easy it is to let your emotions make your decisions for you. When something bad happens, you suspect everyone around you, which is what Kate did. It was nice to see her develop as a character and try to figure stuff out on her own, not that she had a choice. The writing was good.  It was easy to follow and didn't jump around so much that I couldn't stay interested. Overall, very easy to read and kept me wanting to read.

Rating: 5

The Name of my new favorite book

From Goodreads:

The story revolves around Kvothe, an enigmatic red-haired innkeeper who, as he shares his incredible life story with a renowned scribe, turns out to be much more than he appears. Born into a family of nomadic court performers, Kvothe's unconventional education was broadened by spending time with fellow travelers like Abenthy, an elderly arcanist whose knowledge included, among other things, knowing the name of the wind. After his parents are brutally murdered by mythical beings known as the Chandrian, Kvothe vows to learn more about the godlike group, and after suffering through years of homelessness, he finally gets his chance when he is admitted into the prestigious University. But the pursuit of arcane knowledge brings with it unforeseen dangers, as the young student quickly learns.

My thoughts:

This book was recommended by several of my friends as well as the NBC.  I have to say, I was a bit skeptical at first because it's not typically the genre I like to read, however, since it was so highly recommended by...EVERYONE, I bought it and gave it a try. 

OH-MY-GOD...about sums it up.

The writing is incredible, and fluid, and it pulls you in, and breaks you, and puts you back together, and evokes emotion...and and and...is amazing.  Rothfuss tells a tale about a world where everything makes sense--even when it doesn't.  The reader has no choice but to believe that this story exists somewhere.  Rothfuss develops a time and a currency and a whole world--a fantasy land, and with it tells a beautiful story about a young man who endures more than any one person should ever have to.  I am left wanting to know more about what happened between the time period at the University and his beginning as an innkeeper.  I have so many questions that still haven't been answered, therefore I will definitely be reading the second book in the trilogy very soon.  The problem with that is that the third book isn't out yet and I will have to wait to get a conclusion.  I never thought that 700 pages wouldn't be enough to quelch my thirst for a story.  Well done, Mr. Rothfuss...

Rating: 6 (one more point for absolute creativity)

That Dragon Tat girl is CRAZY-Small Spoilers



Goodreads synopsis: Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander's innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.

Ok, folks, so this is part two of the Millennium series.  I have to say, I liked this one better than the first one because it really gets into what happened in Lisbeth Sander's past.  She is a very interesting, and surprising, a likeable character.  She endured more than anyone should ever have to endure.  What I loved about the book is the method of communcation she used to contact Mikael.  I also loved that she hasn't been caught from "redirecting" money from the first book--tee hee.  There are a couple of scenes of girl-on-girl action that had me shaking my head, but it just added to the brillance of character development for Lisbeth.

In any case, the writing gave a brillant picture of the setting and situation.  I noticed myself unable to put down the book until I had finished a chapter...then a couple chapters, etc.  I still think that the main character is a tramp, though...

Rating: 5

This is the final of the Millenium series and by far, my favorite.  There was SO much going on in this book I almost had a hard time keeping track.  Essentially, all lose ends of the story was tied up for Lisbeth and she BY FAR gets the last word to all the people who have wronged her in the past--which is awesome!  This is where Lisbeth truly becomes a likeable character, in my eyes.  It also solidifies the friendship between Mikael and Lisbeth, because through the series, you see that they don't have many friends.  Lisbeth is an introvert, most likely due to her horrid past.  This book really gets to the nitty gritty about exactly what happened to her when she was younger.

Also, by the end of the novel, Mikael has met his match and is now in love--and during the whole book, if I remember correctly, he only sleeps with one girl--which was a nice change of pace.

Hands down, a very good series of books.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.  I can even look past some of the boring details because as a whole, they didn't bother me because I liked the book so much. 

I've heard rumors that there was an unfinished fourth novel.  If there is, I'd be happy to read it.  Looking forward to the Americanized movie coming out this year for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Rating: 5

The Girl with alot of Tattoos...and hacking skillz

I started this book on recommendation of a few of my colleagues and I have to say I couldn't put it down.  The book is kind of seperated into two parts (which are tied into the main characters).  In one story line,  a financial reporter named Mikael gets sentenced to jail for libel comments (and possibly very true) against a big corporation.  Afterwards the story takes us through his journey and how he plans to get even with the owneer.  On the other story line, Mikael is offered a job to solve a murder that happened 40 years ago and calls in the assistance of a hacker/deviant/awesome girl named Lisbeth.  (loving the name too!)

I didn't know really what to expect out of this novel and I definitely did not expect for the outcome to be the way it was--sorry folks, I'm trying not to give out spoilers here.  So of course, I finished the book quickly because I loved the way it was written and how easily it flowed between the two situations.  I thought it would take me forever to finish and it ended up being a very interesting read in a very short time.

MINI SPOILER ALERT:
My only dislike was how casually Mikael had sex with 3 women during the course of the book...it just didn't seem right, and it ended up hurting feelings.  I don't know...I guess I'm old fashioned like that. 
I was going to break up the series a bit by reading another book inbetween, but I think I've decided that I will stick with this until the bitter end!

Rating: 4 1/2 (I'm taking off the half because the guy is a playa!)

Vicious, vicious man!



I read this book by Erik Larson last week on the recommendation of the Nesties.  I have to say overall, the book was very enjoyable.

(SPOILER ALERT:  Basically the novel is regarding how Chicago acquired the World's Fair in the late 1800s.  During that time, crime in Chicago was extremely high and the police force were enept at dealing with all of the issues.  This being said, a gentleman by the name of H.H. Holmes was able to get away with brutally torturing and murdering several young women. )

Most of the book regarded the fair construction, set up, approvals, etc.  I have to say that these parts dragged on (escrutiatingly so at some points).  However, it was interesting to find out how much they had to go through for it to become a reality, especially given the "bad rep" Chicago had at the time.  I also found it interesting how they designed the first ferris wheel.  The rest of the book was incredibly intense and gripping.  Seeing how unbelieveably callous and calculating Holmes was throughout was terrifying.  He showed no remorse or emotion during his trial or during the killings. 

Even though the fair parts dragged on and was so detailed that I had to skim a few pages here and there, I honestly enjoyed the book's overall feel.  I do feel like sometimes the two different "sections" weren't tied together like I wanted it to be, but it was still an interesting read and it was nice to get some history lessons in the process. 

Rating: 4

The rest of me...

So this weekend marked a very big time for me.  We are officially Nashvillians.  I turned in my keys in Chattanooga and said goodbye to our little townhome.  It was bittersweet, honestly, and I'm hoping someday to make Chattanooga my home again.  That being said, it really does take a load off because now I can go there for pleasure instead of having to go every other weekend to clean or pack or move.  It's like a huge weight being lifted off of my shoulders.  SO that being said, my diet started again.  Just drinking water and watching portions and snacking.  The only thing I'm really trying not to stress right now are car problems--and whatever needs to be done will be done, I know--so I'm not going to worry...right? :)

BTW, that Philadelphia cooking cream is phenomenal.  I probably shouldn't be eating that on my diet but I cooked with it last night and it was yummy.  I just had a little bit. =)

Now off to work...

Immortal?

Ok, so I will admit to you all that yes, at first, I honestly thought this was a book about vampires, since I had it on my Kindle and wasn't able to explore the cover a little more.  After the initial shock of reality wore off (and I actually started getting into the book), I realized that this was about a woman who made such a difference in the world, and she didn't even know it.  Henrietta was a poor black woman who developed an extremely fast spreading case of cervical cancer.  When the doctors started treatment, they cut off a sliver of the tumor to use for testing (without Henrietta's consent).  As it turns out, Henrietta's cells survived testing and still survive today.  The HeLa cells are the reason for many medical advances from the 50s on to today.  As the story goes on, you see that the family received absolutely nothing from the HeLa cells and were still living in poverty with a ton of medical issues and no way to pay the bills.  The author talks to the family long after Henrietta has died and explores exactly what happened during all the time that has passed.  Nothing was ever offered to them and for a while, the wrong person was credited for the cells.  The reason for the story was to give Henrietta the credit she deserved.

I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in myself for not hearing about this story earlier in life, since these cells were the beginning of so many wonderful inventions/cures/procedures, but better late than never, I suppose. The writing was pretty standard.  The author repeated herself a few times, but there was a wealth of information about cell production and processes that made it very interesting.  It is a little bit scientific, so if that's not your "thing" I am not sure if you'd enjoy the entire book.  That being said, the story was an incredible one, offering a glimpse into this family's life as well as Henriettas.  I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 

  
Rating: 4 1/2

Haunting Jasmine

Jasmine is an extremely bitter character who just divorced her cheating husband and is trying to figure out where her next move will be. As a defense mechanism, it seems she immerses herself in her work as an investment manager until she gets a call to watch a "special" bookstore while her aunt makes a trip to India to "fix her heart."  Once she gets to the finding out a lot about herself through "visitors" of the store.

SPOILERS:
I read this book all in one sitting because I could not put it down. It was very easy to get sucked in to the magic in the bookstore, where dead authors play their part in "freeing" Jasmine from her bitterness and her stress. I do feel like in parts I wanted to scream GET OVER IT to Jasmine, who after a year, kept constantly mentioning what a low life scumbag her ex-husband, Robert, was and how his new love, Lauren, was trying to take over her life, however, on the flip side, I can completely understand how hard it is to let go of something you've been holding onto for so long. But--Ok--we get it...it's time to move on. It also seemed to me like Jasmine was a bit slow because she didn't catch on to things that were happening until way after the reader probably did, but it did add to the suspense of the novel.


The writing flowed pretty well and it was definitely a fresh take on starting over and finding yourself in the most unexpected places. I would love to have seen Jasmine develop more in the end-I feel like the relationship between her and her ghost could have played more of an active role in the novel.


Overall great read and a definite recommendation for a book that will make your smile and maybe melt your heart a bit.

Rating: 4