Melodie's August 2013 Reads

[Melodie]

Thought I'd get posted early as I won't finish any of the 3 I'm reading now tonight. I'm staying pretty steady at about 12 per month. My total for the year is at 101!

Deadly Forecast by Victoria Laurie: 11th in Psychic Eye series and another so-so entry. These books have become terribly up & down with the odd numbered books being just "off" since book #7. This one has a bomber in it and it is just WAY over the top. Gave it 3-stars on GR purely on the merits of the series as a whole. Grade: 5.5

Unleashed by David Rosenfelt: 11th in the Andy Carpenter series. This series is always a pleasure for me. Love Andy and I really don't like lawyers! Andy gets talked into defending Sam's old high school flame who's been accused of killing her financial wizard husband. The story ends up twisting and turning all over the place. Grade: 8.5

Antidote to Murder by Felicity Young: 2nd in Dr. Dody McClelland series and the first I've read. As a rule I don't care much for period pieces. They usually don't hold my interest, but this one was actually pretty good. The premise of the story sounded interesting and Dody was a compelling character. A woman trying to make it in medicine at the turn of the last century makes for a good tale....mostly. The backward thinking of the time on some subjects is enough to make your blood boil. Especially coming from people like Dody's sister, Florence, who is in the forefront of the women's suffrage movement, but has terribly ignorant ideas about other things. Grade: 7

Biting Bad by Chloe Neill: 8th in Chicagoland Vampires series and a first rate read. It started out slow for me, but didn't stay that way long. I love the characters in these books and Ms. Neill paints great word pictures for both people and place. Really looking forward to the next one in February! Grade: 8.5

Haunted Cemeteries: Creepy Crypts, Spine-Tingling Spirits, and Midnight Mayhem by Tom Odged: picked this one up on a bargain table for $3.00 a while back. Was in the mood for ghost stories and this wasn't bad. Some of the stories I'd come across many times before, but some were new to me. Even enlarged upon a story that I had seen something about on a TV show once that isn't a ghost story, just extremely ghoulish. Grade: 6

Murder on the Rocks by Allyson K. Abbott: 1st in new Mack's Bar series and a really excellent first outing. Great characters and a good story. The main character has synesthesia which added an interesting element to the story and looks to be a big part of future books. Grade: 9

What You Want Is in the Limo: On the Road with Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and the Who in 1973, the Year the Sixties Died and the Modern Rock Star Was Born by Michael Walker: went into this one with high hopes, but I didn't learn much that I didn't already know. And I was never much of an Alice Cooper fan anyway, so the parts about them were ho-hum for me. Grade: 5.5

Cloche and Dagger by Jenn McKinlay: 1st in new Hat Shop series and another solid new entry. I really enjoy both of Ms. McKinlay's other cozy series (she also writes one under a pseudonym, but we won't go into that one!) and this one has the potential to be better than either of the other 2. Grade: 8.5

Death al Dente by Leslie Budewitz: another 1st in series, this one being called the Food Lover's Village. Takes place in a town in Montana which is a bit different for a cozy series. Once the characters are fleshed out a bit more the series has potential. Grade: 6

Haunted Highways: Spooky Stories, Strange Happenings, and Supernatural Sightings by Tom Odgen: another bargain pickup, but none of the stories in this one was really all that great. Grade: 4

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: I read THE GRAVEYARD BOOK a few years ago and didn't like it much. I thought I'd like this one, but I've decided I just don't "get" Gaiman. It's the only thing I can come up with. I really liked Lettie, her mom and grandmother, but I never cared about the boy one way or the other. Grade: 4

Little Black Book of Murder: A Blackbird Sisters Mystery by Nancy Martin: 9th in Blackbird Sisters series and one I always look forward to. The sisters, Nora, Emma & Libby are all quite different from one another which always makes the books interesting. The suspects in the murder are all over the place and the ending is not a cookie cutter ending. Looking forward to the next one! Grade: 8.5

[Sandi]

Too bad about What You Want Is in the Limo: On the Road with Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and the Who in 1973, the Year the Sixties Died and the Modern Rock Star Was Born. I was kind of hoping it would be worth the reading time.

I really enjoy Neil Gaiman's books on audio. His narration really adds quite a bit to the stories.

[Ann]

Twelve a month is great, Melodie! This month looks like most of your rankings were pretty good, always nice!
Sorry you didn't like The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but different strokes for different folks! ;)
Melodie wrote: "Thought I'd get posted early as I won't finish any of the 3 I'm reading now tonight. I'm staying pretty steady at about 12 per month. My total for the year is at 101!"

[Dan in AZ]

Good month, Melodie. I'm looking forward to the Andy Carpenter.

[Susie]

You did have a good month Melodie! I passed on getting the Jenn McKinlay book since I wasn't sure if I'd like the London setting. But your review makes me want to give it a try!

[Carol/Bonadie]

Wow, 101! That's admirable!

[Donnajo]

okay I don't know if I gave my total this year for the year but it's 158 which is over my total of the last few years that I couldn't make. so now I switched my goal to be 200 for this year.

[John]

Wow! I don't know how you do it. I'm a very, very slow reader. Always have been. I love reading (and writing) but I'm lucky if I can get through two in month.

[Melodie]

John wrote: "Wow! I don't know how you do it. I'm a very, very slow reader. Always have been. I love reading (and writing) but I'm lucky if I can get through two in month."

It's my preferred form of entertainment. Of course, now that football's back and the new TV season is starting my numbers may fall off!

[Brakedrum]

A bunch of reading machines!! Since Fred is home recuperating from surgery, I can't get any reading done.

[Ann]

Take care of dear Fred, Lorraine! I hope he is recovering steadily and well.
Perhaps a small MP3 player in one ear as you work around the house would add a book or two. Does your library do Overdrive? They have audio downloads. If reading slows down, it is ok. Those cycles occur for periods sometimes. Hugs to both of you!
Brakedrum wrote: "A bunch of reading machines!! Since Fred is home recuperating from surgery, I can't get any reading done."

[Brakedrum]

Ann, I plan on reading a bit more. I'm thinking of using ear plugs while he's watching television.
His strength is better, wounds are healed and we will begin a walking program today. Back to the cancer doctor on Tuesday.

[Dan in AZ]

Hope all goes well, Lorraine.