Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

Well, the Halloween Decorations are up, making the house feel wonderfully spooky.

All of the All Hallows Read books have been sent.

Candy has been purchased for the Trick-or-Treaters' that may arrive tonight, assuming the weather cooperates and it isn't too stormy, rainy, or cold.

That means there's only one thing left to do: so to all of my Little Reading Addicts, and followers, I wish you a happy, safe, and treat filled Halloween, with 'nary a trick in sight!!  (Unless you want tricks, in which case I wish you lots of those also!).



Happy Halloween!!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - The Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* 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 Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

Last week I started reading The Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling.  I've been curious to see how she would do writing outside of the Harry Potter world, and I have to say, so far it's not bad!  This week my tease is from the opening paragraph of the novel.

The Tease:
 "Barry Fairbrother did not want to go out to dinner.  He had endured a thumping headache for most of the weekend and was struggling to make a deadline for the local paper.  However, his wife had been a little stiff and uncommunicative over lunch, and Barry deduced that his anniversary card had not mitigated the crime of shutting himself away in the study all morning. It did not help that he had been writing about Krystal, whom Mary disliked, although she pretended otherwise."
 -The Casual Vacancy, by J K Rowling

What's your Tease?

Monday, October 22, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* 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 Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

Last night I finished Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness.  I know I'm a little behind in reading it, but it was really quite good.  So before I start my next read, let's have one more Tease from Shadow of Night.

The Tease:
 "My attempts to reach the Old Lodge's future from its past were unsuccessful.  I focused on the look and smell of the place and saw the threads that bound Matthew and me to the house - brown and green and gold. But they slipped out of my fingers repeatedly."
 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Friday, October 19, 2012

Book Review - The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

Cotton Malone Series, by Steve Berry
1. The Templar Legacy     06/09/2009     * * * *

From Goodreads:
"The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes . . . until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was-and its true nature could change the modern world.
Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts-and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he'd left behind.
It begins with a violent robbery attempt on Cotton's former supervisor, Stephanie Nelle, who's far from home on a mission that has nothing to do with national security. Armed with vital clues to a series of centuries-old puzzles scattered across Europe, she means to crack a mystery that has tantalized scholars and fortune-hunters through the ages by finding the legendary cache of wealth and forbidden knowledge thought to have been lost forever when the order of the Knights Templar was exterminated in the fourteenth century. But she's not alone. Competing for the historic prize-and desperate for the crucial information Stephanie possesses-is Raymond de Roquefort, a shadowy zealot with an army of assassins at his command.
Welcome or not, Cotton seeks to even the odds in the perilous race. But the more he learns about the ancient conspiracy surrounding the Knights Templar, the more he realizes that even more than lives are at stake. At the end of a lethal game of conquest, rife with intrigue, treachery, and craven lust for power, lies a shattering discovery that could rock the civilized world-and, in the wrong hands, bring it to its knees."

My Thoughts:
Cotton Malone is a retired CIA agent who has retired to Copenhagen to open a bookstore, and is, for the most part, living quite happily in his new home.  But that all changes when his old boss blows into town for a visit, and suddenly Malone finds himself swept up in a desperate chase across the city and eventually across Europe, as he deciphers secret clues to try to stop the plans of a crazy man who also happens to be the Grand Master of a new secret Templar cult. 

The pace moves at breakneck speed, for the most part, although as so often happens, there is a section in the middle that I felt got a little bogged down.  Full of murder and mayhem, blackmail, kidnapping, betrayal and seemingly impossible escapes, The Templar Legacy is quite good, considering that the first novel in a series usually leaves a bit to be desired.  Characterization is a bit weak, I suppose, as it's a little difficult to get to know a character while he's running for his life, but that's a small quibble and something that does get better as the series continues.  The subject matter feels impeccably researched, and the reader may accidentally find themselves learning quite a bit of early Christian and European history without even noticing.

Similar in tone to Dan Brown's Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, but smarter, with a heavy dose of James Bond thrown into the mix, many will find this novel to be controversial in scope and subject matter in terms of religion and Christianity.  Nonetheless, I highly recommend The Templar Legacy.  It's a fast, fun, fact-filled, fascinating, and fulfilling novel.  If you like Dan Brown's novels, and aren't afraid of controversial ideas in your fiction novels, then I think you'll enjoy The Templar Legacy.

Have you read The Templar Legacy?  What did you think?  Did you find the ideas regarding Christianity too controversial?

Monday, October 15, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* 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 Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

Matthew and Diana have traveled to Prague, where they not only find themselves in more danger than ever, but also finally find the mysterious manuscript that originally brought them together...But their problems are far from over, and possessing the book may be more dangerous than searching for it.

The Tease:
 "Maybe my questions don't need answers as urgently as I thought they did."
To prove his point, Matthew put the book on the floor, out of sight.
"I thought it would tell me who I am and why I'm here.  Perhaps I already know."
I waited for him to explain.
After all my searching, I discover that I am who I always was: Matthew de Clermont.
Husband.  Father.  Vampire.  And I am here for only one reason: To make a difference.""
 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Sunday, October 14, 2012

TV News - The Walking Dead

Don't forget, Season Three Premieres tonight!!  I can't wait!


Fight the Dead.  Fear the Living.

I'll be watching.  Will you?

Friday, October 12, 2012

Book Review - The Third Secret, by Steve Berry

The Third Secret, Steve Berry  10/18/2005  * * * *

From Goodreads:
"Explosive in both its pace and its revelations, The Third Secret is a remarkable international thriller. Bestselling author Steve Berry tackles some of the most controversial ideas of our time in a breakneck journey through the history of the Church and the future of religion.

Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary’s words–or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.

Vatican City, present day: Papal secretary Father Colin Michener is concerned for the Pope. Night after restless night, Pope Clement XV enters the Vatican’s Riserva, the special archive open only to popes, where the Church’s most clandestine and controversial documents are stored. Though unsure of the details, Michener knows that the Pope’s distress stems from the revelations of Fatima.

Equally concerned, but not out of any sense of compassion, is Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. Valendrea desperately covets the papacy, having narrowly lost out to Clement at the last conclave. Now the Pope’s interest in Fatima threatens to uncover a shocking ancient truth that Valendrea has kept to himself for many years.

When Pope Clement sends Michener to the Romanian highlands, then to a Bosnian holy site, in search of a priest–possibly one of the last people on Earth who knows Mary’s true message–a perilous set of events unfolds. Michener finds himself embroiled in murder, suspicion, suicide, deceit, and his forbidden passion for a beloved woman. In a desperate search for answers, he travels to Pope Clement’s birthplace in Germany, where he learns that the third secret of Fatima may dictate the very fate of the Church–a fate now lying in Michener’s own hands."

My Thoughts:
So, it's been awhile since I read this novel, but I still remember how much I liked reading it.  It isn't my favorite of Steve Berry's novels - I much prefer his Cotton Malone series - but reading The Third Secret was fascinating and enjoyable.  As usual Mr. Berry has done what I can only imagine was a massive amount of research, which makes the story feel complete and authentic, and also manages to be informative about the history and workings of the Vatican without ever feeling boring or educational.

Suspenseful and exciting, the story is full of political intrigue, action, murder, with a little of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.  The writing is solid and the pacing is good, though there is a bit in the middle where it bogged down a bit, for me at least.  But overall, even though this isn't my favorite of his novels, I do strongly recommend it as an enjoyable read.

Have you read The Third Secret by Steve Berry?  What did you think?

Monday, October 8, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* 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 Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

Matthew and Diana seem to have settled down in London.  Matthew keeps busy with his spy duties, and Diana has finally found someone to teach her to control her magic.  Everything appears to be going well, until the unthinkable happens, and the Queen of England summons them both to court.

The Tease:
 "Henry tells me you are expected at court this afternoon.  You have nothing to wear."  With an imperious finger, Mary directed still more of her crew in the direction of our bedchamber.
"I was going to wear the gown I was married in," I protested.
"But it is French!" Mary said, aghast. "You cannot wear that!"
 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?

Monday, October 1, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* 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 Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

So after a brief visit in France, Matthew and Diana have traveled to London.  Diana is trying to fit in and further her education, but Matthew is frightened and over-protective of her.  The political scene is fraught with danger, and should anyone discovers their true identities they could both be in serious trouble.  In this scene, Diana tries to convince Matthew that she can handle the search for a suitable tutor on her own.

The Tease:
 "'You're being watched, Matthew.  I'm sure of it, and so is Mary Sydney.  You take care of the queen's business and the problem in Scotland, and let me take care of this."
When he opened his mouth to negotiate further, I shook my head.
"Listen to me.  A witch will come. I promise.""
 -Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness

What's your Tease?