Dark Lover

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Description from Amazon:
"In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing their enemies-the lessers-more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed, leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate, Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams."

 

My thoughts:

I was determined not to get sucked into the vampire craze. It took me a long time to make myself read Twilight. The fact that I liked it, shocked me. I was hesitant to read any more of the vampire stuff. But then this book came up on my reading list. I thought I would hate it, but I ended up enjoying it. Weird vampire stuff aside, it was dark, sensual and dramatic. I plan to continue reading this series!

The Four Agreements

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz

Don Miguel Ruiz is a Shamanic teacher and healer. In this book he imparts simple advice on how to live a life full of peace and love. Based on the Toltec wisdom of his ancestors the four agreements are simple, yet thought provoking. Living a life of grace really can be that simple. This book is short and sweet. Many spiritual based books are complex and take a lot of time to read and digest. I enjoyed that this was more simple. Filled with good reminders, I would recommend this to anyone who wants to live a peaceful life!

How to Bake the Perfect Life

How to Bake the Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal

This was a good read. Following the life of a woman and how she grows and finds strength through challenges. I enjoyed the plot--creating something from nothing (in baking, mothering, self awareness). I did find it a bit long, but I am a pretty demanding reader when it comes to pace. Overall, I would recommend for those who like books that span a character's life.

Take the Stairs

Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success by Rory Vaden

Vaden's premise is that to be successful you do it in a focused, disciplined manner. He urges the reader to avoid "quick fixes" and work hard to reach goals.

From my perspective, this book was all just common sense. His 7 steps are: sacrifice, commitment, focus, integrity, schedule, faith and action. Again, all common sense. A lot of talking about how these steps help you become successful. In some cases I actually disagreed with the author.

The book was OK. I didn't find it groundbreaking or particularly motivational, but perhaps for a young person, just building a career it might be more applicable.

The Spirit Catches You

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

This book explores the clash of two cultures--Hmong and American. Lia Lee, a Hmong child is very ill. The Californian doctors diagnose her with epilepsy. Her parents don't understand American medicine. Tragedy ensues as the cultures clash on what is best for Lia. The American doctors want to heal her using Western medicine, the parents want to care for her using their own customs. Both people want what they think is best for the child.

The part where Lia is taken away from her parents was heartbreaking for me. I cannot imagine the pain that she was in being separated from her very loving family. And my heart was with her Mother. I cannot fathom having a sick child ripped away from me.

This was my first introduction to the Hmong. The author does a good job of explaining their history in Laos and the reasons for their immigration to America. At times it felt as if she were generalizing an entire group of people, as I'm sure not all Hmong are identical to the Lees. Overall I think her depiction is balanced.

Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Another YA novel made it onto my reading list. Not sure who the recommend came from. I was ambivalent about this one. It is a dystopian novel, with a pretty unique voice, but I wasn't really engaged. A good book for the teen reader who enjoys dystopia, though.

Betrayal in Death

Betrayal in Death by JD Robb

Still loving this series...

Each book retains the characters I have grown to love and creates a new, suspenseful story.

If you enjoy suspense/crime fiction with female leads, definitely add this series to your list.