Dracula, My Love

By:  Syrie James

From Goodreads:  Many have read and loved Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But questions remain. What is the true story of Dracula’s origin? What if Mina could not bring herself to record the true story of their scandalous affair—until now?

In Dracula, My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker, Syrie James explores these questions and more. A vibrant dramatization, told from Mina’s point of view, brings to life the crucial parts of Stoker’s story while showcasing Mina’s sexual awakening and evolution as a woman, and revealing a secret that could destroy her life. Torn between two men—a loving husband and a dangerous lover—Mina struggles to hang on to the deep love she’s found within her marriage, even as she is inexorably drawn to Dracula himself—the vampire that everyone she knows is determined to destroy.

I won this book from Jennifer at Book Club Girl.  I thought it was fairly good.  The story itself was interesting.  The writing was good.  It had the unfortunate problem of making me fall asleep every time I started reading it.  As a consequence it took me like 3 weeks to read it.  I had to force myself to read the last 100 pages and I felt kind of bad about that because there wasn't anything really wrong with the book.  I just don't think it was my cup of tea I guess.  I don't want to deter anyone from reading it though, because it really was pretty interesting to look at the Dracula story from a different angle.  I kinda felt like Dracula was a bit of a player.  I wanted to fuss at Mina at times and tell her to not believe him that he probably tells that stuff to all the girls....what did she think he told Lucy?? 

Syrie James will be on Blog Talk Radio tonight at 7:00 pm ET.  Should be fun!  Check it out!

The Friday Routine

Every week Jennifer at Crazy for Book's asks a question of the blog hoppers.  This week's question comes from Michelle of Michelle's Book Blog.  She asks:  How many books are on your To Be Read Shelf?  Well, having a shelf would imply some amount of organization in that regard.  I'm not really, or at all.  I keep the book I have to read in bins next to my bed.  Currently I'd guess I have around 30 or so, about a dozen are urgent.  Oh and on my Kindle...there's probably about 100...eek!!  I take advantage of the free books way too often. 

  On Follow Friday today's featured blog is

The Passage

By:  Justin Cronin

From Goodreads:  "It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born."

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.


With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.

Lately, I've been reading a lot of negative reviews about this book.  I don't get it.  I LOVED THIS BOOK!  I will say that I didn't read the book, I listened to the audiobook.  Maybe that's where the difference comes in.  The audiobook was one of best I've ever listened to.  Scott Brick was absolutely wonderful.   I will say that listening to the audiobook is a test of endurance though, it's almost 37 hrs. long.   I was still disappointed when it was over even after listening to it for about 3 weeks. 

Usually I'm not thrilled about books being made into movies, but the movies rights have been purchased for this book and I'm excited about that.  I think this would make a fantastic movie, maybe even two.   I understand Ridley Scott is supposed to be directing the movie and I could give him a few pointers on casting I think.  Chris Cooper for Wolgast, maybe Dakota Fanning for the grown up Amy (Elle Fanning for little Amy?), Ellen Page for Sarah, Matthew Gray Gubler for Michael/Circuit, Kenneth Mitchell for Hollis....I have a whole list in my head LOL

I really liked the way this book was structured.  I thought the division of the books was effective in keeping the story well organized.  I liked the reading of the journals.  It was good to hear the story from a different voice (literally on the audiobook).  Cronin has a wonderful way with words and vocabulary.  I find so many books are dumbed down, easy words and easy sentences, and this one didn't have this feeling but it was still easy to understand.  That's good writing!

The one disappointment I had with this book was the ending.  I was sad it ended yes, but I didn't like the way it ended.  It was so abrupt and unresolved.  However, I didn't realize when I started this book it's the first in a trilogy.  I found that out today.  Oh happy day!  The next book, The Twelve, is due out in 2012.  That's a long time to wait! 

I had so many questions....what was in the barn with Mouse and Theo?  Will we ever find out?  What IS Peter??  Why did Amy destroy the vials???  Wouldn't it have saved the world?  Didn't she know that?  Now it's just going to be her (and the other)...What the hell happened in New Mexico?  I don't want to wait for the next book!!

Forgotten: Seventeen and Homeless

By:  Melody Carlson

From Goodreads:  With absent parents, overdue rent, and no one to turn to, Adele is forced into the hard, cold world of homelessness. While striving to maintain the pretense of a “normal” life, Adele attempts to finish high school, all the while concealing her secret. But is she strong enough to keep up the act?


Forgotten will propel teen readers into a world where promises are broken, life is not fair, and challenges seem unbearable, while still offering assurance that solid faith, loyal friends, and a persistent spirit will prevail.

I thought Forgotten was rather good.  I liked that it was written from Adele's point of view.  I thought this book was a fairly realistic look at what happens when there aren't any responsible adults in a teenager's life.  So many YA books have absent or flaky parents or guardians and life is usually peachy keen anyway.  I think this book illustrates the realities of what happens when you really have to take care of yourself.

I was really pleased with Adele's character from a moral standpoint.  She had plenty of opportunities and reasons to steal or do drugs or become a prostitute and she did none of these things. 

The one thing I didn't like about this book was the ending.  Her parents were never mentioned in the ending which didn't make sense to me.  It seemed like a preachy cop out.  Other than that, the rest of the book was quite compelling.  I found myself very intrigued by the whole story wondering what Adele was going to do.

Never Wave Goodbye

By:  Doug Magee

From Goodreads:  After passing the bittersweet parental milestone of putting her daughter, Sarah on the bus to sleep-away camp for the first time, Lena Trainor plans to spend the next two weeks fixing all the problems in her marriage. But when a second bus arrives to pick up Sarah for camp, no one seems to know anything about the first bus or its driver.



Sarah and three other children have been kidnapped, and within hours of the crime the parents receive an email demanding $1,000,000. When the specifics of the delivery terms throw suspicion on the parents of two of the abducted children, some of the parents begin to turn on each other, exposing fault lines in already strained marriages and forging new alliances. While the kidnapped children are living their parents' worst nightmare, the police are trying to sort the lies from the truth in conflicting stories and alibis that seem to be constantly changing.

Deftly weaving the emotional story that pits the parents of the missing campers against the police—and each other—with the fate of the kidnapped children hanging in the balance, Never Wave Goodbye will keep readers holding their breath until the last page.

I thought Never Wave Goodbye was ok.  It was good, but not super fantastic.  The writing was adequate, it was good for a first novel. 

The characters seemed realistic.  The problems that the adults had seemed like problems that I suppose the average group of adults would have.  The kids seemed to be better written though to me.  Their actions and reactions seemed a bit more natural.

The biggest problem I had with this book was the reasoning behind the kidnapping.  A straight up ransom would have been a lot better to me.  Even if it was a kidnap for hire by the first party we find out about, that would be a stretch, but again would have made more sense to me.  As it was written it got way too convoluted and I really can't believe that the parties involved really would have agreed to what was being proposed. 

I thought it was going pretty well until the last third of the book and then I started getting disappointed in it.  I think my overall grade would probably have to end up being a C+.  I would read future writings by this author in hopes that they would be an improvement.

Fever Dream

By:  Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

From Goodreads:  At the old family manse in Louisiana, Special Agent Pendergast is putting to rest long-ignored possessions reminiscent of his wife Helen's tragic death, only to make a stunning-and dreadful-discovery. Helen had been mauled by an unusually large and vicious lion while they were big game hunting in Africa. But now, Pendergast learns that her rifle-her only protection from the beast-had been deliberately loaded with blanks. Who could have wanted Helen dead...and why?

I read this because I read pretty much everything written by Preston and Child together and individually.   I was particularly interested in this book because it featured Aloysius Pendergast.  I love that guy! 

Fever Dream had appearances by what's left of the old cast of characters.  Vincent D'Agosta and his girlfriend Laura Hayward were prominent in this book.  Constance Green featured in a little sideline story that I thought was a little strange and didn't make much sense, but I couldn't remember too much of the details of her past before her time in the monastery.  I think a quick reread of the books that feature her might be in order.

This story was a little different than the others, there were no monsters or anything of a supernatural nature.  There weren't any grand archeological explorations or anything like that.  There was an  investigation of John James Audubon, hence the birds on the cover.  That was the only historical aspect of this book and it was sort of secondary, not the really interesting anthropological history we usually get.  It didn't detract from the story, but it was just a little different that the past books.

I really enjoyed reading this book because much of it was set in Baton Rouge and Port Allen, Louisiana.  That was kind of fun to read.  I live and work in the Baton Rouge area.  The only local inaccuracy that bothered me was the basement.  I don't know anyone around here that has a basement.  They flood. 

Overall, I was very happy with this book.  It started off a little slow, I was getting a little nervous thinking I wasn't going to like it, but around 200 pages into it I realized that I wasn't going to be able to put the book down! 

Blog Hoppin

This week's question is:  Do you listen to music when you read?  If so, what do you listen to?   I don't listen to music when I read.  There are far too many distractions in our house already.  There's usually all kinds of noise around, I don't need to throw additional music into the mix.  If I were to listen to music when I read, it'd probably be classical because then I wouldn't have a desire to sing along with it.

An Observation

I've been on a bit of a Post-Apocalyptic kick lately.  Not intentionally!  I've noticed in these books I've read and movies I've watched how important the surviving books were.  Not e-readers, because you more than likely can't recharge those unless you're Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli.  It made me want to horde books!  More than I already do, of course.

Hex Hall

By:  Rachel Hawkins

From Goodreads:  Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.


By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

I thought Hex Hall was pretty good, not super awesome, but good.  I liked Sophie, she was a decent character, not too whiny or full of teen angst.  I liked Jenna.  She was a fun character, even though she was sad and moody most of the time.   I didn't like Elodie or the relationship that she had with Sophie.  The evolution of their relationship didn't seem realistic to me, but maybe I'm looking at that from personal experience. 

I thought the story line was fairly interesting and the ending twist was kind of a surprise.  I did like that this book was lighter than say Hush Hush or Twilight, not nearly so dark as either of those.  Obviously this is going to be the start of a series. I'd be likely to pick up the next book in the series to see what happens next.

Hunger Games

By:  Suzanne Collins

From Goodreads:  In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.


Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

I'm kinda late to the party on this one.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get Catching Fire sometime in the next couple of weeks.  I know I'm going to want to read the next two books ASAP.  I was absolutely sucked right into Hunger Games.  The story was so enthralling, I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen. 

I understand that the the movie rights have been bought and I can see how it would make a really good action/adventure/scifi type movie, but topic is kinda morbid eh?  This is a YA book, aimed towards teens, but it makes you wonder how they'd make the movie so that it wouldn't be rated R.

I've been on a post-apocalyptic kick lately...this, The Passage, and I watched The Book of Eli and The Road.  I need to read something happier.

Hush Hush

By:  Becca Fitzpatrick

From the author's website:  For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.


But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

I was kind of skeptical about this book.  I don't know why, because it turned out to be quite good.  Angels are joining the vampires and werewolves in popular YA fiction.  This was one of the Angel books. 

I liked the characters, I thought they were mostly believeable.  However, once again another YA book with a pretty much absent parent.  I guess that's part of the fantasy?

I really liked the story and the writing was very good.  I would have read it all in one sitting if I could have stayed away!  I'm ready for Crescendo!