January 2010 Reads

1. I Can See You (Rose)

2. Snow Angels (Thompson)

3. Tomorrow, When the War Began (Marsden)

4. Evil at Heart (Cain)

5. Glass (Hopkins)

* Short Story (not counted)

BOLD titles made my Best Reads List

Clicking on a title will link you to "Thoughts of Joy...".

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Monthly - Yearly Genre Stats:

Chick-Lit: 0 - 0

Classic: 0 - 0

Fiction: 0 - 0

Memoir: 0 - 0

Mystery/Police Procedural: 1 - 1

Non-Fiction: 0 - 0

Non-Fiction Graphic Novel: 0 - 0

Short Story Collection: 0 - 0

Suspense/Thriller: 2 - 2

True Crime: 0 - 0

YA Classic: 0 - 0

YA Fiction: 2 - 2

YA Graphic Novel: 0 - 0

YA Non-Fiction: 0 - 0

YA Science Fiction: 0 - 0

Children's Historical Fiction: 0 - 0

Children's Thriller: 0 - 0

Children's Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 0 - 0

Short Stories: 0 - 0

Audiobooks: 4 - 4

Books: 1 - 1

Total: 5 - 5

Best Reads: 0 - 0

Series: 4 - 4

DNF: 0 - 0

GLASS

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction, Trilogy #2

Published: 2007

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

Yearly Count: 5

Kristina Snow made some major mistakes in the summer prior to her senior year and those mistakes continue to haunt her every day.

This follow up is no prettier than its predecessor. It's filled with all the damaging effects that drugs can have on someone's life and how it affects those around them. It was very repetitive, and there were no redeeming qualities to be found, but I was still drawn into the story. I know that Crank (#1) was based on the author's daughter, so I'm assuming this is a continuation of the same. With that always in the back of my mind, I found the story to be captivating. The conclusion to this series titled Fallout will be published in September, 2010. I'm looking forward to it.

EVIL AT HEART

Author: Chelsea Cain

Genre: Thriller, Series #3

Published: 2009

Personal Rating: 3/5 (just okay)

Yearly Count: 4

Gretchen Lowell continues to haunt and torment the people of Portland, Oregon, so Archie Sheridan checks himself out of rehab to join in the hunt.

I was able to share the experience of listening to this book with my husband on a road-trip. We both have had very similar thoughts with the first two in this series, and we were no different with this one. Thankfully, it turned out to be better than the second, but I hope Cain is done with the Gretchen Lowell saga. I've had enough of her.

There was so much that I didn't care for in this book - the varied forms of bathroom talk, the ridiculous fan club idea, and some other minor plot glitches, that I'm surprised I ended up thinking it was an okay read. Needless to say, I did. Can't think of anything good to highlight, but I did.

TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN

Author: John Marsden

Genre: YA Fiction, Series #1

Published: 1993

Personal Rating: 3.5/5 (good)

Yearly Count: 3

During a break from school, seven Australian students take a camping trip to the bush. After a fun and relaxing time, they come home to barren streets and homes. The only evidence of life is a few animals.

In general, I enjoyed this book. The characters represented a typical group of teenagers, and I liked Ellie, the narrator. The story line is what kept me intrigued, and I thoroughly liked the Australian setting, but it never panned out to be anything special. In the beginning when the friends are realizing that something is amiss, I questioned their low-keyed reactions. I think that set the tone for it to not be what I had expected.

SNOW ANGELS

Author: James Thompson

Genre: Police Procedural, Series #1

Published: 2010

Personal Rating: 3.75/5 (better than good)

Yearly Count: 2

Please Note: While being thankful for the opportunity to receive and listen to this audiobook, I feel the need to post the blurb from its cover. However, in my opinion there is usually too much disclosed. Read at your own discretion.

From the cover:

Kaamos: Just before Christmas, the bleakest time of the year in Lapland. The unrelenting darkness and extreme cold above the Arctic Circle drive everyone just a little insane . . . perhaps enough to kill.

A beautiful Somali immigrant is found dead in a snowfield, her body gruesomely mutilated, a racial slur carved into her chest. Heading the murder investigation is Inspector Kari Vaara, the lead detective of the small-town police force. The vicious killing may have been a hate crime, a s*x crime - or one and the same. Vaara knows he must keep this potentially explosive case out of the national headlines or it will send shock waves across Finland, an insular nation afraid to face its own xenophobia.

The demands of the investigation begin to take their toll on Vaara and his marriage. His young American wife, Kate, newly pregnant with their first child, is struggling to adapt to both the unforgiving Arctic climate and the Finnish culture of silence and isolation. Meanwhile Vaara himself, haunted by his rough childhood and a failed first marriage, discovers that the past keeps biting at his heels: he suspects that the rich man for whom his ex-wife left him year ago may be the killer.

This is James Thompson's debut novel and first in the series featuring Inspector Kari Vaara. Even though I have had virtually no time to read, I was always happy to pick up where I left off when time allowed.

The setting was ominous just by the sheer darkness, but then Thompson adds the narrator Kari. Kari invites us into his world, and we are able to experience his thoughts and perspective of life as a Finnish detective. I enjoyed learning more about Finland and getting to know Kari. Overall, there were some little things that bothered me, but my only real complaint was the gratuitous repetition of the murder. However, when the second in the series comes out, I'll still be sure to snatch it up.

Many, many thanks to LibraryThing and Putnam Books for providing this ARC. Snow Angels was released on January 7, 2010.

I CAN SEE YOU

Author: Karen Rose

Genre: Romantic Thriller, Standalone

Published: 2009

Personal Rating: 3.5 (good)

Yearly Count: 1!

Please Note: While being thankful for the opportunity to receive and listen to this audiobook, I feel the need to post the blurb from its cover. However, in my opinion there is usually too much disclosed. Read at your own discretion.

From the audiobox cover:

Eve Wilson's face was once scarred by a vicious assault. Terrified and ashamed, she escaped to the online realm, where she could choose the face she allowed people to see. Years later, her outer scars faded and inner scars buried. Eve has fought her way back to the real world and is determined to help other do the same. Now a graduate student moonlighting as a bartender, Eve researches the addictive powers of online communities. When her test subjects begin turning up dead as a result of apparent suicides, she doesn't know where to turn.

Homicide detective Noah Webster is one of the few people who believe the victims are connected murders. Eve becomes Noah's online guide and realizes that the handsome detective may have secret scars as painful as her own. As Eve and Noah chase a killer who is always one step ahead of then, together they try to overcome the tragedies of their pasts and learn to trust again, but they soon discover that danger is much closer than they think.

For those that love a romance novel with thriller components, this is a great choice. The romance genre isn't a favorite of mine, so as usual, I did experience a few eye-rolls. However, I don't believe the romance was overdone. What I did really enjoy was the story line and detective work. They were interesting and relevant to today's Internet usage.

My thanks go to Anna from Hachette Audio for providing me with this audiobook. I Can See You was published in August, 2009.