Royal Flush

"Royal Flush"

-Rhys Bowen, 2009

ISBN: 042522788X

From: Library

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

From Booklist:Even though Lady Georgiana is only thirty-second in line to the British throne, one would expect her to possess something other than her good name. Alas, this is not the case, and when a scheme to drum up money by being a suitable dinner companion for male travelers goes terribly wrong, she hightails it up to the family home in the Highlands. There, she finds the castle full of guests (including Wallis Simpson), who make up part of a shooting party at nearby Balmoral. But the grouse aren’t the only ones in danger as guests keep turning up injured (including one hapless woman who’s knocked about by the castle’s old plumbing while she is on the “throne”). Is there a plot afoot to do in members of the royal family? As in previous entries in the series, Georgiana makes a superb sleuth, but much of the fun comes in the contrast between impoverished Georgie and the royal life of which—financial circumstances notwithstanding—she is still a part. Also intriguing is the aptly named Darcy O’Mara, the lady’s love interest. Just what are his intentions?

Thoughts: I love this series - set in 1930's England, involving the Royal family, real people, some real events, and the ever-charming and scrappy Lady Georgiana. In this book, Georgie has two missions: the ongoing task from Her Majesty to prevent Mrs. Simpson from seducing the Prince of Wales, and her new assignment from Scotland Yard to keep watch on members of the royal succession line as there have been several attempts made on their lives. Can Georgie find out who is behind these attempts, keep Wallis Simpson at arms' length from the Prince, deal with her miserable sister-in-law Fig, and manage to catch the charming Darcy long enough to confirm their relationship - perhaps even taking it "all the way"? Such a charming joy to read, I can't wait for book #4, whenever it happens to appear on shelves!

Heat Wave

"Heat Wave"

-Richard Castle, 2009

ISBN: 9781401323820

From: Mom

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

From Amazon: A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk. A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls with no shortage of reasons to kill trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPD detective shines a light.

Mystery sensation Richard Castle, blockbuster author of the wildly best-selling Derrick Storm novels, introduces his newest character, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City's top homicide squads. She's hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York's Finest. PulitzerPrize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren't her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them. The one called heat.

Thoughts: Bravo to the people at ABC for creating a real book to go along with the book being written on their hit show "Castle". Seriously, this probably rarely happens, and as a consumer, I think it's fantastic. I really enjoy the show "Castle" primarily because I'm in love with Nathan Fillion, but really, it's a good TV program. Cute premise, funny zingers, mysteries to solve, pretty people to look at - what's not to like? At any rate, when I heard this book was actually on shelves I had to go and buy it for my mother for Christmas. She read it in about a day, and then pressed it into my hands saying "This book is so friggin good, you'll love it!" Of course, this being my mom, she didn't actually say friggin, but I digress.

To sum up, if you like the show, you'll like this book. Fast-paced, clever, funny, full of liars, cheats, and no-nonsense cops - and Castle himself too (Rook, actually). It was a quick read, and it kept me turning the pages to find out whodunit and how. Since Richard Castle isn't a real person, I'm wondering if Stephen J. Cannell, who appears as himself on the show and is featured a great deal on the Season 1 DVD extras, is the real writer, but it doesn't really matter. This is a fun book, and great for a few hours of escapism.

Clearly I can't tell time...

A week ago, I was over at a friends' house (Hi, J!) and she asked me if I was still going to write on my blog. I immediately said that yes, I would be, and then realized that I hadn't written anything here since January. Poop. I thought it was maybe a couple of weeks, but obviously I have time-telling issues. My apologies, to all three of you that read this blog. I'll try to be better in future.

In my absence I have worked a lot of hours (more paid than not paid, thankyouverymuch), had several splendid naps, worked, talked to my cats in what could probably safely be classified as an "unhealthy" amount, worked, seen a few friends, worked, and read quite a few books. Despite the fact that I have reviewed only a handful of what I've read this year, and despite the fact that my house is a Disaster, I'll be writing a few updates today and will auto-post them for the next few days.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Evan Help Us

"Evan Help Us"

-Rhys Bowen, 2000

ISBN: 0749003692

From: Library

Rating: 3 1/2 of 5 stars

From Amazon: An archaeological find in the town of Llanfair sparks an age-old rivalry with the neighbouring town of Beddgelert. When Llanfair's prodigal son, Ted Morgan, announces his plans for an amusement park, the rivalry turns deadly, drawing Constable Evans into a whirl of pride, deception and greed.

Thoughts: I liked this book, #2 in the Constable Evans series. Cute, quaint, with a few dead bodies thrown in for good measure. Reading these books is a pleasure, and I look forward to book #3 at some point in the near future. Picking out the murderer wasn't too hard, but it's a nice and easy ride to the end of the book, again with some nice secondary character development. I tried not to read this too fast, making deals with myself that I had to reach a certain page number in the other book that I'm reading and stuck in, but that didn't work. Hopefully I'll get somewhere in the other book tonight, instead of reading the next library book that's due, but I'm not holding my breath.

A good book set in lovely Wales with eccentric townfolk and murder. A nice series if you're looking for something enjoyable to spend a few hours reading.

Viola in Reel Life

"Viola in Reel Life"

-Adriana Trigiani, 2009

ISBN: 9780061451027

From: Library

Rating: 3 1/2 of 5 stars

From front flap: Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.

Ick.

There's no way Viola's going to survive the year - especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.

Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.

But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.

Thoughts: This was the first physical book of Adriana Trigianis' that I've read (I've listened to a fantastic reading by Stephen Hoye of "Rococo" before), and I liked it. Didn't love it, but liked it.

I liked Viola - she was real, complex, selfish, and very teen-y. Then again, she is 14 years old. While she eventually stops whining about being in Indiana and learns to love it, she has huge "understanding" swings, going from a narrow viewpoint and being totally selfish to a total adult understanding of a situation in a page or two. Um, what? There didn't seem to be a lot of description about her comprehension of things, or even an "easing into" or "slowly dawning awareness" of things. Nope, just go straight from "Why isn't it about me" to "I totally understand my parents are adults who have faults". Um...okay then. Her very first boyfriend, Jared, was great, supportive, seemed realistic for almost the entire book, and then at the end he suddenly became some completely jerky douche. Again, what? It seemed like a weird "development" of his character. On the other hand, her roommates, and their respective families seemed more fleshed out and real, as did Viola's parents and Grandmother.

I did like that Viola was an only child, like me. There don't seem to be many only children in books, so that was kind of nice. There were a couple of times (especially one in particular) that were so accurate about what it's like to be an only child, that I wonder if Adriana is an only, or if someone she is close to is.

To be honest, I first picked up this book because of the cover. It's nothing special or fancy, but her shoes caught my eye. Well, that and the fact that the word "Viola" is pretty big and I played the viola for 13 or so years - you hardly ever see or hear much about the instrument, so I thought that maybe it was about the orchestra or something...it's not. All in all, I liked this book. Didn't love it, but I liked it. I'll certainly read Ms. Trigiani's work again ( I have "Big Stone Gap" sitting on my shelf to read), but I'm not going to rush into it.

Mailbox Monday

This is my first ever Mailbox Monday! It's also a slightly sad one because I only received 2 books, but still... it's 2 books!

I received "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" by Laurie King through Paperback Swap (received a book in the middle of this series as a gift and since I'm kind of obsessive about reading things in order I had to get this), and I got "Jane Bites Back" by Michael Thomas Ford from the publisher. I won JBB through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, and I'm so glad I did!

Also, I've just realized that I haven't read one single word in a book in a week! That's horrible!!! I can hardly believe it myself. I did spend almost 6 days on the couch with that terrible cold, and then my first day up and functioning was spent at Job #1 and then at a party... and then I spent most of the next day on the couch again. Not good.

However, today I had a really good day. My parents came over to help me get a little more organized. (It might sound strange, but I had bags and boxes of paperwork that I needed to get through and I do a much better job if someone is watching me and helping me sort through it all.) I got my bills in order - whew! And, I found my new planner! Hallelujah! I was getting ready to buy a new one, too. All in all it was a good day.

I'm looking forward to reading (a lot) tomorrow and to more cleaning and sorting. Here's hoping I can finish this book and move on to the next one in the stack by the end of the week!

p.s. Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.

Review: Evans Above

"Evans Above"

-Rhys Bowen, 1998

ISBN: 0425166422

From: My shelves

Rating: 3 1/2 of 5 stars

From Amazon: Constable Evan Evans expected idyllic Llanfair to be a calm oasis far away from the violent crime of the big city. That was, until a string of murders erupts in the town, putting every "charming eccentric" under suspicion...

Thoughts: I stumbled upon the first book in her "Royal" series at the library last year, really liked it, and wanted to give this series a shot. Set in Wales, it's full of mystery and gentle humor. Evan Evans is a good, congenial character, and a reliable narrator. The other characters in the village are mostly that - characters - with an amusing sub-plot dealing with a missing apple pie and a neighbor jealous of anothers' prize-winning veggie patch.

As with most mysteries, some things are predictable and some are not. Admittedly, I might have missed some hints about the big twist at the end (having read most of this in the wee hours of the morning while dealing with this heck of a cold) but it was kind of shocking. I also didn't remember the names of some of the minor character, but I'm thinking that's the cold talking as well.

All in all, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next book in the series. Unlike some other series of books I've read before, I don't feel the need to run out and buy them so I can read them all right away. But if I'm ever in the mood for a book that doesn't require huge amounts of concentration or for something that's gentle, interesting, and a fairly quick read, I'll happily come back to Evan Evans and the town of Llanfair, Wales.