Anne Rivers Siddons - Sweetwater Creek

81. Sweetwater Creek by Anne Rivers Siddons (2005)
Length: 444 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 25 August 2013
Finished: 27 August 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 22 August 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

At twelve, Emily Parmenter knows about loneliness only too well. Left mostly to herself after her beautiful young mother disappeared and her beloved older brother died, Emily is keenly aware of yearning and loss. Rather than let the sadness consume her, she has built a life around the faded plantation where her remote father and hunting-obsessed brothers raise the legendary Lowcountry Boykin hunting spaniels. To some, it may seem that she lives within a meager, narrow, masculine world, but to Emily that life holds its own special magic: the storied deep-sea dolphins who regularly come to frolic and play in Sweetwater Creek; her extraordinary bond with the beautiful dogs she trains; her almost mystical communion with her own spaniel, Elvis; the dreaming old Lowcountry itself. Emily hides from the dreaded world here. For her, it is enough.

And then along comes Lulu Foxworth, troubled daughter of a truly grand plantation, who has run away from her hectic debutante season in Charleston to spend a healing summer with the quiet marshes and river, and the life-giving dogs. Where Emily's father sees their guest as an entree into a society he thought forever out of reach, Emily is at once threatened and utterly mystified. Lulu has a powerful enchantment and a charm of her own, and this, along with the dark, crippling secret she brings with her, will inevitably blow Emily's magical water world apart and let the real one in - but at a terrible price.

In my opinion, this book was just alright. I found the story to be a bit too long; with too many descriptive passages for my liking. Ultimately, the book boasted a promising build up to a rather disappointing ending in my opinion. My feelings might just be because of the type of mood I was in while reading, but this book never fully delivered on its promise for me. It was a bit of a disappointment for me, because I've read several other books by this author that I absolutely loved. I had to give Sweetwater Creek by Anne Rivers Siddons a B+! 

B+! - (89-94%)     


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Sidney Sheldon - The Sky is Falling: A Novel

80. The Sky is Falling: A Novel by Sidney Sheldon (2000)
Length: 317 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 22 August 2013
Finished: 24 August 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 22 August 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

If America were to have a royal family, the Winthrops would wear the crown. The popular, charismatic Winthrops have captured the imagination of the entire nation, as well as the world with their public service, their myriad acts of altruistic charity, and their glamorous lives. But in a single year, all five members of the family were killed in a series of unexplained accidents.

Dana Evans, a beautiful young anchorwoman with a Washington television network, believes there is a more sinister motive behind their deaths. She begins an investigation and starts uncovering compelling evidence that she can hardly believe.

In Dana's determined pursuit of the truth, she never anticipated the cat-and-mouse chase that would ultimately lead her through a half dozen countries on the trail of a remorseless killer. As she closes in on her suspect, the shocking secrets Dana then unearths place both herself and her young son in dire jeopardy. In an unexpected turn of events, Dana soon becomes the hunted. 

Will Dana be able to outwit her pursuers and finally expose the truth that will astound the world? Readers should prepare themselves for skillful twists and turns in the plot of a dynamite thriller that has become Sidney's Sheldon's hallmark.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. According to Shelfari's synopsis of The Sky is Falling: A Novel by Sidney Sheldon, the character of Dana Evans made her first appearance in The Best Laid Plans. However, this book can be read on its own. I give The Sky is Falling: A Novel an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Our Library Visit For August

Hello Everyone! How are you on this fine Thursday? I'm doing just fine. :) Today is my birthday, and in honor of that we decided to go to our local library and then brought home two bagel sandwiches and a box of donuts for lunch.  We came away with three overflowing bags of books - pretty good, considering the last time we went to the library was only two months ago, in June. :) Surprisingly, both Mareena and I seem to have gone to the library every two months this year! :)

We had a wonderful time together - as we always do! It has become something of a birthday tradition for Mareena - and apparently now for me. We spent about an hour and a half at the library - from about 11:30 A. M. to 1 P. M.

Between us, we bought 12 hardcovers, 27 paperbacks as well as 2 oversized paperbacks. We spent a whopping $30 for a total of 41 books. A pretty good haul, if I do say so, myself. :)

At the moment, I'm reading The Sky is Falling: A Novel by Sidney Sheldon, which I started almost as soon as we came back from the library.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Michael Phillip Cash - Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion

79. Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion by Michael Phillip Cash (2013)
Length: 297 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 19 August 2013
Finished: 20 August 2013
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Michael Phillip Cash and to Red Feather Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 19 August 2013
Why do I have it? I like horror and have read and enjoyed Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island by the same author in the past.

The evening news issues its ominous warnings nightly - reports caution that a swarm of cicadas, known as Brood Ten, are expected to overwhelm the entire Northeast. The swarm is considered vicious and is expected to invade sometime during the summer. Preparations are strongly advised.

Seth is laid off from work. His wife Lara - a teacher - has just found out that they are expecting a baby this summer. Seth plans on documenting her entire pregnancy with his brand new digital camcorder.

During a sweltering summer night, Brood Ten emerges and begins to wreak havoc with the electric grid. Phone and cell service goes down, wi-fi connection is disrupted, food and water supply are the next casualties. Civilization as they once knew it has disappeared.

Seth and Lara find themselves thrown back to the stone age while living in their own home, with trillions of cicadas trying to deposit their eggs and breed. The plague known as Brood Ten has begun...

This book is actually Michael Phillip Cash's debut novel, although it's the second one that I've read by this author. I was immediately drawn into the story - it took me a day to read. I found that the plot was extremely fast-paced and suspenseful. Sometimes, the plots of books that try to deal with natural terrors can become almost comical in their portrayal of potential threats, at least in my opinion.

However, that was not my experience while reading Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion by Michael Phillip Cash. I found the horror in this book to be entirely realistic and totally believable. I can tell you, I won't ever look at cicadas in quite the same way again. I give this book an A! 

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Michael Phillip Cash - Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion

79. Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion by Michael Phillip Cash (2013)
Length: 297 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 19 August 2013
Finished: 20 August 2013
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Michael Phillip Cash for sending me a copy of this book to read. 
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 19 August 2013
Why do I have it? I like horror and have read and enjoyed Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island by the same author in the past.

The evening news issues its ominous warnings nightly - reports caution that a swarm of cicadas, known as Brood Ten, are expected to overwhelm the entire Northeast. The swarm is considered vicious and is expected to invade sometime during the summer. Preparations are strongly advised.

Seth is laid off from work. His wife Lara - a teacher - has just found out that they are expecting a baby this summer. Seth plans on documenting her entire pregnancy with his brand new digital camcorder.

During a sweltering summer night, Brood Ten emerges and begins to wreak havoc with the electric grid. Phone and cell service goes down, wi-fi connection is disrupted, food and water supply are the next casualties. Civilization as they once knew it has disappeared.

Seth and Lara find themselves thrown back to the stone age while living in their own home, with trillions of cicadas trying to deposit their eggs and breed. The plague known as Brood Ten has begun...

This book is actually Michael Phillip Cash's debut novel, although it's the second one that I've read by this author. I was immediately drawn into the story - it took me a day to read. I found that the plot was extremely fast-paced and suspenseful. Sometimes, the plots of books that try to deal with natural terrors can become almost comical in their portrayal of potential threats, at least in my opinion.

However, that was not my experience while reading Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion by Michael Phillip Cash. I found the horror in this book to be entirely realistic and totally believable. I can tell you, I won't ever look at cicadas in quite the same way again. I give this book an A! 

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anne Tyler - A Patchwork Planet: A Novel

78. A Patchwork Planet: A Novel by Anne Tyler (1998)
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 16 August 2013
Finished: 17 August 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 20 July 2012
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by the same author in the past.

Barnaby Gaitlin is a loser - a charming, lovable loser, perhaps - but a loser nonetheless. As a teenager, he had a bad habit of breaking into other people's houses. Although, it was never about stealing like it was for his teenage cohorts; Barnaby just liked to read other people's mail, pore over their family photo albums, and appropriate a few of their precious mementos. He had been in trouble ever since adolescence, but now, at just short of thirty years old, he was attempting to get his life in order.

For eleven years, he's been working steadily for Rent-a-Back, renting his back to old folks and shut-ins who need help moving their furniture or bringing Christmas trees down from the attic. At long last, his life seems to be on an even keel.

Still the Gaitlins, of 'old' Baltimore, cannot forget the price they paid for buying off Barnaby's former victims. And his ex-wife would just as soon prefer that he never showed up to visit their little girl, Opal. Overall, Barnaby is still seen by everyone as the black sheep of a philanthropic family - who, instead of attending an Ivy League college and working for his family's charitable foundation - got sent to a reform school for wealthy boys as a teenager, and now works as a manual laborer. A distinct disappointment for the affluent and well-connected Gaitlin family of Baltimore.

Barnaby has spent the majority of his adult life trying to live up to his family's high ideals, failing miserably to fully atone for his teenage sins in their estimation. Eventually, a woman enters Barnaby's life, a woman he views as his guardian angel. Her name is Sophia, and even though she seems to have designs on him, she still doesn't entirely trust him. However, Sophia will ultimately change Barnaby's life in ways no one, least of all Barnaby himself, could ever imagine.

I truly appreciated reading this book. I will admit, the story was sort of humdrum with not much going on in the plot; but in my opinion, the book was certainly well-written and charming. I was thoroughly entertained and give this book an A! 

A! - (90-95%)  
     
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Carol Pritt - Deviltry Afoot

77. Deviltry Afoot by Carol Pritt (2013)
Length: 202 pages
Genre: Horror 
Started: 12 August 2013
Finished: 14 August 2013
Where did it come from? Mareena had received a copy of this book to read from Carol Pritt, then passed it on to me to read as well.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 8 August 2013
Why do I have it? I like horror and Carol Pritt is a new author for me.

I was very interested in this book when my daughter received it to review. After she read it, I asked if I could borrow the book to read next. I agree wholeheartedly with her review.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight