City of the Sun by David Levien

Twelve-year-old Jamie Gabriel gets on his bike and delivers newspapers in his neighborhood. One morning, somewhere en route, he disappears without a trace.

It is fourteen months later, and for his parents, Paul and Carol, the tragic situation has become unbearable. With the frustration of dead ends and the police force that cannot (or will not) find Jamie, they are on the verge of giving up all hope they’ve ever had. And on top of it all, their marriage has fallen apart.

The Gabriels are finally given a name of a private detective who may be their last chance to find answers.

When Frank Behr is asked for their help, he refuses. But Paul and Carol need closure and Paul pleads. He gives in, but there aren’t any promises to a good result. He works on the case and later has Paul’s partnership – but between it all, Behr is haunted by memories in his past and he can’t possibly ignore them.

They are on a mission to find out the truth about that very morning Jamie vanished. Finding out the truth just might kill them…

I happened to see this book in the library just sitting on a desk and it was screaming, “pick me, pick me.” (Okay, maybe not literally.) This is a new author for me, and I was impressed. It held my attention from page 1 to page 452. (LOL…it was large print). It was emotional, suspenseful, and just plain great.

It’s fast-paced, and I read it in a day. I liked the plot, the way the author wrote, the characters, etc. No complaints! Read it.

Guardian by John Saul

MaryAnne Carpenter is dealing with a separation from her husband, Ted. Because of her two children, Logan and Alison, she is finding it difficult to stay away from him. When she gets a phone call informing her that her friends the Wilkensons are dead, she must pack up to care for their child, MaryAnne’s godchild. Questions begin to rise: were her friend’s deaths tragic accidents or murder?

When taking her children to relocate in Idaho with her godchild, she finds her troubles multiplied when they all become prey to an evil force stalking the wilderness. Someone or something is murdering people in the community one by one.

If no one is familiar with John Saul’s books, his books are stories of supernatural, technological, or psychological terror. I’ve read a few books by him already in the past couple of years, and “Guardian” was yet another book I enjoyed. It takes some time to read because of his writing style, his details, but it makes you want to get to the end to see how everything turns out.

There are a lot of gory killings–yay. I liked the characters a lot.

Ted is a sweet-talker who has a temper and is just plain rude! He surely doesn’t change at the end of the book.

MaryAnne is a curious, kind-hearted individual. All she wants to do it protect her children as best as she can.

Logan is a curious ten-year-old who loves to have fun.

Alison is a teenager who gets scared a lot, but goes a long with things so she doesn’t get called a “chicken.” Throughout the book, she tries to act her age by being the ‘grownup’ in certain situations.

Joey Wilkenson is a shy and silent teenager. He’s trying to deal with his new environment and trying to figure out who he is…or what he is.

The Beach House by James Patterson & Peter de Jonge

Jack Mullen is a student of the law. His brother, Peter, younger by seven years, parks cars for rich people in Hampton.

When Peter’s body is found on the beach, Jack is certain that the so-called drowning was no accident, but it was murder.

This story shows you how someone’s power and money can buy cops, people, and even the system.

Jack is not satisfied with how this crime is being taken care of, so he begins an investigation on his own and someone is pretty pissed off about it. This murder mystery will have you entertained until the very last page!

It’s a story filled with sex, money, deception, and revenge. How much better can it get?

This is my 3^rd book from Patterson and I was definitely pleased with the entire book. It’s a very fast-paced book. Don’t get intimidated by the number of chapters because they are very short, about 1-2 pages long.

Many characters are brought in, so it may be hard to keep track of who’s who. But, every character has a purpose and I liked that a lot.

I don’t know what else to say, other than it kept my full attention because it was interesting and not predictable.

Blind Curve by Annie Solomon

Danny Sinofsky is a detective and an independent person who never needed anyone’s help-but, there’s a first time for everything, right?

In the middle of a weapon’s bust, Danny goes blind. Doctor’s say it’s serious, but he refuses to listen to them.

Unable to take care of himself, Danny needs to learn life skills all over again. This is where his mobility instructor, Martha Crowe steps in. When she comes face to face with Danny, she is positive he does not remember her-the plain, no-so-good-looking girl from his high school.

Things get more interesting when Danny is attacked inside his home and Martha is a witness. They are both thrown into a safe house. Together, they need to figure out who is behind it all. They sort out all clues and by using his razor-sharp instincts and Martha’s eyes. And through it all, they fall in love, but they both are being stalked and it will not stop until someone dies!

I have to say, I was a little disappointed with this book. I was expecting a bit more.

Let’s start with the things that just weren’t my cup of tea.

I felt it was difficult to keep focused on what was happening-either it was the way the author wrote-or maybe it was me.

I thought the “sex scenes” were in the wrong places. It didn’t feel real enough. The characters are supposed to be scared out of their minds, trying to figure out the attacker and instead, they are getting hot and heavy everywhere. There was a couple times where the scenes were one after another… I didn’t like the fact that it was written that way.

Okay, now for the good things.

I loved how the characters are written: Danny is shown as this tough guy and throughout the book you can see how stubborn he is, but finally at the end, he broke out of it and stopped being so “macho.” He began living with the fact that his blindness was something that he was going to have to get used to and had to make the best out of it.

Martha has issues of her own-doesn’t have self-confidence and puts herself down a bit, even though Danny is blind and can’t see her appearance! She ends up breaking out of that habit also and realizes that meeting Danny was the best thing for her.

Also, a character is talked about a few times throughout the story and at the end of the book; there is new information about this character. I did enjoy that, but that particular situation was never resolved. So, maybe there’s a sequel that I’m unaware of.

Remembering Ashby by Heather Long

Melanie is chosen as one of five maidens that will represent the Goddess in the rituals of Beltane to bless the peace talk between several clans. She is to be but a mere vessel to the Goddess, never taking her hooded cloak off or fraternizing with any of the clan members. But then she locks her gaze upon Adam...his eyes, blue ringed with violet are an instant pull for Melanie and she finds herself disobeying more and more orders as they get closer to one another.

But she is to give her maidenhood in the name of the Goddess during the festival, something she was prepared to do until she got to know Adam. And until she overhears a disturbing conversation between the Sorcerer and an unknown person about the maiden with the white feathered mask...her mask....

What a lovely story. I’m still chocked up as I write this, a goofy love induced grin on my face that I can’t seem to get rid of. It’s a short story but it’s so beautiful, and it fills me with hope and reminds me of what I am waiting for in life. True love. A love so pure and powerful it can overcome anything if you believe in it and risk all you know to find it. It’s a simple story, yet it is different, unique, creative and I loved every word of every page. Thank you Heather for writing such a marvelous tale and for writing such unique individuals. I feel like I know every single one of your characters.

Oh and the cover is beautiful! Almost forgot to mention it, hehe.

I should also mention that Heather Long is hosting a contest. Looks like it’s really good. Click here to check it out!

The Path to Freedom by Lisa Pietsch

Talk about having a bad day! Within hours, Sarah Stevens, is let go from the military because of the extra sixty-five pounds she has gained and she walks into her boyfriend’s apartment to find him cheating on her – with a man! What is a girl to do when she’s lost not only her job, but also the only one who should have been by her side?

Her Commander gives her a number to call for a boot camp that specializes in weight loss. So, she calls and it turns out that it was the thing she needed to turn her life around.

Sarah doesn’t know many details about this camp, only that it’s free and it could help her in ways she never thought possible. The only thing she has to do is continually lose weight each week to stay in the program. But something’s a little off, there has to be some sort of catch.

Throughout her time at the boot camp, Sarah loses all the weight she’s gained and more! Not only does she become a total hot bombshell, she gains self-confidence she never thought she had. And, it turns out this ‘fat camp’ was actually training her to become a Black Ops agent!

That’s just the beginning …

Bring on the men, weapons, and sex scenes… ha ha.

This book was great. I usually don’t read military novels, but this one definitely caught my attention and I learned a lot from it. The author did an excellent job at giving lots of information without making me feel lost. It wasn’t just thrown in there; it had purpose and it flowed well.

I loved how all the characters responded towards each other; it felt like they really were friends, trying to get along, trying to cope with one another … it was awesome.

The Accidental Human by Dakota Cassidy

Wanda Schwartz is having a good year, not to mention a bizarre one. Not only did her two best friends find love and get married, they were also bitten by their husbands beforehand and turned into paranormals (one is a werewolf the other is a vampire). On top of that, Wanda’s career at Bobbie-Sue Cosmetics is on the rise, she is the best at recruiting new saleswomen for the company. But when she’s diagnosed with a terminal illness and a mysterious, hunky piece of man answers her Bobbie-Sue ad on the paper; things get a little out of control for this list-making-OCD gal.

The Accidental Human is last installment in the Accidental Friends series. I’m a little sad to see it end, but hopefully Dakota Cassidy has more stories under her sleeve. She’s one funny storyteller! I fell in love with all three girls for different reasons, they’re so different from one another and I love that, I love that they can be best friends despite their differences. You guys really need to read all three books they’re such gems. I’m so glad that I bought The Accidental Werewolf all those months ago, because I had never heard of her, but the cover caught my attention (what can I say it was shiny!) and I’m glad it did! The series has a strong beginning and a strong finish, you wont believe how this book ends!

Bravo!

All Fall Down by Erica Spindler

“The system falls down. They all fall down!”

Through an abusive childhood, triplets Melanie, Mia, and Ashley stood by each other and tried their best to get through it all. Now, as adults, Mia’s married to a physically abusive doctor; Ashley has an abundance of bitterness towards men; and Melanie is a small-town divorced cop fighting for custody of her son, Casey.

It is when men start to unexpectedly die in their town that Melanie begins to think that these “accidental deaths” are actually murder. Every waking moment she has, her attention is on this case to prove she is right.

When Melanie meets Connor Parks, an FBI profiler with ‘obsessions’ of his own, they try to put the pieces together to find out the person behind it all. He comes up with a profile of the killer and Melanie realizes that it sounds all too familiar… sounds like someone she knows personally.

As she gets closer to discovering the killer, she and Connor fall in love. But a happy ending isn’t what the killer has in store for them. Melanie is set up to take the fall for the murders that took place, and it puts everyone she knows in danger.

This book is awesome. When reading, the question that’s lingering in the back of your mind is: is it justice or is it murder? It’s suspenseful and, of course, there’s a twist at the end! Murder scenes are great, but when you involve a bit of kinky sex, whoa, it gets better. I really like how the characters develop throughout the story; you get a sense of their personality, their flaws, likes and dislikes.

Yay for a great book.

The Fire Still Burns by Crystal-Rain Love

The last place Brynn Harlow wanted to step foot in was Black Bear Gorge. She hated the town as much as they hated her, but she had no choice. She needed money and was hired as a P.I. to investigate the string of arson attacks and possible murder of one of their citizens. Zeek Goods murder to be exact. The man who convinced the town she was a whore, which led to her leaving thirteen years ago. The man she detested most in the world. The man who kept her away from her only love, his brother, Adam Good. Now it was up to Brynn and Adam to put their mixed, unresolved feelings aside and catch the arsonist. Brynn just hopes she can do it quick before Adam realizes that all he thought he knew of what transpired thirteen years ago was a lie, and before he saw that Brynn’s son looked an awful lot like him.

WOW! Rain has been bugging me to read her debut novel, The Fire Still Burns for a while now. I’ve had it in my computer for months, but just got around to reading it now. I knew it was going to be good, I read her second novel, Moonlit Dream, and I thought it was awesome (Read the review here). But damn, if I knew it was going to be THIS good, I would have read it the moment I got it! I don’t really know what to say, everything sounds cliché and doesn’t feel like it’ll do her book justice. All I can say is that Crystal-Rain Love has a great talent for storytelling. She creates great stories with conflicts, twists and turns, and honest characters with flaws. She paints a clear picture of the characters and their surroundings, immersing one into her fictional world in a way that makes you feel part of the story. In this case, I felt like part the town of Black Bear Gorge, eavesdropping and gossiping with the best of them, gawking at Brynn and Adams' displays of affection. But unlike the rest of the town, we are privy to their intimate moments too, with eachother and by themselves; we hear their every thought, their hopes, dreams, and fears.

So instead of wasting your time reading this review, you should go buy her e-book! Why are you still reading this!? GO GET THE FIRE STILL BURNS BY CRYSTAL-RAIN LOVE (don’t you love her name???)

Today’s lesson: When Rain tells you to read her book, READ IT, like, YESTERDAY.