Random Books from the Bookshelf

Ghosts in the Snow by Tamara Siler Jones

 The first page reads:

Dubric Byerly, Castellan of Faldorrah, sat alone at a small table in the castle kitchen, his mangled breakfast congealing before him. He sipped his tea and frowned as he poked a chunk of sausage with his fork. Having spent the past half bell toying with the food on his plate, he worried he had wasted too much time pretending to eat. The beginning of an inquiry always seemed disjointed to him. Finding the first clue, the first mistake, the first hint of guilt.

Responsible for the safety and well-being of Lord Bushgar’s demesne, Dubric tried to make his presence felt on a regular basis in all areas of the castle. But as he glanced up from his plate, he wondered if he had eaten too many breakfasts alone in the kitchen. The staff gave him a wide and respectful berth as they hurried through their labors, but none gave him second glance.

The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker

The first page reads:

Troon, the golden city, sat within high walls on a plain a thousand miles wide. The plain was golden with barley.

The granaries of Troon were immense, towering over the city like giants, taller even than its endlessly revolving windmills. Dust sifted down into its streets and filled its air in the Month of the Red Moon and in every other month, for that matter, but most especially in that month, when the harvest was brought in from the plain in long lines of creaking carts, raising more dust, which lay like a fine powder of gold on every dome and spire and harvester’s hut.

All the people of Troon suffered from chronic emphysema. Priding itself as it did, however, on being the world’s breadbasket, Troon put up with the emphysema. Wheezing was considered refined, and the social event of the year was the Festival of Respiratory Masks.

Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon

The first page reads:

Marcus Sund came awake all at once. “Lights,” he said.

The cabin remained dark. “Lights,” he repeated, louder this time, but with the same result. He sat up. The station hummed with life support – the ProFabber engines churned in their colossal duties – but something was missing from that profound vibration.

He dressed hurriedly, toggling the operations deck as he yanked his shirt on. “Report.”

“Sir, we have some minor failures in noncritical functions. We’re on it.”

Marcus left his cabin and hurried down the corridor. The lights browned and surged back again. The station exec knew his rig, down to the last bolt and data structure, and therefore he could feel through the soles of his feet that the hum was wrong, the vibration of the carbon polysteel deck plates a few cycles off. That worried fair more than the flickering lights.

Book Flashback - Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley

Today is my first book review flashback. I read Winterbirth in April of 2009 (and this the review I wrote then).

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Winterbirth Feels sort of liking you're reading a history book. Not as dry but it plods along going through events in the world the author has created. I feel the main female characters have potential to be complex, but the author fails at developing them. It all focuses around the men when clearly, Wain, one of the female characters plays a pretty big role in the Black Road army. You get view few glimpses into her actions even though the men in her and her brother’s army are more scared of her then they are of him. It was one battle or progression towards a battle after another with politics thrown in. I like the adventure but didn't care for the politics. I couldn't figure out if I should like the "bag guys" or not. Also if you don't like unpronounceable names, this book with frustrate you - it has tons of them and they are repeated over and over again. The multiple story lines kept me flipping back so that I could link them together when they were revisited later in the book. That one just one more thing that made this book frustrating for me. 2 Stars.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So, looking back at this book, I still remember parts of it and I do remember being bored. I even remember skimming parts at time because it was battle after battle without developing interesting characters.

Have you read this book and feel differently or the same? I'd love to hear what you think. If you have a review of it up somewhere, please let me know so we can all get a different perspective.

Random Books from the Bookshelf

Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs by Molly Harper

The first page reads:

Vampirism: (n) 1. The condition of being a vampire, marked by the need to ingest blood and extreme vulnerability to sunlight. 2. The act of preying upon others for financial or emotional gain. 3. A gigantic pain in the butt.

I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of girl.

The irritated look from Gary, the barrel-chested bartender at Shenanigans, told me that, one, I’d said that out loud, and, two, he just didn’t care. But at that point, I was the only person sitting at the pseudo-sports bar on a Wednesday afternoon, and I didn’t have the cognitive control required to stop talking. So he had no choice but to listen.

I picked up the remnants of my fourth (fifth? sixth?) electric lemonade. It glowed blue against the neon lights of Shenanigans’ insistently cheerful décor, casting a green shadow on Gary’s yellow-and-white-striped polo shirt. “See this glass? This morning, I would have said this glass isn’t half empty. It’s half full. And I was used to that. My whole life has been half full. Half-full family, half-full personal life, half-full career. But I settled for it. I was used to it. Did I already say that I was used to it?”

Gary, a gone-to-seed high-school football player with a gut like a deflated balloon, gave me a stern look over the pilsner he was polishing. “Are you done with that?”

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart

The first page reads:

With a  sodden rasp, Brendan McGann’s turf spade sliced into the bank of earth below his feet. Had he known all that he’d turn up with the winter’s fuel, perhaps he would have stopped that moment, climbed up onto the bank and filled his shed with the uniform sods of extruded turf that a person could order nowadays by the lorry-load.

But Brendan continued, loosening each sopping black brick with the square-bladed turf spade, tossing it over the bank, where it landed with a plump slap. He performed his task with a grace and facility that comes from repeating the same motion times without number. Though his father and grandfather and generations before had taken their turf from the same patch of bog, Brendan never thought of himself as carrying on an age-old tradition, any more than he considered the life cycles of all the ancient, primitive plants whose resting place he now disturbed. This annual chore was the only way he’d ever known to stave off the bitter cold that crept under his door each November.

Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry

The first page reads:

A few hints: the damned of Seattle congregate at the Orphanage on Tuesday nights for half-price nibbles and cocktail specials, Convent on Thursdays, for Burlesque of the Living Dead, and Pharmacy on Fridays, which is brand new, and I have never been (don’t let that stop you, I hear it’s mind-blowing)…

-Otherworld Weekly

Saturday night is all about the Well of Souls – see and be seen is the rule – there is no excuse for absence, least of all a bad hair day. Shit, even if it looks like broom straw or the waxy coils plunged from drains, just throw on a hat, a wig, or whatever you have to do; the worst that could happen is public embarrassment and mockery. Nobody’s died from those. Fortunately, Wendy and I didn’t have to worry about that; we were looking hot as Hell, and ready to burn it down.

She wore her trademark mix of lush patterns in silk and wool, which she’s been cultivating for a decade like a rose hybrid. On this particular night, she was working it short-short-short in a devilish Galliano skull and crossbones print dress. She wrapped the frock in a constricting boucle sweater that cupped under her breasts and showed them off like a slutty European peasant girl. Her blond hair hunt in perfect esses, framing her fair skin in a glow of spun sugar.

The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James

Olivia has been betrothed since a young age to the Duke of Canterwick. Her parents have groomed her for the part of a Duchess, except it hasn’t really taken. Olivia’s younger sister, Georgiana, was also taught by default how to be a Duchess and because of Olivia’s betrothal she might actually get the chance to become a one. When Tarquin, the Duke of Sconce’s mother decides it is time her son marries again, Georgiana is one of the top two prospects. At every turn, Georgiana impresses Tarquin’s mother and her position as a Duchess seems to be a certainty. The only problem is that Tarquin has eyes only for Olivia.

This was a fun and enjoyable historical romance. Olivia and Georgiana were both great characters and are easy to like. They were funny with each other, Georgiana was the model of lady-ness in public while Olivia was down to earth and constantly in to trouble. I felt they were really the shining stars with this novel. Tarquin is also a great character but Olivia is the one that kept me reading.

The romance between Olivia and Tarquin was good. I wasn’t blown away by it but it wasn’t bad either. The events in the second half of the novel were the reason for my three star rating. I found them a little improbable and that things would work out in such a away.

The Duke is Mine is a fun romance read but the ending was a little predictable so this book gets 3.5 Stars.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If you’d like to find out more about Eloise James, check out her website. I guess this book is part of a series, but you don't need to read the others to enjoy this one. I haven't...although I will be. I enjoyed this enough to continue reading others by the author.

I received this book from the Amazon Vine program. 

December and 2011 in Review

I had a busy December – which is sort of a weird concept since I left my job in early-to-middle November. I spent part of my day job hunting and the other part working on other projects. You’d think that with extra time I’d have written more reviews… well, to be honest, I haven’t felt motivated at all to write reviews. It has been a struggle to write any (I also had a lot of family chaos in December that was out of the ordinary, so that hurt the motivation/energy). Today, for the first time in weeks, I feel like writing. I’m hoping to keep the feeling going and that a few changes coming to Cookies, Books and Bikes are welcome.

Changes? Yep. This past fall I attempted to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet. It sort of takes the fun out of making cookies. I still make them once in a while, but I won’t be posting cookie recipes consistently, instead I hope to present other cooking/baking creativity on my blog. I’ve been baking a lot of breads and other foods so I’d like to be free to post those items when I’d like.

Other changes include occasional posts on other things going on with my hobbies. I design jewelry and crochet in my spare time too (which is where massive amounts of my time this holiday season was spent). I’d like to post about projects within those two fields or anything else I come up with.

As always, this is a book blog first and foremost. I hope to get my Random Books from the Bookshelf back on schedule and will be introducing a new feature focused on old book reviews I’ve written prior to my blog. Book Review Flashbacks will be a feature of short book reviews that I wrote in 2009. I hope it only appears once a week and that I can eventually phase it out as I get back into a book review writing groove. I have trying to set a goal for myself of four posts a week. If things go well, I may go back up to having something every day but I don’t want to even think about it at this point. I’d just like to get back to writing reviews because I love it. I love sharing my joy/frustration about books.

Due to massive amounts of time spent working on crocheting projects for the holidays, I didn’t read a great many books in December. I listened to quite a few, which includes:

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker

The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn

Dooms Day Book by Connie Willis

Duet by Kimberley Freeman

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett

I read a pitiful four books, including:

Heartless by Gail Carriger

The Duke is Mine by Eloise James

Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep

Hounded by Kevin Hearne

I had a sort of time-travel, historical thing going with some of my audiobooks. In the Garden of Iden, The Eyre Affair and Dooms Day Book all had some sort of historical aspect to them. I enjoyed all of them. I think the book I enjoyed the least the entire month was The Rose Labyrinth. It was too slow at points. The Terry Pratchett books were all re-listens and if you’ve never read the Tiffany Aching series, I highly recommend it! They are all wonderful. Spider’s Bite and Hounded were excellent. I enjoyed Heartless and found it at times better then the previous book but it didn’t blow me away.

Those are my fourteen books for December. I ended the year at 184 – which is good. I wanted to read less then I read last year so I hit my goal.

How was your reading year/month? Did you read anything great for December that is new? I haven’t been keeping up with new releases since I’ve been focused on other things so I’d love to hear about what you read!

A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant

Martha is newly widowed and will lose everything she has worked to change on her estate if she does not protect if from her brother in law, who is to inherit if she does not produce an heir. Desperate for the heir she doubts she is pregnant with already, Martha sets up a business proposal with her neighbor. Theo Mirkwood is a bit of a rake and has been exiled from London by his father. Martha will pay Theo for one month of intimate activities and give a bonus if she becomes pregnant during that time. If the child is a boy, the bonus will be even bigger. What Martha and Theo don’t plan for is actually enjoying each other’s company.

Upon finishing this book, my first thought was that I really didn’t know what I thought of this book. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t what I’ve come up expect from romance. Most romance takes a bit to build up to the sexual encounters as the characters fall in love. In A Lady Awakened, that doesn’t happen. The sexual interaction is right near the start and some of the conversations/Martha’s thoughts on the topic (or male body) had me laughing and wondering how the author, Cecilia Grant, was going to build the story into a romance.

Well, Ms. Grant did a fabulous job because I really enjoyed the romance and sparks between the characters grew the more time they spent together. I think that in some ways, Martha and Theo didn’t feel like they needed to be shy with one another or behave in a proper Victorian England manner, because they’d already gone past that by having meaningless sex with each other. There relationship was refreshing in a way because it went beyond Theo saving Martha and wasn’t just about how attracted they were to each other. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Lady Awakened was a refreshing and enjoying romance. 4 Stars!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If you’d like to find out more about the author, Cecilia Grant, check out her website.

I received this book from the Amazon Vine program.

Random Books from the Bookshelf

Hunted by Others by Jeaniene Frost

The first page reads:

I stiffened at the red and blue lights flashing behind me, because there was no way I could explain what was in the back of my truck. I pulled over, holding my breath as the sheriff came to my window.

“Hi. Something wrong?” My tone was all innocence while I prayed there was nothing unusual about my eyes. Control yourself. You know what happens when you get upset.

“Yeah, you’ve got a busted taillight. License and registration, please.”

Crap. That must have happened when I was loading up the truck bed. Speed had been of the essence then, not daintiness.

I handed him my real license, not the fake one. He shone his flashlight back and forth between the identification and my face.

“Catherine Crawfield. You’re Justina Crawfield’s girl, aren’t you? From the Crawfield Cherry Orchard?”

“Yes, sir.” Politely and blandly, as if I didn’t have a care in the world.

“Well, Catherine, it’s nearly four a.m. Why are you out this late?”

Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

The first page reads:

Kira sat on a rough-hewn bench with faded tapestry cushions, her back against the gray stone wall of the hall. Thick glass windows were set into the corridor walls every few feet in a vain attempt to brighten the cold, desolate passageway. She didn’t know what this place was; she’d stopped caring and paying attention once she’d realized her parents were sending her away. She’d tried to stop caring about that too, but it was harder.

She knew they were on an island as they’d had to reach it by boat. They had then climbed a steep hill dotted with rocks and windswept grass to reach what looked like a sprawling sun-bleached castle perched atop a cliff set against a sky the same robin’s egg blue as the water. Now, as she sat alone in the shadowy hallway, the sun and the sky and the sea seemed to have disappeared. They “castle” felt more like a prison than a palace.

Hunted by Others by Jess Haines

The first page reads:

Long, delicate fingers caressed the stem of a wineglass, trailing upward to catch a few small beads of condensation on the glass. Sultry eyes the color of the sky during a summer storm bored into me from across the cloth-covered table, with all of the woman’s not-inconsiderable power of compulsion behind them. I knew what she was trying to do, which didn’t make it any easier to resist.

Taking a deep breath, I forced my gaze away as nonchalantly as I could to look through the bay window beside our table. Staring at the rippling black waters of a little man-made pond, dotted with reflected lights and a single while swan, beat falling into a black enchant by looking into Veronica’s eyes. The bird floated, serene and oblivious, as a laughing young couple threw bits of bread at it to try to lure it closer.

Swans were pretty but vicious if you got too close. Much like my dinner companion.