Blood Song by Cat Adams

Celia Graves is a professional body guard. While on a job she is attacked by a group of vampires... she manages to kill one, and injure others before she passes out. When she wakes she has no memory of what happened. She was bitten by one of them, but did not turn, however she was changed. She now has fangs, is stronger and faster than she was before but she is also more "sensitive" to the sun... she can still go out it in, but needs super sun screen, an umbrella or a big floppy hat... oh and she can not eat solid foods now, she has to drink her food.
She is being hunted by her sire, the vampire who bit her, so he can finish her off by either changing her completely or killing her, as well as a demon. Teaming up with some friends she starts hunting both.

Throughout the story there are side plots and stories but in the end they are all tied together. A very good read, and I've ordered the next two in the series so that I can read more about Celia Graves! If you want a vampire book where the vampire doesn't sparkle, but needs a stake in the heart, holy water squirted at or beheaded, this is the book for you.

the Best Advice I Ever Got by Katie Couric 646.7 Cou

The sub-title for this book is Lessons from Extraordinary Lives. So a little bit of this book is about the advice Katie received, but most of it is a compilation of replies from a wide variety of people - politicians, actors, singers, athletes, authors and anyone else who is famous. The length of the advice varied widely - as did my interest in what they had to say! I really love audio books but I should have checked out the paper version instead. When people I "know" are talking in this book, I want the real person! I know what their voices sound like and I didn't care for having a random person doing the speaking. It was a so-so book. If you are young and want advice maybe you should check it out. Or you can take my advice ......I'm not using it.

At Home with the Templetons by Monica McInerney

I have enjoyed McInerney's previous books and I wasn't disappointed in this one either. On the back of the book someone had called McInerney "Australia's answer to Maeve Binchy". So now I know why I enjoyed it! This is the story of two families over a couple of decades. As you may well have guessed, the Templetons are one of the families! Henry and Eleanor Templeton, along with their four children, have moved from England to Australia to take over a manor house that was Henry's inheritance. To pay for the improvements and upkeep, they open the house to the public and given tours while they are wearing period clothing. Everyone thinks they are a bit weird. Their only son, Spencer is not happy living in the country with only his sisters. One day he meets Tom, who has recently moved with his widowed mother into a rental down the road. The lives of these two families becomes entwined - the good, the bad and sometimes the downright ugly (not everyone is telling the truth in this book!) Great read

The Bone House by Brian Freeman

This is a mystery, but the Bone House is actually a house that is owned by the Bone family, not a house full of bones! Still it is a good mystery. Mark Bradley is a teacher - well he was until he was accused of an affair with a student. He and his wife, Hilary, stay in their little town because she is still teaching there. To escape from the scrutiny of the town, they spend spring break at the beach. Hilary is a dance coach and some of her former students are competing there. The night before they are to leave, Mark can't sleep and so he goes for a walk on the beach. Bad idea! He runs into a girl who is later found murdered. Although he is under suspicion, he is allowed to go home. Hilary is determined to prove that her husband had nothing to do with the crime. To do that she ends up trying to find out about a crime that was committed many years ago. Interesting book but not too taxing for the brain. Perfect for summer!

Faith by Jennifer Haigh

Another good book - I am on a roll! This one takes place in Boston in 2002. The Catholic Church is reeling from priests being accused of the unthinkable. This is the story of Father Art who is caught up in one such situation. The story is told from the point of view of his sister, Shelia. She has been fairly removed from her family for many years with the exception of Art. Now she comes to his defense and will do anything to clear his name. Their mother is angry and embarrassed and brother Mike is not so quick to believe in his brother's innocence. Father Art has a difficult time being out in the real world in a real apartment. The story is less about the accusation than it is about the characters. There is some mystery in Art's life and Shelia has to put the pieces together to understand everything.

The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore

Moore is certainly a qualified writer, but this is her first novel. I hope she is hard at work on her second one, because I really enjoyed this one! It starts out with a brief introduction to Ginny and William, a retired couple who are enjoying this phase of their lives. Summer has arrived and the living is easy. And then it begins..... One daughter and two children, one son with his pregnant wife and finally the youngest... they all end up back at home!! I know, it sounds like a horror book doesn't it! So for Ginny and William the summer turned from calm and organized to crazy and chaotic. This isn't a book about a dysfunctional family - it is just a book about a normal family with normal problems. It's a great summer read. Check it out!

Time Weaver by Shana Abe

Mid May I made a decision to start reading all the books in the Science Fiction section at Indianola Public Library (with a few exceptions). The very first book I grabbed was this one: Time Weaver by Shana Abe. About 80 or so pages into this book I found out that it is the 5th book in the series, but since I was drawn into it so much I decided to read it without the knowledge of the previous 4 books. I was not disappointed!
Honor Carlisle is part of the "English" clan of the drakon, and can weave through time - transporting herself through time to the future or past. Her very first weave takes her to a river where she meets Prince Alexandru of the Zaharen clan. He saves her from drowning and she weaves back to her natural time. Each successive weave takes her to Alexandru (Sandu for short), and which also brings her to falling in love with him.
The story is about their love growing over different time-lines and we are crossing our fingers that their love is strong enough to last through the trials they are put through.
I know I've missed out on some background stories from not reading the previous books, but I don't think this book needs to be read as part of the series, it was a terrific read as a stand alone. I will definitely add Shana Abe to my reading list!

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

Ginny is a young woman with Asperger's who has lived a sheltered life with her parents. Her sister Amanda is married and has two daughters. Ginny's passion is cooking and she is very good at it. Ginny has her quirks but she manages fairly well. Her parents have left her alone while they go on a vacation. A housekeeper comes once a week to clean and pick up her grocery list. Ginny's world is sent spinning out of control when her parents die in a freak accident. Amanda assumes that the house will be sold and Ginny will move in with Amanda's family. Ginny, however, is not on the same page. She does not want to leave her home. When she is upset she cooks. This time she tackles a recipe written out by her mother. When the aroma fills the kitchen, her dead mother appears to her! Somehow it doesn't come off that weird in the book! And that conversations leads to a bit of a mystery. I really enjoyed the book..... magic included!

In The Garden of Beasts

Erik Larson's In The Garden of Beasts is the true account of William Dodd's experience as the US Ambassador to Germany from 1933-37. Sounds like pretty dry stuff ... until you imagine what Berlin must have been like in these years as the Nazi party came into power.

And add to this violable mix the beautiful daughter of the US ambassador who fancies herself a writer but really is just a connoisseur of witty parties and dangerous men - particularly handsome men of the Third Reich.

It is truly a case of the innocents abroad. Dodd was a history professor who is clearly over his head when he is appointed to Berlin and imagines that he can stand as a lone beacon of liberal US ideals and influence the rising Nazi party. Martha just wants to have fun.

Things start innocuously with Dodd and his wife making the ambassadorial rounds and Martha enjoying the salon gatherings and the charms of German men - including an affair with the head of the Gestapo. But as the family begins to witness the darker side of Germany as Hitler's power accumulates, it becomes harder for them to ignore the signs of something darker (although Martha does a fine job of blissful avoidance until the end).

What is most striking about In the Garden of Beasts is the naivety of Dodd and his family's ignorance of the danger they were in, especially Martha. They maintained the belief that they were dealing with rational people who wanted to preserve peace and that their status as an ambassador family would protect them. It finally took "the Night of the Long Knives" to jar them out of their complacency.

I found this book to be a fascinating historical account and highly recommend it.