Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

Product Details
Pub. Date: April 2010
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Paperback , 339pp
Series: Nora Roberts' Bride Quartet Series , #3
ISBN-13: 9780425233689
ISBN: 0425233685

Synopsis
New Love takes the cake in the third novel in Nora Roberts's new Bride Quartet-in a stunning French flap edition Wedding baker Laurel McBane is surrounded by romance working at Vows wedding planning company with her best friends Parker, Emma, and Mac. But she's too low-key to appreciate all the luxuries that their clients seem to long for. What she does appreciate is a strong, intelligent man, a man just like Parker's older brother Delaney, on whom she's had a mega-crush since childhood. But some infatuations last longer than others, and Laurel is convinced that the Ivy League lawyer is still out of her reach. Plus, Del is too protective of Laurel to ever cross the line with her-or so she thinks. When Laurel's quicksilver moods get the better of her-leading to an angry, hot, all-together mind-blowing kiss with Del-she'll have to quiet the doubts in her mind to turn a moment of passion into forever...




My thoughts:
I had a whole post already ready to go for this book last month and our computer was infected with a virus and I lost it along with a lot of other things. This is the third book in the Bride Quartet and it follows Laurel as she finds love with Parker's brother, Del. The cakes that Laurel designs for the couples getting married all sound so complex and beautiful, that is a skill I wish I had more of! While I enjoyed this book it took me longer to read than usual. I started to get annoyed with Laurel and her feelings of inadequacy and not being good enough for Del since her family didn't have the money his did. While I know that money will probably always divide the world to a certain point, I really wish people were more able to move past obstacles such as money to find happiness with the right person for the right reason.

The Last Olympian )Percy Jackson and the Olypians #5) by Rick Riordan

Product Details
Product Details

Pub. Date: May 2009
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Format: Hardcover, 400pp
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series , #5
ISBN-13: 9781423101475
ISBN: 1423101472

Synopsis

All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.

In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.


My thoughts:

This installment was a little harder to listen to than the prior four in that more people are hurt and killed in this one. I know that made it a more difficult read/listen for my children. It was interesting to see how things played out and to get a further back-story on some of the characters and gods and how things in the past are playing out in the present. Finding out how Nico and Bianca ended up at the Lotus Blossom Casino for all those years, what happened to their mother, why Luke’s mother is the way she is and what led Luke down the path to becoming the vessel for Kronos. Also how infighting and unfairness among the gods led to some of them siding with Kronos over the Olympians. It is a good lesson on how things from the past continue to play out in the present and how we all must take care with our words, actions and decisions not because we are going to cause a battle that could end like as we know it, but because today’s events could come into play at some later date. A flip comment today meant as a joke can be taken the wrong way and become a big issue for someone farther down the road. Sometimes the comment you take away from a conversation and just can’t shake was forgotten by the speaker moments later and wasn’t meant in an unkind way at all.

Seeing the demigods in a more grown-up way was different and I think I am going to miss their adventures. I was a the bookstore last weekend and saw the Riordan has a new series about heroes now so that should be interesting. I wonder if the characters from these will make appearances of if it will be new heroes.

Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary

Product Details
Format: Paperback, 208pp
Series: Ramona Series
ISBN-13: 9780380709595
ISBN: 0380709597

Synopsis

In this touching and funny story, the ebullient Ramona, feeling brave and grown-up, enters first grade. Quickly she finds that her new teacher, Mrs. Griggs, appears perplexed by pupils who like to be different. Since Ramona cannot help being different, clearly the two are incompatible.

Nevertheless, Ramona can be counted on to keep things lively. Enraged when Susan copies her wise old owl prepared for Parents' Night and receives praise for it, Ramona rebels. Overcome by guilt and no longer brave, she tries mightily thereafter to please her teacher, but still Mrs. Griggs infuriatingly reports home that Ramona lacks self-control. Only because she is a girl with spunk, to use her father's word, does Ramona's courage return, earning her at last an uneasy truce with the teacher.

Beverly Cleary draws here a portrait of a little girl discovering with astonishment that the way others see her is not always the way she sees herself. In the contrast lie moments of



My thoughts:

Ramona is becoming one of my favorites. I do not recall reading any of these books when I was in elementary school, but honestly I can’t remember most of the books I read then so that doesn’t really mean all that much. Ramona is just the right age for my older two children. They are in school and can understand where she is coming from. The part in this story where she meets the dog walking to school by herself but a different way than usual really grabbed them and brought about a lot of good conversation. Some things are still the same as they were when this book was written 35 years ago and some are different. My children do not walk to school alone they take a bus and even if we were close enough to walk I would walk with them. I don’t think too many young elementary students walk alone any more but the interactions with her parents and students at school are much the same.

It was good to see someone coping with fitting in to a new classroom and getting to know a new teacher, since that was what they were both doing when we were listening to the book. As adults I think we sometimes forget how hard it can be to be a good listener and to follow directions at school all day. Ramona's stories are so fun to listen to. Now that we've read a few I would like to rent the movie again and watch it. When we saw it at the drive-in this summer I hadn't read any of them and I think we might all appreciate Ramona even more now.

Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary

Product Details
Pub. Date: April 2007
Publisher: Random House Audio Publishing Group
Format: Compact Disc
Series: Ramona Series
ISBN-13: 9780739338957
ISBN: 0739338951

Synopsis

Beverly Cleary has given books to each member of the Quimby household except Mrs. Quimby. Now she gets her turn at last in a story that hits the high and low points of a working mother's life as seen from Ramona's seven-and-a-half-year-old viewpoint.

Inevitably domestic tensions, not without their amusing side, occasionally arise. Mr. and Mrs. Quimby sometimes forget who is to do what, as when the Crock-Pot is not plugged in and dinner remains uncooked. Beezus acquires a ludicrous teased hairdo at the student body shop while Ramona gets a becoming pixie haircut. Ramona, who feels unloved, takes to twitching her nose like a rabbit in a cozy picture book until her teacher becomes concerned that something is making her nervous.

Yet Ramona is wrong. She is loved, and readers will rejoice with her when she discovers the wonderful truth. Few writers today are as skilled as Mrs. Cleary at showing families in the round, and here she is at the peak of her powers.





My thoughts:

I listened to this audio book earlier this summer with my children while we were in the car. This is something I mention a lot but I love how listening to a book holds my children’s attention so well. We do not have a DVD player in the car, but even if we did I am not sure it would hold their attention as well. When they watch TV they sometimes talk because they can still see the picture, while with an audio book if they talk they miss the action so they tend to be better behaved.

Ramona’s jealousy of her sister is something that is so common in families so the story was easy to relate to. Some of the antics from this book are featured in the movie that came out this summer, Ramona and Beezus. The incident with the tooth paste and wearing pajamas to school among others. We checked the book out after having seen the movie at the drive in theater. Because we had already seen actors playing the roles that is how I pictured each of them as we were reading. In this book they are a little younger than they were in the movie.

I like how even though these books were published years ago they still hold true today. It was neat to be able to tell my children that the book was even older than me because I am sure they think I am quite old!

Venom by Jennifer Estep

Product DetailsPub. Date: September 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 416pp
Series: Elemental Assassin Series , #3
ISBN-13: 9781439148013
ISBN: 1439148015

Synopsis
What kind of assassin works pro bono?

It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most. To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists. At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life.


My thoughts:
This is the third book in the Elemental Assassin series. I read the first one months ago. I liked it but it didn’t quite grab me as well as this one did from the start. I recall having a hard time getting into the story in the first book, maybe because Estep was setting up the series and wanted to really get her reader into the setting. Lately I haven’t had much time for reading and I’ve been having a hard time getting into books, but this one I read over the course of the weekend. I just didn’t want to put it down! Even if you haven’t read the first two book I think it would be easy to jump in because Estep does enough review of the pertinent details you need, plus she adds to the back story filling in some of the blanks from the first book.

I liked Gin better this time around. She has a new love interest and he seems like a much better fit for her life than the detective she was dating in the first book. I think she must have learned to better use her ability to do ice magic in the second book because I don’t recall that from the first book. I am torn now as to whether I will go back and read book two or just wait for the next one. I think I may skip it since I skipped ahead in the series already.

In this book Gin is still trying to be retired from her work as the Spider but keeps getting pulled back in. She put Rosalyn, a vampire club owner and former prostitute, in danger when she used the club as her cover on an assignment and now Rosalyn is being stalked by a giant who works for the mob boss who murdered Gin’s mother and sister and tortured her seventeen years ago. The dwarfs and giants throw me off a bit and the vampires seem to drink blood and eat real food.

The family Gin has made for herself with her foster brother Finn and the dwarf sisters with Air elemental power feels real, in the way the support and take care of each other. I loved that she gets to meet the sister she thought was dead for all these years and can’t wait to see where the story goes with them.

I read this book as part of Gallery & Pocket Books SciFi/Fantasy Blog Tour.

Biography

By night, Jennifer Estep is an author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fun, sexy fantasy idea.

Jennifer currently writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. The star of the series is Gin Blanco, an assassin who can control the elements of ice and stone when she’s not too busy running her barbecue restaurant, the Pork Pit. Jennifer is also the author of the Bigtime paranormal romance books, which feature sexy superheroes, evil ubervillains, and smart, sassy gals looking for love. Titles in the Berkley series include Karma Girl (May 2007), Hot Mama (November 2007), and Jinx (September 2008).

By day, Jennifer is an award-winning features page designer for a daily newspaper with a broad range of journalism and media experience. She's also a certifiable fangirl and an authority on fantasy literature and culture. Jennifer is a member of Romance Writers of America, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and other writing groups.

Jennifer's books have been featured in Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Southern Living, and a variety of other publications. For more information, visit her Web site at www.jenniferestep.com.

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

Product Details
Format: Paperback, 208pp
Series: Ramona Series
ISBN-13: 9780380709540
ISBN: 0380709546


Synopsis

At last Beverly Cleary has given Ramona Quimby a book of her own. No longer is she the shy nemesis of Henry Huggins or the exasperating responsibility of Beezus. Instead she is a five-year-old with spirit'and a rare opportunity to explain her side of things.

The story deals with Ramona's entrance into kindergarten, a memorable event for all concerned. Whether Ramona is proving what a good rester she is by snoring delicately during quiet time or whether she is pulling Susan's tempting curls, she makes her presence known. Most of the time Ramona loves her teacher, Miss Binney, wholeheartedly. How Miss Binney feels is anyone's guess. Mrs. Quimby tells her daughter, "She will never forget you as long as she lives."

Nothing seems quite so funny to children as the tales of what they did when they were little. Here then is an account of kindergarten days for readers who have passed that awkward stage. Many will find that Ramona's escapades hilarious; others will be moved by her struggles to make a place for herself in an uncomprehending world.





My thoughts:
I listened to Ramona the Pest in the car with my children as we ran errands to prepare for our family beach vacation. It is odd but I can’t recall if I ever read this books as a child. The covers and titles are all familiar from seeing them in libraries and bookstores, but if I read them as a child it was so long ago that I had forgotten all about them.

Ramona reminds me a bit of Junie B. Jones, who obviously came many years later. She isn’t trying to be bad but her perception of reality is her own and that causes her to run into problems. The audio book was read by Stockard Channing. She changes her voice a bit for each of the characters which helps to entertain my children.

Ramona is in kindergarten in this book and is getting used to going to school and all that entails. I am not sure my children understood the chapter with the rain boots that were pulled on over shoes since they’ve never seen boots like that, I’m not even sure I’ve ever seen boots like that. While the book was written before I was born the story isn't actually that dated. It shows how, while we have a ton more technology now than there was then, the interactions between sisters, parents, teachers and friends really hasn’t changed all that much.

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #4) by Rick Riordan

Product Details
Pub. Date: June 2009
Format: Hardcover, 368pp
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series , #4
ISBN-13: 9781615534272
ISBN: 161553427X

Synopsis

This thrilling New York Times bestselling series of modern-day mythology continues.

Time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half Blood is growing more vulnerable. To stop them from invading, Percy and his demigod friends must go on a quest through the Labyrinth.


My thoughts:

Each time I read one of these books I think to myself that I wish I knew more about Greek Myths. While we were on vacation we actually bought an easy reader at one of the book stores so my children can start reading about them on their own. I also set aside a book we already had on our shelf to read, but that was at least a month ago and so far I haven’t gotten around to opening it.

This series is really engaging. As we listened to the audio book in the car my children asked a lot of relevant questions and at one point when we got home they complained that they didn’t want to get out of the car because they wanted to keep listening. I think it could be really good for older reluctant readers with its elements of fantasy. Plus for someone who was learning Greek myths for school putting them into the context of a story could make them even easier to remember.

Part of me is a bit sad to know that there is only one more book to read. I guess things will be resolved as much as they can by the end of the next one but then end of good series always makes me a little sad because you are saying goodbye to characters who feel like they have become your friends.

I thought Riordan did a really good job with incorporating the labyrinth into the story and liked how they met all different creatures and beings within the maze. It reminded me of a myth book come to life with the way the new creatures were introduced. I wonder if Percy will ever tell Paul what he really is and was surprised to see Poseidon turn up at his house for the first time. I hope to be listening to book five very soon!