The Bee Keepers Apprentice

The Bee Keepers Apprentice

Laurie R. King

3 out of 5


I don't like being the dissenting opinion, but this book just hit me a little wrong or maybe it is my inability to have a beloved character toyed with; but this story of Mary Russsell, a precocious 15 year old, whom after the death of her family moves to a farm with an aunt, and who just happens to run into the famous Sherlock Homes on one of her daily sojourns into the country is just too contrived for me.

The idea that this young woman can match wits with Sherlock is a little overdrawn and as the years go by and they investigate a few cases much in the same way as Holmes and Watson, just seems as if the author is stealing an idea instead of coming up with one of her own.
Unfortunately, I don't think I will continue on with this series, but will once again go back and read the original Conan Doyle accounts of a fascinating character.

Endless Chain

Endless Chain

Emilie Richards

4 out of 5

After leaving his previous job as a minister in a rather glitzy church were being seen is more important then doing good, Sam Kinkade has settled into the town of Toms Brook, VA, the same setting as Richards previous book Wedding Ring. With many of the same characters, the author weaves a new story around the church and their new Sexton, Elisa Martinez, a refugee from Guatemala.

Sam and his fellow parishioners have opened up La Casa Amarilla on the grounds of the church to act as an education program for the Hispanic children new to the area. But as the story progresses we see that everyone has a secret, including the pre-Cival War home that houses the school.

With precise storytelling, Emilie Richards unwinds a wonderful addition to her Shenandoah Album series that brings the residents of Toms Brook into our homes and makes the reader a wonderful addition to the close knit community that cares for one another in a way that now seems foreign to most of us.

Demon Ex Machina

Demon Ex Machina

Julie Kenner

4 out of 5

Though this book starts out a bit choppy with too much rehashing of previous relationships and storylines, Kenner finally settles down and once again the reader is vicariously enjoying Kate's life as a wife, mom and demon hunter.

Now that Stuart knows Kate's part time job, he has decided to give up his run for political office and is now training to help Kate in her nightly forays into demon hunting. Unfortunately, this time it gets a bit too close to home and Kate's family is in real danger. You don't threaten a demon hunters family, so Kate kicks this one up a notch only to find out that the danger is closer then ever and she now must make a choice. Is Eric, her first husband, really who he claims to be or is he too keeping a secret deep inside.

Decisions are never easy for this demon hunting soccer mom, but now that her past is revealed, she must make choices. She isn't who she thought she was, her history has been opened and now she must move forward and it's up to Stuart if he wants to join her.

Club Dead

Club Dead

Charlaine Harris

4 out of 5

It boggles the mind the adventures that Sookie Stackhouse can get herself into, but yet again, there she is, right in the middle of vampires and wherewolves. I didn't know that shape shifters could be so much fun.

In this third outing, Bill is pulling back from Sookie, actually spending more time on his computer then on her, if you get her complaint. So when Sookie finds out that Bill has an up coming trip she figures there is a big lie in there somewhere but when Bill is discovered to be missing she turns to Eric who just might know where to find him. And this might not be good news for Sookie.

With the help of Alcide, sometimes you just have love the names that Harris comes up with, a werewolf, the antics begin in the search for the missing Bill.

Though this book did seem to drag in parts for me, the interaction between Eric and Sookie is always entertaining and with Harris slowly revealing Eric's background I can see a much more entertaining character develop.

The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol

Dan Brown

3 out of 5

What started out as a great books turned into watching a balloon slowly deflate. The history and symbolism were fascinating, but the whole tattooed menace grew old quickly. I can't say that the book was overly long, or dwelled on the wrong thing, it just lost it spark midway through and never regained it.

Invited by his long time friend Peter Solomon, Robert Langdon has been invited to Washington DC to delivery a speech. Not only is Solomon an important man in his own right, as head of the Smithsonian Museum, but he also happens to be a high-ranking Mason. There was no speech planned, Langdon was lured there because it is thought that he could unlock an ancient portal hidden in Washington.

Peter Solomon has been kidnapped and with the help of Solomon's daughter, Langdon sets out to decipher clues that will keep Solomon alive and slowly discover the guarded secrets of the Freemasons. Through use of symbolism and Neotic Science Brown leads the reader down many twisted avenues to an ending that was neither shocking or awe inspiring.

Though there were many good sections and times that I went and did a bit more research on topics that were mentioned, overall the book was just so-so. Langdon seemed a bit more bumbling then I remember him being in previous books, the beautiful woman that assists him is over used and the tattooed antagonist was predictable. Maybe it was because of all the hype, but I was expecting more. Maybe next time.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Jamie Ford

5 out of 5

This incredibly sweet and touching novel brings an intimate look into the life of Henry Lee,a Chinese-American who one day witnesses a crowd outside the Panama Hotel. A hotel that once held so many memories for Henry. A hotel that now holds the memories of Japanese families that were interned during World War II.

When the belongings of Japanese families are found in the basement, Henry must go, he must find if there are any last treasures from his beloved Keiko. And in flashbacks and retrospect Henry tells the reader of his first love, of their challenges, of their hopes and dreams.

Young love plays out in the tumultuous days of the 1940's where Henry and Keiko meet in an exclusive elementary school, where white kids alternately ignore him and torment him. Where even if you are an American, you are treated differently because you don't look American. Where even your own family points fingers at those that look different, it doesn't matter that you were born on the same street, in the same hospital up on the hill, you are different and different isn't good. Different can hold you back and change your ways.

This is the difference that makes you choose what type of man you want to be, what you will hold on to and what you are willing to let go of. Though Henry's eyes, Jamie Ford introduces you to long remembered characters that show the reader the good in people, the strife that they must endure and the bitter sweet memories that build who they are. The is a novel that shouldn't be missed, a novel that leaves the reader hopeful that maybe there really is good that can come of out a dark time.

Getting Stoned With Savages

Getting Stoned With Savages

J. Maarten Troost

4 out of 5


Good, but I don't really think it was as good as the first. Though still very laugh out loud funny, Troost seemed to have been trying to hard to achieve what appeared to be more easily gained in his first book.

After finding himself in a boring 9-5 type of job, Maarten and Sylvia can't wait to get back to the life that they had had on Tarawa. This time it's the more settled Vanuatu and Fiji. Though still a bit rustic, with Kava, anything is doable, and so Maarten and Sylivia set out for this adventure.

This lifestyle doesn't seem as challenging as Tarawa, but still they do find themselves in a quagmire to two, but they are veterans at this paradise thing so what are a few cannibal, bugs and mother nature. Besides, when you have the local chiefs living next door. Life's a piece of cake.