Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars At the start of August I mentioned in a guest post at Roof BeamReaders that I consider myself to be an “In betweener” when it comes to the reading of Jane Austen inspired books.  I like my books to be believable in the realm of Jane Austen’s World.  I’ve read, but not really enjoyed, some of the modern adaptations of her books (they average about 3 of 5 stars).  That being said, this book came way out of left field for me! To start, I was pulled in by the cover first and the premise second.  Darcy as a rock star?  I can read that! Darcy or Will as his friends call him is a guitar virtuoso.  He lives music.  He started a band, Slurry, with his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam (drums) and his college friend Charles Bingley (guitar and vocals).  They are a huge hit, but like any rock band they come with a bad boy reputation.   They need a n...

Redshirts by John Scalzi My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Book Description - Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship  Intrepid , flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expendedon avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship  Intrepid  really is…and offers them a crazy...

Love is a Battlefield by Tamara Morgan My rating: 3 of 5 stars It was a really cute read, but I don't know if it impressed me enough to have me keep reading the series.  I originally decided to read it when I saw that Kate is a member of a Jane Austen Regency Reenactment Society (JARRS) and I just love Jane Austen (JASNA member!) That being said there was just something about the story that didn't work for me and I can't even really put my finger on what it was, but there was just "something".  I feel like the problems the characters kept facing could have easily been solved with simple conversations, I tend to like when things are harder to solve and they really have to work at overcoming their problems. The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman by Lori  Smith My rating: 3 of 5 stars As with any interpretation of an author's work, Lori Smith uses what we know about Jane from her letters and those of her family to a...

This review contains spoilers! The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine My rating: 3 of 5 stars I'll admit, I cheated. Since I was listening to this, I sought out reviews with spoilers so I could see where the story was heading because the first disc interested me, but I didn't know if I wanted to keep listening.  After reading the review with spoilers, I kept listening and I'm happy I did, this was a refreshing adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. I'll also admit that Sense and Sensibility is my least favorite Jane Austen work, I've read it once and will probably never force myself to read it again.  So when I saw in the spoiler reviews that the plot doesn't perfectly follow Jane's tale, I knew it would be worth my time to finish listening to this story. The ages of the characters bothered me at the beginning of the story, but as the story went on I found that it worked with the direction of the plot.  I liked Annie and Miranda more tha...

Forbidden Pleasure by Lora Leigh My rating: 2 of 5 stars This was the second book we have all disliked.  The first still goes by "the book that shall not be named" and we avoid that author's books all together when picking books each month. We all had similar feelings about the story, the characters, and the sex.   I have mixed feelings about the book. Normally I want to go back and read the books in the series but I'm just not feeling compelled to do that with this series. I feel that if I had started with book one I may have liked the book/series more. When books in the middle of series have been picked in the past I've gone back and read those that came before, but I never got around this time and just read the book.  I kind of regret doing that, but there's no going back now! This was our book club pick and the woman who picked it didn't realize what it was really about, she thought Keiley was torn between the two men, not that she'd be ...

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning My rating: 4 of 5 stars I know this review is late, but I needed to read all the books in the series and then I felt I had to give myself time to digest the awesomeness that was that series.   I was addicted to these books! No sooner had I finished one than I picked up the other and dove right in, and I didn't even really like the first books when I started reading.  That bothered me because I had be dying to read this series.  I read her Highlander series and I love it, it's one of my constant weekend re-read series. When I heard that the Fever series was a kind of crossover I knew they would be read.   Like I said, I got worried because I didn't really like Mac, she bothered me and that worried me since she's the star of the books. Then I realized that I didn't understand why everyone was so OMG over Barrons.  But I knew that I would finish the series, I needed to know the fate of the world, I needed to know th...

This book just looks really, really cute! I might have to pick it up for baby girl. She's going to have more books than she'll know what to do with by the time she starts reading!