"King of Lies" by John Hart

King of Lies by John Hart is an amazing murder mystery/romance.  It has an intricately woven plot with an ending I did not see coming.  This one started out slow for me but about halfway through, I found it hard to put down.  At first, I didn't like the main character, Work, who was a lawyer accused of murdering his father, but grew to like him as the book went on.  Work tells the story so the reader knows he is innocent.  He is married to a woman but is in love with another and drinks a lot.  I started liking him when he decided to get a dog.   He thought his sister killed their father and was willing to destroy evidence and take the fall in order to protect her.  There is really a lot of family issues that are addressed in this novel that make it a very interesting read. 

(Karen's review 6/9/10)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"The Snowball Effect" by Holly Nicole Hoxter

The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter is her first book.  It is a story about Lainy who has to deal with the death of her mom upon graduating from high school. a 5-yr. old orphaned brother, and two boys after her affections. 

I got into this book right from the start.  The characters were believable and enjoyable.  It had funny parts throughout. 

(Gerard's review--5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

A Dog’s Life--Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin

A Dog’s Life--Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin is my favorite dog book!  A Dog's Life is about a stray dog written from the dog's perspective and wasn't boring at all. I read it straight through in just a few hours. It shows how cruel some people can be but also how nice others can be. It's a story of the dog's life from when she was born to when she grew old but at least it has a happy ending and I'm glad the dog didn't die in the book.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about animals or who likes dogs. I wasn't surprised to see the author works with an animal rescue organization.
(Karen's Review 2/09)


Told By a Dog--Awesome! 15 Stars
This is just an awesome book.  Never read a book with a dog telling the story.  You really do feel like you are seeing this through the dog's eyes.  This dog is a stray that first loses her mother and then her brother.  Later she meets a friend.  There are so many good adventures in this book.  Anyone would love this book because you get into it fast and it is hard to put down.
(Gerard's Review 2/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Never Blame The Umpire" by Gene Fehler

Never Blame The Umpire by Gene Fehler is a teen book about a Kate, a 16yr.-old girl who learns her mother is dying of Cancer.  She uses poetry to express her feelings and blames God for letting her mom get Cancer.  The author was an English teacher and in this book, there is a lot about Kate’s English class.  You can pick up some techniques about writing poems by reading this book. 

 

Kate and her brother, Ken, are both on the same baseball team and I thought it would be more about baseball based on the cover.  It really only mentions a couple highlights of a couple games.  Kate’s mother helps Kate deal with her death by comparing God to an umpire.    

This is a touching story.  It may be a book that someone in this situation could learn from.  It is written using first person from Kate’s perspective and I could certainly put myself in her place and understood how she felt. 

 

Personally, I did not care for all the poems and was glad when I finished it.  It was a touching story and I cried at the end.

(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Teaser Tuesday: One Non-fiction and Two Teen Books

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Click on any of the links below to see our reviews.

Karen's books:

Part of me is Mary.  I want to worship extravagantly.  I want to sit at his feet.
But part of me is Martha--and there's just so much to do!

From p. 7 of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.

Mama's body seems to stiffen.  "I have cancer."
The word pounds me like a tidal wave.  I feel myself drowning.  I take a deep breath, trying to stay above the water.

From p. 51 of Never Blame the Umpire by Gene Fehler. (Teen)

Gerard's:

"He's been diagnosed so many freaken' times, I can't keep it straight.  There's the ADHD.  And they think he has attachment disorder.  And sometimes they put him on the autism spectrum."

From p. 76 of The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter. (Teen)