"Die For You" by Lisa Unger

Die For You by Lisa Unger is the story of an author, Isabel Raine, whose husband disappears and she launches into her own investigation to figure out what happened.  Fiction writers make pretty good detectives.  She loves her husband and does not hesitate to go looking for him even though it puts her in great danger.  Die For You is a fast-paced novel about trust, love, marriage, forgiveness, betrayal and identity theft. 

 

This is one of those books that is difficult to put down because of the mystery and suspense created from the start.  I liked the insight the author gives into four different marriages, the excitement of the mob involvement, the trip to Prague and the theme of trust and forgiveness that runs through the book.   The lesson taught in this book is to get to know someone well before you marry them!  

(Karen's review)

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

"Dogwood" by Chris Fabry

Dogwood by Chris Fabry is a short novel that I found a bit hard to follow at first.  It got off to kind of a slow start but takes some unexpected turns along the way that made for interesting reading.  It’s about Will who is in love with a girl from high school that he decides is worth waiting for, even though it means being an ex-con and returning to his small hometown in West Virginia which doesn’t want him back.

This book is about illusions.  Things are not what they seem.  I’m glad I finished it because it did get good at the end and was hard to put down; however, overall, I really didn’t care much for this one.  I’d be curious to hear what others think of it.  It’s not your usual crime mystery or romance, that’s for sure!   Discussion questions are included--could be a book club read.

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

"The Convent" by Panos Karnezis

The Convent by Panos Karnezis is an excellent read that I really enjoyed!  It is about an order of Nuns in a remote convent whose lives are dedicated to prayer and our Lord.  Then one day, a baby is left on their doorstep and everything changes.  The thing I liked most about this book is how the reader finds out about all the Nuns’ past lives a little at a time.  It is only 212 pages but once you are into it, it’s almost impossible to put down!  Give it a shot--I’m really glad I did! (9 stars)

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

Tuesday Teaser: "Dogwood" and "The Convent"

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. 

Karen's:

I wanted to crumple the paper and write something else, something about her counting the days until I was free.  But that wouldn't be fair to either of us, and I knew, like with the farm kittens I held as a child, the more you cling to an animal, the more it wants its freedom.  I have claw marks in my memory to prove that.

Taken from p. 68 of Dogwood by Chris Fabry.  (I just finished this so the review will be up Thursday)

Gerard's:

When she was alone, she sat on the edge of the bed and continued to watch the sleeping baby in silence. This was one of the rare occasions in her life when she did not know what to do.

Taken from p. 3 of The Convent by Panos Karnezis. An excellent read. I just finished it and my review will be up tomorrow.

Meet Us On Monday

We thought you might like to get to know us better so we will do this meme now and then hosted by Never Growing Old. Here's the questions from last week because I work so don't have time to do these posts on Monday mornings.

Questions:

1.  Do you have any New Year's resolutions?
2.  What food item are you craving right now?
3.  When is your birthday?
4.  What were you doing an hour ago?
5.  Last thing you cooked?

1. Our New Year's resolutions are:

• Read 100 books each in 2011. Last year Gerard read 98 and Karen read 89.
• Do something fun every week--preferably every day but want to keep this doable.
• Try two new things, go to 4 new places in 2011.
• Donate $25 to sponsor a dog at Best Friends on a bi-monthly basis.
• Work out at least three times a week.
• Karen: Take more breaks from the computer. I sit entirely too much which isn't healthy. Gerard is always on the go, he walks around all day at work. (When I do read on breaks at work, I walk as I read.)
• Give up the donuts.
• Be a blessing to someone each day.
Here's how we did last year: How Did You Do On Last Year's Resolutions?

Christmas Dinner 2010

2. I'm not craving any food at the moment. I just had cereal two hours ago.

3. Our birthdays are both the first half of December, just 10 days apart.

4. An hour ago, Gerard was walking our dog, Abby and Karen was working on our blogs.

5. Last thing Karen cooked was scrambled eggs in the microwave and Gerard last cooked sloppy Joes for our Christmas dinner.  Karen bought those reindeer double-decker cookies with the chocolate frosting. We usually don't cook.