No. 40 for 2012

Title: I, Michael Bennett
Author: James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Rating: 4/5
Book: 40/50 (80% completed)
Pages: 383 pgs
Total Pages: 14,920/15,000 (99.47% completed)
Version: Book
Next up: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

This was a quick and easy read, as is most of Patterson’s books. I really do enjoy the Bennett books but this book was just okay for me. One thing about this book is that the ending sucked. There was no conclusion and the ending wasn’t even a cliffhanger. At the end of the book, I was looking for more.

About the Book:

A South American crime lord has brought New York the worst lawlessness and violence the city has ever seen. Police shot in the street. Judges murdered in the courtroom. Mayhem is unleashed–and the mayor demands that Detective Michael Bennett find a way to stop it.

Bennett takes his ten kids and their beautiful nanny, Mary Catherine, out of the chaos on a much-needed vacation to upstate New York. But instead of escaping the violence, it follows them and they find themselves in the middle of another nightmare that threatens the entire family. The danger isn’t only coming from the crime lord’s killers–FBI Agent Emily Parker is back, and Bennett’s attraction to her endangers his relationship with Mary Catherine.

Epic Dream of Weirdness

So I’ve been having some pretty epic dreams lately. I don’t know what is up with them. Every night has been some type of weird dream though. One dream that I had on Tuesday night I think I’m going to work with and try to create a story out of it. I think it has some promise.

Thursday nights dream was just….weird. I dreamed that my grade 8 class and I were all grown up and we were in Iraq doing some charity volunteer work. At the end of our stay there, we all flew home and were headed from the airport to Newmarket on a bus when these men from Iraq appeared out of nowhere, surrounded the bus and told us that we were not allowed to leave as it is against their laws and we were all taken to my old elementary school for holding as they arranged for flights back. Before getting to the school, the bus was driving around and the leader of the volunteer unit told us that she was going to ask us 5 trivia questions and whoever gets the most right, gets to go home. I answered two questions and a girl, Danielle Larin, got three right and she was able to go home. The bus drove by my childhood home and I was in the bus having a panic attack as I didn’t want to go back to Iraq and I was scared.

After the bus got to the school, we were all escorted inside by the gunned men and into a classroom where we just sat at the desks, talking amongst ourselves. Suddenly, I got the idea that somehow, we needed to get in touch with the Canadian Embassy and ask for help as I thought that our being forced to go back to Iraq was wrong and something had to be done. Because we didn’t have cell phones as we had just come back from Iraq, the leader of the volunteer group said that it was a good idea and gave me a portable phone (which looks like the one in my bedroom). Because we didn’t know the number for the Embassy, she told me to go to the library and find a phone book or use the computer and find out but not get caught.

I left to go to the school library and I felt like my pocket was burning as the phone was in it. Instead of going to the library though, I went outside with the phone as I wanted to call my parents and let them know that I was okay. I snuck out of the door and instead of running away, I went to the swing set and sat down on a swing as I tried to remember how to use the phone. The phone was really complicated with a thousand tiny buttons and I couldn’t remember how to use it. That’s when I was caught by the gunned men and dragged back inside.

After that, we were all taken back to Iraq and forced to live in this hut. When we were not working, we couldn’t leave the hut. I remember feeling very desperate as I thought that I’d never see my family again and that we wouldn’t be able to get out of this situation alive. I felt like nobody from Canada was even trying to locate us and bring us home even though somebody must have known that we were missing as we had not come home when we were expected to.

And then I woke up.

I’m telling you, it was a really bizarre dream and I have absolutely no idea what my sub-conscience could possibly be trying to tell me with this one.

No. 39 of 2012

Title: Size 12 and Ready to Rock
Author: Meg Cabot
Rating: 4/5
Book: 39/50 (78% completed)
Pages: 361 pgs
Total Pages: 14,537/15,000 (96.91% completed)
Version: Book
Next up: I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson and Michael Ludwidge

I have always loved the Heather Wells series. I love that the main character in this story is a plus sized woman. It was what drew me to the story in the first place. It has been 5 years since the last Wells book and when I started to read this one, I found it a little slow at first but it quickly picked up and drew me in and I was able to return to a world with some pretty awesome characters. I’m definitely looking forward to the next instalment in 2013.

Book Description from book jacket or back of the book

Just because the students at New York College have flown the coop doesn’t mean assistant residence hall director Heather Wells can relax. Fischer Hall is busier than ever, filled with squealing thirteen and fourteen year old girls attending the first ever Tania Trace Teen Rock Camp, hosted by pop sensation Tania Trace herself-who just happens to be newly married to Heather’s ex-boyfriend, heartthrob Jordan Cartwright. But the real headache begins when the producer of a reality TV show starring Tania winds up dead…and it’s clear that the star was the intended victim.

Grant Cartwright, head of Cartwright Records, wants to keep his daughter-in-law (and his highest-earning performer) alive. So he hires his oldest son, black sheep of the family and private investigator Cooper Cartwright-who just happens to be Heather’s new fiancé. Heather should leave the detecting to Cooper. But with a dorm full of hysterical mini-divas-in-training, she can’t help but get involved. And after Tania shares a really shocking secret with her, this reality suddenly becomes more dangerously real than anyone ever anticipated.

The State of Me

Well, it’s been a pretty busy weekend. Friday night I went out with my friend Charlene. We had dinner at Kelsey’s and we went to see a movie. Saturday morning, I was up bright and early and back at the movie theatre to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I loved the TMNT when I was growing up so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see them again on the big screen.

Saturday was spent doing a whole lot of nothing. Saturday night, I went to see The Dark Knight Rises with my friend Dave. For any of my friends that are reading this, you may have been told the story. For those who haven’t been told the story, here is the long (short) version of it.

Dave and I have been friends since grade 6 (age 11). He is the one person that I know has my back whenever I may need it, just as I always have his. We have a pretty solid friendship. And I’ve always had a crush on Dave.

What makes this complicated is that the feelings were mutual and neither of us (especially me) spoke up about it. Not when it was too late and he was in a serious and committed relationship with someone else. I’ve tried to push all of my feelings into a box and I had done well in doing so and tried to move past it. Years and years go by, and I still have that same crush. It hasn’t hindered our friendship and it never will. I can’t help but think that he is the one that got away for me. At least I still have him as a friend. I value his friendship.

Dave is going through some issues at the moment with his significant other and I’m angry at her for putting Dave through this. Dave is a good guy and he doesn’t deserve to be treated the way that he is. I wish I could do more to help him. He didn’t ask for any of this to happen yet he’s the one taking the brunt of her quarter-life crisis. She doesn’t value him and she certainly doesn’t know what she’s giving up…..or potentially could be giving up. I just wish I could make this easier on him. He’s to good of a guy to have to go through what he is.

I’ve been thinking a lot about fate lately. It’s been said that it works in mysterious ways. What if fate is playing it’s hand in righting a wrong? What if the issues that are happening are for a reason? I don’t know.

Any ways, that’s all for now. True Blood is coming on soon and I want to watch that before heading to bed. I also have some tags that I have to catch up on in some of my RPGs but I think those might have to wait until tomorrow. No brain power to do them tonight.

No. 38 for 2012

Title Fifty Shades Darker
Author: E.L. James
Rating: 3/5
Book: 38/50 (76% completed)
Pages: 532 pgs
Total Pages: 14,176/15,000 (94.51% completed)
Version: Book
Next up: Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot

This book is not quality writing AT ALL but, I think the whole world knows that. At the same time, however, there is something about the story that drags you in and makes the book seem like it is worth the read.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I liked seeing more Christian angst but Ana’s frequent, and I mean very frequent, temper tantrums and childish behavour got old real fast. As did the continuous “inner goddess” talk. I mentioned to my friend that the whole “inner goddess” thing reminds me of the Lizzie McGuire show with Lizzy’s cartoon character making brief statements during the show.

The only reason why I am reading these books is because I bought them. I feel like I need to read them in order to make myself not feel like I wasted my money on them (even though I have). I have the third book but I am in no rush to read it.

About the Book:

Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

No. 37 for 2012

Title Love in a Nutshell
Author: Janet Evanovich
Rating: 4/5
Book: 37/50 (74% completed)
Pages: 310 pgs
Total Pages: 13,644/15,000 (90.96% completed)
Version: Book
Next up: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

This was a cute story for what it was. I found that the story was trying to hard though. It was a mystery and romance together but in my opinion, it just kind of fell flat. They story was missing vital components of a good mystery books or romance book but that being said, it was still enjoyable. Any fan of Evanovich’s will enjoy this one.

About the Book:

Kate Appleton needs a job. Her husband has left her, she’s been fired from her position as a magazine editor, and the only place she wants to go is to her parents’ summer house, The Nutshell, in Keene’s Harbor, Michigan. Kate’s plan is to turn The Nutshell into a Bed and Breakfast. Problem is, she needs cash, and the only job she can land is less than savory.
Matt Culhane wants Kate to spy on his brewery employees. Someone has been sabotaging his company, and Kate is just new enough in town that she can insert herself into Culhane’s business and snoop around for him. If Kate finds the culprit, Matt will pay her a $20,000 bonus. Needless to say, Kate is highly motivated. But several problems present themselves. Kate despises beer. No one seems to trust her. And she is falling hard for her boss.

Can these two smoke out a saboteur, save Kate’s family home, and keep a killer from closing in…all while resisting their undeniable attraction to one another?

No. 36 for 2012

Title Guilty Wives
Author: James Patterson and David Ellis
Rating: 5/5
Book: 36/50 (72% completed)
Pages: 424 pgs
Total Pages: 13,334/15,000 (88.89% completed)
Version: Book
Next up: Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly

I loved this book! The suspense kept me turning pages so fast that it took me no time at all to finish this book! I felt a lot of emotions while reading this book and there were several points in the book when I was starting to get really frustrated with the events that was happening to the main character that I wanted to stop reading but then I couldn’t because I was too anxious to find out what happens! Definitely would recommend this book to everyone!

About the Book:

No husbands allowed

Only minutes after Abbie Elliot and her three best friends step off of a private helicopter, they enter the most luxurious, sumptuous, sensually pampering hotel they have ever been to. Their lavish presidential suite overlooks Monte Carlo, and they surrender: to the sun and pool, to the sashimi and sake, to the Bruno Paillard champagne. For four days they’re free to live someone else’s life. As the weekend moves into pulsating discos, high-stakes casinos, and beyond, Abbie is transported to the greatest pleasure and release she has ever known.

What happened last night?

In the morning’s harsh light, Abbie awakens on a yacht, surrounded by police. Something awful has happened–something impossible, unthinkable. Abbie, Winnie, Serena, and Bryah are arrested and accused of the foulest crime imaginable. And now the vacation of a lifetime becomes the fight of a lifetime–for survival.

No. 35 for 2012

Title Changeling
Author: Philippa Gregory
Rating: 2/5
Book: 35/50 (70% completed)
Pages: 256 pgs
Total Pages: 12,910/15,000 (86.07% completed)
Version: Book
Next up: Guilty Wives by James Patterson

This book had so much potential and it failed to deliver. I found this book dull and boring. The only reason I continued to read it is that I was over half way through the book when I decided I wanted to give up on it. For such a short book, it took me forever to read it. I doubt I’ll be reading the rest of the series.

About the Book:

Italy, 1453. Seventeen-year-old Luca Vero is brilliant, gorgeous—and accused of heresy. Cast out of his religious order for using the new science to question old superstitious beliefs, Luca is recruited into a secret sect: The Order of the Dragon, commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to investigate evil and danger in its many forms, and strange occurrences across Europe, in this year—the end of days.

Isolde is a seventeen-year-old girl shut up in a nunnery so she can’t inherit any of her father’s estate. As the nuns walk in their sleep and see strange visions, Isolde is accused of witchcraft—and Luca is sent to investigate her, but finds himself plotting her escape.

Despite their vows, despite themselves, love grows between Luca and Isolde as they travel across Europe with their faithful companions, Freize and Ishraq. The four young people encounter werewolves, alchemists, witches, and death-dancers as they head toward a real-life historical figure who holds the boundaries of Christendom and the secrets of the Order of the Dragon.

The first in a series, this epic and richly detailed drama is grounded in historical communities and their mythic beliefs. It includes a medieval map of Europe that will track their journey; and the interior will include relevant decorative elements as well as an interior line illustration. And look for a QR code that links to a note from the author with additional, detailed information about the setting and the history that informed the writing. With Philippa Gregory’s trademark touch, this novel deftly brings the past—and its salacious scandals—vividly and disturbingly to life.

No. 34 for 2012

Title Bloodlines
Author: Richelle Mead
Rating: 5/5
Book: 34/50 (68% completed)
Pages: 421 pgs
Total Pages: 12,654/15,000 (84.38% completed)
Version: Book
Next up: Changeling by Phillippa Gregory

Loved, loved, LOVED this book!! As a huge fan of the Vampire Academy series, I was a little afraid when Mead announced a spin-off series. I was afraid that they weren’t going to be good enough and they were going to butcher a series that I absolutely loved. I’m happy to say that my fears were unwarranted as the book held it’s own. The plot kept moving. Some of my favourite characters were in the book and I couldn’t put this one down.

About the Book:

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive – this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.