Novels Now

You are browsing the archives of 2008 November.

303 pages
Laura Miller
The Magician’s Book is about the author’s experiences with The Chronicles of Narnia. First, as a young student who is offered a copy by her teacher, then as a teenager when she re-reads them and discovers the “hidden” messages that are in the story, and lastly, later on as an adult.
The first [...]

Hans van den Broek and his wife Rachel are living and dealing with post-9/11 New York City. Hans is a banker and originally from the Netherlands, while Rachel is a British attorney. Rachel believes New York has become too unsafe and leaves for London, taking the couple’s son with them.
With his new-found spare [...]

Tomato Girl is a heartbreaking novel of love, desire, and madness.

Ellie is a little in love with her father Rupert and just adores him. She loves spending time with him — especially when she can help him in the store he manages. Not only does Ellie’s father takes care of her when her mother is unable to, he also manages and cares for Ellie’s mother when she is in one of her ‘moods.’

Although Rupert loves his daughter dearly, he is also falling in love with the girl who brings in the tomatoes at his store. This has severe repercussions for everyone involved, not only leaving poor Ellie caught in the middle but also worsening her mother’s mental condition.

When Twilight Burns by Colleen Gleason
The Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Book 4
Pages: 354
Finished: Nov. 28, 2008
First Published: Aug. 2008
Genre: paranormal romance, historical romance
Rating: 3/5
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
First sentence:
Victoria opened her eyes.
Comments: There isn’t a lot I can say about the plot of this book. If you haven’t read the series so far any [...]

Regina’s Closet: finding my grandmother’s secret journal by Diana M. Raab
Pages: 166
First Published: Sept. 30, 2008
Genre: memoir
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
I was ten years old the morning I found my grandmother dead.
Comments: This is the author’s fascinating memoir of her beloved grandmother who killed herself in 1964. Her own mother comes to visit her and each time [...]

The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson
Pages: 420
First Published: Nov, 2008 (Sept. in US)
Genre: crime thriller
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
“Dispatch this is Agent Vail.”
Comments: FBI Profiler Karen Vail is on the case of a serial killer who follows a ritualistic routine in his violent and gruesome murders of young brunettes. Karen also has some personality clashes with members [...]

The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen
Book 7 Jane Rizzoli series
Pages: 509 (large-print edition)
First Published: Sept, 2008
Genre: crime thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
He is coming for me.
Comments: Dr. Maura Isles is invited to a CAT scan of an Egyptian mummy recently found in the basement storage of a museum. During the scan a bullet appears in the “ancient” mummy’s [...]

Takeover by Lisa Black
Pages: 340
First Published: Sept. 2008
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
The sun had barely come up, and already it was too hot.
Comments: Theresa MacLean, forensic scientist, and her fiance, police detective Paul Cleary, are working the same case of a man found dead in the bushes in front of his home, while his wife and [...]

Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay
Pages: 404
First Published: Sept. 2008
Genre: thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
Derek figured, when the time came, the crawlspace would be the best place to hide.
Comments: The Cutters live in a small community in upstate New York; they live far back from the road and share the first part of the driveway with [...]

This is a tale of the Boer War and the Canadians who fought in it. The story focuses on the First Canadian Mounted Rifles and also briefly concerns the Royal Dragoons and the Lord Strathcona Horse

Loucinda McGary
319 pages
Donovan O’Shea has lived in America since he was seventeen years old. It seems that whenever he gets near the fens(which, from my reading, I gather is a marshy-type area) his gift of “the sight” is triggered. Donovan is afraid of his gift and tries to stay as far from the fens as [...]

Toon Books are a new set of graphic novels aimed at the emerging reader. They are written and illustrated by professional artists/authors and are wildly intriguing for the young reader. My son who is reading at a Gr. 2 level enjoyed these immensely. The three I am reviewing are the second and latest set (Aug. [...]

David Baldacci
329 pages

As Divine Justice begins we find Oliver Stone planning a covert getaway after assassinating two high-ranking government officials. While he is in the process of making his escape he encounters Danny Riker. Because of Danny, Oliver ends up altering his plans and finds himself in the middle of Divine, Virginia where suspicious things [...]

This is the story of Ren. He is a 12-year-old boy living in the St. Anthony’s Orphanage somewhere in the woods of New England in the 19th Century. Ren is at that age where it’s unlikely he will be adopted by a family, even the ones that are looking for a little bit of cheap [...]

The caw! caw! cawing! of one stupid crow kept me up all night. (Well, more accurately all day — ’cause , you know, I’m a vampyre fledgling and we have that whole issue of day and night being turned around.) Anyway, I got zero sleep last night/day. But my crappy nonsleep is currently the easiest [...]

WARNING: There may be spoilers of previous books, especially Betrayed in this review. If you haven’t read it yet, you might want to skip to the last 2 paragraphs!!

“Yep, I have a seriously sucky birthday,” I told my cat, Nala. And Zoey Redbird couldn’t be more accurate with that statement!! First of all her birthday [...]

There are some girls that have everything. And not just the ones who are born with silver spoons in their mouths. Some girls are born with an intangible, magnetic aura: something that radiates beneath their flawless skin. You know who they are: the Cleopatras, the Marilyn Monroes. They are the present day sirens — girls [...]

Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman
I didn’t even know who Chuck Klosterman was when I picked up this book, but after listening to just a few minutes of Downtown Owl, I had to check to see who he was and if he went to high school with me. He didn’t — as he’s from North [...]

As I said earlier, this RIP season seems to be the season of the Vampire. Ever book I’ve read so far for this challenge seems to involve vampires!! That includes the latest installment of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, When Twilight Burns by Colleen Gleason (368 pgs, Signet, 2008). While not my favorite book in the [...]

Note: There are spoilers in this review for Rises the Night.
The lair of the Queen of the Vampires was tucked away in the snowy mountain range of Muntii Fagaras. The only reason Maximilian Pesaro had been able to find the hideaway was because of the two bite marks on his neck. Permanent ones left [...]