Mk's Blog – August 2011 Archive (22)

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The Black Stiletto: Righting Wrongs in Her Own Way

Mark Talbot is an accountant whose mom is in an assisted living facility for Alzheimer’s patients. Most of the time he’s not sure she knows who he is but he still visits her regularly in hopes that she’ll be lucid. He’s just been handed a bombshell envelope by her attorney without realizing it. At first it looks like it just contains diaries his mom wrote when she was young. Deciding they might help him know her better, he begins to read them only to realize he didn’t know her at all. Read the… Continue

Added by Mk on August 31, 2011 at 10:41am — No Comments

Android Free Fall: Crime is Still Crime, Even in the Future

I hadn’t read much science fiction lately, and was feeling a little scifi deprived. When I got the opportunity to read Android Free Fall by William H. Keith, I decided to take a look. Mr. Keith is a New York Times bestselling author of too many scifi novels to list. Among his numerous awards are the H.G. Wells award and several Origins awards. I decided Mr. Keith probably knew a thing or two about scifi, so I agreed to read and potentially review Android Free Fall. I was delighted to find…

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Added by Mk on August 30, 2011 at 11:41am — No Comments

The Postmortal: Would You Like to Be Immortal?

I kept seeing the book cover art for Drew Magary’s new novel The Postmortal and something about it drew me in, so I agreed to read it to see if I wanted to review it. The Postmortal takes a very intelligent, realistic look at what could happen to our planet if scientists discovered the secret to immortality. It’s partially a morality tale, partially a conspiracy thriller and partially an action adventure. Above all, it’s a really fun and… Continue

Added by Mk on August 29, 2011 at 10:32am — No Comments

Book Giveaway and Review: Velva Jean Learns to Fly

As soon as I learned the main character in Velva Jean Learns to Fly by Jennifer Niven was a North Carolina mountain girl, I knew I had to read this novel since I grew up in those mountains. FYI: This is the second book in this series. The first book was Velva Jean Learns to Drive, which I haven’t read and that didn’t seem to make any difference. Velva Jean Learns to Fly definitely can stand alone just fine. Velva Jean is one feisty, strong, determined and persistent woman. If you like…

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Added by Mk on August 26, 2011 at 10:17am — No Comments

Next to Love: How World War II Affects Three Women

I had read very positive things about Ellen Feldman’s Next to Love, which I had previously mistakenly thought was just another bodice ripper romance novel. NOT! This is a powerful novel set in a small Massachusetts town during the period from 1941 into the mid 1960’s. It examines three women who are best friends, their relationships, and how World War II affects their world and who they are. I gained much more insight about that generation from this novel, which has the ring of visceral…

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Added by Mk on August 25, 2011 at 12:05pm — No Comments

The Legacy Book Review: When Betrayal Bears Fruit

I saw the book cover art for The Legacy by Katherine Webb when I was looking for another book, and was instantly drawn to it. I admit it; I’m a sucker for good book cover art. I knew I had to find out more about this book, so I was really glad when I got the opportunity to read it. The Legacy takes place between 1902 and present day, looking at three generations of women in the Calcott family.

 

One of the things I was fascinated by in grad school was how patterns repeat in…

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Added by Mk on August 24, 2011 at 11:05am — No Comments

The Keeper of Lost Causes: A Scandinavian Psychological Thriller

Carl Morck used to be one of Copenhagen’s finest detectives but he’s had it. The last straw was watching his two closest friends and co-workers get gunned down recently. Although he took a bullet, he feels to blame because he never drew his gun, and played dead. One co-worker is dead and one is paralyzed from the neck down, and Carl is heavily traumatized. Now Carl’s just biding time until he can retire and he isn’t going to do anything to prevent him from living to enjoy retirement. That means… Continue

Added by Mk on August 23, 2011 at 12:17pm — No Comments

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake: Faith, Honesty and Redemption

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake is set in 1956 Southern Arkansas, in a farming community like so many in rural areas in the mid-1950’s. Moses family tradition is that every first Sunday in June is set aside for a big family reunion. Nothing gets in the way of their family reunion - no matter what, that reunion is sacrosanct and you are expected to be there if you’re a member of the Moses family. Goodness knows Calla and John Moses’ 100-acre family farm is big enough to hold a lot of family and… Continue

Added by Mk on August 22, 2011 at 10:27am — No Comments

Book Giveaway and Review: Mice by Gordon Reece

Shelley has had her three best friends the whole time she’s been in school. They’ve been practically inseparable. When they turn 14 years old, however, all of that starts to change. While the other girls become obsessed with being popular, boys, hairstyling, makeup and clothes, Shelley could care less about those things. Instead, she remains intensely interested in her studies and getting the marks she needs on her exams to get into a good college. Read the rest of my review and enter the… Continue

Added by Mk on August 19, 2011 at 10:35am — No Comments

Luck of the Devil: A Whimsical Tale That Will Tickle Your Funny Bone

What’s a half demon woman to do when the Devil is her father, God is her uncle and JC is her cousin? How can you get away with anything when it seems like someone in the family is going to know your every move? Poor Faith Bettincourt is that young woman with the wings, tail and horns to prove it – retractable of course. I mean how could she ever go out in public with all those startling appendages showing, much less hold a job! It’s hard enough not feeling like you fit into the human world… Continue

Added by Mk on August 18, 2011 at 10:15am — No Comments

Love Child: A Captivating Tale Set in South Africa

Bill is the daughter of a diamond evaluator and a semi-invalid mother in South Africa in the 1920’s. Her role in the family is being her mother’s helpmate, and it has been that way since she was 10 years old. Bill is known as the prettiest of the three daughters and her father’s favorite. She enjoys the effect she has on men of all ages. When she visits her father at work one day, she catches the eye of one of the other diamond evaluators, Isaac, and sets her cap on him. Read the rest of my…

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Added by Mk on August 17, 2011 at 10:49am — No Comments

Bite Me: Snarky Texas Teenage Vampire Hunter

Valentine Shapiro is a snarky teen vampire hunter who is half demon. She calls her demon half Lola and does everything she can to control that part of her because her demon happens to be a succubus and she’s seen first-hand what Lola can do if she’s turned loose. Hunting vampires is how Valentine has learned to keep Lola in control. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=1491

Added by Mk on August 16, 2011 at 11:16am — No Comments

The Effect of E-Books and E-Readers on Authors

The last article in our Monday series looks at how e-books and e-readers are affecting mainstream and self-published fiction authors. To read this article, or any of the other articles in this series, go to http://popcornreads.com/?p=1483

Added by Mk on August 15, 2011 at 12:16pm — No Comments

Domestic Violets: A Great Satire on Midlife Angst

Tom Violet is the 35 year old son of the famous novelist and bon vivant, Curtis Violet, who has just won a Pulitzer Prize. He has lived in his free-wheeling father’s shadow all of his life and it has made him very insecure. It probably doesn’t help that his dad still calls him Tommy. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=1470

Added by Mk on August 12, 2011 at 10:25am — No Comments

In Malice, Quite Close: Book Review & Book Giveaway

“I have come to see I’m incapable of drawing clear moral distinctions. For me the question of what can and cannot be done has never been an ethical one. There is no line I cannot smudge with my thumb…I have always been undone by beautiful things, and it might be said that beauty itself was my quarry.” Tristan Mourault

 

Tristan Mourault is a wealthy French ex-pat living in New York, who is heir to a world renowned art collection he can never really possess. Maybe that’s one…

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Added by Mk on August 11, 2011 at 12:10pm — No Comments

The Effect of E-Books and E-Readers on Publishers

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind in the publishing/book industry that the increasing popularity of e-books and e-readers is affecting that industry. The publishing industry has over time developed into a very grounded industry. How it has functioned doesn’t appear to have changed much over time, other than tweaks as culture changed. That appears to have left it ill prepared for the massive changes occurring in how people read. Read the rest of my review at… Continue

Added by Mk on August 9, 2011 at 12:11pm — No Comments

The Magician King: The Adventures in Fillory Continue

I had read rave reviews for The Magicians, the bestseller by Lev Grossman, and a lot of buzz about its sequel, The Magician King, so when I got the chance to read it, I jumped on it. This novel can also be read as a stand-alone fantasy novel.



The Magician King picks up where The Magicians ended. Quentin, Julia, Janet and Eliot are the kings and queens of the magical world of Fillory because Fillory must always have four rulers. They are currently… Continue

Added by Mk on August 9, 2011 at 12:08pm — No Comments

The Queen of Hearts Book Review & Book Giveaway

Marie Claire’s family lives in St. Felix, a small village and farming community not far from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium. The people in her village are all afraid of TB because it seems to sneak in the back door when no one’s looking. That Fall her Oncle Gerard is diagnosed with TB but continues to live with them because he has nowhere to go and the sanatorium can’t take him yet. Luc, who had been sleeping with him, has to sleep elsewhere. Read the rest of my review and enter the… Continue

Added by Mk on August 5, 2011 at 10:26am — No Comments

A Catered Affair: A Wickedly Funny Novel by Sue Margolis

Thirty-four-year-old Tally is a human-rights attorney while her lesbian sister, Scarlett, is a stand-up comedian. Tally’s mom, Shelley, is a ditzy widow living in the London suburbs whose phone number is so close to a suicide hot line’s that she gets calls from distraught people at least four to five times a week. Instead of passing them on to the hot line, she plays amateur psychologist. She loves helping these people, she’s hooked on the drama and she really does mean well. Read the rest of… Continue

Added by Mk on August 4, 2011 at 10:00am — No Comments

The Poisoned House: A YA Supernatural Gothic Mystery

I’m really glad I got the opportunity to read Michael Ford’s new novel <em>The Poisoned House</em>. This is a truly scary ghost story combined with dark intrigue and mystery, all wrapped up in 1850’s Victorian England. I believe it will appeal to adults as well as teens. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=1413

Added by Mk on August 3, 2011 at 10:16am — No Comments

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