The Right Guard

This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review.

From Goodreads:

Over one million military weapons and equipment are missing from the U.S. military inventories across the country. Who is stealing the weapons and why? CIA operative Eric Brent, and his revolutionary light weapon invention, is used by CIA to flush out a secretive, "phantom" group hostile to a wildly spending, intrusive U.S. Administration that threatens to destroy the American economy and shrink individual freedoms.
Hamlet takes you through the twists and turns of the secretive world of intelligence as the undercover assignment goes astray. Eric exposes a far-reaching and well-planned movement and an event that could alter the United States forever. Strained loyalties arise as the "phantom" group appeals to Eric and his superiors. At the height of his infiltration, a former lover, Jill, reenters his life and places them both in danger. Loyal forces within the intelligence community struggle to learn who is involved and organize counter-moves yet stay undetected. Each question ends in surprise as personal and professional conflicts for Eric arise. He is forced to reach back into his high-ranking father’s Nazi Germany past... to solicit help.
The year is 1978, yet The Right Guard resembles the present state of the political and economic climate of the U.S. and a possible, eerie scenario and outcome.
The Right Guard is an exercise in gripping, fast-paced realism that keeps the reader mesmerized through the eyes of those who live in the intelligence world.

My Review: I have to admit it took me longer to get into this book than usual. The laying out of the story felt tedious and the newspaper clippings that head each chapter drew me out of the story. I know it was to add realism to the story but it did the opposite to me.

What gained my interest is when the story started moving along and when the love interest between Eric and Jill started heating up. Most love interests to me feel forced but this one felt authentic given the circumstances.  There is one thing about danger and love that really gets me. I don’t want to give any plot points away but I kind of wish that it was more fleshed out.

The second half of the book when things start really moving along is a fascinating look into the intelligence life. It was interesting to see how Eric penetrated the Right Guard and how he lived undercover. I kept expecting him to get his cover blown but it does not happen. Witch in this case is a good thing.

Even though the book is set in the 70’s it does not feel dated at all. It feels like something that can happen today.  Actually while reading the book the scenes were so real that I felt that with todays political climate maybe it could happen soon. Or maybe something like this did happen but we the public is unaware of it. That’s how well the author wrote this story.

I fell in love with Jill when she first appeared in the story. I felt like whatever she did is something that I would have done were I in her shoes. I also loved Eric. As I have stated before it was fascinating reading how he worked and I was so happy when he and Jill got together.

If you like reading about political stuff and suspense and thrillers then you will enjoy this book.

The Sunday Salon

This past week has been seen glorious summer weather so I set up the deck stuff yesterday. Of course it dropped ten degrees when I did so. Oh well, that’s how it goes right?

Last week I finished reading The Right Guard. I liked it ok. A full review will be up tomorrow. So check back.

Today I am going to start with Creativity by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He wrote the book Flow and I am interested in learning his theories about creativity. Maybe it will help me tap into my own creativity more.

Today is going to spent outside reading. While I am far from my goal of reading a book a day, I have to admit that I do enjoy having all this free time to read and blog.

I have gotten into Scandinavian Crime Fiction. I think it is one of my favorite genres now. Do you Have any recommendations of books that I should read?

Happy Sunday everyone! What are you reading today

Taste Of Salt

From Goodreads:Josie Henderson loves the water and is fulfilled by her position as the only senior-level black scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. In building this impressive life for herself, she has tried to shed the one thing she cannot: her family back in landlocked Cleveland. Her adored brother, Tick, was her childhood ally as they watched their drinking father push away all the love that his wife and children were trying to give him. Now Tick himself has been coming apart and demands to be heard.
Weaving four voices into a beautiful tapestry, Southgate charts the lives of the Hendersons from the parents’ first charmed meeting to Josie’s realization that the ways of the human heart are more complex than anything seen under a microscope

 

My Review: I admit that I picked up this book because it has Cleveland Ohio as a setting. I live near there so I was curious how the author would describe it and incorporate it into the story.

The city is like a character in the story. The author describes it spot on. The two main themes of this book is alcoholism and adultery.

The plot is authentic and believable. The characters draw you in and while they are messing up their lives you still root for them because you want everything to turn out OK. While I like happy endings as much as the next person, I also like authentic endings. In real life a sistuation does not always lead to a perfect resolved ending. This is the case for this book. It ends like such a situation would happen in real life.

The writing itself was beautiful. The rich detailed settings makes you feel as if you are really there. You can almost smell the ocean and see the streets of Cleveland while reading this book.

The 6th Target

From Goodreads:

When a horrifying attack leaves one of the four members of the Women's Murder Club struggling for her life, the others fight to keep a madman behind bars before anyone else is hurt.
And Lindsay Boxer and her new partner in the San Francisco police department run flat-out to stop a series of kidnappings that has electrified the city: children are being plucked off the streets together with their nannies--but the kidnappers aren't demanding ransom. Amid uncertainty and rising panic, Lindsay juggles the possibility of a new love with an unsolvable investigation, and the knowledge that one member of the club could be on the brink of death.
And just when everything appears momentarily under control, the case takes a terrifying turn, putting an entire city in lethal danger. Lindsay must make a choice she never dreamed she'd face--with no certainty that either outcome has more than a prayer of success.

My Review: I subscribe to several crime book blogs and I have always wanted to try the genre. A friend had this book so I borrowed it. I must say I like it better than I thought I would. This branching out this year is paying off I am discovering so many new books and genres.

This is the 6th book in the Women Murder Club series. This book can stand alone. There don’t seem to be any back story that the reader needs to know.

The main character Lindsay Boxer is a detective and she is attempting to solve several violent crimes. There are times I am rooting for her then there are times when she seems obnoxious and I hope she gets shot. Although I feel for her when she is having a hard time solving the crimes and comes up with a bunch of dead ends.

Then there is the lawyer Yuki. I hated her I thought she was so obnoxious that I was hoping she lose the case where a man shot 6 people because the voices in his head told him to. And she did lose so me and the author must have felt the same way. Throughout the whole book every time it was her turn to tell her story I would go into a rage. I know it is a fictional character but still that how obnoxious she was.

I was impressed at how well the author had done his homework on mental illness and the side effects on medication and how a person acts on it. He mentions Risperdal and I took it and it really did sedate me and other people. I would sleep for 10 to 14 hours when I took it. Although I have qualms about using a mental illness as a cover for violent crime. I feel it gives us all a bad name. I have the illness mentioned in the book and I have never had the urge to start shooting random people. To each his own I guess. I just wish that there was a disclaimer that states that violence of that magnitude is rare. Other than that and Yuki’s part of the story I felt this was a good story with good believable plot lines and good dialogue. If you like crime fiction be sure to check this book out!

Armchair BEA Introductions

                            

Hello everyone it is time for Armchair BEA again! This is my third year participating and it is one of my favorite events of the year. Traditionally we do blogger interviews but this year we pick 5 questions and interview ourselves. So below is the five I picked. I hope this will allow you to get to know me better.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

I am going to school to get my MLIS. I live in NE Ohio. This August will make two years that I have been book blogging. I started blogging because no one I know in real life likes to read or talk about books as much as me. I commented on some blogs and liked the idea of community so I decided to start my own blog.

 

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

My favorite read so far is a tie between Fault in Our Stars and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Both books left me speechless after the last page. Not many books so that but these two did. After turning the last page of Daughter of Smoke and Bones I was like noooooooooo you cant make me wait a year to find out what happens next! That is one book I know I will pre order.

 

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.

That I am profoundly Deaf. I read about all these great audiobook narrators and it gets me a little sad that I cant hear them but other than that it does not bother me.

What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?

The community and finding about books that I would have never heard of other wise. For example if I had not read rave reviews on Fault in Our Stars and Daughter of Smoke and Bones I would have never picked them up. That makes me sad.

 

Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

Before I would have never touched Young Adult books but now I love them. At first I was like what can Young Adult have to do with ME? I started reading them and I wish that that kind of writing was available for me when I was a teenager. Even now I can find some of the issues and themes that still apply to me. Todays Young Adult population is very lucky in that they have such an abundance of books to choose from that tackle real life issues in such a critical and entertaining way.

Sunday Salon

It has been a while since I have done a Sunday Salon. The most exciting thing that has happened is that school has ended and I received my grades and I made all A’s! This just reinforces my decision that getting my MLIS was the right career choice.

I  came to KY to spend a month visiting family and on Memorial Day weekend we went camping. There was no wi fi or anything at the camp grounds. I was proud of myself for surviving 4 days without any technology whatsoever. I spent the majority of the time reading. It reminded me that we should all take a break from technology to rewind and enjoy the simpler pleasures of life.

I am spending this month getting caught up on books that were sent to me to be reviewed. I am so behind. This fall I have got to find a better balance between school and blogging. I love both so I am thinking of ways to make this happen.

I am insanely jealous of people who get to go to BEA (I hope one day I will get to go) but I am super excited for Armchair BEA this will be my third year participating. I love meeting new bloggers and old alike. This is one of my favorite events of the year. I will be posting everyday this week regarding Armchair BEA so look out for it!

Today I am going to spend the day getting caught up with Google reader and commenting on blogs and reading “The Right Guard.” This is a political thriller and so far I like it. I am only about a 100 pages in but it has intrigue and conspiracies which I love!

I hope everyone has a good Sunday!

Blue Magic

From Goodreads:

From Goodreads:

The sequel to Indigo Springs, “A psychologically astute, highly original debut—complex, eerie, and utterly believable.”  —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
This powerful sequel to the A.M. Dellamonica's Sunburst Award–winning contemporary fantasy Indigo Springs starts in the small town in Oregon where Astrid Lethewood discovered an underground river of blue liquid—Vitagua—that is pure magic. Everything it touches is changed. The secret is out—and the world will never be the same. Astrid’s best friend, Sahara, has been corrupted by the blue magic, and now leads a cult that seeks to rule the world. Astrid, on the other hand, tries to heal the world.
Conflicting ambitions, star-crossed lovers, and those who fear and hate magic combine in a terrible conflagration, pitting friend against friend, magic against magic, and the power of nations against a small band of zealots, with the fate of the world at stake.

Blue Magic is a powerful story of private lives changed by earthshaking events that will ensnare readers in its poignant tale of a world touched by magic and plagued by its consequences.

My Review: This is a fantastic book! I loved it! I haven't read the first book Indigo Springs but I will now make sure to read it. There is enough background story in Blue Magic so the reader does not feel all lost.

The story is told from several different viewpoints. Astrid, Ev (Astrid’s mother) Juanita’s and Will Forrest’s. Astrid is trying to control the amount of magic released into the real from the unreal. When magic ( a blue liquid called Vitagua) was pushed into the unreal by magic hating fyremen it froze the people in the unreal and cursed the people in the real who come into contact with it. Astrid must walk a delicate line in freeing the people from the unreal while negating the effects in the real. If that was not hard enough she must also deal with her ex lover and former best friend Sahara Knax who when contaminated by the magic went insane and now leads a cult and seeks to rule the world. The government is also trying to find Astrid and shut down the release of magic. Astrid also must deal with the confusing love interest Will.

The theme of what is good and how far one will go to try and do good deeds in the face of impending disaster is prevalent in this book. Astrid wants to free everyone including those trapped in the unreal but she also does not want to hurt anyone who may be contaminated by the magic. In her effort to balance all of this she finds herself drawn deeper into different conflicts that lead to her ultimate betrayal.

The plot twist that happened was so good that I did not even see it coming. It added a whole new angle to to the story.

There were times I thought that all the lose ends of the story could not possibly fit together but at the end I was pleasantly surprised. The ending was even better than I imagined it.

This book is a enjoyable read. The plot was tight the dialogue was brilliant and the characters suck you into the story. This book is highly recommended.