AJ’s Review
Oh.My.Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
I don’t usually read young adult books. Unless you count Harry Potter, and what young-at-heart reader could resist Harry and his friends? The point is that I was tempted again after the Romance Writers of America conference in Washington, D.C. when YA author Tera Lynn Childs’ novel Oh. My. Gods. won best first novel. Heroine Phoebe Castro is thrown into potential disaster when her mother marries the headmaster of an exclusive private high school—for the children of Greek gods. While I had trouble relating to why anyone would enjoy running like Phoebe does, I almost got it when I read Childs’ description. Made me want to take off and run around the cul-de-sac, a bit short of the seven or eight miles she runs. But everyone starts somewhere, right? The characters were believable, even those who were gifted supernaturally. It was a light read, entertaining and funny to the happily-ever-after end. If you have a daughter, or just need something to laugh through, pick this one up.
Past Reviews by AJ
Paper, Scissors, Death by Joanna Campbell Slan (Midnight Ink, 2008) here.
Beneath Bone Lake by Colleen Thompson here.
Melanie's Review
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
In Jonathan Tropper’s new novel, “This Is Where I Leave You,” Judd Foxman has just lost his father to cancer and his wife to his own radio shock-jock boss. To top it off, his father’s dying request is for the family to sit shiva, a Jewish custom of mourning that forces the immediate family together for seven days. All these events conspire to set up quite a raucous tale of mourning.
To say that Judd’s family is dysfunctional would be an insult to dysfunction. Let’s just say that unless you’re Mackenzie Phillips, the Foxman family has more skeletons rolling around in their closet than you. Predictably during the week, old grievances are addressed (sort of), new starts are attempted (all without any guarantee of success or real change, much as in real life), and revelations are made.
But none of this gets to the heart of how heartbreaking , yet acerbically funny this novel really is. As Trotter writes, “There is no occasion calling for sincerity that the Foxman family won’t quickly diminish or pervert through our own genetically engineered brand of irony and evasion.” And here I thought my family was the only one who did that!
Even while you’re laughing at the “cake with the lit candles up the ass” scene, or the “we just smoked a doobie during Jewish services and set off the fire alarms” scene, those laughs are tempered by the emotions swirling just underneath: fear, insecurity, loneliness, anger. For me, it was quite a satisfying combination and a heck of a read.
Past Reviews by Melanie
The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox here.
She Flew the Coop by Michael Lee West here.
Good Grief by Lolly Winston here.
Sloan's Review
Bad Moon Rising by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Imagine being born into a life where you fight for your life against your natural enemies but against those in your pack as well. Where the only salvation you have is the brother who guards your back and the sister who gives you hope.
Meet Fang Kattalakis, a fierce Katagaria were-hunter belonging to a pack run by his father who hates him. He can shift between human and wolf. His brother Vane is the only one he can trust.
Aimee Peltier is from a Katagaria Bear Clan. The family runs Sanctuary, a place where all are welcome to come and mingle, but no fighting is allowed. Wolves and bears don’t mix, or do they?
By a cruel twist of fate, Fang is severely wounded by blood sucking Daimons and goes into a coma and his soul is lost in some kind of hell. Aimee pulls him out and they begin a journey that both realize is impossible.
I have always loved Sherrilyn Kenyon’s books from the very first one I read to all the others that followed. Bad Moon Rising does not disappoint. The characters and the cultures are rich and carefully developed to give the reader a story that keeps them turning pages.
I give this an 8 on the McBride Moxy Meter.
Past Reviews by Sloan
Unleashing the Storm by Sydney Croft here.
Stay the Night by Lynn Viehl here.
Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward here.
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