Musing Monday's, May 14, 2012

This weeks musing's asks:

 

Do you tend to read to the end of the chapter or can you stop anywhere?

 

I used to try to read to the end of the chapter but so many authors leave you with a cliff hanger it changed the way I read.  Now I just find a stopping place anywhere even in the middle of a page.

Stacking the Shelves May 13, 2012

Welcome to my Stacking The Shelves post!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews so follow the link and check out what other stacked on their shelves this week.  

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I are adding to my shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means I can include books I buy in physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

This is a light week for stacking book on my shelves.  There are only two:

From Amazon Vine a YA book - Alienation, The C.H.A.O.S. Trilogy by Joh S. Lewis

Won from Reading Reality - Sunrise Point by Robyn Carr

Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins

Women’s Fiction

I need to start this one out with a disclaimer.  I am not that big a fan of books labeled Chic Lit or Women’s Fiction so bear that in mind as you read my remarks on Somebody to Love.  I did request this book from NetGalley after reading a recommendation on another blog.

Let’s start with what Goodreads has to say:

After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon's Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father's wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she's not thrilled -- …even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.

Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist's assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn't the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn't the only thing that needs a little TLC.

So to start there are the two main characters.  I liked James but he was a little to good to be true.  Parker was just too judgmental.   While the combination worked for the story I just never warmed up to either.  Some of the side characters were interesting and helped keep the story moving.

Plot:  This was fairly predictable.  James had secrets that kept him from reaching for the life he wanted.  Parker had serious trust issues.  Those were worked into the plot with the loss of money.  To give the author her due not every issue was resolved and for some things there would never be a HEA.

I really don’t have much more to say.  I am glad I read the book.  Kristan Higgins has written a lot of books.  I can now say that I have read one of them.  I probable will not pick up another of her books but for anyone who is a fan of this type of book she would be a good author to follow.

HQN published Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins in 2012.

Book Beginning on Friday, May 11, 2012

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include  include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

This week my book beginning is from Great Negotiations, Agreements that Changed the Modern World by Fredrid Stanton.  This is a non-fiction book.  Those of you who follow my blog know this is not the norm for me.  I usually mention only fiction here but I like this one enough to make it an exception.  

There are eight chapters in the book.  Each chapter is a different negotiation starting with Franklin at the French Court in 1718 and ending with The Reykjavik Summit in 1986.  Each chapter stands along and is very well researched.  I was familiar with all but one chapter.  That one is The Portsmouth Treaty, 1905.  This is a treaty Teddy Roosevelt negotiated between Russia and Japan.  This is the first chapter I read. 

Here is my book beginning for Chapter 4.  The Portsmouth Treaty, 1905.

"With the balance of power holding Russian ambition in check in Europe in the late nineteenth century, Russia turned its attention eastward."

An interesting start but to me the most interesting was Roosevelt's comments after the treaty was signed.  Pick the book up and see what Teddy Roosevelt predicted would happen as a result of this treaty.   

Grail by Elizabeth Bear

Science Fiction/ Audio Book

Grail is the third book in the Jacob’s Ladder trilogy.  I checked out  Dust and Chill from my local library.  When I went to check out Grail it had been ordered but I had to wait for it to arrive and be processed before I could finish listening to the series.  I said before but let me say again.  I do not think I would have read the series but I enjoyed listening.  Elizabeth Bear has a way with words and descriptions.  There is a wonderful flow to her prose that made listening a pleasure.

I loved how Grail started.  Between the close of Chill and the start of Grail 50 years have passed.  Grail does not start on the Jacob’s Ladder.  It starts on Fortune or Grail with Premier Danilaw learning that a star ship is approaching.  He knows that it is the Jacob’s Ladder, missing for over 1000 years. Things are about to get very complicated not only on Fortune but also on the Jacob’s Ladder.

I wondered how Elizabeth Bear would handle arriving at a planet.  I found that I was very invested in the characters.  I cared what happened to them.  I wanted a solution that let them remain true to who they were. I didn’t expect the solution she found for the crew and passengers of the Jacob’s Ladder.   In some ways I was disappointed and in other ways the solution fit.  It was with some sadness that I said goodbye to Tristan, Mallory, and Perceval.  They live on in my memory.

Recorded Books produced Grail by Elizabeth Bear in 2012. 

Grail was narrated by Alma Cuervo.  

Free Science Fiction Romance on Amazon

 I just saw this in an email that lists free books on Amazon.  I loved this story.  It was fun and entertaining.  I did a blog post on 7/23/11.  Follow this link to read what I said.  Then go download the book.  You won't be sorry.

Discovery – A Far Out Romance
by T.M. Roy & Terran Moffat
Rating: 4.1 Stars
Genre: Science Fiction/Romance
Price: $0.00 Save $13.95
Subject to change back to full price at any time.

Following a horrendous breakup with his two (and three) timing fiancee, Oregon naturalist Dr. Kent Xavier has sworn off women, all women. He heads out into the Deschutes wilderness to brood, alone, but his solitary trip turns into a midnight rescue mission for a damsel in distress.
Lured by the beauty of planet Earth, Povre disobeys strict orders to remain in camp in favor of a moonlight walk. A bad step on a slope of loose rocks lands her in the very predicament she’s supposed to avoid: contact with the dominant native lifeforms.
Forced together by mutual need, Kent and Povre soon find themselves on the run from alien-hunting government agents. Along the way these two scientists from very different worlds discover the most important element of all – love.

Waiting on Wednesday May 9, 2012

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This is the second time I have run across books by this author.  Shobhan Bantwalh books all have Indian (as in India) themes.  This is her latest due out in June of 2012.  I put it on my wish list.

The Reluctant Matchmaker - Here is what Goodreads says about the book:  

In her thought-provoking, uplifting new novel, Shobhan Bantwal vividly blends the nuances of contemporary Indian-American culture with an unconventional romance…
 
At thirty-one, Meena Shenoy has a fulfilling career at a New Jersey high-tech firm. Not that it impresses her mother and aunts, who make dire predictions about her ticking biological clock. Men are drawn to Meena’s dainty looks and she dates regularly, but hasn’t met someone who really intrigues her. Someone professional, ambitious, confident, caring. Someone like her new boss, Prajay Nayak.

Just as Meena’s thoughts turn to romance, Prajay makes an astonishing request. He wants her to craft a personal ad that will help him find a suitable wife: a statuesque, sophisticated Indian-American woman who will complement his striking height.

Despite her attraction to Prajay and the complications of balancing work and her “marriage consultant” role, Meena can’t refuse the generous fee. And as her family is thrown into turmoil by her brother’s relationship with a Muslim woman, Meena comes to surprising realizations about love, tradition, and the sacrifices she will—and won’t—make for the sake of both.

Teaser Tuesday May 8, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My teaser today is on page 156 of The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Invincible by Jack Campbell.  This is as far as I have read and as soon as I finish this post I will go back to reading.  I have wondered with both books in this new series if Jack Campbell could keep up the interest and tension he produced in the first series.  All I have to say is He Can.

"I'll be planning to use every warship necessary to take down the alien defense before the Marines go in.  It's going to be a dirty job but I know you can do it."