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 The Thirteenth Tale
by Diane Setterfield
Wow!! As a huge gothic novel lover
(Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca)
this book did not disappoint! This is, surprisingly, Ms.
Setterfield’s first novel and it’s a winner on every count---truly
a page turner that will keep you up at night. The writing
is superb, the plot gripping, and the characters are mesmerizing.
The story involves a young woman who
is called to the home of England’s best loved novelist to
write the novelist’s biography. The protagonist works diligently
to piece together the enthralling tale the old lady is dolling
out, bit by bit, and the reader is caught up in every word.
There’s a burned-down old mansion, dark secrets, and old ghosts
haunt every page. The end is guaranteed to surprise you and
I promise these characters will stay with you long after you
finish the final page.
This is definitely one of the very
few books in recent years that I can honestly say that I couldn’t
put down.
 The
Lion’s Game by Nelson
DeMille
This is my first “espionage thriller”
and I must say I’ve already bought every book in this series
because I was completely enthralled.
The main character, John Corey, is
a former NYPD detective and he’s been recruited by the CIA
to work for a select Middle East terrorist taskforce. Mr.
DeMille writes this story with such knowledge and detail that
it was hard to believe that the author wasn’t writing from
personal experience.
John Corey and his terrorist nemesis,
Asad Khalil, play a cat and mouse game as the CIA keeps only
one step behind Khalil as he goes on a planned terror spree.
It’s up to Corey to figure out why and who is the next victim.
Yet another page turner that kept me from getting my beauty
sleep!
The real gem of the novel is John
Corey—acerbic, sarcastic and downright funny. I literally
was laughing out loud through most of this 700-page novel
(hard to believe given the subject matter). The dialogue
is simply priceless, the love story angle is definitely written
by a man, and the ending leaves enough holes to make you want
to run to the closest bookstore to buy the next novel in the
John Corey series. I know I did.
The Secret History of the Pink
Carnation, The Masque
of the Black Tulip, The Deception of the Emerald Ring
As
anybody who knows me well knows, I adore historical romances---especially
well-written ones with memorable characters and thought-provoking
plots.
This series is all of the above---with
the added pleasure of a current-day parallel “chick lit” story
of Eloise Kelly, Harvard grad student who is working on her
thesis. The historical spy dramas unfold as Eloise researches
the Selwick archives in England—much to the consternation
of Colin Selwick, current heir apparent to the Selwick family
fortunes—uncovering historical secrets along with the love
affairs of some of England’s most notorious Regency-era spies
(all fictional).
The drama/romance between Eloise and
Colin are spread out throughout the three novels with the
hint of something at the end of the third book that leaves
me to believe there will be several more books in this series.
Yippee!!
Check back for
more book faves--I always have a pile on my bed stand and
I love to talk about books almost as much as I love to write
them!
- Great young adult reads
 Untouchable-
A Private novel by Kate Brian
ISBN 978-1-4169-1875-2
In the last chapter of the second
book in this series, Reed finds out her boyfriend, Thomas,
is dead. The police are hiding what they know and Reed only
knows what the rumors say. Most people think it was a bad
drug deal, but Reed believes that Thomas really was trying
to get help. Her friends at Billings are being sympathetic,
but soon Reed gets the impression they know more about Thomas
than they’re sharing. That goes the same with his friend Josh,
who was also his roommate. After Reed finds out a chilling
secret about why Josh is at the school in the first place
and what happened at his other school, she can’t help but
get suspicious that maybe Josh had a tie in Thomas’s death.
This novel was so good. I read it
in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. The author
did a good job writing this.
 The
Queen of 2nd Place- Laura Peyton Roberts
ISBN 978-1-4169-1875-2
Cassie Howard is always in second place.
Always. She had a philosophy that some people have special
talents, and not always are they useful. Her talent is always
getting in second place. But when Kevin Matthews shows up
at the school, Cassie decides she doesn’t want to be in second
place. She wants to be in first. Cassie begins to change herself
in dramatic ways and does things, including plagiarism, just
so she can get closer to Kevin and give him the chance to
ask her out. But soon she begins to lose control and wonders
how far she’ll go to get what she wants.
The Queen of 2nd Place was
a funny novel that I really liked. I was really happy to learn
that there is a sequel to it, Queen B, because the
first novel was so good.
 Sweet
16- Kate Brian
ISBN 978-1-4269-0032-0
Teagan Phillips has a filthy rich father, so naturally, she
is also rich. She always gets the hot guys and has a great
best friend. This year she is turning sixteen and she decides
she wants everybody to know it. However, she doesn’t know
how big her night is going to get. After hitting her head
at her party, she wakes up looking down at her body, and is
informed by some lady in a white dress that she is dead. Just
what you want to hear the night you turn sixteen. The strange
lady takes her on a journey to past memories in hopes that
Teagan will change her life around, because according to the
woman, who seems to know a lot more about the future than
she’s telling, Teagan is heading into a downward spiral that
won’t stop.
I am a big fan of Kate Brian, so I wasn’t surprised I also
loved this book. It had some funny moments in it and also
some sad ones, but I strongly recommend this novel.
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