Review: The Tease by Nikki M, Pill

Anna Zendel is a therapist by day and burlesque dancer Velvet Crush by night. She struggles to keep the two worlds apart, but the Darling killer makes that impossible to maintain. He's called the Darling killer because he writes the word darling on his victims after he kills them.

Up until Anna, the victims seemed to be a one shot sort of deal. But with Anna, he seems obsessed. He sends flowers, jewelry, and starts killing people she knows. Who or what is next?

I couldn't put the book down. I read it quickly - in 3 days. I loved the detail especially about the burlesque side of things since that was less familiar.

Characters seemed well developed. The writing/plot was paced well. Kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. And I couldn't help but suspect each new male character that got close to her of being the killer.

It's not quite a stand alone novel because while the action for the moment is wrapped up, Nikki Pill leaves Anna in a place where she is vulnerable and quite possibly introduced to another suspect. I wish the second book was out already so I could see what happens next.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Review: The Dude and the Zen Master by Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman

In the Dude and the Zen Master, Jeff Bridges and Zen Master Bernie Glassman are having a series of conversations about Zen Buddhism using examples from the movie The Big Lebowski and their lives to illustrate and explain the concepts. If you enjoyed the movie, it will mean more to you, but you can enjoy the book without ever having seen the movie. The dude-isms are explained well enough. Oddly enough, I had more trouble following some of the acting examples than the examples from the Dude.

The book slowed down for a while towards the middle and hit some heavy concepts. I found it difficult to finish. Still overall, it was an interesting book with some lovely catch phrases and some great insights into zen. “The Dude Abides.” “That's just your opinion.” The latter meaning it's just your way of looking at things. And this review is just my opinion.  

I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. I liked it, but I wasn't crazy about it.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Review: Never Look a Polar Bear in the Eye:

  A Family Field Trip to the Arctic's Edge in Search of Adventure, Truth, and Mini-Marshmallows by Zac Unger

More than anything else, this book has to do with Zac Unger's search for truth about the polar bears and adventures related to them, mini-marshmallows not so much. Also, the parts mentioning his family, while entertaining and interesting, play a small part overall in the book.

The big question seems to be: Are polar bears going to become extinct as a result of global warming? The answer seems to be: Depends on who you ask and when. There's plenty of information to make up your own mind as well as the conclusions that Zac draws. There are of course lots of little questions as well and memorable people to meet like Linda Gormezano and Brian Ladoon. This mostly takes place in and around Churchill in Manitoba, Canada.

Churchill is a town on the shore of the Hudson Bay famous for the number of polar bears that move toward the shore from the inland in the fall waiting for the bay to freeze over.Churchill has developed quite a tourism industry around the presence of the polar bears during this time of  year. The tundra buggies and their similar counterparts roll out for tours. People show up from all over the world. Even Zac Unger takes a tour on one of these vehicles in an effort to get closer to the polar bears.

It's an interesting book. He finds some truth for himself. It gets a little bogged down in the science in places. For the title, it could have used more involvement with his family. I was expecting it to be a little bit of a lighter read because of the title. It's still an enjoyable book. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Review: Book of Why by Nicholas Montemarano

Eric Newborn is a disillusioned self-help writer and widower living alone with his female German Shepherd named Ralph. "I didn't know, when I thought I knew it all, that I would join the chorus of askers," he says at one point in the book. Sam Leslie who comes looking for him is one of those askers. Her arrival and their subsequent adventure are the catalyst for Eric to finally tackle writing the book that he has promised the lady in the yellow dress he would write ages ago, The Book of Why.

Interspersed in the book are sections of his previous self help texts and talks. He spoke strongly about the law of attraction among other things: what you put out into the universe is what you get back. And this is one of the things that the other askers puzzle over so hard. Why is it that someone who does good and puts out good or is innocent as is a young baby can still have something bad happen to them? (Don't read it looking for a definitive answer to Why.)

Also throughout the book there are pieces of his life from when he is young through his marriage with Cary that help to explain first his belief system and then the disillusionment with it.

The book is beautifully written.  It will linger on your mind afterwards. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Review: British Guinness by David Xavier

British Guinness is supposed to be a humorous travel memoir through England, France, and Italy. 

Simply put, this book is not funny. The author frequently comes across as an example of what not to be like as a tourist. The phrase "Ugly American" comes to mind. Even in the description for the book, the way he talks about the locals as "people that inhabit the land like wild animals" shows his negative attitude. He generally seems to find things dirty and smelly. Communication problems aren't always solved amicably either. Sometimes he becomes annoyed because the person doesn't speak any English even though he is the one visiting their country.

I had a lot of trouble finishing this book. Small Spoiler: In particular after he sees two young women walking small dogs and the dogs get into a fight. He decides he would rather "sit back and enjoy the show" than help.

After a while it becomes a series of cappuccinos for the men and shopping trips for the women punctuated by sight seeing. As far as humor in the book goes, I think it probably is humorous to the author and his family and the people that know them, but that the humor doesn't seem to translate to a broader experience.

On a more positive note, there are a few places where the descriptions shine through. In Paris: "Ascending the stairwell from the station was like being slowly dipped into a vat of creamy butter. Everything around us changed with each step. Everything became deliciously foreign." Now, if only he had been able to keep that sort of attitude and language.

I gave this book 2 stars out of 5.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for my unbiased opinion.

Review: Six Gun Tarot by R.S. Belcher

Per Goodreads.com:

This title will be released on January 22, 2013.

"Buffy meets Deadwood in a dark, wildly imaginative historical fantasy

Nevada, 1869: Beyond the pitiless 40-Mile Desert lies Golgotha, a cattle town that hides more than its share of unnatural secrets. The sheriff bears the mark of the noose around his neck; some say he is a dead man whose time has not yet come. His half-human deputy is kin to coyotes. The mayor guards a hoard of mythical treasures. A banker’s wife belongs to a secret order of assassins. And a shady saloon owner, whose fingers are in everyone’s business, may know more about the town’s true origins than he’s letting on.

A haven for the blessed and the damned, Golgotha has known many strange events, but nothing like the primordial darkness stirring in the abandoned silver mine overlooking the town. Bleeding midnight, an ancient evil is spilling into the world, and unless the sheriff and his posse can saddle up in time, Golgotha will have seen its last dawn…and so will all of Creation."

My first thought was that the book was a little bit busy. There were too many main characters, too many religions/mythologies, and too much action all at once towards the end. But then when I really thought about it, I felt that somehow it all seems to balance out. Each person involved represents one of the ideologies. Each area of town also seems to have its own belief system. And as for the fight scenes, fights do happen all at once and not so much in a linear fashion. As such, I thought that R.S. Belcher handled the fight scenes well after reflection.

You meet the main characters at a slow enough pace and with enough background to make them memorable and well developed. Some are so memorable, like Maude, that I would love to see more of them in future books. And some of them there is so little, that I would like to learn more about them in future books, such as Deputy Mutt and Sheriff Jon Highfather.

When trouble begins, Maude's neighbor asks her when Maude returns home muddied from an incident in town, "Is it regular trouble or Golgotha trouble?" The townspeople have experience with this sort of weirdness, so it's not surprising when they work together to battle the evil that is threatening to end all existence. I do wonder if H.P. Lovecraft is one of the authors that influenced R.S. Belcher. The monster itself is reminiscent of Lovecraftian horrors. 

The book is aptly called a "weird western" by Mike Resnick. I think it's weird in a good way - part western, part steampunk, part coming of age story, part horror. The characters are interesting and well written. The world is built well and will stand up to repeat visits. I hope that R.S. Belcher visits Golgotha again.
I give this book 4 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for my unbiased opinion.

Review: Forever Werewolf by Michele Hauf

Forever Werewolf  by Michele Hauf is really a compilation of 2 books: Forever Werewolf and Moon Kissed. 

Forever Werewolf is kind of a sweet love story between a werewolf, Alexis, and a werewolf/vampire, Trystan. It's almost a Romeo and Juliet set up. Alexis belongs to a pack and is the leader's daughter and acts as if second in command while her father is so very ill. Trystan's family is on it's own since his mother is a vampire and his father is a werewolf and he has acted as courier to bring something to help Alexis's father. Alexis finds herself drawn to Trystan for so many reasons among them his helpfulness when there is an avalanche. She also finds he just might be the one to help her change to wolf form completely, something she has been unable to do, but her father forbids her to become romantically involved with Trystan. The subplots add to the story making it more intriguing and fleshing it out. It's an enjoyable read.

Moon Kissed comes across as a little more dangerous in some ways and passionate. Honestly at times it seems there is power play involved between the main characters of Bella and Severo because they are both fiercely independent. To begin with, Severo saves Bella from 3 vampires who were chasing her on her evening run. He crushes her to him and holds his hand tightly over her mouth. And at the end takes a kiss as payment and tells her that he can find her any time because he has her scent. In other words, he is in control. On another occasion at her apartment, he relinquishes control to her. And back and forth they go.

Bella didn't even know that vampires existed until that night. When she tells her best friend Seth about what happened, he not only confirms they exist, but says he is dating one and that her encounter was most likely with a werewolf. To me, she seemed to accept the existence of these supernatural creatures a little too easily.

The rest of the novel is a combination of romance, power play, and vampire vs werewolf. There is a subplot involving her best friend, but it doesn't really add much to the story in my opinion. Still, overall I found it to be enjoyable reading. It is a little sexier and a little more passionate than Forever Werewolf. Fans of one might not like the other because they are so different from each other while others might enjoy both like me.

I gave the book 3 stars over all. It's likable. It's enjoyable.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.