Sunday, January 31, 2010

I owe you guys two reviews

They're going to be on The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan and Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead. I have some things to get done today but I should have them up for you by this evening.

I hope.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sea Swept - Nora Roberts

Every NR fan I know has told me that I must read the Chesapeake Bay series. And "must" is always emphasized that way when they talk about it. I figured it should be good but I picked it up last year at the last book. I never blogged about it because I didn't want to go out of order here. lol ... yes, I know.

Anyway, Cameron Quinn came from a troubled past as did the rest of the boys that Stella and Ray Quinn adopted. She was unable to have kids so they kept their eye out for children who needed the assistance. Cam did. When they came across him thinking about stealing their Corvette, they never thought about it twice. Cam had been beaten severely and regular abuse from a mother who just didn't care left him wary and mistrusting of everyone. Ray and Stella assumed legal guardianship and fought to adopt him to give him a better life.

It took a while but eventually he came around and became part of the family. In time, they gave him brothers. Phillip and Ethan had gone through similar issues and eventually became absorbed into the family whole. They thought of themselves as brothers and they were at the heart of it.

Eventually, they grew up and left the nest as children so often do. Ethan stayed the closest, choosing to fish the waters of the river and bay. Phillip went into advertising in Baltimore. And Cameron went to Europe to race. I think he raced hydrofoils solely. They're those things that float just on top of the water. Our story really starts with Ray's accident.

He had collected another child and only had him for a few months when he ran into a telephone pole on the way back from Baltimore. It started a ripple effect for everyone connected with him. Cam came back from Europe. Ethan and Phillip moved back into the house after the funeral. Seth was still in a surly stage especially since he didn't really know Cam. He, like the rest of them, had been abused not only by his mother but by the men she brought home constantly. He trusted no one.

Enter Anna Spinelli, a social worker with a caring heart and an insight into the kind of troubles that can tear a child apart. Her only interest, at first, is the best interests of the child. She guides the Quinns through the process, all the while seeing that they're becoming a family unit. The inevitable happens (it IS a NR book after all) and she falls for Cam. Being male, he falls for her too but doesn't realize it until it's too late.

One question lingers over all of them. Was Ray's accident truly an accident or was it suicide?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

Poor Percy Jackson. He's special ... in an odd sort of way. He suffers from ADHD and dyslexia. Because of that, he is constantly getting into trouble. He doesn't mean to. He doesn't WANT to get into trouble; it just sort of happens to him. All sorts of weird things happen to him.

It's not until he turns 11 that he finds out why. Percy is special but not because he's a troubled kid. He's a demigod. Half human. Half Greek God. It's a further shock to find out exactly who his father is. It's not just any Greek god. It's Poseidon and that's where the fun starts.

For those who don't know, Poseidon is the god of water in Greek mythology. And since water exists just about everywhere, you can see why he's so powerful. Percy finds all this out and then goes to a special place to be protected and learn to refine his powers. Right up until Poseidon and Zeus start to fight.

He's then sent on a quest to locate something that has been stolen from Zeus and return it to the most powerful of gods on Olympus. Does he do it? I'm not telling.

I liked this book. It was fun. It was a fast read and it was engaging enough to make me go back for the second book in the series. I'll definitely keep reading.