Book: Ithaca

 Book: Ithaca

Author: Claire North

Pages: 416

This is my 154th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

17 years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca.  None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom.  Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus.  While he lived, her position was secure.  But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door.  No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus empty throne - not yet.  But as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca indo a bloody civil war.  

This was a great book.  I found it on a discount rack, and what a gem!  The writing is excellent and the story is intriguing.  Love the characters.  It is focused on the women - and told by one of the gods.  The story centers around Penelope, but heavily involes Clytemnestra - which is a favorite of mine (side note - you need to read the book Clytemnestra by Constanza Casati.  It is excellent).  This is the first book in the trilogy and I cannot wait to read the next one.  Check this one out.

Stars: 5

Book: Cell

 Book: Cell

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 384

This is my 153rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

There's a reason cell rhymes with hell.  On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and Clayton Riddell, an artist from Maine, is almost bouncing up Boylston Street in Boston.  He's just landed a comic book deal that might finally enable him to support his family by making art intsead of teaching it.  He's already picked up a small (but expensive) gift for his long-suffering wife, and he knows just what he'll get for his boy Johnny.  Why not a little treat for himself?  Clay's feeling good about the future.   That changes in a hurry.  The cause of the devastation is a phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse, and the delivery method is a cell phone.  Everyone's cell phone.  Clay and the few desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitch-black night of civilzation's darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature - and then begins to evolve. There's really no escaping this nightmare.  But for Clay, an arrow points home to Maine, and as he and his fellow regugees make their harrowing journey north they begin to see crude signs confirmingtheir direction.  A promise, perhpas.  Or a threat.

I did not realize after going through my Stephen King list that I had miss an old one.  I saw the Cell movie years ago, but don't remember much about it.  I listened to this book and it made a good audiobook.  It is an interesting story, and a good take on a zombie type trope.  Had a decent ending.

Stars: 4

Book: The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea

 Book: The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea

Author: CL Miller

Pages: 304

This is my 152nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

When a painting vanishes from a maritime museum and a dead boyd is found nearby, Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole of the Lockwood Antique Hunter's Agency are called to investigate.  Following a lead that takes them aboard a glamorous antiques cruise sailing toward the Red Sea in Jordan, they quickly discover that the ship's art gallery is filled with stolen antiquities.  Each antique is also listed in Freya's late mentor's journals that detail unsolved cases.  In chasing a murderer with a stolen painting, they may have found soemthing more sinister than they could've imagined.  Their hunts soon turns deadly when they learn the enigmatic and dnagerous art trafficker named The Collector could be on board.  But on a ship full of antiques enthusiasts - plus some unexpected familiar faces - will Freya and Carole be able to discover the Collector's identity and stop his murdrous plans before the ship docks?  Or will the killer strike again?

This was a pretty good book.  It is a second in the series, and I think I liked it better than the first.  It is a bit better written, and I was more interested in the story this time around.  Looking forward to reading the 3rd.

Stars: 4

Book: Run Away

 Book: Run Away

Author: Harlan Coben

Pages: 384

This is my 151st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

She' addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend.  And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found.  Then, by chance, you see her playing guitar in Central Park.  But she's not the girl you remember.  This woman is living on the edge, frightened, and clearly in trouble.  You don't stop to think.  You approach her, beg her to come home.  She runs.  And you do the only thing a parent can do: follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed.  Before you know it, both your family and your life are on the line.  And in order to protect your daughter from the evils of that world, you must face them head on Age Range: Adult.  

I have read quite a few Coben books this year, and find most of them fine -if not just fluff.  But this was one of the better ones I have read.  I liked the mystery.  The characters are well developed.  There are a lot of twists in this one.  It is entertaining.  You try to put yourself in the dad's shoes to see what you would do if you were him.  After I read this book, I watched the show on Netflix and I can highly recommend that as well.

Stars: 4

Book: From a Buick 8

 Book: From a Buick 8

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 480

This is my 150th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Since 1979, the state police of Troop D in rural PA have kept a secret in the shed out behind the barracks.  Ennis Rafferty and Curtis Wilcox had answered a strange call just down the road and came back with an abandoned 1953 Buick Road Master.  Curt Wilcox knew old cars, and this one was - jut wrong.  As it turned out, the Buick 8 was worse than dangerous - and the members of Troop D decdied that it would be better if the public never found out about it.  Now, more than 20 years later, Curt's son Ned starts hanging around teh barracks and is allowed into the Troop D family.  And one day he discovers the family secet - a mystery that begins to site once more not only in the minds and hearts of these veteran troopers, but out in the shed as well, for there's more power under the hood than anyone can handle.

This was a decent book.  Still working my way through all the Stephen King novels - getting close to the end now.  I listened to this one and that was a good way to absorb this novel.  It isn't particualarly scary.   This isn't his first creapy car novel.  I did like that it took place in Western PA - that is where I grew up.  It is a leisurely story, but not dull.  It lays out a story and leads to a build up with one of the main characters, but it doesn't quite tip over into horror for me.  Has a good ending.

Stars: 3.5 

Book: Atlantia

 Book: Atlantia

Author: Ally Condie

Pages: 320

This is my 149th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamed of the sand and sky above - of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia.  But in a single moment, all Rio's hopes for the future are shattered when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected choice, stranding Rio Below.  Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio's true self - and the powerful siren voice she has long silenced - she has nothing left to lose.  Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother's death, her own destiny, and the corrupted system constructed to govern the Divide between land and sea.  Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

This was an interesting book.  I really liked Condie's Matched Trilogy that I read years ago.  This one wasn't as good as that trilogy, and I find that she tried to do too many things in a 300 page book.  I think if she would have taken her time like she did with Matched, this book would have been hire rated for me.  It took along time for her to get to the "problem" and then she sped through it.  She tried to build a world and solve a mystery in a very short book.  That is hard to do.  I liked the characters - they were all fine.  The writing wasn't great - it was fine.  It started well, and I was curious enough to see where the author was taking it.  And it had a satisfying ending.  But overall - I was hoping for more.

Stars: 3.5 

Book: The Unmaking of June Farrow

 Book: The Unmaking of June Farrow

Author: Adrienne Young

Pages: 352

This is my 148th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

In the small mountain town of Jasper, NC, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her.  The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm - and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line.  The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow's disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.  It's been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren't there.  Fair wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere-the signs of what June always knew was coming.  But June is determined to end the curse once and for l, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.  After her grandmother's death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother's decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions.  But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she's been searching for?  The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold.  And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

This was a pretty good book.  I listened to it and it made a good audiobook.  There is decent character development, a mystery, and found family.  Satisfying ending.  This is not chick flick fiction - this has supernatural and paranormal elements to it - which is hard to tell by the cover.  I was left wondering why this "curse" started.  And I wish it was more about the generational circle than about the overall mystery and love story.  There is one other fault that it just a personal one for me, but I will not share it because it would be a spoiler.  (for my blog only - I hate when books travel back in time and not forward and then the characters stays there).

Stars: 4