Alasandra's Reading List ~ February

1. The Confession by John Grisham - When a white cheerleader (Nicole) goes missing an innocent 18 year old African American High School football player (Donte) is harassed and tortured by the police until he confesses. The confession is used in court where the lawyer for the prosecution and the judge are having a torrid affair to convict. The DEATH PENALTY is handed down even though a body was never found. Now a white serial rapist (Travis Boyette) who has just been paroled is claiming to have killed Nicole, but the Court of Appeals doesn't believe him and the Governor refuses to stay the execution until Boyette can lead them to the body. The Court of Appeals refuses to accept the affidavit of the sole witness against Donte (Nicole's on again off again white football playing boyfriend ) stating that he lied about seeing Donte throw Nicole's body into the river because it arrived 7 minutes late. Donte is executed!!!!!!! Boyette then leads them to Nicole's body which he buried in another state and the State of Texas declares Donte INNOCENT after MURDERING him.
2. The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore - a melancholy book as Drizzt is speaking with Hralien (a moon elf) centuries after the events in the book take place,  Bruenor, Wulfgar, Regis & Catti-brie are long gone. Wulfgar chooses to return to Icewind Dale alone and seek out a place with his tribe. Colson is returned to her Mother in Auckney. Bruenor discovers a city where orcs and dwarfs lived in peace. Bruenor leads a party to kill King Obould. But after learning that King Obould wants peace and that it was Grguch that was responsible for the attack on Mithral Hall and the Moonwood, Bruenor saves King Obould's life and makes peace with him. Tos'un ( a drow) proves his loyalty to Drizzt, Bruenor & Hralien and finds a home with the moon elves.
3. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin - you can read my review here.
4. Reprisal by F. Paul Wilson - Carol's "baby" is all grown up and sets out to destroy Father Bill's life. Rasalom discovers that Glaeken is an old man and assumes he is powerless to stop him from destroying the world as we know it.
5. True Grit by Charles Portis - I much prefer the movie version starring John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn. Mattie Ross is a most unlikable heroine with her self-righteous attitude and opinionated ways. One has to admiring the lengths she went to to bring her Father's killer to justice, but I found the book tedious and unbelievable. I also found the ending very upsetting as all the horses were killed.
6. Forbidden Faith The Secret History of Gnosticism by Richard Smoley - An interesting book. Hard to follow unless you have at least a basic understanding of the subject.
7. Running Blind by Lee Child - The FBI blackmails Reacher into helping them catch a serial killer, but they aren't pleased when the identity of the serial killer is revealed as one of their own. 

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

A classic tale of horror. Catholic Rosemary moves from the mid-west to New York where she marries Protestant Guy Woodhouse. Her family pretty much disowns her and the one person she can depend on falls into a mysterious coma when he tries to warn her of the danger she is in. Too late Rosemary discovers that the Bramford houses a coven of witches who want her baby. Her plans to escape or thwarted by Guy. Told her child is dead Rosemary becomes suspicious when she hears a baby crying, but when she is reunited with her child she realizes he is a monster.

Alasandra's Reading List ~ January

1. A Nose for Justice by Rita Mae Brown -  (Thumbs down) I found this book tedious. There are several important social issues mentioned in the book the main one being water, how we use it and who has the right to control it (water rights) and the other being The Fly Girls (Women Airforce Service Pilots) who are still considered civilians and therefore not entitled to the pay and benefits given to the men who served in WWII. Ms Brown's desire to educate us on these issues interrupted the plot. She also had a lot of extraneous characters who were not necessary to the plot and did not spend much time on character development. And as a dog lover I found her use of King (German Shepherd mix) and Baxter (wire-haired dachshund) troubling. I just hope if any dog haters read the book they will remember this is a work of FICTION.
2. Night Shield by Nora Roberts - Boyd Fletcher  busted 13 year old Jonah Blackhawk for running an unlicensed gambling establishment, but instead of sending him to juvie, Boyd took an interest and turned Jonah's life around. Now a successful businessman with his own chain of clubs Jonah will do anything for Boyd. Including allowing Allison Fletcher to work undercover in his club, but Jonah never planned to fall for the charming cop.
3. Night Moves by Nora Roberts - Maggie moves into a fixer upper in a rural area and hires Cliff Delaney to help with the landscaping. Everything is going great until a skeleton is discovered when Cliff digs out a gully on the property to create a pond.
4. A Place to Call Home by Deborah Smith ~ you can read my book review here. Excellent book I highly recommend it.
5. Bad Blood by John Sandford - When Bobby Tripp discovers who murdered his friend Kelly Baker, he takes matters into his own hands and kills Jacob Flood. But before he can reveal why Deputy Crocker kills him. Before Deputy Crocker can be questioned it appears he committed suicide but Virgil Flowers suspects he was murdered. Soon Flowers begins to suspect the deaths are connected to "The Church" (World of the Spirit) all the victims except Tripp attended.
6. Storm Prey - When the leader of a motorcycle gang plots to rob the hospital pharmacy with one of the doctors he never imagined that one of the gang would accidentally kick one of the pharmacy workers to death, or that his brother would be spotted by Weather. In an attempt to limit the number of people who can tie him to the robbery he hires a skinhead to take out two of the robbers and Weather. Now Lucas and Virgil are on his trail, but the body count just keeps getting higher. 
7. The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott 
8. Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts - Parker's plans for her life go out the window when she fall for bad boy Malcolm Kavanaugh, but then she realizes he is just what she wants.
9. Animal Magnetism by Rita Mae Brown (autobiography) - An amusing look at her life. I doubt I will read any more of her work. I just don't like her writing style.
10. The Freemasons by Jasper Ridley - Enjoyed the book. You can read my notes here.
11. Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy - an enjoyable yarn although the book is rift with errors. Mainly using the wrong persons name. I am also miffed that he unnecessarily killed off one of the good guys.

The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott

Written in Boston when Alcott was only seventeen, Alcott's first novel shows her promise as an author. The heroine of the book, Edith, is a noble lady living as a governess with Lady Hamilton and her family. The hero, Lord Percy, is an English gentleman who recognizes Edith's noble character in spite of her poverty. He of course falls deeply in love with her, but believing she will not marry him because of the differences in their stations resigns himself not to speak of his love. Conniving Lady Ida attempts to discredit Edith in order to win Lord Percy for herself, then a mysterious stranger arrives with documents that change Edith from a penniless governess into a wealthy heiress.

A Place to Call Home by Deborah Smith ~ Book Review

I believe this book has a place in Classic Literature, so I am including it in my list of books for the Classics 2011 Reading Challenge. A Place to Call Home is about one boy's search for a home and family of his own and his enduring love for the girl who gave it to him.

The book opens with five year old Claire Maloney defending 10 year old Roanie Sullivan against the unjust accusations of her cousin Carlton. Related to half the town and the product of the two oldest Southern Families joining together Claire is the acknowledged princess of the town, while Roanie is an outcast, son of the town drunk. When Claire's family takes the young boy in, it is a dream come true for Roanie, but when the family he loves sends him away his heart is broken along with Claire's. Vowing never to forgive her family for sending Roanie away Claire leaves home after college and finds work as a reporter, until a tragic accident forces her back home.

For twenty years Claire has wondered what happened to Roan, now he is back in town for her and confronting the family that sent him away as a young boy.

Claire: My horror was that no one would say a word, that this was beyond words.

For twenty years Roan has kept a Maloney family secret that threatens the family he holds dear. Clair has to find a way to heal the scars from the past so everyone can move forward together as a family or choose between Roan and her family.

This book tears at your heart strings and has you laughing one moment and crying the next. For anyone who grew up in a small Southern town the foibles of the town will be all to familiar. Smith captures the charm of the South and the enduring love of Family in her novel.

Alasandra's Reading List ~ December

1. Third Degree by Greg Iles ~ First Warren Shields finds out he has an inoperable brain tumor and will die at 37. All he wants is to provide for his wife (Laurel) and two kids. Then in an attempt to warn him that his partner is framing him for Medicare Fraud, Nell sends an email telling him to look for something hidden in his home and he discovers his wife in cheating on him. When Laurel refuses to tell him her lover's name he snaps and holds his family hostage. Meanwhile the lover rethinks his decision to stay with his wife and kids and makes a desperate attempt to save Laurel. Terrible book the one decent person in the whole book dies while the cheaters get to live happily ever after, after destroying his life.
2. Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts ~ Book Three in the Bride Quartet. Laurel convinces Del he should stop treating her like his sister.
3. Don't Blink by James Patterson & Howard Roughan - Nick Daniels will do anything in order to report THE TRUTH. So when he is conveniently seated next to mob lawyer Vincent Marcozza when Torenzi kills him, he is elated to discover he has Torenzi's whispered words on tape naming mob boss Eddie Pinero as the man who ordered the hit on tape. But then he starts to wonder if his being there and getting "the evidence" on tape wasn't just a little too convenient. Now somebody wants him dead before he finds out the answer. Can he stay alive longer enough to get the story.
4. The Sister by Poppy Adams - I didn't care for this book. The story is told from 70 year old Ginny's point of view. When her sister Vivi returns to the ancestral home after a absence of almost 50 years Ginny begins to recall things from their past. One gets a sense right away that there is something not right with Ginny (In an online discussion group several people speculated Ginny had Asperger's Syndrome from the information provided in the book). There is her obsession with time, her lack of emotion, the way she refers to her parents by their first names (Clive and Maude), Maude's belief that Ginny was responsible for Vivi's fall from the bell tower (a fall that destroyed Vivi's ability to have children), Maude's accusation that Ginny ruined Maude's life, as well as  the mysterious Dr Moyse's interest in Ginny. Once Vivi returns home she seems determined to tell Ginny some family secret and asserts their parents had no right to keep Ginny's condition from her. Finally forced to confront the way her sister used her to have a baby and then forgot the baby when it didn't survive Ginny poisons Vivi. The narrative is disjointed and none of the questions (Did Ginny push Vivi off the bell tower? Who killed Maude? What is wrong with Ginny) raised are answered.
5. The Devil in The White City by Erik Larson - you can read my book review here. I highly recommend this book. (Non-Fiction)
6. Cross Fire by James Patterson - Alex Cross and Bree Stone say I do. Kyle Craig is loose and out to kill Alex. Agent Max Siegel works closely with Alex to bring down the Numbers Killer as well as the Patriot Snipers. Fast paced, the only question is will Kyle Craig succeed in his quest to kill Alex. After all he is closer then even Alex imagines. 
7. Nightshade by Nora Roberts - Colt Nightshade is looking for his friends daughter who is being held by some unsavory characters who make "adult movies". His best shot at finding Liz is to work with detective Althea Grayson, but will she cooperate. 
8. Night Moves by Nora Roberts - Ry Piasecki carries Natalie Fletcher through a burning building but can he mend her broken heart.
9. Road of the Patriarch by R. A. Salvatore - After winning Artemis Entreri's  heart Calihye attempts to kill him. Jarlaxle's plots gets himself, Entreri and the dwarf Athrogate banished from the Bloodstone Lands. Artemis returns to his childhood home and confronts is past. Artemis chooses to part company with Jarlaxle and Athrogate and to return to Calimport and Dwahvel.
10. Turning Angel by Greg Iles - When Husband Stealing S*** Kate Townsend is murdered Penn Gage sets out to prove his childhood friend isn't the killer even though he was having an affair with the underage girl. Unfortunately for Penn the real killer is willing to kill again and again to keep his secret.
11. Tripwire by Lee Child - A dying Leon Garber promises the Hobies he will find out what happened to their son who disappeared in Vietnam. Running out of time he hires a detective to find Reacher. But Victor Truman Hobie doesn't want to be found and he is willing to kill to keep his identity a secret. But Reacher is willing to die to save Jodi Garber (Leon's daughter).
12. Daniel X Demons and Druids by James Patterson (Young Adult/Teen) - well there weren't any Druids in the book. But Daniel did travel back in time and meet the young boy Arthur (you know King Arthur) and Merlin (who is another alien from Daniel's planet). Merlin & Daniel join forces to defeat Beta. Who knew Stonehenge would prove so useful. Daniel's usual pals are behaving a bit unusual to Daniel's surprise.  Hints that future books will reveal what is going on with Dana and Willy.
    

Book Review ~ Earth is Not Alone by John Knapp II

The Emryss Chronicles

Since this book is targeted for teens I asked my boys if they would like to read it. My 19 year old took a pass, but my 21 year old read it and and pronounced it passable.

I find Knapp's switching between the past and present annoying. Also he refers to Jonas Harwell as Michael Hammond Jr's Step-Father which is INCORRECT.  A STEP-Parent is someone who is married to one of your biological parents. The only way Jonas Harwell would be Michael's Step-Father would have been for him to be married to Michael's Mother, which he wasn't. Jonas Harwell is Michael's adopted Dad. He adopted Michael after his parents were killed in a car crash that also claimed the life of Jonas' wife. Also the adoption seems a bit POINTLESS as Michael lives with his Great-Aunt.

Dr Jonas Harwell is the preacher at Grace Missionary Alliance Church (the plot is frequently interrupted by a sermon or prayer from him), besides adopting Michael he is also the legal guardian of  Triana Simms (Alien). Both Michael and Triana have Marvin Cample (Atheist) for a teacher. The book opens with Mr Cample accusing Michael & Triana of cheating due to them both turning in similar folktales from Emryss. At this point Mr. Cample doesn't know Triana is an Alien, much less that Emryss actually exist. A secondary plot involves the Earth being hit be an electronic magnetic pulse frying all the electronic gadgets on earth. The United States is living under a barter economy.

The folktales they turned in are shared in their entirety and are rather enjoyable. In fact for me they were the most enjoyable part of the book.

The character development stinks. I never felt a connection with any of the characters and could have cared less what happened to them.

If you want to be preached at and told how wonderful Christianity is this book is for you. If you want an enjoyable read I recommend you look elsewhere.