The Red Queen - Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen
By Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen is Philippa Gregory’s second book in her trilogy about the Cousin’s War. This book follows Margaret Beaufort through her life and determination to place her son on the throne, where she believes it is God’s will that he rule. Through her loveless marriages and all the hardships she must face a woman she remains devout to God and continues to believe she is destined to follow in the footsteps of Joan of Arc.

While I can’t exactly gush over this book, I did really enjoy it. I can say that although I knew how it would end, I was excited to get to the end of the book. Gregory did a fantastic job of building up the suspense, especially towards the end of the book, so even if you know the outcome, you still have doubts that it is certain to turn out that way. It’s like when you watch Romeo and Juliet and Juliet starts to stir and for a moment you think that Romeo is going to notice her starting to wake up and they are going to live happily ever after so you forget that Shakespeare doesn’t give them the happy ending you are hoping for and you are yelling at the screen “Look Romeo, she is waking up. Just look at her right now and you will see she didn’t die.” When the final battle begins at the end of The Red Queen, even if you know who is going to be the victor, you still hesitate for a moment, knowing where all the key players stand but still unsure of their intentions, you forget what you know about history and become lost in the uncertainty of the battle.

Although it did take me awhile to become fully interested in the story (the first part of the book was a bit slow) I cannot wait for the third and final book. I am excited to see where Gregory takes the story.

**Source: I bought this book with my own sweet loot.

Keeper - Kathi Appelt

 
Keeper
By Kathi Appelt

How do I express how much I adored this book and what was it that I loved so much? Was it the fittingly named four-legged friend BD (Best Dog)? Possible, but that was made even better by the other dog Too (Best Dog Too). Maybe it was the Seagull, Captain, who considered BD his best friend.

All of those things were wonderful but I think what really set this book apart were the mermaids. I mean who doesn’t love mermaids? Keeper sure does, especially since she has mermaid blood running through her veins. You see Keeper’s mother is a mermaid and on this special night, after a day that was supposed to be extremely special and turned out to disastrous, Keeper is going to find her mermaid mother because she really needs advice.

This sweet, delightful book captured me right away. Parts of it reminded me of a magical Island of the Blue Dolphins. The characters were so charming (especially the non-human ones), I wanted to be right there with them…even if some stupid crabs did ruin what was supposed to be a very special day.

I am going to pick up another copy of Keeper to send to my niece and I can’t wait to hear her thoughts on it.

**Source: ARC for review from publisher.

Not the post I was expecting to write

I was planning on telling you about the sweetest most cutest book I read recently but I had a really bad day today and am so grumpy that I would probably ruin the post so instead I am just going to tell quickly about the first time I have REALLY missed my cable.

On my drive home today my mom told me that breaking news cut into the Friends rerun she was watching because there was a fire in San Bruno.  At the time they thought it might be a plane crash (it is only a could miles from San Francisco Airport) but as I was talking to her they discovered it was actually a gas leak.  Many of you have probably already heard about it because it is all over the news by now but it killed me that I couldn't just turn on the TV and see what was going on.  Luckily the internet was already on it.  It is quite incredible:

Photos from The New York Times. 

My thoughts are going out to San Bruno, including some of my family members.

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay
by Suzanne Collins

So pretty much all I can think to say right now is "Umm holy crap!"  I am still processing the how everything went down but that was NOT the book I was expecting!  I was most surprised by the general tone of the book because although the first 2 were obviously not all chipper (what with all the killing) Mockingjay had such a dreary blah sort tone that had me feeling hopeless...for the book.

Now don't get me wrong, I closed the book feeling like overall I enjoyed it but it just wasn't up to the Hunger Games standards that I was hoping for.  I read it all today, planning my rereads of the first 2 around my day-off and I don't want to say that I wasted my day but I definitely could have put it down and gone to work and to sleep which was NOT the case with Hunger Games and Catching Fire.

I didn't have many expectations of the book except that it would be amazing but I found that when I read through I did end up disappointed with certain twists and turns in the story.  I will say that the page before chapter 25 (if you read it you know what I am talking about) had be crying until the book ended but surprisingly the last pages of the book didn't make me teary and it just felt...again blah.  I didn't feel like it fit with the rest of the story.  Like I said, I did enjoy it but I was glad to jump onto some of my favorite blogs and see that I wasn't the only one left with feelings of disappointment.  If you haven't read it don't let this stop you but just prepare yourself and don't go into the final book of the Hunger Games with unrealistic expectations.  I still have hope that maybe some time will allow me to enjoy it if I dive to read it again.


**Source: I bought this book with my own sweet loot.

Quickly Quickly, I Have to Read

Okay folks, I have been waiting and waiting for the release of Mockingjay and when it arrived where was I? At a concert in San Francisco not even thinking about books. The worst part is I had all these grand plans to read the first 2 again and I haven't even started yet because I am so wrapped up in the other books I am reading! But I will read them and then quickly start and finish Mockingjay.

I think I am feeling sad because when Catching Fire was released the timing worked out perfectly and I had 2 days off where I only stopped reading to sleep and now I have work and all kinds of other things that are going to pull me away from my book! Argh the life of a grown-up, when did I sign-up for this? So to all of you who are currently enjoying the story (or who are WAY ahead of me and have already finished it) I envy you and I hope you are enjoying it. I am scared to read any blogs out of fear of a spoiler so I guess I better get reading...

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page.

Thank you Chick Loves Lit for hosting this month's Mailbox Monday blog tour.

Check out her blog and post all the new books you acquired last week.

I have come to the end of a long period where I didn't request any books and my mailbox finally has some excitement in it again.

Radiance by Alyson Noel (ARC from publisher)

From Amazon:

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she’s summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley’s first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley ...

The Swimming Pool - Holly LeCraw

The Swimming Pool
Holly LeCraw

When The Swimming Poll arrived on my door-step, I set it aside specifically for summer, poolside reading.  I waited and waited until the weather was right and I had the time to just sit and relax in the sun.   This plan backfired as I was soon struck by the reality that my pool/beach time was very limited, that is how this book became my lunch read at work.  I found myself sitting outside on the gorgeous sunny days, when I wanted to be anywhere but in the office and it was the perfect escape for an hour a day.

The Swimming Pool is the dramatic story of a good old fashion summer fling but interwoven through out is a deeper story about relationships and what we would do for the many different kinds of love we have in our lives.  It is a story in which all the characters are connected in some surprising ways.  Jed is the focus of much of the story.  He is at the Cape for the summer to stay with his sister and soon finds a love interest in a woman connected to his parents...his dad in particular (do you see where I am going with this?), who died 7 years earlier.  LeCraw shifts perspective throughout the story allowing us to see deeper into the lives of Jed's parents as well as the other people involved in his life.  I don't often enjoy stories which jump time or perspectives (because I feel disconnected from the characters) and The Swimming Pool does both, but LeCraw flows beautifully between the various voices and I loved it. 

Parts of the storyline may have been a bit obvious but I honestly can't say for sure because I was so caught up in what was going on in each current moment that I forgot to think about what may happen, I just wanted to know what did happen next.

I would recommend this as a book to bring to the beach or to read when you just really need to get away and feel like you are at the beach.


**Source: ARC for review from publisher.