...Can you hear the crickets??.....

Can you hear the crickets??....

Life got away from me again.

It's actually kind of amazing that I'm sitting here typing a blog. My world did another 180 and knocked me on my ass for a while. Why? Well, it became apparent that kiddo was not managing himself at college. We went to visit him for parents weekend and ... well, he was ... He'd stopped taking his meds. He wasn't showering. He wasn't brushing his teeth. He hadn't done his laundry once. He was dirty, smelly (as was his room) and he'd lost about 40 lbs. He wasn't eating. He wasn't sleeping. He was failing all his classes.

It took one week - one week where I don't think I slept - until I convinced him to see his psychologist. It took the psychologist one visit (granted it lasted 3 hours) to decide we needed to convince him he needed to withdraw. It ended up taking very little convincing. He knew he was in trouble.

He's been home for about ten days. He's gained back about 5 lbs. He's been eating and sleeping and not much else.

Obviously, I've been a little preoccupied and distracted. My opportunities to read have been limited. My opportunities to blog? Nonexistent.

Things are easing up. We've all accepted that he cannot live on his own, at least not now. Nor can he manage college class loads without a lot of help. My empty nest is full again. I am drained.

I've learned one thing from my crazy life - when things go to shit (and they usually do), you suck it up and keep on moving.

And that, people, is more than enough emo drama for today.
Karen

Wherein I Fail & Offer Up A Book

As you can see my resolve to blog every day is a total fail! And sadly, I'm not going to review a book tonight either. I swear my life is like a bad country music song.

However...

Yesterday I received an Amazon book delivery. And damn if I didn't order the same book twice! I can't even figure out how I managed it. I guess I'll just chalk it up to a brain glitch. So here's the deal...

The book is London Eye by Tim Lebbon
It's a young adult dystopian urban fantasy - here's the blurb on it.

Two years after London is struck by a devastating terrorist attack, it is cut off from the world, protected by a military force known as Choppers. The rest of Britain believes that the city is now a toxic, uninhabited wasteland.

But Jack and his friends—some of whom lost family on what has become known as Doomsday—know that the reality is very different. At great risk, they have been gathering evidence about what is really happening in London—and it is incredible.

Because the handful of London's survivors are changing. Developing strange, fantastic powers. Evolving.

Upon discovering that his mother is still alive inside London, Jack, his sister, and their three friends sneak into a city in ruins. Vast swathes have been bombed flat. Choppers cruise the streets, looking for survivors to experiment upon. The toxic city is filled with wonders and dangers that will challenge Jack and his friends... and perhaps kill them. But Jack knows that the truth must be revealed to the outside world or every survivor will die.

Sounds good, doesn't it? So how do you get me to send you my duplicate hardcover book? 

Post a comment. Tell me about your favorite Halloween costume. Mine is the witch costume I'm wearing in this picture. My mother painstakingly created every costume that my sisters and I wore over the years. Until I had a kid (and yes, I made every one of his costumes, too) I didn't truly appreciate the amount of work she put into Halloween for us (thanks Mom).

If you don't want to talk costumes, tell me your favorite Halloween candy. (Mine is anything chocolate. lol) Or hell, just say hello.

I'll talk books tomorrow.

And I'll draw the winner from a hat (cause lets face it, I won't have that many entries) on Halloween!
Karen

Tin Swift by Devon Monk

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of Devon Monk. If you've never read her Allie Beckstrom series, you're missing out on a fantastic story with characters you will love.

Tin Swift is the follow up to Dead Iron, a steampunk story set in the wild west. Well, that's how its described. I would call this series a romantic steampunk horror urban fantasy western with faeries and magic and werewolves and well, it's just plain fucking fantastic.

I hate westerns. Really, I'm not kidding. And while I love dressing and decorating my house steampunk, stories in the steampunk genre have to be perfect for me to like them. Creating mechanical creatures and an alternate world run by steam is tricky business. When this book was announced, I thought - "ptht, not my thing" - and almost didn't buy it.

Devon Monk creates a steampunk/western world with such skill, it all makes beautiful sense. Her characters are fantastic and fascinating. And the action makes the book fly by much too fast. In fact, this is one of those series I actually pace myself because I want to devour it, but I also don't want to miss the smallest detail.

The detail is amazing.

Tin Swift gets my highest marks - 6 stars. It deserves it. This is one of those books that I tend to adjust bookshelves for (shhh...don't tell) in B&N. I've recommended it to complete strangers standing near me in the sci-fi section. In fact, I can't recommend it enough. It's different. It's interesting. And it's phenomenally well written.

Karen
(Hey, 4 posts in 4 days! Go me!)

Technomancer by B.V. Larson

I'm not going to discuss the books I read in order. Instead I'm going to talk about the book I'm most interested in each day. Today I want to tell you about Technomancer by B.V. Larson.

I'll be honest, I bought this book because I liked the cover. Yes, the premise sounded good, but I really wanted to see that cover in person. And then I read the book...

The story centers around Quentin, a man who wakes up in a mental hospital room with no memory of who he is. You know pretty much immediately that there's something very unusual about him - not to mention the hospital and the people there. It unfolds as Quentin attempts to figure out what the hell is going on, who and what he is and accepts it all so that he can take care of business.

I really enjoyed this book. There was plenty of action, the story was well-developed and the world was interesting. So I'm giving it 4 stars. Buy this one. If you want to save money, buy it in ereader form.  Its definitely an entertaining read.

(Sorry, this was a short post. I had to make a round-trip visit to my kid at college because someone stole his jacket & his phone croaked. Then I went antique shopping - New Beford, MA has a massive antique mall!! By the time I got home it was dinner time and then I had to watch Supernatural! Why? Well because Jared Padalecki is my secret crush & nothing comes between me and him. Lol.)

More book talk tomorrow!
Karen

After the Crux by Dani Worth

This is a short e-read and in all honesty I wanted it to be longer! I'm giving it 4 stars, but I was leaning toward 5 stars. In the end, the shortness of it gets it the 4 stars, but I definitely recommend it.

Ross, the main character is one of a group of survivors of a plague. They live together in a communal like setting. He's secretly in love with Jenna,  a girl who he saved when they were kids. Jenna, however, is with Dorian who he also saved. Jenna and Dorian both love Ross and they decide its time for him to come to terms with not only what he's feeling for Jenna, but what he's pretending he doesn't feel about Dorian.

And then Ross is injured rescuing a boy from an abusive group when he's out on a supply gathering mission...With him incapacitated, Jenna and Dorian are presented the perfect opportunity to set their plan to seduce him in motion.

Now, I love to vent about sex in books, because most of the time its unnecessary or over the top. And you'd think this scenario would throw me for a loop because its not just male/female, its male/male. But here's the thing - it was kind of beautiful. The characters are well written and sympathetic and I just wanted them all to be happy. It was also integral to the story and very well written.

So, this book is more than a love story. It's about survival and hope. There is a plot other than the romance. And its all far far too short. I loved it.

And hell, its only $2.66 right now on Amazon. Now, go and buy!

Let's Talk Books!

I just want to apologize for not posting. I've been working my way through some of the most difficult days of my life and I'm finally (hopefully) seeing an end to the endless tunnel of stress, anxiety and depression.

Sooooooo....LETS TALK BOOKS!!!

Here's my plan. This first post is to give you a list of everything I've read since I last posted about books. And I've read a lot! But even better, I'm making October a review month. Every day I am going to review at least one of these books until I'm completely caught up. Or at least hopefully I'll be caught up, (I'm laughing right now, because it's going to be iffy) because I haven't posted the books I've read since June!!

So, here we go:

Books Read in July, August & September:

Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent *****

After the Crux by Dani Worth ****

Between by Cyndi Teft ***

Glimmer by Vivi Anna ****

Knight’s Curse by Karen Duvall ***

Darkest Knight by Karen Duvall***

Tin Swift by Devon Monk ******

This Dark Earth by John Horner Jacobs *****

Tainted Night, Tainted Blood by E.S. Moore ****

Dawning by Vivi Anna ****

Dark Beauty by Taryn Browning *

Unbound by Adriane Ceallaigh **

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead ****

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead ****

Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones *****

Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews *****

Bait Dog by Chuck Wendig *****

All Seeing Eye by Rob Thurman *****

A Wolf at the Door by K.A. Stewart *****

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake ****

Technomancer by B.V. Larson ****

Under the Moon by Natalie J. Damschroder  ****

No Peace for the Damned by Megan Powell ****

Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan ***

Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway ****

Biting Cold by Chloe Neill *****

Haunted by Jeanne C. Stein *****

Mockingbird by Chuck Wendig ******

Taken by Benedict Jacka *****

Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuire *****

In A Fix by Linda Grimes ****

The Killing Jar by Justin Zimmerman ***

Awakenings by Edward Lazellari **

Always the Baker, Never the Bride by Sandra D. Bricker *

Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride *****

Vampire Assassin by Samantha Warren **

Like I said, its a LONG list - 36 books. My scale 0-6 Stars.

0 stars means I didn't even attempt to finish and is my own private list. I don't mention them because I don't want to crush any author. If you write, you put your heart and soul into it and you don't need anyone telling you that's worth shit. (Mom always said, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all - its good, solid advice.) BTW, its a very short list since I find redeeming qualities in pretty much every book.

1 star means I skipped large portions of the book because it didn't appeal to me personally, and I'm happy to share why with these books because someone else might actually enjoy them for the very reason I disliked them.

2 stars means I skipped small portions of the book because I had issues with some aspect of it. 

3 stars is a good book. It probably has minor flaws in my opinion with plot or character or world building, but I would still recommend it. 

4 stars is a good book, leaning toward great.

5 stars is a great book with well developed plot, characters and world. 

6 stars is a book that knocked me on my ass with its brilliance.

So, welcome to October - my favorite month of the year! Why? Because it ends with Halloween (my favorite holiday) and contains my birthday. Yay! This year I turn 50! Scary, hunh? Well, not so much. You see, my older sister turned 50 last year, so in the true spirit of sisterhood, I spent the last year telling people I was almost 50 in solidarity. So, it's not such a big deal. What that has to do with books, I don't know. And you know what? 50 really isn't all that old mentally. I can't do cartwheels anymore, but I still love microbrew beer and angsty indie rock music, and I'm still a hardcore video game junkie. 

I will be posting my first review later today.

Karen

Remember how I was going to talk books??...

I was totally serious. The problem is, my life for the last month has been what I like to call The Month Of Surgeries & Scary Moments.

The good news is, after a second surgery - this time at Dana Farber (well, Brigham & Women's to be technical) - kiddo is healing up nicely. We've been running around for the last week shopping for everything he needs for college. Yes, he IS going. That was in doubt for a good week & believe me, I was freaking out about it. But I'm smart and resourceful. I sat him down and told him if he didn't go, he would have to get a job (gasp) and pay rent (eek) and do his own laundry (gulp) and learn to drive (agh). It took about 24 hours for that to absorb and then he announced he was going. Woot!

I'm going to miss him horribly. I've been packing him up all day today. We drop him off tomorrow. But as much as I'm going to be having The Empty Nester Blues, I want this to work for him desperately. Cross your fingers everyone.

While all the medical crisis with my son was going on, a separate and equally scary medical crisis was unfolding with my father. Two weeks ago, he had his gall bladder removed after it was determined the fucker was doing more harm than good. What has ensued is a series of disasters - and yes, he's still in the hospital (and probably will be for another week at least), but he's on the mend. Finally. 

I have a stack of books to blog about. Cross my heart and hope to ... ummm ... well, not die. Geez. If I say that, it might just happen considering everything that's gone down since the beginning of July. So, don't give up on me. I'm going to have lots of time on my hands to blog. Lots. Of. Time. *sob*

What the hell am I going to do with myself? I've been in full-time mom mode for 17 very long years...This is so weird.