True Believer by Nicholas Sparks

Grade: C+
Cover Grade: B
Buy It: Here

The Cover:
Well when I decided to do this with each new book I reviewed I thought it'd be fun. And it is, with bad covers. lol. I mean what do I say about this one? The lighthouse is nice? haha. This is the type of cover I like in all seriousness though. The picture has meaning to the story, there aren't any people on the cover. All's good.

From the Publisher:
As a science journalist with a regular column in Scientific American, Jeremy Marsh specializes in debunking the supernatural and has a real nose for the strange and unusual. A born skeptic, he travels to the small town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, determined to find the real cause behind the ghostly apparitions that appear in the town cemetery. What he doesn't plan on, however, is meeting and falling hopelessly in love with Lexie Darnell, granddaughter of the town psychic. Now, if the young lovers are to have any kind of future at all, Jeremy must make a difficult choice: return to the life he knows, or do something he could never do before-take a giant leap of faith.

From Me:
In the beginning Jeremy is in the process of proving a man cannot really speak to ghosts and prove him the fraud he is. Jeremy has been a journalist for many years and has always loved his career. He has one failed marriage under his belt, which his job may have had something to do with it's end but also something that goes so much deeper and hurts so much more. Ever since Jeremy's been the typical bachelor, dates here and there...nothing serious.

When he gets a letter to go visit a small town to investigate lights that are being seen in a cemetery and the legend behind it, he is really just looking for some down time between real projects. Usually these types of things are caused by someone making it up, or some type of natural cause. There is of course not any real ghosts out there.

Lexie was born and raised in Boone Creek and loves everything about it. Her grandmother, that she loves deeply, is here, and she runs the town library she loves just as much. She's gone to college and lived for a bit in the big city, NY. And although it's exciting and fresh, it was not home. So when Jeremy comes to town and there is mutual attraction between them Lexie denies it. After all she's already gone down that road, the man never wants to stay in a small town like this and she sure isn't moving.

We follow both Jeremy and Lexie while they figure out how important what they feel for each other is, what is worth sacrificing for it. We feel Jeremy's hurt and guilt over what really ended his first marriage. And Lexie's worry that she's just going down a well traveled road of hurt and pain again.

Oh and yeah we find out about the lights. lol.

This book was cute, if a bit boring. I think if there wasn't as much talk about Jeremy's job as a scientific journalist I'd have liked it a whole lot more. But that's cause that subject doesn't interest me. So if it does you and you want a sweet romance? This is a book for you.

If I remember right (it was well over a month ago I listened to this) the sex scene was very sweet and touching, like a lot of meaning was behind it. I don't know how to explain it. lol. But just because it was a NS (which aren't usually HOT reads) book it still held appeal in that area, even if you don't get to read the entire act.

I'm such a perv.

Aprils Reads

Soooo, I'm biting off my chicks over at Book Binge and we're gonna do a little walk through my book's of April. I haven't reviewed all of them yet, so look forward to the reviews on the ones that aren't done yet. But I'll tell you now, the bold ones were my favorite in each category.

It was a big month for e-books for me. Don't know why, guess since they were all pretty short. And because I was in a kinky mood and they are all erotic. lol. Dirty girl, I know. haha.

E-Books:
Surrender by Lora Leigh
August Heat by Lora Leigh
Ceremony of Three by Evangeline Anderson
Natural Law by Joey W. Hall
Moonlight Dance by Joey W. Hall (short free download on her site)

Books:
By Design by Madeline Hunter
By Possession by Madeline Hunter
Tempted by Lori Foster

Audio Books:
Hawk O'Tools Hostage by Sandra Brown
Words of Silk by Sandra Brown
Cover of Night by Linda Howard
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

I swear I read more regular books but for the life of me cannot remember. I mean seriously, only 12 books? And only 8 of them I actually read! I'm slacking here. Oh well. I'll also Post my favorite covers of the month here.

E-book BEST:


Book BEST:


Audio Book BEST:


...and the worst cover overall this month...

Natural Law:

Into the Future, or maybe not so much

I'm sure all of us have our own idea of what the future will be like. Flying cars, silver space looking clothes. But the simple truth is that none of us really know anything for sure.

Will we still have books? Or will they all become electronic? I've wondered this question a lot. I mean I've read a lot of J.D. Robb's books and Eve is always in awe by Roarke's collection of paper books. At first she couldn't understand why he didn't' just use I guess what we have as e-readers. They are so much more convenient. And how about Eve's obsession with Roarke's coffee? Will that be such a rarity one day?

I am currently listening to Killing Time by Linda Howard on audio and it brought all this back to me. In the book Nakita talks about how rare paper is in her time in the future. And cotton too. Even water. What really stuck me is when Nakita thinks how her time (in the future) everything may be more convenient but how in this time (current to us) there is so much more comforts in the small things.

When I think in terms like that, eating out of weird containers, not having coffee, reading books only on computers (unless I am ungodly rich enough to own some paper books), it makes me wonder....what's the rush?

I mean me personally? I love my books. I love holding them, looking at them, shelving them. It just makes it so much more personal. I love used book stores because it seems like I'm holding a little piece of someones history. Someone else laughed at the same parts of the same book I am reading and holding, cried with me. It's just something I personally don't look forward to losing.

Maybe that is why I resist the who e-book craze so much. Even if I get an e-reader I just don't see it as being the same...a rainy day curled up on the couch with a throw blanket a cup of tea and ..... an e-reader? Uh....it kind of doesn't have the same affect as a book.

Not saying e-readers aren't convenient, as Nakita (okay is this bad, I'm quoting fictional characters, lol) said convenient? yeah... comfort? no...

I mean I know none of what I am rambling on about here is fact. In fact I am getting it all from fiction books. But still, it makes me wonder......

.....how about you? What do you think the future holds? What do you think might not be around anymore that you would really miss.

And would you be as upset as me to lose all paper books and be solely reliant on technology to have a good read? Or is that okay by you?

Cover of Night by Linda Howard

Grade: D-
Cover Grade: B
Buy It: Here
Disc's: 9

The Cover:
Well not much to say on this one. It's decent, what can I say? I'm not jumping out of my skin over it, but I don't have anything bad to say on it either. Pretty boring cover chat huh? Well then, let's just skip this one and move onto the book.

From the Publisher:
In the charming rural town of Trail Stop, Idaho, accessible to the outside world by only a single road, young widow Cate Nightingale lives peacefully with her four-year-old twin boys, running a bed-and-breakfast. Though the overnight guests are few and far between - occasional hunters and lake fishermen - Cate always manages to make ends meet with the help of the local jack-of-all-trades, Calvin Harris, who can handle everything from carpentry to plumbing. But Calvin is not what he seems, and Cate's luck is about to run out.

One morning, the B&B's only guest inexplicably vanishes, leaving behind his personal effects. A few days later Cate is shocked when armed men storm the house, demanding the mystery man's belongings. Fearing for her children's lives, Cate agrees to cooperate - until Calvin saves the day, forcing the intruders to scatter into the surrounding woods.

The nightmare, however, is just beginning. Cate, Calvin, and their entire community find themselves cut off and alone with no means to call for help as the threat gathers intensity and first blood is drawn.

With their fellow residents trapped and the entire town held hostage, Cate and Calvin have no choice but to take the fight to their enemies under the cover of night. While reticent Cal becomes a fearless protector, Cate makes the most daring move of her life…into the very heart of danger.

From Me:
Hmmm okay, where to start? Maybe the fact that there was a grown man, ex-marine, that blushed rosy red and stuttered every time Cate even looked his way? Or no, let's start with the four year old kids that were described as freaking two year olds.

Yeah, we're gonna start there. What the hell? Maybe it's the fact that I have a four year old daughter but I just wasn't buying it. I don't always like reading a lot about kids in my books but sometimes it does work, I get that. But if you do write them in, know how a kid that age acts. Like I said Abby is four, and she was so off the mark, with how they act to what they say to HOW they say things. I swear I kept pausing the book CD and saying "Abby say drill! Abby say..." and so on. Yeah either my daughter is the freaking bomb or LH was way off. Or wait, it could be both cause my daughter is the bomb, takes after her mom, lol.

I just couldn't buy that in the three or four years that Cate lived in Trail Stop she never once noticed in this little itty bitty town that Cal never once blushed or stuttered when talking to anyone but her. Come on, please. And he was just waiting for her to stop mourning? Be a man, step up and make her take notice, maybe then she'd have stopped mourning a little earlier.

And the bad guys? They were supposed to be professional? Yeah right, like I bought that one. I mean honestly I can't even give this book a true review since I skipped over so much of it. The bad guys talk was so boring and what the hell was up with the one guy in bed with that crazy girl then in the end hearing about the eye ball thing? Is that supposed to be the sequel? The crazies find love? Ewwww.

I was way more interested in Joshua and Nina. I was disappointed that there wasn't more about them. They were so much more interesting! I wish we got to read their love scene, I'm sure it was hotter than Cal and Cate. OMG was that a lame scene or what? LH is slacking!

The readers:Joyce Bean~ Reading Cate's part. She did decent except for the kids parts, those I hated. Hated the voices. But over all good.
Dick Hill~ Reading Cal and the bad guys. OMG QUIT RIGHT NOW!!!! He might have been part of the bad grade here. Cal sounded so unattractive and the bad guys? First of all I couldn't understand a lot of it, then the one guy had such a low squeaky voice I had to skip all his parts. It was just bad. Brutally bad!