"Murder Past Due" by Miranda James

Murder Past Due by Miranda James is a cozy mystery that almost put me to sleep.  It's about a college librarian who takes his Maine Coon cat with him practically everywhere, even to a funeral!  This was the fun part of the book.  The college librarian's curiosity and concern for his college student boarder draws him into his private investigation of the murder of one of the alumni authors who came to speak at the college and donate all his materials to the archives.  There was a lot of lying by the characters and the reader was kept in the dark as to who the murderer was until the very end.  

This was slow moving and presented many possible suspects, some of which lied which caused more confusion for me.  The subplot of who boarder's biological father was somewhat interesting.  I liked the cover but was relieved when I finished it!
(Karen's review)

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"Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope" by Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly

Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope by Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly is the true story of Arizona Congresswoman, Gabrielle Gifford's recovery after being shot in the head. It is a very inspiring story and is told by Mark, her astronaut husband. It reads like a novel and I enjoyed it a lot.
(Gerard's review:  My rating: 4 of 5 stars)


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

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"Legend" by Marie Lu (UPDATED 1-4-12)

Legend by Marie Lu is teen fiction that takes place in a futuristic Los Angeles.  It is told by a young boy named Day and a young woman named June.  Day is an outlaw and is wanted by the Republic.  June is a member of the Army of the Republic.  They are on opposite sides, or are they?  Legend is so good that the movie rights have already been sold.  If you loved "Hunger Games" and "Divergent," you will love Legend too.  I look forward to the second book in this series.
(Gerard's review)



Legend by Marie Lu is a futuristic teen romantic thriller about a fugitive 15-yr.-old, Day from the slums, who is passionate about protecting his family and helping people, even if it means going against the Republic. When June, a Republic agent and military prodigy from a wealthy family, thinks Day is responsible for killing her brother when trying to steal the cure for the plague to cure his youngest brother, she hunts Day down. This is a fun, adventurous novel that is a page turner. 

Favorite quote from this book:

“I never did ask you about your street name. Why 'Day'?”
“Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time.”

I liked how the author alternated telling the story between Day and June.  It kept my interest and was also easy to follow.  Although somewhat predictable, I enjoyed it very much and was rooting for Day and June to become friends from the start.  I recommend this to anyone who likes action and romance.

(Karen's review:  My rating: 5 of 5 stars)


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

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Teaser Tuesday: "Legend" and "Murder Past Due"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! 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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Gerard's:

"You're too late," she says. "Because today the plague patrol is coming for your family. They're taking them away."

From pg. 145 of Legend by Marie Lu.

Karen's:

The last thing I wanted was to get involved in the life of one of my boarders. If Justin's problem turned out to be serious, he would have to go home to his parents.

From page 13 of Murder Past Due by Miranda James.

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"Weight of Silence" by Heather Gudenkauf

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf is a page-turner that grabbed my attention right from the start. A young girl is abducted and her friend, Calli is also missing. Calli is seven but hasn't spoken since she was four. I liked this book because it wasn't predictable and deals with a lot of different issues such as family dynamics, alcoholism, old flames, police investigation, selective mutism and friendship. It is a fast read and contains discussion questions at the end. I recommend this book if you like contemporary fiction about families.


(Karen's review 2/11/10)--Also enjoyed These Things Hidden

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

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