Book Review 2012

Ok...so I used to do this thing on my other blog where I would keep track of all of the books I had read and then at the end of the year count them up and make a list.  WELL....I miss my list.  SOOO I have decided to TRANSPORT my list over to this blog and keep up the tradition.  Just skip this post if you have no interest in what I have been reading (which I suspect would be all of you but maybe Amy and Marcie).  ANYWAY...before now, the only book I had on the old blog for 2012 was The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly.  SOOO now we are all up to date. 

Next up, The Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser.  This book was just ok.  It was mostly about 3 girls, 2 poor and 1 rich who end up falling in love with the wrong class of people.  It was pretty predictable for the most part.  It was a cute beach read, but nothing life changing.

 Next, A Heart Revealed by Julie Lessman.  This was the 2nd in a series, but I finished before realizing that and it didn't matter much to the story overall.  This book was just ok for me too.  Basically Emma fleas from an abusive alcoholic husband in Ireland and comes to America.  Her husband threw grease in her face during an argument leaving her badly scarred.  10 years later she is successful, and happy, and then she falls in love with her BFF's brother (oops).  She is still married to her husband in Ireland and doesn't believe in divorce, so her and her new found love agree to try to just be friends.  THEN her husband returns from Ireland and things get kinda crazy.  This story is about overcoming sins of the past and moving on...Not a good choice if you are not a fan of star crossed lovers:)

 Next, A Wedding Blunder In The Black Hills by Kim O'Brien.  This book came home from the library on accident...apparently one of my kids thought it looked good.  I gave it a try anyway...again..just ok.  If you are planning to lounge in a beach chair and do some light reading...this is pretty cute. The two main characters a waitress and a dentist decide after an awkward blind date to PRETEND to date so that their mothers will stop bugging them.  You can probably guess where this is going, but it was kinda cute.

THEN, I finally found some GOOD READING!!!  I read ALL 3 books in the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins...The Hunger Games, Catching Fire,  and Mockingjay.  I devoured these books in a matter of days.  If you have the ability to read words....GO READ THESE BOOKS!!!  A-MAY-ZING!!! 

 Moving right along, Juliet by Anne Fortier.  I am not gonna lie...mostly the cover and the idea of a book kinda based on Shakespeare is what made me bring this one home.  It started off as a book I LOVED..then quickly turned into a book I finished.  BOO!!!  The gist is that the main character's Aunt (who also raised her) dies and leaves her a "treasure."  She has to travel to Europe to get it and discovers that her REAL name is Juliet and she is an descendant of THE JULIET.  Then it gets weird and she gets trapped in some sort of cosmic scheme to get her and Romeo together.  I didn't like how it all came together, but...that is just me:)

 Then I decided to pick up where I left off with GOOD OLE Stephanie Plum.  I read 16-18 in the series.  NOW I can only say this...if you are looking for mindless humor that is rated in the PG-13ish range (maybe bordering on a little naughty)...these are pretty funny.  They are a bit of a guilty pleasure I guess, but I am sure when number 19 comes out I will read it just to find out more about RANGER!!

 Next in line, The Midwife Of Venice by Roberta Rich.  I really enjoyed all of the historical parts of this novel...I learned a lot about the time period.  BUT after about the half way point the story became a bit LESS intersting.  The main character is a Jewish midwife in Venice who is asked in the middle of the night to help deliver a Christian baby---which was illegal at the time.  She goes against her rabbi and helps because the wealty family will pay her TONS of money and she needs it to help free her husband from prison.  She uses birthing spoons to help with the difficult labor (which made people think she was a witch), AND entered into a wealthy families fight over who should be HEIR.  She then is forced to steal the baby to protect it...and the story gets wild after that.  I did like this book, but the end wasnt exactly what I had expected.  I guess that is better than predictable though right???

 The Empress of the Seven Hills by Kate Quinn.  This was a NEW time period for me...Roman Empire.  That in itself made this a super interesting book for me.  I learned a ton about the Roman army and life in Rome.  The story is about an ex-gladiator who returns to Rome.  He becomes friends AND friends with a senators daughter who then lets him know that she will soon be marrying someone of her class...yikes.  He joins the legion, and their stories go seperate ways...altough both effect the outcome of THE EMPIRE!!  This one I liked, but I will warn you that if you have a low tolerance for bad language...this one is not for you.  Apparently the Roman soldiers were kinda potty mouths...who knew???

 At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill.  I could not resist this book because it was about the Court of Henry VIII....I cannot stay away from a good Anne Boleyn book.  Margaret Shelton was the heroine this time though.  She was a cousin to the queen (really) and came to court at 15.  This book had A LOT of facts, but not as much fiction...which is not a great combo for me.  I learned some things and re-learned some things, but I never LIKED Margaret as a character.  PLUS the author portrayed Anne as someone who was very religious, loving, and devoted queen and mother who was falsly accused.  I like to think of her as more of a wicked, scheming, gold digger...SOOO I didn't really relate to THIS Anne either.  PLUS, I didn't quite buy into the premis that Anne was soooo in love with Henry that she asked her 16 year old virgin cousin to become his mistress so that she could talk him into keeping Anne alive.  GROSS!!! 

 The Messenger by Siri Mitchell.  I have read ONE other book by this author and loved it...so I tried again.  This book took place during the Revolutionary War...I period I was happy to learn more about.  The main character is a Quaker girl who goes against her beliefs of non-violence and tries to serve the rebel cause.  She joins with a wounded soldier to help spy for George Washington.  Because she is a Quaker, she is able to smuggle messages and food to rebel soldirs in prison and tries to aid them in their plans of an escape.  The idea of a Quaker spy really interested me and I found out that their REALLY was a women Quaker who was known to spy for the rebels...LOVE THAT!!! 

And last, Hidden Places by Lynn Austin.  This book was recommended by my mom, so I thought I would try it.  The main character is a widow who is trying to save her orchard from the bank during the Great Depression.  She helps out a hobo who is seriously wounded while trying to jump a train and lets him live in her house until he is healed.  He then helps her to get her orchard back on track, but she soon finds out that he MIGHT be her long lost brother in law---meaning HE would be able to take her farm away.  I liked this book a lot.  Each of the characters had a back story that added another piece to the puzzle.  They each told their back story until the whole story started to fit together...then you begin to get the REAL story.  I thought this was very well written...FINALLY a well written book right?? 

SOOO now I am all caught up...

16 books in 6 months...I better speed things up if I want to reach my goal of 40 books this year!!!!