Spoiler Free Book Reviews

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly is another wonderful installment in the Harry Bosch series. This one takes the view point from a previous character from The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, the kick ass lawyer. But this time, we get to view our favorite detective from a different view point.

I’ll just interrupt myself here for a second and say if you have not read any books by Michael Connelly, I could not find a better author to recommend to just about anyone. Connelly has quite a library of amazing stories to choose from, but I highly suggest that you start from the beginning of the story. Pick up The Black Echo and after that you’ll see why I rave so much about anything with Michael Connelly’s name on it.

So, The Brass Verdict was a fast moving crime novel with just enough “law and order” to keep the reader’s attention way past bedtime. If you were to throw David Baldacci and John Grisham into a blender and sprinkle in a little Hollywood glitter, you’d come out with the sweet tasting stories of Mr. Connelly. The perfect blend of crime solving and courtroom drama.

I highly recommend The Brass Verdict. It was an awesome book. You can find it at all book stores starting on October 14, 2008. Pre-order it today!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Crown of Shadows by CS Friedman is the final book in the Coldfire trilogy. The preceding books were very detailed and often very enjoyable, while other times I found them to be a potent sleeping pill. Nonetheless, I have been looking forward to reading the final book in the series, but I was very disappointed.

The main characters from the other novels shared the bulk of the novel with other brand new characters that I was somehow supposed to connect to, but I found the depth of the characters rather shallow in comparison to the amount of character development that had already been dedicated to the main characters in the previous novels. The plot was confusing, the conflict between antagonist and protagonist lacked vitality, and I did not find the new characters to be worth the amount of detail that was devoted to them.

Although I did feel a strong resolution to the entire Coldfire epic, I don’t feel like it was a strong closing at all. It was disconnected and drawn out. Though I did enjoy the first and second book in the series, I can’t say that I recommend the third book in the series. It failed to deliver the enjoyment nor did it engage the reader. I do think that the series as a whole is still worth reading, but Crown of Shadows is not the conclusion that I had expected.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Sweethearts tells the story of two childhood friends separated by a traumatic event, only later to be reunited during their senior year of high school. Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were two lonely outcasts looking for comfort, and found so much more in their friendship with each other. After narrowly escaping a harrowing event involving Cameron’s abusive father, Jennifer and Cameron’s friendship bonds even tighter. Yet when Cameron mysteriously disappears, all Jennifer’s classmates tell her a vicious story of his violent death, cementing forever her loss of that sacred bond they shared.

Sweethearts picks up after Jennifer Harris has been transformed into Jenna Vaugn: skinny, popular, and hilarious high school senior. All her childhood demons banished, save one: the memory of her and Cameron’s close call on her ninth birthday. I like that Zarr builds mystery and foreboding into the memory, each chapter displays a different snippet from that awful day. You never get the full story until the end of the book. What exactly happened? And what happened to Cameron? After years of thinking him dead, he shows up during Jenna’s senior year to throw her life around, trying to confront their demons and move on.

I really liked the characterizations of Jenna and Cameron, but overall I feel they were a little underdeveloped. I never really got a feel for why Cameron did what he did, why he made some confusing decisions. And all the other characters were substantially lacking. All her classmates were shallow and self absorbed. I didn’t find any depth to any of the supporting cast save her stepfather Alan. The storytelling was engaging, however, and I think that made up for the lack of interesting characters. I liked the way she wove the story between memories of the past and the current state of things. But other than that I was underwhelmed. I didn’t feel like the ending was resolved. Now, I don’t expect a happy ending to every book, but I do expect closure. I hate open ended things. I like to be told what has happened, because I feel irritated when I’m left wondering what the future is. I know that’s good for some people because they can fill in their own endings, but I like it when the author tells me what happens. It just feels stronger to me, gives me more closure. It was a good lunchtime book “snack”, I finished it in less than two hours. Definitely something to pick up and read, but don’t expect too much from it.

Pros: Interesting weaving of time and plot, engaging mystery of the traumatic past event, strong overall mood

Cons: Underdeveloped characters, unresolved ending, probably not safe content for young preteens

Rating: 6/10.

Big shout out to Hatchette Publishing Group for sending me a copy of this book. If you’re interested in buying it for yourself, grab it on Amazon.

Breaking Dawn, the dramatic conclusion to the Twilight Saga, lived up to all the hype I’d ever heard of the series. Clocking in as the longest novel, at 754 pages, Breaking Dawn never disappointed. Another brilliant installment of the events surrounding the Cullen family.

If it hasn’t been made obvious by my choices in novels, my favorite books are by far strong character-driven novels. Anything that features people created in such depth that I feel like I know them, like I could see them walking down the street any day, is something I’ll read over and over again. And Meyer seriously delivers with Breaking Dawn. As Bella and Edward prepare for their wedding, their relationship still features that unique dynamic of real world couples. They rehash the same arguments. They irritate each other, but know how to make up quickly enough. I love that Meyer didn’t make them into an overly-perfect unrealistic idol of a relationship. They’re just like any other couple ridiculously in love. Yes, they’re a bit sappy. But they harp on each other as well. They disappoint their partner. They both still have instances of insecurity, thinking they may not be good for the other. That in itself makes Breaking Dawn worth reading. That though her characters feature monsters straight out of fairy tales, they’re just so real.

I don’t want to give too much away plot wise, so I’ll try to discuss more of the writing style and pacing. Things definitely get going right off the bat, and I was surprised that what I had expected to happen at the conclusion of the series happens within the first few chapters. Bella and Edward are faced with tough choices, and another thing I loved about these characters is that each trusted the other to make the choices that the person felt were right to make, even if they disagreed. And it serves to strengthen their love even more. Another interesting dynamic was telling part of the story from Jacob’s point of view. It really shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did that Meyer developed Jacob’s character to such an extent that she could carry on an extensive narrative from his point of view. In all the books I’ve read that seems to be a pretty rare occasion. But Jacob’s story was as fully fleshed as Bella’s narrative, and it was an insight to see her world from his eyes. Certainly a quality addition to the novel.

Another great feature was the cast of vampires introduced. We learned much more about the Volturi as well as the vampire population across the globe. It was nice to see something from beyond the city of Forks and Bella’s immediate world. Reading and learning about the others was a lot of fun. And the reason for the gathering of so many diverse creatures was just as outstanding, and engaging. Just when you thought you knew exactly how the story would unfold Meyer throws a curveball at you. And you just can’t wait to see how she’ll handle the outcome! I think plot-wise this was the strongest of the four novels. The threat present here was built up from the beginning, and was something more powerful than a vindictive widowed vampire. The Volturi come to destroy and acquire, and it’s something Bella and the Cullens strive to avoid at all costs. After trumped up charges are made to provide an excuse to destroy the Cullen “threat”, the Volturi decide to come down full force to Forks and eliminate the threat of such a powerfully skilled coven. And the family pulls together with the help of many of their friends to prevent that battle at all costs. Even more exciting was Bella’s transformation from pawn to queen, as illustrated on the cover.

Breaking Dawn was a brilliant example of the marriage of an exciting plot with exquisite characters. This was absolutely one of the most engaging, exciting books I’ve read in a while, and I cannot wait to go through the series all over again. The nuances of character interactions and interwoven destinies are beautifully executed. I was entertained from beginning to end, and look forward to all Meyer’s writing in the future.

(As a new feature to my posts, I want to add a pros/cons paragraph so that I don’t seem like I’m super hyper positive about the books I read. It just so happens that I read the books I know I’ll love, and tend to skip the boring ones. Sorry, boring books,advo I’ve got to spend that time rereading my favorites!)

Breaking Dawn Pros/Cons:

Pros: Exciting plot twists, superb character development, realistic romantic relationships. Strong advocation of the individual’s right of choice throughout the novel.

Cons: Ending was a bit rushed after the final battle scene. I wanted more! That’s really my only negative.

Rating: 10/10. Freaking awesome!

When True Night Falls, by CS Friedman, is the second book in the Coldfire Trilogy. In short, it is a continuing story framed thousands of years in the future when man has to flee Earth and find a new place to live. Upon finding a planet suitable to inhabit, they settle down and try to etch out a new home. But this new planet is very different from old Earth. There are spiritual factors that can feed off of the human mind and render someone’s deepest nightmare a reality. And in this second installment, we follow our faithful priest of the One God as he and an unnatural demon of the night set out to destroy a common enemy.

The best part about this book is the internal conflicts within the two main characters. The priest is plagued with guilt for his partnership with an undead human who feeds on the blood and fear of other humans. The priest constantly struggles with shame of having to fight beside a undead man who thrives on destroying all that the priest stands for in his commitment to God.

This second installment is much better than the first book in the series. The characterization and depth of internal conflict of the characters is as much of a driver in the book as the main plot. The decisions and the consequences of those actions are very raw and it’s nice to see that not everything in CS Friedman’s story works out like a fairy tale. The pain, suffering, and misery is very prominent and because of this the pages come alive with deep human emotion and the struggles of internal and situational struggles.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Edward’s return marks an upturn for Bella’s happiness in the third novel in the Twilight Saga, Eclipse. After Bella’s dramatic rescue of Edward from the antagonistic Volturi at the end of New Moon, Bella tries to adjust to her new life with both her love for Edward and her newfound friendship with Jacob. Finding a balance between the two is much more difficult than she imagined, and neither one is interested in compromise! Meyer introduces this new love triangle, keeping even Bella unaware of her own true feelings.

In the midst of a young vampire coven’s attack on Seattle, mysterious events continue to shroud Bella. Yet even while she has to worry about the return of the vindictive Victoria, she strives to make Edward understand her needs to see and comfort Jacob. Bella’s internal as well as external struggles to reconcile her relationship with Jacob are more than simply returning the favor he did for her in New Moon. Bella knows she loves Jacob, as family, but Jacob is sure that love is more than simply platonic, and spends his time trying to prove it to her. Meyer continues to develop the three characters in interesting, complex ways. Edward’s enigmatic personality takes more of a forefront in the story, and Meyer keeps the scale balanced with Jacob’s easy charm. This could easily have become fodder for a daytime soap opera, but Bella’s emotions and reactions are understandable. You can identify when she tries to keep “her” Jacob, “her own personal sun”, locked into the role she has set aside for him. But even Bella acknowledges the inevitability of Jacob’s persistence to have her admit that she loves him, and some small part of her desires to make her life with him.

I think the greatest achievement of the novel comes when Meyer writes Bella’s epiphany. It happens when Bella realizes that she has two very good choices, and that this decision will be the worst she’ll ever have to make. This scene really just blew me away. It validated both relationships in a way that made you wish Bella could just split in half and take both. It’s so heart-wrenching. To me, this is what good character development is all about. When the characters seem so alive in your head, that you just can’t wait to see what they’ll do, how they’ll react. And not only do you understand their choices, you believe them. Twilight’s strength has most certainly been in character development. They are the ones who make the fantasy real, the magic alive. Eclipse was fun to read, because you it opens up a whole new world to immerse yourself in, but one that looks like it could be right next door.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

I finished up Twilight early enough in the afternoon that I was able to pick up New Moon and get started before it was time to begin cooking dinner. I’m the kind of person who loves anticipating what happens next, so I wanted to make sure I got the first chapter out of the way so I could dwell on it at work the next day while I waited for my lunch break to keep reading.

New Moon was the perfect complement to Twilight. While Twilight had that shimmering anticipation of new romance, New Moon was it’s velvety, brooding counterpart. After a close encounter with Edward’s brother Jasper, Edward decides that he’s too dangerous for Bella, and makes the decision for both of them to terminate the relationship with a clean break. Bella’s devastation is raw and real, and Meyer’s treatment of it was just as gripping. If you’ve gone through a particularly bad breakup yourself, you’ll identify with every emotion. What absolutely blew me away was the writing just after the breakup. In only four pages, Meyer conveys exactly that numb, dull existence of life after loss. Each page contains only one word, October, November, December, January, all following with nothing in between. You then realize just how deep Bella’s loss cut her open. With brilliant simplicity, Meyer told us so much more in four pages than dozens of chapters could have done.

Bella’s recovery is as stilted and fraught with setbacks as any other. After she decides that recklessness is the only answer to her numbing pain (after all, the feeling of exhilaration is dangerously close to happiness) her path leads her to Jacob, one of my favorite characters in the series. Described as her own “personal sun”, his presence becomes a healing balm to her broken heart. But not without a cost. Jacob finds himself hopelessly in love with Bella, but she can’t bring herself to return his feelings. To me this paints just how hard recovery can be. Even when faced with potential happiness and ease, Bella can’t give up on Edward yet. As even more dangerous mysteries around Bella unfold, she learns to face each challenge with resilience and determination. Even at the crux of her loss, she knows that she won’t be giving up.

New Moon speaks more about the painful side of relationships. Meyer reminds you of just how much you have to lose when you love. And I think the way she described both Bella’s long hard fall and slow, stilted recovery truly enhanced the plot of the story. This wasn’t some pie-in-the-sky romance. Nothing came easily, and sometimes the cost even seemed too high. It’s this kind of gritty realism even inside such a fantasy novel that makes me love this series.

Bella really grows in this novel, and you are introduced to Jacob and his pack. I absolutely adored Jacob. He’s written as your favorite big brother, or rather your favorite of your big brother’s best friends. Charismatic, teasing, picking on you that’s just over the line of friendly teasing, and becomes that inherent kindergarten flirting. You can’t help but love him, and find Bella’s decision just as hard as she does. Who do you root for? The classic romance novel hero? Or the boy next door you can’t help but love? You ache for Jacob knowing that there’s really no chance for him with Bella, but really ardently wishing there were. The balance again was just right. Not too much that you think Bella is betraying her love for Edward, but not so little that you think Jacob only has a hollow crush. But by the end, Bella makes her irrevocable decision, and tries to find a way to make her wishes of having both a reality.

I found New Moon to be a worthy addition to the Twilight series, and honestly I cannot wait to give myself an excuse to reread it. But I’ll have to wait for another rainy day to get that atmosphere just right again.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Divine Justice by David Baldacci is the fourth (and final?) book in a series of novels about an American hero (possibly America’s greatest assassin) named Oliver Stone. The first book in the series is The Camel Club and although each book is able to stand on its own as far as plot, I highly recommend starting this adventure from the beginning. So, assuming you’ve already read the other three books about a large scale government coverup, I’ll continue my review.

I am a fan of Mr. Baldacci. I never worry when I pick up a book with his name on it whether it will be a good book or not. But I do have a few things that always bug me in all of his books. I want to see less-than-perfect characters. The typical Baldacci novel is full of beautiful, smart, and extremely strong lead characters. Just once I want to see someone that struggles with a weight problem or doesn’t know exactly what witty comment to say at the perfect moment.

Divine Justice was full of very believable characters that I found very interesting and the book never left me bored or in wait for action. However, I tend to think that book readers are smarter than your average person and while movies tend to give us a mindless drone of easy to assemble plot lines, I think Mr. Baldacci could pleasantly surprise his audience if he brought us a book that doesn’t seem so “made-for-TV”.

That’s just my opinion. It’s always easy to judge from behind my blog, but as Oliver Stone would say, “I want the truth!” so that’s what I’m providing.

Overall, Divine Justice was a great conclusion to the The Camel Club series. I very much enjoyed my time spent reading this American thriller and I will continue to always pick up any book with Mr. David Baldacci’s name on it. I highly recommend Divine Justice.

Rating: 7 out of 10

A big thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an advance copy of Divine Justice by David Baldacci. Be sure and pick up your own copy of Divine Justice on November 4, 2008 at any of these online retailers:

Divine Justice – Barnesandnoble.com
Divine Justice – Amazon.com
Divine Justice – Books-A-Million

This introductory novel in the Twilight series was like an evocative embrace. The first book shares it’s name with the title of the series, and appropriately so. I think that it really sums up the purpose of the series, and it does it in a powerfully telling way.

This novel tells the classic tale of star-crossed lovers, and not even in a relatively unique perspective (considering I’m not even that familiar with the horror genre, I’ve already read a vampire-human love story. And while we’re on it, why are the vampires hardly ever the woman in the relationship? Maybe people like the double frailty of the weak human as well as the “weaker” sex? I don’t know…) But the way Meyer tells the story completely makes up for any cliche similarities one could perceive. Her voice throughout the novel is distinct, and never wavers. And the best part of the whole thing is that it’s surprisingly believable. The emotions and characters are easy to relate to, because they’re written in such a realistic teenager fashion. Maybe it’s only because I was seventeen only a handful of years ago, so I could still relate well. But to me, it was just Meyer’s excellent storytelling that you found yourself thinking, “Hey, maybe drinking human blood isn’t such an unnatural thing after all.”

Twilight begins with Bella Swann’s junior year as a transfer student at Forks High School. Attending quite a small high school myself (graduating class of 35 students) I found I could relate to her perceptions of a small school. And though I’ve heard criticisms that it’s impossible for a student to be popular on the first day at school, obviously you’ve never known just how small the dating/friend pool can get! New students are always a hot commodity, especially attractive females. Though when Bella receives the unwarranted hate of a fellow student, Edward Cullen, she’s pretty taken aback. But after that first harrowing day, Bella and Edward begin a fledgling friendship, which soon rapidly progresses into serious involvement. As Bella unravels the mysteries of Edward and the Cullens, you can’t help but follow along enraptured with the poignancy of young love.

Meyer masterfully navigates the rough waters of high school sweethearts, and I find myself more absorbed with Bella and Edward’s relationship for it’s familiar aspects than it’s foreign vampire ones. I found myself reliving those precious sparks, that unfathomable electricity inside your chest that explodes when you accidentally brush your sweetheart’s hand. Twilight embodies that sweet bliss that comes at the start of an exciting relationship, yet balances it out with the somber, misty environment of Forks. I had the absolute perfect reading environment for this novel, under the tin roof of my back porch while it was raining on a warm summer afternoon. It completely balanced the mood and setting of Twilight, and definitely enhanced my reading experience. You know it’s a good book when you catch yourself sighing.

While Twilight’s strengths are in it’s characters and evocative emotions, there’s a bit of a weakness in the plot. I didn’t really find the whole tracker vampire subplot engaging, and I didn’t really agree with the decisions the characters made. And not so much because personally I wouldn’t have made them, but that they didn’t seem like ones the characters themselves would naturally make. The whole episode was a bit manufactured, and I believe the novel suffered for it. And while then ending was better, it didn’t really leave me with that “snick” of completion as you close the back cover. Something just didn’t quite click right. At first, I thought it was because of a downturn in writing, but after picking up New Moon I realized that not only was that feeling intentional, it was so subtly conveyed that I was incredibly impressed. It fit in so well with the mood and plot of New Moon that I was actually quite surprised. I love that she mentally prepared us for the next novel and set the mood so accurately. All I can say now? Bravo.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Yesterday was a big day for me! I made it home just in time to see the postman delivering my glorious Twilight series on my front porch! I’ve heard nothing but good things about these books from my reading buddies whose recommendations I trust wholeheartedly, so the anticipation has been killing me while I waited for them to arrive. I couldn’t wait to break them in right after they were in my hot little hands. I spent the most relaxing afternoon in recent history curled up in a chair on my back porch with the rain pattering down on the roof and patio, it was incredibly soothing. Plus, the book takes place in the rainy northwest, so my atmosphere really put me in the mood of the book! So far Twilight has been quite a delight, I plan on finishing it up this afternoon for sure. Now I can’t wait to see the movie, even though it’s at the cost of my beloved Harry Potter…