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Monday, 5 December 2011

Review: THE COLD COLD GROUND, Adrian McKinty

The Cold Cold Ground (Detective Sean Duffy Series, Book 1)

The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Northern Ireland in 1981, Detective Sean Duffy wryly observes, there aren't a lot of what you'd traditionally think of as "serial killers"; any psychopath who wants to kill a lot of people has only to seek out and join the paramilitary group of his choice, and he'll have all the killing his twisted heart may desire. But when a pair of bizarre murders points to the existence of an honest to goodness serial murderer, Duffy, a Catholic "peeler" in a heavily Protestant area, gets the case.

I've been an Adrian McKinty fan since 2003's Dead I Well May Be, and this one did not disappoint. Duffy's a classic McKinty character: complicated and conflicted, driven by internal forces he himself understands only imperfectly. The book takes place during a time when IRA hunger strikers were dying in the notorious Maze prison and the entire country seemed on the verge of civil war as the paramilitaries responded with bombings and riots. The ever-present threat of an explosion (both literal and metaphorical) adds an extra layer of almost unbearable tension to the main story.

This one comes out in the US in early 2012. Get it.

View all my reviews

Sunday, 4 December 2011

Fictional Distractions of the Week #6

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

At first I'll finish dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman, which is creepy but awesome so far. I've already heard good things about it before and it hasn't disappointed. Really hoping that it will stay like this.

Goodreads Summary:
A friend posted a video of me dancing online and now I'm now longer Alicia Ruffino. I'm dancergirl—and suddenly it's like me against the world—everyone's got opinions.

My admirers want more, the haters hate, my best friend Jacy—even he's acting weird. And some stranger isn't content to just watch anymore.

Ali, dancergirl. Whatever you know me as, however you've seen me online, I've trained my whole life to be the best dancer I can be. But if someone watching has their way, I could lose more than just my love of dancing.
I could lose my life.

Since downloading a copy of Obsidian messed up my reading schedule last week, I'll start Volition by Shawn Kirsten Maravel this week. Heard good things about it, so I'm happy to finally get to it.

Goodreads Summary:
Charlotte Rush would be the first to admit that her life is no rollercoaster ride. Her days are laced with ordinary and at times boring monotony. But with a heart that finds itself frequently broken she's happy to say that she's content.

When her friends convince her to spend the night out at a club to let loose and maybe even find a guy, she finally admits that her life might be missing something.

No sooner does she let go of her inhibitions does she find herself waking up in a dark hotel room in the presence of Joel, a man who carries mystery in his eyes and familiarity in his smile. Against reason Charlotte decides to trust him based solely on one thing. Somehow, she is sure that she knows him.

In a race against time to find answers and to solve the crime committed against her Charlotte finds herself falling for him. However, with nothing but mystery surrounding him she can't even be sure that he's the hero at all. While knowing all of the right things to say he still manages to tell her nothing. As a battle is waged over the innocence of her cryptic stranger, Charlotte discovers that much greater danger awaits her. And the mysteries behind who and what Joel is will lead Charlotte to discover that heaven and earth are not so far apart.

And after that I hope to have time to start Hallowed by Cynthia Hand. Unearthly is one of my favorite books and I can't wait to continue this series. I've heard some really good things and some mixed things about this sequel, but I'm excited to find out what it's like.

Goodreads Summary:
For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

18-Year-Old Girl 1,Governor Brownback 0

Latest Newspaper Column:

Recently, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's office took on an 18-year-old high school girl - and lost.

It all started when Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School, went to the Capitol and heard Brownback, a right-wing hero and failed presidential candidate, speak.

"I don't agree with a majority of the things that he is trying to pass," Sullivan said, citing in particular Brownback's doing away with all state support for the arts. So, like many a bored and/or disgusted young person, she pulled out her smartphone and got on the online service Twitter.

"Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person," she sent, followed by a "hashtag," or topic identifier, reiterating in somewhat saltier terms her opinion that the governor was fond of performing a certain sexual act.

Now, here's something you need to remember: Twitter messages, or "tweets," go only to people who "follow" you. You have to choose to follow someone. Sullivan had only 60 followers at the time the message was sent. She did not actually say to the governor that he "sucked."

Unfortunately, Sullivan hadn't yet learned just how thin-skinned and belligerent right-wingers can get. Somehow, the word got out that she had dissed the governor to her online buddies, and Brownback's office decided that this expression of opinion could not go unpunished, even if it had not been conveyed directly to them, to the governor himself, or to anyone save the 60 or so friends, acquaintances, and admirers who'd chosen to "follow" Sullivan.

They called the principal's office and complained that Sullivan was being mean to them. She was called on the carpet by the principal, who demanded that she write a letter of apology. She considered it, but later decided that such an apology would be insincere and refused.

The situation blew up into a major national story after Sullivan's sister contacted the media. Her Twitter "following" grew from 65 to more than 15,000 people. Finally, an embarrassed governor's office realized that trying to intimidate an 18-year-old girl who'd insulted them on Twitter made them look stupid. Brownback issued a statement apologizing for his staff, who he said had "overreacted" to the tweet.

Despite Brownback's red-faced admission, the usual pearl-clutching and hand-wringing about how "uncivil" discourse has gotten (but only if it's done by liberals) followed. For example, columnist Ruth Marcus in the allegedly liberal Washington Post wrote that Sullivan should be glad she's not her daughter, because Marcus would make her apologize, then take her phone away.

I'll agree that Sullivan's tweet to her friends was rude. But it was, after all, to her circle, and not to the governor.

And you know what? After years of things like: Willie Horton ads; calling 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton "the White House dog"; Swiftboating; GOP convention-goers waving purple Band-Aids to mock a veteran's war wounds; Ann Coulter saying the "only choice was whether to impeach or assassinate" President Clinton and later claiming 9/11 widows were "enjoying their husbands' deaths"; Rush Limbaugh mocking Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease; posters and T-shirts with nooses on them saying "Rope. Tree. Journalist. Assembly Required"; "Liberal Hunting Permits"; birtherism; posters of Barack Obama dressed as Hitler, Stalin, and an African witch doctor with a bone through his nose; Rand Paul supporters trying to stomp the head of a protester; ads claiming Kay Hagan was "godless"; "If ballots don't work, maybe bullets will"; "Obama hates white people"; "GET OFF MY PHONE YOU LITTLE PINHEAD!"; "YOU LIE!"; wingnuts at FreeRepublic calling 11-year old Sasha Obama a "street whore" for wearing a peace sign on her T-shirt; Sarah Palin committing outright slander about "death panels"; "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy"; cheering for executions; booing soldiers for being gay; comparing poor people to stray animals you shouldn't feed; "We've got one raghead in the White House, we don't need a raghead in the governor's mansion"; supposed "Christians" suggesting that people pray for the president using Psalm 109:8 ("May his days be few, may another take his office. Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow") as a text; Limbaugh calling the first lady "uppity"; and on and on and on, all without a mumblin' word from so-called "conservatives," it's kind of hard to take them seriously when they start scolding anyone about manners.

When I start hearing the same disapproval from the right for things like that, maybe I'll reconsider. Until then, peddle that Twitrage somewhere else. I'm not buying it.

In My Mailbox #32

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers the chance to appreciate the books they got last week and to meet new people.

The book I bought this week:

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I got this one for my Kindle, already read it last week and completely fell in love with it! I need the sequel NOW. (My review will be up on Tuesday.)

The books I got for review this week:

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

In the Shadow of the Moonlight - The Awakening by J.J. Bidell

My Enchanted Life by Laura Eno

Thanks to Headline Publishing UK, J.J. Bidell and Laura Eno.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?
Carina

This week's reviews:
Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Thursday, 1 December 2011

Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
First published: November 8th, 2011
Source: NetGalley
Pages: 317

Goodreads Summary:
The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

First thoughts:

This was a very refreshing and fast read. It's characters are very intriguing and the plot kept me turning the pages to find out whether everything will work out. Leanna Renee Hieber managed to create a beautiful historical setting which sucked me in immediately and her characters made it impossible to stop reading.

More detailed:

I usually don't read (murder) myteries often, but this is the genre I'd use to describe Darker Still. But Leanna Renee Hieber has combined this with even more genres by adding a paranormal twist and setting this book in a historical New York. And this combination worked perfectly for me, making me want to be part of this world to get to know its characters even better.

Darker Still's main character Natalie has been described as very strong despite her muteness by many bloggers and I can completely agree with them. She's a wonderful character and reading her diary entries is a lot of fun. It is interesting to witness her encountering other people and having to deal with her handicap, always hoping to be able to be a part of society and friendships nonetheless.

Her relationship with Lord Denbury is lovely as well. He has been described as a perfect gentleman and, again, I can only confirm this claim. At times, I felt incredibly sorry for them, but with Natalie's help he managed to not give up and always continued hoping for a happy ending. I'd love to find out how their story will continue, because I've definitely grown fond of them.

The other characters in Darker Still are very diverse: I love Mrs. Northe who is such a great help for Natalie. Of course I don't like the demon possessing Denbury's body, but I also couldn't really warm up to Maggie, Mrs. Northe's niece. Her selfishness and superficiality are very pronounced and don't make her likeable.

Sometimes I felt like the plot wasn't moving fast enough, making me want to skip a few pages. But at the same time I was too scared to miss an important detail and was very happy when the pace picked up again soon. All in all, I really enjoyed Darker Still and would recommend it to everyone who might be interested in such a well written mysterious paranormal story.

Have you read Darker Still? What did you think about?

Do you plan to read it?

Carina

Random Acts of Kindness: December

At the end of October I had a lot of real life stress with university and therefore completely forgot to post a round-up for RAK. Therefore this post will be a round-up for both, October and November, and I'm feeling so bad about not having created a post to show you all the amazing RAK presents I got especially in October for my birthday. Even though I've told you about them in my In My Mailbox posts, these deserve a seperate post!

Books I received from awesome people:

Angel* by L.A. Weatherly

Angel Fire* by L.A. Weatherly

Forgotten* by Cat Patrick

Slide** by Jill Hathaway

* I received Angel, Angel Fire and Forgotten from the awesome Donna from Book Passion For Life. So far I have read (and loved) Forgotten and can't wait to start the Angel series. Thank you so much, Donna! ♥

** The lovely Michelle from Much Loved Books sent me her UK ARC of Slide and I'm trying to put off reading it, so I can post my review closer to the release date, but it's pure torture to wait for it. I think I won't be able to fight it much longer. Thank you, Michelle! ♥

If I Stay*** by Gayle Forman

Touch of Frost*** by Jennifer Estep

Soul Thief**** by Jana Oliver

*** I got If I Stay and Touch of Frost from the lovely Lesley from My Keeper Shelf. I'm dying to read these two and I really hope to get to them soon. Need to neglect my review books during the Christmas time, so I can catch up on the awesome books standing on my shelf. :D Thank you so much, Lesley! ♥

**** And the amazing Alaiel from Librarian Mouse sent me Soul Thief which I'm also dying to read. I really need to "see" Beck again and I'm sooo crossing my fingers for him and Riley to get together. Thank you, Alaiel! ♥

Books I sent to awesome people:

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Sadly I couldn't send out as many RAKs as I would have loved to, but a lot of my friends and family had birthday and I needed to spend my money on them (which I also loved to do. But I already ordered a few Christmas presents, but I'm going to include these in my December RAK post.

The Faerie Ring was a birthday present for Lesley from My Keeper Shelf. Raised by Wolves was a birthday present for Michelle from Much Loved Books, and I also sent her Shade because she's awesome and she really needs to read this one!

My RAK wishlist can be found HERE.

Please link your wishlist down below. :)

Carina

What happened in November?

This month I made some more changes to Fictional Distraction's design, created a Facebook page for this blog and joined NetworkedBlogs. So far Google has planned to disable GFC for non-Blogger blogs, but I have to admit that I'm a little bit scared that one day they'll decide that they don't want to continue offering GFC at all. Therefore I'm currently starting to follow all blogs in a different way and would love you to follow Fictional Distraction in another way, too. :)

NetworkedBlogs
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Add my blog to a reader via Feedburner (you can add Fictional Distraction to your Google Reader as well)

Reviews I posted in November: