The Glass of Time by Michael Cox

"I have said that yr mistress is yr enemy. You shall now know what more she truly is. She is a deceiver, a liar, a betrayer of hearts; a faithless, false-hearted usurper."

I bought this book while traveling through Scotland because I had already finished the 4 books I had packed. : ) This just adds to the uniqueness of the book because while reading it, I could tell the difference between an American publisher/editor and an English one.

I enjoyed this book and would readily recommend it to anyone who loves the Victorian era. In simple terms, the book is about secrets within a particular noble family. This of course is not a new phenomenon, but Mr. Cox writes it rather freshly. His language is smooth yet smart. It doesn't seem as if he's trying too hard to sound uppity. His characters are new, varied, and numerous. It keeps you on your toes trying to guess the point of each branch in his storyline.

The protagonist is a lady's maid, Esperenza Gorst, and her antagonist is her mistress, Lady Duport. Both are intriguing women with hidden agendas that are unknowingly connected. Their cat and mouse game throughout the book is what keeps this tale going to its well developed and thought out end.

Happy Page Turning!!

Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn

"Like a python squeezing the air out of its prey, he would strip away the deceptions until the subject's only chance at life, a lung full of air, was the truth."

I had my first request!

On the surface, these 10 books and counting might seem like your everyday kill 'em and save the day stories, but Mr. Flynn steps beyond that too easy formula and grounds his story lines in the mission to mission struggles of a particular CIA operative, Mitch Rapp. Flynn makes the plot from Rapp's point of view and portrays how a soldier for life sees the tiniest of details. While the story lines do include action, suspense, and spilled blood, you are drawn more to the other battles Rapp faces. How much should an intelligence agency share with the press? Why do reporters feel the need to publish facts that put agents overseas in danger? Why do politicians feel they have the right to make decisions about conflicts they know nothing about? How do you talk to the person you love on a daily basis without telling them what you really face on your missions? How do you avoid being affected when you are constantly facing evil in its purest form? These issues are constantly evolving as more characters, both good and bad, come into play. Flynn is able to move them all around his story gameboard with ease. You enter his world on page one and are sad to say good-bye at the last. That is until the next book is released.

Happy Page Turning!!

Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris

"No matter where I went, I could feel Eric's presence;

to make that even more unsettling,

I found his nearness was somehow comforting,

as if it made me more secure."

Blood bonds - what are you gonna do? I just finished Dead in the Family and am eagerly looking forward to the next one. Ms. Harris has an uncanny way of blending many different supernatural beings (or "supes" as she calls them) into this series effortlessly. Vampires. Fairies. Werewolves. Weretigers. Wereanything. Shifters. Witches. It never feels jumbled - it never feels forced. She has taken an everyday gal and dropped her in the middle of endless deadly situations. Her only weapons are telepathy and apparently she's irresistible to certain, key vampires. What makes these novels so great is that even though they are about all these creatues, you can relate to the main character. She has flaws - she's confused about what guy to date - she has bouts of low self-esteem. The best part though is that Charlaine Harris really knows how to describe a sexy Viking. We're 10 novels in and yet the most recent is still as fresh as the first.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

Atlas Shrugged was my introduction to Ayn Rand and what an introduction it was!! Standing at a measly 1,069 pages, it is a fictionalized drama based on her ideology of Objectivism. What happens to a world when the captains and innovators of each industry disappear? What happens to a world where competition is not looked at as healthy because it shows that some people are better at their craft than others? Why is this a bad thing? Why should some be given unfair advantage just because they're not as good as someone else? All of these questions are viewed and displayed through the many characters portrayed by Ayn Rand. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and what it represents. How dare we diminish some one's contribution to our society and expect them to give it to us for free. If this book seems to long for an Ayn Rand starter, then let me know - I can recommend another.

Happy Page Turning!!

Purpose

People read for many different reasons - knowledge, pleasure, school, status, conversation, etc. No matter if they are paper or digital, books are forever and constantly spur interesting conversations through readers' opinions and the way they may connect to a memory or new idea. For a New Year's resolution, I had a friend tell me that she planned to read 12 books this year - 1 a month. That got me thinking and realizing how many books I actually read in a month - let alone a year. I always enjoy recommending various books based on someone's interests or personality, so I'm hoping that this blog will be enjoyable and maybe help a few people find an interesting and enjoyable read. I'll be mixing my reviews with past and present. While I'll be reviewing books I just finished, I'm also going to go back and review some favorites - both single books and series. Feel free to share your favorites, as well as, your opinion of what I'm currently reading

Happy Page Turning!