Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. (Button courtesy of Bewitched Bookworms.)

Here's what I'm looking forward to:

Title: Carry the One
Author: Carol Anshaw
Release Date: March 6, 2012

From the B&N.com:
Carry the One begins in the hours following Carmen’s wedding reception, when a car filled with stoned, drunk, and sleepy guests accidentally hits and kills a girl on a dark, country road. For the next twenty-five years, those involved, including Carmen and her brother and sister, connect and disconnect and reconnect with each other and their victim. As one character says, “When you add us up, you always have to carry the one.”

Through friendships and love affairs; marriage and divorce; parenthood, holidays, and the modest tragedies and joys of ordinary days, Carry the One shows how one life affects another and how those who thrive and those who self-destruct are closer to each other than we’d expect. Deceptively short and simple in its premise, this novel derives its power and appeal from the author’s beautifully precise use of language; her sympathy for her very recognizable, flawed characters; and her persuasive belief in the transforming forces of time and love.

Review: Cruel Love

Cruel Love by Kate Brian
Privilege Series,  Book 6

I’ll admit it. I’ve been anxiously waiting for the release of Cruel Love since I finished reading Pure Sin last year. The ending left me wanting to know what would happen next for Adriana and the world she so obsessively constructed.

At the onset of reading Cruel Love, I thought there was only one direction Brian could go to end the Privilege series. So, even though I had decided on how the series would end, I began reading and found myself completely enthralled in the storyline. About two and a half hours later, I found myself disappointed to say good bye to one of my favorite bad girls and the Privilege series.

I’ve said this before, Adriana is definitely a character that readers should dislike, but Brian wrote her in such a way that you cannot help but to feel sorry for her. She’s desperate and, quite honestly, on the verge of being pitiful. Her obsessive behavior is wrapped around her need to control which causes her to eliminate anything – and anyone – that stands in her way of getting everything she feels she’s entitled to have.

In Cruel Love, Adriana’s desperation finally leads to her down fall. Seeing two individuals from her past that could ruin her perfect world unravels her. Consumed with the threat of them, she cannot think of nothing else but their demise. I really don’t want to say too much about the plot as a way to avoid spoiling the series ending for anyone. I will say I wanted Brian to go in more detail about Palmer, Soomie, Maria, Jasper and the rest of their friends. Their storyline felt a bit unfinished. Maybe Brian will bring these characters back in a future book. Here’s hoping!

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Book Details:

ISBN: 9781442407883 ◆ June 7, 2011 ◆ 224pgs ◆ YA Fiction (Series)

Print copy borrowed from library

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Sheila, of One Persons Journey Through a World of Books, is the host of It's Monday! What Are You Reading? This is a weekly event to share what we read last week, what we are currently reading and what books we plan to read this week.

Recently read:

• Best Kept Secret - Amy Hatvany
  Summary: One glass of wine eventually turned into two or three bottles a night.  Cadence is an alcoholic on the road to recovery.

I'm reading:

• Outside the Lines - Amy Hatvany
• Stories I Only Tell My Friends - Rob Lowe (audio book)

On My Nightstand:

• The Kitchen Daughter - Jael McHenry (book club)
• Books Can Be Deceiving - Jenn McKinlay

What are you reading this week?

Book Review: Kill Me If You Can

Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson & Marshall Karp

Walter Zelvas is skimming diamonds from his boss, Chukov. In order to avoid repercussions from the Diamond Syndicate, Chukov orders a hit on Zelvas. He wants it done quickly and quietly. And there's only one assassin that can do the job: The Ghost.

The Ghost gets the job done, however he is unable to recover the diamonds Zelvas stole. To complicate matters, also present at the crime scene is Matthew Bannon. He finds the diamonds and in an instant he is no longer a starving art student living in New York City. He has no idea the diamonds belong to the Russian mob.

Kill Me If You Can is a stand-alone thriller. From the first pages of the Prologue, the reader is pulled into the story. The action is immediate and doesn't let it up until the last few pages of the book. There's a twist in the story that I did not see coming. AT. ALL. I actually said out loud, "Wait... what???". Mind you I was on the train at the time. I had to re-read the page just to make sure I read it correctly. The next page confirmed what I read was true. I could NOT believe it!

Kill Me If You Can sticks to Patterson's formula: the chapters are short, the plot filled with action and a main character that the reader can not help but to like. It's a quick read, one that Patterson fans will enjoy.

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Book Details:

ISBN:  9780316097543◆ August 29, 2011 ◆ 384pgs ◆ Little, Brown and Company ◆ Mystery/Suspense

Print copy borrowed from the library