Looking For Salvation At The Dairy Queen

Do you ever just pick up a book just because of the cover? I do, all the time. What about the title? Well, until recently titles weren't my thing, but I just couldn't resist this one...Looking For Salvation At The Dairy Queen. Isn't it a great title?

Let's just get something clear. I didn't buy the book, I'm not that reckless, okay maybe reckless is not the right word but I do watch what I spend on books. And I simply refuse to pay $25 (CAD) for a hardcover by author I do not know. I even have problems buying hardcover books by authors that I know and enjoy. Yes, I am cheap! I took it out of the library, instead.

Cahterine Grace is a girl growing up in a small town, and wanting to leave asap. Unlike the girls in her town she wants different things in her life, she just doesn't want to marry (right after high school) and tend her garden. She wants bigger things than what a small town can deliver, she wants excitement of the city lights. She wants a promising future.

Like any other good character she has issues, layers, if you will. In each layer, we see her try to fit in. Trying to be a good daughter, a sister, looking for a mother figure, and not really fitting in anywhere. She thinks that once she's out of her small town she can find her place in the world, where she truly belongs.

But it takes a tragedy and twist of events to make her realize that maybe, just maybe, she has it all wrong.

What a wonderful book! I loved every little morsel of it!

The author sucked me in right from the beginning. I couldn't (and wouldn't) put the book down until it was all done. I loved the setting, and the circumstances of the story. I identified myself with the heroine, wanting to belong and thinking that leaing is her only solution. I loved her relationship her father, sister and next door neighbour.

But what was really touching and emotional was her journey of discovery, her salvation. You see her grow from a little girl trying to fit to a woman comfortable with admitting that she was wrong, and trying to amends for it.

Looking For Salvation At The Dairy Quenn by Susan Gregg Gilmore (5/5) General Fiction; Published: Shaye Areheart Books (2008); New Author; 100 + Reading Challenge (4); Library book; Added to shopping list;

No Place Like Here

I was looking forward reading Cecilia Ahern's There's No Place Like Here, so when I got a friendly reminder from my local library to pick it up, I ran... Yep, ran!

Usually when I look forward to something I tend to build it up in my head, and let's face it, I mostly get disappointed. So knowing this I started reading this book I little scared, and hoping, just hoping that it wouldn't blow up in my face.

Here's the blurb (taken from B&N):

Bestselling author Cecelia Ahern, whose sparkling novels have more than 5.5 million copies in print worldwide, returns with an ambitious, absorbing, and romantic tale of things -- and people -- lost and found People disappear every day, some because they choose to leave their old lives behind, and some for more unpleasant reasons. Things, too, disappear: mittens and cell phones, wallets and luggage. In every case, someone is left behind; someone is left to wonder what happened.

Ever since her classmate Jenny-May vanished when they were ten years old, Sandy Shortt has been obsessed with finding things. Now grown, Sandy's obsession has become a calling, with her own agency devoted to locating missing persons. But with every failed case, Sandy is plagued with questions: Where do missing people go? Are they alive or dead? Did they intend to disappear, or did they suffer some cruel fate? As these questions threaten to consume her, Sandy suddenly finds that she, herself, has disappeared, and that she has found all the answers she's always searched for in a magical place where all lost things and people go.

A romance that explores the meaning of loss and love, There's No Place Like Here is Cecelia Ahern's most satisfying, most inspired, most entrancing novel yet.

Ever read one of those books that you have to carry a box of tissues around with you? Well it was one of those. It brought up all types of emotions from me. The more emotional a read is the better in my opinion.

I adored the concept of this book. The idea of having this missing area where all lost things and people go to was just wonderful. Realistically I know this can't happen, but the dreamer in me loves it! Fiction is wonderful!

The characters were amazing. Sandy's need to find missing people really touched me, I thought that she was a little to obsessive but it also that need that made her all that real to me...amazing. Jack's search for his brother and later for Sandy really got to me as well. Here's this individual who wants (no, needs) to find Sandy, because he feels that she's the only person that can help him, the only person that truly understands his need for closure.

I'm not going to get into the whole story, because I don't to spoil it for those of you that haven't read it yet... What are you waiting for? ;)

There's No Place Like Here by Cecilia Ahern (4.5/5) General Fiction; Published: Hyperion New York (2007); 100 + Reading Challenge (3); Library book; Added to shopping list

Remember When

I'm a huge fan of Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb, and yes I realize that they're are the same person, but to me they are two very distinctive authors. I love Roberts romantic suspense, and Robb's futuristic mysteries and when Remember When first came out I was a little concerned that both styles would mesh together... so I've been avoiding reading it.

But when a few friends from FTLOR who were reading Remember When and asked to join them for a discussion I just couldn't say no. So went looking a copy of the book.

Here's the blurb (taken from B&N):

Laine Tavish is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life in the small town of Angel's Gap, Maryland, as the proprietor of Remember When, an antique treasures and gift shop. At least, that's what everyone in Angel's Gap thinks. They have no idea that she used to be Elaine O'Hara, daughter of the notorious con man Big Jack O'Hara. Or that she grew up moving from place to place, one step ahead of the law...

Laine's past has just caught up with her, though - in a very dramatic way. Her long-lost uncle suddenly turned up in her shop, leaving only a cryptic warning before dying in the street, run down by a car. Soon afterward, her home is ransacked. Now it's up to Laine, and a sexy stranger named Max Gannon, to find out who's chasing her and why.

The answer lies in a hidden fortune - a fortune that will change not only Laine's life but also the lives of future generations. And danger and death will surround that fortune for years to come. Until New York City detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas gets on the case.

It started off well enough, the characters were great and I enjoyed their chemistry, thought that they moved on to their "relationship" a tad too quickly, but I got over that. Enjoyed the sinister bad guy, he gave me the creeps, he was very John Malkovitchy and I so wanted Max and Laine to get him at the end.

And then it moved to the future...

I love Eve Dallas and the gang, but I just could get into it. I couldn't wrap my mind around having these characters aging into this alternate future and being alive and well, and still having problems with the bad guy's family.

Did I hate the book? No I didn't, but it wasn't the best of either Nora Roberts or J.D. Robb. Now, I'm sure a lot of people enjoyed this book and I'm also pretty sure that there were many fans like myself that found this collaboration a not so good idea.

Remember When by Nora Roberts & J.D. Robb (2.5/5) Romantic Suspense/Futuristic Mystery; Published: Penguin Group (2004); Series: Eve Dallas; 100 + Reading Challenge (2); Library book;

North and South

I jumped on the North and South bandwagon, and I'm loving every moment of it. And what is not to love?!

It's the story of Margaret Hale, a young woman from the beautiful farm lands of the south England, who moves with her family to the industrial town of Milton in the north of the country. At first she's repulsed with the ugliness of the town, and she also becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the mill-workers. And there's John Thornton, owner of a mill. He's a hard man, but also just and fair. Although Margaret and John have different views that doesn't stop their attraction towards each other.

The setting was unbelievable, it was scary, dark and filthy. You saw what it was really like in the cottons mills. I love the way Margaret made friends with the mill-workers and it broke my heart when her friend passed.

Aside from the social concern of the time, it was a beautiful love story....Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe were perfect in their roles of John and Margaret. John feeling that he wasn't worthy of Margaret's love, and her ow prejudices against his position as the "master" of the mill. But she slowly falls for him. It was wonderful to watch.

One of my favorite scenes, was when Margaret was leaving Milton, John is watching her leave, and he just wants her to look back at him...It was heart wrenching. I was hoping along with him.

And there's the ending at the train station. Oh my word! Wonderful!

Ghostbusters

In the second book of the Ghost Hunter Mystery M.J. is hired by her best friend Teeko. Karen's (aka Teeko) niece was chased and attacked by a ghost holding a hatchet, and Karen wants the kids at the private school safe from the maniacal ghost.

So M.J. and the gang, Gilley and Dr. Steven Sable are on their way. But along the way they encounter spirits that need their help to cross over. They convert the usual skeptics and so on. Once they arrive at the school, they discover that the ghost is stronger than what the team was expecting. There's more than just a troubled ghost hanging around, but can they figure out what's going on before one of them is seriously hurt.

I thought it was okay. It was fast paced and somewhat exciting. There was tension between the characters, especially between M.J. and Steven - there's the romance element - bonus! The interaction between the characters is awesome, I love the banter between Gilley and M.J.. I have to repeat myself (I'm sure I've mentioned it before), the dialogue has to be good otherwise I put the book down! The dialogue was good, but Steven's little problem with the language was starting to get on my nerves. One or two mistakes here or there would have been alright, but it seemed he was making them every time he opened his mouth. Next: the paranormal aspects of the book. I thought it was good, scary at times but I was expecting it. But overall it fell short.

Demons Are A Ghoul's Best Friend by Victoria Laurie (3.5/5) Paranormal Mystery; Published: Obsidian Mystery (March 2008); Series: # 2, A Ghost Hunter Mystery; 100 + Reading Challenge (1); Library book;

Cuss Much?

Saw this over at Reading Adventures. And it got me curious...


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Weekend Away

I'm so excited! I'm leaving later for a Scrapbooking Retreat at the Elm Hurst Inn.

Another Reading Challenge

I joined another reading challenge, 100 + Reading Challenge which is being hosted by J. Kaye. All you have to do is read 100 books or more in a year, I'm sure it will not be a problem for me.

Latest Addi[c]tion To My Ipod

Yoav's Club Thing

The Twisted Root

Once again I return to my favorite time period. In this installment of Anne Perry's William Monk series, Monk is asked to find a missing person, and along the way there's a murder and the questionable disappearance of medicine from a hospital. With the help of his new wife Hester (Finally!) and lawyer Sir Oliver Rathbone, they uncover a family secret that can change the life of a young man.

Here's the blurb from The Twisted Root:

In a stunning feat of the imagination, Anne Perry encloses readers within the magic circle of her genius and brings to life the lost world of England's Victorian Age. Hoofbeats clatter on cobblestones, gaslight glimmers through fog, and in the exclusive privacy of elegant drawing rooms, powerful men and women once again live the splendor and shame of that matchless era. With The Twisted Root, Perry holds us rapt with a chilling story of love, betrayal, and consummate evil.

As private investigator William Monk listens to young Lucius Stourbridge plead for help in tracking down his runaway fiancée, he feels a sense of heavy foreboding. Miriam Gardiner disappeared suddenly from a croquet party at the luxurious Bayswater mansion of her in-laws-to-be, and has not been seen since. But on Hampstead Heath, Monk finds the coach in which Miriam had fled and, nearby, the murdered body of the coachman. There is no trace of Miriam.

What strange compulsion could have driven the beautiful widow to abandon the prospect of a loving marriage and financial abundance? Monk's attempt to answer that question proves a challenge, as Miriam Gardiner's fateful flight ends in a packed London courtroom where brilliant barrister Oliver Rathbone wages an uphill battle to absolve her from a charge of murder. And in a race with the hangman, Monk and clever nurse Hester Latterly--themselves now newlyweds--desperately pursue the elusive truth . . . and an unknown killer whose malign brilliance they have scarcely begun to fathom.

As aways I was rooted in one spot while reading this book. Anne Perry has that ability to do that to me. And I'm not complaining. I love it! I love the way she grabs hold of my attention and not let it go until the end of the story. Mind, I always want more, but I'm learning to accept it. It's not only the setting, but it's the characters and their relationship with each other and newly introduced ones.

The Twisted Root by Anne Perry (4/5) Historical Mystery; Published: Ballantine Books (October 1999); Series : # 10, William Monk; Library book;

Adele

This is what I've been listening to lately. I just love her voice.

Canada Reads: Not Wanted On The Voyage

I've finished reading the second book for my version of Canada Reads. I made a personal challenge. I will read all the books listed for the CBC's Canada Reads challenge. I don't have a time line, let's face it reading thirty five books may take a while, especially when I tend to be very moody reader.

Not Wanted On The Voyage by Timothy Findley was a book selected on Canada Reads 2008, it championed by actor Zaib Shaikh.

I have read Timothy Findley before, I consider him to be one of the best, one of my favourites. I loved Pilgrim and The Piano Man's Daughter. So I was pretty excited about reading Not Wanted On The Voyage.

Here's the blurb:

Not Wanted on the Voyage is the story of the great flood and the first time the world ended. It is a brilliant, unforgettable drama filled with an extraordinary cast of remarkable characters: the tyrannical Noah and his indomitable wife, Mrs. Noyes; the aging and irritable Yahweh; a chorus of singing sheep; and a unicorn destined for a horrible death. With pathos and pageantry, desperation and hope, magic and mythology, this acclaimed novel weaves its unforgettable spell.

In my opinion the book started off great. I was fully interested in the story, in his point of view. But somewhere in the middle I started getting disinterested. There were times where I found it disturbing and others very touching. But I think the disturbing ones won out and really creeped me out. I felt for the women in this book, and my favorite character was a cat. Yep, a cat. I have a soft spot for cats, especially the black ones.

Overall I'm glad that I read this book. I loved the imagery, but it was a little too much.

Not Wanted On The Voyage by Timothy Findley (3/5) General Fiction; Published: Viking Canada (1984); Canadian Author; Canada Reads; Library Book;