Book Review: Blue Wolf

Title:  Blue Wolf
Author:  Lise McClendon
Pages:  252
Publication Date:  2002
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Adult Fiction/Mystery

Summary via Goodreads.com:
 "The wolf: to some a majestic animal that belongs on the lands of Yellowstone, to others, a predator and perceived threat to their livelihoods. But a few people think of the wolf as a totem animal, and Alix Thorssen, owner of the Northern Sun Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is one of them.October is a waiting month between tourist seasons; for Alix, the wait is filled with plans for an art auction to support the Teton Land Trust. But the questionable shooting of a wolf on ranch land and a request from an eccentric artist named Queen Johns that Alix look into a death that occurred twenty five years ago, means that the gallery owner will turn sleuth again . . . and be far from idle.

All Queen seems to want is information about the death of Derek Wylie; the folks who were living in the town when he died don't want to talk about it, though. It was covered up then, and it's being covered up now. And when there's a blanket that heavy thrown over events, Alix knows that something is very wrong. With Jackson Hole's citizens threatening to come to blows over the shooting of a wolf believed to have wandered in from Yellowstone, and old animosities flaring up in a battle for control of the Land Trust auction, Alix Thorssen discovers that the price of truth may be paid in blood."

My Review:
Alix Thorssen is simply an art gallery owner and lover of all art.  She loves how art is something that, no matter who "owns" it, it is free for anyone to look at it and love it and appreciate it's beauty.  One of her painters Queen, does absolutely beautiful work and is the painter providing Alix with some wildlife art pictures to auction off at an auction to make people aware of wolf conservation.  What Queen provides Alix with is amazing, a picture painted of a beautiful and captivating wolf with a blue tint to his fur and wild yellow eyes.  This piece just proves to Alix why she loves Queens art so much.  Queen a woman who keeps to herself and lives in a cabin in the woods with no frills in it, like TV.  Alix admires this about Queen.

After returning to the art shop Queen calls, highly unusual for her, and asks Alix if they can bargain some work.  Queen isn't in to favors, she prefers bargaining.  So Queen offers Alix paintings of hers if she will do something for her, a simple task, look into a hunting accident that caused a death over 25 years ago.  She won't tell Alix why she wants her to look into it, just that she wants her to and will give her more paintings if she will do it.  Alix needs the money the paintings will bring in and figures, how hard can it be to do some research and then collect the paintings?  Alix is in for a surprise just how hard it will be.  She finds there is much more to this mysterious accident than anyone is willing to tell her.  Alix is also trying to keep up on the wolf case going on in her town.  A man killed a wolf in self defense, so he says, but others don't believe him. The man is put on trial for the killing of a protected animal.  Was it really self defense?  Between the case and the painting, some not so welcomed memories of Alix's past come back to her too.  Now she has many things swimming around in her head, why is Queen wondering abut an old accident; was the hunting accident Alix is looking into for Queen really an accident; did the local rancher really shoot the wolf for self defense; why are her childhood memories coming back now; and will she ever be able to put aside her misgivings about her current relationship and just let Carl in?

I found this book to be a bit on the slow side, as far as the mystery part went.  Alix was asked to look into this past hunting accident for Queen in the beginning of the book, however she never really does much investigating until at least half way through the book.  There was a lot of detail and back story, and I think that is why things moved slowly.  I was well into the book before I felt the mystery part of the book was starting to shine through the other information and goings on.  I got a sense of the characters and did come to like or hate them for the character, but some weren't very well developed.  I did like the plot idea though, it was a great mystery idea and did eventually come together.  The book was well written, in the fact that the details were good and I always knew what was going on without confusion.  I also must say that the cover of this book is quite amazing...actually covers.  The one below on left is one I found on amazon and saw when I bought my book, but I bought a copy with a different cover.  It has realistic fur and gleaming yellow eyes with one eye that has a shadow of a man in it.  It just is a beautiful cover and part of the reason I picked up the book in the first place (the book on the below right).  I enjoyed the book, but not as much as some mysteries I have read.

3/5 Stars!

This book counts toward my following challenges:  100 Books, 1,000,000 Pages Read, Color Coded, Mount TBR, Off the Shelf, Rainbow Reading Challenge, and Animal Reading Challenge.

 

Book Review: The Altercation of Vira

Title:  The Altercation of Vira
Author:  Kenechi Udogu
Pages:  223
Publication Date:  2012
Version:  Kindle Version (free via author for honest review)
Genre:  Adult Fantasy/Fiction

Summary via Goodreads.com: 
"The people of Vira have long awaited the arrival of their lost princess, Elve. Legend has foretold a season of great change in the dawn of her return. For the Maracans, she brings the promise of fortified control over their rival kindred. For the Cefans, a glimmer of hope in an existence filled with oppression. 

The only problem is their princess is eighteen year old Ama Brown, an ordinary girl living an ordinary life, who has no idea that she is about to be drawn into a world where an age old battle is brewing and nothing is quite as it seems." 

My Review:
I must say that I found this book interesting, yet not all at the same time.  I think it may have just not been my type of book.  Ama is on her way to her friend Mel's house when her car breaks down and she seeks help at this old abandoned town.  When she finds someone there she is kept in the town and eventually is taken to another land where she is told she is a princess who was sent away to be saved, but now must come back to rule the land because her Mother is dying.  The people of the land distrust her because of her background and who her Father was, but they let her have a chance at leading their land per her Mother's request/ruling.  Mel, being worried about Ama, goes in search of her and eventually also ends up in the old town and also taken to the other land.  There he searches for Ama with the intent of taking her home with him and telling her how he really feels about her and has felt about her for many years, he loves her.  Mel is with the enemy of the people Ama is with and ruling though, so how can he possibly find her and be safe trying to find her?  Will it matter to Ama that Mel wants to be with her, or is it to late for that now?  How much can two people change along the way to finding each other again?  Will power change Ama?

I felt there wasn't much action in this book.  It had some, but not the edge of your seat action, other stories have.  I must say that I liked this author's other book I read much better than this one.  I found it a bit slow moving and drawn out.  Also, there is only one line to the plot really, which is ok, but it just wasn't as developed as it could have been.  I did enjoy the characters and the "feel" of the book, as far as how the characters developed and what they were trying to accomplish.  I did like the battle that took place, I thought that was adventurous and full of action.  I also must say that the ending of the book left me with more questions than answers and was a bit frustrating for me.

All in all, this was an ok read, but I wouldn't read it again or pick up any follow up book to this one.  However, I do like this author's work, as I said, in his other book I read, "The Other Slipper".

3/5 Stars!

This counts toward my following challenges:  100 Books, 1,000,000 Pages Read, and Time Travel.

Book Review: The Other Slipper

Title:  The Other Slipper
Author:  Kenechi Udogu
Pages:  206
Publication Date:  2011
Version:  Kindle Version (free via author for honest review)
Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy/Fiction

Summary via Goodreads.com: 
"When Jo finds a lone glass slipper on the night of the royal ball, she realises that there is more to the seemingly ordinary object than meets the eye. Searching for its owner, she is led to the palace where the princess sets her on a journey that thrusts her into an unexpected world of magic and illusions. It soon becomes clear that there is a lot more to her mission as she discovers startling secrets about her past and struggles to embrace her destiny." 

My Review:
If you ever wondered what would have happened in the Cinderella story had she lost the other slipper somewhere, this is the book for you.  It is an interesting twist on an old time fairy tale.  Jo is a mere servant in a palace and is from a lower class family, but something happens to Jo that changes her life and her brother Ron's life forever...she finds a glass slipper that seems to have come from nowhere on the way home from the palace one night, oh along with a pumpkin that worked very well in soup for her family.  Jo has no idea why she picked up that glass slipper and didn't just leave it on the side of the road where she found it, and that is something that she will wonder about and wish she wouldn't have done.  Jo soon finds out that the pretty glass slipper came off of another young woman who is now engaged to the prince and living in the palace she works at with her family.  Jo has hidden the glass slipper from her family and now wants nothing more than to give it back to the soon to be princess.  You see the slipper hums, only Jo seems to be able to hear it, but it hums none the less.  She soon hears the same hum at the palace from the new woman's room and knows the slipper is hers.  When she returns it Jo is told a fascinating and yet very far fetched tale from the young woman.  A tale involving fairy godmothers, magic, and fate.  Jo soon embarks on a travel with her brother, Ron, to return the slipper where it came from, to a great powerful Queen.  Soon Ron and Jo are tangled up in a well spun mess of a trip and have to rely on the help of a stranger to get to where they are going.  They don't want to tell him why they are going there though, so they keep that secret to themselves, until it becomes apparent that they need to tell this stranger the truth if he is to help them avoid dangers in their travel.  Many twists happen in this story and some are greatly shocking to Jo, Ron, and the reader.

I thought this was a pretty good read.  It had action, family, friends, mystery, adventure, magic, and a fairy tale twist.  I found the characters to be well described and the plot interesting.  I also liked how you got to know all the characters and how they were feeling, but not in a way that made it confusing to read.  I liked the bonds that were soon formed between the mysterious stranger and Ron and Jo.  They were cautious, but not so out of it to not see they needed him and his protection if they were to bring the slippers back to their owner.  The twist of who the owner of the slippers really was and how that all fit in was amazing!  I found it very easy to picture Ron and Jo's faces when they made the connection.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a magical twist on an old fairy tale that will suck you in.  You will finish the book with a smile on your face.

4/5 Stars!

This counts toward the following challenges of mine:  100 Books Read, 1,000,000 Pages Read, Witch Challenge, and YA Mythology.

Sick Furkiddo

My poor Furkid Juliet has been sick as of late.  Due to caring for her and trips to the vet I have found my reading time to be a bit less than usual.  Also, I am worried about her, so I find it hard to concentrate on what I am reading, so I am reading at a bit slower pace too.  

I have a couple reviews done, just not posted yet, so I plan to start back next week on my review postings.  I just wanted to let you all know why I have been missing the last week or so.

Juliet seems to be getting a bit better, but we are still working on a few things to get her back to her normal self.  You never realize how much Furkids mean to you until one of them is sick and there is limited things you can do to help because they can't talk to tell you what, exactly, is wrong.

I will "see" you all next week when I return from being nurse to my poor baby Juliet.

Book Review: Honey the Hero

Title:  Honey the Hero 
Author:  Emlyn Chand
Pages:  47
Publication Date:  2012
Version:  Kindle Version (free via author for honest review)
Genre:  Children's Fiction

Summary via Goodreads.com: 
"Honey, an inquisitive young parakeet living in the Australian Outback, decides to become a superhero after she spies a human family watching Superman. Since she already has the power of flight, all she needs to do is create a costume to conceal her true identity and then fly off in search of animals that need rescuing.

Unfortunately, every time she tries to help, Honey only ends up making matters worse. She spoils Kangaroo’s game of hide-and-go-seek by revealing his hiding place to Wallaby; Mr. Anteater must go hungry when she alerts the ants to his presence, and Mrs. Koala is made a laughingstock among bears when Honey pretends to be her Joey. Finally realizing that she’s not as heroic as she’d like, Honey gives up her day-saving efforts.

But what happens when someone actually needs Honey’s help? Will she rise to the challenge?"

My Review:
I read this book and I also read it with my son.  I thought it was an extremely cute story with a very lovable main character.  All Honey wants to do is help people like the super hero she saw on the human TV, but she just can't seem to get it quite right.  She tries too hard and ends up making some mistakes.  I thought it was a cute story with a nice lesson mixed in too.  Now, my son is ten years old, so a bit old for children's books per say, but I read it with him anyway.  He did think it was a little too under his age level, but he also admitted to liking the story too.  He liked how he could read it on his own and he liked the pictures.  He also liked the point of the story and was able to tell me the lesson Honey learned too.  He said it would be a good story that he could read to some of my friends' younger children for sure.  

Love the idea of the bird, Honey, as the main character!  Great children's book with wonderful and bright pictures too!

5/5 Stars from my son and I!!

Book Review: Night of the Purple Moon

CHECK OUT THE KINDLE VERSION OF THIS BOOK!  IT'S FREE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 13TH 2012!!!

Title:  Night of the Purple Moon
Author:  Scott Cramer
Pages:  188
Publication Date:  2012
Version:  Kindle Version (free via author for honest review)
Genre:  Young Adult Fiction

Summary via Goodreads.com: 
"The epidemic strikes everyone who has passed through puberty.

Abby Leigh is looking forward to watching the moon turn purple. For months, astronomers have been predicting that Earth will pass through the tail of a comet. They say that people will see colorful sunsets and, best of all, a purple moon.

But nobody has predicted the lightning-fast epidemic that sweeps across the planet on the night of the purple moon. The comet brings space dust with it that contains germs that attack human hormones. Older teens and adults die within hours of exposure.

On a small island off the coast of Maine, Abby must help her brother and baby sister survive in this new world, but all the while she has a ticking time bomb inside of her -- adolescence." 
My Review:
Abby, Jordan, Toucan, and their Dad all live on a little island off the coast of Maine.  Abby's Mom is still living in their old hometown until she can find a job on the island and can move.  Abby hates the small island and would love nothing more than to move back to where they came from, but that doesn't look like it will happen.  Abby comes to hate the island even more the night of the purple moon phenominon.  Her brother, Jordan, and her watched the purple comet tail start to sweep over the sun and planet before heading up to bed.  It is said the purple hew to everything will be around awhile.  When Abby wakes up she is in her own horror movie or nightmare.  All is quiet...too quiet.  Upon getting up and investigating some she finds her sister in her room (highly unusal at this time of the morning), her Dad missing, the outside world soaked in purple and purple space dust, and a local company truck crashed into the neighbors front gate.  While trying to sort things out with her brother the neighbor kids come pounding on their door.  They say their parents are dead.  Later Abby finds her father dead too, but that's not the weirdest part.  All the adults seem to be dead, only the children that haven't hit puberty yet are alive, there is no TV, no radio, no internet.  What happened during this purple comet?  With the help of Kevin, the extremely "geeky smart" boy from next door, they manage to hack into the internet service to get to the CDC site and find out that they are working on a cure, but any adults that were not in secure buildings are now dead.  They found a connection between hormones that start in puberty and the deadly disease the comet has started.  As if puberty wasn't bad enough to worry about going through, now it is a death sentence too!  Abby and Jordan do the best they can to gather all children that are alive and start "organized choas" to try and survive, but they also know that they won't last long themselves being so close to puberty ages.  They must think of their sister Toucan though and be positive and hope for a cure before it's too late.  How long can a bunch of kids survive in a world of chaos though?  How will they get food and supplies in a world that has stopped working?  Can the CDC find a cure and somehow distribute it to all of them before it's too late?  Can they survive long enough to find out?  Never before has the awkward stage of adolescence meant to much to a bunch of kids that see it as a death sentence.  How can you be happy on your own birthday knowing it is just bringing you that much closer to death?

I must say that this book was like no other I have read...and I loved it.  I really felt the characters made the book too, they were very well developed as the book went on.  I really came to like all the kids that came to live with Abby and Jordan to try and survive.  I also thought Abby was a really great character, kind, caring, willing to help people she didn't even know, and very driven to help their survival rate any way possible.  I liked how the kids all, for the most part, came together to work as a group to increase survival while hoping for a cure.  They really were very smart kids, gathering food from all the houses that they could, tending to the farm animals that they found to get fresh foods like milk and eggs, and starting routines in their days so it didn't feel so foreign to them and they could take their minds off the constant worry.  I loved the relationships they formed too while trying to survive and how close the bonds between them all became.  They were willing to do anything for the good of the group and for each other if it meant survival could be possible.  This book was written in such a way that you just wanted to keep reading and not put it down.  Before I knew it I was finished with the book and it was the wee hours of the morning.  I just was drawn into the book and plot and couldn't wait to see how it would turn out.  These kids have so much against them, but they refuse to give up and promise each other to be positive and hopeful and never ever give up the fight to stay alive until the CDC can help them by finding a cure.  Very good book and I must say that I am already excited for the follow-up book and can't wait to read on when it comes out.

5/5 Stars!!

This counts toward my following challenges:  100 Books Read, 1,000,000 Pages Read, A to Z Title Challenge, Read Your Name Challenge, and What's in a Name Challenge.

Book Review: Time Weaver

Title:  The Time Weaver
Author:  Thomas A. Knight
Pages:  306
Publication Date:  2012
Version:  Kindle Version (free via author for honest review)
Genre:  Adult Fiction/Fantasy

Summary via Goodreads.com: 
"It started with a car accident.

What should have killed thirty-year-old Seth Alkirk, instead causes time to stop. He didn't know what was happening as he took in the frozen world around him. He didn't know why he was the only one who could move, or breathe, or see what was going on. But when a rift opened in the middle of the intersection, and a vicious twelve-foot-tall creature stepped through into his world, Seth did know one thing for certain...

He had to run. Or die.

Enter a parallel world where magic exists. Discover a kingdom in danger of being overrun by a massive army. And follow Seth as he discovers he is more than a human – he is a Time Weaver who can change the balance of the coming war, if only he can learn to control his powers in time." 

My Review:
What do you do when your entire life and existence as you know it is all turned upside down?  Seth learns quite quickly how little he really knows about his life, his past, and his family on one eventful day.  He stares mystery and lots of questions in the face when he has a car accident in the city he is living in.  During this accident he learns that things are not always what they seem and that sometimes it's better just to flow with it than fight it.  He learns he has powers, special powers, that can be used to save a far off and world, one that only exists in the past and the past of his family.  You see Seth is a Time Weaver, just like his father.  Seth doesn't know much of his father, as he left when Seth was just a small child of only five years old, but he does know that he still possesses his father's old "storybook" that he used to read to him out of as a child.  Seth is now thirty and finds that he can finally open this special "storybook" with just a swipe of his fingers over the clasp.  Why is he now able to open the book?  And what kind of foreign language is it written in that Seth is unable to read?  Soon he is faced with powers that seem unreal and dreamlike and is found by an old world warrior and told he needs to go with her to help save the world she comes from.  Full of confusion and disbelief, Seth has no choice but to help the female warrior when he discovers he can stop time and that monsters, that could only be from his imagination, are real and doing real damage to a world he only knows from stories told by his father and his own world he has lived in for his entire life that.  Seth is the key to ridding the old world from the evil that is trying to take over.  How can Seth save a world he never knew existed with magic he never knew he could wield?  Can he be taught and wrap his mind around what is happening in time to save a world that he is coming to love the longer he is part of it?  Can he find the link from his past that will tell him what to do and how to win the battle over evil and dark magic?  He is more than willing to try if it means saving and helping the female warrior that came to his world and saved him and asked him for help.  She is more than a magic wielding warrior in Seth's eyes.  She is a beautiful woman who seems to be capturing his heart in the process of helping him discover who he truly is.

This book is otherworldly, and not just because it takes place between two different worlds/times.  I was caught up in this book from the moment I started reading it.  It was so full of action, adventure, magic, mystery, evil, and a twist of romance that I couldn't help but keep reading.  The characters in this book are truly amazing as is the plot.  I never once had a moment of wonder if I should or could continue reading!  The action and wonder of this magical book just kept on flowing.  I felt like I had a movie going on in my head as I continued reading and envisioning the vivid, wonderful story taking place.  I read this book in only 2 short days and was left with my head reeling and wondering when the next book will come out by this terrific author in this magical series.  The twist of the Time Weaver and the settings being two different worlds (old and new) just made the story that much more interesting for me.  I found at some parts of the book I couldn't read fast enough to see what was going to happen next.  Seth really handles his new found magic quite well, but the beautiful warrior helping him along the way may have something to do with that.  This book had it all, magic, adventure, romance, dragons, and much much more!  I very highly recommend this read for anyone looking to bring some spark into their reading day.  I can't wait to read more of Thomas A. Knights books in this series as they come out!  I just have to see what other adventures Seth gets taken on as he finds more of the "true" him deep inside.

5/5 Stars!!!

This counts toward the following challenges of mine:  100 Books Read, 1,000,000 Pages Read, and Time Travel Challenge.


    

Book Review: The Last Seer and the Tomb of Enroch

Title:  The Last Seer and the Tomb of Enoch
Author:  Ashland Menshouse
Pages:  429
Publication Date:  2011
Version:  Hardcover (free via author for honest review)
Genre:  Fiction

Summary via Goodreads.com: 
"Do you believe? 
Can a ghost haunt more than your home? Can a Sasquatch track more than footprints? 
Aubrey Taylor's quaint and cozy life in the subdued, Appalachian town of Lake Julian had never been exceptional. Shouldered by his lifelong friends, Buzz Reiselstein and Rodriqa Auerbach, he quietly endured the puerile punishments of a persistent pack of pesky bullies that included the most-feared kid in school, Magnos Strumgarten, and his own obnoxiously, well-accomplished brother, Gaetan. Comfortable in his humdrum niche of the absolutely average, Aubrey never pushed back. 
Until...fate dug a little too deep...and the unseen darkness of unspoken places rattled his mediocrity. 
When spurious specters and elusive mountain men battle for a tomb of Watchers, buried in ages past, only those who choose to look beyond the surface feel the grip of the ancients' revenge. Unusual disappearances, a colorful cadre of insightful townsfolk and a whirlwind of blunders and mishaps exposes the struggling forces that transform Aubrey and his friends into more than spectators amidst the oldest war of all. 
Prepare yourself to see the unseen as you've never seen it before."

My Review:
Aubrey is a teenage boy just trying to make it through school without being tortured too much by the school bully Magnos.  Magnos is the reason Aubrey and his best buddy Buzz hate parts of school.  This only gets worse when Magnos makes Aubrey do his homework for him and his two croon buddies.  Things get worse for Aubrey when he starts seeing things that can't possibly be real, like his ghost that seems to be haunting him.  Aubrey isn't the only one seeing things though, Jordana, a new girl at school and now friend of Aubrey's, also is seeing something in the night...a Bigfoot.  Then there is the other main character, Rodriqua whose parents work and manage the dam, where many odd things are starting to happen.  When Magnos goes missing after a really embarrassing football play, why should these four friends be concerned?  He was just a bully who made lives worse, so they should be glad he is now gone right?  Well Aubrey thinks there is much more to it than just a missing boy.  How about those shakes in the ground that seem to be earthquakes, but are not?  What about that neighbor lady, Mrs. Thistlewood, who just seemed to appear one day?  What is really going on in this town that now has neighbors popping up out of no where, Bigfoot sightings, ghost sightings, and weird things happening in the dam and mine?  These four friends set out to figure out the mystery and along the way find much more mystery than they ever thought of along with the missing Magnos in a very odd place that raises more questions for Aubrey than answers.  Can five teens figure out this mystery that is bigger than they thought?

I am absolutely torn between a good and a bad feeling about this book.  I think it has amazing potential, but I don't think it is quite meeting it.  I think the best way for me to really explain my views and review this book is to tell my likes and dislikes that are floating around after reading it.  I thought the characters and the plot concept was really great.  However, I think the stories surrounding each character and their families could have easily been made into a series of books instead of trying to put so much of each one into this book.  I felt it a bit overwhelming at times and I think it took away from the main story some.  I think Aubrey, Jordana, Buzz, and Rodriqua and their families/situations could have each easily been stories in and of themselves.  I think this would have made this particular book a bit less confusing.  I did sort it out, but I think perhaps this would have helped.  The characters in this book are wonderful!  They really are from all types of families and backgrounds and each have very distinct personalities that are pretty easy to like and even relate to somewhat.  I don't think I would consider this book, as it was written, a middle grade level book though.  Why do I feel this way?  I feel this way because of the language used (not bad language by any means, I mean over descriptive language).  I found myself thinking how all the adjectives and over descriptiveness took away from what was trying to be said.  I found myself having to either slow down to re-read some sentences that were particularly overpowered by description, or I found myself simply skimming the paragraph for the important, to the point, part(s).  The first sentence in the book kind of gives a clue..."Darkness shrouded the valley of Lake Julian as the sun's ruddy twilight rays disappeared behind the slopes of the aging, forest-capped mountains."  This is a great description and I started my thinking of "wow descriptive" but soon after I found myself thinking "holy cow, way too descriptive for all the way through a book".  These long descriptive paragraphs/sentences made me almost put the book down, but I didn't because of the plot being interesting.  Instead, like I said earlier, I found myself skimming or skipping parts to get to the dialogue of the characters or the less descriptive parts.  I think the plot in and of itself was amazing, it kept my reading attention as far as wanting to find out what happened.  

So all in all what do I think?  I think the plot and the characters were amazing and well thought out.  I liked the concept of the book and the mystery of the book.  I liked some of the descriptiveness in the book.  I did not like the over descriptiveness of the book though.  It was too "wordy" and also had almost too much information in it that could have been a few books.  I do think, however, that Ashland Menshouse has great potential as a writer being his ideas were perfect for the story.  I also will say that I would give another book of his a chance and read because of this potential and true passion I saw in his writing.

3/5 Stars!

This counts toward the following challenges of mine:  100 Books Read and 1,000,000 Pages Read.

Book Review: Ghost On Black Mountain

Title:  Ghost On Black Mountain
Author:  Ann Hite
Pages:  329
Publication Date:  2011
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Adult Fiction

Summary via Goodreads.com:  
"Nellie Clay married Hobbs Pritchard without even noticing he was a spell conjured into a man, a walking, talking ghost story. But her mama knew. She saw it in her tea leaves: death. Folks told Nellie to get off the mountain while she could, to go back home before it was too late. Hobbs wasn’t nothing but trouble. He’d even killed a man. No telling what else. That mountain was haunted, and soon enough, Nellie would feel it too. One way or another, Hobbs would get what was coming to him. The ghosts would see to that. . . .

Told in the stunning voices of five women whose lives are inextricably bound when a murder takes place in rural Depression-era North Carolina, Ann Hite’s unforgettable debut spans generations and conjures the best of Southern folk-lore—mystery, spirits, hoodoo, and the incomparable beauty of the Appalachian landscape."

My Review:
The summary on the back of this book doesn't do the story justice at all!  This was an amazing book with terrific characters, plot lines, and writing.  There is no simple summary for this book, which is why the back of the book summary is probably so vague.  In a nutshell, Nellie is a young and foolish girl who thinks she knows better than her Mama and her Mama's tea leaves that predict darkness and bad things.  Nellie is head over heals in love with Hobbs Pritchard and will do anything to be with him forever.  He is sweet and dotes on her and makes her feel loved and extremely special like no one else ever has.  This is why Nellie marries Hobbs, against her Mama's wishes, and moves with him up to Black Mountain where he lives with what little family he has left.  Nellie soon finds out that the Hobbs that was showing himself to her in her hometown and the Hobbs that is true when up in Black Mountain are two very different men.  She soon learns why her Mama and her tea leaves predicted trouble and darkness.  Nellie finds kindness only in Jack, Hobbs's step brother, but even Jack can't help her when it comes to Hobbs's dark side and abuse both physically and verbally.  Nellie soon finds that she looks forward to when Hobbs is gone "on business" down the mountain, but she has no friends and is lonely.  She tries to make friends, but because of who her husband is, people steer clear of her, afraid of what Hobbs will say or do if they try to be friendly to Nellie.  Hobbs controls Black Mountain by striking fear into those that live there.  Soon Nellie takes drastic actions to rid herself of Hobbs and his controlling and abusive behavior.  This leads to a tangled web of lies, mystery, deception, and whole new starts.  Can Nellie really run from her life on Black Mountain?  Who are the ghosts she continues to see that seem to be warning her about something?  What could they be warning her about?  Just how bad of a situation has Nellie gotten herself into by marrying Hobbs?

In my opinion what could make a better book than mystery, hoodoo, ghosts, and murder?!  I found myself so enthralled into this book I was up until all hours of the morning reading it to get to the end of the mystery.  This book has so many twists and turns it makes you wonder where the truth really does twist in.  I had moments of "aaahhhh" in this book where everything just seemed to slide together.  I loved this book. I also must admit to having to turn on more than just my reading light when I read it at night.  The ghosts and mystery of it all was so creepy at times I thought I heard things in my own room!  It was amazing!  The story moved along over many years, but not once did I feel it moved too fast or too slow, nor did it ever confuse me. It was an all around great story and very well thought out and written.  I think a follow up book or two could very easily be a thought for this author.  Not because there were loose ends, but because there were so many great characters that could be worthy of their own, more detailed story.  Like Shelly or Iona as they grow up.  This is a great mystery, southern fiction, and ghost story all mixed into one.  I can't give this book enough praise without giving away too much of the plot or piece of the plot.  This is a must read book!

5/5 Stars!!

This counts toward the following challenges of mine:  100 Books Read, 1,000,000 Pages Read, Cupcakes War, and What's in a Name Challenge.

Versatile Challenge Wrap Up!

This is my wrap-up for the Versatile Reading Challenge of 2012.  I have done all the months I have signed up for without missing one!  I had signed up for the whole year, but the challenge host has closed the challenge as of the end of September.  Being that I just finished my September book, I now have completed the challenge!  :-)  Below you will see the Challenge details and the books I read for the challenge.  I apologize, but the books do not have my reviews linked to them, they all have reviews on my blog, I just forgot to link them up here.

I have now completed FOUR challenges that I have signed up for in 2012.  I better start completing some, I am signed up for a whole lot of them.  Lol.  ;-)

The reading challenge offers you the chance to diversify your reading throughout the year.

Novels will be selected by various ethnic authors,genres, topics or subject matters.

The challenge is divided into Quarters.

Jan. - March

April - Jun

July - Sept.

Participates must read one book for each month in the quarter.

Your books must match the selected categories for the quarter.

You can challenge yourself to complete 

One, Two, Three quarters which will conclude the year.

You are free to skip a quarter and join another quarter,

Its up to you!!

I will make recommend reads for each month

but you are free to choose your own novels

Each month participates will link using the linky

The linky will be opened after the 10th of each month.

Grab the challenge button for your blog if you wish.

(designed by Regina of Hott Book blog)

Jan - 1st Quarter

January Challenge: Nigerian author

Recommend novel: Onaedo -The Blacksmith's

Daughter by Agozi Achebe

Reading deadline for Jan is Jan 25th.

I plan to do all four quarters (the whole year).

January Books I have in mind are (1 or 2):  I will highlight which I have read.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie

I do Not Come To You By Chance by Adaabi Nwawubani

Zaharah the Windseeker by Okarafor-Mpachu

On Black Sister's Street by Chika Unigwe

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Alexandrah Shoneyin

Feb. challenge - non fiction novel in recognition of Black/African American history month

Recommend novels:   Rough Crossing by Simon Schama, 
 (there are 2 covers i'm aware of)

                                      Blood Done Signed My Name by Timothy Tyson or 

                                      The Echo from Dealey Plaza by Abraham Bolden

 ( reading only one bk.)

Reading deadline is Feb.25th

Feb. challenge books I have read:

1.  Getting Away With Murder:  the True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe

2.  Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

March novel read will be centered on a fiction or non fiction book about AIDS.

March Challenge Books Read:

1.  What Looks Like Crazy by Pearl Cleage

Quarter Two!

April: Poetry and Anthology (short stories)

Poetry book- Post one poem every Monday and leave the link in the comment section here. 

Anthology (short stories) Choose the best story from the novel for review. Linky up by the 20th of month and deadline is 25th of the month.

April Challenge Books Read:

1.  Vanishing and Other Stories by Deborah Willis
2.  A Light In the Attic by Shel Silverstein

MAY 

Chick Lit- Indian, Latina or Asian Author

the novel must be written by an Indian, Latino or Asian author

recommend books are: Only 1 book is required.

May Challenge Books Read:

1.  Green as a Garden Hose by Fran Stewart

June-Male Protagonist

The main character of the book must be a MAN.   

June Challenge Books Read:

1.  Black Magic Woman by Dan Anderson

July Challenge Book Read (any book for a challenge):
1.  Pink Balloons and Other Deadly Things by Nancy Tesler

August Challenge Book Read (any book for a challenge):
1.  And Your Little Dog Too by Melissa Cleary

September Challenge Book Read (any book for a challenge):
1.  Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman