Friday, November 27, 2009

Book Number 65

Oooh I remember this book.....

The Novel: Snow Angel
The Author: Thom Racina
Link: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/thom-racina/snow-angel.htm

I can clearly remember loving the end of this book. I was a bit frustrated with some of the "going-ons" throughout, not because of poor writing, but because I was thinking "come on lady can't you see that he IS the bad guy, DUH!"
The villain was very interesting in an oh so creepy way. The central character was well written as well, although I just wanted to shake her and tell her to smarten up.
What I found to be particularly interesting was that the author revealed the murderer at the beginning of the novel. There was no figuring out the villain, it was all laid out for us to see.
This tale was thrilling throughout. I enjoyed the dynamic between the characters and the sheer level brashness the antagonist provides.

I give "Snow Angel" a rating of 3.75 out of 5.

Another author that I'll make a point to read more of.

Book Number 64

Memory don't fail me now, I've got a lot of books to review and it's been quite awhile...

The Novel: One Dangerous Lady
The Author: Jane Stanton Hitchcock
Link: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/jane-stanton-hitchcock/one-dangerous-lady.htm

Why do I always do this?
Another book that is the second in a series. Dang It Bobby!
Fortunately One Dangerous Lady was another book that had enough detail about the first book that I wasn't lost...too much...
I really liked the characters in this book. The glimpse into a lifestyle that I will probably never experience first hand was pretty interesting (billionaire socialite lifestyle). It's nice to "see" how the other side lives. It was also nice to have some major drama with a nice plot twist or two.
I found several characters to be just a little too annoying, but it made the nicer characters all the better.
I enjoyed this novel, it was entertaining and left me wanting to read more by this author.

I give "One Dangerous Lady" a rating of 3.5 out of 5.

:o)

Book Number 63

Well I guess it's time that I actually blog about the books that I've read.

The Novel: The Alibi Man
The Author: Tami Hoag
Link: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/tami-hoag/alibi-man.htm

The Alibi Man is the second book in the Elena Estes Series. I haven't read the first book, usually this bothers me, but with The Alibi Man, I wasn't lost. It had enough detail that I didn't need to read the first book to get a proper glimpse into the main character's life.
This novel had enough detail and flashbacks about the first book that I was not left in the dark at all...which really is a plus for me.
The characters were well developed. The central character was a strong female with a kick ass attitude.
The novel is graphic enough to turn stomachs and delivers a lot of suspense. The action and dialogue were well done and I was fully entertain throughout the whole novel.
I enjoyed that I couldn't figure out whodunit. It's nice to go beyond the predictability of most suspense/action novels.

I give "The Alibi Man" a rating of 4 out of 5.

Tami Hoag really impresses me with her strong dominant female characters. It's nice to imagine stepping into the role of the central female character and come out of the battle with a few scars but a whole lot of attitude and a sense of justice served.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

New Moon Movie and Cake

So I've read a lot of books lately but I just haven't had the time (lazy) to blog about them. One reason I haven't had time is because I've been obsessed with creating a cake for the New Moon Movie.

My sister and I made plans to see New Moon this opening weekend. We've been waiting and waiting and waiting, and yay! we finally got to see it.


It Was Awesome!

Hubby saw it with us, and he enjoyed it too. He didn't even roll his eyes when I kept exclaiming "my boyfriend is in this movie......oh look there's my boyfriend.....oh look there's my other boyfriend......hey he's cute, he's also my boyfriend......"

Anyway, here's a few pictures of my cake .....


It took me FOREVER. Yeah it's not perfect, but I think it's pretty good for an amateur cake creator.



If it's not obvious, I'll explain...

It's a movie reel (New Moon The Movie)

as well as the book.

The cake is a pound cake with cream cheese frosting in the middle. Slathered with buttercream frosting and covered with marshmallow fondant. The book and center of the movie reel are made out of rice crispy treats covered in fondant. The flowers, the letters and the top of the movie reel are made with gumpaste.



I have to mention, I did not have any special tools, nor do I have any training. It was a hard process with lots of revisions, but I think it turned out pretty well.

















Thursday, November 5, 2009

Book Number 62

Another not bad "random library pick".

The Novel: You Don't Scare Me
The Author: John Farris
Link: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/john-farris/you-don-t-scare-me.htm

You don't scare me was pretty entertaining although lacking in parts.
I felt the build up was good to a point but then fell flat near the end. The character development was well done but the continuity could use some work.
I enjoyed the quirky main characters. But more could have been done surrounding the plot.
Although horror is not required to be realistic, there were parts that should have seemed realistic just didn't measure up. (it's like watching a movie with special effects and being able to tell the CGI parts from the parts that are actual stunts)

I give "You Don't Scare Me" a rating of 3.25 out of 5.

You Don't Scare Me didn't really scare me, but it did keep me entertained for an afternoon.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Book Number 61

This book was the newest in a kickass series. I love it when I find a really good author that has an entertaining series of books.

The Novel: Doomsday Key
The Author: James Rollins
Link: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/james-rollins/doomsday-key.htm

Doomsday Key is the sixth novel in the sigma series, and like I said in my intro, It was kickass! As per usual James Rollins keeps up the action and the suspense with a hair raising adventure. The characters that I've come to know from his previous sigma novels are just as great smart and dangerous and risky as usual.
The action rarely takes a break, and I had a hard time putting this novel down until the end.
What I particularly enjoy about novels by James Rollins is that he takes a subject that is fact and bases his stories around it. He is knowledgeable about so many cool things, and what he doesn't know he finds out.
He scares me. His novels scare me. And I'm so dang happy to read his books.....

I give "Doomsday Key" a rating of 4.75 out of 5.

I was excited to find out that James Rollins writes fantasy novels under a pen name. I haven't read any of those novels yet, but if they are half as entertaining as his Sigma books I am going to be so happy.