Game: A Thriller

Game: A Thriller by Anders De La Motte
Publication date: December 3, 2013 by Atria Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley for an honest review
Description from Goodreads:

From a former police officer, the first novel in a groundbreaking Scandinavian trilogy about a deadly game that blurs the line between reality and fiction in a world obsessed with social media.After a long night of partying, Henrik “HP” Pettersson, a slacker with a big ego and no impulse control, heads home on the train. Finding a mobile phone from an unknown company, HP begins receiving messages—addressed to him—inviting him to play a game by a secret and insistent master. HP doesn't hesitate before agreeing to play.

HP is the perfect contender: he is alienated from society, devoid of morals, and wants to be a star. The assignments, ranging from childish pranks to criminal acts, are all filmed and uploaded onto a protected server where viewers rate the players’ performances. Everything is coordinated by a mysterious Game Master, unknown to the players or the viewers. But before long, the game spills out into the real world and threatens innocent people.

HP’s sister, Rebecca, is a bodyguard with the Swedish Security Police. The opposite of her brother, she is haunted by traumatic memories and dark secrets from her past. As the game continues, Rebecca begins to realize that her past may not be so secret after all. HP’s assignments become increasingly risky, and he pushes beyond acceptable limits, determined to become a superstar. In the hunt for bigger risks, HP loses touch with reality and puts his own sister in danger. Will HP’s loyalty to the game win out over his love for his family? Or will he come back to reality and save his sister?

With an intriguing blend of break-neck suspense, humor, and informed commentary on social media, Game takes Scandinavian crime fiction to the next level.



My Take:

When I read the description for Game, I was intrigued and hoped that the book would be a fun, fast-paced read. And I was not disappointed. Once I figured out kind of what was going on, I was hooked. The narrative switches back and forth from HP's to Becca's point of view throughout the book. The reader gets to experience their lives parallel to one another and this makes the differences between the siblings really stand out. I was intrigued by their back story and how it still plays into their choices and their loyalty to each other.

The reader follows along as HP gets drawn further and further into the Game and experiences the things he is willing to do in order to gain points, money and notoriety. Or the notoriety he thinks he is gaining. This book has some very interesting things to say about our society and our focus on "likes" and online fame. I found it quite interesting and so much fun.

I loved the conspiracy story line so much. Everyone loves a conspiracy, right? The Game has so much to revel in. I loved how HP slowly gets the bigger picture of what is going on - or what he thinks is going on. There is also lots of questioning what is real and what is fantasy.

There are also some pretty interesting supporting characters in the book who get to make big contributions to HP and his quest. I really liked HP's friend, Mange - or Farook, as he prefers to be called. He seems to be a true friend to HP and one of the people he can count on in a pinch. But there is also something else at play here, but exactly what that is hasn't been revealed yet. Farook has a lot of connections and I suspect he will continue to play a role in the books. At least I hope so.

I'd say the book definitely works, since when I got a couple of chapters into it I had to get the second book because I just knew I would want to read it as well. If it hadn't been so late when I finished reading Game, I would have started reading Buzz, the second book, immediately.

The Butterfly Sister

The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen
Publication date: August 6, 2013
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: publisher provided a copy for a honest review
Description from Goodreads:
"My past was never more than one thought, one breath, one heartbeat away. And then, on that particular October evening, it literally arrived at my doorstep."

Eight months after dropping out of Tarble, an all-women's college, twenty-two-year-old Ruby Rousseau is still haunted by the memories of her senior year-a year marred by an affair with her English professor and a deep depression that not only caused her to question her own sanity but prompted a failed suicide attempt.

And then a mysterious paisley print suitcase arrives, bearing Ruby's name and address on the tag. When Ruby tries to return the luggage to its rightful owner, Beth Richards, her dorm mate at Tarble, she learns that Beth disappeared two days earlier, and the suitcase is the only tangible evidence as to her whereabouts.

Consumed by the mystery of the missing girl and the contents of the luggage-a tattered copy of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, the book on which Ruby based her senior thesis, and which she believes instigated her madness-she sets out to uncover the truth, not only about Beth Richards's past but also her own. In doing so, Ruby is forced to reexamine the people from her past: the professor who whisked her away to New Orleans and then shattered her heart and the ghosts of dead women writers who beckoned her to join their illustrious group. And when Ruby's storyline converges with Beth's in a way she never imagined, she returns to the one place she swore she never would: her alma mater.

My Take:
I picked The Butterfly Sister out of the stack of books to be read as a quick break from the succession of historical fiction that I have been reading lately. I am so happy that I did. This book was such a pleasant surprise. I expected to be entertained and diverted, but I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was.

I loved all the references to women writers, particularly Virginia Woolf, and the connections to Ruby and her own fragile mental state. The story line regarding depression, madness and suicide attempts was interesting, thoughtful and very important to the story. Even while Ruby is rushing headlong to try to solve the mystery of her missing friend, the novel also addresses some of the issues regarding women writers, creativity, links with depression, scholarly life  - and then brings it all back around and together in a clever and surprising way.

I love fiction that references other fiction and writers and readers. This book has all that, plus it has a mystery, suspense, some romance, some revenge, some crazy, and some really great twists. This was fun from start to finish. I don't want to give anything away, because this one needs to be discovered by the reader.

Louisiana Fever

Louisiana Fever by D.J. Donaldson
Publication date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions, LLC 
Source: publisher provided digital edition for an honest review
Description provided by publisher:

When Kit goes to meet an anonymous stranger—who’s been sending her roses—the man drops dead at her feet before she could even get his name. Game on.

Andy Broussard soon learns that the man carried a lethal pathogen similar to the deadly “Ebola”—a highly contagious virus, feared worldwide for killing its victims (grotesquely) in a matter of days. When another body turns up with the same bug, widespread panic becomes imminent. The danger is even more acute, because the carrier is mobile. The man knows he’s a walking weapon and… he’s targeting Broussard.

And when Kit Franklyn investigates her mystery suitor further, she runs afoul of a cold- blooded killer, every bit as deadly as the man searching for her partner.

Louisiana Fever is written in Donaldson’s unique style:  A hard-hitting, punchy, action-packed prose that’s dripping with a folksy, decidedly southern sense of irony.  Mix in Donaldson’s brilliant first-hand knowledge of forensics, along with the sultry flavor of New Orleans, and readers will be fully satisfied with this irresistibly delectable mystery.

My Take:

This is the first of the Broussard and Kit novels that I have read. Even though I didn't read the first book that introduces the characters, I enjoyed Louisiana Fever. It was a fun, fast-paced read.

Andy Broussard is an interesting character - a medical examiner with sophisticated taste in food who doesn't skimp on the serving size. He has a good sense of humor, is excellent at his job and inspires loyalty from his friends and employees. He also has a taste for Louis L'Amoor novels.

Kit Franklyn, his sidekick, is smart and feisty. In this book she actually spends most of her time in captivity, so I didn't get as much of a sense for her working style as I'd like. 

I found the story interesting and entertaining with lots of detailed information about the autopsy procedures as well as the investigative techniques used by Broussard, Kit as well as the police.  

If you are interested in a fast-paced, exciting, mystery with lots of technical and investigative details, you might enjoy this fun novel by D.J. Donaldson. 

Direct links to book here:
Astor + Blue     Amazon          B&N

Seduction Blog Tour and Review

Seduction by M.J. Rose
Publication date: May 7, 2013 by Simon & Schuster
Source: ARC provided by publisher for an honest review
Synopsis:
 From the author of The Book of Lost Fragrances comes a haunting novel about a grieving woman who discovers the lost journal of novelist Victor Hugo, awakening a mystery that spans centuries.

In 1843, novelist Victor Hugo’s beloved nineteen-year-old daughter drowned. Ten years later, Hugo began participating in hundreds of séances to reestablish contact with her. In the process, he claimed to have communed with the likes of Plato, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Jesus—and even the Devil himself. Hugo’s transcriptions of these conversations have all been published. Or so it was believed.

Recovering from her own losses, mythologist Jac L’Etoile arrives on the Isle of Jersey—where Hugo conducted the séances—hoping to uncover a secret about the island’s Celtic roots. But the man who’s invited her there, a troubled soul named Theo Gaspard, has hopes she’ll help him discover something quite different—Hugo’s lost conversations with someone called the Shadow of the Sepulcher.

What follows is an intricately plotted and atmospheric tale of suspense with a spellbinding ghost story at its heart, by one of America’s most gifted and imaginative novelists.

My Take:
I hadn't read The Book of Lost Fragrances before I read Seduction by M.J. Rose. I think it might have helped me to understand the main character, Jac, a bit better if I had, but I still enjoyed the novel immensely. Immediately after finishing Seduction, I added The Book of Lost Fragrances and Les Miserables to my reading list. I never knew much about Victor Hugo, but this book has inspired be to do more research and to read his works.

There are three distinct story lines that the reader must follow in Seduction. The stories follow Jac, Victor Hugo and Owain, a druid from 56 BCE. I was immediately drawn into this gothic, atmospheric story that deals with loss, tragedy, love and reincarnation.

I especially liked two aspects to the novel. One was the Jungian analysis and the focus on the collective consciousness and the second was the way fragrances are emphasized and described. I have been fascinated with Jung and his ideas for years and it is always nice to encounter them in a novel. I was also intrigued with Jac and her sensitivity to fragrance. I will now have to go back and read The Book of Lost Fragrances just to learn more about this fascinating family of hers.

This amazing novel has what seems at first like a pretty typical ghost story, but soon turns into something much more involved and sinister. There are so many questions and possible explanations for certain events, but the narrative draws the reader ever deeper into the story and nothing is quite what it seems at first.

I was completely drawn into the story and couldn't wait to find out how it would end. "There are no coincidences" as Malachi tells Jac and it would appear to be true for this book. Events and people are so interwoven and continue to have an influence on each other over the centuries. This was a  unforgettable book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would love to read more books about these characters and ideas. Seduction goes to the top of my recommendation list.

About the Author

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.
Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.
For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Monday, March 25
Review at Luxury Reading
Tuesday, March 26
Review at Peppermint, Ph.D.
Wednesday, March 27
Review at Bibliophilic Book Blog
Thursday, March 28
Interview at A Bookish Libraria
Friday, March 29
Review & Guest Post at vvb32Reads
Guest Post at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Monday, April 1
Review at A Bookish Affair
Review & Guest Post at The Lit Bitch
Tuesday, April 2
Guest Post at A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, April 3
Review at Griperang’s Bookmarks
Thursday, April 4
Review at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Friday, April 5
Guest Post at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Monday, April 8
Review at Girls Just Reading
Tuesday, April 9
Review & Guest Post at Kinx’s Book Nook
Wednesday, April 10
Review at Booklover Book Reviews
Thursday, April 11
Review at Psychotic Book Reviews
Guest Post at Literary Marie
Friday, April 12
Review at West Metro Mommy
Monday, April 15
Review at Layered Pages
Tuesday, April 16
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Wednesday, April 17
Review at Reflections of a Book Addict
Thursday, April 18
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Guest Post at Reflections of a Book Addict
Friday, April 19
Guest Post at Flashlight Commentary
Monday, April 22
Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Tuesday, April 23
Review at Review From Here
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Wednesday, April 24
Guest Post at The Maiden’s Court
Thursday, April 25
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Monday, April 29
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Review at As I Turn the Pages
Tuesday, April 30
Interview at A Chick Who Reads
Wednesday, May 1
Review at Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, May 2
Review at Unabridged Chick
Guest Post at Peeking Between the Pages
Friday, May 3
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Tuesday, May 7
Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Wednesday, May 8
Review at Buried Under Books
Review at Diary of an Eccentric
Thursday, May 9
Review at Amused by Books
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Interview at Buried Under Books
Friday, May 10
Review at Savvy Verse & Wit
Monday, May 13
Review at Historical Tapestry & The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
Tuesday, May 14
Review at Words and Peace
Review at Kimba the Caffeinated Reviewer
Guest Post at Historical Tapestry
Wednesday, May 15
Review at Stiletto Storytime
Thursday, May 16
Review at From Left to Write
Guest Post at Stiletto Storytime
Friday, May 17
Review at A Novel Review
Monday, May 20
Review at Broken Teepee
Tuesday, May 21
Review at Confessions of a Book Hoarder
Guest Post at Broken Teepee
Wednesday, May 22
Review at Bags, Books and Bon Jovi
Guest Post at Confessions of a Book Hoarder
Thursday, May 23
Review at Man of La Book
Guest Post at Bags, Books and Bon Jovi
Friday, May 24
Review at The Calico Critic
Monday, May 27
Review at Paperback Princess
Tuesday, May 28
Review at To Read or Not to Read
Guest Post at Blood Mother Blog
Wednesday, May 29
Review at Cheryl’s Book Nook
Guest Post at To Read or Not to Read
Thursday, May 30
Review at Book Nerds
Guest Post at Cheryl’s Book Nook
Monday, June 3
Review at A Book Geek
Tuesday, June 4
Review at Tribute Books Mama
Guest Post at My Shelf Confessions
Wednesday, June 5
Review at Bippity Boppity Book
Thursday, June 6
Guest Post at Book Nerds
Friday, June 7
Review at Book Drunkard
Monday, June 10
Review at Jenny Loves to Read
Tuesday, June 11
Review & Interview at Pure Textuality
Wednesday, June 12
Review at From the TBR Pile
Thursday, June 13
Review & Guest Post at Books by the Willow Tree
Friday, June 14
Review at Bibliophilia, Please
Monday, June 17
Review at Mari Reads
Tuesday, June 18
Guest Post at Mari Reads
Wednesday, June 19
Review at Daisy’s Book Journal
Thursday, June 20
Guest Post at Daisy’s Book Journal
Friday, June 21
Review at Judith Starkston Blog
Review at Just One More Chapter
Monday, June 24
Review at The True Book Addict
Tuesday, June 25
Guest Post at The True Book Addict
Wednesday, June 26
Interview at Judith Starkston Blog
Friday, June 28
Review & Giveaway at A Writer’s Life: Working with the Muse

Bloodline

Bloodline by James Rollins
review copy provided by William Morrow/HarperCollins
Description from Goodreads:
In a thrilling masterwork that will make you rethink your perceptions of life and death, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins takes you to the edge of medicine, genetics, and technology, revealing the next evolutionary leap forward: immortality.

Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth: the Bachal Isu -- the staff of Jesus Christ -- a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever.

A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission into the African jungle. The woman is no rich tourist: she's Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of the U.S. president.

Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal which has been manipulating events throughout history...and now challenges the current presidency.

For this unique mission, SIGMA is aided by a pair of special operatives with unique talents: former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane. But what should be a straightforward rescue turns into a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal, as Gray and his team discover that the hostage is a pawn in a shattering act of terrorism with dark repercussions. And the danger is only beginning...

Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a conspiracy that goes back centuries...a scheme that lies within our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity, asking:

Could you live forever?

Would you live forever?

My take:

Until Bloodline, I had never read any of James Rollins books. I'm not sure exactly why that is, now. I had so much fun reading this book! First of all, who doesn't love a good conspiracy? I mean, really? And I absolutely love a good Knights Templar conspiracy, so it also had that going for it. This book kept me on the edge of my seat from very early on. The story is very fast paced and exciting. I don't like to explain too much about conspiracy books -- I always end up giving too much away.


Apparently, this is Sigma Force novel #8, so I will have to go back and read the other books. However, this did not diminish my enjoyment of the book or my ability to follow the story. I would classify Bloodline as a definite Thriller but with a whole lot of science as well. I might have said science fiction instead of science, but after reading the Author's Note to Readers: Truth or Fiction at the end of the book, I have to just go with science. And that is actually more disturbing. The robotics in the book are quite fascinating and fun to read about, the DNA work and some of the experiments described are disturbing and very unsettling. 


One of my favorite parts of the book was everything pertaining to Captain Tucker Wayne and his military dog Kane. I loved the descriptions of their bond and the way they worked together as a team. The characters in Bloodline are well drawn and there is obviously much more to their relationships that has been built over their time together.  I would like to read the previous books so I can get to know these characters better. 


Rollins can definitely write a conspiracy novel - I loved the way things twist and turn and keep the reader just on the edge of figuring it all out and then there is another twist and everything is uncertain again. Nothing is quite what it seems. Everyone is suspect. This is one of the better conspiracies I've read in a long while.