Count to Ten - Karen Rose

From Barnes and Noble:

In all his years in the Chicago Fire Department, Lieutenant Reed Solliday ahs never experienced anything like this recent outbreak of house fires - devastating, vicious and in one case, homicidal. He has another problem - his new partner, Detective Mia Mitchell. She's brash, bossy, and taking the case in a direction he never imagined.
Mia's instincts tell her the arsonist is making this personal. And as the infernos become more deadly, one look at the victims' tortured faces convinces her and Reed that they must work closer to catch the killer. With each new blaze, the villain ups the ante, setting firetraps for the people Reed and Mia love. The truth is almost too hot to handle: This monster's desire for death and destruction is unquenchable ... and for Mia he's started the countdown to an early grave.


So, this is the first book quite like this I have read. It was long, but I love a long book as long as the characters and plot are developing. I took a liking to this book. I liked all the good guys. I loved Beth, she had such a strong character and the mystery around her sneaking out was great.
I liked watching the plot unfold and although I knew early on who it was, the why unfolded nicely.
I liked Mia, I liked Reed and I liked them together. I like the way they developed and I loved the way Rose let you see the struggle with the two.
Overall I did like this book. It wasn't my favorite all time book, but I will (and in fact am) read Karen Rose again.
I briefly looked through her book shelf and like that she has series and several books that are not quite series, but do intertwine.

Dead Even - Mariah Stewart

From Barnes and Noble:

Three devious prisoners vow murderous revenge.
Now the third is free.
FBI Special Agent Miranda Cahill has always played by the rules: always maintain a respectful professionalism, and never mix business with pleasure. Except when it comes to fellow agent Will Fletcher. Their on-again, off-again relationship has left painful scars even he has never seen.
Now, a series of murders has the two agents racing to outwit a killer before he can strike again. Miranda and Will know that lives depend on identifying intended victims and tracking them down before the killer does. But as they begin to unravel this homicidal agenda, it becomes clear that Miranda may be the last and final target in a twisted game. With the clock ticking, time is running out on a killer who is determined to cross Miranda’s name off his hit list . . . permanently.

This is my third Stewart book in a row (I'm trying to get rid of some books so I have less to pack). I think this was my favorite so far. In this one we saw a tiny bit of development of the relationship of Miranda and Will. The story line was great. There were tons of twists and turns, but not so much that it became confusing. It was just enough of each element. I liked both Miranda and Will. Miranda reacted to each death to passionately, I like to see that. At times it was hard to "get" Will, but in the end he came through. I read ths book out of sequence, so all these characters are also in other books of this series. I hope to be able to read them. I am glad that this book picked up for me. I was almost to the point of giving up on Stewart, but I think based on this one that I'll give her another try.



Last Look - Mariah Stewart

From Barnes and Noble:

THE TRUTH WON’T STAY BURIED.
News that the body of a recently murdered prostitute–stabbed repeatedly and dumped on Georgia’s Shelter Island–has been identified as Shannon Randall stuns the FBI, particularly special agent Dorsey Collins. Twenty-four years ago, nineteen-year-old Eric Louis Beale was convicted and later executed for Shannon’s murder–and the agent in charge of the case was Dorsey’s father. Now Dorsey is determined to find out where her father’s investigation went wrong, what part he played in the death of an innocent man, and where Shannon has been all this time.
The heat is on FBI special agent Andrew Shields to discover what happened to Shannon on that night decades ago–to find out who killed her and why. Dorsey shadows Andrew’s every investigative move, hoping to redeem her father’s reputation and capture a cunning killer. Together, Dorsey and Andrew unravel a shocking mystery that will shatter one family and rock an entire town.

The story line of this book kept me moving. I could not quite wrap it all up until she told me the end. I felt with and for these characters. I liked Dorsey, I liked that she was there to investigate something her father screwed up and she went there with an open mind. She knew that she could very well find something out about her father that was bad, but she went for the truth. I liked how all the characters interacted and mingled with each other. I did hope that there would be more development of the relationship between Dorsey and Andrew though. I liked that the story spanned a long period of time. I liked that even though it had been 24 years, we found out what really happened. I did hate what happened to Eric Louis Beale, but I'm glad that it all came to light. I admired Dorsey's toughness. She rolled with the punches and kept going.

Last Words - Mariah Stewart

From Library Journal:

A serial killer with a penchant for swaddling his victims in plastic wrap is at work in peaceful St. Dennis. Police Chief Gabriel Beck agrees to call in the FBI for help, but attractive special agent Mia Shields isn't quite what he expected. Then the killings increase, and the two realize they must now use Mia as bait. The romance between Beck and Mia develops nicely, right along with the investigation, and while it doesn't get in the way of the mystery, it is important to the story. Second in Stewart's trilogy about the Shields family, this graphic woman-in-jeopardy tale is typical of her suspense novels and sure to keep her fans entertained. The final chapter in the series, Last Breath, will be out in August 2007. Stewart (Last Look) lives in the Philadelphia area.

So this Shields family is in quite a few Stewart book, but I found Mia less likeable than most of the other Shields folks. The book had a good storyline. The idea was good, it just never really came to that point of "good" for me. It was ok. I liked Beck, I liked most of the side characters. I found Mia to be a bit whiney. I think that Stewart had a good idea but I think maybe the battle with alcohol and depression was just a little ambitious for this book. There was a bit too much going on for her to be able to give that the attention that it needed. I read Mariah Stewart a long time ago, and I remembered liking her. I think (hope) that she has maybe evolved since this book, because I kept reaching out for something that wasn't quite there. I wanted to see Mia and Beck's relationship emerge, and it just didn't. In fact there were several times that I wondered if he even liked her. It was just o.k. for me.



New Format

So I want to work harder on this part of my blogging world. I try very hard to write something everyday in my personal blog, so I would like to get more serious about this blog too.
I've looked around and found a format that I'll be using. It's for school children, but I think that I really like how it's set up.
*Random Tid Bit ~ Whenever I'm researching something, I go straight to the Juvenile Non Fiction section. In a children's book you get basically the same information, only they get right to the point. If I need to expand on that, then I head to the Adult Non Fiction.
So in this case, I feel the same way (although I'll tweek it a little). I hope that works out!

Challenge!

So I've been looking around to find a few more challenges to get me out of my little box of things I read.

I've found a few that I'll be trying.

First is the Lost! Reading Challenge

I'm signing up under the WALT! Level. Kind of Scary...I know!

NEXT:
Because I neglected to do this with Tonya when I was gonna!!!

Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge

I have signed up at the Lorelei level. That means 10 different books from three different categories.

Whew, I'm exhausted already!



The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

From Barnes and Noble:

Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.

Well folks, I can check this one off. Boy did it take me forever. There were parts of this book that I found cute, and I liked the little hobbit, but this was no life changer for me. I've heard so much about this book that are just glowing reviews and hints at it being just life changing and wonderful. I didn't see it. I was determined to finish. I was annoyed to have to keep reading. I did not enjoy the rambling through the forest, the talk about all these creatures nor the fighting. I enjoyed the little ramblings going on in Bilbo's head. He vaguely reminds me of Winnie the Pooh. The best thing about this book, to me, is that I can now write it down as one of those things that I've done. UGG, glad to be done...unfortunately that means I have to read Lord of the Rings now...

**Favorite Quote from The Hobbit:
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold (as the hobbits do), it would be a merrier world."
Followed closely by:
"Please don't cook me, kind sirs!"

Here To Stay - Catherine Anderson

From Barnes and Noble:

Mandy Pajeck had a tough childhood. Now 28, she feels responsible for the accident that took her younger brother's sight. But his complete reliance on her care is making them both miserable. When she meets handsome Zach Harrigan and his mini guide horse, she thinks she's found the ticket to her brother's happiness-and maybe her own.

So I enjoyed this. It was an interesting read and it's been a while since I've read Catherine Anderson. It was different from what I remember reading by her before, but it could just be because it's been a while. This was nifty for me because I know the world's first guide pony and his owner. **Side note, he's a very cool man with his roots firmly in Christianity**
Anywho it was very interesting to sort of get a gist of how these ponies get trained. I liked Zack and Mandy and I came to like Luke. I like the Harrigan/Coulter family and have enjoyed thir books in the past. This was a quick read and I enjoyed it!

Harvest Moon - Robyn Carr

 

From Barnes and Noble:

Rising sous-chef Kelly Matlock's sudden collapse at work is a wake-up call. Disillusioned and burned out, she's retreated to her sister Jillian's house in Virgin River to rest and reevaluate.
Puttering in Jill's garden and cooking with her heirloom vegetables is wonderful, but Virgin River is a far cry from San Francisco. Kelly's starting to feel a little too unmotivated…until she meets Lief Holbrook. The handsome widower looks more like a lumberjack than a sophisticated screenwriter—a combination Kelly finds irresistible. But less appealing is Lief's rebellious stepdaughter, Courtney. She's the reason they moved from L.A., but Courtney's finding plenty of trouble even in Virgin River.
Kelly's never fallen for a guy with such serious baggage, but some things are worth fighting for. Besides, a bratty teenager can't be any worse than a histrionic chef…right?

As you know, I do like the Virgin River Series by Robyn Carr. This book I was glad to see most of the character's we already know plus some new ones. This book she went with a more serious slant. She did a fantastic job of tackling Kelly's stress, Courtney's abuse and issues that she's facing with losing her mother plus regular ol' teenage angst. She tackled Lief's ex wife and step mother issues. Right now I am trying to stick with easy peasy happy go lucky stuff and this was a little deeper than what I've been looking for, but it was good none the less. I like the way the story weaves and comes back around. It is a nice addition to Virgin River!

Completely Smitten by Susan Mallery

From Barnes and Noble:

Haley Foster had lived her entire life in a box. Guided by her preacher father and the residents of her tiny hometown as to what to do, what to wear and even who to marry, she'd lost herself along the way. But no more. Now she was going to live on her own terms and do all the things good preachers' daughters didn't do. Starting with Kevin Harmon.

The injured U.S. Marshal needed a ride from Kansas to his home in Texas. Haley had a car. She figured she owed him a favor. And he knew a lot more about being bad than she did. A few days, just the two of them, in her tiny convertible and intimate hotel rooms…It would be fun, it would be passionate, it would be an experience.
At least, that was her plan. He just didn't know it yet.

I just love Susan Mallery. I haven't met a book I didn't like, in my eyes she can do no wrong. She tells completely sweet stories about people that I like and they have one big bump and then smooth along. I love reading books that are fun and can make me laugh. I love when I like the people in them. I love when they grow and learn become better people by the end. I love when the hero takes up for and saves the heroine. Really, I do just love her. I also have this thing with guys in uniform (obviously). So I generally like stuff with police, fire, military, something uniformish in one of the characters.
I just loved Haley. She was great. She was naive, yet somehow not completely dumb. She views thing in a refreshing way. She shouldn't have made a strong female character role that I would like, but somehow she did.
I liked Kevin. He didn't come in and take over. He saw what she needed and let her do what she needed to. He took over when he deemed it necessary, but mostly he let her work her own stuff out. That's pretty important.
Loved it, not my favorite, but I still enjoyed it a whole bunch!